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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Climate Change Boosted Summer Heat That Killed Thousands In Europe; Fed Expected To Announcements First Rate Cut Since December; FBI Director Kash Patel grilled By Democrats In Fiery Hearing; Elderly Nuns Break Into Former Convent; Brady To Play With NFL Stars In Saudi Flag Tourney; Remembering Iconic Actor Robert Redford. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 17, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And they found that climate change was responsible for an overwhelming majority of those deaths.
Looking at a map of Europe showing climate change's impact, the temperature impact, seeing an increase, a larger increase in temperatures, more than 2 degrees Celsius with some of the darker reds showing where already hot areas getting even hotter because of climate change. And it was a very hot summer.
Europe's deadly summer heat -- June, July, August was the fourth warmest on record. Western Europe had its hottest June on record. And Southeast Europe recorded July heat waves and extreme fires. The Mediterranean region absolutely baked through much of August. Spain recorded its most intense heat wave on record. So it was a very hot summer. And a big reason for that was the weather pattern, what we call a heat dome.
So it's a big area of high pressure and with some rising air it gets capped. Essentially there's like a lid on the atmosphere and that air is forced back down and high pressure is sinking air and that sinking air warms up even more by compression. So just the heat builds on top of itself.
You also have clear skies which allows more sun in and produces more warming. So it was an extreme summer with warmer than average temperatures. The darker red shows us where it was much warmer than average. And again, these areas that are hot anyways.
So going forward in if things don't change, if things stay the way they are, we can expect to see even more heat related deaths. And cities are highly vulnerable to heat waves because the cities themselves can absorb more heat, retain more heat, they essentially trap the heat. And in Europe, 70 percent of people live in cities and that number is expected to go up to 80 percent by 2050.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN ABEL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right Chris, thank you. The FBI Director Senate hearing turns into a shouting match. We'll look at what set off Kash Patel just ahead.
Plus, a daring escape and break in orchestrated by three octogenarian nuns. All that and more after the break.
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[04:37:07]
ABEL: The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce its first interest rate cut since December, when central bankers wrapped their two-day policy meeting later today. Growing signs of weakness in the labor market are a key reason why the Fed is likely to lower borrowing costs.
Inflation has risen in recent months, mostly due to Donald Trump's policies and tariffs, but Fed officials believe that impact may be temporary.
And the U.S. National Archives is celebrating 250 years of America's freedom today, which is Constitution Day. And for the first time, the entire U.S. Constitution will be on display at the U.S. Capitol, including the original Bill of Rights and more than a dozen amendments. The exhibit also features something quite rare, the fifth page signed by George Washington that instructed states on how to implement the Constitution.
The historic documents will be on display in the rotunda of the Capitol until October 1st.
Senate Democrats accused the FBI director of obeying the will of the White House and not the Constitution. During a contentious hearing on Tuesday that saw Kash Patel seemingly losing his cool multiple times. CNN's Brian Todd has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): You claim that you have a suspect in a serious assassination. Whoops. Then you don't have a suspect.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democratic Senator Cory Booker accused FBI Director Kash Patel of not being fit to lead the bureau. Then Booker slammed his booklet shut and the fireworks really started.
BOOKER: I think you're not going to be around long. I think this might be your last oversight hearing. Because as much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump and not the Constitution of the United States of America, he is not loyal to people like you. He will cut you loose.
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: That rant of false information does not bring this country together. If you want to work on bringing this country, it's my time, not yours.
BOOKER: My God. My God.
PATEL: If you want to talk about --
BOOKER: -- fighting this country?
PATEL: It is my time.
BOOKER: I follow you on your social media posts that tear my country apart.
PATEL: It is my time to --
BOOKER: You should be a unifying --
PATEL: -- address your falsehoods to address in this country, say my time. Your time is over.
TODD (voice-over): Patel admitted he could have been more careful with his wording about the subject, who he said was in custody right after the shooting of Charlie Kirk. He later had to walk that back. Republican senators repeatedly defended Patel over many issues, including his handling of the Kirk case.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I've seen no reason to for the armchair quarterbacks to be criticizing his performance. I think it's been commendable. Took roughly 33 hours to rest the Charlie Kirk's killer.
TODD (voice-over): Patel was asked by Republican Senator John Kennedy about Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): You've seen most of the files. Who, if anyone, did Epstein traffic these young women to besides himself?
PATEL: Himself. There is no credible information. None. If there were, I would bring the case yesterday that he trafficked to other individuals. And the information we have, again, is limited.
KENNEDY: So the answer is no one?
PATEL: For the information that we have.
KENNEDY: In the files?
PATEL: In the case file.
TODD (voice-over): After Patel said the Bureau of Prisons decided to send Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to a minimum security prison camp, his exchange with Democrat Adam Schiff got heated.
SEN. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): You want the American people to believe that? Do you think they're stupid?
PATEL: No, I think the American people believe the truth, that I'm not in the weeds on the everyday movements of inmates. What I am doing is protecting this country, providing historic reform and combating the weaponization of intelligence by the likes of you. And we have countlessly proven you to be a liar in Russiagate, in January 6. You are the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate. You are disgraced to this institution and an utter coward.
SCHIFF: I'm not surprised.
PATEL: I'm not surprised that you continue to lie from your perch and put on a show so you can go raise money for your charade. You are political buffoon at best.
TODD: Senator Schiff countered that Patel, will, quote, always be nothing more than an internet troll. Patel fired back that all the Democrats care about is a child sex predator who was prosecuted by a prior administration. And he said the Obama and Biden Justice Departments, quote, did squat about Jeffrey Epstein. The hearing ended shortly after that exchange. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: President Trump again says Ukraine's president will, quote, have to make a deal to end Russia's war on the country, suggesting Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a holdup in striking a peace agreement. Russia, however, has maintained its massive demands to end the war, including taking over the entire Donbas region and insisting Ukraine never join NATO. The president again saying he may have to get personally involved in mediation talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin is unfathomable. I think I'm going to have to do all the talking. They hate each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Meanwhile, Russia and its ally Belarus have wrapped up massive military drills that they conducted right on NATO's doorstep. State media showed Russian President Vladimir Putin listening to briefings from defense officials on Tuesday and observing the drills in Western Russia.
Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have been showing off their latest military hardware in the war games over the past five days. Belarus had also invited a delegation of U.S. military officers to observe. The drills come amid heightened tensions between Russia and NATO, taking place days after Russian drones flew into Polish and Romanian airspace.
OK, shifting gears as the saying goes, ask forgiveness, not permission. Well, just ask these three elderly nuns that you're about to see who would stop at nothing to get back to their beloved convent. CNN Sebastian Shukla has more on the nuns on the run.
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SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Three nuns in their 80s staged a daring escape from their nursing home in Austria and broke back into their old convent. SISTER RITA, 81-YEAR-OLD NUN: I was so happy when I heard that we are
allowed to return to our convent. My heart beat faster, and it will like breathing freely again.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Sisters Bernadette, Regina and Rita are the last remaining nuns of Schloss Goldenstein in Salzburg, which is now run by the archdiocese of the same city and the Reichesberg Abbey. They say they were taken out of their convent against their will in December 2023 and have been living in a Catholic care home.
SISTER RITA: We signed a contract with the Reichesberg Abbey saying that we are allowed to stay in our convent until the end of our life.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Earlier this month, the nuns got back into the convent with help from their friends, former students and even a locksmith. They discovered that the cloister didn't have any water and electricity and that some of the senior living adaptations, like the stair lift, had been removed. They've since restored the water and electricity and are determined to stay, documenting it all on Instagram.
SISTER RITA: I do have to add, we had nothing missing., but it was not our convent.
SHUKLA (voice-over): The nun's agreement with the abbey says that they may remain in the convent as long as it's reasonable in terms of their health and spirituality.
[04:45:05]
There is some concern over their well-being in the dilapidated space, but they have received frequent visitors bringing food, medical care and well wishes.
SISTER RITA: We have enough to eat, we have everything. We're very content.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Sebastian Shukla, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Fans, friends and co-stars are mourning Hollywood legend Robert Redford. A look at the illustrious career of a leading man, award winning director and environmentalist, when we come back.
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[04:50:20]
ABEL: For the uninitiated, that is some Sabrina Carpenter for you there. She's one of the big names just announced as headliners for the 2026 Coachella Music Festival. She'll be joined by Justin Bieber and Colombian singer Karol G as the biggest acts to hit the Southern California stage.
The multiday festival is also set to feature members of Nine Inch Nails collaborating with German producer Boys Noise. The festival is set for two weekends next April. Passes do go on sale this Friday.
And how about this Tom Brady temporarily coming out of retirement and heading back to the gridiron. This time he'll be playing in a flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia.
The legendary NFL quarterback announcing he will participate in a first of its kind round robin event featuring three teams made up of current and former players. The tournament is the latest major investment from Saudi Arabia into the world of professional sports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BRADY, FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK: This will be the most incredible flag football showcase ever and it felt like the perfect time for me to hit the field again and get my competitive juices flowing. We're gathering so many incredibly skilled athletes and I'm pumped to hit the field for the first time in a few years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Brady did retire from professional football back in 2023. The Fanatics Flag Football Classic is set for March of next year in Riyadh.
Friends and former colleagues are paying tribute to actor Robert Redford, who died on Tuesday at the age of 89. In a statement shared with CNN, Redford's co-star in several films, Jane Fonda said, quote, I can't stop crying. Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep and so many others are also mourning the loss of the Academy Award winning director and environmentalist. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From romance and sports to journalism and politics, Robert Redford influenced culture throughout his remarkable life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much can you tell me about Deep Throat?
ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR: How much do you need to know?
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): In All the President's Men, he played Bob Woodward, half of the now iconic reporting duo that uncovered Watergate.
REDFORD: Supposedly he's got a lawyer with $25,000 in a brown paper bag. Follow the money.
I just felt that I was very fortunate to be there at a glory point for journalism that saved our First Amendment.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Born in Santa Monica, California in 1936, Redford later moved to New York to study acting. His breakout came on Broadway in 1963's "Barefoot in the Park," a role he reprised on the big screen with Jane Fonda. JANE FONDA, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST: If you don't give me a real
kiss, I'm goig to give you back your pajamas right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the matter with you?
REDFORD: I can't swim.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Redford's first blockbuster came with 1969's Butch Cassidy in the "Sundance Kid." In the 60s and 70s, his leading man looks made him a heartthrob.
REDFORD: I was kind of feeling trapped because I couldn't go outside the box of leading man or good looking leading man.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): He starred with Barbra Streisand in 1973's "The Way Were" the following year earning his first Oscar nomination for the "Sting." His first Oscar win came in 1981 as a director for "Ordinary People." He forged a prolific career behind the camera while creating unforgettable characters on screen in "The Natural", "Out of Africa" with Meryl Streep and later with Demi Moore, "An Indecent Proposal."
GLENN CLOSE, CO-STARRED WITH REDFORD IN "THE NATURAL": Always very authentic in his passions, which was Native Americans and their art, the environment and The Sundance Institute.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): That institute led to the Sundance Film Festival, which Redford established in Utah, where he lived since 1961, to nurture independent filmmakers. Now it's one of Hollywood's most important film festivals.
In 1989, Redford started the Sundance catalog to showcase jewelry and clothing from artists inspired by the American West. Though passionate for the environment, Redford said he never considered a life in politics.
REDFORD: I don't think that I would be a good politician because I don't find compromise that easy.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): During MeToo, Redford stood up for women, telling me on the red carpet for his final film, 2018's "The Old man and the Gun," that he welcomed the movement.
REDFORD: The fact that women now have a voice that's going to be heard and they're going to raise it louder and louder, I hope, because they've been pushed aside for so long.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Though he left the limelight, Redford's legacy stands at the top of Hollywood. An artist advocate, an innovator for multiple generations.
REDFORD: When you're being raised, you want to make the most of your life. I mean, I guess that's what I decided. I want to make the most of what I've been given.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Truly one of the greats. Thank you for joining us here on Early Start. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, DC. The news continues after a quick break.
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