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Ground Zero Air Quality Cover-Up?; Lindsay Clancy Defense Attorney Speaks Out; Miami Crash Investigation; Canada Retaliates in Trade War. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 08, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Canada is hitting back. Retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of American products kick in today. We're talking about everything from steel to cosmetics.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And new details on the deadly crash after an Amazon cargo jet ran off a runway in Miami, the chairwoman of the NTSB describing the scene as -- quote -- "utter devastation."

And toxic air. New York's mayor releasing 9/11 documents showing officials knew at the time that the air quality around Ground Zero was not safe to breathe.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We start this afternoon with Canada throwing its counterpunch in its trade war with the Trump administration.

The Canadian government now slapping retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of U.S. exports. And, in response, President Trump is now taking aim at one of Canada's top aircraft companies, a company that's said to have created tens of thousands of American jobs.

CNN's Matt Egan joins us now with more on what all of this means.

So, Matt, what is the latest?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Boris, the U.S.-Canada trade war, it is clearly heating up. And the risk for Americans is that workers, they end up getting caught in the middle here.

So these new retaliatory tariffs from Canada, they range from 15 percent on the low end all the way up to 50 percent on the high end. And this is impacting roughly $20 billion of U.S. goods. Now, that's a big number. But, remember, this is a massive trading relationship. So, $20 billion, that represents less than 10 percent of what Canada imported from the United States last year. So, what is Canada targeting? Well, it's a range of different

industries, everything from steel and aluminum, which is now getting hit with this 50 percent tariff, to dairy, agricultural equipment, electronics, paper, and appliances as well.

So, these tariffs mean that Canada is making it more expensive for Canadian consumers and businesses to import those U.S. goods. And the risk is that some American companies that rely on Canada to buy their goods, that they're going to be hurt here by less demand from Canada, because those U.S. goods are suddenly a lot less economical than they were.

And so you could have a situation where some companies, they're forced to cut back on the hours of their workers or even lay off some employees if demand goes down enough. Now, that's something we have to pay close attention to. It probably wouldn't happen right away, but it clearly is a risk here.

Now, President Trump, he's taken a range of other actions to try to put pressure on Canada. He's renaming Lake Ontario to be Lake America. He's threatening a 50 percent tariff on autos that are imported from Canada starting on January 1. And, yes, he's threatening to ban sales of jets from Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier.

Now, Bombardier responded in a statement where they're saying that they are a strong contributor to America's aerospace industry, and they have noted in the past that they employ roughly 3,000 people in the United States, and they work with 2,800 U.S. suppliers.

So, the implicit message there is that, yes, some U.S. workers could get hurt if President Trump follows through on that threat. Bottom line, this trade war, it continues to escalate. And, Boris, the longer it goes on, the greater the risk it does some real damage to consumers and to the U.S. economy.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no doubt.

Matt, stepping back, from an objective view, what side has the upper hand? Does either side have the upper hand?

EGAN: Well, Boris, it's no secret the U.S. economy much bigger than Canada's economy. It's something that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, he mentioned last week on the sidelines of some of those G20 meetings, where he noted that you don't want to get into a tit for tat battle with an economy that's 13 times bigger than yours.

But, look, Canada does have some leverage here too, because Canada is the biggest foreign buyer of U.S. goods in most U.S. states. And that includes some politically sensitive states ahead of the midterms, including Ohio, Michigan, and Maine. And Canadian officials, they have said that they calibrated these retaliatory tariffs to put political pressure on the Trump administration ahead of the midterms.

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But you know what? The reality is, economists say that no one really wins in a trade war, right? There's just varying degrees of losers. Both sides could get hurt here. And it's really hard to see how this trade war is going to help lower the cost of living or bolster the job market. I think it's easier to see how the opposite could happen -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Matt Egan, appreciate the report. Thanks for joining us -- Brianna.

KEILAR: The Miami-Dade County sheriff just released the names of the five people who were killed when an Amazon cargo plane overran its runway this weekend.

The sheriff says all of the victims were inside of a cleaning van -- a cleaning crew van that was traveling on an airport service road Sunday at Miami International Airport. She read out their names in a news conference this morning.

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ROSIE CORDERO-STUTZ, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHERIFF: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55 years of age, Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53 years of age, Julio C. Pineda, 75 years of age, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53 years of age, Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47 years of age.

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KEILAR: Some newly obtained footage appears to show one of the pilots there jumping from the front of the Boeing 767 as it was on fire. Today, the sheriff reported both pilots were released from the hospital. Five other people on the ground were also injured in this, and the sheriff says two of them are in critical condition.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is in Miami following all of this for us.

Pete, what's the latest?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just got an update from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Department on the identities of the two pilots, 37-year-old Jaime Felipe Silva Molina and Joseph Carol, 55 years old.

That new video shows one of the pilots evacuating from that Boeing 767 as it careened off the end of the runway and into a parking lot not far from here. This is Northwest 67 Avenue, the plane about a quarter- mile behind me with its tail still in the air right now.

That video has some really key telltales as well. It shows that the thrust reversers, at least according to that video, were not deployed. A sleeve sort of slides back on each engine nacelle to show that the thrust reversers have been deployed, and those spoilers on the wings that help slow the airplane down, those also not visible in that video.

Of course, it's something that the NTSB will want to dig into here with the official data that they now are getting their arms around. Just spoke to NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, and the NTSB right now is analyzing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder that have been recovered from this plane and taken to the NTSB's recorders laboratory in Washington, D.C.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy tells me that there will likely be at least some bullet points from the data on board that plane at a press conference later today, right now scheduled for 4:00 p.m., although it's possible that slides back.

I want you to listen now to Chair Homendy as she talks about some of the publicly available information out there. It shows that the plane hit the fence here, essentially one off the end of the runway, at 130 miles per hour. But she said to exercise some caution as the NTSB still pulls that data from the plane. Listen.

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JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: We should have all that data, hopefully, to provide later today. But I would caution everybody to hang on until we have the actual data in hand before drawing any conclusions.

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MUNTEAN: Chair Homendy called this scene here after she and about 30 other NTSB investigators -- devastating, that they toured it, saw a large debris tail -- debris trail as this plane left the runway, traveled about 1, 300 feet through a perimeter road and into a Ford Econoline van that was on that road.

We now know from the Miami-Dade sheriff's department that all five killed were in that van, two passengers also in that van now facing injuries as well, some here are injured still in the hospital at this hour, Brianna.

Still a very fluid scene, although the NTSB says the recovery operation has ended now, and they have secured defueling this plane, meaning taking fuel off of the plane, to make it safer for investigators to do their forensic work here before this plane is ultimately moved, maybe in a week or so.

Only then will the two runways that are still closed here at Miami International Airport be reopened.

KEILAR: All right, Pete, thank you so much for the latest there from Miami.

Still to come, 25 years after 9/11, we're learning just how toxic the air was at Ground Zero, what city officials knew and did not tell the public at the time.

Plus, a plea for a pardon. The attorney for Lindsay Clancy appealing directly to President Trump in a new interview.

[13:10:05] And not again. It took thieves just five minutes to steal four Renoirs from a French museum. We will have more on this stunning heist coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: New developments in the Lindsay Clancy case.

Her attorney is now expressing a willingness to work out a plea deal after her murder trial ended in a mistrial. Kevin Reddington discussing the case during an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." He even called on President Trump to pardon Clancy.

SANCHEZ: Remember, one holdout juror prevented the panel from reaching a unanimous verdict.

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Reddington is now explaining his frustration with that juror.

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KEVIN REDDINGTON, ATTORNEY FOR LINDSAY CLANCY: What I was upset about was, after that lengthy trial and the work that everyone put into this case, including these jurors that spent literally almost two months away from their home, their job, their family, where a gentleman had an opinion not that he was sticking, like the movie "12 Angry Men," but, in fact, he had agreed, according to the note from the forelady, that he had doubt, but he would not apply the law of reasonable doubt as presented by the judge.

That's not right, and that's why I was upset.

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SANCHEZ: Let's go to CNN's Jean Casarez.

Jean, what does Reddington's willingness to work with the district attorney now signal?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's surprising.

Do you want to say about that juror, that is what the foreperson said. We don't know what the juror himself is saying, because he has not spoken out. He could have been, according to the prosecution, deliberating as you normally would.

Now, back to the news of today, Keith (sic) Reddington, a couple days ago, he said he's ready to retrial this case next week, now backing off from that a bit, saying he'd like to talk to the prosecution. Now, in a plea deal, the prosecution, they hold the cards, and it's truly a negotiation.

Prosecutors are not going to allow Lindsay Clancy to plead not guilty. I will wager that. And so there's a compromise somewhere in the middle if potentially it would reach that, along with probably some significant things one way or the other.

But in pleading guilty, you're saying you knew right from wrong. And that's not what the defense has been all along. I want you to listen to Kevin Reddington himself in this interview saying he's willing to possibly strike a deal.

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REDDINGTON: I hope, however, after sitting through this trial and seeing the evidence that was presented from the government, as well as from the defense, that he would revisit that issue and hopefully would be able to work something out that would be acceptable to both sides.

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CASAREZ: Work something out.

Now, Patrick Clancy, he has been the brunt of so many accusations on social media. His legal team has spoken out today. We want to show you some of what they're saying.

"Patrick Clancy and his family have been subjected to a relentless, escalating and destructive defamation campaign. Enough is enough. This spread of blatant and baseless falsehoods must stop. Those responsible should understand that there will be consequences, and every appropriate measure will be pursued to hold them accountable, including legally. Law enforcement has been notified."

That is a very strong statement from legal counsel right there. And they waited until the end of the case to bring this out.

KEILAR: So, what's next for the case if both sides actually do reach a deal, Jean?

CASAREZ: Well, I think we're -- all eyes are focused on September 29, because that is a status hearing. And that is where we may learn some information. Obviously, if they're going to talk, they have got a time period now. We're already into September, but we're a few weeks away.

And what will be the resolution? It could be announced on that day. So that's an important date right there.

SANCHEZ: And, Jean, Reddington also has a request for President Trump for a pardon. Tell us more.

CASAREZ: Well, he asked the president of the United States to give Lindsay Clancy a pardon. Here's the challenge in that. Number one, there has not been a conviction, no conviction at this point. There is, like, a presumptive pardon, but that is unusual. No conviction.

Number two, this is a state case. And the federal jurisdiction -- the president of the United States can pardon federally, not with a commonwealth, not by the state.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and, notably, President Trump last week, when opining on the decision, said that there will be a price to pay. So, unclear what his disposition would be in this case anyway.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much for that.

CASAREZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Coming up: The search for an American family missing after their plane disappeared near the Bahamas ends in tragedy. We have the latest on what officials are saying.

That story is next.

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KEILAR: Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, we're learning the truth about just how unsafe the air around Ground Zero really was at the time, New York City releasing 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records.

Those documents show city officials knew the air was unsafe to breathe, despite repeatedly telling the public otherwise.

SANCHEZ: Since then, Mayor Zohran Mamdani says more people have died from 9/11-related cancers and other illnesses than the roughly 3,000 that were killed in the attacks themselves.

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ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: It would be one thing if government had stood alongside survivors and provided them with everything they needed at every step of the way. And yet we know that could not be further from what actually happened.

People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air. And then, when they began to contend with the symptoms of the illnesses that followed, the government that had not hesitated to send them into harm's way was nowhere to be found.

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SANCHEZ: CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now.

So, Gloria, what does Mayor Mamdani say these documents show?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, Brianna, we -- it's certainly not the first time that we are hearing that thousands of people were sick as a result of the toxic air down at Ground Zero.

But, for the first time and what's remarkable about today's announcement is that we are learning that city officials at the time had firsthand knowledge. They were conducting air quality tests in the days after the attacks, and they knew that the air was not only toxic, that it was dangerous, that there were chemical agents in the air that could be cancerous, and that they took that information and still told the public that it was safe to be in the area near Ground Zero.

Now, first responders were down there, but there were also thousands of New Yorkers who lived there, students who went to school there. And in the days and in the rush after 9/11 to reopen the area, all of those people were exposed.

So there's a lot of information in these documents. I think particularly of note is the Harding Memo. The Harding Memo is a document that we have long known about, but could never actually look at. That number -- that memo has now been released.

And the memo shows that the city actually talked about potential legislation and legal action to protect themselves from the potential litigation that could arise as a result of people's exposure to the toxic air and the fact that people were not being provided with adequate safety equipment.

I want you to listen to Jon Stewart. He's been a longtime advocate for both resources for first responders and survivors of 9/11. He has done years of work to make sure that people could get federal funds. Take a listen.

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JON STEWART, COMEDIAN AND ACTIVIST: What we all knew who live in downtown Manhattan is that there was poison in the air, and on the ground, and in the windowsills, and in your air conditioners, and covering your pets and your clothes, and it stayed there for months. Everyone knew.

And now it's very clear that the city knew as well. And rather than take the steps to ameliorate the damage that that would cause to its citizens and to the people that were down there, they instead covered it up to get back to business as usual.

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PAZMINO: Also very importantly, as a result of these documents being released today, the mayor saying he believes that there are likely thousands of more people who will be eligible for resources.

And he said people should come out and apply for the federal victim and survivor resources that exist at the federal level for those who have become ill as a result of their exposure to the area at the time -- Boris, Brianna.

KEILAR: And, Gloria, amid all of this, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is now going after Mayor Mamdani. What can you tell us about that?

PAZMINO: Yes. Yes, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani made some comments a few days ago on the right-wing media outlet Newsmax suggesting that Mayor Zohran Mamdani should skip the 9/11 memorial ceremony that is scheduled for Friday and that takes place every year to mark the anniversary of the attacks, saying that he would be offended if the mayor attended.

The mayor has said several times that he, of course, plans to attend in order to honor the victims and the families of those who were lost. I asked the mayor today if he believed that the legacy of Rudy Giuliani and those who came after him, the Bloomberg administration -- these are administrations that have been hailed for bringing the city back.

And Rudy Giuliani became America's mayor in the aftermath of 9/11, because of how the city responded. Since then, he's certainly had a fall from grace, his connection to Trump, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But the mayor would simply not go there.

He said that that would be up to New Yorkers. But I think there is certainly much to be read into what the mayor is saying there, suggesting that perhaps the legacy of those two administrations since 9/11 is something that New Yorkers should revisit.

KEILAR: All right, Gloria, thank you so much for the latest there.

Still ahead: U.S. military and intelligence officials are said to be discussing a smaller military presence in the Middle East if the Trump administration succeeds in ending the Iran war. We have CNN's new reporting on that next.

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