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Iran: U.S. to Resume Action in Iran with Regional Backing; Officials Hold Economic Talks Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit; Chancellor Merz's Party Losing Ground to Far-Right AFD in Germany; Trump to Speak at UNGA This Week; Student's Murder Draws Attention to Violence Against Women in Mexico; Alaskan Brown Bears Face Off in Fat Bear Week 2026; Filmmaker George Lucas & Wife Open Art Museum in L.A. Aired 12- 1a ET

Aired September 21, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

[00:00:36]

And ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, tensions escalating in the Middle East as President Trump prepares to meet with world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly. What this means for the region.

Germany's far-right party wins another state election, piling on the pressure for the country's current leadership. But that may not stop plans for unpopular reforms.

Plus, it's time to bust out your bracket for Fat Bear Week. We'll talk with a park ranger about the importance of this celebration of bears binging.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

STOUT: All right. Those stories in just a moment. But first, we have this breaking news update.

The Trump White House has removed CNN from its Monday assignment as the television pool representative for the entire White House press corps.

The change deepens a dispute that all began on Friday, when U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was, quote, "banning" CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.

It also breaks with decades of precedent. Under a longstanding arrangement, the five big networks -- that's ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and FOX News -- share TV pool responsibility. That includes filming the president and providing live footage to one another and to the wider press corps.

The news organizations are now preparing a First Amendment lawsuit to challenge the ban. Now, this comes at the start of a busy diplomatic week for the U.S.

president, as he prepares to attend the UNGA and to meet separately with his Chinese and Ukrainian counterparts.

Now, Donald Trump is set to address some 130 heads of state at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Over the course of the week, world leaders will gather in New York to discuss A.I., to discuss the climate crisis, as well as ongoing conflicts from around the world.

And one of those, of course, is Russia's war in Ukraine. Ukraine's president says he spoke with President Trump on Sunday and that they will meet in New York during the UNGA.

Now, the president of Iran is also expected to attend the U.N. General Assembly. The U.S. approved travel for him and a core group of Iranian delegates.

The president's attendance comes amid one of the most volatile conflicts in the Middle East in recent years. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations reviewed what will be on the agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: What you'll see at the U.N. General Assembly is a lot of discussion of the freedom of the seas, the U.N. law of the sea, freedom of navigation, whether its Straits of Hormuz, the Bab El Mandeb, Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Malacca Straits. We must have free and open commerce.

And I expect us and our allies to take decisive action, whether it's the Somali pirates; now, the Houthis; or the Iranian regime acting like, you know, naval terrorists in attacking civilian shipping.

A U.N. record number of countries, 146, have condemned the Iranian regime for those acts. And they will -- we will continue to take action against terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, all of this comes as the Middle East remains on alert, as multiple flashpoints grow across the region.

Tehran is warning that the U.S. plans to resume military action against Iran. And according to Iranian military command, they have the backing of other countries in the region.

Iran says any U.S. attack will traverse sustained strikes on American bases and interests in the region, and anyone supporting U.S. aggression will be considered parties to the conflict.

Now, as this security environment worsens, the U.S. State Department and other U.S. diplomatic missions are urging Americans in the region to exercise increased caution.

And amid the increased tensions, President Trump told FOX News he is, quote, "deciding mode right now," end quote. "Very big things could happen soon."

Joining me now to break all this down is Alex Plitsas, CNN's national security analyst and director of the Atlantic Council's counterterrorism project.

Alex, it's good to see you again. Thank you for joining us for this very moment.

U.S. President Trump has repeatedly made these vague threats of a major military escalation. What is the probability that the U.S. will step in with more strikes and potentially target the Houthis?

[00:05:08]

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, what we know tonight is that the news that we sort of broke on CNN a few nights ago, and that was that the president was considering strikes on Yemen. It is now clear that he has at least called those off in the interim.

He had wavered on that, kind of going back and forth. A decision had been made Thursday to consider those. And that was after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia made two personal pleas to the president of the United States, asking for support here. But ultimately, the president decided against that.

And I believe that's because he did not want to escalate the situation there. The Saudis were supposed to be responsible for a naval task force for the Bab al-Mandeb and dealing with the Houthis.

And ultimately, if the United States decided to get involved militarily, there was a chance the Houthis could take further action at the Bab al-Mandeb, which is another strait just like the strait of Hormuz but on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

That would have created a second choke point, also increasing pressure on the oil and gas markets, and further dividing military assets in the region that are needed for a potential Iranian operation.

So, that seems to be on hold, at least for the time being.

STOUT: We were anticipating strikes. That appears to be on hold for the time being.

If there were to be a new major military escalation, what would that trigger? What would be the regional fallout from any new attacks?

PLITSAS: So, there's two potential military scenarios on the table. One is the Houthis, given what's gone on over the last couple of weeks or so, a week and a half. And that's due to, basically, the Iranian strategy.

So, the two are linked together. And I'll just take a quick second to explain.

So, Iran's strategy to push back against the United States right there, we see on the maps. On the top right-hand side, you see the Strait of Hormuz labeled there in -- in blue with the black label.

On the left where the arrow is pointing for that is a little piece of Oman. And right across from there is Iran.

So, there's been a disagreement over whether or not they can reopen the strait. And that's basically because the Iranians are divided internally between their security services and the civilian negotiators, with the security folks not wanting to come to an agreement at the moment, likely because we're about 40, 40-odd days away from the U.S. midterm elections, and they want to seek to punish President Trump.

The Iranians believe that that's a main pressure point. They seem to be sort of misreading President Trump.

As a result of that, the U.S. has maintained a blockade on Iranian ships; not being able to exit; no oil and gas leaving.

But the U.S. has successfully allowed enough ships to leave to facilitate about 7 to 8 million barrels a day in oil coming out of the Arabian Gulf, Persian Gulf. It's about 40 percent of the normal volume, but it was enough to keep oil prices stabilized.

The Iranians, part of their strategy has been try to increase the cost of oil and gas, to put pressure on the U.S. through international markets.

So, in retaliation, two things happened. You had the Iraqi militias, who operate under the Iranian umbrella, attack the East West pipeline in Saudi Arabia. That is not going to be shut down for 4 to 6 weeks, where there's no oil coming to European refineries.

And the second piece was the Houthis, now punching through to the coast and occupying key territory, possibly shutting down the Bab El- Mandeb.

So, this is a combined strategy from the Iranians: attempting to put pressure back on the United States, because the blockade, quite frankly, is working and the U.S. is getting oil out of the A.G.

STOUT: This has become a very kinetic and multifaceted conflict. As you shared with us a moment ago, new strikes apparently on hold for now. The focus, then, on diplomacy behind the scenes.

You know, have Saudi authorities been speaking with Tehran to put the pressure on not just Tehran, but also the Houthis to scale down attacks? And -- and China and Pakistan? Are they getting involved, as well?

PLITSAS: They are both getting involved. And so, the Gulf states have been reaching out to China in recent weeks. Not less than a week ago or so, the Qatari prime minister ended up in China.

China, from what I'm told from sources, is also starting to feel the liquid national natural gas pinch of not getting it out of the Gulf. And so, as a result of that, China has -- has spoken to the Iranian officials, and they've been speaking regularly throughout the crisis anyway.

China's style is not to use a stick or to put real pressure on the -- on the Iranians. You know, they've asked them to take care of that. Perhaps there'll be some support in the background, maybe some coverage at the U.N.; clandestine weapons support; or support for reconstruction in the background. Those are all things that are plausible. Not saying they've been offered.

But so far, the Iranians haven't really budged in this case.

Pakistan, as well, has reached out to try to get things moving. And there's been shuttle diplomacy between Tehran and Qatar trying to clean things up.

Where we left things off from a diplomatic perspective is a week ago, the Gulf states were supposed to meet with Iran to try to get an agreement between Iran and Oman for how the transiting would work in the Strait of Hormuz. If they came to an agreement on that, that would be phase one.

The second phase would be about a weeklong cessation of hostilities. Iran doesn't fire on ships. They get humanitarian aid in return. Then the U.S. would lift the blockade, and there would be a return to negotiations over that 14-point plan.

However, unfortunately, the Iranians issued a statement with very maximalist language, saying they would retain control. They want to have a future bargaining chip. And they offered that in the name of themselves and the Omanis, even though the Omanis weren't in agreement.

So, long story short, the Gulf states read the statement and said, Forget it. This is not serious. You guys need to get it together. And then the meeting was postponed, and it hasn't been rescheduled yet.

[00:10:05]

So, there's still a possibility to return to the table. But I think, to your first question, President Trump is growing frustrated. And as a result of that, there's only so much time before it actually happens. But we are very close to the midterm elections.

STOUT: Alex Plitsas, appreciate your insights, as always and your 360 view of this conflict. Thank you so much and take care.

PLITSAS: You, too. Thanks for having me.

STOUT: And now to our next story. The U.S. treasury secretary has wrapped up a round of economic talks with China's vice premier.

Scott Bessent told reporters that the two sides discussed ways to collaborate on A.I. safety. The conversation comes days before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House.

So, let's turn now to CNN's Will Ripley. He joins us now live from Taipei.

Will, good to see you. We know that Bessent and He Lifeng, the Chinese vice premier, they met at J.P. Morgan headquarters in New York. And it sounds like some movement is afoot in terms of moving the relationship forward, especially on business and A.I.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this was obviously an important meeting ahead of this state dinner on Thursday at the White House between President Trump and Xi Jinping, to have He Lifeng, who oversees China's economy, meet with Scott Bessent and talk about things like tech, not Taiwan, but they talked about U.S., China economy and the trade.

And particularly they talked about artificial intelligence, which is expected to be looming large over this meeting. The calls among some industry leaders for safeguards over A.I., given this extremely heated competition between the United States and Beijing.

Here is what the U.S. treasury secretary had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Well, the notification for whether there are incidents, whether there has been something that rises up to a national security level from -- from A.I.

Because we think that just, just like when any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the No. 1 and the No. 2 A.I. powers in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: This is going to be the first U.S. visit for Xi Jinping since he was at Mar-a-Lago back in 2017. And a lot has changed over the last nine years, as you know well, Kristie.

China at that time was lagging. It was vulnerable to the U.S., particularly in areas like tech and trade.

But now, Xi Jinping is entering the United States, leading a tech heavyweight in areas like A.I., robotics, reusable rockets, and, of course, chips and semiconductors, which is a crucial issue for the United States and particularly here in Taiwan, where I am right now.

China also has a 1.2 trillion trade surplus. So, a massive trade surplus because of surging demand for its electronic vehicles, and solar panels, and chips. And it has a grip on rare earths.

So, it's keeping the U.S. in check in all of these areas, really changing the dynamic for this meeting at the White House later this week, Kristie.

STOUT: Yes. Setting the stage for the big summit later this week in D.C.

Will Ripley, joining us live from Taipei. Thank you very much indeed. Now, there are still no new details from federal authorities in the

U.S. about what led up to the shooting of a man by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Texas.

Now, an immigration lawyer who said she is representing the family, identified the man as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who officials say was shot and injured while working as a DoorDash driver in Austin.

A law enforcement source says that he's an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela.

Sunday's shooting sparked protests in Austin. A Democratic lawmaker who represents the city says it's unclear if Perez was the target of an ICE operation, but is calling for an independent investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREG CASAR (D-TX): I think it is appropriate for this community to ask for independence, to ask for transparency, and to ask for accountability.

This is a pattern. It's a disturbing pattern, and it's got to stop. ICE has arrested 5-year-olds in Austin in the last few weeks. They've arrested pre-K teachers, and now someone's been shot. And this has to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The lawyer representing Perez's family says that he was released from the hospital into what they believe to be ICE custody.

The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Now, there's much more to come right here on CNN NEWSROOM. Preliminary state election results out of Germany shows the country's far-right party gaining significant ground. What could those results mean for the German chancellor? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:19:13]

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, Russia's ruling pro-Putin party is set to win the country's parliamentary elections, which wrapped up on Sunday. That result was never in doubt.

United Russia faced no meaningful opposition in this tightly controlled race, with President Vladimir Putin's critics largely jailed, exiled, or barred from campaigning.

The final tally won't be released until Friday, but early results show United Russia leading with more than 57 percent of the vote.

CNN contributor Jill Dougherty explains how Putin hopes the election will project his power beyond Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, RUSSIAN AFFAIRS: There's no question that the Kremlin-allied party, United Russia, will win. This is preordained.

But I think, really, this is an exercise for Putin to show his message, which is unity, that the country supports his war against Ukraine. And, you know, that's what he wants to prove.

[00:20:14]

So, the question really is more what he wants to show, rather than the results of this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is calling the country's latest election results a, quote, "disaster" as the far-right surges again at the polls.

Now, voting projections show far-right Alternative for Germany taking first place in Northeastern Germany, with 38 percent of the vote. Even in left-leaning Berlin, AFD made significant gains there, getting a projected 16 percent.

It all underscores the far-right's growing influence across Germany. With his own party losing ground, Chancellor Merz is facing mounting pressure to resign.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has more from Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz now finds himself in a precarious situation after a weak showing by his Christian Democratic Union, the CDU, in two key German state elections, one of them right here in the German capital in Berlin, the other one in the Northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Now, of course, there has been some discussion about the political future of the German chancellor, but he has come out and shown himself in a fighting mood and said he wants to continue what he calls his reform agenda.

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Germany is capable of reform. I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian poison that, together with the fascination for authoritarianism, is penetrating ever deeper into our society.

What must be done now requires courage, steadfastness, and patience. I will demonstrate these qualities as chairman of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country. PLEITGEN: Now, here in the German capital in Berlin, it seems as

though the Christian Democratic Union has been unseated by the left- wing Die Linke, who could very well put forward the new mayor here in the German capital, which is also, by the way, a governorship in the German state.

Now, in the Northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the right-wing AFD, the Alternative for Germany, has a very strong showing there.

I was able to speak to the chairwoman of the AFD, Alice Weidel, and she very clearly called on Friedrich Merz to resign.

How badly damaged is Friedrich Merz as a chancellor?

ALICE WEIDEL, AFD CHAIRWOMAN (through translator): He is strongly damaged. I believe the CDU cannot continue with Friedrich Merz, with a weak chancellor.

PLEITGEN: All this is as the bad news for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz keeps piling up. There has been a lot of discussion about his political future here in this country.

Nevertheless, this past week, other governors from his political party backed Friedrich Merz and said that they do not want a change of chancellor here in Germany.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: There is much more to come right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Explosive allegations from the brother of Princess Diana, who shared a chilling recollection of his conversation with then-Prince Charles after his sister's death. What he says he heard when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:28:08]

STOUT: Hello and welcome. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

Now, there are still no details from federal authorities about what led up to the shooting of a man by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Texas.

An immigration lawyer who said she is representing the family, identified the man as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who officials say was shot and injured while working as a DoorDash driver in Austin. A law enforcement source says that he's an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela.

The lawyer says he was released from the hospital to what they believe to be ICE custody. Now, tensions are high in the Middle East, as Iran claims that the U.S. is planning to resume military action with the backing of partners in the region.

It comes amid a warning from U.S. embassies, asking Americans to exercise caution.

The U.S. President says he is in, quote, "deciding mode" over Iran. There have been no publicly reported U.S. strikes on Iran for more than two weeks.

Now, the crisis in the Middle East is set to be a major topic of discussion at the U.N. General Assembly this week. Some 130 heads of state will gather in New York for the 81st session, which kicks off Tuesday. The U.S. president is scheduled to make an address.

Joining us now is Ravi Agarwal, editor-in-chief, "Foreign Policy" magazine and former CNN New Delhi bureau chief.

Ravi, so good to see you. Thank you for joining us here on the program.

RAVI AGARWAL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "FOREIGN POLICY": Great to be here.

STOUT: Donald Trump is returning to the United Nations. We know last year in the hall, he slammed global leaders. He slammed the purpose of the United Nations. What will be his message this year?

AGARWAL: Well, we haven't really had a preview yet. I personally have spoken to some people in the Trump administration in the last day or so. They don't really have any idea what their boss is going to say at this point.

[00:30:03]

But I think it is fairly safe to assume that his stance hasn't changed on his belief that the United Nations has not served its purpose.

The United States clearly has defunded many parts of the U.N. It has not paid its dues in quite a while. It is many billions of dollars in arrears. It doesn't look like any of those things are going to change anytime soon, Kristie.

What is clear, though, is that Trump is going to use this as a means to meet many other world leaders who are here. There are some reports that perhaps he might meet leaders from the Middle East. Of course, he remains very worried about the conflict with Iran.

And of course, he's also going to be gearing up for a summit with Xi Jinping of China on Thursday of this week.

STOUT: We know that Ukraine's president is -- will be in New York. Volodymyr Zelenskyy will, in fact, address the General Assembly. Ravi, what will Zelenskyy ask for and what can he actually get from the U.N.?

AGARWAL: You know, I was just in Kyiv a week ago, and I know that the Ukrainians are very worried about missile defense.

So, on the one hand, they need Patriot interceptors. They need THAAD interceptors, the likes of which only the United States can really provide. And that is just to stop the incoming missiles that Russia can send its way.

But the latest development, in addition to missiles, Kristie, is the jet-powered drones that Russia has now been able to manufacture.

These are more than just super -- souped-up drones. These are essentially missiles. They can go at about 400 miles per hour. And Ukraine hasn't quite figured out how to shoot these down if they come in sort of swarms.

Zelenskyy is going to ask for a lot more funding from Europe, as he often does. He is going to once again try to convince the Americans that helping them will help their own causes, whether it's in Europe, whether it's in other arenas.

Because if Russia is able to continue this war for longer, it will, of course, find ways to help Iran, as well.

The United States does not want Iran to get those souped-up Iranian drones, which could act like missiles.

So, all of these theaters of war are interconnected now. And Zelenskyy is going to try to make that case once again in the United States. He has so far been stymied by this Trump administration.

STOUT: And I've got to ask you about leadership transition at the U.N., because this week will be the final General Assembly under Antonio Guterres. So, who will likely be the next secretary-general?

AGARWAL: There are several candidates. Many of them are very qualified. A majority of them are from Latin America.

Some of them are women. The U.N. has never had a female leader. And there are many who hope that this could be the time that they would finally elect a woman and someone from Latin America, which has been passed over for quite a while.

But really, the question beyond just who leads this organization is what kind of role they will have, what kind of power they will actually have.

Antonio Guterres, in many ways, is the last Cold War-era U.N. leader who, you know, had hoped to use the U.N. in a certain way. But on his watch, we have seen conflict after conflict break out and never end.

And that really, at some level, is going to end up being his legacy, even though he tried so hard to prevent that from happening.

So, there are real debates underway now as to what the U.N. should look like in the future; who should get to lead it. And really, whoever does lead it, are they able to unite countries that currently have more that divides them than unites them? STOUT: And let's widen the lens and talk about the U.N. and its value,

especially now, after almost two years of Trump 2.0.

Again, Trump openly questioned the value of the world body, questioned multilateral diplomacy. There have been huge budget cuts and staff cuts.

Is the U.N. still relevant while Trump is in power?

AGARWAL: It's a very good question to ask, and the headline often seems like the U.N. is paralyzed, particularly at the Security Council, where the five big powers have veto power. And therefore, it seems like nothing can get done.

But, Kristie, when you do take a step back, there is a lot that gets done: whether it's on health, whether it's on development, whether it's on financial assistance for countries that need it, whether it's on hunger, whether it's on poverty. The U.N. actually does do a lot of things.

And the question we always come back to is that, if you didn't have the U.N., what would you have? Well, you would try to create the U.N. once again.

And so, for better or worse, this is the best that we have. It is the -- it is what we need to make do with.

[00:35:03]

And there are a lot of conversations underway about how to at least make the parts of the U.N. that no one is arguing about, how to make those parts effective.

And then for the future, in a post-Trump world, which is going to come, if not in two years, then a bit later, in that world, how do you convince leaders around the world to set aside their differences and to once again look to multilateralism for the future?

And there are all kinds of polls and side events at the U.N. that are highlighting polls showing that people in country after country actually believe in internationalism; actually believe in multilateralism and cooperation. They want to see more of it, if only their leaders will give it to them.

STOUT: Yes. It is a critical moment for the world and also for the United Nations.

Ravi Agarwal, editor in chief, "Foreign Policy" magazine and former CNN New Delhi bureau chief. Thank you.

AGARWAL: Pleasure.

STOUT: There have been new reports of violence in the West Bank on Sunday. According to Reuters, the Israeli military is searching for a Palestinian man they say shot and killed an Israeli man.

Not long after, Israeli military officials say they eliminated a Palestinian motorist they claim was trying to run them over.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify the soldiers' account of the incident.

Both of these incidents come amid calls from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to increase security in the area.

The murder of a Spanish exchange student in Mexico has drawn attention to violence against women across the country, especially in the state of Morelos, where -- which recorded some 21 femicide victims in just the first half of this year.

CNN's Valeria Leon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the faces of five students from the same university in Central Mexico, all of them murdered over the past year and a half.

KATIA SANTANA LINARES, UNIVERSITY STUDENT (through translator): That is an enormous number. We had never experienced anything this violent in Morelos.

LEON (voice-over): Their likenesses are a painful reminder of the violence and insecurity facing women here in Morelos, the Mexican state with the second highest femicide rate.

The most recent case brought international scrutiny to the state when Claudia Tacoronte, an exchange student from Spain, was killed on September 12.

But she's not the only one. A missing person poster for Eileen Rodriguez hangs on the wall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Had her life taken in such a terrible way.

LEON (voice-over): Her body was found in April 2025.

Nearly a year later, first-year student Kimberly Ramos's body was found. And three days later, Karol Toledo's corpse was found with signs of violence.

In each case, their bodies were found a short distance from the college campus in Morelos.

Students then took over the university auditorium in protest. But they say the administration refused to meet with them or address their demands.

FRIDA VELEZ, UNIVERSITY STUDENT (through translator): Our classmates should not be missing from the classroom or from any other place. There is a crisis, and no one is doing anything for the women in this state.

LEON (voice-over): CNN requested an interview with the administration but was declined.

AMARINTIA GARCIA, ACTIVIST (through translator): They warned it is going to happen again after Karol, after Kimberly. They said it's going to happen again. And that's why they occupied the university.

LEON (voice-over): And then it happened again. On June 2, Michelle Fuentes, a high school student, was found dead in Tepotzotlan, Morelos.

Three months later came the killing of Claudia Tacorante. The 21-year- old Spanish student was attacked in Cuautla, Morelos.

LEON: With this memorial, they remember the student who was killed. She was attending a cultural event right here in this courtyard when she was stabbed.

Other people at the event called for help, and some of the neighbors came to her aid.

LEON (voice-over): This woman, who asked us not to show her face because she fears for her safety, shared what she witnessed just outside her door.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I tried to call 911, but the call wouldn't go through, so I sent a message to a WhatsApp group I belong to.

LEON (voice-over): Five days later, authorities announced an arrest.

OMAR GARCIA HARFUCH, MEXICO'S SECURITY SECRETARY: An arrest warrant was executed against Francisco Javier N. for his alleged responsibility in this femicide.

LEON (voice-over): Despite the quick arrest of the Tacoronte murder suspect, these cases are a chilling reminder that women here in Morelos and throughout Mexico remain an easy target.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Cuautla, Morelos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: The brother of the late Princess Diana claims King Charles had a, quote, "giddy tone" on a phone call following his sister's death.

[00:40:08]

Earl Charles Spencer made the accusation during an interview with the BBC ahead of the release of his memoir on Diana. In it, he recalled a conversation with then-Prince Charles, saying he felt there was a, quote, "lightness" in the prince's tone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARL CHARLES SPENCER, BROTHER OF PRINCESS DIANA: I was rushing around the house, preparing the children and all of that sort of thing for the day ahead. And I remember picking up the telephone. I was upstairs in my house in Cape Town.

And he was telling me how he had told the boys, William and Harry, at Balmoral and broken the news to them. And I -- I felt, as I say in the book, actually, I felt there was a sort of giddy tone.

I'd had a lot of calls that day from people who cared, who were stunned, like we all were. And I just felt there was a lightness in his tone about Diana's death that really jarred with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Buckingham Palace has pushed back on the allegations, suggesting that Spencer's judgment and memory at the time had been clouded by his grief.

Now there's much more to come right here on CNN NEWSROOM. In fact, it will be a heavyweight showdown. And the competitors are packing on the pounds. When we come back, we got a look at the bears who've been eating their way to the top.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:46:10]

STOUT: Alaska's bears are packing on the pounds for a shot at a very big title.

Fat Bear Week is soon to get underway at Alaska's Katmai National Park, and the bracket is full of burly brown bears that have been feasting on sockeye salmon all summer. Those fat reserves will help them survive months of hibernation.

Now, this reigning champion named Chunk has a title to defend. Rangers say his low-hanging belly is evidence he's been eating well.

Now this is a single-elimination tournament. For each match-up, members of the voting public get behind the bears they believe have packed on the most pounds ahead of hibernation season.

Joining us now is Katmai National Park ranger Troy Hunt.

Troy, so nice to meet you. Fat Bear Week is back. It is kicking off this week. Can you tell us about some of the returning legends and fan favorites who are back on the bracket?

TROY HUNT, PARK RANGER, KATMAI NATIONAL PARK: Oh, some of the big ones are back. Chunk is back. He was last year's winner. Bear No. 32.

We also have in our lineup again Bucky Dent and also Walker, as well as a variety of others, bears that have numbers, not names. So, 909 and 910 are in there; 806 is in there with her family.

So, we have a whole variety of bears in there who are in the running.

We did the announcement for the bracket on Friday, and people are excited. We're seeing all kinds of stir in the social media world all about it. So, we're seeing some very excited people coming in and looking at the opportunity to vote on the bears.

STOUT: And Troy, on the bracket, you have single bears, as well as family units. So, how does winter prep look different for the solo bears versus the mama bears with the cubs?

HUNT: Well, the solo bears have a little easier time of it, because they're eating for one. When we have mama bears, then they have to not only be fattening themselves up, but they have to be eating enough food that they are making sufficient milk to nurse their young, as well as teaching them how to eat salmon and other things along the river. So, they have a much more difficult job.

So, when we look at the pictures of mama bears, they may not be as big as, say, the large males are, a 151 Walker or 32 Chunk, but they have a much more difficult job.

Whereas we look at a bear -- a good example is Bear 909, who had cubs at the beginning of the season and lost both of those. And so, in her single time after loss of her cubs, she has become absolutely massive, which other bears who have cubs are not able to get quite as large.

STOUT: Yes, 909 is my personal favorite, especially because of her compelling and stirring backstory.

Could you please remind us, though, about the science here? This is the hibernation lesson that we missed back in school. Why do the bears need to get so fat?

HUNT: So, bears essentially are eating for six months to be able to hibernate for 4 to 6 months. They have to build enough calorie reserves in fat in their bodies that, when they go into hibernation, they during that time do not eat, they do not drink, they do not urinate -- urinate or defecate in that entire time.

And so, their entire body slows down, and they have to live exclusively on their fat reserves. It's a very, very challenging and interesting thing.

There's a lot of research being done to try and understand hibernation in a more effective way. I just read a kind of speculatory scientific paper the other day where they're saying, if we could only figure out how bears hibernate, then maybe we could more effectively get people to Mars.

So, they have to do that kind of fattening up to be able to survive.

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And it really is a journey of survival that these bears are going through, from the time that they emerge from their dens in the spring until they return to those dens in anywhere from October to November.

STOUT: And Troy, do you have a fat favorite? Is there a bear with the most dramatic before and after transformation, or the most compelling back story? I think you already know I love Bear 909. She's my fat girl. HUNT: I would say that the bear I saw that gained the most weight from

when I saw him the first time to the current time is 151 Walker.

He, when I first saw him -- he's massive. He's five feet tall at the shoulders when he's walking. He and I got tremendously close to each other one day, quite uncomfortably. And I got to see him in full profile. And he was very skinny. And now he has just gained so much weight.

But I have to say I have a real love of the story of the 806 family where 128 Junior was kicked out by her mom, Grazer, at the beginning of the season, because she went into estrus. And it's the safest thing for a mother to do, is to send her cubs to go and live alone.

And 128 Junior, a.k.a. Biggie, was not really ready to be on her own. And so, she took a real risk and approached 806, who had only one cub of year and managed to get adopted into that family. And I find that story absolutely compelling.

And so, for me, I'm kind of rooting for the family groups, personally. I like the underdog stories. Although, you know, of course, Bear 32 Chunk is a favorite, having won last year and all of the things that he has to deal with, as well, with the broken jaw.

But it's hard to pick a favorite, because they all have such great, compelling stories. And you know, you've just got to love bears. They're awesome.

STOUT: Yes, you've just got to love bears. There's nothing like Fat Bear Week. May the chunkiest ones win. Troy Hunt, thank you so much for joining us.

HUNT: Absolutely.

STOUT: And take care, sir.

HUNT: It was my pleasure. Bye.

STOUT: And matchups are open for voting starting on Tuesday. You can cast your vote at FatBearWeek.org.

There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. Up next, a star- studded opening night for filmmaker George Lucas and his museum dedicated to narrative art. The celebrities weigh in, just ahead.

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STOUT: Well, the stars are out in Los Angeles as filmmaker George Lucas and his wife celebrated their long-awaited opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

The big night coming many years after the couple first proposed a cultural institution dedicated to visual storytelling. And Elex Michaelson was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): For more than 20 years, George Lucas, the director, and his wife, Mellody Hobson, have been envisioning this. It's now a reality.

It looks almost like a spaceship: a 300,000-square-foot facility that had cost them over $1 billion. Of course, it has "Star Wars" in it, but it's also got a lot more than that. A look at storytelling over the years.

Mellody Hobson, emotional seeing Oprah at the opening event.

MICHAELSON: Is the emotion hitting you? What's going through your mind?

MELLODY HOBSON, LUCAS MUSEUM CO-FOUNDER: It is really. It's like I saw Oprah and I just like -- you know, you see idols at your event. It's deeply moving.

[00:55:08]

OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: To see them accomplish this really is one of the most meaningful things I've seen.

MICHAELSON: It brings you to tears.

WINFREY: It brings me to tears to see what they have been able to do here is -- it's beyond words.

MICHAELSON: What's the big thing you want people to see when they walk through those doors?

HOBSON: Themselves. We want them to see themselves when they're here, and their stories.

MICHAELSON: You've dedicated your life to storytelling.

GAYLE KING, BROADCAST JOURNALIST, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "OPRAH DAILY": You, too. Right back at you.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Why does storytelling matter?

KING: Because we know it changes people's lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the heartbeat of what -- what, and who we are, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It tells us a lot about where we've been, who we are, where we're going.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK, NBA LEGEND: They give people something to look forward to, to talk about. And I think it's good for our youth.

DAVID ALAN GRIER, ACTOR & COMEDIAN: If you have children, if you've ever had a loved one who's older, younger, sick, what's the first thing you do? I'll read to you. If not read, I'll tell you a story.

AL ROKER, NBC NEWS: Especially now. Stories told with narrative art have a certain universality about them. You know? That you almost don't need to speak a language to understand what that story is.

MICHAELSON: What does this museum mean to the "Star Wars" legacy?

MARK HAMILL, ACTOR: Well, it's an acknowledgment of how George created something that has become a permanent part of pop culture for the ages.

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA, DIRECTOR: He's inspired young people, which is the most important people to inspire.

JON M. CHU, DIRECTOR: "Star Wars" made me believe in magic, made me, you know, sit in that theater and want to change my whole life.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I invited George to come to the Capitol a number of years ago. There's nobody who ever showed up at the Capitol who got more attention from the staff, from the members.

BRIAN GRAZER, PRODUCER: And just think about it. He -- he invented a museum. I mean, a lot of it's his stuff, too.

MICHAELSON: It's all his stuff.

SIR LEWIS HAMILTON, FORMULA ONE DRIVER: It's mind-blowing. I mean, this building is really -- Mellody always describes it. It's like going through George's brain, you know? And the fact that he's collected 50,000 pieces of art.

MICHAELSON: This museum officially opens to the public on Tuesday.

Elex Michaelson, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Stories can change lives.

Thank you for watching. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and I'll be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour.

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