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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Disney: "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" To Return To Air Tonight; Luxembourg PM: Two-State Solution Deserves Second Chance; Putin: Moscow Ready To Extend Key Arms Treaty If U.S. Agrees; Hong Kong And Mainland Brace For Typhoon Ragasa. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired September 23, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:24]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to all our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval, in for Rahel Solomon.

It is Tuesday, September 23rd, 5:00 a.m. here in Atlanta.

And here's what's coming your way here on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Jimmy Kimmel's returned to the air.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kimmel is planning to address the entire situation. What he will say remains to be seen.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Effective immediately, the FDA will be notifying physicians.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Understandable if people are confused by what they heard coming out of the White House regarding Tylenol and autism.

TRUMP: Which is basically commonly known as Tylenol.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: What happens to the TikTok algorithm had been one of the major outstanding questions surrounding this deal. This new ownership group, which is going to include at least some Trump allies, is going to be controlling what they see on the app.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

SANDOVAL: Jimmy Kimmel, he is set to return to late night television tonight after Disney reversed its decision to pull his show off the air. Hard to believe it's been less than a week since a temporary suspension, prompted by comments Kimmel made following the death of political activist Charlie Kirk, igniting a debate over free speech. Well, crowds have been gathering recently to protest Disney's original decision. Over the weekend at company offices in New York and in California. More than 400 artists, including Hollywood A-listers. They signed a letter over the weekend organized by the ACLU in support of free speech.

Fans of Kimmel, they are welcoming the reversal with some warning that this won't be the last battle in broadcast television, with the current administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was a terrible decision, decision, and I think the backlash that came as a result of it kind of proves that people care about free speech, and I don't really think what he said was that bad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a cautionary tale. I hope that they will resist any future pressure from the FCC and Carr, because he has his sights on other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So let's get more from this sudden reversal this morning from CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: When Jimmy Kimmel returns to his show on Tuesday night, he will address the controversy surrounding him and his show. That is what a source tells me, that Kimmel is planning to address the entire situation with the FCC, threatening Disney and with his show ultimately being pulled off the air.

Now, what he will say remains to be seen, but a source told me last week that Disney and ABC have never censored Kimmel, that he has always been free to speak his mind about politics and about President Trump. And it wasn't until last Wednesday when the FCC made threats and when station groups pulled Kimmel's show that Disney decided, let's wait a beat and let's temporarily take your show off the air, because I was told by a source Kimmel refused to back down with his plan monologue, in which he had planned to take aim at the MAGA base and at Fox News.

Now, I was also told from the get go that Disney never planned for this to be a cancellation. Kimmel was never fired. In fact, sources have told me from the beginning of this entire controversy that Disney was always hopeful that they would bring Kimmel show back and that they were working with him to find a path forward.

Now, Stephen Colbert, whose show was canceled by his network, CBS, he wasted no time talking about Disney's decision to bring Kimmel back. Take a look.

STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE NIGHT HOST: Well, just a few hours before we tape this broadcast, we got word that our long national nightmare is over because Disney announced that "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will return to air on ABC tomorrow, Tuesday night. Once more, I am the only martyr in late night.

WAGMEISTER: Now, Disney, in explaining why they are bringing back Kimmel show, they said in a statement that last Wednesday we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. While regardless of what Jimmy says when he returns, he is absolutely going to upset at least some viewers.

[05:05:03]

And that has been proven because Sinclair has said that they will not be airing Jimmy's show on Tuesday, and they will continue to evaluate the situation.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Elizabeth Wagmeister.

So much to discuss. How about we bring in Michael Musto, an entertainment journalist with the "Village Voice" in New York?

Michael, thank you so much for getting up early for us.

MICHAEL MUSTO, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNLIST, VILLAGE VOICE: No problem. Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Look, if the president was worried about Jimmy Kimmels ratings, I don't think that will be the case tonight. I'm sure you'll be watching. I'll be watching. There will be no shortage of viewers.

What do you think that we'll hear from Kimmel tonight?

MUSTO: Well, first of all, I'll tell you why they ended the suspension. You heard the sound of people canceling their Disney and ABC all around the world. People are getting practically carpal tunnel syndrome from clicking cancel, cancel. A lot of us were the same people who were defending Disney a few years ago when they had a battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Now we were on the warpath and saying, how dare you?

SANDOVAL: Yeah.

MUSTO: And so, with over $3 billion of losses, they thought the better of it, and they brought him back. What we're going to hear, that's why we're going to tune in. We're not sure. And that's the fun and the edge and the excitement of comedy and of a late night show. You don't know what they're going to say.

I hope he doesn't grovel too much. If he wants to make a correction. As far as the accuracy of what he said, that's fine. But I don't want him apologizing to white supremacy, and I certainly don't want him giving money to white supremacy. I want him to stay as Jimmy Kimmel. SANDOVAL: Now, it is a fine line that he'll have to -- they'll

certainly have to navigate, especially amid those calls for an apology. But at the same time, with that support, just to really punctuate that point that you made a little while ago, I want you to hear from one of the many public figures who spoke out in support of Kimmel, but also really trying to put some pressure on Disney. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD STERN, HOST, THE HOWARD STERN SHOW: When the government begins to interfere, when the government says, I'm not pleased with you, so we're going to orchestrate a way to silence you. It's the wrong direction for our country. Now, it might sound stupid, but the thing I did this morning, I'm canceling my Disney+. I'm trying to say with the pocketbook that I do not support what they're doing with Jimmy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So, Michael, obviously, you recognize that voice. Is Howard Stern one of many people speaking out? So really, just to pick up where you just left off a little while ago, how much pressure do you think was on Disney? It -- was it just more the creative community or was it also that that letter that was signed by hundreds of celebrities?

MUSTO: It was a combination of all of those things. And I feel that the government will minimize how important their contribution was.

But I think this obviously went to a slippery, slippery area where the government should not be involved in what we watch on TV, though I will add that some of us, like myself, are often hypocrites because if it's a show that we like that gets canceled, we say, but it's free speech. But then if it's a show we don't like, thats cancel. We say, well, free speech doesn't cover everything.

And that's also kind of true. But in this case, I agree with the person who said he didn't say anything that horrible. He was just riffing. He didn't attack Charlie Kirk. So bring back my Jimmy. I wanted the way he was.

SANDOVAL: What do you think this does for the broader conversation? The debate that we've seen for the last several days now about free speech, this sharp reversal from Disney, and only about a week.

MUSTO: It's getting dangerous because Stephen Colbert, as he said, is the only remaining martyr of late night. He's canceled for next year. He's somebody who's often opinionated against Donald Trump.

The whole point of media and entertainment is there should be some people who don't agree with everything the president does, and they should definitely not be canceled because they don't agree with that. That's an appalling place to go. And there are certainly channels that love Trump and that lie about the other team.

SANDOVAL: And clearly, the -- that the Sinclair television group, who's already announced that they do not plan to carry Jimmy's show tonight, making that decision. What do you make of that? And do you think that they're sort of on right footing to be able to do that?

MUSTO: I think they're on wrong footing. I think they're acting a little too high and mighty to try to dictate the situation here. ABC Disney said, we want Jimmy back. They should say, fine, he's back, not were refusing to show his show. My prediction, however, is that they will buckle very quickly and they will show his show because whatever alternate they're going to come up with is not going to get ratings. And that's the bottom line that.

SANDOVAL: The bottom line from Michael Musto.

MUSTO: Ratings and money are. Ratings and money.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely. Well, I really appreciate you again getting up for us so early to talk about this.

[05:10:01]

And let's see where the story goes the rest of the day. And then we'll check back tomorrow, see what happens.

MUSTO: Thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: All right. Thank you.

Well, the U.S. president, he's preparing to speak at the U.N. General Assembly, which gets underway in just a few hours. Donald Trump will be meeting on the sidelines with the presidents of Ukraine and the European Commission. And he will also host the leaders of Arab and Muslim nations, including Qatar, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, as well as Egypt. They are expected to discuss the war in Gaza and will also likely urge him to pressure Israel to end the fighting.

And all this comes amid a groundswell of support for a two-state solution. The U.N. secretary general says that it is the only way out of this nightmare, his words. France and several other Western nations, they are just the latest to formally declare their recognition of a Palestinian state. They joined now about 150 other U.N. members that have already done so.

The French president says the Palestinian statehood is the only way to let allow or rather to allow Israel to live in peace, and also claims that it would be a defeat for Hamas.

But the Israeli prime minister sees it a different way and says, quote, that it constitutes an absurd price for terrorism.

Well, the prime minister of Luxembourg, which newly supports a two- state solution, says that its decision does not mean that it's against Israel, but rather against the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LUC FRIEDEN, PRIME MINISTER OF LUXEMBOURG: We have always been friends of Israel, and we remain friends of Israel. We want an immediate release of the hostages, but at the same time, we need to give the Palestinians hope for the future and also make sure that the Israelis can live in peace. And the only way forward is to make sure that now these two states solution gets, I would say, new energy, a second chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And while all of these leaders are meeting in New York, in Gaza city, were getting new reports of -- of some heavy shelling, some fighting and explosions. Israel escalates its incursion. We're told that there are also -- there's also a heavy presence of Israeli drones and attack helicopters in the skies. The U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency says that a dozen of its sites in Gaza City were struck between September 11th and 16th, among them nine schools and two health care centers.

Well, here in the United States, a vigil was held Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, to remember the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee that was stabbed to death on a commuter train. Iryna Zarutska was attacked on August 22nd, Monday marked 30 days since her death.

Well, some people say that they've seen a bigger police presence on the trains since the brutal killing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA CHURCH, ATTENDED VIGIL: Well, I think for someone like myself, whose daughter gets on at this stop and is the same age, I needed to feel that she will be safe. I think it's every parent's worry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Iryna came to the United States three years ago with her mother, sister and brother in hopes of escaping the war in Ukraine. Thirty-four-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. faces state and federal charges in connection to her murder.

Still to come here on EARLY START, European nations, they are denouncing Russia for sending fighter jets -- for seeing some of those fighter jets crossing into Estonian airspace. We'll hear from the response coming from Moscow.

And the U.S. president linking a common painkiller with autism. We'll tell you why the medical community is now pushing back against Donald Trump's announcement.

Plus, the science guy is now a bona fide Hollywood star as you see him there, basking in a -- basking in it all. Just ahead, Bill Nyes journey from the classroom to the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:18:29] SANDOVAL: Russia's president says that he is willing to extend a key nuclear arms treaty if the U.S. does the same. The new START treaty governs arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles. Its set to expire in February. Speaking to the Russian secretary council, Vladimir Putin accused Western governments of undermining dialogue between nuclear armed states.

He says Russia needs to respond to threats. But he also says that he has, quote, no interest in further escalating tensions.

Now to the White House response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is aware of this offer extended by President Putin, and I'll let him comment on it later. I think it sounds pretty good, but he wants to make some comments on that himself, and I will let him do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's go live to Moscow now and CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

Fred, this obviously coming after a week when we've seen Russian drones and jets and tornado airspace in your reporting, as we've seen, Moscow denies that claim. What else have we heard from the kremlin when it comes to these allegations?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Polo, the Russians essentially are accusing NATO of panicking in all of this, as you say, they deny the fact that their jets crossed into NATO territory on their way to the enclave of Kaliningrad, which of course, is Russian territory. But what the Europeans are saying, that they believe that the Russians specifically are going after them, are trying to drive a wedge between the U.S.'s European NATO allies and President Trump, as the Russians, of course, seek to improve their relations with the U.S. and with President Trump.

Here's what we're learning on the ground.

[05:20:03]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Kremlin-controlled TV ripping into the U.S.'s NATO allies after NATO said Russian jets violated member state Estonia's airspace late last week.

This time, it wasn't drones, but Russian aerospace forces aircraft that caused the panic, the anchor says. Three of our MiG 31 fighter jets allegedly flew into Estonian airspace and remained there for 12 minutes.

While the Russian military denies its planes crossed into NATO territory, analysts here warning of escalation.

There has to be some way out of this crisis, he says. And the symptoms indicate that some form of military conflict will be inevitable.

The MiG 31 fighters involved in the incident are some of the fastest in the world, and able to carry Russia's hypersonic nuclear capable ballistic missile, the Kinzhal.

It's the latest in a string of events increasing tensions between NATO and Russia, coming just days after Poland said it had to scramble jets to shoot down more than a dozen Russian drones that violated its airspace.

Still, the Kremlin, accusing Americas allies of stirring up confrontation.

"We consider such claims to be empty," the Kremlin spokesman said. "Unfounded and part of a completely reckless campaign to escalate tensions and provoke a confrontational atmosphere."

But while the Russians are verbally beating up on the U.S.'s NATO partners, Moscow is pushing a key incentive for President Trump. State TV joking that President Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

So why won't they give it to him? And they won't give it to him because the committee members who make the decisions are such hardened liberals and anti-Trump.

All this just days after Russia put on large scale naval drills, launching cruise missiles from nuclear powered subs. Russian President Vladimir Putin offering President Trump another olive branch -- saying Russia is willing to extend a nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow.

Naturally, this would require conditions for its full scale resumption and take into account the entire range of efforts aimed at normalizing bilateral relations and resolving fundamental security contradictions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): Normalizing relations is really the name of the game for the Russians. We heard that just there from the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. One of the reasons, of course, the Russians are saying that they're engaging this much with the Trump administration, on the one hand, is, of course, trying to solve the crisis and the conflict in Ukraine.

But what they're really gunning for is a complete reset of U.S. Russia relations. And in the medium and short term, sanctions relief for the Russian economy, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Fred Pleitgen with that live report from Moscow -- thanks, Fred.

Still to come, the most powerful storm so far this year. It is heading straight for Hong Kong and Southern China. We'll take you live to the streets of Hong Kong, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:27:34]

SANDOVAL: Hurricane Gabrielle has intensified into a category four storm over the warm water in the central Atlantic. Just look at some of the imagery right now from the National Hurricane Center as its reporting, sustained winds of about 140 miles per hour. It expects the storm will lose some strength in the coming days. But then look at the weather models to you can kind of see where it's going. The storm about 200 miles southeast of Bermuda on Monday.

It is likely to avoid landfall and continue tracking east toward open ocean, but still, that storm strength it could cause life threatening surf and rip current conditions along some parts of the eastern seaboard. So still certainly worth watching.

Also worth keeping a very close eye on in Asia, where millions of people in Hong Kong and the southern Chinese mainland, they are now bracing for the arrival of Typhoon Ragasa. Authorities there, they've already ordered the closure of schools and businesses across the region, and this is prompting people to pretty much empty some of these store shelves as they head home to take shelter, at least for now. As Ragasa heads toward landfall in mainland China, it's bringing winds of up to 138 miles per hour.

Heavy rain, it's caused significant storm surge as the typhoon passes south of Hong Kong. So, that's offering a preview of what's ahead. Most passenger flights in and out of the area. Those are also being delayed until early Thursday.

So, what's happening on the ground right now, especially ahead of the storm's arrival?

Let's go live to Hanako Montgomery joining us from Hong Kong.

Thank you and your team for being out there. What are people doing there to prepare? Are people staying home?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Polo, I mean, people are staying home and they're really hunkering down to prepare for this. Typhoon Ragasa, a very powerful storm to hit Hong Kong and actually right now, I am by Hong Kong harbor on the eastern side of Hong Kong island.

And just within the last hour or so of us being here, we've seen the weather really turn for the worst. I mean, it's come down with rain. The sky overhead is very overcast. We've also seen wind speeds pick up and if you can see just out into the sea here, Polo, the waves are getting much, much more intense. They are swelling. We are also seeing some storm swells and storm surges.

Now the Hong Kong observatory, which is the city government's main weather forecaster, has warned that storm surges of up to four meters could batter the city in the coming hours. As this typhoon gets closer and closer to the city. Now I just want to take you across this piece of land here to show you how the city government is preparing for this storm. You see, right over there, some red tape.