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Illinois Mother Charged in Son's Death; President's Rating with Employed Voters; Mortgage Rates Hit New High; Coy Wire with Sports Headlines. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 07, 2026 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[09:32:45]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Disturbing new details about an Illinois mother now charged with killing her two-year-old son. Prosecutors say Corie Walsh was very invested in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial and had texted her friends about it just hours before she allegedly strangled her own son. A neighbor found the toddler in the basement last Tuesday afternoon, and Walsh in the bathroom with a knife.

CNN's Whitney Wild is joining us now.

Those details mirror some of the details in the Clancy trial. What are you learning about this, this morning?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is an absolutely tragic incident.

Let me walk you through the timeline here, because I think it's that that is what really has people wondering what role the Lindsay Clancy trial played in Corie Walsh, according to police, carrying out this horrific crime.

She was texting on a group text with her friends about the Lindsay Clancy trial until 12:30 on Tuesday. By 4:00, police had responded to a report of an unresponsive toddler.

Here's how it happened. A neighbor found Barrett Walsh, just two years old, hanging from a rafter in the basement. That neighbor tried to save Barrett Walsh's life, taking that child down, trying to perform CPR, but, unfortunately, that child was declared dead by 5:00 that afternoon, just one hour after being -- after police arrived.

That neighbor also found Corie Walsh in an upstairs bathroom. According to police, actively trying to harm herself. So, the neighbor basically grabbed the knife, threw it into the sink, and as police arrived, they found the neighbor pressing towels onto Corie Walsh's thigh.

Officers spoke with her following this incident, and they say that she said she did this because her toddler was the devil and was the antichrist and provided detail that was consistent with the scene that they saw.

There was a baby home at the time. That child was unharmed. Horrifically, two school-aged children came home around the time Barrett Walsh was found, as this incident was playing out.

The attorney for Corie Walsh says that this was a psychotic episode and that once all of the facts are revealed, that everyone will see this for what it is, which she says was a psychotic episode.

[09:35:02]

Corie Walsh's husband was not in town at the time. He has since flown home. She remains in custody.

Law enforcement is actively trying to keep her in custody because they say she made comments following this incident about harming the other children and even harming her husband.

She has her court hearing tomorrow in Will County, so we'll see what happens there. Again, the attorney saying clearly this is a psychotic episode. Police saying this is plainly first-degree murder.

Sara.

SIDNER: Super disturbing, especially considering the closeness in details to the Lindsay Clancy case, that she was watching.

Whitney Wild, thank you for bringing us those details this morning from Chicago.

All right, ahead, the American dream becoming less and less affordable. Mortgage rates surged to their highest levels this year. What this means for home buyers and for homeowners.

Also, burning away bad vibes. How setting a fire to a 50-foot marionette known as Old Man Gloom became an annual symbol for redemption in Santa Fe. Bye, bye, Old Man Gloom.

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[09:40:53]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, happy Labor Day, everyone. It is a federal holiday and a great number of people in the CNN Washington bureau have it off, apparently, as you will see -- as you will see later this afternoon. Nevertheless, nevertheless, we are here and happy to be here, and it's a good time to check in on how the president is doing with voters who have jobs.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, boy.

BERMAN: It is great to see you.

ENTEN: It's beautiful to see you. We are working on Labor Day. BERMAN: We are. And we're not wearing ties.

ENTEN: No.

BERMAN: But we are working.

OK, so how is the president doing with people who have jobs, the (INAUDIBLE) people?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. We currently have jobs. We'll see if by the end of this performance CNN decides to keep me on.

But either way, let's take a look at how the president is doing on the economy when it comes to those who are employed full time. And it's just a complete 180.

Look, this was a major strength for him back in 2024 when it came to the economy. Look at this, employed voters, Trump and the economy versus Harris. He was trusted more than Harris by 20 points on the economy. But look at his net approval rating now amongst those who are employed full time. It is 41 points underwater. Way down there we go. Down into the Hudson River. We're talking about a switcheroo in the wrong direction of 61 points on this Labor Day. We're talking about those fully employed and how they view Trump and the economy. It is not a happy Labor Day, indeed, for President Trump when it comes to how those who are employed view him on the economy.

BERMAN: One of the questions that we do ask in polling, which you get interesting responses is, is it a good time to go get yourself a good job? What's the shift there been?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So again, we're looking at those who are currently employed, talking about workers. And these numbers have just become considerably worse under Trump. Take a look here. Workers, good time to find a quality job. Bad time. Good time. You know, in 2024, Q4, this is part of the reason why President Trump won that election, right? The numbers were going south. Fifty-four percent of those in the workforce said those workers said it was a bad time to find a job. But it is only that bad number has gone way up. Seventy-two percent as of Q2 in 2026, the last quarter. Look at that, that's a rise of 18 points. And, of course, you see the exact inverse of that, right, 46 percent good time to now 28 percent good time. So, those who are in the workforce, simply put, do not think it is a good time to find a quality job. And that bad number has only climbed ever higher.

BERMAN: It's interesting because we had a pretty good jobs report last week, but this is sentiment.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: It's not about the jobs data, this is about the sentiment. And that's not good right now.

ENTEN: The sentiment, very bad. And the sentiment is what drives things going into the election two months from now. BERMAN: All right, when we're looking at this group, this subgroup of

people who have jobs, what are they saying about their vote for the House?

ENTEN: Yes, you know, you talk about the election two months from now. I was talking about it. Just take a look here. OK, choice for the House, employed voters. Look, those -- these fully employed, look at that, full time, plus six points for Republicans back in October of 2024. Look at that margin, a complete switcheroo. Now Democrats ahead by nine points at this point amongst those who are employed full time. Those in the labor force, they are turning against the president of United States and, therefore, turning against Republicans running for Congress.

BERMAN: What are the prediction markets saying about what people expect to happen with jobs?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you know, again, this is part of, you know, data versus sentiment, right? The data in the real world versus the sentiment. Chance 2026 white collar job layoffs exceed 2025, 58 percent. So, look, that's, you know, that's kind of split 50/50 on this. So, you're basically seeing the Kalshi prediction market saying one thing about where the real job market is going and what the polling says. And the polling says that voter sentiment, very, very low at this point, unhappy with the president and Republicans.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, great to see you on this federal holiday.

ENTEN: Fantastic. I made it through this segment. I still have a job.

BERMAN: We do have news on this Labor Day. We'll be right back.

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[09:49:09]

SIDNER: New this morning, mortgage rates have surged to their highest level of the year, making it a lot more expensive to buy a home or refinance a mortgage. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is now 6.7 percent, the highest level since July of 2025.

CNN's Samantha Delouya is covering this, and she joins me now live.

I mean this is exactly the opposite of what anyone looking for a home would be hoping for, and also the administration as well.

SAMANTHA DELOUYA, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: That's exactly right, Sara. This is bad news if you are hoping to buy a home, if you've been waiting on the sidelines to look for a place. Mortgage rates are going back up, and many economists don't expect them to come down any time soon.

It's also bad news for homeowners who bought in the last four years expecting mortgage rates to come down sooner.

[09:50:04] Many of those homeowners I spoke to, and they told me that they had been told to "date the rate, marry the home," meaning that home -- you would be with your home forever, but your mortgage rate would only be temporary. Now those people are feeling like those mortgage rates are actually more permanent.

I spoke to one woman who's home costs increased $900 a month when she bought a new home in 2022. Four years later, inflation has gotten higher. Her home insurance has gotten higher. And those $900 payments every month are weighing on her. She's had to take a second job. She said she's unable to pay off her student loans. And it's a very difficult situation for many homeowners.

If you had a 3 percent loan in 2020 versus, let's say, a seven percent or six percent loan in 2022 and beyond, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars more over the 30-year loan in just mortgage payments alone, not even in your principal. So, it's a very difficult situation for a lot of people locked into those high mortgage rates.

SIDNER: Yes, 900 extra dollars a month that you were not counting on is a heck of a lot of a burden.

Samantha, thank you so much for that reporting. Not the news that homeowners want to hear.

John.

BERMAN: All right, in south Fulton, Georgia, there's a fire at a pallet manufacturing facility. Several people reported hearing loud booms and feeling their homes shake. Officials have issued a smoke advisory, but they did say no toxic hazard has been identified. Not clear what started the fire there.

In Italy, fully autonomous cars went head to head on the track. No cockpits or steering wheels, just supercomputers, GPS, radar and cameras.

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MARKO BERTOGNA, TEAM PRINCIPAL, UNIMORE RACING: (INAUDIBLE) are known for giving track (ph). Let's say you achieve very, very high speed, then there are very, very little room for error.

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BERMAN: The cars are programed not to collide with each other, but they say the technology is not perfect yet. I will say, we've driven remote control cars for a long time. So, yippee.

In New Mexico, a special celebration is called the burning of Zozobra. Every year they light up a 50-foot figure of Old Man Gloom to symbolize the destruction of grief and grudges. I'm sure this works very well. This year the figure was dressed as King George III in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States. I will say, I still hold a grudge, so it does not work perfectly.

SIDNER: It's a day of airing our grievances, right?

BERMAN: Yes. Exactly.

SIDNER: I mean that was --

BERMAN: It's our American right.

SIDNER: All right. Say goodbye to your free Saturdays. College football has made its glorious, chaotic return over the weekend. And one of the preseason favorites, Notre Dame, turned a nail biter into a no doubter on Sunday.

CNN's Coy Wire joining us now.

I can see the twinkle in your eye because football season has begun.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, and who's not ready for Wednesday night? Monday -- instead of Monday night football kickoff for the NFL this week, it's going to be a good one.

Now, Notre Dame, they entered this season as the biggest preseason favorites to win the title in 20 years. They take Lambeau Field to face the Wisconsin Badgers. And after a tight 13 to 10 halftime lead, the Irish hit the Cheeseheads with the afterburners. On offense, on special teams and on defense, D.J. McKinney says, give me that, 55 yard pick six to the house. Notre Dame rules, 41 to 13. They're six to one odds favorites to win it entering this season.

Now western Michigan thought they had pulled off the upset of the year when Michigan's hail Mary sailed out of bounds Saturday night. Ball hit the defender, who had been out of bounds. And with the clock seemingly reading all zeros, the Broncos were celebrating. Coach goes out onto the field. But after review, officials determined there was somehow still a sliver of time remaining. So, Michigan's Bryce Underwood says, let's try that again. And he found JJ Buchanan, 47 yards into the end zone. Michigan wins 13 to 12. The confusion was the broadcast clock appeared to hit zero. The Big Ten says the replay showed the play was dead with one second still on the official stadium clock. The MAC reviewed the Big Ten's video and audio and accepted the ruling. Western Michigan says it will not appeal, so the result stands.

How about those Red Sox, John Berman, facing the Orioles. And pitcher Payton Tolle, he's getting Boston pumped. Bottom of the third, loses his footing, decides to do a push off. Just play it off, right, Sara. He goes beast mode in this game too, notching his third start of the season with ten or more strikeouts. He had 12 k's in six innings pitched. But here comes Aroldis Chapman making history.

[09:55:01]

He comes in to save the day. His 400th career save. He's just the ninth pitcher ever to reach that mark. Red Sox complete the series sweep of Baltimore with a three to one win.

All right, Sara, this is for you. Nebraska and Missouri women's volleyball, Wrigley field, 43,000 fans. First ever match at the iconic stadium. But in the very first set we see it's a very slippery situation, literally.

SIDNER: Oh, shoot.

WIRE: So humid, the court look more like the hockey rink. Players wiping out.

SIDNER: Oh, wow.

WIRE: So, they get to wiping up. Players, coaches grabbing towels, turning into human squeegees. And they're having fun too. Look at these smiles. Seventeen-minute delay. Play did resume for a bit, but it was still too slippery. So, they just bust out into a dance battle. Then they waved bye. Fans were making beer snakes. The game eventually suspended due to weather conditions.

I have to ask you, Sara, I mean, when you bring out the towels, a leaf blower at one point, that's more like auto detailing than volleyball. And you played college volleyball.

SIDNER: Listen, this is what we do.

WIRE: Did you ever experience anything like this?

SIDNER: No, but I would have totally done that. Like you do what needs to be done to get the job done, obviously.

BERMAN: By that you mean the beer snake, more than anything.

Coy Wire, thank you very much for being with us.

Sara, I assume you have the rest of the day off?

SIDNER: Yes. No. Neither do you.

BERMAN: Exactly.

SIDNER: We'll be back.

BERMAN: Thanks for being with us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SITUATION ROOM" up next.

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