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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Journalist Shares Stories Of Hiroshima Bombing Survivors; Arraignment Court Appearance Set For Murder Suspect; ESPN To Acquire NFL Network In Swap For 10 Percent Equity Stake. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 06, 2025 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:30:00]

MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Duffy told reporters if the U.S. is to have a base on the moon, they need energy to power it.

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SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We are in the race -- we are in the race to the moon -- in a race with China to the moon. And to have a base on the moon we need energy. Energy is important and if we're going to be able to sustain life on the moon, to then go to Mars, this technology is critically important.

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LEE: It has now been 80 years since the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan and some warn the world is once again moving dangerously close to nuclear war. We'll be live in Tokyo.

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[05:35:15]

LEE: The world is marking the 80th anniversary of the first time a nuclear weapon was used in warfare with the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in Japan near the end of World War II. Three days later the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

Japan is holding a somber ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with dignitaries as well as the dwindling number of survivors.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is covering this live from Tokyo. Hanako, set the scene for us. What does this somber anniversary mean for the people of Japan?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, MJ. I mean, this somber anniversary is really a moment of reflection -- of mourning. And in some ways a sense of shared grieving for the people of Japan but also really for the entire world.

As you said, Hiroshima is one of the only two cities who have ever been hit by an atomic bomb during wartime, and a single weapon killed tens of thousands of people. Many of those people were, in fact, civilians.

Now, the repercussions of that bomb are still felt today, and it greatly restructured out global political stage.

Now, earlier on Wednesday, Japan marked this somber anniversary with a peace ceremony in Hiroshima. There was a moment of silence held to remember the tens of thousands of lives lost. And we also heard from local politicians, atomic bomb survivors, and the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. In fact, here's what Ishiba said during his speech about peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIGERU ISHIBA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The current security environment is becoming increasingly severe. However, it is precisely because of this that we must make every effort to realize a world without nuclear war and ultimately a world without nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: And MJ, Ishiba's speech comes at a very tense time globally. Just this year alone we've seen tensions rise between Israel and Iran and between India and Pakistan, all powers that have nuclear weapons. Now, during these conflicts some experts feared that tensions could escalate into a nuclear confrontation and fortunately that didn't happen.

But this anniversary -- this 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima really serves as a stark reminder of what's at stake here. The total and utter devastation of communities of people and just the absolute heartbreak when you see tens of thousands of lives lost.

Now, for the atomic bomb survivors this anniversary holds even more weight. Many of them have said that they are very old now so this could be the last anniversary that they're able to commemorate -- that they're able to share their message of peace. But they hope that even after they're long gone future generations will continue to teach about the importance of peace and, of course, the importance of ending all wars -- MJ.

LEE: Hanako Montgomery is Tokyo. Thank you so much.

Let's bring in journalist Max McCoy who is the author of the book "Zero Minutes to Midnight," which is about the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He joins us live this hour from Emporia, Kansas. Max, I am so grateful for your time this morning.

You were one of the American journalists who traveled to Japan in the 1980s to interview the Hibakusha. That is the Japanese term for the survivors of the atomic bomb.

And I wanted to start my conversation with you there because you interviewed a Japanese newspaper photographer named Yoshito Matsushige who was 32 when the bomb fell on Hiroshima. And he is believed to have taken the only handful of photos of Hiroshima on the actual day of the bombing.

What did Matsushige tell you in 1986 about that day?

MAX MCCOY, JOURNALIST, AUTHOR, "ZERO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT": Well, thank you for having me on, MJ.

What I can tell you about Mr. Matsushige's memories of that day in 1945 is that well, like many of the Hibakusha, he said that it was beyond imagination. That it was something that left him numb. He told me about his inability to take more than five photos because the scenes were so horrific.

[05:40:00]

And when I went there in 1986 as a younger reporter I actually walked with him from his home to a famous bridge where he had taken photographs of junior high school students who were standing on the bridge seeking relief. And in the photograph, at first glance it looks like their clothes are hanging in tatters from them and it's really their skin that is hanging.

So Matsushige had a great sense of shame, really, for taking the photos for many, many years. And by the time I talked to him I think he had -- he had come to realize that perhaps his photographic contribution might be used for the sake of peace, and he eventually got over that I think.

LEE: Yeah. As you've been talking, we've been showing on the screen there some of those famous photographs that he took.

You know, any still living survivors would have been mostly children when those bombs fell.

What else stands out to you most from your conversations with the various survivors?

MCCOY: Well, I interviewed dozens of survivors then and they mostly had a desire to urge the world to disarm. That the consequences of nuclear weapons were too horrible to imagine. Looking back on it now I realize that the message they had in 1986 is really the message they still have today, and it's a timeless message and it's one of never again.

LEE: That's really interesting.

And, you know, I was thinking about how Matsushige's haunting photographs are on display at the Hiroshima Peace Museum, and I think visiting that museum and visiting Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a really emotional experience for most people.

One of the things that I found so moving when I was there some years ago was seeing groups of Japanese schoolchildren all visiting to learn about this part of their country's and the world's history.

What do you think is the enduring lesson for those schoolchildren today 80 years later? MCCOY: The enduring lesson I think is to take the message of the Hibakusha forward and to not let those memories pass away with these individuals. And Japan is doing a great job of this. They have designated representatives to care for the living memory of the Hibakusha and then to actually carry them on after -- carry the messages on after their death.

So I think that more than anything it is a lesson of knowledge that we have had two cities in the world that were nuclear bombed, and we know the consequences of it. Hiroshima was the first and we can only hope that Nagasaki will be the last.

LEE: And I just want to share something that you wrote for the Kansas Reflector a few years ago. You said that you learned more recently about how Matsushige, the photographer you interviewed, had captured in one of his photographs a mother clutching her dead baby, and that he had been filled with so much regret about that. And you wrote that using a pair of scissors, Matsushige had "scratched the woman's face from the negative to save her and himself from the shame."

And you said that while Matsushige witnessed the horrors of that day the world has not heeded his testament.

What did you mean by that?

MCCOY: Well, we're rushing ever closer to destruction. And the doomsday clock, which was at six minutes to midnight when I went to Japan in 1986, now stands at 89 seconds to midnight, which is the closest we've ever been to catastrophe.

The story of Matsushige with removing the woman's face -- the mother's face with a pair of scissors after he developed the film. I learned afterward when I went back in 2015, Matsushige had died by that time but one of his close friends had said he always wanted to meet me again and he had this story to give me.

And it was the story of the shame of having taken this photograph of the mother and the -- and the dead baby and scratching the face out at the edge of the negative. And he had cropped the picture, so it wasn't apparent from the -- from the originals what had happened.

[05:45:07]

So that was extremely powerful. The sense of shame and horror and the living nightmare that he saw, and many others experienced, I think should be part of everyone's education.

I think there's an idea that we had some decades ago that nuclear war was unthinkable. And what I am sensing now is that it's becoming more and more thinkable that maybe we could handle a nuclear exchange. But I don't think there's any such thing as a limited nuclear exchange. This is lighting the fuse to the world's destruction.

LEE: Well -- and on that note, you know, Americans said at the time that bombing Hiroshima was a necessary evil to end the war -- World War II. What do you think might have happened in the alternate universe where

Americans hadn't resorted to nuclear attacks? I wonder if you think about that.

MCCOY: I have thought about that. And I had a good friend, Don Coldsmith who was a World War II veteran that I talked often about this, and he felt very strongly that it ended the war and saved American lives.

I think these types of discussions -- I think there's a trap with them, MJ, in that we can replay the strategies of World War II forever in asking the what ifs. I think we would have eventually won the war. I think this is the consensus. I think we used the nuclear bombs as saber rattling for the Soviet Union. I don't think it materially affected the war except maybe ended it a little earlier.

But I think we need to get away from the blame and then look forward to -- you know, I mean, it is what it is. It's like looking at a -- it's like looking at an airplane crash. We can -- we can plot out all the causes, but we need to figure out how to keep the airplane in the air. We need to figure out how to keep a lasting peace.

LEE: Max McCoy, thank you so much for sharing your very powerful memories with us. We really appreciate it.

MCCOY: MJ, thanks for having me on.

LEE: And we'll be right back.

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[05:52:00]

LEE: Welcome back. I'm MJ Lee. Here are some of the stories we're watching today.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff has been meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Witkoff's trip comes just days before the U.S. president's deadline for Russia to make a peace deal with Ukraine or face punishing new sanctions.

Sources say top Trump officials will get together tonight to discuss their strategy in the Jeffrey Epstein case. The administration is considering releasing transcripts or audio of last month's Justice Department interviews with Epstein's partner and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Gifford Fire, now California's largest wildfire so far this year, has engulfed nearly 84,000 acres. Officials say the blaze is just nine percent contained, and hundreds of people have fled their homes. The smoke is harming air quality as far as Las Vegas in Nevada.

The suspect in a quadruple homicide in rural Tennessee is due in court within hours. Austin Robert Drummond, who is 28, is facing charges, including murder and kidnapping in connection with the killing of four relatives of a baby girl found abandoned last week. Investigators have not yet released a motive but say the suspect likely knew the victims.

An attorney for the music mogul Sean Combs confirms that his legal team has spoken with the Trump administration about a potential pardon. Combs faces up to 20 years in prison for his conviction on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. A White House official tells CNN they will not comment on any clemency requests.

And as the U.S. gears up to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, President Trump is once again taking aim at transgender athletes in women's sports.

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[05:58:20]

LEE: President Trump took a new swipe at transgender athletes during a White House event focused on the 2028 Olympics. He established a task force to oversee preparations for the Summer Games in Los Angeles and praised the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee after the group said it will comply with an executive order that is title "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports."

President Trump was even asked about the prospect of prosecuting transgender athletes competing in women's events.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think there is going to be a very strong form of testing. As far as charges, I'd have to ask the attorney general about that. I don't know. But there will be a very, very strong form of testing and if the test doesn't come out appropriately, they won't be in the Olympics.

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LEE: The governing bodies for individual sports will be responsible for the testing. Some, like World Athletics, have already announced plans for genetic testing.

And move aside mouse. The Walt Disney Company is tackling the world of football with a new media rights deal. The agreement gives the National Football League a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN, which is owned by Disney. And in return, ESPN will own and control the NFL Network, NFL Red Zone, and NFL Films programming. The two companies will also merge their Fantasy Football operations.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell says the deal will give fans more access to football in new and innovative ways.

And finally this hour, an important warning for fans of Labubu. The Better Business Bureau has issued an alert saying that scammers are taking note of the latest toy craze.

[06:00:00] According to the bureau more than 70 people have reported purchasing counterfeit Labubus and instead of receiving an authentic doll, buyers got a fake one or nothing at all.

The BBB advises consumers to shop with reputable retailers and to be wary of deals that seem too good to be true.

And thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm MJ Lee in Washington, D.C. And "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.