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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Taylor Swift Drops New, Eagerly Anticipated Studio Album; First Female Archbishop of Canterbury Is Appointed; Israel Intercepts Gaza Aid Flotilla, Detains Hundreds. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 03, 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]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Joining me live now from Nashville is Annie Lawrence, a social media content creator and pop culture expert known for her coverage of Taylor Swift on her "A Swifty Story" socials.

And Annie, I'm about part of the way through -- about halfway through the new album so far this morning, but I've got to get your review.

ANNIE LAWRENCE, CONTENT CREATOR, "A SWIFTY STORY": Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

And for Taylor Swift fans it really feels like one of those nights where we won't be sleeping. This album -- we are so excited. We've been so excited to hear it. And it's really been a very exciting change from "The Tortured Poets Department," Taylor's last album.

The theme of the album -- it's a great pop album. It's very upbeat. And as Taylor described her fiance Travis, full of happiness, fun, and magic.

ABEL: OK. Happiness, fun, and magic. I'm sure Swifties love it.

So much of Swift's catalog is cathartic lyrics, I guess you could say, pulling from past relationships that didn't go so well. And with songwriters usually that use that approach there always seem to be a fear that when they are happy the work actually suffers. She's newly engaged, as you mentioned, and this album does have that influence of fiance Travis Kelce.

So can you talk about that a little bit and if those fears at all are evident with "Showgirl?"

LAWRENCE: Yeah, great question.

I think that this is one of Taylor's strongest records that she's ever had. You know, she told us that these 12 songs fit perfectly together. They were the perfect puzzle pieces. Exactly the album that she wanted to create.

And there are some songs on that album that point towards her wish list -- her life that she's looking forward to continuing with Travis. And so I honestly think that these songs are some of her strongest work yet. I think Taylor is someone who continues to surprise us and continues to reach new heights with the songs that she is writing. So I definitely don't think anyone will be disappointed once they get a full listen to "The Life of a Showgirl."

ABEL: I heard what you did there with new heights.

I do have to ask you which songs are standing out to you. I know it's only been a couple of hours but are there any in particular?

LAWRENCE: Absolutely. You know, it's always hard to pick a favorite Taylor Swift song but I think the first few listens I love "Elizabeth Taylor," the second track of the album. The chorus -- it just hits so hard every time. Her melodies are so catchy. So that is definitely a favorite of mine. I also really have enjoyed "Cancelled!" It's really giving similar vibes to her "Reputation" album.

And Taylor did work on this album with Max Martin and Shellback, producers from Sweden that previously worked with her on "Reputation" in 1989 and a few "Red" songs. So you'll hear those notes a little bit throughout the album.

But I would say those are probably my two favorites right now. And then as far as the more love songs go, I really enjoyed "Wish List" as well.

ABEL: OK. Maybe there's some bad blood being talked about with the "Friendship" track.

What do you think is next for her? Because the Eras Tour was one of my favorite experiences. I loved it. But it's kind of hard to top that. And then also, there's this idea of oversaturation -- of too much of any one thing and any one person. Are we there yet?

LAWRENCE: You know, that's a great question and I think people just want to know what is next? How do you top the Eras Tour? And I think the answer to that is if anyone can figure out what that is, it is Taylor Swift. She is always 13 steps ahead figuring out what is next. You know, it might be that she tours this record or maybe she has something else in store, but whatever it is I know it's going to be amazing.

ABEL: All right.

Annie Lawrence in Nashville for us. Annie, thank you.

LAWRENCE: Thank you so much.

ABEL: And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:38:50]

ABEL: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.

U.S. financial markets are looking to keep their momentum after hitting record highs despite the government shutdown. Let's take a look at them now. The Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq futures all up to start the day.

Let's check some of today's other business headlines now.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking the Trump administration to release the September jobs report despite the government shutdown. The Labor Department has said it doesn't plan to release the data while the shutdown is ongoing. Warren claims the administration is deliberately choosing not to publish that report even though it is ready for publication.

The White House is continuing to blame Democrats for the shutdown and making unfounded claims that they want to provide free health care for illegal immigrants.

U.S. employers' hiring plans are now at their lowest since 2009. Data from the outsourcing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says employers have announced plans for just over 200,000 new hires this year. That's down nearly 60 percent from 2024. But the report also said job cuts fell in September compared to a year ago.

[05:40:00]

A new sales record for Tesla means CEO Elon Musk is now even richer. The company sold nearly 500,000 vehicles worldwide from July through September. Sales in the U.S. were driven by a rush to take advantage of a federal tax credit for electric vehicles before it expired. Musk's net worth is now -- get this -- $500.8 billion, according to Forbes.

We have breaking news now coming in to CNN. There is a new Archbishop of Canterbury with history being made in the process.

So let's go to Christopher Lamb now who is joining us from London with the details on this -- Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well Brian, yes, history has been made with the first female Archbishop of Canterbury appointed. Bishop Sarah Mullally becomes the first woman to hold the role of leader of the Church of England and the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion of 85 million members and, of course, includes the Episcopal Church in the United States.

She has been the bishop of London, a senior position in the Church of England. Before her ordination she was a senior nurse -- a senior nursing officer in Britain's NHS health system.

And she takes over from Archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned last year following a damning report that accused him of failing to properly report a child abuser who has been working within the Church of England. So she comes in at a time of crisis for the church in many ways where there is intense scrutiny over the church's handling over historic sex abuse.

But, of course, the decision to appoint a woman is an historic moment and clearly a sign that the Church of England wants to continue to promote female leadership at a time when sometimes that is also controversial within the wider Christian church family.

ABEL: And Christopher, it's our understanding now that opposition to this appointment is already coming in. What can you tell us about that?

LAMB: Well, yes. The conservative grouping GAFCON within the Church of England have come out against this appointment. Of course, it was only in 2014 that women could be ordained as bishops in the Church of England, and only in the early '90s that they were allowed to be ordained as priests within the Church of England. And that has been controversial.

There are those in the church who oppose female ordination -- who don't agree with that. And, of course, within the Roman Catholic Church, for example, there is no allowance for ordination of women. That is prohibited.

And, of course, as Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally will have dialogue with other churches. She will presumably go to Rome and meet with Pope Leo at some point. But there is, of course, within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion opposition to female leadership, which is going to be a challenge for her as she takes up her role.

ABEL: All right, history made today.

Christopher Lamb in London for us. Christopher, thank you.

A looming deadline. The White House says the clock is ticking for Hamas to accept a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza. We have a live report from the region next.

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[05:48:00]

ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.

In an unusual move the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is pausing the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency preparedness grant money. FEMA wants states to prove their population counts do not include deported migrants. The agency claims some states may be getting inflated payments because money is distributed based in population.

Taylor Swift's new album has officially dropped. She says "The Life of a Showgirl" is all about her experiences on the Eras Tour and her life with fiance Travis Kelce. This is the 12th album for Swift, reuniting her with Swedish producer Max Martin.

Federal workers in the U.S. will be waking up today wondering if they still have jobs. The White House has warned thousands will be fired during the political deadlock over government funding. The last shutdown caused a $3 billion loss in economic growth, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The White House says President Trump will determine how much time to give Hamas to accept the plan to end the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, as we showed you a little earlier, there's this video that shows the moment when Israeli forces intercepted the final boat taking part in that flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. The vessel was livestreaming when Israeli troops approached and ordered those onboard to raise their hands.

Protests broke out across Europe and elsewhere on Thursday after Israeli intercepted the flotilla and detained hundreds of activists onboard. Amnesty International calls the interception a "calculated act of intimidation." The flotilla was trying to break Israel's yearslong blockade of Gaza to deliver aid.

[05:50:00]

We have for us live now CNN's Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi with the very latest on this flotilla incident -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN Well, Brian, now all of those vessels that were part of this flotilla have been intercepted by Israeli forces. It is the largest flotilla to date that has attempted to break that 18-year blockade on Gaza.

Now this was a boat called the "Marinette." Just a couple of hours ago we saw Israeli forces board that boat and cut the livestream and detain the activists. There are hundreds of activists currently in detention. They have been taken to Israel, and they will then by processed and deported to Europe, in many cases.

Now the group itself that organized this flotilla says that it was an illegal attack for the Israeli forces to be intercepting their boats, saying that they were carrying food and water, medicine, and baby formula to try to get to Gaza. From the Israeli point of view they say that it was not about aid; it was about a provocation, rejecting the facts that they were trying to get aid to Gaza, saying it was all for show.

Now it wasn't expected that any of these vessels would get through to Gaza because we have seen a number of these flotillas in the past trying to make this journey. And certainly, we have not seen any getting through that Israeli blockade as of now.

But we did see protests across a number of countries as those interceptions were taking place. They started Wednesday night. As I say, just a couple of hours ago the last vessel was intercepted. But many pro-Palestinian protests in Italy, Turkey, Argentina, and other countries showing their displeasure at these interceptions -- Brian.

ABEL: And Paula, meanwhile, we are hearing from the White House that President Donald Trump will give Hamas -- he will determine how long to give Hamas to respond to that U.S. proposal that Israel has accepted to end the war in Gaza. It was just Tuesday that he said he'll give them three or four days. Where do we stand on that? Have we heard anything back from Hamas with

any counterproposals yet?

HANCOCKS: Not at this point. The deadline that President Trump gave, as you say, three to four days -- that would make it today or tomorrow -- Friday or Saturday.

We are expecting a response from Hamas. We have heard from them that they are reviewing the plan. We know that there has been pressure put on Hamas. We understand that officials from Turkey, from Qatar, and Egypt -- the two key mediators trying to secure this ceasefire-hostage deal -- have been putting pressure on as well.

But let's listen to the latest that we heard from the spokesperson of the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president made it very clear he wants to hear back from them very soon. I will leave it to the president or the Secretary of State to speak on that. But we expect and we hope that Hamas will accept the plan that was proposed by special envoy Witkoff. It's a good plan and, as you know, it's been applauded by leaders all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this week, has also been having to defend this 20-point plan to skeptics within his government -- most notably, the far right element of his government who do not want the war in Gaza to end.

We have heard from sources that Netanyahu has spoken about the coordination of this plan being "closer than you think." He is trying to sell the plan to the Israeli cabinet. As of yet, that hasn't come to a vote. Everyone is waiting at this point to see what Hamas' response will be -- Brian.

ABEL: Including us.

Paula Hancocks reporting for us in Abu Dhabi. Paula, thank you.

We have new video showing the moment two jets collided on the ground in New York. The story behind what happened just ahead.

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[05:58:30]

ABEL: We have dramatic new video of the moment two Delta jets collided in New York. What you're seeing here is a wing of a taxiing plane. That bright light is from a second plane approaching it. The first plane's wing hit the second plane's cockpit window, shattering it. This happened at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Wednesday. A passenger on one of the planes shot the video.

A flight attendant was injured when her knee hit something in the collision. Nobody else was hurt.

You can see the damage to that second jet in these images taken after the collision. Air safety officials are investigating.

And astronomers are keeping a close watch on an unusual planet they say actually behaves more like a star. There's new research published in "The Astrophysical Journal Letters" that reveals the rogue planet is 620 light years from Earth with a mass five to 10 times that of Jupiter. Scientists say the planet has had a massive growth spurt unlike anything previously seen in a free-floating planet and is getting bigger every second.

Astronomers discovered the rogue planet back in 2008. They believe it's just an infant at about one to two million years old.

Oh, boy -- the San Francisco 49ers are celebrating a big win in a "THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" divisional matchup. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing for 389 yards and three touchdowns, including this one just before halftime.

[06:00:00]

But the game goes into overtime where Niners kicker Eddie Pineiro hit a 41-yard field goal off the upright to give San Francisco the lead. Less than two minutes later it was the Niners' defense holding against the Rams on fourth down to win the game 26-23. What a game.

Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. Erica Hill is next when "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.