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Human Rights Pioneer Navi Pillay Wins Nobel Peace Prize; Senate Debates Play Out in Three Key Races Ahead of Midterms; Man Shot and Wounded by ICE Agent in New York; Hurricane Isaias Strengthens as It Nears U.S. Gulf Coast; Fired OpenAI Staffer Claims Dismissals were Suspicious Pentagon Plans Livestream of Firing Squad Execution. Aired 10a-11a ET
Aired October 09, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:22]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson
in Abu Dhabi where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
And we are tracking several fast-moving stories out of the United States. Hurricane Isaias has strengthened into a category three storm, with
evacuations underway along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
U.S. immigration officials give more details about the man shot and wounded by agents in New York, while his 5-year-old was sitting in the back seat of
his car. We'll bring you the latest from the Homeland Security secretary.
And the Pentagon said it will livestream the execution by firing squad of the Fort Hood shooter, sparking outrage and condemnation. We'll unpack the
legal and ethical questions that it raises.
First, I want to get to the news out of Oslo. In the past couple of hours, exceptional courage. That is how the head of the Nobel Committee described
this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to me. 85-year-old human rights pioneer Navi Pillay was surprised when she found out that she had won. The
former U.N. Human Rights chief also played an important role in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement.
In the last hour, I spoke to the Nobel Committee chair and asked him how he reached the decision to award Navi Pillay the prize. This is what he told
me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JORGEN WATNE FRYDNES, CHAIR, NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: So the Norwegian Nobel Committee works in the same way it does every year. We have our
nominations. We have our deliberations, and we make the decision in the beginning of October and announcement being today based only on the will of
Alfred Nobel.
ANDERSON: When you made this announcement, you said you hadn't been able to reach Navi Pillay. Have you managed to speak with her yet?
FRYDNES: My colleagues have. So they have had a talk with her. And I'm pleased to hear that.
ANDERSON: And how would you describe her response?
FRYDNES: I think she was surprised. I think she was very happy with it. But she also stated quite clearly that this prize is a prize to international
law as a mechanism for resolving conflict and making the world more peaceful.
ANDERSON: And you've said, and you said that international law is, and I quote you here, under attack. What did you mean by that? And why is giving
this prize to Navi Pillay so important at this point, to your mind?
FRYDNES: Well, we do see that both the institutions and the judges who guard the thin line between order and chaos, those who are standing up for
the principles of international law, they are both being sanctioned and attacked. And the principles and the noise behind international law is
definitely under tremendous pressure. So the timing of this prize we felt it was important. And giving it to Navi Pillay, who has been in the
forefront of the development of international law through many, many, many years. She is the correct recipient this year, as quoted today in the press
conference.
ANDERSON: Well, President Trump has made no secret of wanting to win a Nobel Peace Prize. He recently criticized your committee, saying, and I
quote, "They have a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me." What's your response to Donald Trump?
FRYDNES: Well, we never comment on who is nominated, who is not. We only talk about who actually receives the prize. And this year it is Navi
Pillay. I think the history of the Peace Prize shows that there are many ways to peace and there are many ways, there are many individuals,
institutions or organizations that have been felt worthy of that cause. And this year we are focusing on one of the most important international
jurists of our time and her efforts to secure peace through international law.
ANDERSON: Can you share whether there was any support for Donald Trump from the committee?
FRYDNES: Well, as I said, we don't talk about anything else than the actual laureate.
[10:05:00]
We don't say who is nominated, who is not nominated. And we cannot. And that's in our statutes. We cannot reveal anything until actually 50 years
from now on.
ANDERSON: Has his criticism of the prize worried you?
FRYDNES: Well, we work in the same way as all the Norwegian Nobel Committee has done in -- this is the 125th year rewarding the Nobel Peace Prize. And
we do it only on the basis of the will of Alfred Nobel. So our task is very clear, our mandate is very clear. And that is also how we're working,
whatever the pressure, whatever goes out on the outside world when it comes to who should receive the prize.
We only focus on what we have been focusing on for the last 125 years. And that is the will and the criteria stated in Alfred Nobel's testament.
ANDERSON: What do you think the biggest misconception people have about how someone wins this Nobel Peace Prize?
FRYDNES: Well, I think there are a lot of misconceptions. First and foremost, you have to be nominated. But it's not public who is nominated.
As I just said, we do not reveal who is nominated. So that information comes from other people who are claiming to be nominated or claiming to
nominate someone. We never comment on that. We only talk about the prize winner. And so that is one of the many misunderstandings.
We work as a committee. We are completely independent. We have nothing to do with the Norwegian government or any other government. We only based our
decision on the will of Alfred Nobel, and are not connected to any state authorities, including the Norwegian one.
ANDERSON: Is this a prize that you believe should be passed on? Last year's laureate has very publicly donated, as it were, or passed on her prize to
the U.S. president.
FRYDNES: Well, we are clearly that it's not possible to pass on the prize. The medal is another thing. And that has happened this year. Of course, the
prize is given to the person. Last year it was Maria Corina Machado for her tremendous work for democracy in Venezuela. Then we talked about the tools
of democracy being the tools of peace. And one of the most important tools we have is the rule of law. And that is what we are focusing on this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, U.S. president Donald Trump saying earlier this week that it would be, quote, "a great discredit to the Nobel Committee if he weren't
selected." And it is worth noting the president is overseeing two wars on his watch. But he says he's pausing attacks on Iran until after the U.S.
midterm elections in November.
And Ukrainian and European officials are set to meet with President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Miami today. That's to discuss
ways to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Observers are not very optimistic.
Well, soaring costs resulting from Trump's foreign policy were a key Democratic attack line in the latest U.S. Senate debate. I want to take you
through the three battleground states where candidates sparred last night. Those were Michigan, Georgia, and Maine.
Let's start with a fiery exchange in Michigan between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: Are you going after my mom?
MIKE ROGERS, MICHIGAN REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not going after your mom. What your mom was working at. I was going off to that organization
that was indicted for funneling money to al Qaeda. That's your mom. My mom worked at a local Chamber of Commerce. I'll put my mom up any day for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, we'll give you a rebuttal. And we're moving away from the subject.
EL-SAYED: Look, again, he wants this to be about anything but his own record.
(CROSSTALK)
EL-SAYED: He's OK if the federal government spies on you. But he wants to make this about anybody else. Going after my mom, my sister. Got nothing to
actually say about me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, in Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff accused Republican challenger Mike Collins of associating with racists while
painting him as a bigot. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club. His office has
been in cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists on the country. He himself has amplified Neo-Nazi propaganda. He's never
apologized for it. And he should tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman Collins, you have 60 seconds.
REP. MIKE COLLINS (R-GA): Yes. You know, I'll say this. Voters need confidence. They need to know, yes, we live in the best country in the
world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:10:02]
ANDERSON: I want to bring in CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.
Maria, it's good to have you. Thank you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks.
ANDERSON: Both Ossoff and El-Sayed also hammering their opponents on the cost of living crisis tied to Donald Trump's war in Iran and on tariffs.
And I just want our viewers to have a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSSOFF: Well, you just heard Mike Collins say the tariffs are working. Go buy groceries. No one in this state seriously believes these tariffs are
working, Congressman. It's been a disaster.
EL-SAYED: You're hearing somebody who has cheer-led again a Canadian tariff policy that we are paying $5,600 a year for. The reason he's flip-flopping
has nothing to do with policy, has nothing to do with your costs, has everything to do with his sagging poll numbers. He doesn't like the fact
that this is not a pathway to power for him anymore so all of a sudden he's reversed course.
He's doing an ad, drinking a Labatt and talking about the red wings, pretending like he was not for this the entire time. Be serious. My god,
like, just be serious. People deserve to know they have a leader who's going to be serious about policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Your thoughts on how all of these candidates are sort of perform. But let's start with El-Sayed in Michigan, because we've just heard from
him. Did he do enough to move the needle in this must-win state for Democrats, do you think?
CARDONA: I thought what he did really well, Becky, was continue to focus like a laser on those kitchen table economic pocketbook issues like
affordability, like the hike in prices that we have seen because of the tariffs, because of the war in Iran. And he did that for a very simple
reason. Across the board in so many blocks of voters in this country, across the country, everyone is really worried about being able to make
ends meet.
At every kitchen table these are the conversations that voters are having, whether they're black voters, Latino voters, Muslim voters, Jewish voters,
women, men, young people, everyone, independent voters, even MAGA voters. Everyone is really concerned about the fact that prices have skyrocketed.
And the reason why El-Sayed and Jon Ossoff and Troy in in Maine have all brought this issue back to the issue of costs is because Donald Trump's
numbers are tanking, and every single one of the Republican candidates are tied to Donald Trump, and they're worried about it. So I think it was smart
of all of these candidates to bring it down to affordability.
ANDERSON: Right. Maria, El-Sayed is facing challenges with both black and Jewish voters, who told our colleague Edward-Isaac Dovere they don't think
they've got enough outreach from him, and they worry that he's too far left, way too progressive.
Did you hear anything on the debate stage last night that you believe will assuage those concerns?
CARDONA: I think so, Becky. If we all listen to that message of the focus on economic issues and on what El-Sayed would do to help these families who
are hurting, again, whether they're Jewish families, whether they're black families, whether they're Muslim families. This was why I thought it was so
smart that every time that Mike Rogers tried to bring it to something else that was focused on the culture issues, El-Sayed did everything he could to
bring it back to costs, because costs is a cross-cutting issue.
And you know what? He does need to do more to continue to reach out to the black community, to black voters, to black leaders, to the Jewish
community, to Jewish leaders, to make them understand that he is going to fight for all of them. But there's three more weeks left. He is ahead. But
this is a razor thin margin. It's going to be razor thin in all of the states that we're talking about this morning, Becky.
And so I do think it's -- it is upon El-Sayed to continue to convince voters that the number one issue for him, no matter where you're from or
what your background is, is to help Michigan families make ends meet. If he is able to convince the majority of voters that he can do that, he will
win.
ANDERSON: Copy that. Let's get to Georgia and the closing pitches of both the incumbent there, Jon Ossoff, and his challenger, Mike Collins. Stand
by.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSSOFF: Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists. And he's sold
out Georgia in his pathetic, childlike devotion to Donald Trump.
COLLINS: My opponent is a trust fund kid who's never had a job in his life. He wants to take control of this country with these weird and dangerous
ideas, with his radical friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:15:09]
ANDERSON: Your thoughts on their debate and Ossoff's odds of holding that seat?
CARDONA: I think Jon Ossoff's odds of holding that Senate seat are very good. And what you're seeing, and you saw it a lot in that debate, Becky,
is that the Republicans are very concerned that Jon Ossoff is going to be able to hold the seat, which is why they are trying to attack him as a
radical, as a socialist, as a communist.
And this is happening across the board but we just saw it in that exchange, because what Republicans are trying to do in the wake of these horrific
poll numbers that they have to carry because they're Republicans and they have supported Donald Trump on everything that is now incredibly unpopular,
they are trying to get the attention of voters, not on the economy, but on all of these other cultural issues, which is why you heard Ossoff's
opponent talk about his radical friends and, you know, he's too to the left.
But for Jon Ossoff, it's really tough for his opponent to be able to tag him that way, because Jon Ossoff is one of the more moderate candidates
that we have in the party, and he just has never led that way. And so, again, for Jon Ossoff to focus on the racism, because it is Georgia,
because black voters are such an important constituent, and then continue to focus on the economy is a very smart move.
ANDERSON: He's obviously a sort of potential presidential contender in 2028 of course.
CARDONA: That's right.
ANDERSON: We should remind our viewers.
Maria, Maine is a difficult state for Democrats. You had Graham Platner, who at one time energized the base, but of course had to withdraw in
disgrace over sexual assault allegations. Polling shows the new candidate, Troy Jackson, quite frankly, isn't exciting Democrats. And this is making
an uphill battle for your party to beat Susan Collins, who's a moderate Republican who has held that seat for nearly 30 years. Now, whether you
believe in term limits or not is another question. But let's listen to some of their debate.
CARDONA: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TROY JACKSON, MAINE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: Look what's happening because of the Iran war. She voted against it nine times before she voted
for it five times when she had a chance to stop it before we got into this crisis. She could have stopped it.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): It's under Troy's leadership that electric rates in Maine became the fourth highest in the nation. The nation. What does
that have to do with the Iran war?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Do you think this state has been a missed opportunity for Dems? And do you think that your party can still turn things around?
CARDONA: I do think that Troy Jackson has an opportunity to win here, again because of the difficulty that Republicans have, the anchor that Donald
Trump is and will continue to be around the necks of any Republican that's running for office this time around. But there's no question, Becky, that
Maine continues to be a huge challenge for Democrats, and especially because of the history of our party with the candidates that we have put
up.
You mentioned it, right? There's the -- I think a little bit of a hangover on the Graham Platner issue. But I will say that Troy Jackson has run a
good campaign. He is slightly ahead right now in the polls. Again, not that I'm saying we should all trust the polls. We know how wrong the polls have
been in the past. He has to continue --
ANDERSON: Absolutely.
CARDONA: -- to convince voters that this time around, Susan Collins cannot be trusted because she is a terrific campaigner and she has a great track
record with Maine voters. But I think we are, if she can ever be beat, this is going to be that time, Becky, because again I think voters have had it
with the rising prices, with the war in Iran, which is why you saw Troy Jackson focusing on the war in Iran.
As you have seen across the board and internationally, 75 percent of American voters are against the war in Iran, and they are putting the blame
on Trump and Republicans because of what the Iran war has cost Americans out of our own pocketbooks and in terms of rising prices. So if that's the
issue that he can continue to hammer as well as -- let me just mention this one last thing for your viewers because I think it's important.
ANDERSON: Right.
CARDONA: Susan Collins, let's remember, also voted for the Supreme Court justice who was -- gave the Supreme Court the ability to overturn Roe v
Wade reproductive rights in this country.
[10:20:03]
There's a lot of women who are very upset with her about that and will not forgive her for it.
ANDERSON: Terrific having you on. Thank you very much indeed. We will absolutely have you back if you'll have us.
CARDONA: Absolutely, Becky, next time.
ANDERSON: Until the next time, thank you.
CARDONA: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Good.
All right. Well, the Department of U.S. Homeland Security is fiercely defending the actions of immigration officials a day after a man was shot
and wounded by an ICE agent in New York. Now, a 5-year-old child, believed to be his son, was in the car with him. The man was taken to hospital. His
injuries are not considered life-threatening, a law enforcement official told CNN. Police say the child was not injured and is now in the care of
family members.
Have a listen to what DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters just last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We wasn't aware the child was in the car, I can tell you that. But do you know who was? Oscar.
Oscar knew he had a child in his car. Oscar chose to accelerate at a high rate of speed and ram two different vehicles as he was -- as appears to be
going towards officers. And so the public outcry should be also towards this criminal, this thug, this gangbanger, tis possible murderer. That
outrage should be with him for endangering the 5-year-old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN's Brynn Gingras listening in to that news conference intently following the story for us. She joins us now live from the scene of that
shooting in New York last night.
What can you tell us about that firstly?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Becky, you know, as you said, were really fiercely defending their actions that took place right on
this corner right here behind me yesterday afternoon. That subject that they are talking about is 28-year-old Oscar Belgal. He is from the
Dominican Republic. And the DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, basically saying this man has a very lengthy, you know, rap history basically.
He -- a criminal history. He basically shouldn't be in this country. He says that he's affiliated with a gang. And he really highlighted, kept
calling him a thug throughout that news conference, trying to say that their actions were justified. Of course, right after this happened
yesterday afternoon, there were protests happening all throughout these streets. We saw administration come here and make comments during the news
conference by DHS.
He really went after the mayor, Mamdani, and we haven't yet heard from him in response to the comments. But he criticized the sanctuary city policies
of New York City. And really just going after Mamdani.
I want you to hear what Mamdani did say last night about this incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK: When ICE agents opened fire, a 5-year-old child, a 5-year-old child, was in the back seat of the car. Thank God that
child is physically unharmed. For the past two hours, I have been on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullin negotiating the release of
the man ICE agents shot. Those negotiations were unsuccessful. Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away.
Let me say this plainly. What happened today was an outrage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: Now, Mullin did say in those conversations that they offered to release Belgal to the NYPD, but he says that Mamdani refused that, saying
that he would not detain him. We know that Belgal has been taken out of the state. DHS says that is because he is a person that has tried to flee
custody multiple times, not saying exactly where he was taken. But certainly you can see how this will continue to unfold in this city as
political jabs keep being taken as this story continues to unfold, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Brynn. Thank you.
All right. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, states along the U.S. Gulf Coast are bracing for Hurricane Isaias to make landfall, and
it could inflict serious damage on the U.S. oil refining industry there. An update on the storm and its impact just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:26:38]
ANDERSON: Hurricane Isaias has strengthened to a major category three as it barrels towards the U.S. Gulf Coast. Now, look, mandatory evacuation orders
have been issued for a number of counties. As we understand it, the hurricane is forecast to come ashore later tonight near the Florida-Alabama
border. In Florida flights canceled with Pensacola International, at least one other airport shutting down due to the storm. It will be the first
hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in two years.
I want to get you to the expert in all of this. CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
Just set up what we understand as far as speed and where we are expecting this hurricane to make landfall, Allison.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And as you mentioned, it was exactly two years ago today, Milton. Thank you, Mary Gilbert, for that fun
nugget. Yes, to kind of just show and also another similar type of storm coming through the Gulf. Now, this one here has sustained winds of 120
miles per hour gusting up to 130 miles per hour. At this point, it is not out of the question that we could see further strengthening.
So I do want to emphasize that. You've got a tiny little pinhole eye right there. So again, a lot can happen here in about the next 12 hours before we
anticipate landfall. One thing to note, because the storm strengthened, you're also going to start to see an increase not just in winds, but also
storm surge. This orange area you see here, that includes Pensacola, Panama City, down through Port St. Joe.
A lot of that area had been five to seven feet. That is now increased up to six to nine feet of storm surge. And even some of the surrounding yellow
areas going from three to five up to four to six. So these are things you often see when the storm begins to intensify. There's updates that take
place in terms of the impacts. You're already starting to see some of those outer bands begin to spread into not just Florida, but Alabama, Georgia, as
more of that rain slides north.
And those storms are going to become heavier and heavier as we go through the day and the storm edges closer. It is expected to make more of a due
north turn here, likely in the next couple of hours. We do thankfully anticipate that the storm will weaken right before landfall. Now, how much
it will weaken it, only time will tell. A lot of that also depends on exactly when it makes landfall. If it's earlier, say, around 9:00, it may
not have as much time to weaken. If it tends to be a little bit later, who knows?
So there is still some uncertainty there in terms of exactly what the strength will be when it makes landfall. We do know it will make landfall
later on this evening local time. There's also a severe threat. So in addition to all of the stuff that you would normally get for a hurricane,
you also have the potential for waterspouts and tornadoes. The main threat is going to be right along the Gulf Coast on Friday and then Saturday it
spreads inland as the bulk of those showers and thunderstorms also do the same. So Atlanta, Macon, and Columbia have that possibility.
ANDERSON: The hurricane is posing a threat to the U.S. oil industry.
Thank you. Allison.
It's on track to make landfall just to the east of the oil refining hub of New Orleans. And producers including Shell, Chevron, BP, evacuating some
staff from drilling platforms in the Gulf and curtailing production.
Matt Egan, my colleague, has more from New York.
And Matt, just walk us through the risk that this hurricane poses to refineries on the Gulf Coast. How serious a threat is it at this point?
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, a major hurricane barreling towards America's Gulf Coast, I mean, this is the last thing that
we need right now.
[10:30:05]
The global energy system has already been pushed to the brink. There's almost no room for error at this point. And this storm, it is moving closer
and closer, as Allison was just saying, to the Gulf Coast. And that is the nerve center for America's refining industry. However, the storm it is
veering enough to the east that it does appear to have put a lot of the refineries out of risk at this point.
Veteran analyst, Andy Lipow, he says that only about two refineries, one in Mississippi and one in Alabama, are seriously at risk right now. However,
those two refineries, they process almost half a million barrels of oil per day. That's not nothing. That's about 2 percent of America's refining
capacity. So we've got to watch whether or not extreme wind, flooding or especially power outages, knocks any of these refineries offline for any
amount of time because, as I said, there's just really no margin for error right now.
All those orange circles from that map, those are refineries. So again, you can see how the path of the storm has moved enough to the east where most,
but not all of those refineries are kind of out of the direct path of the storm. But again, as Allison was noting, we're talking about a storm surge
that is going to impact parts of Louisiana and those refineries near New Orleans as well.
Now, normally when there's an outage like this, we rely on stockpiles, right? That's why they're there. They're there as a shock absorber. But the
problem is that stockpiles of oil, of gasoline and diesel, they're all historically low. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has less oil in it than
at any point since 1982. And we know that prices are very high, right? We see oil futures $104 a barrel for Brent, but fuel prices are even higher.
Gasoline prices have almost never been as high as they are right now. The national average here in the U.S. is above $4 a gallon, $4.37 a gallon.
That is 47 percent higher than before the war started. And diesel is well above $6 a gallon right now, near all-time highs. The other point here, and
this is something that was shown in that map, is that there's a lot of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico as well.
And U.S. officials say that a significant amount of the Gulf of Mexico oil production, about 1.3 million barrels per day, have been shut down because
of this storm. That makes up about 63 percent of the regions oil production. So that's something to keep an eye on as well.
But, Becky, the big focus is on those refineries and whether or not they have to deal with power outages, wind damage and flooding that causes them
to get knocked offline for any significant amount of time.
Back to you.
ANDERSON: Understood. Thank you, Matt.
EGAN: Thanks, Becky.
ANDERSON: Right. You are up to speed on that. Still to come, ex-OpenAI employees speak out. Why they say their firing was suspicious. More on that
up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:35:34]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi from our Middle East programing headquarters. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. These are
your headlines this hour.
And Hurricane Isaias has strengthened to a major category three as it barrels towards the U.S. Gulf Coast. Mandatory evacuation orders have been
issued in a number of counties. The hurricane is forecast to come ashore later tonight near the Florida-Alabama border, and it is set to be the
first hurricane in two years to make landfall in the U.S..
South African human rights lawyer and international judge Navi Pillay has been named as this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. The Nobel Committee
praised her efforts to uphold a system of international law. The former U.N. Human Rights chief also led a panel that determined that Israel had
committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
U.S. Senate candidates in Maine, Georgia, and Michigan faced off in debates on Thursday night. Results in three states will play a critical role in
determining control of the U.S. Senate after the November U.S. midterms. Polls show chances are increasing for Democrats to win majorities in both
the Senate and House of Representatives.
Well, tech stocks dropping on Thursday after a new revenue forecast from OpenAI. $20 billion less than it was predicting just a few weeks ago.
Well, let's have a look and see how Wall Street is doing. We've got those numbers for us? Have we? All right, let's have a look at the -- if we can
bring those numbers up. Yes, we can. There you go. The Dow Industrials today, the S&P and the Nasdaq all trading higher, but not by a significant
amount. You've got up by sort of a quarter to a third of 1 percent. Tech stocks mostly on the rebound there. But again no significant winners out
there apart from Tesla stock which is trading over 10 percent higher.
Well, this comes as three recently dismissed OpenAI researchers say they believe the circumstances of their firing were suspicious.
CNN's Hadas Gold joining us now from New York with the latest.
And just fill us in on what we understand to have happened with these employees fired by OpenAI.
HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: So all three of these employees worked on safety and alignment within OpenAI, and some of them actually were
directly involved in working with the outside third party auditors who were brought in to help OpenAI investigate what happened when a swarm of their
agents escaped their testing environment and hacked into another A.I. company called Hugging Face.
Now, all three have now gone public, saying that they were all given slightly different reasons as to why they were actually fired. But they all
believe in their minds that it was because of their raising more and more concerns over safety and how OpenAI was handling safety. Now, OpenAI
disputes this. They say it's not because of safety, but it's because how these employees handled sensitive information.
Now, this matters because it's not just about an employment dispute and the drama behind, you know, what he said, what she said, what they said. But
it's also because there is a fear among some in the A.I. industry and within these companies that they might be trying to tamp down on these
safety concerns coming from within the house because of this sort of wave of panic we saw over the last few weeks over A.I. safety.
Now these three employees who were let go, they have been posting now extensively on social media, and one of them says that they were fired
specifically, they were told, for how they were talking to one of the third party evaluators, a company known as Meter. But they say that was their
job. They say they were the technical point of contact for Meter within OpenAI. The three of them wrote a letter to OpenAI leadership detailing
what they said happened and, you know, their problems with it, and also a list of recommendations that they say that they want to make sure that
OpenAI follows.
OpenAI, one of their research leaders sent a memo to the entire company that I was provided by OpenAI, where they said that they actually agree
with those recommendations, but they're emphasizing, the company is, that this was not about these employees raising safety concerns, that they say
it was about how they were handling information. They said that their investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive
information outside established company procedures, that they violated policies, and they broke the trust essential to their work.
[10:40:04]
OpenAI went on to say that they're continuing to work with these third party assessors. They say they're finalizing extra contracts. But the
researchers who were fired, they say, essentially that something doesn't add up. They say that they were told something else. They believe that it
was because of them bringing up safety concerns. And one of them even said that there is now a culture of fear within OpenAI where employees are
confused.
They don't know who to believe. They're worried that their phones are being monitored and searched, and that they're worried that the pervading fear to
speak up with third parties will mean OpenAI will cut corners on safety behind closed doors -- Becky.
ANDERSON: To be continued. Thank you.
Well, the Trump administration suspending Microsoft and some other companies from seeking permanent residency for foreign workers hired
through what is known as the H-1B visa program. Now, the administration accusing them of taking advantage of the process so that they could replace
American citizens with cheaper labor from abroad.
An investigation led by a task force chaired by the U.S. vice president determined that Microsoft laid off roughly 6,000 American workers last
year. At the same time, it employed 6300 non-citizens brought to the U.S. with H-1B visas.
Well, here's U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our message to Microsoft is you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American
workers. You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.
This is a fundamental insult to the American worker and to the American way of life. We cannot allow visa programs that were designed to ensure that
American corporations had access to the best and the brightest, to use them to undercut the wages of American workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: In a post on its Web site, Microsoft disputed Vance's assertions, saying, in part, and I quote, "Of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa
applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80 percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not
to hire new people."
Well, this issue could have significant implications for Indian workers who make up the vast majority of approved H-1B beneficiaries. This chart shows
the top countries of birth for approved H-1B beneficiaries in the 2025 fiscal year. India accounts for 70 percent of all beneficiaries, with more
than 28 -- sorry, 283,000 approvals.
Well, in a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, quote, "We believe that such descriptions are unwarranted and ignore the fact that
Indian professionals in the United States are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem." And it goes on to
say, "Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive."
Well, still to come, the Pentagon says it plans to livestream the execution of a former U.S. army psychiatrist by firing squad. Latest reaction to an
extremely controversial announcement is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:35]
ANDERSON: Well, the Pentagon has set a date for later this year to execute a former U.S. Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in 2009. Now, the
Pentagon says the execution by firing squad will be livestreamed. The last time the U.S. army executed one of its soldiers by firing squad was during
World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Army major betrays his country. Radical Islamist kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood. Of course we're going to
do it at Fort Hood. We're going to do it on a Thursday. We're going to do it at 1:00, which is when he did it. And it's going to be soldiers with
rifles executing the firing squad. It hadn't been since World War II since we've done that.
Well, I kind of like the mentality we had in World War II, which was win, which was understand when the enemy attacked you, you need to stand your
ground. We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public, because people need to understand that this is a -- there's serious
consequences for these types of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The announcement has drawn bipartisan condemnation. Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth, but has become more critical
of the Trump administration as he approaches the end of his term. Here's what he posted on X, quote, "Beyond disgusting. Executions are what
oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America."
And here's Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who found out about the story while on air speaking to my colleague Erin Burnett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I mean, that's disgusting. What is he, mimicking ISIS executions? I mean, I understand that in this country, we have the
death penalty, but public executions is Medieval. It's frankly one of the things that we abhor about terrorist groups. And the fact that the United
States is doing it -- I've just learned this. That is just absolutely extraordinary galling. No matter whether you support or oppose the death
penalty, public hangings and executions, that's what America has become? That's pretty extraordinary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, I should note that the U.S. ranked among the top five highest executions globally last year alongside China, Iran, Saudi Arabia
and Yemen. That's according to Amnesty International.
I want to get an expert for you on this, a legal analyst, Joey Johnson. Sorry, Joey Jackson. Sorry, Joey. Joey Jackson is a CNN analyst joining us
now.
Joey, just to unpack for us the clear concerns, if you will, behind live- streaming a firing squad execution. Is that even legal?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, that's the big overall question. So let's parse that out, Becky. Good to be with you. Now in the United States,
the death penalty is something that is deemed appropriate in 27 states. The other 23 have abolished the death penalty. As you note in coming into this
intro, you showed that this certainly has a lot of politics behind it. So depending upon what political party you're in and depending upon your point
of view, you may believe in the death penalty.
You may not believe in the death penalty, as we look at the pictures there of the person who scheduled to be executed, live-streamed by firing squad,
and that is Mr. Hasan Nidal. Now, clearly, right, there are some who will say that he killed 13 people. He wounded 32 others. He was convicted of
premeditated murder with respect to the 13. He was convicted of attempted murder with regard to the 32. So there's a firm basis to apply the death
penalty.
To your question in terms of legality, I think we have to do it in two different ways. Do what? Analyze it. How? Because in terms of the firing
squad issue that has been adjudicated by our highest court in the United States, and that's SCOTUS, Supreme Court of the United States, and they
have given the indication that it is legal. Firing squad is legal. It's not offensive to what we have here, which is the Eighth Amendment, cruel and
unusual punishment. And it is an acceptable form in the United States of punishment.
In fact, South Carolina, one of the states here, had three firing squad executions last year and about six states here allow for firing squad.
Idaho, it's its primary method. Now, so that's one issue. So the firing squad I think that's been determined. The second issue is whether the
livestreaming of it would be appropriate or lawful. There's a distinction between what we deem to be appropriate and not.
You heard the politicians talking, whether it's disgusting, whether it's Medieval, whether it's what have you, people will have their opinions.
[10:50:04]
That goes to the appropriate nature. The legal issue has not yet been determined. That is, our highest court has not weighed in on the issue of
livestreaming because there has not been a public execution in 90, nine- zero years. And that happened in Missouri 90 years ago. Since then, we've gotten away from that. And so I think there will be legal challenges as to
whether it should be livestreamed.
I think it will be predicated upon a number of issues. Does it offend human dignity? Does the person accused and convicted have a right to privacy? Is
public transparency really the thing that we're looking to do? Is this offensive to public transparency? So the court will weigh in that question
in terms of the transparency issue has not been adjudicated, the other has.
ANDERSON: Right. So I'm wondering, for Nidal Hasan's team, what will there, and one assumes there will be an appeals process here, correct? If I'm
right in assuming that, what would that look like?
JACKSON: So, Becky, I think there will be. I think that there will be a challenge based upon this. Again, you know, firing squad and there'll be
the issue as to whether even that is appropriate. You know, we've had in the United States issues relating to lethal injections and them not
working. Just last week, we saw that in Tennessee with a woman who was sentenced to death and the lethal injection didn't work. And she got into
all kind of, you know, issues and brain trauma, et cetera. Her current status is unknown.
Some say firing squad is indeed more humane. We could argue that day and night. But I think what it will look like is there'll be a challenge based
upon going to court and suggesting to the court in a written motion that this is not who we are, that firing squad, I think that will be challenged
as well. And there has not been a military execution in 65 years, but they'll challenge it, Becky, based upon issues relating to rights to
privacy, issues relating to human dignity, issues relating to lack of humanity.
ANDERSON: Understood.
JACKSON: And so I don't think this is the last that we'll be talking about this. And it's very well possible that it's December 3rd, 2026. Execution
could be put on hold. We'll see. Stay tuned.
ANDERSON: Just to take a step back before I let you go, why are we seeing all these stories around the death penalty come to a head right now, do you
think? What does this say about the United States in this moment?
JACKSON: Yes, I think what it's saying is that there's a midterm election in November that's very close. And I think that there's different schools
of thought as to the appropriateness of the death penalty, as to the humanity, as to, you know, a lot of different things that, you know, are
very well-publicized concerning the humanity versus the lack thereof. Whether we should have ICE agents deporting people, whether we should have
ICE agents engaged in potentially shooting and killing people, how things should be policed, how a street should be policed, whether the federal
government should be overly involved, whether they should take a step back.
And so a lot of this, although we're having a legal discussion, is tinged with politics, and we can't avoid that in this discussion.
ANDERSON: Always good to have you. Mr. Joey Jackson in the house for you, folks. Thank you, Joey.
JACKSON: Thanks.
ANDERSON: We will be back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: OK, a couple of minutes left of our show, and I want to get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.
[10:55:04]
Singapore blanketed in thick haze as air pollution reaches, quote, "very unhealthy levels." The city state ranked as the world's most polluted major
city on Friday, according to air quality monitor IQAir. The capital of neighboring Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, was at number two. Smoke has shrouded
both countries for weeks caused by fires in Indonesia.
French student protesters are claiming their first win after the government promised to send 3,000 more teachers into schools to fill staffing gaps.
But the protesters say their fight is not over. They are demanding more funding, smaller classes and better school buildings.
That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. From the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi, it is a very good evening. You can find me online atBeckyCNN on
Instagram and on X.
Stay with CNN, my colleagues with "ONE WORLD" up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
