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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Suggests Regulators Could Pull License of Broadcast Networks that Criticize Him; Trump Escalates Attacks on Broadcast Critics; Trump and Xi Jinping Wrap Up Call; Hamas Warns Israeli Offensive Ends Hope for Hostage Return; Italy's Dark Past Offers Cautionary Tale to U.S.; Winners Announced for Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 19, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right, late night hosts unite behind Jimmy Kimmel. "One World" starts right now. The rallying comes on the heels of
Donald Trump threatening more networks if they broadcast negative coverage of him. Plus, President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping,
discussed the future of TikTok and trade between the world powers today.
And they go bananas over a pint. We take a look at new reset on wild chimpanzees and their love for fermented fruit. Live from New York. I'm
Zain Asher. My colleague Bianna, is off today. You are watching "One World". We'll begin today with a growing firestorm over free speech in the
United States.
On Thursday, as he was flying on Air Force One, Donald Trump told reporters that federal regulators should consider shutting down. TV broadcasters who
say anything negative about the president. It was an alarming escalation of the Trump Administration's attacks on his critics.
It comes in the wake of ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show after the comedian made controversial comments about the shooting of
Charlie Kirk. A source tell CNN ABC hopes to bring back Kimmel at some point, but that he has to take down the temperature of his rhetoric and
monologs.
ABC suspended Kimmel show after the Head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, said he was considering action against the
network if it did not punish Kimmel. Carr is now warning that he isn't done going after Trump's critics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN CARR, CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION: Our goal and our obligation here is to make sure that broadcasters are serving the
public interest. And if there's local TV stations that don't think that running that programming, does it, then they have every right under the law
in their contracts to preempt it, and we'll see how this plays out.
But I do think that again, we are in the midst of a massive shift in dynamics in the media ecosystem for lots of reasons, again, including the
permission structure that President Trump's election has provided in -- I would simply say we're not done yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Let's bring our Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein with more on the late-night controversy. And so, when you think about what President
Trump said yesterday, he said these networks, you know, and all they do is bash Trump. All they do is bash Trump.
Maybe they should have their licenses revoked. And then obviously you had the FCC Chair Brendan Carr, essentially saying that we are not done yet,
after Kimmel, and obviously before that Colbert. Are we likely to see this sort of thing continue? Will there be more heads roll here?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: There are certainly the hope and expectation inside the Trump Administration that this will continue,
but it's really marked a dramatic shift. In the early days of President Trump's second term, we saw him sign an executive order that was aimed at
restoring free speech and banning government censorship.
Since then and since the assassination of the Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk, there has been an escalation by the Trump Administration to clamp
down on criticism of President Trump. And we saw this as the president issued an executive order that he says is aimed at designating certain
groups as domestic terrorism organizations.
The Department of Defense is also taking steps to monitor service members' social media accounts for their reaction to Kirk's death. And we are also
seeing efforts to potentially target the tax-exempt status of some left leaning organizations. Now the White House says that this is an effort to
stop what they say is a coordinated left-wing effort to incite violence.
But critics of this White House say that they are trying to silence dissent. Now we saw as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ramped up pressure on ABC,
ultimately leading to ABC's decision to suspend the late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
[11:05:00]
President Trump celebrating that decision yesterday, but he also took it a step forward, as the president warned that regulators should consider
taking away broadcaster's licenses if they criticize him. I want you to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I read someplace that the networks were 97 percent against me. I got 97 percent negative,
and yet I won and easily won all seven spring states. Popular one, everything I mean, they're getting a license. I would think maybe their
license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: So, the president spelling out very clearly there that networks are at risk of losing their licenses if they do not air conservative views. And
Carr, for his part, says that the FCC is not done yet, and appearing to indicate that their next target could be the daytime talk show the view,
Zain.
ASHER: Right. Betsy Klein, live for us at the White House. Thank you so much. Right, Jimmy Kimmel has not yet commented on his suspension from ABC,
but fellow late night talk show hosts are defending free speech and showing their support for Kimmel. Here's how "The Late Show" Host Stephen Colbert
responded in his Thursday night monolog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST OF "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": It is so bizarre to see an American President weighing in so vehemently on TV shows.
It reminds me when Reagan said this.
RONALD REAGAN, 40TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Mr. Gorbachev, cancel the Golden Girls.
COLBERT: This whole thing. This whole thing is the latest and boldest action in a long campaign against media critics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Jon Stewart, who normally hosts "The Daily Show" on Mondays, made a special Thursday night appearance to speak about free speech and Kimmel.
Take a listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST OF "THE DAILY SHOW": Now some naysayers may argue that this administration speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel
of a ruse, a smoke screen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation principle less and coldly antithetical to
any experiment in a constitutional republic governance. Some people would say that. Not me, though I think it's great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Trump has celebrated Kimmel suspension on social media, and he's even suggested that NBC should get rid of its late night to comedy hosts
Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers as well. Here's part of fans take on free speech in his "Tonight Show", monolog from Thursday's show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST OF "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Yeah, a lot of people are worried that we won't keep saying what we want to say, or that will be censored,
but I'm going to cover the president's trip to the UK, just like I normally would. Well, guys, President Trump just wrapped up his three-day trip to
the UK, and he looked incredibly handsome.
As always, his tie was exactly the right way, and his face looked like a color that exists in nature.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: It isn't just fellow comedians who are speaking out in support of Jimmy Kimmel. There are rallies planned today in both New York and L.A. by
people demanding that Kimmel be put back on the air. Members of the Writers Guild of America plan to gather outside ABC's New York offices.
As we mentioned, the source says that ABC wants him to come back, but that he has to take down the temperature. In addition, there are reports that
workers on Kimmel show were getting death threats, and ABC felt suspending the show needed to be done for the safety of its employees.
One wrinkle in all of this is ABC's relationship with two of the largest owners of local TV stations who happen to be very sympathetic to Donald
Trump's message. For more on all of this, let's bring in CNN's Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter. So, Brian, good to see you.
So, you know, obviously Jimmy Fallon was joking there, but you know, it is a concern for a lot of people, this idea that as a result of what we've
seen with Colbert and also, you know Jimmy Kimmel as well, this idea that perhaps late-night comedians will feel as though they're not free enough to
say what they think as they make jokes during their shows. Just walk us through the perspective that you have on that.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, this moment is a big free speech stress test for the United States. And you know, it's happening in
many different ways. We've talked about the universities and the law firms and other targets of the president's retribution, Smithsonian museums, et
cetera, et cetera.
Now, when it comes to late night comedians, they are in some ways, especially vulnerable. Even though they're big, famous stars, they get paid
millions of dollars, they have these national platforms, but they're actually pretty vulnerable, because the parent companies have to worry
about station licenses, and the parent companies have lots of other business interests before the government.
[11:10:00]
Disney, for example, Kimmel's employer is trying to get an acquisition through the government, through the Trump Administration, to buy up a
sports streaming service. And so right now, we are seeing this real tug of war between free speech interests and business interests, and right now,
the business interests are winning.
I think that's probably what Kimmel would say, by the way, if he could get back on the air, but we don't know if he will be back on the air. We know
there was a meeting between Kimmel and Disney's executives yesterday, but it ended without any resolution.
Meantime, it is striking to see all these late-night stars showing solidarity with Kimmel, including a long-time late-night face who is in
semi-retirement now, David Letterman. Here's what he had to say yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, COMEDIAN & FORMER LATE-NIGHT HOST: In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship. Sooner or later,
everyone is going to be touched. But this is me for 30 years. I did this for a living. We all see where this is going, correct.
It's Managed Media, and it's no good. It's silly. It's ridiculous, and you can't go around firing somebody because you're fearful or trying to suck up
to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That's just not how this works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: A couple notable points there. First, he talks about managed media. It's an interesting phrase. You know, it's very much counter to what
Americans are accustomed to. The media in the U.S. is anything. It's many things, but it's certainly not managed. President Trump is trying to put
his thumb on the media.
He's trying to cause self-censorship. He doesn't actually have a lot of power to take away licenses. If he were to try to do that, if his FCC
Chairman Brendan Carr were to try to revoke licenses, it would become a lengthy, time-consuming legal battle, it would take years, I'm told,
according to lawyers familiar with the process and this hasn't actually been attempted in decades.
So, let's say that that's not actually practical. What Trump and Carr can do, and they are doing is something known as jaw boning. They're using
their bully pulpits to pressure media companies into self-censorship and into media capitulation. And that's where I think Letterman's use of the
term authoritarian is really striking.
We have seen this behavior before in other countries. We've talked about the Hungary model, the Turkey model. There are many examples of other
countries losing independent media outlets, seeing journalists muzzled, entertainers taken off the air. It just has not happened in the U.S.
This might be a moment where it's starting to happen, and that's why we're seeing those protests spring up that you just mentioned.
ASHER: Yeah, and what I think is really interesting is that Jimmy Kimmel, just in terms of how he might get back on the air.
STELTER: Yeah.
ASHER: Disney, has come out and said, you know, he there is a path for him to come back on the air, but he would have to take down the temperature.
Now that might not be censorship per se, but it is this idea of what Letterman was talking about, this idea of managed, controlled media as
well.
STELTER: Yeah, I also worry about the notion, and it's in our colleague, Elizabeth Wagmeister, is reporting that ABC was concerned about threats
being made to employees. Now I understand that, that makes a lot of sense. Media companies worry constantly about security, even more so in the wake
of the Kirk assassination last week in Utah.
But the notion that death threats or other hate mails coming into Disney, and as a result, Disney says, well, that's one of the reasons why we should
take the show off the air. That's exactly what the people writing those threats want. That's exactly what those attackers want, you know.
And so again, that's something we've seen as part of a playbook in countries that are less democratic and more autocratic. The idea of the mob
coming after media companies, the government using its power to crack down, this is something we are not accustomed to in the U.S., and that's why this
week, I think, has been a real wake up call for many Americans about what's at stake right now.
ASHER: Right, Brian Stelter, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Right, one final note on all of this, if you think the Trump
Administration targeting a late-night comedian comes out of the blue, provide you with a little historical context. It comes from three years
ago, when comedian Jon Stewart was being awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Stewart's acceptance speech provided many laughs, but also included a warning that has proven to be very prophetic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: The threat to comedy. Comedy doesn't change the world, but it's bellwether. We're the banana peel in the coal mine when a society is under
threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first. It's just a reminder to people that democracy is under threat. Authoritarians are the
threat to comedy, to art, to music to thought, to poetry, to progress, to all those things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
ASHER: Right, moments ago, a much-anticipated call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping just wrapped up. CNN's Steven
Jiang has the latest. Just walk us through, Stephen, what the two leaders discussed and what came out of this call, especially as it pertains to
TikTok and obviously trade.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Zain, the Chinese government just released a relatively brief readout after this phone call. And I was
just going over it. There was nothing really surprising with them describing this phone conversation as in depth and candid, and saying the
two leaders, this phone call was really pragmatic, positive and constructive.
Now, Xi did mention TikTok and reiterating the Chinese government's long- standing position, saying the Chinese side is really willing to respect the company's will and happy to see the two sides reach some sort of conclusion
and resolution based on Chinese laws and regulations as well as market rules.
But again, there are no details in the Chinese readout, even though there has been a lot of expectations if there is going to be a new U.S. entity
found out from the Chinese parent company, with American investors holding a majority 80 percent of this new entity, while the Chinese parent company
is also going to license the all-powerful AI algorithm to this new U.S. entity, but that is not mentioned in the readout.
Now Xi did have this rather subtle warning to the U.S., if you will, urging the U.S. not to take any unilateral actions that could harm the results
from the most recent rounds of trade talks between the two governments. What's interesting, though, is perhaps what's not set in this readout,
there's no mention of Chinese commitments to buying more American goods and services, for example, American soybeans or Boeing jets.
There's also no mention of Chinese response to, presumably, Trump's ask of the Beijing government to do something about the resumption of their export
licensing procedures of those critical rare earth minerals and mandates, which, of course, according to the American officials, have been very slow
since the previous agreement.
But what is worth noting, Zain, is Xi apparently specifically mentioned to Trump, how China really appreciated America's help during the Second World
War, specifically saying the two countries were allies during that war.
[11:20:00]
And even saying how they invited families of members of an American mercenary pilot groups that helped China fight against Japan during the
Second World War, because, remember, Trump was live tweeting that Chinese military parade just a few weeks ago, airing his grievances and saying the
Chinese, in his view, forgot to thank the American contributions.
And even at one point suggesting Xi Jinping was colluding with the Russian leader and North Korean leader who were present at the parade to conspire
against Americans. So that obviously was noticed by the Chinese, and they seem to be taking that fairly seriously, and also a sign of how much they
have learned in terms of how to address Mr. Trump's personal grievances and complaints and in terms of how to deal with this personality in this kind
of leader-to-leader conversations.
But again, there is no clarity on any details in terms of the TikTok deal. Also, no clarity on the next steps in terms of concrete deals between the
two sides. Also, we don't know if the two leaders are going to meet, as many people have been predicting or expecting before this phone call,
either as a Trump visit to China or on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea.
But this kind of phone calls tend to be, as the Chinese put it, in their readout set the strategic direction for the next phase of the relationship.
So, a lot of details need to be hammered out by lower-level officials, which, of course, they have time to do.
But for the time being, it seems a comprehensive trade deal between the two governments still quite elusive, which what's more likely, according to
many analysts, perhaps, is some of these ad hoc deliverables to be hashed out by lower-level officials in the coming weeks and months, Zain.
ASHER: Right, Steven Jiang live for us. Thank you. Right, let's bring in Scott Kennedy. He's a Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies. He's also the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at CSIS as well. He joins us live now.
Scott, thank you so much for being with us. As our reporter on the ground there just mentioned nothing concrete came out of this phone call. At least
we don't know necessarily, of anything concrete just yet, but our reporter did mention that China did warn the United States not to take any more
restrictive trade measures, which sort of sounds like a warning, maybe even a threat.
Just walk us through in this relationship as it pertains to tariffs, as it pertains to trade. Who does have the upper hand here?
SCOTT KENNEDY, SENIOR ADVISER AT THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I think right now, the Chinese have the upper hand in the
relationship. We are not in a negotiation about whether or not China is going to reform its economy, constrain industrial policy, reduce its
overall exports, address our economic security concerns.
We're talking about relatively small issues on purchases of soybeans, potentially planes, the TikTok deal and other things. This is exactly where
the Chinese want the conversation to be, because it means they get to keep their economic political model without really facing much pressure.
And they think that they really figured out, you know, how to use the appropriate carrots and sticks to manage Trump and also avoid being
isolated from potential, you know, American allies that might line up with the U.S.
ASHER: How likely is it that we will see some kind of leadership somewhere between these two men before the end of the year and what will meeting in
person achieve that perhaps a phone call simply cannot.
KENNEDY: Yeah. I still think the chances are pretty darn high that they will meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Korea at the end of
October, or perhaps President Trump, if they make more progress on a lot of these issues, traveling to Beijing just before or just after that, and Xi
Jinping hosting him.
Those in person meetings are really invaluable. They really let you know exactly where the relationship stands overall, and it's a huge signal to
both governments bureaucracies about what their priorities should be, as well as signals to business about what opportunities and risks they face,
and that doesn't come through fully in any kind of phone call or meetings from lower-level officials.
ASHER: And just in terms of how this relationship has evolved over the past, I guess, six or seven months or so, we saw the rhetoric really heat
up back in April, of course, April 2nd Liberation Day, and around that and the threats to China and the escalating triple digit tariffs that we saw on
both sides, but then we seem to be in a period of calm, of somewhat of a detente. But how fragile is that?
KENNEDY: I think you're right. We are in a period of detente and a ceasefire, but it is also quite fragile. I think both sides know that the
other has carrots and sticks. The Chinese using rare earth elements, rare earth magnets, to really squeeze the U.S., both civilian and military
production.
[11:25:00]
And in addition to that, they, you know, have a lot of things that they still can offer. Both sides economies are having challenges. The Chinese
have a massive slowdown in deflation. U.S. Economy looks better on the surface, but underlying potential real weaknesses.
We're not growing very quickly, and both sides really want to meet, but as you suggested, the way the two look at each other still are as rivals. When
the Chinese talk about the U.S. in their media or to other governments, they portray the relationship in quite confrontational terms.
We do the same, and we have real serious differences on economics, economic security on Taiwan. And President Trump has shown himself to be highly
unpredictable. And so, what looks like a measured walk towards a summit meeting where they'll agree to things that looks right now the way it will
be, but soon after, or even before, things could change in a darker direction. So, we still have to be prepared for things not remaining as
pleasant as they seem right now.
ASHER: Right. Scott Kennedy, live for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Still to come, Hamas issues a dire warning about the fate of
hostages as Israel pushes ahead with a ground incursion into Gaza City. Will have a live report you just ahead. Plus, could there be U.S. boots on
the ground in Afghanistan again, the American President hints at behind- the-scenes discussions about Bagram Air Base, that story just ahead as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching today. Donald Trump is
turning up the heat in his battle with late night talk shows, as Trump now suggests that government regulators could suspend the broadcast license of
TV networks that criticize him as well.
[11:30:00]
It comes after Trump's FCC Chair threatened ABC, a move which led the broadcaster to pull Jimmy Kimmel's talk show off the air. Estonia says
three Russian MiG fighter jets like the one in this video have violated the airspace over the Gulf of Finland. The Estonian Foreign Minister says that
Russia has already violated the country's airspace four times this year, but he calls today's incursion brazen.
It comes after Russian drones violated both polish and Romanian airspace just last week. The UK's Foreign Intelligence Service is launching a new
online portal on the dark. Web to encourage new spies to sign up and send its secrets. The Mi-6 platform is called Silent Courier, and the UK says
it's particularly aimed at recruiting spies in Russia.
The Taliban released an elderly British couple who were detained in Afghanistan for months after Qatari mediated a deal. The Reynolds were
arrested at their Bamiyan province home back in February. They had been running a business providing training services for various companies for
nearly two decades.
It's unclear why they were being held, though. And CNN is learning that President Trump was quietly pushing his national security team to get
Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan back from the Taliban. The Taliban took over the base after the chaotic U.S. exit and collapse of the Afghan government.
Trump officials want it back for several reasons, including surveillance on China battling ISIS in the region and access mining and rare earth
minerals. Joining us live now from Washington is National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen. Zachary, what more do we know?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, I think a lot of people did a double take yesterday when President Trump not only offered up
and strongly suggested that his administration is working to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from the Taliban.
But specifically pointed to its strategic proximity to China as the reason why. I want to take a listen to what President Trump said yesterday while
standing next to the UK Ambassador, the UK Prime Minister during a press conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They just went through the Afghanistan total disaster for no reason whatsoever. We're going to leave Afghanistan, but we're going to leave it
with strength and dignity, and we're going to keep Bagram the big air base at one of the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to him for
nothing.
We're trying to get it back, by the way. OK, that could be a little breaking news. We're trying to get it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So, Trump went on to explain that he wants Bagram Air Base back, in part because it is less than an hour from where he alleges China is
producing nuclear weapons now. Afghanistan and Bagram Air Base is about 500 miles, under 500 miles from the Chinese border.
Yet we're learning that these discussions behind the scenes inside the Trump Administration about reclaiming control of Bagram Airport has been
happening for months, dating back to at least March. Source telling me, though, that effort remains, quote, very real at the moment, again,
prompting the president to say what he said yesterday.
Now, at the same time, there's obviously some questions here, because under Donald Trump's own deal that he struck with the Taliban during his first
term in 2020 that mandated the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the country. Of course, the objectives that the Trump Administration is now
saying it wants to accomplish.
Sources telling us that it would require a U.S. military presence on the ground there. So, there's also the question of the Taliban and their level
of engagement remain unclear. If they have engaged with the Trump Administration at all on the issue of Bagram Air Base.
Of course, the complicated factors as well of detained Americans still being held by the Taliban is one of the many challenges that could face the
Trump Administration as it tries to strike a deal to reclaim control of Bagram Air Base.
ASHER: Right, Zachary Cohen live for us there. Thank you. Right, now to the Israel-Hamas war and a stark warning from Hamas about the plight of
hostages. Hamas says Israel's ground assault in Gaza City ends any chance of getting the remaining hostages back. This comes three days into Israel's
announcement that its incursion into the city had begun.
And amid a global outcry and protests within Israel over its government's handling of the war, Palestinians are fleeing south by foot or in cars and
carts loaded with their belongings. But despite its calls for evacuation, the IDF estimates that roughly half of Gaza City residents, 450,000 people
are still in the city.
Meantime, the U.S. has once again vetoed another U.N. Security Council draft resolution calling for an immediate and permanent Gaza ceasefire and
the release of hostages. Joining us live now is CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us live now from Tel Aviv.
I mean, given what Hamas has said, I mean, this idea of what this could mean for the fate of those hostages is every hostage family member's
absolute worst nightmare when you think about the incursion to Gaza City now. What Hamas has said, plus the attack on Doha that we saw a few weeks
ago. Just walk us through what this means for diplomacy, all of these three things together, Jeremy.
[11:35:00]
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, to start on the impact on the ground. I mean, this is really offensive when you
combine both what could happen to the hostages and what could happen to Palestinian civilians on the ground.
There's no doubt that it is likely going to have a very severe human cost, especially in light of the fact that Hamas is now saying that it has
distributed the hostages across different neighborhoods of Gaza City, seemingly using those hostages or attempting to use those hostages as human
shields to slow or stop the Israeli military's advance, or in a worst case scenario, make the Israeli government in some way responsible for the
deaths of those hostages.
And as you said, it does indeed, you know, make bring to the fore, really, the fears that so many of these hostage families have had and which they
have been voicing over the course of the last couple of weeks, almost every single day, raising their voices in protests against this Gaza City
offensive, for ending the war and for negotiations.
And then, of course, on the Palestinian civilian side, you still have hundreds of thousands of civilians, still very much in Gaza City, whom the
Israeli military is urging to evacuate that city. But of course, we know that many of them simply do not have the means or the ability to leave that
city.
And where they are being directed to go are areas that are already overcrowded, under resourced. And certainly, all of that is an enormous
strain on an already desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. And so, where does that leave us in terms of these negotiations, in terms of the
prospects of any kind of diplomatic off ramp.
And frankly, there just aren't a lot of rays of light at this point on that front, especially when we saw the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,
here, talking about this kind of closing window for any kind of diplomatic solution here, as the Israeli military is kind of slowly but decisively
progressing with this offensive in Gaza City.
And as President Trump seems to have basically given the Israeli government a blank cheque to move forward with this Gaza City offensive. Now that
being said, there are clearly some moves happening behind the scenes, in particular, as we saw the Secretary of State, not only here in Israel, but
also then traveling to the Qatari capital of Doha, trying to find a way to reengage the Qataris and their role as mediators.
But once again, there just is not a lot of cause for optimism right now, not a lot of indications that there's any kind of progress in terms of
restarting those diplomatic efforts in the wake of those Israeli strikes in Doha, which are, of course, still very fresh. And so, for now, you know, we
have not yet seen the kind of deliberate and really concerted effort to resume those peace negotiations, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, live for us. Thank you. Right, U.S. and Western intelligence officials say they can't determine whether Russia's
incursion into Polish airspace was accidental or deliberate. Last week, NATO fighter jets were scrambled to shoot down multiple Russian drones that
had crossed into alliance airspace in Poland.
One thing the intelligence officials do agree on Vladimir Putin, the Russian Leader, is getting more aggressive. This comes as Ukraine warns
that Russian troops are closing in on the key City of Kupiansk. Officials say the situation has become critical, and the city's capture would allow
for further Russian advances in Northeastern Ukraine.
All right, still to come, as political differences fuel divisions in America, can lessons be learned from Italy's bloody past? Look back at
Italy's decades of extreme political violence. Plus, going Ape over a drink, scientists are studying what humans closest living relatives, could
teach us about why humans enjoy alcohol.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
ASHER: Right, law enforcement in Arizona is making high level security preparations ahead of Charlie Kirk's memorial on Sunday. President Trump's
top White House officials and political influences are expected to pay tribute to Kirk was shot and killed in an event at Utah Valley University
just last week.
The event has been given what officials call a high-level severity designation, unlocking major federal resources, which could include things
like K-9 detection teams and advanced venue screening. Kirk's organization Turning point USA has announced that his wife Erika will take over as the
organization's next CEO and chair of the board, in accordance with Kirk's wishes.
Addressing a call this week, Erika Kirk said that she plans to carry on her husband's mission exactly as he planned it. Charlie Kirk's Co-Founder
Turning Point USA back in 2012 and transformed it into one of the most influential conservative organizations credited with bringing young people
to Donald Trump's MAGA movement.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has brought strong reactions from both sides of the political aisle, leading some to fear that it could deepen
political divisions here in the U.S., many alive in Italy today still remember the so-called Years of Lead dark period of Italy's history
characterized by extreme political violence. Ben Wedeman has more from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so far, there have been anonymous telephone calls claiming responsibility by both the far-left red brigade and the far-right
armed revolutionary nuclei.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were known as the Italy's Years of Lead. From the late 1960s until the 1980s the
country was convulsed by bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and street clashes as extremist factions at opposite ends of the political spectrum
replaced ballots with bullets.
WEDEMAN: In the aftermath of the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Italy's Years of Lead offer a cautionary tale to a United
States increasingly torn apart by political differences.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Victor Simpson spent four decades covering Italy for the Associated Press.
VICTOR SIMPSON, FORMER ROME CORRESPONDENT FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Yes, there was a very serious rivalry going on between leftist and rightist
terrorists and who could cause the most damage, but you know, China's are actually very wise people, I always thought, and they kept their heads. The
politicians kept their heads.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): In 1978, the far-left Red Brigades kidnapped then murdered five-time, Former Prime Minister Aldo Moro. Two years later, far
right extremists with the Revolutionary Armed Nuclei planted a bomb in Bologna's train station, killing more than 80 people.
Yet through it all, the leaders of the mainstream parties rejected violence. The center held says Loyola University's Claudio Lodici, speaking
next to the spot where Aldo Moro's body was found in the trunk of a car.
CLAUDIO LODICI, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: The center, or the parties that were in office, including the Communist Party, stood their ground. There was an
across-the-board consensus that terrorism had to be defeated. It was across the board.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): A consensus that saved Italy from chaos. Politicians knew united. We stand divided, we all fall. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: We'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ASHER: As I saying goes, it's 5 o'clock somewhere. So, if any chimpanzees happen to be watching, we have a news for you, a new study finds that
chimpanzees may be going to nature's happy hour savoring fermented fruit, which is the equivalent to one alcoholic drink a day.
Scientists say this research could shed light on why many humans have a thirst for booze. Want to bring in Aleksey Maro, he's a graduate student
who did the field work study. He joins us live now, from Berkeley, California. Aleksey, you have to say so many people on my team were super
interested in this study.
What does this study tell us, then, about why we humans do have a thing for drinking a glass of red wine or alcohol in general, just the fact that
chimpanzees may indeed, through fermented fruit, be doing the same thing.
ALEKSEY MARO, UC BERKELEY GRADUATE STUDENT WHO DID FIELDWORK STUDY: Yes, it really shows that there's an evolutionary mismatch between how much alcohol
we are able to drink and how we're able to consume it, versus how the chimpanzees and potentially our remote ancestors were also consuming
alcohol through their diet.
See, we drink highly concentrated liquid alcohol very quickly, whereas they're consuming it spread throughout the day, through several meals. So,
if you had a drink, say, 14 -- So we found 14 grams of pure ethanol as the daily average that the chimps consumed, which is equivalent to what you'd
find in 125 milliliter glass of 12.5 percent wine.
But when you scale for body size, it actually comes out to about two glasses. Since chimpanzees weigh about half of what humans do. Still spread
throughout the day that's you wouldn't feel much even with two.
ASHER: So, they're not exactly getting drunk. They're not getting hungover the next day like we are. But obviously, alcohol isn't great for the human
body, as we know. Is it the same for chimpanzees? I mean, especially given that they're not drinking it in a concentrated way like we do that, they're
sort of taking this fruit throughout the day. What kind of effect does it have on them?
MARO: So, there's this concept called hormesis. It's similar to salt. If you have too much salt, it's bad for you. But if you don't have any salt,
it's also not as good as if you have a little bit, which is what we're seeing with potentially here with alcohol and what a lot of studies on the
ill effects of alcohol measure very high concentrations and exposure to highly concentrated liquid alcohol in a short period of time.
[11:50:00]
But the kind of alcohol you get in fermented food is a different story. Foods like miso, kimchi, sauerkraut, even fresh bread has small amounts of
alcohol in it. But when you, like a chimpanzee, are eating 10 percent of your body mass in food, those concentrations add up.
ASHER: In terms of how you figured out just how much alcohol or ethanol they're actually consuming. How did you figure that out?
MARO: So actually, used multiple methods in different field seasons, which all happen to agree, but essentially, you're turning the fruit pulp into a
slurry using something called a homogenizer, and then exposing that slurry to air where the ethanol is allowed to equilibrate with a small air space
like a centrifuge tube.
And then we analyze that air space for alcohol concentrations. Using one of them is an instrument where the material is a metal oxide semiconductor
that changes its electrical voltage based on how much ethanol vapor it's exposed to. So that's like a material properties thing, it's pretty cool.
ASHER: And just in terms of the fact that it's not, well, obviously humans can consume alcohol, as we know a lot of it, but it's not just primates
either, right? Just in terms of what you discovered through this study, it's not just primates who are also doing the same thing.
MARO: Oh, yeah, a lot of animals are eating these fruits out there, and the chimpanzees aren't just competing with one another for fruits. They're
competing with monkeys and birds, and sometimes these other animals will eat the more unripe versions of the fruits ahead of time.
So, there's all kinds of chaos in trying to figure out what exactly is the availability, what is the preference? How are they feeding up there?
ASHER: So why do they gravitate towards fermented fruit in the first place?
MARO: Well, it's just so interconnected to food, to sugar. The drunken monkey hypothesis that my advisor coined that kind of spurred this work,
suggests that human alcohol, human attraction to alcohols partly because we could smell the alcohol from a long distance and use it to be able to
locate where the fruits are fermenting, which we gave a great advantage to any animal that's trying to survive in the forest.
And millions of years ago, climate attractions and expansions made it so that sometimes we had to do wild things to survive.
ASHER: And finally, just in terms of, I have to -- what prompted this study in the first place? Why were you in teams so interested in the study in the
first place?
MARO: Yes, that's kind of motivated by this general question of evolutionary medicine, to try to see how things that we do today have
underlying reasons, potentially from how our remote ancestor lived, our lifestyle has changed drastically since the beginning of civilization,
10,000 years ago.
And there's a lot of things -- different things our bodies are doing that we could use our ingenuity and intelligence of today to sort of shore up
those differences so we could all live more comfortable lifestyle.
ASHER: Fascinating. And as I mentioned, my entire team were super excited about having you on the show today. What a fascinating study. Aleksey thank
you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
MARO: Thank you.
ASHER: All right, staying with this theme, scientists gathered in Boston Thursday to hear about a monumental discovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SVANTE PAABO, NOBEL LAUREATE AND SWEDISH GENETICIST: We made an important discovery. Drunken Germans usually pronounce Dutch better than sober
Germans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: It's one of the many bizarre discoveries celebrated at the 35th annual Ig Nobel Prize Germany. It's a whimsical counterpart to the Nobel
Prizes, where scientists celebrate things like breakthroughs and understanding the physics of pasta sauce, for example.
The presentations also range from the playful to the downright weird. Among the winners, this year was a study about which pizzas certain kind of
lizard eats. The Master of Ceremonies said the purpose of the award is to literally make you laugh and then make you think as well.
Winners get an old 10 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note, which obviously is not worth much considering the inflation in that country. It's worth about
40 cents actually. Right, ladybugs of the sea are the Winner of the Ocean Photographer of the Year Award. Competition organizers say this image shows
two tiny and the pods resting on a piece of coral.
It was chosen from a field of more than 15,000 submitted by photographers from all over the world. Nine category winners were also selected as well.
[11:55:00]
This image took the prize for the adventure category. It shows a personal watercraft navigating the massive waves off the coast of Portugal. And the
prize for the Human Connection Award went to this photo of a group of people trying to save a stranded humpback whale.
And finally, this hour, Egyptian authorities say they know what happened to a missing 3000-year-old bracelet. The gold trinket belonged to a pharaoh
and disappeared from a museum in Cairo earlier this month. Authorities traced the theft as it moved from person to person, ending up with a gold
smelter who melted down the historic artifact.
The suspects were arrested, and the proceeds from the bracelet sale received, in the end, the once priceless artifact fetched a mere $4,000.
Right, stay with CNN. There's more "One World" after the break with my colleague, Christina Macfarlane.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
