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Coroner Says Hayden Panettiere Died From an Accidental Overdose; Kamala Harris Hits Campaign Trail With El-Sayed in Michigan; Trump, Zelenskyy Speak on Sidelines of UNGA; Wells Family Disputes Grand Jury's Findings in Teen's Death; Students Protest ICE Shooting in Texas; Judge Sets Sept. 30th Hearing for Venezuelan Man Shot by ICE; Trump Reveals Details on U.S. Military Expansion in Greenland. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 22, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- We must all continue to remain patient and allow the investigative process to unfold."

Now, back on August 16th, according to a Greenville police report, the boyfriend, Brian Hickerson of Panettiere, and his brother, Zach Hickerson, called 9-1-1 to report that she was unresponsive. Medics arrived to an apartment in Greenville where she was temporarily staying to find her in cardiac arrest and were unable to resuscitate her.

Boris, I reached out to Hickerson, a representative for him, but they said they do not have any comment at this time.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for the update.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Back on the trail, former Vice President, Kamala Harris is making a pitch to Democrats in Michigan and adding to the questions about whether she's eyeing another run for the White House.

And a new threat for Iran, President Trump now warning that failure to reach a deal could lead to the annihilation of the country. Iranian officials in the audience to hear the threat for themselves.

And a new hotline to save the world. One idea considered for avoiding a disaster with A.I. A Cold War-style phone line from Washington to Beijing.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

Happening now, former Vice President, Kamala Harris is making her return to the campaign trail in a race that is seen as pivotal for control of the Hill. Harris is in Detroit. She's trying to boost Democratic Senate candidate, Abdul El-Sayed. His race against Republican Mike Rogers could determine if Democrats overtake the GOP's slim Senate majority. But this also marks a big moment for Harris, who's seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

She hasn't said if she's going to run again and she's kept a lower profile in Democratic circles until now.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Detroit standing by at the event there. Arlette, Harris, of course, lost Michigan to Trump back in 2024. Why is El-Sayed's campaign bringing her into the fold now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Abdul El-Sayed told me earlier today that he believes that former Vice President, Kamala Harris could try to help unite some of that Democratic coalition that he is hoping to turn out in this November election. This Michigan Senate race will be quite consequential as it could determine who will control the U.S. Senate next year.

But this is also a pivotal state for 2028, which is why it is so interesting that the former vice president is here in Michigan. Michigan will be a key battleground state in a general election, but it will also have a very early say on who the next Democratic nominee for president should be. Now, Harris and El-Sayed in a very short while will appear at this event. That's really an effort to try to target black voters.

This is an event that will discuss the impact of black maternal health care, an issue that Harris really promoted as a Senator and Vice President. Later in the day, Harris will also be meeting with faith leaders here in Detroit, an event that's aimed at trying to mobilize voters heading into the November election.

But earlier today, I asked El-Sayed about his decision to have Harris campaign with him here in Detroit. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: We've got to bring as many folks in as we possibly can to take on the challenges that we face. And even where there had been disagreements in the past, the things that unite us as Democrats are so much bigger.

I think her presence here speaking to communities that were really empowered by her voice throughout her political career, I think will help us to continue to bring our coalition together and build the broadest possible coalition to defeat Mike Rogers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Harris lost Michigan to President Donald Trump just two years ago, at a time when many in the Democratic Party were at odds about the Biden administration's handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, including that conflict in Gaza. That is something that is still reverberating even in this Senate campaign underway just now.

Earlier today, El-Sayed acknowledged the differences that he had with Harris on those positions relating to Gaza. But he also said it's important for the parties to start looking towards the future and ways that they can come together. Now, this is not Harris' only campaign stop of this midterm cycle.

She will also be campaigning in Nevada and Georgia a bit later on in the process. But it's notable where she's not campaigning. Democrats running in some of the key Senate races in red states like Iowa and Alaska have said that they don't want her help on the campaign trail.

So that could potentially highlight some of the bridges that she might have to try to mend heading into a potential 2028 bid if she does decide to pursue that route.

KEILAR: Yeah, a good observation there. Arlette, thank you. Boris?

SANCHEZ: We turn now to Breaking News as President Trump meets with world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Moments ago, the president wrapped up a meeting with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

[14:05:00]

We're waiting to learn exactly what was said. However, we are hearing more about talks that happened today between U.S. officials and Iranian ones. CNN's Kylie Atwood is live at the United Nations with more on this.

Kylie, it sounds like the U.S. side and the Iranian side met with several hours, and that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were directly involved in these discussions.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. President Trump, in his meeting with President Zelenskyy, now confirming that today at the United Nations, there was a meeting between the Iranians and U.S. officials. He said it was Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, obviously the two envoys who have been meeting with the Iranians in recent months. Not recently, though, we should note. And President Trump called this a productive meeting.

He said that it lasted for three hours. And he also notably said that they would have another scheduled meeting in the near future, clearly trying to drive back to diplomacy with the Iranians, which has long been stalled, really, for months now after that MOU between the U.S. and Iran fell apart in the early days of the summer after it was violated due to an Iranian strike.

But before he broke this news that the U.S. and Iranian delegations did meet today, he did speak at the United Nations General Assembly to world leaders, and he made threats to the Iranians, saying that he had a choice to make. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic? And do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again. Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness for generations?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, he went on to say that he believes that there will be a deal with the Iranians after the U.S. midterm elections, which will take place in November. He said that he sees no reason why there wouldn't be. We should note, however, that the Iranians do get a vote here as to whether there is a deal that the two sides can hatch if that is in Iran's interest as they continue to pursue this ongoing war.

And in the backdrop here, you know, Gulf officials that I've been talking to have not been optimistic about any conversations that could drive an end to this conflict, but that was before this meeting between the U.S. and the Iranian side happened, so we'll have to watch and see how that sentiment evolves.

I also think it's worth noting that U.S. officials are now proposing a $50 billion investment fund in infrastructure and energy resources in the Middle East. The U.S. would be putting $5 billion into that fund, I'm told, by sources who have reviewed this new proposal, and they're trying to get the other Gulf nations to contribute to it as well. This obviously comes as they're trying to look towards other ways to get energy out of the region because the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has not been regularized since this war has been ongoing.

We'll watch and see where those discussions go. But another effort by the Trump administration to really drive an end to this conflict, which consumed much of President Trump's speech here at the United Nations today.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. We'll see if any new developments, any progress is made on the diplomatic front. Kylie Atwood at the U.N., thank you so much.

Still to come, the family of Nolan Wells demanding answers, even after a grand jury found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, why their attorney wants to keep the investigation open.

And students in Texas staging a walkout in protest after an ICE agent shoots a Venezuelan man in Austin. The latest on the investigation as concerns about the man's medical care grow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:13:24]

SANCHEZ: Moments ago, we heard from the family of Nolan Wells speaking out for the first time since a Mississippi grand jury unanimously found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the teenager's death. Here's his grieving mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE WONSLEY, NOLAN WELLS' MOTHER: Elmore and I do not believe that Nolan simply and accidentally drowned. And nobody saw anything. And no one knows anything.

Last night was a reminder that our son's life does not matter to those who hold positions that are supposed to serve and protect the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN Senior National Correspondent, Ryan Young. And Ryan, the family says that they still have more questions than answers. What do they want to know?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's tough, Boris. We've been covering this since the very beginning and to see the family sort of move from the grief to the sorrow to asking questions. The one thing that hasn't been solved in the last 80 days is exactly what happened.

I think what they're concerned about at this point, even as the grand jury moves forward and has decided not to press any charges, is did any evidence show what exactly happened to Nolan Wells in the final moments?

[14:15:00]

And I think from their case, they want to see if maybe someone saw him after he was on that island by himself. So that's been the number one question they've had for the entire time. And it's something the family has repeated to me, even off-camera, is that they simply want to know exactly what happened because for him to drown in shallow water is something that they just are having trouble wrestling with and I think people could understand that.

The point that they're making now, though, is they really wanted the grand jury to show some sort of evidence toward the ending about the findings that came from the government. In fact, the D.A. did release a long statement on Facebook. Take a listen to some of what she had to say late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL MYERS MCILRATH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MISSISSIPPI 19TH CIRCUIT COURT: The Crump team knew better, but allowed the public to believe, among other false narratives, that our medical examiner withheld Nolan's lungs and stomach when his body was released, that things had been deleted off of Nolan's phone before it was given back to his family, that I refused to cooperate with the examination of Nolan's cell phone, that I refused to provide Nolan's autopsy results to the family. All lies, and they knew it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yeah, unnatural question, though, Boris. Obviously, a lot of people were wondering is whether or not we could actually go and ask the D.A. questions. At this point, there still have been no news conference held yet, so we can ask authorities about what they were able to find, what they can't necessarily maybe have shared in that grand jury that we might need to know in terms of an evidentiary standpoint. That's something that hasn't happened.

Ben Crump, on the other side, is sort of pushing back at the narrative the D.A. is giving out, so now you have opposing sides here, and he's basically saying, look, we have more information. They're going to have another news conference where they talk about what was on the cell phone of Nolan Wells and how they tried to use the GPS to locate all his whereabouts over time.

So you know this is not necessarily going away, but let's listen to Ben Crump, who was here at this church in Atlanta, really pushing forward the narrative that they are not going to stop with this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CRUMP, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The investigation should remain open and active until we get to the truth. We're going to fight till hell freezes over until we find out the truth of what happened to Nolan Xavier Wells.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yeah, there's no way to put this besides it's gotten messy in terms of the conversation between the D.A.'s office and Ben Crump's team. Both seem to have different narratives in terms of this, the D.A. really pushing back on the fact that she felt there was pressure put on the entire city. And one thing that we heard over and over again, even from Nolan Wells' family, is that he brought people together. Hopefully at some point people can get back on that track, but the family still pushes forward with the idea, they want all the evidence released, that way they can get closer to whatever happened.

There was a lot of conversation today about what happened to the back of Nolan's head, and also the bruising on his back, that's according to Ben Crump and his team, and they really want to have an open conversation about how he could have suffered those wounds, and whether or not that played a role in how he died.

But none of those will be answered anytime soon, so even 80 days later, yes, there will be no criminal charges here, but obviously this family is pushing forward for answers, Boris, as you can understand, as they want to know what happened to their young son.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, Ryan Young, thank you so much for the update in that story.

Still to come, the lawyer for a man shot by an ICE agent in Texas said he did not receive adequate medical care while in detention. There are some new calls to have him released. We'll get into that in just minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:19]

KEILAR: The lawyer for a Venezuelan DoorDash driver shot by ICE in Austin, Texas, says her client is back in a detention center with a bullet still lodged in his back. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez's attorney also says he's unable to move his left arm and could be facing paralysis.

Federal authorities have not said what led to the shooting on Sunday, but DHS says he entered the country illegally and had a final order to be removed from the U.S. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is here with more on this. His attorney is asking the court to intervene before he's deported.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And they have had some success. We're learning this afternoon that the federal judge ordered that he be present at the hearing next week, which effectively blocks him from being deported because the federal judge wants him there for, again, this hearing.

Now, we are getting a little more details as to what happened in the transfer of Garces Perez to the hospital and back to the detention center. So, according to the attorney, she said that he was taken to the hospital at 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon. When he was there, he was given morphine through an I.V. He was comfortable.

He felt better from the pain that he had been experiencing. But by midnight, they had also -- they sent him back to the detention center where he is now in isolation and unable to have communication with his attorney and his family. She says that his communication privileges were revoked.

That typically happens at detention through a tablet. They're given a tablet where they can FaceTime or call their attorneys and family. So that is the latest state of play for him, according to his attorney.

We also know Texas lawmakers, including Representative Joaquin Castro, is expected to visit him at the detention center tomorrow.

[14:25:00]

Now, as far as his case, the hearing will take place next week. There has been a dispute about his legal status between the Department of Homeland Security and his attorney. The attorney says he entered the country legally and that he had a valid work permit. Our understanding is that he was paroled into the country. This was a program for Venezuelans, along with other nationalities under the Biden era.

That program was terminated under the Trump administration, and that he had since been given a final order of removal by an immigration judge. Now, that is being sorted. That is the conflict between whether or not he is deportable or not between the attorney and the Department of Homeland Security.

As far as DHS, we're not hearing anything more from them about his case specifically. They're rather standing by their enforcement of immigration law, they say, and that they were just on X a moment ago saying that they don't choose the laws that they enforce and calling attention to vandalism in Austin in the aftermath of this. Of course, Brianna, there have been protests following this shooting over the weekend.

KEILAR: He has a bullet in his back. Is that right?

ALVAREZ: He does. That's right. He does still have the bullet lodged in his back. It's unclear from on the paralysis whether this is something that is because of pain or because he now has paralysis on that side of his body. That is something that, again, there is very limited communication with him.

So the hope with the attorney and the lawmakers is they can learn a little bit more about his condition.

KEILAR: And what do we know about the ICE agent who was involved in this?

ALVAREZ: Yeah. My sources tell me that he was a recent hire. He was at a previous -- or previously had been working at another federal law enforcement agency. He was brought onto ICE last year and that he was not wearing a body camera in the moment of the shooting.

Now, remember, there has been a massive push by the Department of Homeland Security also because of a bipartisan urge for officers to be wearing body cameras. In this case, he was not wearing it.

I'm also told by sources that he is on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. We'll see what happens as this investigation plays out. But one of the big questions, Brianna, in addition, of course, to why he discharged his weapon to begin with is also why was he not wearing that body-worn camera?

KEILAR: All right. Priscilla, thanks for the reporting. Really appreciate it.

Still to come, President Trump revealing details on a major U.S. military expansion in Greenland, what the move could mean for Arctic security and America's NATO allies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)