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CNN Headlines: Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Plan To Limit Mail-In Voting In Midterms; Trump Dismisses Concerns Over Artificial Intelligence: "A Hoax"; Gavin Newsom Talks About Possible 2028 Presidential Run. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 15, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:29]
BEN SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's plan to change how mail ballots are sent to voters. The latest developments this morning.
Plus --
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GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: But I wouldn't run if she ran.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": If she runs you, you will not?
NEWSOM: Of course not. Why would I?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: CNN speaks one on one with California Governor Gavin Newsom. Why he says he won't run for president if Kamala Harris runs in 2028.
And dramatic rescue an injured climber saved from a 700-foot cliff. We'll have more on the lifesaving efforts.
And television's biggest stars shined last night at the 78th Emmy Awards. A look at who took home wins and who made history. We've got all that more coming your way.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us this morning.
Let's get started.
The Supreme Court has delivered a major defeat to President Donald Trump and his efforts at restricting mail in voting this election year. In a 7-2 decision, the justices rejected the president's plan to change how mail ballots are sent to voters across the U.S. The three sentence ruling didn't say much, just that the administration is, quote, "unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge". The decision comes just weeks before the critical November 3rd midterms.
Here's CNN's legal analyst Elie Honig reaction shortly after the order came down last evening.
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ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The bottom line is that Donald Trump's effort to have the federal executive branch take over key processes around mail in ballots has been blocked for purposes of the 2026 midterms. Now, this is a 7-2 opinion with four conservatives, the Chief Justice Roberts, along with Justices Gorsuch, Barrett and Kavanaugh joining forces with the three liberal justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, to find that there's really two reasons for their decision tonight.
First of all, they say this executive order by the president is probably unconstitutional. Now, they don't explain exactly why. But I'll tell you, the reason is the Constitution says its up to the states and congress to run elections. It's not up to the federal executive branch.
And the second thing that the majority says is essentially the equities, which means the realities on the ground here would result in too much chaos if this order were to go into effect.
Justice Kavanaugh actually writes separately and says it's just too late. You can't put in this type of major change to election processes this close to an election. So as a result of that, this executive order will not go into effect. It's been blocked with respect to the '26 midterms.
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SMITH: Thank you, Elie.
Trump has made unproven claims of mail in voting fraud for years, even though he votes by mail himself. Critics of the president's proposal are praising the ruling. That includes leaders of Democratic states as well as voting rights advocates.
In a statement to CNN, the NAACP called the decision a, quote, big victory for voters this midterm election cycle, adding that mail voting is safe, secure and deeply rooted in our nation's history and that the courts decision preserves a critical pathway to the ballot box and reaffirms that our democracy works best when every eligible voter can participate.
Later this hour, CNN's chief Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic weighs in on this ruling.
New details now on the debate in Washington and all over the world about artificial intelligence. The president phoning in to a conference in California on Monday while the Nvidia CEO was on stage. Take a listen.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're just playing right into the hands of a lot of people that don't want to see it happen. And that could be political people. It could also be China, and we're not going to let that happen. It's a -- it's a hoax. The robots will not be taking over. The A.I. will not be taking over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Just one moment of many on Monday, as the president pushed back against A.I. regulation.
He also shared a half dozen social media posts, including this one lengthy. In another, he called regulation a, quote, "sick conspiracy". He also said the only guardrail A.I. needs is, quote, "a strong and smart, high I.Q. president."
This all follows Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's calls for an industry wide slowdown, more regulation and global cooperation.
[05:05:06]
Major competitors, including Elon Musk and OpenAI's Sam Altman, have also voiced their support for more safety measures.
In some other A.I. news, the Gates Foundation is pledging to spend at least $1 billion to expand access to artificial intelligence, focusing on training A.I. models across different cultural contexts and languages.
Bill Gates said, quote, we can harness A.I. for good, but it won't happen by accident.
After months of questions about his health, Mitch McConnell is back on the Senate floor. The former Senate Republican leader was seen leaving his home in a wheelchair before returning to Capitol Hill yesterday. His first trip back since a June fall sidelined him for nearly three months, his lengthy absence fueled questions about his health after he was hospitalized. McConnell later revealed that he had fallen, briefly lost consciousness and developed pneumonia during his recovery.
In a social media post, McConnell says his recovery has been long and frustrating, made more challenging by the lingering effects of childhood polio, and acknowledges he's still not back to 100 percent. The 84-year-old Kentucky senator says he'll continue physical therapy while doing his best to be present for critical votes in the Senate.
Well, with his retirement just months away, McConnell's departure has already set the stage for Kentucky's next Senate race. Republican Congressman Andy Barr, backed by President Trump, will face Democratic former state lawmaker Charles Booker in November as voters choose who will succeed the longtime Kentucky senator.
A CNN exclusive with California Governor Gavin Newsom as he contemplates a possible presidential run in 2028. Newsom spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper for hours at a family ranch about his personal and professional highs and lows, and what the future could hold for this longtime politician. That includes whether or not he'll jump into the presidential race two years from now, that taking place. A key part of Newsom's decision will center on who else may be running. Specifically, former Vice President Kamala Harris. And here is part of that interview.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": It's going to be a lot of people.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Yeah.
TAPPER: It's a lot of Democrats.
NEWSOM: Thirty-one flavors.
TAPPER: And you're not even the only Californian.
NEWSOM: No, right, yeah.
TAPPER: You got Ro Khanna, Kamala.
NEWSOM: Yeah, I don't know if she runs, but we'll see.
TAPPER: I know she's called around.
NEWSOM: Yeah, but I wouldn't run if she ran.
TAPPER: If she runs, you will not?
NEWSOM: Of course not. Why would I? I wouldn't do that to her. I wouldn't do it to me. Why would I wouldn't do that to you? I wouldn't waste everyone's time. Who needs that?
TAPPER: What do you mean? That doesn't even make sense to me.
NEWSOM: I just I wouldn't. No, I wouldn't. First of all, electorally, it's a gift from God for everybody else. They enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It services no greater good.
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SMITH: We'll have more of Jake Tapper's exclusive interview with Governor Newsom later on in the show. Televisions biggest night and stars. They shined last night at the 78th Emmy Awards.
Apple TV's "Widow's Bay" was the nights biggest winner after taking home more awards than any other show during the ceremony, including outstanding comedy series. Other notable winners include Noah Wyle, who won his second Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his role on "The Pitt". The show is produced in part by CNN's parent company and was the most nominated show of the night. It took home two awards, including best drama.
And in one of the night's historic moments, Jean Smart won her fifth trophy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for "Hacks". Smart is now the first woman to win an Emmy for every season of a series. The fifth and final season of "Hacks" debuted earlier this year.
Just a few months after his show was canceled, Stephen Colbert took home what might be his show's last award. It's the Emmy for Best Variety Series. He used the opportunity to express his gratitude for the shows staff.
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STEPHEN COLBERT, TV HOST: The thing about these shows is that besides being a really good, steady job, is that they require so many people that they're a fantastic incubator for young people to come in to learn to work professionally on a deadline, in cooperation, in collaboration. And that is the future of our business that we have to look after.
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SMITH: One of the nights moving moments was when Sally Field paid tribute to her "Steel Magnolias" costar Dolly Parton, who died last month after a brief battle with cancer.
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SALLY FIELD, ACTRESS: She was genuine and humble, supportive and blisteringly funny, with a body sense of humor that would send any rude guy looking for a place to hide. I couldn't see then what a real giant Dolly was. Not just as an artist, but as a human.
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[05:10:04]
SMITH: We'll have more on tonight's big moments later on in the show, including an appearance by Taylor Swift.
Lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. A vote is set today. It's going to determine what will happen to the beleaguered Kennedy Center after threats that the facility could close if Trump's name is not added back to the building.
Plus, shocking new details about conditions detainees were kept under in the infamous detention center, Alligator Alcatraz.
We have more on that coming up. Stay with us.
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[05:15:01]
SMITH: A woman's death in California is sparking outrage after she was killed by a man who Homeland Security says was in the country illegally. Police say that he had been stalking and harassing her for months before fatally shooting her outside a mall last week.
CNN's Nick Watt reports with more.
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NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Get to the politics in a second, but the facts are the Shalini Thakur was 38 years old, shot dead in broad daylight 3:00 in the afternoon at a mall in California.
Now, the Sacramento County sheriff released a grainy surveillance camera video of the incident. They say that Thakur was accosted by this man, who had been stalking her, they say, for months. Accosted, she tried to run. He drew a firearm, shot her. She hit the ground. He shot her again.
Rohit Rohit, the suspect here allegedly fled the scene. He was tracked by police using license plate recognition, and he died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound.
Now, the stalking allegedly began back in January. Apparently, Rohit had put an airtag in Thakur's car to track her. At one point, he showed up, had a key to her apartment, and got in.
On another occasion, he apparently let air out of her car tires, then followed her to work to act the knight in shining armor and helped to help her. She did have a restraining order against him since May.
Now, the politics of the case are these: Rohit Rohit, this young man allegedly came from India in 2023 and was an undocumented migrant in this country. The DHS gave a statement to CNN that reads, in part, "This tragedy would have been completely avoided if it weren't for the Biden administration releasing this killer into our country."
Governor Gavin Newsom, his office, clapped back with this, telling us, "Trying to turn a horrific act of stalking and domestic violence into an indictment of California's sanctuary policies, is not supported by the evidence and distracts from the real issues this case raises.
Now, its worth noting that undocumented migrants are arrested at a rate of less than half that of native born Americans for violent and drug-related crimes.
Now, Thakur's family on a GoFundMe, described her as a caring, loving, selfless and generous young woman dead at 38, killed allegedly by a man who had been stalking her for months.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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SMITH: Thank you, Nick.
We are tracking a developing story out of Florida. A federal watchdog found the detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz held detainees in small metal cages from several minutes to nearly two hours. According to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, the cages were used on nearly 80 immigrants. The enclosures were labeled as, quote, "calming areas for detainees," but may have been used as a disciplinary tool. The state opened Alligator Alcatraz summer of 2025. It was closed a year later. We'll have more on this story coming up later on the show.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, this woman was found hanging from a tree in Mississippi. One suspect has been charged in connection with her murder, and police say that others could be arrested. We've got more there.
Plus, later, a lawsuit is filed by several states over a new Trump administration policy that will make it harder for immigrants to get green cards. Details on that and more, coming up.
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[05:23:19]
SMITH: Happening today, the Kennedy Center board of trustees is set to hold a special closed door meeting as it tries to figure out a path forward. And this is all amid serious financial troubles. This comes as a new report from the cultural institution says that the board could even consider shutting it down as soon as today.
Here's CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty.
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SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The Kennedy Center is on the brink of going bankrupt and could close as soon as this week. That's according to Kennedy Center leaders, who have called for a special board meeting on Tuesday to decide the way forward. The report says that the only way to avoid certain fiscal collapse is to close the building, and the report will argue that President Trump, as chairman of the board, could come in and raise the necessary money, but only if he is publicly acknowledged.
The board will have ten options for choosing the language to acknowledge that president Trump has restored and renovated the Kennedy Center. The board is expected to vote on this at Tuesday's meeting. This has been an issue that has been challenged and is currently making its way through the courts. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that they must remove President Trump's name off the front of the building, saying that is only through an act of congress that they can rename a national monument.
This is just one more chapter in the ongoing saga over the arts institution that President Trump has attempted to remake in his style and liking.
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SMITH: Looking back on this day in history, a tragic moment that became a defining chapter in the civil rights movement. The bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.
[05:25:00]
It was just before 11:00 a.m. when the explosion went off under the steps of the church, ripping through a wall. Four young girls died. They were just 14 and 11 years old.
But it got national and international attention, leading to protests. And in the end, the first conviction in the case was 1977, with others coming in the early 2000s.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, the Supreme Court deals a blow to the president in his efforts to curb mail-in voting across the country.
Plus, why is the U.S. government sending weapons into space? Well tell you what the Air Force is saying about the stunning move.
Keep it right here. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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