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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Police: Suspected Bondi Beach Gunman Charged With 59 Offenses; Second Jet Narrowly Avoids Colliding With U.S. Military Plane; Western Washington Under Flood Watch As Rivers Rise. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired December 17, 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: Heartbreak unfolded earlier at the funeral of the late rabbi Eli Schlanger who had organized the Hannukah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach on that fateful day.
CNN's Angus Watson is covering this live for us from Sydney since the beginning. And Angus, the suspected gunman is now facing those 59 charges. What more are you learning about that, and how are the victims being remember in what is obviously yet another somber day there?
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Brian. Today police deemed 24-year-old Naveed Akram lucid enough to be charged and also face a bail hearing. So as you mentioned, there are 15 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder, and a raft of other terror offenses, including possession of an illicit terrorist item -- that ISIS flag, which was found in a car belonging to the father and son duo.
Those -- that duo is believed to have been inspired by ISIS ideology and traveled to the Philippines in -- just in November. Went specifically to the island of Mindanao, which has been wracked by terrorist insurgency -- ISIS-inspired groups there battling the Philippines military for the -- for over 10 years now.
But I just want to take you back to the consequences of their crime. Here behind me for the fourth night a vigil taking place here in Bondi Beach remembering some of the victims. Tomorrow will be the funeral of young Matilda, just 10 years old. These pictures of here were taken moments before she was shot on Sunday night at a Hanukkah party celebrating with her family.
Here is what some of -- some of what her parents said today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, MOTHER OF VICTIM MATILDA: She was running around happy and then in seconds what I see before my eyes is she is lying on the ground. I just can't explain how it happened.
MICHAEL, FATHER OF VICTIM MATILDA: I grabbed my shirt and I was talking to her because she was --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, MOTHER OF VICTIM MATILDA: She was in shock.
MICHAEL, FATHER OF VICTIM MATILDA: She was in shock. She was telling me that she -- it's hard to breathe. And I was -- I was holding -- I was holding her and I was like calm down please, please, please. I was trying to pull her out, but the shooting would just not stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: In the wake of a horrific terror. The Jewish community here coming together in the wake of a horrific crime against them. Young Matilda, 10 years old, murdered simply for being Jewish, Brian.
ABEL: Such heartbreak hearing from Matilda's family there.
Angus Watson in Sydney for us. I know it's a heavy assignment. Thank you for bringing that story to us.
Last week it was President Trump. This week it's Vice President JD Vance giving the economy the highest marks. Find out what else he had to say about affordability next on EARLY START.
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[05:37:38]
ABEL: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.
And here is where the U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. The Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all starting the day up in the green.
Let's check some of today's business headlines now.
U.S. unemployment rose to a four-year high in November to 4.6 percent. For young people, the unemployment rate surged to 10.6 percent, also a four-year high. This as the economy added just 64,000 jobs last month. The labor market is on pace for its weakest year of job growth since 2020.
A mixed month for American retailers ahead of the Christmas rush. U.S. retail sales in October were the weakest in five months. They remained flat in October when compared to the prior month. Retail sales overall were pulled down by falling car sales. Home improvement stores, restaurants, bars, and personnel care shops also saw sales decline though Americans did continue to spend in other categories.
The European Union is scaling down its outright ban on new combustion engine cars after pressure from carmakers. On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed amending the ban to just 90 percent of vehicles, meaning 10 percent of new cars made after 2035 could still be plug-in hybrids or those with internal combustion engines.
Well, President Trump is expected to tout his administration's accomplishments on the economy during an address to the nation later today. Vice President JD Vance took the positive outlook to Pennsylvania on
Tuesday. He and his wife Usha served lunch at the Allentown Rescue Mission. Earlier in the day Vance asked for patience in solving the affordability crisis impacting many Americans, and he bragged about job and wage growth despite negative reports from the Labor Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you look at every single affordability crisis that we talk about in the United States of America today it's because we inherited a nightmare of an economy from Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What grade would you give the economy today?
VANCE: A-plus-plus-plus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:40:00]
ABEL: Ahead, the first funerals for some of the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre. We will look at some of the innocent lives lost on that tragic day.
(COMMERCIAL)
ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.
The Trump administration is pushing back against Vanity Fair for a series of explosive interviews with the White House chief of staff. Susie Wiles told the magazine President Trump has an alcoholic's personality and she called Vice President JD Vance a conspiracy theorist. Wiles says her words were taken out of context in what she called a hit piece.
[05:45:00]
Police in Rhode Island have released new videos and enhanced images of a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday. They are hoping the public can help identify the individual seen walking around neighborhoods near the campus. Officials are urging people to share any video footage from home surveillance or vehicle dashcams.
Australian police have charged the surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre. Twenty-four-year-old Naveed Akram faces 59 counts, including murder, attempted murder, and committing a terrorist act. The charges come just one day after Akram came out of a coma. The other suspect, his father, was shot dead at the scene by police.
A 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor, and two rabbis just a few of the people who were ruthlessly gunned down during the Bondi Beach Hannukah celebration. CNN's Lynda Kinkade tells us about the lives lost on that tragic day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(Gunshots)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voiceover): It was meant to be a celebration, but joy quickly turned to panic, pain, and then unbearable grief, destroying families, fracturing communities, young and old now gone, leaving painful holes simply impossible to fill.
Matilda was the youngest of the victims, just 10 years old. Her aunt describing her as a sweet, happy child with a beautiful smile. Rushed to a nearby hospital, she could not be saved.
Alexander Kleytman was the oldest of Sunday's victims. The 87-year-old survived the Holocaust and his wife Larisa, pictured next to him, says he died shielding her from the bullets.
Among those killed, two rabbis -- 39-year-old Yaakov Levitan, a husband, father, and beloved member of Sydney's Jewish community; and London-born Eli Schlanger who organized the gathering on Sunday. His cousin recalled the message he spread in life.
RABBI DOVID LEWIS, COUSIN OF VICTIM RABBIE ELI SCHLANGER: The way we hold up in times as difficult as this is by keeping dear the message that Eli --Rabbi Schlanger held so dear to him, which is to spread the light of Judaism -- to share it.
KINKADE: Few encapsulated that spirit like Tibor Weitzen. The 78-year- old, known as the "Candy Man" brought joy and smiles handing out treats to those in his congregation. His family say their sweet grandpa died trying to shield a friend.
Retired detective Peter Meagher was also among those killed. Marzo, as he was known, served almost 40 years in the line of duty. He was working as a freelance photographer covering the Hannukah celebration. His rugby club in Randwick called him an absolute legend.
LEWIS: While there is definitely a rise in overt and, unfortunately, covert antisemitism as well, the reality that we have to live with and the reality that, if necessary, we have to create is one where we combat all forms of racism. Any type of prejudice.
KINKADE: Schlanger's cousin Eli one of several victims born overseas.
Twenty-seven-year-old Dan Elkayam hailed from Paris, France. Eighty- two-year-old Marika Pogany from Slovakia. Sixty-two-year-old Reuven Morrison moved to Australia fleeing persecution from the Soviet Union.
And Russian couple Boris and Sofia Gurman. Sixty-one-year-old Sofia and her husband, 69-year-old Boris, we caught on dashcam footage trying to stop one of the gunmen. They were married for 34 years and were killed together in the confrontation. Their family said they died as they lived -- bravely putting others before themselves.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Another near miss in the skies near Venezuela. For the second time in two days a civilian jet reports a close call with a U.S. military plane. The details just ahead. You're watching CNN.
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[05:53:28]
ABEL: The number of countries facing travel restrictions into the U.S. is growing significantly after President Trump signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries with full or partial entry bans. Nationals from seven new countries were added to the full travel ban list, including Laos, Sierra Leone, and Syria. Fifteen additional countries, including Angola, Tanzania, and Malawi, now face partial restrictions on travel to the U.S. The White House says the 39 listed countries demonstrate severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information sharing.
The pilots of a private jet say they narrowly avoided a midair collision with a U.S. Air Force plane near Venezuela. It happened just a day after a JetBlue airliner also came close to colliding with an Air Force refueling tanker.
CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: We were able to piece this incident together from the air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net. This close call was detailed by the pilots of a private jet that just departed from Aruba on its way to Miami. It's only about 15 miles from the coast of Venezuela where the airspace is sensitive to say the least.
The pilots reported essentially what the crew of a JetBlue flight reported just the day before -- a large United States Air Force aerial refueling tanker appearing without warning, without triggering their in-cockpit collision warning systems.
The pilots of this private jet say they were climbing to an altitude of 26,000 feet when they said they would have climbed into the Air Force jet. I want you to listen now to the radio transmissions in which they describe this close encounter being too close for comfort.
[05:55:10]
PRIVATE JET PILOT: We just got that traffic. I don't know how we didn't get an RA for that, but they were really close.
MUNTEAN: The pilots also told air traffic control that this plane looked pretty big -- like a Boeing 777 or 767.
Remember, just one day after the pilots of a JetBlue flight said they had to abruptly stop their climb due to an Air Force refueling tanker that crossed directly in front of their flight path, it sounds pretty familiar. That incident happened after that JetBlue flight took off from Curacao, so roughly the same area of the Caribbean Sea where this new incident occurred.
The Pentagon and Dutch officials are reviewing the case involving the JetBlue flight, and the National Transportation Safety Board tells me it's gathering information on both of these incidents, but it has not yet lodged official investigations.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Parts of western Washington State are under a flood watch right now one day after a temporary levy burst on the White River in the town of Pacific about 30 minutes south of Seattle. The city's mayor says several flood barriers along the river failed early Tuesday morning.
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has a look at what's next for the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Dramatic aerial video coming out of King County, Washington. This vehicle surrounded by water and this individual had to be rescued. He climbed to the top of his vehicle to wait for the authorities to come and get him.
So this is just one example of the flooding and the rescues that have been underway across the Pacific Northwest as we continue this barrage of atmospheric rivers that is funneling very heavy rainfall into the Pacific Northwest.
There it is on satellite. Quite a tropical connection here. You can extend that cloud cover all the way down to Hawaii. Of course, this is resulting in the heavy rainfall across western portions of Washington, western Oregon, and eventually into western portions of California as well -- at least northwestern parts of the state.
You can see the flood alerts for this region. We'll get a bit of a reprieve overnight after heavy rainfall on Tuesday, but it'll pick up once again through the day on Thursday lasting into Friday morning across the Pacific Northwest with a large portion of that directed a little further south of Washington into the state of Oregon.
Currently, we have two river gauges that are forecast to reach major flood stage again. Remember the Skagit River in western Washington? Well, this particular area had a record high crest from last week's atmospheric river. And then, now with the additional rainfall incoming, we expect the water levels not to be as high as record- setting territory but at least get into major flood stage or nearing major flood stage for this area.
So that's another concern for swollen rivers. The potential for additional levies to fail, as well as the potential for urban and localized flash flooding. This plume of moisture just being funneled right into the western parts of the country. You can see the forecast. Rain totals along the coastline of northwest California through Oregon and into Washington, three to five inches through the end of the week.
And then, of course, now with the colder side of this storm, we are bringing in a little bit lower elevation snowfall totals, which will lock in some of that precipitation into the mountains. But there's a lot of wind energy associated with this, and the ground is very saturated, so when you start seeing winds gusting in excess of 45 miles per hour the potential exists for downed trees. That means downed power lines and the potential for power outages as well.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Derek Van Dam, thank you.
An emotional farewell to Japan's beloved giant pandas. Thousands of fans have flocked to a Tokyo zoo after news broke that 4-year-old Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei would head back to China at the end of January.
While their move home has long been planned it comes at a time of tense diplomatic relations between the two countries after comments made by Japan's prime minister concerning Taiwan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HIROYO KASHIO, ZOO VISITOR (through translator): I think that maybe our prime minister's comments had some influence on this, but pandas shouldn't be political. They are symbols of friendship between Japan and China. So I really hope pandas can stay here for that reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Once the pandas leave it will be the first time since 1972 that Japan has been panda-less.
Well, check out the animals at the London Zoo getting into the holiday spirit, and it seems like Santa arrived early. Zookeepers handing out bags of treats to the primates on Tuesday. Monkeys were treated to stockings garnished with sweet corn, while the gorillas got to rummage through festive bags of their favorite snacks.
And Merriam-Webster has announced the word of the year. No surprise that in 2025 the word is connected to artificial intelligence. Merriam-Webster chose the term "slop." The renowned dictionary defines slop as low-quality digital content produced usually in quantity by using artificial intelligence.
[06:00:05]
Other candidates for word of the year included gerrymander and performative. Editors also considered choosing the phrase "touch grass." That does it for us. Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm
Brian Abel in Washington. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
