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U.N. Calls for Boost in Funding to Avert Humanitarian Crisis; Houthis Say Saudi Arabia Carries Out 30+ Airstrikes on Yemen; Iran Fires Missiles at Jordan After U.S. Hits Five IRGC Tankers; NYC Mayor Said Officials Misled City on Air Quality After 9/11; Defense Attorney Willing to Work Out Plea Deal for Clancy; Thieves Steal Paintings From Renoir Museum in France; Alcaraz, Shelton Battle in Late Night Bid for Spot in Semifinal. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 09, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:37]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Tehran threatens new attacks across the Middle East after several Iranian oil tankers are hit by U.S. military strikes. The U.K., France, and Canada announced sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. How Israel is responding to the accusations and restrictions.

And police in France are on the hunt for well-equipped and well- prepared thieves who stole Renoir paintings.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Iran is responding with more missiles and threatening further retaliation after U.S. Central Command says its forces struck five Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tankers sinking one.

Earlier, Tehran launched a barrage of missiles targeting a key Jordanian airbase used by U.S. forces. Jordan says 18 of the 20 missiles were intercepted, and no casualties have been reported.

Iran has also threatened to target oil tankers near Bahrain's and Kuwait's ports, state media broadcast a warning issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for all crews aboard those tankers to immediately leave their vessels.

This comes after U.S. forces targeted multiple Iranian tankers near Kharg Island, a key hub for Tehran's crude oil exports. A source tells CNN the attack was in response to attempted ballistic missile strikes on a U.S. Navy ship. Here's what President Trump said about the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon. They were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. The blockade has been so powerful, so effective. Nobody thought it could go so well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The White House is ramping up its economic pressure campaign on Tehran. The U.S. Treasury imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran's airline industry, impacting 27 Iranian airlines and nine service providers.

Americans are also feeling the cost of this war, a new report from Brown University finds U.S. consumers are paying an extra $100.9 billion on gasoline and diesel since the war started, that amounts to nearly $800 per U.S. household, and that amount is expected to rise.

Well, a new report says a week and a half before October 7th, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by the president of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was preparing a major attack against Israel. And yet, according to the article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Netanyahu did not share the warning with Israel's security leaders. Netanyahu's office calls the report an absolute lie. The UAE says it does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders, but did not deny the call.

In the October 7th, 2023 attacks on Israel, more than 1200 people were killed and 251 people were abducted and taken to Gaza. The ensuing war and Israeli invasion of Gaza resulted in at least 73,000 Palestinian deaths and leaving much of Gaza destroyed. The report is based on findings from a new book by Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval. Eldar spoke to CNN's Jake Tapper about the report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHLOMI ELDAR, ISRAELI JOURNALIST, FILMMAKER AND PODCASTER: It took to me about one year to get the sources that gave me the confidential for this story.

So I have the document, I have records, I have everything that shows that the president of UAE called Netanyahu a week and a half before October 7th and gave him a warning that Yahya Sinwar is planning a major attack on Israel, but it can be full (ph) because it is starting for a discussion that were between the Israeli Shin Bet and Yahya Sinwar representative, one of them about a talk about the lifting of Gaza blockade.

[02:05:20]

In September 1st, one of the senior Shin Bet officer told me that suddenly, Sinwar disappeared. And a week later, he called Coal Eyes and told him, tell the Israelis if they are not going forward with the arrangement that we are talking now, I am making a big surprise. And he said the first the word zilzal in Arabic, it is earthquake. The man that just went out from Sinwar office where very -- was very afraid. And he called one of his relatives that is advisor of the UAE and told him about the story. I think that after the warning came to the Shin Bet on September 15th to Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, he called Netanyahu and prevent him and preserve the warning from Gaza.

But now we can see that Netanyahu got the messages, got the warning before -- 10 days before the war. And I think if he just acts -- anything -- is doing something to prevent this attack, I think that we have more, more people alive today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, the U.K., France, and Canada have announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The leaders of all three nations also issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to a two-state solution. The coordinated effort includes bans on goods imported from the settlements and enforcing measures against parties that facilitate or profit from them.

The British Foreign Secretary condemned Israel's actions in the occupied territory, accusing what he calls settler terrorists of committing ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. Ed Miliband added that Britain could no longer simply call out injustice and suffering, and that the expansion of settlements must be opposed through action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD MILIBAND, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS OF U.K.: We will introduce a new comprehensive sanctions regime, working with my right honorable friend, the business secretary, with appropriate religious exemptions. And as part of this regime, we will go further. We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion.

So, to those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: During a recent visit to the West Bank, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee met with Palestinian Americans amid a surge in attacks against communities there. He also labeled settler violence as terrorism, but said those responsible were a small minority and that the U.S. has limited leverage over their actions.

Joining me now to discuss live from Tel Aviv is senior Israel analyst with the International Crisis Group, Mairav Zonszein. She is also a contributing opinion writer with the New York Times. Appreciate you talking with us.

MAIRAV ZONSZEIN, SENIOR ISRAEL ANALYST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Good to be with you, Rosemary. CHURCH: So, in your recent guest essay for the New York Times, you write, and I'm quoting here, "The West Bank is the only arena in which Jewish settler militia groups are operating like a paramilitary force to advance Israel's goals." What do you mean by this exactly, and how do you expect Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to respond to the U.K., France, and Canada announcing these sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and calls for a reduction in settler violence?

ZONSZEIN: So, it's important to understand that Israel has been building settlements illegally for over half a century, and everyone understands that. And that this specific government came in in the end of 2022, before October 7th, with a very clear plan. Bezalel Smotrich and others who are also settlers, but have a very calculated and organized vision of what they want, which is annexation of much of the West Bank, applying Israeli law and sovereignty. And he has very methodically done that throughout his tenure.

This is four years of a government that has taken more land from Palestinians than any other government, certainly in the last 20 years, every aspect of the settlement enterprise has accelerated at alarming rates, and it has also moved a lot of authority from the military, which is supposed to be the sovereign in occupied territory, to civilian governmental entities.

So, this has been happening for years now. The settler violence is one arm and one part of what's happening, settlers could not live in the West Bank without Israeli support. Settler militias and what I call a paramilitary force are helping the government to expel Palestinians to make them scared to live where they live and to move. This is a very concerted state project.

[02:10:17]

The fact that it's a small number that use extreme forces of violence is true, but they couldn't get away with it without the state support. So, that was the point of the article in the New York Times.

In terms of what Israel is going to do, you asked about the sanctions. I mean, Israel has already come out with a few different punitive measures in response to the U.K. sanctions, mostly things that will hurt Palestinians further in the West Bank and hurt the coordination between the Palestinian Authority, which cooperates on security in the West Bank, with Israel and the British and the U.S., who all are interested, ostensibly, in calm and preventing escalation, so their measures are very much against the British presence in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and against Palestinians' ability to live there.

CHURCH: And Britain's foreign secretary is accusing West Bank settlers of committing ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, but Israel's foreign minister rejects this. Here's what he had to say about it:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIDEON SA'AR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies. Let me make this clear from the outset, we have nothing against the British people. We know that we have many friends in Britain.

Unfortunately, a hostile Labor government is in office, systematically acting against the state of Israel, and it has left us with no choice but to finally respond to its hostile actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Mairav, what do you say to this?

ZONSZEIN: I mean, it's amazing. What's hostile is that Israel is occupying millions of people for decades with no rights. Palestinians who live in the West Bank are vulnerable to violence, to attacks, to their basic livelihoods, to freedom of movement, that is what is hostile.

For Britain or the or other countries to come into compliance with their own norms and laws according to international law, international conventions is not being hostile to Israel. It's being hostile to specific policies that have really created disaster and havoc for the Palestinian people.

And the specific Miliband accusation of ethnic cleansing is proven in evidence of the fact that thousands of Palestinians have been kicked out of their homes in various parts of the West Bank. Not to mention in Gaza, which has been destroyed, and most of Gazans are homeless at this point.

And the government is open about wanting to expel Palestinians from Gaza, and some of the people in this government are open about wanting all of the West Bank to be part of Israel, so you know, the foreign minister has very little legitimacy in his argument.

CHURCH: The leaders of the U.K., France, and Canada, as we reported, also issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to a two- state solution, along with their announcement of bans on goods imported from the settlements. How significant is this action against West Bank settlers, and of course, how necessary is this external pressure?

ZONSZEIN: It's a good question because the actual sanctions may not take effect for several months, but this is a baseline that should have happened long ago. This is something that it's very clear that Britain and other countries, if they find the settlements to be illegal, they should not be supporting or financing it in any way.

So, cutting off the trade and import from settlements is a baseline. It might take a while for that to actually have effect, but it's kind of a warning to Israel, saying we're no longer going to accept the status quo, and if you don't change your actions, we will continue to escalate in the way that we do trade and other things. But this is very much targeted at the settlements. This is not targeted at Israel as a whole.

That being said, it's important to understand that Israel's big one of its biggest national projects is the settlement enterprise, and every single institution in Israel, every bank, every insurance company, every construction company have some involvement in the settlements. Israel has done a very good job of blurring the line between 48 Israel and 67 Israel, or the West Bank and Gaza.

So, this is part of an effort by certain European countries to say that this government and any future government will have to pay some kind of price for their continued occupation.

So, I'm hoping that it will start. It's just the beginning of a process for accountability for those countries in Europe to fall in line with their own laws and for Israel to understand that there is a price to be paid.

CHURCH: Mairav Zonszein, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis and perspective. Appreciate it.

A major flight disruption is expected to continue at British airports, including Heathrow, in the coming hours. After an hours-long air traffic control outage caused widespread delays and cancelations on Tuesday. The company that runs the system said the issue had been fixed, but delays are still ongoing. Budget airline Ryanair said it canceled more than 50 scheduled flights, affecting 65,000 of its passengers, the outage is also being felt in other countries. Air India and Qatar Airways have had to delay or divert flights to and from the U.K.

[02:15:36]

Funeral services will be held in the coming hours for King Harold of Norway. Dignitaries from around the world will be on hand as the country bids farewell to the monarch, who reigned for 35 years until his death last month at the age of 89. Tens of thousands of mourners paid their final respects in recent days at the king's coffin as he lay in state at the royal palace chapel.

President Trump is gearing up for his Republican midterm convention Wednesday and Thursday in Dallas, Texas. He claims the event is totally sold out, and everybody wants to be there. He plans to speak both nights, but a number of Republican candidates in key races have said they're skipping the convention. They're privately questioning whether it strikes the right tone and whether they should spend time away from campaigning.

The trade war between the U.S. and Canada could escalate even further. President Trump is going beyond tariffs, threatening to enact outright bans on a range of Canadian goods. He also said he would prevent major government purchases of Canadian products unless the country offers Americans greater access to its markets.

Now, this comes less than 24 hours after Canada imposed tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. products in response to President Trump's previous levies.

Well, the White House is looking to wield its influence in the Western Hemisphere as President Trump's top diplomat continues his tour through Latin America. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to depart from Colombia to Ecuador in the coming hours after signing major security and cooperation agreements with Colombia's new president, who was endorsed by President Trump.

Well, there's much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. The presidents of Russia and the U.S. spoke by phone, but details on their discussion are sparse. We will tell you what the Kremlin is saying about that call.

Plus, Friday marks 25 years since the deadly 9/11 attacks. New details still to come about New York City's response to air quality concerns around the collapsed house.

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[02:22:13]

CHURCH: Crews in Colombia have managed to contain a forest fire that's burned about 3,000 hectares in several rural communities. A local official says the fire broke out on Saturday when people were clearing farmland and the burning debris spread to nearby areas. A number of villages were impacted, and the flames destroyed natural reserves used for the local water supply.

Another volcano in Indonesia is coming to life. It erupted on Tuesday, sending ash and lava toward nearby farms and villages. The National Volcanology Agency has barred activity within a three-kilometer range of the mountain, and residents are urged to wear masks amid the poor air quality. This comes just a few days after a series of eruptions from Indonesia's Anak Krakatoa volcano.

Now, to Florida, where federal investigators say the pilots of an Amazon cargo plane applied full power just seconds before Sunday's deadly crash in Miami. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board plan to interview the pilots in the coming hours. Authorities identified the five people killed when the plane overshot the runway and struck their van. They were between 47 and 75 years old and worked for a contract cleaning crew. Five other people were injured, including the plane's two pilots.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared a phone call to discuss recent diplomatic trips to Moscow. The White House has released few details about what else they may have discussed. The conversation comes as one analyst suggests the Ukraine war's momentum has shifted to Russia's favor. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So, the only information we have right now on this call between Vladimir Putin and President Trump is coming from the Kremlin, not from the White House. We are still waiting for any kind of readout from the White House side.

But this is the language that the Kremlin used. They said the two leaders spoke for about an hour in a mutually respectful and businesslike manner. But they also said this, that the conversation was constructive and frank. Now, in the past, when they have used the language that a conversation

between Putin and President Trump has been frank, we have learned that President Trump was not happy with that conversation.

Now, that's not to say that that's what happened here, but it might give an indication as to why exactly it was that we have not heard from the White House. President Trump obviously likes to be the one who delivers the news of conversations that he has with world leaders.

On top of that, they also said that Trump is very interested in achieving a breakthrough during his presidency. But part of the reason why that is such an interesting statement. Is given what we've heard from President Trump. President Trump has said that Vladimir Putin is interested in achieving peace. That he wants this war to be over. That he and Zelenskyy are looking for an end to this. This indicates that this is just something that President Trump would like to see, not necessarily something that Putin himself agrees with.

[02:25:24]

Now they did say productive things about the visit of those two envoys, President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Steve Whitkoff.

But we are still, again, waiting to hear the White House's interpretation if they choose to put this out of this call with Vladimir Putin, following those envoys being there, and again following the Russian strikes that happened shortly after they left.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still ahead on this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, Saudi Arabia follows through on its threat to retaliate against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. What this latest escalation means for their fragile ceasefire, that's next.

Plus, the U.S. is evaluating its troop presence in the Middle East. Our military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton is here to tell us what that might look like. Back with that, and more in just a moment.

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[02:30:50]

CHURCH: The United Nations is calling for a boost in humanitarian aid to Gaza as the harsh winter months approach. Restrictions, insecurity and lack of funds are hampering aid efforts. The appeal seeks to increase funding with an emphasis on helping tens of thousands of Palestinians who require specialized care.

A U.N. spokesperson is also requesting unimpeded and expedited entry of essential medicines and supplies into Gaza before the crisis worsens. Saudi Arabia conducted 32 airstrikes on Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen overnight into Wednesday. That's according to a senior Houthi official. This comes after the Iran-backed Houthis launched a major attack on southwestern Saudi Arabia early Tuesday.

The escalation risks widening the region's conflicts. CNN's Nic Robertson explains where things stand right now.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, it does appear to be that the ceasefire, as you say, that held for four years it's in a very fragile and precarious place and it looks for all intents and purposes as if it's realistically falling apart.

The Houthis would blame it on the Saudis for enforcing air traffic restrictions over their sort of northern part of Yemen, blocking the return from the funeral of the supreme leader in Iran of a Houthi delegation to the capital Sanaa which the Houthis control.

The Saudis bombed the runway. They believe that there was senior Iranian officials, complex communications equipment that the Houthis would use in the war on board that aircraft. That the Houthis would point to was that was the trigger point or seemed to be the trigger point where they returned to threats and hostilities.

But where we are in terms of what actually happened over the past 24 hours here, the Houthis are saying this is a retaliation strike. They're retaliating for something. We don't know what they're retaliating for. They don't say specifically what they're retaliating for. We're not aware that Saudi has been involved in airstrikes against Houthi positions.

However, I think we can be very carefully and significantly informed by what's happened in Yemen over the weekend in very simple terms, the Houthis went on the offensive at the beginning of the weekend. They were then beaten back quite significantly in most cases by the Yemeni government forces and that seems to have been backed by airstrikes which were attributed to the Yemeni air force.

But I think we know what the Houthis are clearly signaling here is that they don't believe that this was the Yemenis striking back at them. They believe that the Saudis were involved in striking them and this is their retaliation. So I think, yes, a retaliatory cycle, realistically potentially yes, if both sides don't stop, then that four-year pause is it's dead.

CHURCH: Sources tell CNN the U.S. military and intelligence community are discussing a smaller presence in the Middle East if the Trump administration can end the war with Iran. The sources say the Pentagon specifically wants to reduce troop numbers, shifting the defense role instead to Gulf allies.

Since 2011, U.S. troops there have numbered between 30,000 and 60,000. Currently, the U.S. has two aircraft carriers and more than a dozen guided missile destroyers in the region. U.S. officials are also weighing the possibility of not rebuilding assets that have been damaged in the war with Iran. There's currently no clear timeline on when the smaller troop size could happen.

Joining me now is CNN Military Analyst, retired Air Force Colonel, Cedric Leighton. Always good to have you with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's good to be with you again, Rosemary. Thank you so much.

CHURCH: Of course. So even as the U.S. hit five Iranian oil tankers Tuesday in response to attempted strikes on a warship in this ongoing conflict, the U.S. Pentagon is talking about shrinking its military presence in the Middle East once this war ends.

[02:35:00]

How likely is it that a U.S. withdrawal of troops can be done without being seen as capitulation and creating instability in the region?

LEIGHTON: I think any withdrawal of U.S. troops, Rosemary, during this period and the period immediately after it is going to be seen by the Iranians as either a capitulation or some kind of acknowledgement of defeat. And that is in itself a very dangerous situation, because what will happen with the Iranian point of view in a case like this is that, that will be then seen as an incentive to create even more mischief, to go after even more targets in the Persian Gulf region.

And that could mean that efforts to open up the Strait of Hormuz and do other things in terms of working with the Arab states are going to basically come to naught. And that is going to be a real problem, because if the Strait of Hormuz, for example, can't be reopened to the fullest extent that it was before this conflict started, then we're going to run into a situation where we're going to have to do this all over again. And the idea of withdrawing troops may very well be a pipe dream.

CHURCH: And on that very point, with around 50,000 U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East right now, how would the Pentagon go about withdrawing from the region? And how will it do this while still ensuring the Strait of Hormuz is open and safe for tankers and ships going forward?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's going to be really a very difficult problem for the Pentagon to solve in this case, because one of the things that they have to realize is that, of course, more of the U.S. bases in the region have actually been impacted by the Iranians, and 15 to 18 of them have either directly been impacted by Iranian attacks, or many of them have had assets destroyed on those bases.

For example, AWACS planes destroyed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, for example. So that is going to be a bit of an issue. And the other thing that they'll have to plan for is the possibility of more agile systems, more automated systems taking the place of U.S. troops. Now, that is certainly technically possible, but it has to be planned for.

And what they will have to do in order to sequence things correctly is have those automated systems in place, either surveillance systems and sometimes even attack systems like drones, in the place of actual manned weapon systems. So if they can plan for that, they could achieve a troop reduction. But if they don't plan for that and don't implement that, then that troop reduction will be very, very difficult to achieve in order to maintain the same effect that they've had so far.

CHURCH: And Colonel, this goal of shrinking U.S. troops in the Middle East won't and can't be done until Iran is defeated. When might that actually happen, though?

LEIGHTON: That is a very good question, because Iran is not going to see anything that we do right now as an actual defeat of their effort. The only thing that could happen potentially is that Iran runs into such economic difficulties that they find no other choice, that there is no other choice for them but to agree to some kind of settlement. And that settlement, I think at best would be a temporary settlement.

And what that would mean is that they will wait to fight another day. And that is something that we also have to take into account, and military planners will have to think through that. What would be the kind of precipitating actions that the Iranians would potentially undertake? What kinds of things can they let be for a few years, perhaps, and then resume their activities? So these are the kinds of questions that will have to be asked.

And the force posture that will then result for the U.S. would really depend on our ability to foresee what the Iranians might do. But we can really, as long as the Islamic regime is in place in Iran, we can foresee that they will try to resume the kinds of activities that they've resumed in the past. And that includes both conventional and unconventional attacks on both shipping as well as military installations.

CHURCH: And given the history of a U.S. military presence in the Middle East, Colonel, will the U.S. ever truly be able to extract itself militarily from the region?

LEIGHTON: I don't think it will be, because the Middle East is just way too important. As long as we draw resources from the Middle East, and the Middle East is basically now also a central travel hub and commerce hub for a large portion of the world, I think it's going to be very difficult to extract ourselves from the region.

And that, of course, also means that if we do, for some reason, leave the region, it could also expose countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel to Iranian attacks and potentially other threats as well.

[02:40:00]

And so if the U.S. isn't there, the ability of other forces to quench any type of insurgency or any type of attacks is very, very limited. We've seen that in the fight against ISIS and what we would also see if the U.S. withdraws on even a semi-permanent basis would be an upswing in potential violence in the Middle East and that is something that would of course necessitate a return of U.S. assets.

CHURCH: Col. Cedric Leighton, always a pleasure to talk with you. Thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Thanks so much.

CHURCH: and We have much more coming up on the show. Now that the judge has declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, could a plea deal be worked out for the Massachusetts mother? Details coming up after the break.

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[02:45:37]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D-NY): Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11 related illnesses than were killed on the day itself. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani speaking on newly released air quality records surrounding the tragic 9/11 attacks in 2001. The more than 170,000 documents show city officials at the time knew that air quality around the collapsed Twin Towers was unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public.

The release resolves a lawsuit brought by the 9/11 health watch advocacy group shedding light on a range of health impacts to residents and first responders.

For the first time since the judge declared a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial, we are hearing from jurors on the case, the jury foreperson says the lone holdout juror admitted he had reasonable doubt but still prevented the panel from acquitting Clancy. Now, Clancy's defense attorney says he's willing to work out a plea deal for his client.

CNN's Jean Casarez has more.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lindsay Clancy pleaded not guilty in this case several years ago and not only not guilty, but her defense team had the affirmative defense of not guilty for lack of criminal responsibility, that she was in the middle of postpartum psychosis, that a voice was commanding her to kill her children and kill herself. It was like she was a puppet on a string, one of her experts testified, and that she had to follow what that voice was telling her to do.

So now, her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington has said in an interview with ABC that he would entertain some conversation with the prosecutor to be able to work things out and the question was would you entertain a plea deal. A plea deal is negotiated, the Commonwealth would not agree to just OK, not guilty, we'll let that be. They would want to find something that is in the Commonwealth's best interest. So conceivably that potentially could be a conviction of some kind, but that would then be a total turnaround from not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility to accepting criminal responsibility, and knowing and appreciating the criminality of your act.

Now, I want you to listen to Kevin Reddington's own words to ABC when he talks about, you know, a conversation with the district attorney is something I might want to do, watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR LINDSAY CLANCY: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And on another note, during the course of this trial, Patrick Clancy, the father of those three children, was the brunt of so much on social media, many were pointing the finger at him. Well, finally, on Tuesday, his attorneys responded to all of that with a statement, saying in part, "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."

There is a status hearing in this case on September 29th. We may learn more at this point about a retrial, a plea deal, or even anything else that is possible.

In New York, I'm Jean Casarez for CNN.

CHURCH: And coming up here on "CNN newsroom" another art heist in France, this time at a museum in the French Riviera.

[02:50:00]

We will look at what was stolen and how the thieves managed to pull it off in less than five minutes. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, police are investigating another art heist in France. It took less than five minutes for thieves to steal four paintings from the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera on Tuesday. But as they fled, authorities say they were forced to abandon two of the paintings.

Our Melissa Bell has more on the missing artworks and how the thieves pulled this off. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thieves have stolen four paintings, abandoning two as they fled, from France's Renoir Museum in the latest heist to hit the art world. A large hole can be seen in this wired fence surrounding the museum.

The Impressionist painters, Madame Colonna Romano worth $2.3 million and Jeune Femme au puits worth $230,000, were stolen on Tuesday, according to local officials in the French Riviera town of Cagnes-sur- Mer, where the museum is located. The thieves were forced to abandon portraits of Madame Stephane Pichon and Coco lisant as they fled, according to the town's mayor.

He also said the museum's alarm system went off at 5:48 local time and the police had arrived at the scene five minutes later.

BRYAN MASSON, CAGNES-SUR-MER, FRANCE MAYOR (through translator): They were equipped with, if I may say so, an electric knife or a metal saw, whatever you want to call it. They cut through the bolts holding the frames of Renoir's paintings in place. The arrival of the municipal police, along with the sirens from the museum and the police, caused the burglars to rush off.

They stole only four of the 12 works in the Renoir museum. They fled by running through the gardens and, it seems, dropped two works along the way.

BELL: In a statement, the mayor's office said that the museum had been targeted, quote, "by several individuals who were clearly organized, equipped and well-informed," adding that the museum's security system had been triggered as soon as they entered the museum's gardens.

BELL (voice-over): The latest heist comes nearly a year after the Louvre was targeted in an audacious raid. Video footage captured thieves in yellow vests on the second floor of the Louvre after they'd forced open a window. They managed to grab nine priceless items and fled back down a truck-mounted ladder, all in just four minutes. Police recovered the angle grinder and a torch that were used to force open the window.

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One piece, the crown of the Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was dropped and found very quickly, but the eight other pieces remain missing.

French Senator, Nathalie Goulet doesn't think the French people understand the magnitude of the problem facing museums.

NATHALIE GOULET, FRENCH SENATOR: Well, I think it's like an opened the Pandora's box, I mean, with the Louvre which was so easy, with the kind of impunity and nobody was catched almost. I think it's like an open door to new tribe (ph) for other museums. BELL (voice-over): Now, calls are growing for authorities to help better protect the country's museums to prevent increasingly organized and determined criminals once again striking at the heart of French culture.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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CHURCH: This Friday, a new exhibition is coming to The Wang Contemporary in New York. It's called the "Guest House, Welcome Home." The artwork is by Chinese artist, Zhou Sui Rong, and features life- size wax sculptures of iconic women from American pop culture re- imagined in traditional Chinese settings. The figures are shown doing daily tasks like cooking, eating, taking part in a tea ceremony and practicing calligraphy.

Fashion designer, Alexander Wang, who founded the cultural organization, along with his mother, says wax sculptures have not really been explored in this context.

Well, a stunning late-night battle of the men's U.S. Open as Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton enter what could be the deciding set in an epic quarterfinal match. The number two Alcaraz took the first set, but then the American number eight responded with back-to-back wins before Alcaraz rallied to force a fifth set as the pair battled it out for a place in the men's semifinal.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka looked like she might lose her U.S. Open crown before battling back to beat Wimbledon champion, Linda Noskova, to reach the semifinals for a sixth straight year. Sabalenka's quest for a third straight title at Flushing Meadows has her facing the winner of the All-American showdown between Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro.

And it was an emotional ending earlier to the other men's quarterfinal after Frances Tiafoe came back in the third set to beat fellow American, Alex Michelsen. He ran to embrace his opponent who sobbed into his shoulder. This is the third time the two have faced off in a pro match and both say they consider themselves friends.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will see you at the same time tomorrow. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next. Stay with us.

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