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One World with Zain Asher
Zelenskyy Urges Sanctions after Record Russian Airstrikes; Trump Border Czar: Expect Action in Sanctuary Cities; South Korea's Foreign Minister Heads to U.S. Today; Washington Homeless Living in Fear; French PM Faces Confidence Vote; Trump Family Set to Rake in Big Bucks with New Crypto Legislation. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 08, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: A new city targeted by ICE raids. Donald Trump says he'll announce plans to clean up Chicago in the
coming days. "One World" starts right now. In Jerusalem, people were running for their lives after two attackers opened fire on a bus stop, six
people were killed.
The French Parliament braces for a confidence vote that could plunge the country further into political turmoil. And an Australian woman convicted
of killing three people with toxic mushrooms, faces her life sentence. Live from London. I'm Christina Macfarlane, and this is "One World".
Israel is threatening to ramp up strikes in Gaza City and warns of a massive hurricane to come to force Hamas to lay down its weapons, as U.S.
President Donald Trump says a Gaza ceasefire deal could come soon. All this came before a deadly shooting in Jerusalem rattled the city and stoked
further tensions.
Israeli police say at least six people were killed and several injured after two attackers opened fire on people waiting at a bus stop. The
shooters were later killed. Israeli authorities identified them as residents of the occupied West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene
of the shooting and issued this warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Right now, we are pursuing and encircling the villages from which the murderers came. We will reach
everyone who helped them, everyone who sent them, and we will take even harsher measures. I want to say this in the clearest way possible.
These murders, these attacks on all fronts, do not weaken our resolve. They only increase our determination to complete the missions we've taken upon
ourselves in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, CNN's Oren Liebermann is joining me now live from Jerusalem and Oren, we're just hearing from the prime minister there. How
else have Israel been responding to this attack today?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Christina, it looks like we're seeing the beginning of the response to that attack. In some videos
shared on social media, we saw Israeli forces moving in on the village of Qatanna, which is just northwest of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank.
That's where authorities say one of the attackers came from. The two attackers, they say, 20- and 21-year-old Palestinians from right in that
area, just outside of Jerusalem, just over the green line in the West Bank there. Authorities say they took a car right into the city, to a bus stop
that's effectively right on the green line, and opened fire shortly after rush hour this morning.
Just after 10 o'clock this morning, killing, ultimately, six people and wounding many more, some of whom, at least as of the last update from
hospitals and from emergency responders remain in serious condition. Defense Minister Israel Katz warned there would be, quote, far reaching, or
severe and far-reaching consequences to the attack.
Israeli forces responded not only to the scene of the attack, but also to areas for the Palestinian City of Ramallah in the West Bank. So, in terms
of that response in the West Bank itself, we are just beginning to see that and will follow it as it continues. Israel police also say they arrested a
Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem on allegations that he was involved in some way in the attacks.
We're waiting for more details on that, but it's worth noting, this is one of the deadliest shooting attacks we've seen in Jerusalem in more than two
years. The last one that was this deadly was in January of 2023 when a Palestinian man carried out a shooting attack near a synagogue and killed
seven people, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and this is obviously ongoing. I know you'll continue to follow it closely. Oren Liebermann there from Jerusalem, thank you. Now,
hours after Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, the Kremlin is openly dismissing the U.S. President's
latest threat regarding sanctions.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said western sanctions are, quote, absolutely useless when it comes to pressuring Russia. On Sunday, President Trump
indicated he was on the verge of ramping up measures against Moscow. Trump's latest warning comes after a series of deadlines he has given
Vladimir Putin have come and gone with no action.
The Ukrainian leader meanwhile says he is counting on a strong response from America following Sunday's record missile and drone bombardment. At
least four people were killed in the nationwide attacks, which also damaged a key government building in Kyiv. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is with me here.
[11:05:00]
So Peskov calling Trump's latest threats there absolutely useless, but do we know any more detail on what secondary sanctions Donald Trump is
actually threatening here?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We don't. I mean, there have been suggestions that this could involve the Russian
banking sector. Essentially, those Russian banks that facilitate Russia's war, pretty much all of them, would be banned from global exchanges,
possibly involving the U.S. dollar.
That could have some impact. I think the point Peskov is making there is the Russia has had these potential approaches well telegraphed. It has
adapted and evaded some previous efforts of sanctions. Remember, sanctions are only as effective as you enforce them. So perhaps an element there of
Moscow possibly buoyed after the successful summit in Russia's eyes, alongside China and India.
And China last week, feeling as though it has the backing of its allies, some financial rope too, and therefore willing to face down whatever Trump
has in store next, it could be secondary sanctions, more against India, some against China. That's what they've long threatened.
But really that is still pretty much in the U.S. President's head. What he intends to do. He said he's going to talk to Putin soon. He said he might
have European leaders visit him Monday or Tuesday. None of that's happened yet.
MACFARLANE: I mean, essentially, it wasn't just the government building being hit that was of great concern, but also some strategic bridges inland
as well. I mean, how significant is it that we're seeing infrastructure well inside Ukraine's borders now being targeted.
WALSH: This has been something which you have to debate in your mind as to whether this is something that the Russians always wanted to do, but
couldn't, or simply, this time, managed to get lucky. Clearly, the barrage of 810 drones from Saturday to Sunday morning got through.
The air defenses overwhelmed them. It must have been some kind of missile that hit this bridge in Kremenchuk. It's a key part of the thoroughfare
from Eastern Europe, where vast majority of Ukraine's goods and military supplies come from, across the country towards the capital Kyiv.
It's said now to be open again to traffic, but the fact they're pinpointing things like this is another sign, I think, after that government building
was hit a key place where the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was seen posing in the damage of the ruins of the office she often frequents in
a selfie recently a sign that they are escalating, in the words of Trump's envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg.
So, a definite sign that Moscow feels emboldened, that it's upping what it's willing to do against Ukraine, even after all these years. And an
outstanding question as to exactly what Trump's measures are. He says they're coming, but we don't know what they are and how effective they'll
be.
MACFARLANE: And just briefly worth mentioning, I think again, those killed in this attack, including an infant, under one years old.
WALSH: That's right, the free dead in the capital, it's thought to be a mother and her one-year-old daughter. Some local media reporting they were,
in fact, blown out of the building where they were by an explosion from an impact from a drone. So even though this toll was comparatively small to
the 30 plus.
We've seen from one missile that hit a building and caused the collapse, when I was there about a few weeks ago. Now, this particularly horrific in
terms of the age of those killed.
MACFARLANE: -- less tragic, even though the numbers are smaller. Nick thank you. Now, after more than a year of political turmoil and instability. The
French government is on the verge of total collapse and facing an uncertain future, lawmakers are speaking ahead of the confidence votes that appears
set to topple Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and further weaken President Emmanuel Macron.
Bayrou France's fourth Prime Minister in less than two years, called the vote in an attempt to push through his unpopular austerity budget
proposals. But the crisis really began last year after Macron ordered a surprise snap parliamentary election, leaving his centrist alliance without
a workable majority, and throwing the country into a state of political paralysis.
CNN's Melissa Bell is joining me live from Paris. and I saw earlier, Melissa, the prime minister, speaking to parliament in a last-ditch effort,
I suppose, to win their support. When is this vote expected? And just tell us again why it has been called.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're quite right, Christina. To trace it back to June of 2024 parliament was spectacularly
dissolved by the French Parliament after the far right had done as well as it had in European elections. He was hoping for clarity.
In fact, what it did is leave the National Assembly here just behind me, where MPs lawmakers are just wrapping up their responses to that last
minute, last -- from the French Prime Minister. Ever since this is a country that has been really beset by political instability with no clear
path or view as to how that might be fixed, because the parliament is as divided as it is.
So, what we expect to have happen is for the current Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, like his two predecessors, the prime minister drawn from
the center after that dissolution in that initial parliamentary vote which left this parliament without a majority.
[11:10:00]
We expect him to be the third to be forced to resign. And of course, at the heart of all this, you're quite right, Christina, this looming budget
crisis, what we expect to see here in France is that by the end of this year. The country's national debt could be 116 percent of its annual
economic output.
And this is what the current prime minister and the last two had been trying to fix. The budget has to be decided by the end of this year. He'd
hoped to slash 44 billion from the 2026 budget. Clearly, that's not going to happen. The question who, if he goes, as we expect, that he will the
president will decide to name in his place?
Will he try, once again, to find a prime minister to lead from the center, or try a different approach, to try and finding some kind of way out of
this current political gridlock, Christina?
MACFARLANE: And Melissa, just talk to us more about the peril of the options that are ahead of President Macron, because on the one hand, as you
say, if he were to elect someone new, I mean, that might fail as well, just as we have seen successive prime ministers fail. And on the other hand, if
you were to call an election, I mean, would that actually lead to, you know, the election of a prime minister that all would agree to?
BELL: Well, first of all, on the idea of naming another prime minister, first of all, before he considers another dissolution, that is what a lot
of people expect. The question is whether, does he try again to find someone to the center, or does he go, for instance, to the left to try and
get that parliamentary bloc that we saw come out first after all in last year's June snap elections to try and see if they can manage to govern this
country.
Failing that, you're quite right another dissolution is on the cards. But what the polls suggest is that going into any fresh parliamentary
elections, the far right looks set to do even better than it had before. So essentially, the French President is out of palatable options, and all eyes
are very much on what he decides to do next.
We understand that he has no intention of leaving before 2027 when his term is up, despite the growing calls from the opposition. And those, really the
two options laid out to him, very difficult to see from here, which might be peripheral to him, that he's kind of out of any good options, and has
been for some time, Christina.
MACFARLANE: All right. Well, we will wait for the outcome of that vote expected, I believe, in the next hour or so. Melissa, for now thank you
very much. Now, the woman convicted of poisoning her relatives learns her fate, after the break. What happens next?
The Australian woman known as the mushroom murderer. And years after being reported missing, three New Zealand children are found safe. Details of the
shootout that led police to them, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
MACFARLANE: The Trump Administration says it's ready to launch a series of major immigration raids in big American cities, including Chicago. There
were large protests against Trump's migrant crackdown in Chicago over the weekend. Trump's border czar says the action will target so called
sanctuary cities, which have refused to cooperate with federal immigration officers thus far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: You can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country. President Trump's prioritized sanctuary cities
because sanctuary cities knowingly release illegal alien public safety threats to the streets every day. That's where the problem is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well Trump says the decision about whether to send National Guard troops into Chicago will come in the next couple of days. He posted
on social media that Chicago is about to find quote, find out quote, why it is called the Department of War. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is tracking the
story for us.
And Priscilla, as I said, the decision will come, says Donald Trump in the next day or two. What is that decision likely to spell for these sanctuary
cities, after Trump signaled these raids are about to surge?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, this has been a bit of a moving target, but my sources tell me that internally, the administration
has been privately discussing targeting Chicago and Boston, which have sanctuary policies, again, policies that limit cooperation between police
departments and federal immigration authorities now for weeks.
And as far as what it looks like, it really is a stepped-up federal presence in these cities. We've already seen immigration arrests ongoing,
both in Chicago and in Boston earlier this year, for example, White House Border Czar Tom Homan was in Chicago for some of those actions.
And in Boston, there were major operations that took place as well over the course of the summer. But when we talk about an increased federal presence,
that means multiple agencies and what the administration has sometimes called expanded immigration operations.
So, you see more of them as they carry out these arrests, similar to what happened in Los Angeles. In fact, when I talk to my sources as to what, for
example, Chicago could look like, they call it the Los Angeles playbook, which again was multiple federal authorities arresting undocumented
immigrants in that city.
Now there was also a National Guard presence in Los Angeles, which the administration said had been deployed because of immigration protests. Now,
ever since then, there's been lawsuits and a court has said that the administration had overreached in putting the National Guard in Los
Angeles.
So, we'll see how that plays into their planning for both Chicago and Boston. But for now, they certainly feel as though they have the authority
to do this type of enforcement as far as it relates to immigration, and of course, that is part of the president's campaign pledge.
It's part of his promise as the president is to carry out a million deportations within a year. They are far short of that, but it is these
types of operations where they are trying to arrest more undocumented immigrants and therefore deport them. Now, Democratic officials have been
pushing back on this.
The Illinois Governor, who is a Democrat, called it, quote, not normal, in regards to the president saying that Chicago was going to learn why the
Department of War was called such. But currently, this, again, is an operation, at least for Chicago, that is still being planned.
I'm being told that over the weekend, discussions picked up pace, and they want to move forward with something sooner. So, we'll keep eyes on that.
But again, as a reminder to viewers, these immigration arrests have been happening. The big difference when the administration puts a highlight on
these cities is that there are more federal authorities carrying out that immigration enforcement work.
MACFARLANE: All right. Well, we of course, continue to keep a close line up. Priscilla Alvarez for now, thank you. The Australian woman who poisoned
three relatives with death cap mushrooms has learned her fate. She'll serve three life sentences without the possibility of parole for at least 33
years. Seven Network's Estelle Griepink has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ESTELLE GRIEPINK, SEVEN NETWORK REPORTER: Well, it's been a remarkable day here at the Victorian Supreme Court, where triple murderer Erin Patterson
has just been sentenced to life behind bars. Interestingly, though, the mother of two was given a non-parole period of 33 years.
[11:20:00]
That means she does have the chance to exit custody early, but by then, she'll be 81 years old. Now this has all occurred after Erin Patterson was
found guilty of murdering three family members and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them individually made beef wellingtons that were laced
with death cap mushrooms.
Throughout her 10-week trial, she had said that she was innocent, but the jury saw through her lies. Now, for a Victorian first, the Supreme Court
actually allowed us to broadcast the sentence live. Let's take a listen now to what Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale said in those sentencing
remarks.
CHRISTOPHER BEALE, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: For the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, I've sentenced you to 25 years imprisonment, for the murder of
Heather Wilkinson, I sentence you to life imprisonment, for the murder of Gail Patterson, I sentence you to life imprisonment, for the murder of Don
Patterson, I sentence you to life imprisonment.
GRIEPINK: Now today's sentence was attended by the fatal lunch's sole survivor pastor Ian Wilkinson. He lost his beloved wife Heather, and also
his brother and sister-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, who he counted as his closest friends. During the pre-sentence hearing, he said that he
actually forgave Erin Patterson, and he wanted her to become a victim of his kindness.
And today he spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court, really for the first time, to the media, and there, he spoke about the importance of kindness as
well.
IAN WILKINSON, SOLE SURVIVOR: We're grateful for their skills that brought this truth to light. And I'm also very grateful for the kindness and
compassion they showed us, me and my family throughout the long process that has brought us to this day.
GRIEPINK: Now, it remains to be seen whether or not Erin Patterson would choose to appeal her sentence or her conviction or both. She now has 28
days to do so. What's for sure, though, is the mushroom murderer has become an extremely notorious figure here in Australia and it's unlikely that
she'll be able to move from her maximum-security prison cell for many years to come because of all this unprecedented attention on her and her crimes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now, three New Zealand children who have been missing since 2021 are now safe. This after their fugitive father was killed in a
shootout with police. One of the three kids was with the father. The other two were found in a remote camp site in the woods of New Zealand's rugged
West Coast. Marc Stewart has the details.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a story that has captured the attention of people in New Zealand for years. A big point of focus in this
investigation has been the children, believed to be ages 9, 10, and 12. One of the girls was found earlier.
The remaining boy and girl were found in what's described by an official as a remote campsite with dense brush. There was a sense of urgency in the
sense the temperatures overnight in this part of New Zealand get very cold. Let's listen to a local official.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL ROGERS, NZ POLICE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: I can confirm that the children are well and uninjured, and they will be taken to a location this evening
for medical checks. They were by themselves. I can also confirm that the scene where the children were located will be guarded overnight, and a full
forensic examination will form part of our investigative work in the days to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEWART: This latest chapter in the saga began to unfold overnight Monday, when someone reported a break in at a farm goods store, an ATV a four-
wheeler was spotted. Police gave chase. They put some spikes on the road to stop it. That's when a man believed to be Thomas Phillips shot at an
officer at close range with a high-powered rifle.
Another officer arrived and fired back, wounding and killed the man presumed to be Phillips. This drama of the missing father and his children
had been unfolding since 2021 the children found at the campsite were on their own. Whether anyone else had been helping Tom and the children hide
for all of these years was something police could not rule out. Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
MACFARLANE: Right, still to come, the fallout from the massive raid on an American Hyundai plant, what ICE agents are not doing and what South
Korea's top diplomat is trying to do. Plus, how Donald Trump's takeover of the Washington, D.C. Police has made life even harder for one of the city's
most vulnerable populations, the homeless.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Christina Macfarlane. Here are some of the international headlines we're watching today. At least six
people are dead after a shooting in Jerusalem. Police say two attackers opened fire on people waiting at a bus stop.
Police say the attackers were killed. Israeli authorities say they were identified as residents of the occupied West Bank. President Trump is
hinting at possible sanctions against Russia again, after Moscow launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine this weekend. More than 800 drones
were deployed across the country on Sunday, hitting a government building for the first time.
Ukrainian official says it's a signal that Russia's leader has no intent to negotiate. A chaotic scene in Nepal earlier where protesters surrounded the
parliament building. They were demonstrating against a ban on social media. As the crowds grew, police fired tear gas and water cannons, but retreated
inside, but they eventually opened fire, killing at least 11 people.
More democratic led U.S. cities are bracing and pushing back against Trump's immigration crackdown on so called sanctuary cities. Raids in
Massachusetts over the weekend and the planned action in Chicago come after national guard troops were deployed on mass in Los Angeles in June.
Critics call it a power grab and political theater. South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is traveling to the United States today to prevent any
further diplomatic fallout after last week's massive immigration raid in the State of Georgia. U.S. immigration agents detained nearly 500 people at
the Hyundai plant, most of them were South Korean nationals.
The rate sparked anger in South Korea, which is investing billions in the United States. Washington and Seoul have now reached a deal allowing some
300 of the detained workers to be flown back to South Korea on a chartered flight. President Trump is calling for foreign experts to train U.S.
workers so Americans can do the work themselves.
Some of the migrants who were caught up in that raid spoke to CNN's Gustavo Valdes. And many told him they have valid work permits, but they say ICE
agents ignored their documents.
[11:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Luz Dary Suarez can't hold back her tears.
LUZ DARY SUAREZ, HUSBAND DETAINED BY I.C.E.: It's unexpected. It's very hard.
VALDES (voice-over): Her husband is one of hundreds of workers detained by U.S. immigration authorities last Thursday in a Hyundai plant in Georgia.
SUAREZ: We always try to do things the legal way.
VALDES (voice-over): They arrived in the U.S. more than two years ago after crossing the border. She says they requested asylum. Their application is
still pending, and that they have social security numbers and work permits.
SUAREZ: We paid our taxes last February.
VALDES (voice-over): When she heard about the raid, she reached out to her husband.
SUAREZ: He told me, I have papers and nothing to worry about.
VALDES (voice-over): Yet, she says I.C.E. agents ignored her husband's documents. Santiago's wife has a similar story.
SANTIAGO, WIFE DETAINED BY I.C.E.: She said that when she showed her documents, the agent ignored them and marked her as having none.
VALDES (voice-over): Mauricio doesn't want to show his face out of fear for retaliation from immigration authorities. He also says his wife had a valid
work permit.
MAURICIO, WIFE DETAINED BY I.C.E.: We have them.
VALDES: Valid?
MAURICIO: Yes, for five years. She said, well, they arrived, ran over towards the people, and didn't accept any documents, regardless of what
they presented. They verified, but said that nothing was valid, that they'll all be arrested.
VALDES (voice-over): Both men claim to have worked in the same plant hired by a subcontractor of the plant's owners. They say the hiring process is
thorough, but now all three are looking to have their loved one's documents verified by authorities and allowed back home with their families. CNN has
reached out to U.S. immigration and custom enforcement for comment.
VALDES: How are your kids?
MAURICIO: Very sad. They miss her a lot. Where is mom? They don't always ask, but I can tell they're wondering.
SANTIAGO: We make a living from our work and to go to work, to be chased as if I'm a criminal. It can't be that way.
VALDES (voice-over): Luz Dary says she struggles to avoid causing trauma to their five-year-old daughter, as she explains why her father hasn't been
home.
VALDES: She doesn't know.
SUAREZ: No, she thinks her father is away on a trip.
VALDES: Haven't been able to tell her.
SUAREZ: No, she's very sensitive. It's very hard.
VALDES (voice-over): Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, in the weeks since Donald Trump's law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., there has been a major crackdown on homeless people in
the city. At least 50 homeless encampments have been cleared, forcing the people who have been living there into drastic measures as they attempt to
evade law enforcement.
CNN's Brian Todd visited with some of the D.C. homeless. Joins us now live. And Brian, I mean, many of these homers were facing terrible situations
there on the street. The question is, where have they been cleared to? Where are they expected to go?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, they're going everywhere they can go in order to get away from law enforcement. As you mentioned,
this is a crackdown that Donald Trump ordered on August 7th, and it's been going on for more than a month now, and part of that crackdown on crime was
it involved in clearing homeless encampments.
And the Trump Administration and police forces in the city have cleared at least 50 homeless encampments. That has really prompted homeless people to
take some extraordinary measures. And we talked to homeless people and their advocates in Washington about some of the measures that they've taken
to try to evade law enforcement.
We should point out, they're not breaking any laws by being homeless, but because of these sweeps, they really feel like they've got to do some
things to evade law enforcement, things like sleeping in wooded areas. Some of them go to libraries in order to blend in with people there, and then
they leave the libraries.
A lot of them hop on and off of busses at night to ride the busses and then get off of them. You know, they just to stay on the move. One other tactic
that we've observed, and we were actually allowed to tag along with one of the homeless people who did this. His name was Jeff Padgett.
What he does and what some of the others do. They hike across the bridges to across the Potomac River to the Virginia side of the river, and then
they take shelter in those areas. We tagged along with Jeff one day when he took his two chihuahuas with him across the Potomac River, across a bridge
to hide and sleep in a wooded area. When we got to the other side in Virginia, he talked to us about why he feels he has to do that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF PADGETT, HOMELESS RESIDENT OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: Because I don't be harassed or locked up or given it's crazy, given an automated heat town go
to jail or going to a psych ward. I'm not committing any crimes. I'm not cuckoo for Cocoa Pops, all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: So, Jeff and a lot of people like him having to do things like that just to get away from law enforcement. Now the Trump Administration, early
on, said that it would provide shelter and addiction and mental health counseling for the homeless during this law enforcement surge, but about a
month into it, there has been no help like that coming from the Trump Administration, according to the homeless advocates who we spoke to, that's
from the federal government.
[11:35:00]
Now the D.C. government, we should say, has scrambled to provide some of those resources. They have increased the number of shelter beds in the
city, and they've offered mental health services, as they have before the surge took place, but no help forthcoming from the federal government,
Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, as if life wasn't hard enough for these homeless people. Brian Todd, appreciate, your reporting, thank you. Coming up the European
Union's second largest economy may be on the brink of a full-blown political crisis. Ahead, why the French Prime Minister is expected to be
ousted in a confidence vote that he called.
Plus, how Donald Trump may accidentally be helping the progressive who wants to be New York's next mayor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: French Prime Minister is calling it a moment of truth, after his government teeters on the edge of collapse and his country braces for
deepening political turmoil. Lawmakers are currently making speeches, but after that, Francois Bayrou will face a vote of confidence that he
unexpectedly called for over his controversial austerity plans.
Bayrou says the budget is a matter of national survival coming at a time when France must get a grip on its spiraling debt. If he loses the vote a
weakened President Emmanuel Macron will be searching for his fifth prime minister in less than two years. Lionel Laurent is an Opinion Columnist at
Bloomberg, and he joins me now live in Paris.
Thank you for your time. Now, it was always unlikely, wasn't it, that Mr. Bayrou would convince France to vote for such a drastic budget, but further
political paralysis this time doing nothing on the economy feels like a dangerous game. Bayrou says France could face a Greek style debt crisis if
it doesn't urgently rectify its debt.
So, give us the big picture here. How bad is France's state of affairs economically, and how bad could this get?
LIONEL LAURENT, BLOOMBERG OPINION COLUMNIST: So, I think Bayrou is obviously talking his book when he talks about a Greek style crisis, but I
think, as you say, that the game is up for him, the idea of a Greek style crisis, I think this is, frankly, an exaggeration, but clearly the
situation is not good.
France is very good at spending its way out of crises, but not very good at cutting back when the crisis has passed. We've now got a debt pile that is
well over 100 percent of GDP, a very wide deficit of around 6 percent of GDP.
[11:40:00]
So, this has to come down. The fact you call this austerity, I think this points to France's problem. We are just not used to these kinds of
measures. So, when comes out and says, we need to tighten the belts and get 44 billion euros of savings out of the budget, this is not something French
voters are used to.
So that's part of the reason why is -- There's also complexity right now. There is not much of a sense of crisis, not much of a sense of panic. And
so, I think there is a bit more, I think, boldness from politicians who are now hungry to turf up by all.
MACFARLANE: You say, there's not much of a panic about this crisis, but France's debt to GDP ratio is now, I think, the third highest in Europe,
only better, really, than Greece and Italy. You mentioned overspending just then. I mean, how did France get to this point? Is it all to do with
overspending and borrowing?
LAURENT: Well, there. I mean, this is something that's happened around the world, right? We've seen the impact of COVID-19. We've seen the impact of
the Ukraine war. There is something else, though, which is pensions, a very, very sensitive topic in France. It is the -- essentially the first
expense, the big slice of the budget.
And that is why there is such a sensitive debate happening right now, because Bayrou is among those saying France needs to get more people back
to work, and it needs to stop really favoring pensioners so much in the budgets. Pensioners have a higher standard of living on average than people
in work.
And this is, again, the kind of discussion, the kind of rhetoric that France has a real tough time with its seen as very controversial, and it's
why Bayrou presents himself as the politician who is speaking the truth to the French public, a truth that nobody wants to hear. So, it's a
combination of various factors, but we don't quite want to face up to it yet.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and Macron, of course, is at this point, really a lame duck president, and the only way he's been able to do anything in recent
months is through presidential powers, which, of course, have brought him to this predicament in the first place. What if anything can he do to get
out of this quagmire at this moment?
LAURENT: So, I think, Mac calls a really will be to ride out the last 1.5 years, two years of his second term without causing an even bigger crisis
or an early resignation. So, I think his first task will be find a replacement for Bayrou who can somehow cobble together a similar majority
that exists today with more concessions to the left.
What I worry about is longer term, more pressure, because the underlying fragmentation of parliament is going to still be there, and the
vulnerability to outside shocks means that we could get different crises and worse crises. So, the risk of an election is not gone. It could come.
And we're going to have a big week this week, with protests expected and a potential credit downgrade as well from the rating agencies at the end of
this week. So, I am concerned that in the short term, this is manageable, but in the longer term, it's quite negative, quite corrosive.
MACFARLANE: The National rally is calling for new parliamentary elections, which, you know, expecting, of course, they're going to gain more seats,
but when it comes to reckoning with the economy, have the far right given any indication as to how they might reform the country's finances offered
any sort of plan?
LAURENT: So, there are plans. Bayrou kind of summed it up in his speech. He said that, right now there's a lot of political parties fighting for
voter's influence, and they all seem to have a scapegoat in mind. The far right sees immigrants as the scapegoat and sees the state as far too
generous to immigrants.
The far left sees the rich as the problem. So, if you tax the rich, then the non-deficit problems will just kind of go away. And others see Europe
as the problem, so that the issue now is really trying to get some kind of consensus as to what the problem really is. And he sorts of hinted at it,
which is that the older you are in France.
And the -- if you're a pensioner and the part of the boomer generation, there is a sense that you are the privileged ones. And that is the thing
that the center parties, including Bayrou, really struggled to kind of get across. How do you have a debate in France where the real issues are fun of
quite structural. They are demographic, for example. How do you have this kind of debate?
It is very tough, but ultimately, Bayrou is kind of right that the easy solutions proposed by the far right and the far left are a little too
magical, little too simplistic to target immigrants on the far right and the rich on the far left.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. Well, we will wait to see if anyone is listening to Bayrou as that vote comes up in the next hour or two, for now, though.
Lionel Laurent, we appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.
[11:45:00]
Now Donald Trump is trying to figure out how to prevent New York from electing a Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the front runner in
the New York race, campaigned over the weekend with the country's most prominent Democratic Socialist Senator, Bernie Sanders.
Trump's allies have spoken about finding ways to steer the current Mayor Eric Adams and other candidates out of the race, as they apparently believe
the best chance to beat Mamdani is a one-on-one contest with Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani seems to be embracing all the attention
he's getting from Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: It's been a lot of noise these last few weeks, and we've seen that this is the specialty of Donald Trump
and his puppets. A lot of noise, few results, and all of it distracts from the fact that one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty in this city.
We have a vision to actually help New Yorkers afford their city. And Donald Trump has a vision to try and rip apart the very fabric of the city. Let's
cut out the middleman. Why should I debate Donald Trump's puppet when I could debate Donald Trump himself? If Donald Trump is serious about this,
he should come to New York City.
We can have as many debates as he wants about why he is cutting SNAP benefits for hungry New Yorkers just to fund tax cuts for his billionaire
donors?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Our Gloria Pazmino has been tracking the race. She joins us now, and Gloria we know Donald Trump has been leaning into this race. Well,
Mamdani seems to be savoring the moment. But the question is, is he on the right track to win?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. And while this is a race for New York City Mayor, President Trump has been very much a large
part and has had a large looming presence over this campaign in the past few months. Now, the Trump involvement that we have been reporting on over
the last several days could perhaps backfire.
You know, this is a city that, perhaps despite being the president's hometown, Trump is still deeply unpopular here in New York City, and his
apparent involvement in this race is likely to anger some Democrats, potentially encourage people to support Zohran Mamdani, which is Why you
see him there, kind of talking about Cuomo, the Former Governor of New York, being a proxy for Trump.
He is saying that Trump wants to be involved in this race, wants to control the outcome of the race, and that's why he is trying to help improve
Cuomo's chances. Our reporting last week showed that he would try to do this by offering the current mayor, Mayor Eric Adams, the incumbent who is
also running for re-election a job in his administration in order to get him out of the race and make this a two-person contest.
But all of this has Mamdani saying to his supporters, this is more reason to support me. And so far, it looks like he is getting a lot of that
support. Take a listen to this latest video from his campaign talking about how much money they have raised.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAMDANI: What? Well, folks, you've done it again. We can't take any more of your money. Truly, you need to stop. Thanks to you, we've raised the
maximum amount of money we can spend to this race, $8 million. So that means we got it in the bag, right? Wrong. Do you think Bill Ackman is going
to sit back and let us walk into City Hall?
No, he's going to write a very long tweet and then cut an even bigger check to one of our opponents. So, get ready to see a lot more scary videos of
this face on your TV. So, we are once again asking not for your dollars, but your time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: And that Mamdani has gotten so much prominence, and why he became so popular so quickly was because of videos like the one you just saw
there, really asking supporters not to give their money, but their time, essentially to go out and volunteer for him and help more people support
him.
Now, the reason why Mamdani is so controversial here in New York City and really throughout the United States right now is because he identifies as a
Democratic socialist, and as you might know, the word socialist here in the United States of America, and certainly here in New York City, is scary for
a lot of people.
And he certainly has New York City's power brokers, the real estate industry, the wealthy, worried about his potential election, and that is
why you see the president trying to see if there's a way that he can get involved to potentially help the outcome of the race.
Now, Andrew Cuomo has said that he is not looking for the president's support, not and -- that he has not asked for the president's support, but
we have heard President Trump very clearly say he believes that this race can only be won if it's a two-person race, Christina.
MACFARLANE: It's fascinating to follow, isn't it? Gloria Pazmino, appreciate it for now, thank you. And we'll be back with more after this
quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
MACFARLANE: Donald Trump and his family operate a company with diverse interests ranging from real estate to tequila, but now they're earning big
bucks with cryptocurrency. U.S. President and his sons, along with a few others, founded the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial last
year.
And since then, legislation passed under the Trump Administration has helped the family rake in its crypto dollars. Now is it a conflict of
interest? CNN's Nick Watt has been taking a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trump family amasses $5 billion fortune after crypto launch. Read the "Wall Street Journal" headline.
Crypto is likely now the Trump family's primary business interest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is the crypto president --
WATT (voice-over): A Fox Business host, usually a Donald Trump apologist. Explained it like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crypto friendly legislation coming from the President of the United States, who is, in turn, cashing in on the crypto
phase. Personally, his family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Conflict of interest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say no, but that's how it appears.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That sounds --
WATT (voice-over): Back in 2021, Trump was not a crypto guy.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam.
WATT (voice-over): Then he changed his mind.
TRUMP: -- I'm laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet.
WATT (voice-over): On the eve of his inauguration, the Trumps launched two meme coins, Trump and Melania. In May, the biggest Trump coin buyers were
rewarded dinner with the president. In June, Trump declared $57 million in earnings from so called token sales digital assets.
That's some of the cashing in the Fox Business guy was talking about now that legislation slash regulation. Week one in office, Trump signed a
crypto focused executive order that, among other things, called for a reevaluation of regulations.
TRUMP: We're going to make a lot of money for the country.
WATT (voice-over): The Crypto weary Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission had already been eased out.
J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We reject regulators, and we fired Gary Gensler, and we're going to fire everybody like him.
WATT (voice-over): The SEC soon dropped cases against a handful of major crypto trading platforms. This summer, Trump signed the genius act designed
to make crypto trading safer, which increases public confidence, which makes it more valuable. Meanwhile, Trump, media owner of the flagging Truth
Social, is pivoting into more crypto trading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our family loves you --
[11:55:00]
WATT (voice-over): This week, Eric Trump was in Asia promoting American Bitcoin, a company he founded. He and his brother reportedly hold a stake
worth north of a billion bucks. Finally, the backstory to that journal, $5 billion headline. Last year, Trump and sons and others founded World
Liberty Financial.
This week, it launched a digital currency onto the market, landing the Trumps that $5 billion on paper.
WATT (on camera): President Trump, since he retook office, is listed as a co-founder emeritus at World Liberty Financial. And the White House Press
Secretary told CNN about all this, neither the president nor his family have ever engaged or will ever engage in conflicts of interest. Back to
you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: That's Nick Watt there. And that is it for us for now. Stay with CNN. Bianna Golodryga has more on "One World" after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
