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Interview with Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX): Progressives, Conservative Unite Over AI at Pro-Human Event; California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Running for President in 2028; Pennsylvania Reports Fourth Measles-Related Death. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired September 15, 2026 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Protecting people from artificial intelligence is bringing together opposite ends of the political spectrum. Today, independent Senator Bernie Sanders joined forces with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon at what's been dubbed the Pro- Human Assembly. The two are just some of the odd alliances attending this event.
Their goal is keeping humans in control amid dire warnings about the risks of AI to humanity. Here's Sanders and Bannon earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): We are at a dangerous and unprecedented moment in world history.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER CHIEF STRATEGIST, FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: We're trying to raise above partisanship and we have to. We have to rise above it. This is a hinge in history.
We have to handle this right, correctly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: As members of Congress are grappling with whether to regulate artificial intelligence, some are wondering if their fellow lawmakers even know how.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that senators even understand AI?
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): No, a lot of them can't spell it. They just don't have the experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: My next guest is one of the lawmakers who spoke today at the Pro-Human Assembly. Congressman Greg Kassar is a Democrat from Texas and joins me now from Capitol Hill. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. So you're calling for a ban on artificial superintelligence and a broader pause on the development of advanced models. I wonder how you would define where the line is. How would you know also when to lift that ban?
REP. GREG CASAR (D-TX), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Boris, it's good to be here with you. And we're hearing from researchers inside of these major AI companies that were hurtling towards a cliff. And right now is time to pump the brakes or at least build the brakes to stop catastrophic risk.
We can tackle this challenge because there's just a couple of frontier labs where we need to put a pause on this rapid AI development that is hurtling out of control and put in place basic safeguards to make sure that you can't develop AI models that spin out of human control, that break laws on their own, or that could have capacity to develop or provide support for biochemical weapons or nuclear weapons. It's really that simple.
That's why you see people on different parts of the ideological spectrum here saying this is just a common sense national security issue. We should not have rogue, out-of-control machines that could deceive humans or refuse to be turned off.
SANCHEZ: If this is akin to the space race or the race to develop and amplify nuclear weapons like we saw during the Cold War, wouldn't any kind of ban in the United States increase the risk that the U.S. would fall behind China?
[15:35:00]
CASAR: We absolutely should ban superintelligence, not just in the United States, but in China and around the world. And putting guardrails in place right now to protect Americans is a way to show that we are very serious about getting to a global deal, and it would actually slow down China because Chinese models are trained on American models.
And so Boris, I totally agree that we need not just to protect ourselves but protect the world. You don't win the AI arms race. It's the kind of race where when you win, you could fall hurtling over a deadly cliff.
We need to end the AI arms race the same way a generation before me was able to stop nuclear proliferation and pass arms control deals with the Soviet Union even during the Cold War. We can do the same today.
SANCHEZ: You're pushing for the U.S. to enter into international agreements to stop the creation of dangerous AI models. President Xi Jinping made a similar call earlier this week. China, though, as you know, is party to international treaties that, for instance, prevent it from stealing intellectual property.
But there's a consensus that Beijing does that. So can the U.S. trust China to comply with any AI agreement? CASAR: Well, the Soviet Union and the United States certainly did not trust each other during the Cold War, but we had enforceable, verifiable arms control treaties, and we should get to the same, an enforceable treaty. Because look, the AI arms race is not one that America wins or China wins. It's one where we all lose.
And so it is in the best interest of the United States and of China and of people around the world for us to not get to machines that could be deadly and spin out of control. JFK said right before he was assassinated that whether you are Soviet or from the United States, we all breathe the same air. We all inhabit this same tiny planet.
And similarly, we all breathe the same air and want a future for our kids. That means ending the AI arms race and making this a top priority of the United States. We should lead in technological development, but we should also lead the world in AI diplomacy.
SANCHEZ: Now Congressman, I don't want to diminish the acuity of some of your colleagues when it comes to tech. But citing what we just heard there from Senator Tillis, there are concerns among the American people that many members of Congress aren't up to date with new technology and may not fully grasp what AI is capable of, what it is going to be capable of. I wonder if you have confidence with especially some of the older members of Congress that have been around for a long time that may not be quite as techie as younger generations.
How confident are you that they can wrap their heads around this and that they are eager to pass legislation that could restrict this?
CASAR: Well, Boris, we've got to wake up as the United States Congress on this issue. When I've been talking to members of Congress about some of these alarming new incidents, some of these members have not heard about these capabilities. So it's time for Congress to get to work.
As far as age is concerned, of course, I'm one of the youngest members of Congress, but I'm working with an older gentleman, Senator Bernie Sanders, who has been actually the real leader on this issue, because you don't need a PhD in AI to understand that if Boeing said they had new fast planes that didn't listen to pilots and sometimes blew up and killed everyone inside, the government would say, no, Boeing, you can't do that. Similarly, the government can tell these AI companies that their models have to be safe.
If we wouldn't let those planes fly, we should not allow dangerous AI to be developed. It's that simple.
SANCHEZ: Congressman, before we go, I want to ask you about the top Democrat on House Oversight launching this investigation into a ProPublica report that a Russian oligarch made a very expensive wedding gift, what's being described as a wedding gift, related to Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding. His wife, Bettina, called it a gift. She rejected the idea that it came with a political motive or agenda.
We heard the attorney general say that he's not familiar with this oligarch. He challenged the idea that oligarch has ties to Vladimir Putin, and he said the president didn't know who this was. What is your reaction to those comments from the attorney general, Todd Blanche?
CASAR: Oh, my God. I mean, it is just corruption, plain and simple. And the Trump administration and his family aren't just corrupt with American oligarchs, but those abroad, they're getting payments from the Saudis into Jared Kushner's companies.
He's accepting multiple $100 million planes, $400 million palace in the sky from regimes in the Middle East.
[15:40:00]
And now this latest news that one of Putin's buddies made a quote unquote big wedding gift. I mean, that's just a bribe. And so I am glad that ranking member Garcia is going to be launching this investigation.
And when Democrats are in charge, we will be issuing subpoenas to root out corruption in the Trump administration, because we need to end corruption in Washington and make sure that elected officials are working on the cost of living crisis instead of enriching themselves in office.
SANCHEZ: Congressman Greg Casar, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate your time.
CASAR: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Coming up, "OUT OF OFFICE." CNN's Jake Tapper going fishing with Gavin Newsom as the California governor contemplates a run in 2028. He says there's one thing, though, that would stop him from making a presidential bid -- a fellow Democrat. We'll explain when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:00]
SANCHEZ: California Governor Gavin Newsom's term is about to come to an end. My colleague Jake Tapper went fly fishing in Montana with the governor and asked him if he's decided on a potential 2028 presidential run. This just the first of several interviews Jake is going to be doing like this for a new digital video series with politicians and public figures on both sides of the aisle as they step out of their offices and off the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be a lot of people.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Yes.
TAPPER: It's a lot of Democrats.
NEWSOM: 31 flavors.
TAPPER: And you're not even the only Californian.
NEWSOM: No, right? Yes.
TAPPER: You got Ro Khanna.
NEWSOM: Yes.
TAPPER: Kamala.
NEWSOM: Yes. I don't know if she runs, but we'll see.
TAPPER: I know she's called around.
NEWSOM: Yes. But I wouldn't run if she ran.
TAPPER: If she runs, you will not.
NEWSOM: Of course not. Why would I? I wouldn't do that to her. I wouldn't do it to me.
I wouldn't do that to you. I wouldn't waste everyone's time. Who needs that?
TAPPER: What do you mean? That doesn't even make sense to me.
NEWSOM: I just I wouldn't. No, I wouldn't. First of all, electorally, it's a gift from God for everybody else.
They enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It services no greater good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Jake Tapper joins us now. So, Jake, if Harris doesn't run in 2028, do you get the sense that Newsom would throw his hat in the ring?
TAPPER (on camera): Certainly. Absolutely. And I've heard it speculated that the reason he said that is because he knows that she's not running.
And this is a way to get goodwill, engender goodwill among Harris supporters. I don't know that that's true. I mean, and I don't know that she's not running.
I know a lot of people who seem to be under the impression that she might. But he does seem in a way that I've never -- and I've been interviewing him now for years.
He does seem to be right on the precipice of running, yes.
SANCHEZ: He's been doing a podcast and obviously an interview like this one in which he got personal and opened up about his struggles with dyslexia and the fact that President Trump made fun of him for that. What did he share?
TAPPER: Yes, specifically. Well, he writes. He has a new memoir out earlier this year, and he writes a lot about his dyslexia in that.
And I asked him about the fact that President Trump took him on, on that subject. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWSOM: What was interesting about that, though, more than anything else, was the number of people that responded. They didn't like that. New scum they can handle, but someone struggling reading connected to a lot of moms that have kids that are struggling.
TAPPER: I'm sure a ton of people in the White House have, if not them, relatives. We all do.
NEWSOM: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER (on camera): Yes. I mean, learning challenges are not just the providence of Democrats. So Newsom, Governor Newsom thought that that was a mistake by President Trump for any number of reasons.
It was a very long, wide ranging conversation. We talked about a lot of different things. I hope people check it out.
SANCHEZ: Yes, including him witnessing his mother passing after a long battle with breast cancer as a result of assisted suicide.
TAPPER: Assisted suicide before assisted suicide was legal. This is in 2002, before he even ran for mayor of San Francisco. It's now legal in California.
We talked about that as well.
SANCHEZ: The biggest question I have after watching --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: That must have been horrible to go through with your mom.
NEWSOM: Come on. I mean, she left a voice message saying my last day on Earth is next Thursday. If you want to come by and see me, check in.
And I'll never forget what an asshole I felt like because she did that because I was not paying attention to her. So she had to leave a voice message. Young man in a hurry, you know, just grinding every day and sort of selfish and self-indulgent.
I mean, I was walking down the path of my father, sort of neglect, neglecting those hard decisions, choices and relationships, emotion.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER (on camera): That's a goal for this kind of interview. This long form is just get these people out of the studio away from hair and makeup and into a setting where they can really feel like they can have a real conversation. And I felt like I understood him and his psyche a little better after the interview.
I hope other people agree.
SANCHEZ: Yes, certainly more reflective than you ever hear a potential presidential candidate get. Who caught more fish?
TAPPER: Well, I have to say, first of all, he's a much better fisherman than I am. And my form, I am a beginner fisherman. And boy, do I hate watching my awful casting form?
I know people I know just go like this. Don't go all the way back. And I'm very embarrassed by how bad my form is.
We each caught one fish. It was not a great day out there. And one of the reasons was -- or the only reason was because of the cruel producers that wouldn't let us get close to where the fish were, because then we would have been -- they wouldn't have been able to film us.
And we and we mentioned that in the in the longer interview. But we each caught one big rainbow trout. So it wasn't nothing.
[15:50:00]
SANCHEZ: Catch and release or did you --
TAPPER: Catch and release. No, no, catch and release.
SANCHEZ: All right.
TAPPER: And yes, anyway, but he's a much better fisherman than I am.
SANCHEZ: We look forward to watching the full interview. We also look forward to Senator Bernie Sanders on "THE LEAD". Not to spoil anything.
Can you give us a preview? I imagine --
TAPPER: Oh, we're going to talk about, you know, as I see you've been covering it. He participated in a panel with Steve Bannon and people from across the political spectrum expressing concerns about AI. So we're going to talk to him about that.
He's been sounding the alarm about AI for a long time. And so we're going to get him to weigh in.
SANCHEZ: Jake Tapper, thank you so much. Of course, you can catch "THE LEAD" on CNN at 5 p.m. Eastern. Look forward to that and the interview again with Gavin Newsom as well.
TAPPER: Thanks. SANCHEZ: Still ahead, Pennsylvania reporting a fourth death related to the growing measles outbreak. We have the latest there from the Commonwealth.
[15:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Breaking news in the CNN Pennsylvania now reporting a fourth measles related death. The state has been fighting an outbreak of the disease. CNN's Jacqueline Howard joins us now.
So, Jacqueline, what are you hearing about this latest victim?
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Boris, what we know about this latest victim, they were just 18 years old, and they had a rare neurological complication of measles known as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. And they were not vaccinated against the measles virus. And they lived in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
And they are just one of hundreds of people who've gotten sick with measles as part of this outbreak, Boris. So far, at least 693 people have gotten sick with measles and at least 133 people have been hospitalized. But now that we have four deaths total, that is really alarming, not just for the state of Pennsylvania, but for the entire country, Boris.
The last time the United States had four people die of measles in a single year was in 1992. And if you look at this chart, in the year 2000 is when measles was declared eliminated in the United States. But if you see on this chart here, in recent years, we have seen these occasional upticks of cases in pockets of unvaccinated communities.
And so far in 2026, this year, we already have reached nearly 3,300 cases nationwide. And that is way more than the total number of cases that were reported in all of last year. So we are on this upward trajectory, which is really concerning to see, Boris.
SANCHEZ: And Jacqueline, the outbreak also sparked a political clash between state and federal officials, specifically Governor Josh Shapiro and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have either commented on this fourth death?
HOWARD: Yes, you know, throughout this outbreak in Pennsylvania, we have seen a lot of back and forth between Governor Shapiro and RFK Jr. Just today, Governor Shapiro did post about this latest death on his X account. He wrote about how all of the deaths in this outbreak so far have been tragedies and four families are grieving. But he also mentions Kennedy by name where he says, quote, "This serious situation continues to be made worse by RFK Jr. playing games with public health and safety. It's long past time for Secretary Kennedy to stop stoking vaccine skepticism and misinformation," end quote.
And we have not yet seen or heard a response from Kennedy yet, Boris. So but while this back and forth is happening, the main takeaway from health officials that they want to get out there that the best way to protect yourself against measles is to get vaccinated, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Important advice, as always, Jacqueline Howard, thank you for that.
Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Senator Mitch McConnell back on Capitol Hill after a three month absence. McConnell appearing noticeably thinner, his speech slower as he moved about the Hill in a wheelchair. The 84 year old had previously revealed being hospitalized in June after a fall and then came down with pneumonia. Here he is speaking briefly with reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN, MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I'm glad to see you. Time to get back to work and finish the job for Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: McConnell has already said he's not running for reelection. He admits he's still not 100 percent.
In Miami, a chaotic scene after an 85 foot drilling rig crane collapsed in the middle of a neighborhood. Four people had to be hospitalized, including a rig operator who jumped out right before the crash. Officials say a woman driving on a street next to the site was able to see the crane falling and put her car in reverse, moving just enough out of the way to avoid being crushed.
The crane also fell on a storage container with two construction workers inside. Fortunately, they were later pulled out of that container and were able to walk away. The cause of this collapse remains under investigation.
And now some new video into CNN of scary moments on a bus in Atlanta last Monday. Police say the driver just fell asleep moments before he crashed into a tree. You see him there on the left side of your screen waking up just moments after hitting the tree. He nodded off with his hands on his lap.
The bus on the right drifts into the other lane and then smashes into the tree. CNN affiliate WXIA says that three people on the bus, including the driver, were injured. Police say the driver, who has not been identified, was charged with distracted driving, also failure to maintain lane.
[16:00:00]
MARTA, which of course operates bus service in Atlanta, says it is now reviewing the incident.
Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon. "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.
END
