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Trump Hosts State Dinner with Chinese Leader, CNN Denies Presidential Coverage as Other Media Allows It; Netanyahu Defends Decision to Launch Attacks on Iran; CNN Gives Rare Video Footage of Life in North Korea through the Eyes of an Aid Worker. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 25, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting Washington for the first time in more than a decade. U.S. President Donald Trump hosts him at a state dinner at the White House.

The Israeli Prime Minister defends his decision to launch attacks on Iran alongside the U.S., telling the U.N. General Assembly, if that had not happened, we'd all be dead.

And inside the real North Korea, we get exclusive access to video shared by an aid worker.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome.

We begin in Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a state visit, including a formal state dinner at the White House a few hours ago. Today, President Trump is set to take Xi to the National Archives to see the nation's founding documents in honor of America's 250th anniversary.

It is Xi's first visit to Washington in more than a decade and his second meeting with Trump this year as the two leaders work to manage one of the world's most significant relationships. They held closed door talks at the White House on Thursday. Chinese state media says the discussions covered trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the U.S. war with Iran.

Live now to CNN, Steven Jiang, our bureau chief in Beijing. Good to see you again, sir.

This is Xi's first visit to Washington in more than a decade. How significant is this meeting with Trump for the U.S.-China relationship right now?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Ben, they would say extremely important. As you can recall, Trump spent about the same amount of time on the ground here in Beijing. So Xi's itinerary in terms of the day and a half kind of stay in Washington, very much mirroring that timeline.

But still, despite the brevity, this is an action-packed and symbolism-packed itinerary. A lot of analysts have described this as a form over substance kind of visit, but that's by design because as you mentioned, the two leaders talked about a wide range of topics behind closed doors. But the reality is the two governments very much remain far apart on many of these issues.

And a lot of these differences, the disputes are foundational, are structural. It's just impractical or almost impossible to get them resolved anytime soon. So what the two sides seem to have decided is to take advantage of this personal rapport, the supposed friendship between their two powerful leaders and then use that to maintain this fragile stability they have able to create in this relationship, perhaps the world's most consequential bilateral relationship.

And then of course using this to set the stage for further negotiations on trade, but also on other issues. As you know, they reached a trade truce last November and that just got extended for two more months, even though both sides are already complaining about the other not fully living up to their pledges and promises. But at the end of the day, that's why this is a high stakes, low expectations kind of visit, because both sides are now focusing, all of their efforts is focused on maintaining this kind of so-called constructive strategic stability as they termed it.

But what they really mean is buying each side some time. Trump, of course, is preoccupied with the potentially brutal results of the upcoming midterm elections. Xi, of course, probably feeling confident going into this visit, feeling he has the upper hand, but still he has his own set of domestic challenges from the economy to the military, not to mention he needs time to achieve the much talked about goal or ambition of achieving not only self-sufficiency, but also overtaking the U.S. in key technologies, including in A.I. Ben?

HUNTE: So as well as the dinner, obviously there were these talks. Do you think anything actually came out of those talks that could change the relationship for the future? Or are the biggest things still quite unresolved at the moment?

JIANG: Yes, it's very much just to steady the ship, if you will, to stabilize this once rocky relationship at times really going through some downward spiral. Remember, both during Trump's first time and during the opening months of Trump's second term when he launched that massive trade war against Beijing.

Xi Jinping, of course, perhaps the only world leader able to withstand those pressure imposing his own tit-for-tat countermeasures eventually forcing Trump to back down.

[03:05:02]

So I think at this stage, they're really trying not to repeat that. So for them, the important thing is to keep this kind of personal relationship going, to keep this fragile stability going. Remember, potentially, they have two more face-to-face meetings for the rest of this year, in China for the APEC summit and in Miami for the G20 summit. Ben.

HUNTE: Okay, Steven Jiang, our bureau chief in Beijing. Thank you for joining us.

Even though CNN was denied the chance to cover the state dinner for Xi Jinping, the network's general access to the White House has now been restored. That follows a judge's ruling that the Trump administration's ban violated due process protections.

But that judge's order lasts only 14 days. The media outlets are requesting a longer term commitment from the judge. In the meantime, CNN's participation in the T.V. press pool that covers the president is still in a holding pattern.

CNN is scheduled to be the T.V. pool for President Trump's activities with China's leader today. But it is unclear if the White House will allow our reporters access there. Here's more from CNN's senior legal analyst, Eli Honig.

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ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: From here on out, really, the key decision belongs to President Trump. He can choose, if he wants to cut his losses, to accept last night's ruling, to abandon this effort, to ban the press, and to just move on with life. That's actually what happened in the Jim Acosta case back in 2018.

Now, a lot has changed since 2018, so the decision may not be the same. Alternatively, the president and the White House can continue to fight this. They will have the next two weeks to continue to fight this in the district court to try to prevent what was a temporary restraining order from maturing into a more permanent injunction.

And then, if the president wants, he can take this up to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. I should also note, we could have some interim litigation because the move that was made by the White House tonight to deny our colleague Kristen Holmes and others access to that event, to me, that flat out violates the judge's order from last night. That order was unequivocal.

It says that the White House shall immediately return, reinstate, and restore the hard passes to CNN. And so, if the White House is going to continue to play games and try to nickel and dime this and cut off and restrict access to certain rooms or events, and if CNN's lawyers choose to go back to court in the interim, I think CNN's going to continue to prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: There is much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom," including the Israeli prime minister's prediction about how much longer the Iranian regime will last. You'll hear what he said in a speech for the U.N. General Assembly.

Plus, Iran says it has delivered a new proposal to restart talks with the U.S. to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Details on that proposal and the White House reaction next.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Devastating Iran's nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do.

But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make as Prime Minister. Because if we hadn't done it, we'd all be dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: That is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu digging in his heels at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. He also said it's only a matter of time before Iran's regime falls, while lashing out at European countries and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Many diplomats left in protest as he began his speech. But out on the streets, pro-Palestinian protesters held multiple rallies in New York on Thursday. A number of them were detained, including actress Susan Sarandon, it is still unclear why she was detained and whether she was later released.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the assembly earlier in the day and focused on keeping a two-state solution alive. He spoke remotely because the U.S. denied him an entry visa. He urged the U.N. to stop the construction of more settlements in the West Bank, saying they'll destroy the two-state solution.

Iran says it has presented a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks towards a final deal with the U.S. Iran's foreign minister says the proposal was delivered to U.S. mediators this week. It would call for the U.S. to meet certain conditions within seven days in order to restart talks and reopen the Strait.

Let's go live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks, tracking developments for us in the region from Abu Dhabi. Paula, good to see you. Can you just tell us more about this proposal on the Strait of Hormuz? What exactly is Tehran offering and what does Tehran want in return?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Ben, this was a proposal that was announced by the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. Now, he didn't specify exactly what was in the proposal, but he did say that it was nothing more than what was in the memorandum of understanding, signed by both the U.S. and Iran back in June.

Now, of course, that MOU has been largely ignored by both sides in the following months. But the sorts of things that we saw in that agreement was a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. That's something that Iran has specified.

Also, unfreezing of frozen assets, Iranian assets, the ending of the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. This is a blockade the U.S. has imposed on any vessels going to or from Iranian ports.

[03:15:08]

So these are the sorts of things that we know Tehran wants to have agreed before they say that they are going to open up the Strait of Hormuz. Now, according to U.S. Central Command, they say that Iran has not been able to export any oil since July because of that naval blockade. And we have heard on Iranian state media as well that there is economic pain within the country, certainly that blockade believed to be having an impact.

Now, we did hear from one U.S. official telling CNN that they believed the discussions between the U.S. and Iran that have been happening on the side of the U.N. General Assembly have been positive and constructive. Also saying that they believe the U.S. is in a very strong position as it is in control of the Strait of Hormuz and it is not in a hurry to strike a deal. Also saying that nearly 22 million barrels of oil have left the Strait of Hormuz.

Araghchi for his part also said that Tehran is not in a hurry to make a deal saying that the seven days that the U.S. has would start once the U.S. did agree to the proposals. So certainly we are seeing that there are talks ongoing at this point. It's a step further forward than we have been for many weeks between the two sides.

We did hear from the President Masoud Pezeshkian when he spoke to the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week saying that the United States is a bully. Saying that, for example, we heard from the U.S. President questioning whether or not he was going to annihilate Iran. But even though we did hear a defiant speech from the Iranian President, at the same time he made it clear that Tehran was open for negotiation.

So at this point, the two sides are talking, as I say, a better position they have been in for some months since that MOU collapsed. Ben.

HUNTE: Okay, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thank you so much for joining us.

In the last hour, I spoke with Danny Citronowicz, he is a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and the former head of the Iran branch in the Research and Analysis Division of Israeli Defense Intelligence. What a title. I asked him how Israel's government might be viewing the potential talks between the U.S. and Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANNY CITRINOWICZ, SENIOR FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES, AND FORMER HEAD, RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS DIVISION-IRAN BRANCH, ISRAEL DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE: The last thing that Israel wants to see is an agreement between Iran and the U.S. It actually will strengthen the same regime that Israel seeks to tackle. So Israel is against this agreement. I have to say that, again, we're not seeing a change in the Iranian perspective.

The Iranians are identifying, I think, that Trump is actually uptight before the midterm elections. Oil price and things like that. So they believe they can return back to the MOU that actually serves their interests.

This is what they're trying to do. They're not capitulating, unfortunately, although the U.S. is pressuring them hard. But from the Israeli standpoint, the last thing that the Israeli government wants to see is an agreement between the U.S. and Iran that actually will be very hard to bypass.

Bypass Trump from the right. And this is something that Israel is really cautious and I think will try to work against it.

HUNTE: Hormuz remains the central pressure point in negotiations, obviously. What would reopening the strait actually mean for Iran, for Israel, and I guess the wider region too?

CITRINOWICZ: Well, definitely for Israel, it's not that we care about the Hormuz straits, but we care about the fact that Iran will have the ability to sell its oil again and strengthen its economical situation. The region, especially Gulf states, wants to see stability.

Yes, they have a problem with Iran controlling the straits. But I think they want to see stability. They don't want to see returning back to war.

And from the U.S. standpoint, definitely it will serve the interests of the President in terms of lowering the oil prices before the midterm election. The problem is that they will have to accept the Iranian demand, first and foremost, to have some sort of control over the strait.

So this is the dilemma now in Washington. And I really think that if the answer of the administration will say no in that regard, I think we might see escalation from the Iranian side, thinking that now they can pressure Trump, it cannot escalate.

But again, from the Israeli standpoint, it's all about strengthening Iran. And if the strait will, opening the strait will strengthen Iran, this is going to be a bad. Israel's ability to influence what's happening now between Iran and the U.S. is highly limited, we have to say that.

HUNTE: Looking ahead a bit, what is the biggest risk that you're watching for over the next few days that could potentially derail all of the current diplomatic efforts here?

[03:19:49]

CITRINOWICZ: And a very good question. I think that the status quo is not stable. I have to say that, you know, President Trump might think that, you know, increasing the economical pressure that actually is working good for the U.S., the economical situation in Iran is very bad, but accept the fact that countries in the region can export oil, even through the strait, and they cannot.

So in that regard, I think that if there won't be a political solution, escalation is definitely on the table from the Iranian side or from the U.S. side. Even more than that, we can see what's happening now in the Saudis and the Houthis, and this is something that's going to continue as well until the Saudis capitulate or escalate.

So the bottom line of things is that the situation that we're seeing right now is highly unstable, and if we won't find a political solution, I'm afraid that at the end of the day we'll find ourselves in escalation.

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HUNTE: New video into CNN shows massive plumes of smoke coming from a Russian oil refinery, it is happening in Russia's Perm region, about 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow. The Reuters news agency reports Russia says it repelled a massive drone attack in the area. Russian officials also say eight people were injured in a separate drone attack, about 600 kilometers southwest of Perm.

But in Kyiv, a happy ending of sorts after Russian strikes damaged this maternity ward. Medical officials say a baby boy was delivered in a shelter following Thursday's attack near the facility. The city's mayor says one person was killed in the parking lot outside the building, the strike was part of a wider attack that Ukraine says damaged several civilian targets.

There is much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom."

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is making his first visit to Washington in more than a decade. Details on that landmark visit and talks with President Trump at the White House are next.

And still ahead, a veteran aid worker shares footage of some of the most difficult years in North Korea's recent history. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The White House is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a state visit in his first trip to the U.S. Capitol in more than a decade. In the coming hours, President Trump is set to take Xi to the National Archives to see the nation's founding documents in honor of America's 250th anniversary. During a closed-door meeting at the White House on Thursday, Chinese state media says the two leaders discussed trade relations, artificial intelligence, and the U.S. war with Iran.

The Trump administration is once again allowing White House access to CNN, M.S. NOW, and Politico, but a judge's ruling on the matter is only good for the next two weeks. The media outlets are seeking longer-term protections. Meanwhile, the T.V. pool arrangement is still in limbo as the White House continues to restrict what events those journalists can cover.

Israel's Prime Minister says the fall of Iran's regime is not a question of if, but when. Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He urged the U.N. to stop Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank, saying they could sink any possibility of a two-state solution.

It is difficult to know what the daily lives of North Koreans are like, given the hold that Pyongyang has over access to the country. But now, an aid worker who spent decades helping North Koreans is sharing her experiences and some never-before-seen video with CNN. We should warn you, some of these images are disturbing.

Will Ripley reports.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are images the North Korean government does not want you to see.

Far away from the showpiece capital, Pyongyang, inside the homes of everyday people struggling to survive during the darkest days of the North Korean famine in the 1990s.

KATHI ZELLWEGER, SWISS AID WORKER (voice-over): And this child have the same old face than her grandfather. That struck me.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Kathi Zellweger is a Swiss aid worker who spent nearly 25 years running humanitarian programs in North Korea. 75 trips, five years living there. Foreign journalists have never been granted this kind of access. Not even me, on my 19 trips.

RIPLEY: We're looking at them, but they're looking at us as well. Every time I try to take a picture of those girls, they run away.

What is it like to be born and to grow up in North Korea?

ZELLWEGER: I think, you know, parents try their best to look after children well, but it's challenging, especially in the countryside, to provide.

UNKNOWN: 32,000 tons of rice arrived several days ago. RIPLEY (voice-over): Kathi brought in massive shipments of food, but she still had to verify where it was going. Following the food took her deeper and deeper into North Korea.

MIKE CHINOY, FORMER CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of North Koreans who are alive today who would be dead if it wasn't for the work that Kathi Zellweger did.

RIPLEY (voice-over): In later years, she could feel the government tightening its grip, especially after diplomacy with the U.S. fell apart and North Korea was no longer interested in engaging with the West.

[03:30:01]

ZELLWEGER: The word control was used much more widely than before.

RIPLEY: So you thought it was getting more restrictive and more controlling in more recent years.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Then suddenly the door slammed shut. Kathi often thinks about all the people she met, the people she may never see or hear from again.

Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: There is much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom," including the European Commission president is speaking out about the billion- euro-a-day trade deficit with China, how she plans to level the playing field.

And NVIDIA's boss gets a seat at the top table as President Trump throws a state dinner for China's Xi Jinping. Just ahead, the inside line on America and China's race to win A.I. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. Here are your business headlines.

A recent global bond sell-off surged on Thursday, with U.S. Treasury yields rising as high as 5.5 percent. This is the highest level since 2004. The recent sell-off has caused interest rates to rise globally. In the U.S., mortgage rates topped 7 percent for the first time since 2025.

A U.S. district judge is giving Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery until Monday to answer questions about the settlement deal clearing the way for their merger. Democratic Senator Cory Booker is among those urging closer scrutiny of the deal; an attorney for Paramount denies a threat to leave California if the merger was blocked amounts to blackmail. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of this very network.

Starbucks says it's closing nearly 250 stores across North America, it's part of a years-long $1 billion plan to revamp the coffee chain business and reignite growth. Starbucks says the affected locations either failed to meet its standards or were not financially viable. Customers can expect to see closings as early as this weekend.

The President of the European Commission is speaking out about unregulated trade between China and the E.U. CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked about the impact and some possible solutions.

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URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: The mood is changing in the European Union because of the imbalance that we have in our trade relationship. We have a trade deficit of 1 billion euros per day.

CHRISTANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Per day.

VON DER LEYEN: Per day. And this cannot go on. We cannot have the de- industrialization of our industrial heartland because China is dumping its overcapacity on the European market.

So we have now established with China a high-level dialogue on that topic but the dialogue has to deliver. In parallel we have instruments that ensure the economic security of the European Union. We want the dialogue to be successful but if necessary we have the instruments on the table or we can develop new ones.

AMANPOUR: What is an instrument in this case?

VON DER LEYEN: For example limit the access of Chinese products that are heavily subsidized to our market. We like competition but we want a level playing field.

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HUNTE: A.I. and tech leaders were on the guest list as President Trump threw a state dinner for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had a seat at the head table as well as AMD CEO Lisa Su, SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk and Apple's executive chairman Tim Cook.

Speaking to Anderson Cooper before the state dinner, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang dismissed fears that A.I. could wipe out humans by the end of the decade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENSEN HUANG, NVIDIA CEO: It's not grounded on science. It's not grounded on facts. It doesn't make any sense.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You said there's zero chance of that.

HUANG: I said there's zero chance that is end of humanity by 2030. 2030 is around the corner.

COOPER: Do you think there's a risk to humanity in the next 10 years?

HUANG: If we don't build society safely, if we don't build technology safely, of course there's going to be risk. But there's a lot of people working on really genuinely good technology.

COOPER: But there is, I mean on a 10-year time frame, a longer time frame, let's not quibble about the years, but there is an existential risk in this technology.

HUANG: If we don't build it safely.

COOPER: If it's not built safely.

HUANG: Yes, so let's build it safely. Let's build it safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: This week on CNN's streaming show, "Meanwhile in Asia," the panel discusses why American and Chinese A.I. developers are at odds over how to make the technology safer.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, he was calling for the U.S. to work with China on establishing guardrails on A.I. And I imagine that was not welcomed in Beijing.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: No, it wasn't welcome, because --

WATSON: For a lot of good reasons, possibly.

LU STOUT: Yes, they thought, number one, fear mongering, stop it. A little bit of don't tell us what to do. And also, it's a self-serving comment.

[03:40:04]

Of course, the U.S. A.I. giants want to slow down because they want to lock in their pole position while they're out in front. But also, Beijing has its own guardrails in place. It was in 2023, just after ChatGPT comes out, China becomes one of the first countries in the world to introduce guidelines on generative A.I., saying that it must be in line with socialist values.

WATSON: Is there any chance that Chinese leadership would allow a technology to move forward in their country without a kill switch?

LU STOUT: It would definitely have to have a kill switch. Yes.

So what motivates guardrails in China? It's not fear of an existential end of days. It's not that. KUNAL SEHGAL, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Or an A.I. system going out of

control.

LU STOUT: You just hinted at it. It's stability.

And that's why we've seen rules in place for generative A.I., rules in place against deepfakes. Also, the latest rules that came out about companion A.I. Just rule after rule.

But it's all pointing towards, you want to guide this sector along, but not at the expense of social and national stability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: If you're in the United States, you can catch "Meanwhile in Asia" on CNN's streaming platform, All Access, or if you're outside the U.S., you can check it out on YouTube.

Hundreds of people gathered in Barcelona on Thursday to watch a traditional Catalan spectacle. Human towers, known as castells, a featured part of local festivities. Eight teams built and tore down 25 towers in front of City Hall.

Participants climbed precariously onto each other's shoulders, with some reaching nine tiers or levels high. Some of the youngest participants this year, including children who climbed to the top, wore new helmets designed to protect them in case of a fall. Castells have been recognized by UNESCO since 2010.

A huge floor carpet made from more than 300,000 dahlia flowers is on display in Bradford, England. The giant living artwork stretches 29 meters, that's around 95 feet long, and is the first display of its kind in the country.

Created by local artist Shiraz Ali, the impressive display is modeled after an annual event in Belgium that started in the 1970s. The flower carpet is open to the public until Sunday.

All right, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, I'll see you at the same time tomorrow.

"World Sport" is coming up next, and some live pictures for you from Paris where the Pope is expected to arrive very soon. See you tomorrow.

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