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CNN International: Witkoff: U.S. And Iran Had Lengthy Talks On UNGA Sidelines; Venezuelans Denounce President Rodriguez's Trip To The UN; Video Reveals Key Details About ICE Shooting In Austin. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 23, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. The President of Iran is here in New York ahead of his UN General Assembly speech is scheduled for today, and all of this as President Trump's war with Iran is growing more unpopular among Americans with each passing month.

In fact, there's a new CNN poll that found that almost two thirds of those people surveyed say that the U.S. is not winning the conflict, and more believe that President Trump isn't doing enough to end it. And a source is telling CNN that President Trump has expressed to his advisers that he would like to meet with the Iranian delegation, "if the conditions are right."

Well, President Trump's special envoy revealed that the U.S. and Iranian delegations did engage in lengthy talks throughout -- through mediators on the UNGA sidelines on Tuesday, and the talks came as President Trump says that he's considering one of two options in the war with Iran. Here they are.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world, 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 or generations? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election.

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SANDOVAL: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Washington later today for a summit with President Trump. It's still unclear whether Xi will also appear at the UN General Assembly, but the leaders are expected to discuss artificial intelligence, trade, and national security. China's Ambassador to the U.S. is also warning that Taiwan and human rights are red lines that the U.S. should not cross during the summit.

Xi's visit is drawing some criticism, though, from some lawmakers who questioned the decision to host a Chinese leader at a state dinner amid some of the tensions between the two countries, and President Trump is dismissing some concerns and calls for a global slowdown of the development of artificial intelligence, saying that the U.S. "totally rejects such move."

And his comments come as a growing number of lawmakers and even leaders of top A.I. companies are warning of rapid growth in the industry, perhaps too fast. Trump says that he is not going to stifle growth of something that he says will be bigger than the industrial revolution. The U.S. President also said that he now plans to refer to A.I. as a super intelligence.

With me now is Scott Singer. He's a Co-Director of the China A.I. Initiative at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. It's great to see you, Scott.

SCOTT SINGER, CO-DIRECTOR, CHINA A.I. INITIATIVE, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Great to be here.

SANDOVAL: So, Scott, ahead of President Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, do you see anywhere where these two leaders could potentially find common ground amid these -- these rising concerns about A.I. models posing a threat to people, or do you think we should keep expectations relatively low?

SINGER: Look, I think that it's going to take time to find some common ground, but I do think that there are some foundational basic steps the two sides at least appear to beginning to take. For example, we've seen news from Secretary Scott Bessent that the U.S. and China are looking to build a channel to share information about critical incidents.

We've already seen a case where you know, A.I. agents are acting in ways that are unintended, hacking into the infrastructure of external companies.

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And so, if that were to cross borders between the U.S. and China, China and the U.S. or other countries, the two sides might want a way of sharing information, and so I think that that is a foundational component that will allow further agreements to be built on.

SANDOVAL: That's great. So, there's a potential for these fundamental steps that you lay out, but then also I can imagine several threats that they probably share in common. So, what are some of those risks that would pose a threat to both countries that it would be, and they would have mutual benefit to try to essentially tackle head-on.

SINGER: Well, we've already seen from the case of COVIID, for example, that pandemics are risks that cross borders, and you know, if you think about whether or not A.I. could make it easier for someone to build a deadly pathogen. The evidence is still coming out on just how feasible that is, but for the two sides to take the necessary preventative measures, that is definitely a risk that they're going to want to deal with in tandem.

And we also see evidence of A.I. malfunctioning, as we talked about just a second ago, with the OpenAI-Hugging Face incident, you know, if that were to, for example, affect, you know, imagine a Chinese model hacking into accidentally a U.S. bank or vice versa, you know, those are risks that we would definitely want to see a common response from.

SANDOVAL: And there's of course the competitive nature of this conversation. Just for some nuance ahead of this meeting, Scott, as we speak, I mean, who is winning this A.I. race? Is it the U.S.? Is it China? And -- and by what margin?

SINGER: I think it depends on what you're looking at. I think that if you were to look at the most advanced capabilities that U.S. models are definitely demonstrating substantial advantage on, you know, maybe the count of six months or so. On the other hand, Chinese models are in general much cheaper, and they're also open weight, meaning that you can download them freely from the internet in many cases.

The U.S. also has open weight models, but the -- the sort of most advanced open weight models tend to come from China, and so each country has their own advantage in the A.I. competition, as it were, and so depending on what is going to be most important or what domain, each side has a clear advantage.

SANDOVAL: And in terms of the side that may have an advantage when it comes to regulation and safeguards, does it seem to you that China has more robust regulations around A.I. technology, and perhaps that's something that the U.S. can could learn from?

SINGER: Well, China has the most extensive regulations in A.I. of any country on earth. Most of these regulations really started from a desire for the CCP to have control over what models were outputting, making sure that the messages from LLMs were consistent with core party narratives, for example, on issues like Tiananmen Square or Taiwan or these really sensitive issues within their parties, where there is --

SANDOVAL: (inaudible)

SINGER: -- exactly, and so where we're beginning to see a little bit more work, but really haven't seen the same degree of regulation or even standards has been in mitigating these most extreme risks, and the ecosystem in China is developing there. But when it comes to the actual mitigations that would happen at the company level, U.S. companies at the moment have invested far more, and so even though regulation and both sides is really early days, from a technical perspective, the U.S. actually is doing a bit more to mitigate the most extreme risks.

SANDOVAL: We are all looking forward to this meeting, Scott Singer. Though you've given us some great context and some great information to be on the lookout for. Thank you so much for your time.

SINGER: Pleasure.

SANDOVAL: Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez is hailing her talks with President Trump as historic. Tuesday's meeting was their first since the U.S. military captured and deposed former President Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez is expected to address the General Assembly later today. CNN has asked the White House whether President Trump plans to speak with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

Well, some Venezuelans are protesting Rodriguez's trip to the United Nations. They say that she is a continuation of the Maduro regime, and that her government continues making decisions that cause widespread suffering.

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NURIS MEDINA, VENEZUELAN PROTESTER (through translator): I strongly disagree with the UN receiving that illegitimate person in New York.

DOMENICA RIBUENO, VENEZUELAN PROTESTER (through translator): And Donald Trump should not trust her. He should conduct a survey here in Venezuela and see that we are not dancing, we are not happy, we are actually going hungry.

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SANDOVAL: Now to a new CNN analysis of photos and videos, which is revealing new details about how an ICE agent shooting of a Venezuelan man unfolded. The 28-year-old man survived, but his lawyer says that he did not receive proper treatment for his gunshot wound. CNN's Yahya Abou-Ghazala reports.

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YAHYA ABOU-GHAZALA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A 28-year-old Venezuelan man was shot inside his car by an ICE agent Sunday in Austin, Texas. Wilbur Rafael Garces Perez survived the incident, the latest in a string of shootings by federal immigration agents firing into vehicles. While federal authorities have released no details about what led to the shooting, a review of photos and videos offers a window into how it unfolded.

Shortly before 1 p.m. dispatch audio captured local law enforcement being notified about a car chase.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ICE is currently in pursuit of a blue Toyota Corolla.

ABOU-GHAZALA: The end of that car chase was caught on camera by a woman who was live streaming while driving. You can hear a siren and tires screeching in the background.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa! Oh my God! Holy (BEEP) dude. Oh my God.

ABOU-GHAZALA: Even though the video is recorded from far away, by zooming in, we can see key details of the incident unfolding. After you hear the tires screech, you can see these two vehicles at a stop. This unmarked black SUV is being driven by an ICE agent, and across from it, this is the blue Toyota, driven by Garces Perez. The cars are stopped, facing opposite directions, the ICE agent then gets out of his car and runs around its hood. Then, at least two gunshots can be heard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa! Oh my God!

ABOU-GHAZALA: The audio from the live stream appears to be a fraction of a second out of sync with the video. But around the moments when gunshots are heard, the agent doesn't appear to be in the path of the blue car. Instead, the ICE agent is standing behind and to the side of Garces Perez's vehicle. Photos taken afterwards show these two bullet holes in the rear passenger side window.

Garces Perez was shot in the torso, according to authorities. His vehicle is then seen moving forward slowly, but it quickly comes to a stop. You can see the brake lights are on. The ICE agent chases after the car and reaches the driver's side. From this angle, it's unclear what happens next.

Video of the aftermath recorded from a different angle shows Garces Perez clutching his shoulder and the car door handle broken off. Earlier in this video, we can see what appears to be the same ICE agent running around the passenger side of the SUV to the driver's side. He then approaches the blue car, seemingly while on the phone. On his vest are the letters ERO, as in Enforcement and Removal Operations, a division of ICE.

He doesn't appear to be wearing a body cam. On his belt is a dump pouch, an open bag meant to drop gear and expended magazines of ammo into it while you're shooting. The incident quickly led to protests at the site of the shooting. The attorney for Garces Perez said he was released from the hospital and taken into ICE custody.

She says he entered the U.S. lawfully and previously held a valid work permit, but she couldn't confirm his current immigration status. The Department of Homeland Security says that Garces Perez illegally entered the country and had a final order of removal, and the FBI will assist in the investigation. It doesn't explain why the agent fired his weapon. DHS has not responded to our request for further information. Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN, Washington.

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SANDOVAL: And still to come on CNN Newsroom, filmmaker George Lucas unveiling a new Hollywood masterpiece. His museum focused on narrative art. We're about to take you inside. Don't go anywhere.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANDOVAL: Some personal items owned by Brigitte Bardot went under the

hammer in Paris on Monday. The auction at the Hotel Drouot brought in almost $1.1 million, according to the auction house, and the items included portraits of the late French film star, diamond rings, and also the typewriter that she used to write her autobiography. Proceeds will go to the Animal Rights Foundation that became her life's work following her time as a cinema superstar.

And filmmaker George Lucas has now opened the doors to a brand, new museum and a whole new world with that. You're taking a look at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. It opened to -- it opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, but ahead of that, Lucas and his wife hosted a star-studded event to mark the grand opening over the weekend. CNN's Elex Michaelson was there for both events.

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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: His movies transport us to a galaxy far, far away, and his museum looks like it could be a spaceship, drawing the biggest stars in this galaxy to see it firsthand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get to decide what art is.

MICHAELSON: Director George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson spent a billion dollars to make the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art a reality.

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

MELLODY HOBSON, CO-FOUNDER, LUCAS MUSUEM: Themselves. We want them to see themselves.

MICHAELSON: Mark Hamill literally saw himself as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars exhibit. What does this museum mean to the Star Wars legacy?

MARK HAMILL, ACTOR LUKE SYWALKER IN STAR WARS: Well, it's an acknowledgement of how George created something that has become a permanent part of pop culture for the ages.

MICHAELSON: The Star Wars collection only about 7 percent of the 1,300 pieces of art on display here.

SIR LEWIS HAMILTON, FORMULA ONE DRIVER: It's mind blowing. Mellody always describes it as like going through George's brain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is George's soul. This is who he is, and the kind of stuff he wants people to see, and the kind of things that made him who he is.

MICHAELSON: The building itself feels like a set piece from a Lucas blockbuster. The elevator feels like you're taking a ride straight into a science fiction movie. 300,000 square feet on 13 acres. Its futuristic design topped with a massive rooftop park.

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

MICHAELSON: Opening night includes music, a drone show, and virtually every major director in modern Hollywood history assembled in one epic class picture.

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.

MICHAELSON: Lucas himself on hand for the opening ceremony to the public.

GEORGE LUCAS, FILMMAKER AND FOUNDER, LUCAS MUSEUM: Everything you do, everything you say, is a lesson for somebody else.

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MICHAELSON: The real goal: inspire the next generation of storytellers. All kids under 17 get free admission.

TULIAN PORTOCK, USC FILM STUDENT: To know that we can maybe have a museum someday, or -- or have ideas like his, it's -- it's very inspiring.

MICHAELSON: And one of the highlights, the tour guides. May the force be with you. Elex Michaelson, CNN, Los Angeles.

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SANDOVAL: And still to come here on CNN Newsroom, the bird photographer of the year winners are in. From dramatic flight to perfectly timed moments, the winged winners that stole the show. Stay with us.

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SANDOVAL: Now to a new exhibition that is opening today at Paris's Grand Palais that focuses on the legacy of French artist Paul Cezanne. It will feature 70 of his works, along with dozens from other artists, as it focuses on his impact from the late 19th century to the present day. Cezanne is still regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern art, more than a century after his death. The exhibition runs until January,

And the leading competition celebrating bird fatale. Around the globe, it has announced its winners, and this year's contest saw more than 24,000 entries, with winners across nine different categories, in addition to the overall winner. Here's CNN's Isa Suarez with more.

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ISA SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Whether in the air or on the ground, birds make a great subject for photographers. The Bird Photographer of the Year awards honor the very best pictures taken of our feathered friends, with more than 24,000 pictures competing for the top prize. This year's Grand Prize winner was actually the man behind this photo

of a bird under water, a Northern Gannet diving for fish. Photographer Henley Spiers from the United Kingdom took home more than $4,000 for the shot. A 16-year-old photographer from the U.S. took the top Youth Prize for this image of an owl perfectly framed against the moon. A good photo often involves a degree of luck, as the photographer who won the Bird in Flight Award admitted.

He said this owl unexpectedly turned to look at him just as he snapped the photo. Same with the winner of the Conservation Award, who said this blue heron landed so close to him he could only snap a headshot. The Bird Photographer of the Year awards are not just about honoring humans. The organization partners with the charity, Birds on the Brink to raise money to protect bird habitats worldwide. Isa Suarez, CNN, London.

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SANDOVAL: Saudi Arabia celebrated its 96th National Day with this air show in the skies over Riyadh. The Saudi Falcons Aerobatic Team, they were joined by the Royal Saudi Air Force and other Saudi units as crowds gathered to watch this spectacle on September 23rd. It marks the unification of the Kingdom in 1932. And with those pictures, want to thank you so much for joining me in the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval. Our live coverage continues with CNN Headline Express in a moment.

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