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One World with Zain Asher

UK, Canada, Australia Formally Recognize Palestinian State; U.N. Holds Emergency Meeting on Russian Air Incursions; Thousands Gather to Honor the Life of Charlie Kirk; Widespread Confusion Over $100K H1-B Visa Fee; Protests Over Gaza at UK's Largest Arms Fair; Russia's International Song Contest Winner. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 22, 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, Palestinian statehood is front and center as the U.N. General Assembly kicks off. "One World" starts right

now. France expected to become the latest country to recognize Palestine as the world attempts to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza.

And President Trump says that he has the answer to autism. He'll discuss it at an event in the next few hours. And Russia hosts its answer to the

Eurovision Song Contest. President Putin launched the event with the goal to promote traditional family value. All right, coming to you live from New

York, I'm Zain Asher, you are watching "One World".

Momentum is building for a two-state solution at the U.N. today, as the General Assembly kicks off the 80th anniversary of its founding. A growing

number of countries are pledging to recognize a Palestinian state as Israel faces increasing global condemnation for its war in Gaza now nearing the

two-year mark.

France and Saudi Arabia are set to chair a high-level conference in the coming hours to rally support for the move in London. The Palestinian

mission to the UK held a special ceremony today, after Britain, along with Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized Palestine on Sunday.

Israel and the U.S., meantime, are boycotting today's meeting with Israel, saying it will reward and embolden Hamas for its October 7th terror attack.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is also vowing Palestinian statehood will never happen. We begin our coverage with CNN's Melissa Bell in Paris.

I think the big question is, how much is this recognition of Palestinian statehood a symbolic gesture, versus one that has any real capacity to

change anything on the ground, Melissa?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think at this stage, with everything that's happened over the course of the last few

weeks, I mean, that is going to be the big question going ahead. I think the reason the French are describing this tonight, Zain, as something of a

diplomatic victory, is that they believe that what they've managed to achieve, which is at once momentum when it comes to recognition of

Palestine from a number of countries.

Of course, Canada, United Kingdom, it is no longer the only G7 country that has decided to do this as it had feared back in July, but it is also about

what it says is the importance of the consensus now amongst Israel's Arab neighbors, of the need to work together with Israel and a future

Palestinian state in peace, to disarm Hamas to prevented rooting in Gaza.

Again, the idea, of course, operationally, of this force that would take the place of the IDF in the Gaza Strip. All of this believe the French are

successes in what had been an idea born a few months ago, of their frustration at how the war was being prosecuted by Israel in Gaza, and they

believed their need to be able to weigh more on Israeli decisions.

But your question about whether this impacts anything on the contrary, I think what we've heard on the ground, and certainly from the Israeli side,

is a great deal more determination to plow ahead with, notwithstanding what's going to be announced today at the United Nations.

And I think another important side, Zain, is the popular support that this move enjoys in Europe. Remember that over the course of the last couple of

years, has been a great deal of division here in Europe on the question of what was happening in and around the Gaza Strip, a growing anger towards

Israel and the part of a lot of European populations on this issue.

And so, what we've seen today, even as the French President appears to speak, and bear in mind, this is not a terribly popular French President

this stage domestically. What we have seen in many different French town halls are Palestinian flags raised despite a ban in the name of the

neutrality of these town halls in many different parts of France, several dozens of them, despite that, have raised a Palestinian flag.

I think, an important recognition of the fact that domestically, at least, this is a move that counts, Zain.

ASHER: Right, Melissa Bell live for us there. Thank you so much. Take a closer look at the growing efforts to recognize the Palestinian state. HA

Hellyer is a Senior Associate and Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. Thank you so much for being

with us.

So, explain to our international audience, what does this kind of recognition, the recognition of Palestinian statehood, what does it

actually formally change?

[11:05:00]

HA HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW AT THE ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: Well, thank you very much for having me on the program. It will change

quite a number of things in the countries that have officially recognized the state of Palestine. It upgrades the representation of the missions of

the Palestinian Authority in each of these countries.

It means, for example, that there are now an embassy and a recognized ambassador, as opposed to a representative in these countries. It will also

mean that the engagement of those governments with the diplomatic representation is now at the level equivalent to any country in the world

that has representation in these different capitals.

So, I think that on the formalistic side, on the symbolic side, it's quite important. What it won't change, of course, is the occupation of

Palestinian territories in East Jerusalem, in the West Bank, in Gaza. It won't stop any of that, but I think that what it does do is begin a new

process by which the Palestinians hope to be able to apply more pressure on the Israelis to actually do so.

I should say that none of this has been pitched correctly as a reward or as a punishment. It's not a reward to the Palestinians, and a punishment on

the Israelis. Recognition of the State of Palestine simply is the expression of a recognition and acknowledgement that the Palestinians are a

people and they deserve self-determination.

ASHER: Yeah, although Netanyahu is saying that this recognition serves as some kind of a reward to Hamas for October 7th.

HELLYER: Yeah --

ASHER: Right. But just in terms of the diplomatic blowback, though. I mean, obviously in terms of the relationship between Israel and some of these

countries, UK, Canada, Australia, that have chosen to recognize Palestinian statehood. What does it change on that front?

But also, I think even more importantly, what does it change in terms of the U.S.'s relationship with some of these other countries as well.

HELLYER: So, when it comes to the Israelis, the Israelis tried to claim this narrative that recognition of the State of Palestine actually killed

negotiations made Hamas more emboldened, et cetera. When you look at the timeline, this is nonsense. The reality is, is that there wasn't any

negotiation process that was going on at the time anyway.

And the Israelis were very clear that the steps that they were intending to do had really nothing to do with any recognition anyway. When it comes to

annexation in the West Bank, they've been talking about annexation for months and years, irrespective of anything to do with recognizing a

Palestinian state.

So that the idea that this somehow had any impact on negotiations, for example, or annexation, I think, is nonsense, and I think that it's just

purely a propaganda. To put it very frankly and bluntly, it doesn't reward Hamas. Hamas having been seeking the establishment of state, because, of

course, they don't take any representation in that state.

The state is the Palestinian Authority. When you go to any of these countries around the world, and there are now, I think, around 150 that

recognize the State of Palestine. They're not Hamas officials in any of these. These are all from the Palestinian Authority. So, it's rather

nonsensical to claim this when it comes to the United States.

The United States has made it very clear that it does not support the recognition of a Palestinian state. And you saw that when President Trump

came to London a few days ago, he said that he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a disagreement about this. And I think that's what it is.

It's a disagreement. And I don't think that people ought to expect that even allies of the United States, including a very close ally the United

Kingdom, are necessarily going to always be on the same page on issues like this. So, I hope that within at least the United States.

And I think that there's the problem, especially when you think about Congress and the Senate, that there shouldn't be any attempt to try to

penalize these countries for simply upholding international law and joining the overwhelming majority consensus position of the international community

that the State of Palestine ought to be recognized as such.

ASHER: Two years on from October 7th. I mean, obviously the Israelis are finding themselves increasingly diplomatically isolated. You have, yes, a

number of European countries and also Australia and various other countries who are now obviously moving to recognize Palestinian statehood.

But a lot of European countries have grown somewhat dismayed with Israel, especially when you think about the lopsided death toll that we're seeing

with tens of thousands of Palestinians being killed, and also the ever- growing humanitarian crisis that is only getting worse now that the Israelis are going into Gaza City.

[11:10:00]

Beyond recognition of Palestinian statehood, what recourse do European countries have to put more legal and diplomatic pressure on Israel at this

point?

HELLYER: So, first lopsided the death toll, it's upwards of at least 50 times depending on if you go by the most minimum numbers or not, the most

minimum number would be at least 50 times more. When it comes to what levers of leverage exist, the largest and most significant and most

powerful levers, of course, are American levers.

The United States is fundamentally the most important factor in Israel's security architecture on multiple levels. I don't see any change coming

from the United States when it comes to this question. When it comes to Europe, about 30 percent of Israel's arms are provided by the Republic of

Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany.

Germany has been very reticent to actually use the levers that it has, and this, unfortunately, has led to the last few years becoming more and more

difficult, escalations, not only in Gaza, but in the region more generally, with regards to strikes on Lebanon, on Syria, occupation of more Syrian

territory and Lebanese territory, as well, the attack on Qatar that happened recently and so on.

All of these are steps that the Israelis felt quite empowered to do because they knew that there was no accountability from European allies, and, of

course, from the United States, if the European Union, if Europe, more generally, were to exact more of a price, and had exacted more of a price

on the Israelis earlier on, then, I think that we would be talking about a much more different situation in Gaza and in the West Bank.

I think that the protestations and the condemnations that we see coming out now almost two years on, these betray weakness, in my opinion, a weakness

of resolve to not be able to say to the Israelis early on that. Look, we understand why you feel that you're under attack.

And of course, an attack took place in October 2023, it does not justify what a U.N. commission described just recently as a genocide in Gaza. It

does not justify the occupation of Syrian territory. By the way, no Syrian after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad took any action against Israel.

This wasn't a response to an attack, that you're not entitled to attack a country in the Gulf that is actually serving as a mediating power between

you and those who hold Israeli hostages. None of this should have been -- all of this was unacceptable. None of it should have been viewed by the

Israelis as actions that could have been taken without some sort of accountability and a price to be paid.

Unfortunately, that's exactly how they perceived it, that there is impunity for these sorts of actions, which means, unfortunately, they will continue,

and I think that they will expand, until the international community makes it clear that if you're going to flout the rules based order in this way,

there will be a price, there will be consequences, and that's the way that we come back from this unfortunately, ever ending spiral.

ASHER: All right. HA Hellyer, thank you so much for your perspective. Appreciate it. The U.N. Security Council is holding an emergency meeting

this hour to discuss Russian incursions over Estonia's airspace. Estonia requested the meeting after three Russian fighter jets entered its airspace

over the Gulf of Finland without permission.

On Friday, Estonia says the jets remained for about 12 minutes before being intercepted by NATO. The Russian Defense Ministry has denied its jets

entered Estonian airspace. Meantime, two other NATO countries, Poland, Romania, have also reported Russian incursions into their airspace in

recent weeks.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler joins us live now from the U.N. So, Jennifer, we know that Estonia actually triggered NATO's article for consultations over

this. Just walk us through what is going to be the likely response, if any, at this point, just in terms of NATO members hands being tied in terms of

their limited ability to respond to this. What might the reaction be, especially given what happened to Poland and Romania as well.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Zain tomorrow, the NATO North Atlantic Council is going to meet in Brussels tomorrow morning

to discuss what could be the latest response to this Russian incursion. Estonia had requested article four consultations under the U.N. or the NATO

charter, rather to discuss how they would respond after the Poland incursions of those Russian drones into their airspace.

[11:15:00]

We saw NATO announce this new initiative Eastern century to protect the Baltics and the Eastern Front of the NATO territory. But by and large,

they're still going to be about deterrence. They're going to try to deter Moscow from taking any more aggressive actions towards NATO members.

Meanwhile, right here at the U.N. they are convening the emergency U.N. Security Council meeting right now. This is, of course, significant, coming

during this high-level week. We've seen a number of foreign ministers taking part in that meeting. We also just heard from the newly instated

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, talking about the U.S. response to this, he said that the U.S. would protect quote, every inch of NATO

territory.

He didn't go into details of exactly what the U.S. response could be, whether they could finally impose these long-threatened sanctions. However,

he did say that it is concerning, regardless of whether this was intentional or by accident, that Russia seemingly is trying to ramp up its

war against Ukraine, or else it doesn't have control of its forces.

And he said either way, this is seriously concerning, especially coming from Russia, which is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. We

also saw the Estonian Foreign Minister just before that meeting, surrounded by his fellow foreign ministers reading this statement on behalf of dozens

and dozens of nations, condemning what had happened and calling it a serious escalation.

So of course, there will be a lot of discussion here at the U.N. on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, and tomorrow in Brussels, at the

NATO headquarters, of what they can actually do as Putin continues to provoke this war. And we heard from Trump yesterday saying he was not happy

about what had happened, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Jennifer Hansler, live for us. Thank you. A who's who of the conservative movement said goodbye to Charlie Kirk. After the break,

you'll hear from the slain activist widow and what she says about his alleged killer. Plus, autism and a possible cause in children, what the

White House and the U.S. President have promised to reveal later today, amid some skepticism. That story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Right, in just a few hours, the U.S. President is set to announce what he is claiming is, quote, an answer to autism. Here's what he said

during Charlie Kirk's memorial on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- you're going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism. How about

that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:20:00]

ASHER: Announcement is expected to link the use of pain relievers during pregnancy to autism in children along with low levels of folate. Experts,

of course, say that there is no clear evidence of a direct link between Tylenol and autism. Joining us live now is CNN Medical Correspondent, Meg

Tirrell.

So, Meg, obviously, a lot of experts are alarmed by these claims by the Trump Administration. Just walk us through what evidence, if any, this is

based on.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's based on mixed data. This has been an issue that's been studied, really, at least for the last

decade, and has not shown a causative link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and autism. And as the backdrop to this, remember that back in April,

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged that by September.

We will know what caused the autism epidemic, and he said, we will be able to eliminate these exposures. We should note that the Department of Health

and Human Services has said that all of these reports about what might come out today about this is speculation, until we hear from the administration

itself.

But what we are expecting to hear is that they may link Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism. They may issue a warning that pregnant women shouldn't

use Tylenol unless they have maybe a high fever, and then, separately, they may also discuss an approved drug called leucovorin as a potential therapy

for kids with autism.

Now we should note that Tylenol is incredibly widely used during pregnancy, reported by more than half of pregnant women. And it's important because

there are few other pain relievers and fever reducers that are considered safe for pregnancy. And doctors say it can be dangerous to not treat pain

or fever during a pregnancy.

So, they are worried about what the implications of this might be. Moreover, the data are very mixed. There was one analysis that came out

last month that essentially looked at 46 prior studies on this. And what they found was -- what they said was evidence consistent with an

association of exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy and offspring with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and

ADHD, though observational limitations preclude definitive causation.

Essentially meaning you can't say that just because two things might appear to be linked, in some studies, that one thing caused the other. Kenvue, the

Maker of Tylenol has also said that independent sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.

So, everybody's watching this closely, there's consternation that this is going to be a definitive pronouncement of a cause of autism without the

evidence to back that up. Separately on leucovorin, this is a generic drug that's approved to treat the side effects of chemotherapy.

And in some small studies, has shown some potential benefit for children with autism, but they have specific markers about their kind of autism, and

this also hasn't been proven in longer term studies. So, experts say anything here needs to be studied in larger and longer trials, and

everybody should proceed with caution.

ASHER: Right, Meg Tirrell, thank you so much. Right, emotional tributes call for both forgiveness and retribution and different visions for the

future of the MAGA movement. Tens of thousands of mourners filled a football stadium in Arizona Sunday to honor the life of Conservative

Activist Charlie Kirk.

In one particular point of moment, Kirk's widow Erika said that she has forgiven her husband's alleged killer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIKA KIRK, CHARLIE KIRK'S WIDOW: On the cross our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do that man, that young man. I

forgive him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Many speakers focused on Charlie Kirk's faith and his push to engage with those he didn't agree with. President Trump, however, took a different

approach. Betsy Klein joins us live now from White House with more reaction to Sunday's memorial. I mean, it was a very, very different approach that

President Trump had.

I mean, obviously you had Erika with this really moving moment when she talked about forgiving her husband's alleged killer, because that's what

Jesus Christ would have done. But on the other hand, you had Donald Trump, with his usual tone of retribution. Just walk us through some of the

highlights, or some of the most powerful moments, rather, from the memorial service on Sunday.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Zain, we saw officials from the highest levels of the U.S. government in Arizona to honor the late

Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk. And I was there on the ground. It was at times solemn and powerful and emotional. And there were divergent themes

of faith and forgiveness as well as politics and retribution.

[11:25:00]

On the topic of faith, there were multiple speakers who described this event as not a funeral but a religious revival. We saw musical performances

and pyrotechnics, and then that message you just showed, of radical forgiveness and unity from Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's widow.

But at times, this event became quite political, really, laying bare the deep divisions in this country in the aftermath of Kirk's death. We heard

from Trump aide Stephen Miller going after unnamed enemies, Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, naming Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton and

attacking the media.

President Trump, for his part, going after the radical left, which he blamed for Charlie Kirk's death. And as President Trump told the personal

story of Charlie Kirk and his relationship with him, the event at times and the president's remarks felt like a political rally. The president

previewing his upcoming announcement on autism.

He talked about tariffs, he previewed a planned crime crackdown in Chicago, and he also talked about where he disagreed with Charlie Kirk. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don't want the

best for them. I'm sorry. I am sorry Erika, but now Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that's not right,

but I can't stand my opponent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, one thing that was abundantly clear was the influence that Charlie Kirk had on this White House. He was really instrumental during the

presidential transition in helping to select top aides and members of the president's cabinet. We heard from Vice President JD Vance saying they

wouldn't be here without him.

And there was one other very notable moment, just as Secretary Hegseth was speaking, we saw President Trump in his box suite, sitting next to Elon

Musk. That marked the first time that these two men have been seen publicly since their explosive falling out earlier this summer.

That was something that Charlie Kirk had served as a key mediator, and a friend of his said that it was something he wanted so badly to see them

together, Zain.

ASHER: Right, Betsy Klein, live for us. Thank you so much. Now President Trump says that some of the biggest names in business will take part in the

acquisition of TikTok. Last year, Congress ordered a ban of the Chinese owned TikTok unless its U.S. assets are American owned.

Trump says tech giants Larry Ellison and Michael Dell will be involved, as will be Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch as well. The acquisition stems

from the U.S. government's long standing national security concerns about TikTok's parent company ByteDance. And we're learning also this morning

about how the app's algorithm is going to be controlled.

Clare Duffy joins us live now. We're being told that the algorithm, which is, of course, TikTok's secret sauce, that a lot of competitors have found

it really, really hard to duplicate or replicate, that's what makes TikTok so, so popular in the U.S. that apparently the algorithm is now going to be

controlled by the Americans. Just walk us through what we know, Clare.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah. Zain, that had been a major question about how this deal was shaping up. Is what was going to happen to the

TikTok algorithm, which, as you said, is a big part of the reason why the app is so popular, but also was behind concerns that this app posed a

national security risk, because U.S. officials worried that if the algorithm remained in Chinese control.

That it could -- the company could be forced to manipulate the algorithm, to influence Americans or create division among Americans on behalf of the

Chinese government. So, we are now learning from a Senior White House Official that the algorithm will be controlled by U.S. Tech Company Oracle.

How that's going to work is the China based parent company ByteDance, is going to transfer a copy of the algorithm code to the new majority American

controlled ownership group. Oracle will then review the code. It will retrain the code on American user data, and then it will have constant

oversight of how that algorithm is serving content to American users.

This is all part of the additional information that we are starting to gather and put together about how exactly this deal is taking shape as the

White House is pushing to finalize this TikTok deal, we're also learning more about who the investors are that are going to be involved in this.

Of course, Oracle is one of those investors, private equity firm Silver Lake. And then, as you said, President Trump also implying that tech

leaders like Michael Dell may be involved. We may see the Murdochs, although a source telling CNN that it will actually be Fox Corp that is

going to be investing, rather than the Murdochs individually.

And then, on top of that, we are also learning about the sort of timeline, about how this deal is coming together. President Trump is expected now to

sign an executive order later this week, sort of confirming that this deal will be a qualified divestiture will be allowed under the TikTok ban or

sale law.

[11:30:00]

And then he'll be extending that pause for another 120 days so that this deal can get done. So, we are expecting this deal to be completed by early

next year, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Clare Duffy, live for us. Thank you. Right, still to come, Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee ignites widespread confusion.

Passengers were actually about to depart U.S. Plus a warning from CEOs, months into President Trump's second term, democracy is under siege.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher. Here are some international headlines we are watching today. More world leaders are

expected to recognize Palestinian statehood as the U.N.'s Annual General Assembly meeting kicks off today. The coming hours, French President

Emmanuel Macron will co-chair a meeting with Saudi Arabia focused on reviving a two-state solution.

The UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday. Thousands packed in Arizona stadium on Sunday to honor

Slain Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk. He was shot to death on September 10th during an event at a Utah University.

In a powerful moment, his widow, Erika fought back tears when she talked about forgiving the alleged killer. Several of Europe's largest airports

are dealing with more disruption today after hackers knocked out automatic check in and boarding systems, dozens of flights and thousands of

passengers have been affected since Friday.

Authorities are investigating the cyber-attack as passengers deal with delays and cancelations. The strongest storm of the year so far has made

landfall in Northern Philippines, packing winds of more than 250 kilometers an hour. Typhoon Ragasa prompted more than 10,000 to be evacuated in the

country, while storm preparations are underway in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China.

Right, U.S. industries such as the tech sector that relied heavily on skilled foreign workers could be severely impacted by Donald Trump's

$100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, which came into effect yesterday.

[11:35:00]

The administration's announcement on Friday sparked widespread confusion, highlighted by chaotic scenes on board an Emirates flight from San

Francisco to Dubai, where passengers scrambled to understand if they would be allowed to return to the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, it's the captain speaking, due to the current circumstances, obviously, they are unprecedented for us here at

Emirates. We are aware that a number of passengers do not wish to travel with us, and that's perfectly fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: I'm joined now by the Vice President of Immigration Policy and Campaigns at FWD.US Andrea Flores. Andrea, thank you so much for being with

us. So just in terms of -- potential skilled foreign workers who might have had jobs lined up in the U.S., who now don't necessarily know if their

employers, not every employer that's going to want to pay $100,000 for you to come and work for them.

And then on top of that, the people who do already have H-1Bs who are living in the U.S., perhaps in San Francisco, working at -- tech firms,

just in terms of them being able to leave the United States at this point in time and being uncertain as to whether or not they're going to be

allowed back in.

Just walk us through how chaotic this rollout is, and how difficult it's going to be for immigrants on both sides of it?

ANDREA FLORES, VICE PRESIDENT OF IMMIGRATION POLICY & CAMPAIGNS ATFWD.US: Well, thanks for having me talk about this. This is probably the one of the

messiest, most anti-business moves the president has made yet when it comes to immigration. He rolled out this executive order that left out so many

important details about this H-1B restriction.

So, the headline of the order was, you know, you would have to pay $100,000 now in order to receive an H-1B. And as a reminder that is for immigrants

who have a bachelor's degree, who fill jobs, specialty occupations, United States. So as a Friday night to right now, we're still filling in the

pieces of what on earth this policy even means.

So, if I had been on that plane hearing about this announcement, I too, would have been fearful that I should not leave the country. I think

there's still uncertainty if people with H-1B visa should leave the country, and there's massive uncertainty if the people who are already

qualified for H-1B who are just waiting to receive them will be able to afford to come to United States and fill the jobs they were hired to do.

So, this is a disaster for industry, it's a disaster for business, but it's a disaster for Americans, because people do not realize the ripple effects

of how much we benefit from the H-1B program. So, I'll stop there, but there's so much to talk about, because this has just been a chaotic

disaster.

ASHER: Yeah. I mean, the idea that the administration has is that this is going to protect American jobs, but really a lot of people are saying is

that it would destroy innovation in this country.

FLORES: It -- so we have been winning the global race for talent for years because of visa programs like the H-1B right, we've been able to recruit

the top scientists, the top researchers, because we structured this program to make it easy and affordable for research institutions, nonprofits and

businesses to do that, but to now try and get that program with power.

To be clear, the president does not have. He cannot simply go in and rewrite the fees for visa. So first of all, there will be many lawsuits

around us. But second of all, we are sending a signal to the world come and get our global talent. We do not want our researchers, we do not want our

doctors, we do not want our tech workers who create jobs for other Americans.

So, it is a pretty stunning attack, and it really shows that in the White House, this is not just once again, about maybe people thought it was

immigrants with criminal convictions or people who worked in landscaping or construction, this immigration strategy that the White House is running is

trying to upend the U.S. economy, and this is one of the biggest blows that we've seen.

ASHER: All right. Andrea Flores live for us there. Thank you so much. My concerns are growing for CEOs in the U.S. hearing democracy is under siege.

The second Trump Presidency of source has seen him openly attack the Federal Reserve, even promising to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, taking a

heavy hand to the private sector, leaving some CEOs afraid to draw wrath of the president.

According to Yale Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, known as the CEO Whisperer, many are worried that Trump is undermining the economic system for short

term gains. Matt Egan joins us live now from New York. Matt, and you can add to that list this idea of the $100,000 H-1B visa, which I'm sure as a

lot of people in Silicon Valley worry. Just walk us through what CEOs are saying that.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Zain, look, there is growing concern about the state of democracy in America. And yes, this is something that Jeff

Sonnenfeld from Yale says is really alarming business leaders, just think about some of the events that we've seen recently.

Right? It was just August 1 that the president fired the nation's top economic statistician over a bad jobs report.

[11:40:00]

The U.S. has taken a 10 percent stake in Intel, a private company, the president also took this unprecedented step of firing a sitting Fed

Governor, and then just last week, the FCC Chair threatened Disney over a monolog that was given by Jimmy Kimmel. And again, that's just a taste of

some of the things that has happened just since the midpoint of this summer.

And look, this is concerning business leaders. I talked to Vanessa Williamson over at the Brookings Institution, and she said these threats

against Disney and ABC. She said, this is what you would expect to see in an unfree country. It's straight from the autocratic playbook.

And Williamson went on to say that she's never been more concerned about democracy in the U.S. Now, some conservatives, they've been alarmed by this

heavy-handed approach that the Trump Administration has taken with private enterprise, including that billion, multibillion dollar stake that

taxpayers now own in Intel.

Mike Pence, the president's -- former vice president, he said that state ownership of private companies. That's something that's pretty common in

Russia, in China, countries that are clearly not democratic. And he also Pence, he warned that these moves have taken the country to a, quote, very

perilous place.

Now these are not trivial matters for business, because there's research out there that shows that democracies, they tend to have stronger economic

growth. That's because they have more stable policy making, which attracts more investment. And there's also research that shows the opposite is true,

right, that nations that are led by populist leaders, who tend to undermine institutions, they have weaker economic growth.

One study out there looked at how economies performed under populist presidents and prime ministers. And they found that after 15 years, GDP per

capita was 10 percent lower than it would otherwise be. Now, publicly, business leaders have been pretty quiet about this.

It does seem like a lot of CEOs want to avoid poking the bear. But behind closed doors, Sonnenfeld says that, yeah, a lot of them are worried. Take a

listen to what Sonnenfeld said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY SONNENFELD, PROFESSOR AT YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: Our CEO groups are around 70 percent 70, 75 percent Republican. They tell us 80 percent

that they're disappointed with the performance of the economy under Trump, and they'll go through specifics about what they don't like, about tariff

policies and the like, and the independence of the fed.

But more than anything else, it's the corrosive effect on threat to the free enterprise system of not having a functioning democracy. But we're not

seeing a lot of those forceful voices come together, but they need to. They all want to talk about this. They're very much alarmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Now, time will tell if CEOs start voicing these concerns publicly and collectively, Zain.

ASHER: Right, Matt Egan, live for us. Thank you so much. Right still ahead, pro-Palestinian protests get bigger and louder in Britain as demonstrators

gather outside the UK's largest arms fair in London --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

ASHER: Tensions ran high outside the UK's largest arms fair. Protesters clashed with police and targeted anyone trying to get inside. Our Nic

Robertson has the full story on how the war in Gaza is reverberating through the defense industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Outside the UK's largest arms fair, a gauntlet of abuse, protesters angered by

Palestinian deaths in Israel's war in Gaza, targeting anyone who tries to go in, even journalists.

ROBERTSON: This is what it takes at the moment to get inside London's biggest arms fair, the trodden Earth, police protecting the people trying

to get inside.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Across the UK, pro-Palestinian protests have been getting bigger and louder, triggering a political reaction.

ROBERTSON: The British government has banned Israeli government officials from this event, citing concerns about their further military escalation

inside of Gaza. Israeli officials have responded, saying that this is a deliberate, regrettable decision that's discriminatory.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): But inside Israel Defense Industry manufacturers are welcome to trade. Many have come. One of the biggest, Elbit is facing

additional political heat.

BRIAN LEISHMAN, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: We also look at the F-35 program. They have a huge hand in that as well. And of course, the F-35

fighter program has wrecked devastation and death right across Gaza.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Leishman, a UK lawmaker, is tabling a motion against the bid from Elbit for a 15-year, $2 billion training contract with

the UK's Ministry of Defense.

LEISHMAN: This contract wouldn't change Elbit, at the heart of UK defense infrastructure.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Elbit UK sites have been attacked by protesters. So too, one of their entities in Germany. Elbit, told CNN, they don't have a

comment about protesters or contracts, but their stand at London's arms fair was busy. Although they asked us not to show their staff out of

concern for their safety. Other Israeli sales teams did let us film.

ROBERTSON: This is where the Israeli government pavilion would have been. Now, none of these Israeli defense contractors here wants to speak to us on

camera, but privately, they tell us business is booming, part of the reason they say customers like the way that the Israelis have protected their

people and want to buy in to some of that battle tested hardware.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israel doesn't publish all of its arms sale's figures, but publicly available data shows record high sales.

ODED YARON, ARMS INDUSTRIES & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER AT HAARETZ: For this industry, this is the -- on the one hand, the ultimate sales pitch, battle

tested, battle proven. On the other hand, as the war in Gaza drags on, it becomes more and more of a problem.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Missile interceptors like the arrow system used this summer to defend against Iranian strikes are very popular. So too,

Israel's reactive armor on battle tanks and fighting vehicles seen by our team in use inside Gaza, as well as cutting edge F-35 fighter jet

developments.

And it's not just the weapons that keep ties strong with Israel. Defense and security interests are often deeply intertwined. The UK, in particular,

shares intelligence and technical expertise.

MATTHEW SAVILL, DIRECTOR OF MILITARY SCIENCES AT RUSI: It would be difficult to completely disconnect the two. And indeed, whilst you have

this significant political disagreement over what's happening at the moment, there'll be many in both security systems who would want to avoid

too much impact to the direct relationship.

[11:50:00]

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Spain's tolerance was shattered earlier this month, finally annulling hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of contracts. It

had promised to cut months ago, just moments after Israel's strike against Hamas in Qatar. Haaretz's Yaron says Israel is skilled at dodging

embargoes.

YARON: 99 percent of the bank that they can save through it, somehow, it might cost them more. There may be more backlash, there may be more

problems, but countries need their arms.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israel's arms industry and the money it needs to fund its own wars is safer now, that change could be in the air. Nic

Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Russia held its International Song Contest. The country is calling it a focus on traditional family values. Up next, what Moscow is saying,

it's showcasing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: After being banished from Eurovision, Russia has now launched its own International Song Contest promoting quote, traditional family values.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen has more on "Intervision".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Forget the Eurovision Song Contest. This is Russia's answer the Intervision song

contest held here in Moscow. I now, of course, Russia was kicked out of the Eurovision in 2022 because of its full-on invasion of Ukraine. So, they

decided to do their own song contest for countries around the world. And this is it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, this show is better because many countries from around the world participate in it. And it is important that this event can

spread the culture of different countries around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: this year we have 23 countries. I hope that next year there will be 50. Twice as many.

[11:55:00]

PLEITGEN: Now, there are more than 20 participants from 20 countries, and there was supposed to be an American contestant as well. What we're hearing

is that, that American contestant apparently has pulled out of the contest. Nevertheless, the countries that are represented here, many of them are

traditional allies of Russia, like, for instance, China, India.

You also have Venezuela and Cuba, but also Former Soviet Republics, like, for instance, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan also, as well. Now this

event is a little bit different than the Eurovision Song Contest that it seeks to rival in that. It's obviously not European countries.

It's international countries that are here, but the Russians are also saying that one of the things that they want to promote here is traditional

value. So, what we will not see here is any rainbow flags or other LGBTQ symbols because showing those is actually banned here in Russia.

Instead, people that we've been speaking to say that they want to see some of those more traditional values of the countries that are represented.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And besides, the promotion of truly traditional values. Sorry, but heterosexuality is still important to us.

PLEITGEN: So, Russian say that they hope that this event could be very successful, that it could become a yearly event. They also claim that with

the countries that are involved, more than 4 billion people are able to watch this event.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right, that does it first here on "One World". We'll have much more "One World" after the break with Eleni Giokos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END