Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Headlines: Speaker Johnson Sends House Home Early, Avoiding Hegseth Impeachment Vote; Macklemore Pledges To Donate $1 Million To Groups Supporting Palestinians; Arrest Warrant Issued In Mexico In Death Of Spanish Exchange Student. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 17, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:30:20]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It's half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
OpenAI is revealing six new cases of its AI models acting deceptively in the last six months. The company says that these findings were discovered during training and evaluation sessions and do not indicate that it happens often. OpenAI also said that it will now publicly report concerning AI behavior more often instead of waiting for multiple cases to release in one report.
All right. And investigators are looking for clues into Tuesday's fatal crash of a news helicopter in Los Angeles, including video taken from inside the helicopter before it struck the ground. Two people on board and one on the ground were killed in the crash.
And election season is in full swing and President Trump hit the campaign trail in battleground North Carolina. CNN's Betsy Klein reports from the Tar Heel State.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump campaigning here in battleground North Carolina as we are seeing some of his efforts to reimagine the use of executive authority hitting limits. We've seen that as the Supreme Court ruled against his efforts on mail-in voting. He's also lashing out around efforts to put his name on the Kennedy Center, and a growing number of members of his own party expressing opposition to his war with Iran.
The latest move is that the Federal Reserve has voted unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. But the reality is that this is going to make it more expensive for Americans who are looking to buy -- to borrow money to buy cars and houses, in addition to voters who are feeling the squeeze with those rising gas prices now standing at $4.36 a gallon.
President Trump offering this economic message here in Gastonia -- listen. DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we lose, you're going to lose your border. you're going to lose your tax cuts, you're going to lose your wealth, and our country is going to go through hell. So on Election Day, November 3, vote to defeat the Democrats.
KLEIN: But affordability was actually not the crux of President Trump's remarks here in Gastonia. Instead, Trump putting the focus on law and order in what, by all accounts, is a tightening Senate race between Michael Whatley, his former RNC chair, and Roy Cooper, the Democrat and former governor of this state. He said that Whatley is "the candidate of law and order."
He described American cities under Democrats as "killing fields filled with lawlessness, filth, and squalor." But President Trump's message on violent crime is certainly likely to animate his base.
But here in North Carolina, about 40 percent of voters are unaffiliated so it remains to be seen if that message is going to resonate in a state that has elected Cooper statewide four times.
Betsy Klein, CNN, traveling with the president in Gastonia, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: All right. Thank you, Betsy.
Vice President J.D. Vance told GOP lawmakers on Tuesday that they should target Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Senate candidate, if their Democratic opponents were "not that crazy."
El-Sayed is pushing back, talking to CNN's Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: They'll talk about anything not to have to talk about gas or groceries or whether or not you can see a doctor or the ability to send your kid to a good, dignified school.
So, yeah, if the whole Republican caucus meeting is not about what we can do to actually make lives better, but instead what we should talk about so that we can change the subject from what lives are because of their policies, fine, talk about me. But you know what I'm going to be talking about? Gas, groceries, how hard it is to see a doctor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH; Joining El-Sayed on the campaign trail soon, former Vice President Kamala Harris. She's set to join El-Sayed next week. That will be Harris's first campaign trail event this fall for a Senate candidate. She's also scheduled to appear with Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia next month.
Speaker Mike Johnson sent House members home from Washington early ahead of the midterm elections. The early dismissal avoided a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. That vote will now take place after the midterms. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie introduced the resolution over Hegseth's handling of the U.S. war with Iran.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins sat down with Congressman Massie last night, and she asked about the timing of the recess and his request for a vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Do you believe that it was because of your introduction of those articles of impeachment is the reason lawmakers went home early today?
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I know it was and here's why. It's actually bad politics to leave this impeachment hanging over Pete Hegseth's head for eight weeks. And if there was any other reason that they canceled tomorrow's day of session, they could have had the Hegseth vote tonight, because the rules say that he has to have the vote within 48 hours. They don't have to say -- they don't say he has to wait 48 hours.
[05:35:15]
So he could have had the vote yesterday as soon as I introduced the articles. He could have done it today before he adjourned Congress. But he called us off tomorrow. I'm calling it the Hegseth holiday because it's just one day. Now, the two weeks he cut off the calendar, I'm calling that the Epstein recess, because that's an entire recess -- two weeks of our majority.
COLLINS: What would have happened, do you think, if they had voted on it tonight?
MASSIE: That's a great question. The fact that they didn't vote on it tells me that they did a whip check, and they probably found that there were some other Republicans besides me that were going to vote for this or at least didn't want to be on the record supporting Hegseth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Before the House adjourned Wednesday, it voted to hold billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he defied subpoenas in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Lawmakers say Black refused to testify or hand over nondisclosure agreements. The vote sends the matter to the Justice Department. Black is suing the House Oversight Committee, and his attorneys called the vote retaliation.
New this morning, we are learning that Paul Whelan, an American detained in Russia for more than five years, helped craft a new bill that would help others who have been wrongly detained abroad. Now, it's going to be announced today, and Whelan calls the investigation a huge step forward to make sure that wrongfully detained Americans will be taken care of when they return home. Whelan's Congresswoman, Representative Haley Stevens from Michigan, will be announcing it. The money would come from obligated balances of what's called the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund, according to the legislation. It's not clear when the House would vote on the bill.
After being dropped from the Ed Sheeran tour for making pro- Palestinian comments, Macklemore says that he's giving his entire $1 million salary to organizations that work with Palestinian people, and he's challenging Robert Kraft and Ed Sheeran to match his donation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voiceover): After getting dropped from Ed Sheeran's concert tour, Macklemore says he's giving all his net earnings from it to six groups that support Palestinians. That's $1 million.
He also asked New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to do the same. Kraft owns Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts and said he would ban Macklemore from performing there this month with Sheeran after the rapper voiced support for Palestine on stage. Kraft said in a statement before Macklemore's invitation to donate, Sheeran asked him to donate $2 million to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis. Kraft didn't specify if he'll make an additional donation, but said he'll work together to build bridges with other stadium owners and Sheeran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: And we do know from a statement that has been released by Robert Kraft that he and Ed Sheeran -- and they have been committed to pledging $2 million in a donation. Matching Ed Sheeran's donation is what Robert Kraft is doing to aid in the region, he says, to fight this humanitarian crisis -- that according to a statement that Robert Kraft has posted.
And time for Buzz Express, the stories that have people talking.
Travis Kelce has been identified as one of the victims in a multi- million dollar fraud scheme in Missouri. Prosecutors haven't revealed exactly how the Kansas City Chiefs player and husband of Taylor Swift was victimized, but it's believed that Kelce was an investor in a fund created by a company co-founded by the man prosecuted in the case. That man was found guilty and was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison.
And Amazon might be putting the prime in the primetime Emmys next year. Variety reports that the Television Academy is in advance talks to move the Emmys to Amazon Prime Video. This would be the first time that the ceremony isn't airing on broadcast TV since its start in 1949. It would also end the 31-year tradition of rotating the ceremony between ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.
And actress Nia Long getting her flowers and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She most recently starred as Katherine Jackson in the Michael Jackson biopic. The longtime television and film actress was honored Wednesday with the Walk of Fame's 2,857th star. And a new tribute to Dolly Parton. Billboard reports that the Country
Music Association will honor Parton in a two-hour TV special on ABC and Disney+ next month. Parton won 10 CMA Awards during her seven- decade career, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award in 1978. She also received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and the CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award in 2021 to recognize her philanthropic work.
[05:40:03]
All right. Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, in a new memoir, Princess Diana's brother claims King Charles made a shocking statement about her right after her untimely death. And now the king is speaking out. That story is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
SMITH: A bill with sweeping new sanctions against Russia is headed to the president's desk. The House passed the measure yesterday, and it was named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. The bill puts penalties on top figures in the Russian government, including President Vladimir Putin and oligarchs. It also says the Trump administration could impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries that buy Russian oil, such as China and India. But sources say some Republicans wanted the new tariff powers taken out over fears that it could hike prices before the midterms. The Senate passed the bill in a broad bipartisan vote last month.
[05:45:25]
Let's go around the globe to see what else is making headlines today.
We begin in Morelos, Texas (sic). That is where an arrest warrant has -- or this was in Mexico. That's where an arrest warrant has been issued for a Mexican national in the murder of a 21-year-old Spanish exchange student. Investigators are looking at it as a possible case of femicide.
CNN's Valeria Leon has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): These Mexican university students are marching through the streets of Cuernavaca Morelos, demanding justice for the killing of 21-year-old Spanish student Claudia Tacoronte. Authorities are investigating her death as a possible femicide. The Spanish student had arrived in Mexico just one month earlier as part of an exchange program.
The protesters demand is clear. They are chanting, "Not one more woman, not one more woman murdered." Their calls for justice reflect a broader reality in Mexico, violence against women. Morelos has one of the highest femicide rates in the country. Official figures show that between January and July, it recorded the second-highest rate in Mexico, behind only Sinaloa, and well above the national average.
The grief over Tacoronte's killing can be felt in both Mexico and Spain.
Authorities say they are working to find out what happened.
FERNANDO BLUMENKRON ESCOBA, MORELOS ATTORNEY GENERAL (through translator): We are investigating this case under the femicide protocol. This was the violent death of a woman. Spanish authorities agree with that approach.
LEON: The governments of Mexico and Spain say they are working together, and Mexican officials insist they are committed to solve this case. But in a country with high levels of violence against women, this case has once again put the spotlight on gender violence.
LEON (voiceover): And as people take to the streets of Morelos to demand justice for Tacoronte's killing, many are asking whether that justice will ever come.
Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nargis Mohammadi is speaking out after being released on temporary medical leave from a notorious Iranian prison. In her memoir, the women's rights advocate reveals that the push to smuggle her writings from prison amid the severe beatings and medical neglect she says she suffered. Still, she says that she's hopeful about the movement to try to secure women's rights in Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARGES MOHAMMADI, NOBEL LAUREATE, IRANIAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST (through translator): If you look at the streets of Tehran and even in the cities across the country, you can see how courageously women are standing tall in the streets, despite the fact that the government is repressing them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Mohammadi was sentenced to more than 44 years in prison and 154 lashes for her activism against the Iranian regime. The Iranian government and official media have downplayed Mohammadi's allegations of mistreatment. That is despite eyewitness accounts and international public outcry.
"We'll forget her soon enough." Those are the bone-chilling words Princess Diana's brother claims King Charles told him just days after her death. In his new memoir called "Swan Song," Charles Spencer wrote that he was speaking to the then-Prince of Wales about his concerns of Prince Harry and William walking in Princess Diana's funeral perception. And when Charles responded, "We'll forget her soon enough" he said, "I can't believe you said that" and hung up. Buckingham Palace disputes the claims, suggesting that Spencer's memory was impaired by his grief.
Today, Prince Harry is headlining the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards. The event is among his first public appearances since he relocated to the U.K. with his wife, Duchess Meghan, and their children. Prince Harry launched the Invictus Games Foundation to support injured and disabled military personnel.
All right. Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, there's this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out. There's a fire. Police department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Officers had to move quickly to evacuate this motel. We have more from that bodycam video coming up.
[05:50:00]
And a man in custody in a courthouse breaks free from his handcuffs. The story behind the dramatic escape attempt ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
(COMMERCIAL)
SMITH: In today's Money Express, one California man who is putting a home on the market in hopes of getting early -- in early on the AI tech boom. CNN's Natasha Chen introduces us to the man who would rather have AI stock instead of a cash down payment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some people want a stake in AI so badly, they're willing to sell their homes for stock, Like the owner of this vacation home. he's listing it for $2.35 million. He'll take it in cash, of course, but he really wants to sell it for AI stock.
[05:55:05]
VIJAY CHATTHA, SELLING HOME FOR AI STOCK: Yeah. Well, welcome to Chattha Valley. We've been here since 2012.
CHEN (voiceover): Vijay Chattha has a communications firm, not an AI company, but he says he wants in on the profit when companies like Anthropic and OpenAI go public.
CHATTHA: You have a second bedroom, larger with a sitting room and an ensuite bathroom.
CHEN (voiceover): Chattha figures one way he can get stock in these AI companies is to find an insider willing to give him some. That's because usually founders, employees and early investors are the ones who have pre-IPO stock -- stock that's about to make them very rich.
CHATTHA: If I'm going to reinvest the cash into some of the hot AI companies in Silicon Valley, why not try to find a way to find a buyer that's from one of those companies? CHEN: Do they question you about wanting their stock?
CHATTHA: No. I think people probably saw it as a -- either an interesting trade or a P.R. stunt or just a sort of a symbol of the times we live in.
CHEN: This is a really interesting time, and you are asking specifically for pre-IPO.
CHATTHA: Yes.
CHEN: Tell me about why.
CHATTHA: AI itself is not only going to impact all of our lives, but we are training the data. We're training the models. So in many ways we are the product. We should be able to participate in it.
CHEN: The San Francisco Bay Area has seen booms and busts before. This time, the boom is happening here in AI Alley, where you can find companies like Anthropic. Hundreds of people who work around here could become millionaires or multimillionaires.
KELLEY KROCK, REAL ESTATE AGENT: And not just millionaires, but like lots of zeros.
CHEN (voiceover): Real estate agent Kelley Krock took me to San Francisco's Marina district. This house here sold this summer for $3.5 million over the asking price for a total of about $10.5 million.
CHEN: So, Kelley, you work for Redfin. There was a Redfin report that the wealth from these AI employees could buy up almost a third of San Francisco property. Have you been seeing a crazy buy-in like that?
KROCK: I have a buyer, for example, that I started working with last year. He works for AI in the city. They were looking in the East Bay. They started out at $2 million. We look, we look, we look, we couldn't find anything. Fast-forward about eight months and now they're in contract for nearly $4 million. So they've doubled their budget just because of the momentum of AI and the valuation of these companies.
CHEN: When you see listings that are asking for cash or AI stock, have you seen anything like that before in your real estate career?
KROCK: I have not. There's a lot of controls on that and in many cases the board has to approve the buyer. It's also, you know, a very small group of people who would even be approved, so talk about elitism.
CHATTHA: Probably the fastest wealth growth in the history of time in any one particular region that I think we can even remember.
CHEN: Will you be disappointed if someone is buying this for cash instead of stock?
CHATTHA: I will not be disappointed.
CHEN: Does that involve even just investing in Anthropic or OpenAI once they go public?
CHATTHA: Sure. Those are options, right? There are so many options.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: This summer's cyclospora outbreak -- it cost grocery store chain Kroger more than $100 million in sales. Company leaders say that their customers didn't just stop buying the iceberg lettuce linked to the outbreak; they essentially stopped buying all produce. The CDC has declared the outbreak over. Twenty-one states were impacted with nearly 13,000 people getting sick. Two people died.
Let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines across the country. We start with this.
A man somehow managed to break free from his handcuffs right in the middle of the courthouse. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voiceover): Video shows a man broke free from his handcuffs and attacked two sheriff's deputies in Columbiana County, Ohio. Twenty-year-old Timothy Regal was being escorted from his sentencing in court when surveillance video captured the assault that injured two deputies. Sheriff Brian McLaughlin told CNN affiliate WFMJ that both deputies suffered broken bones but have since been released from the hospital.
Regal was subdued and taken to Columbiana County Jail, according to WFMJ. The sheriff says new charges against Regal are now pending.
Court records show Regal was initially sentenced for pleading guilty to aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, and assault. CNN reached out to Regal's attorney for comment but has not received a response.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: And in Florida, watch these police officers jump into action to save people from a burning motel in Sarasota.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: Hey, wake up! Get out of the room. Get out of the room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: They ran from room to room to make sure everyone evacuated safely. One person was sent to the hospital with minor injuries.
[06:00:00]
In Arizona, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office airlifted two elderly people in their 80s who got stranded in their car during heavy rains. You see the bottom half of their car underwater. This happened Wednesday in Goodyear, just outside of Phoenix. The area saw nearly three inches of rainfall in about three hours.
There you're seeing just one of the images in that area as they were making that rescue. Heavy rains washed out roads and, of course, that's submerged car. We'll continue to track any developments in the weather there.
That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
