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CNN Live Event/Special

CNN Headlines: Iranian Foreign Minister Arrives In NY For UNGA; Trump To Address UNGA Amid Ongoing War With Iran; Major TV Networks With CNN, Decline to Replace White House Pool Crew; Lawyer: Man Shot By ICE Moved From Hospital "With A Bullet In His Back"; $110 Billion Paramount And WBD Merger To Take Effect By December. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired September 22, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:26]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, President Trump is on the world stage addressing the U.N. general assembly. And in the audience, Iran's president. But you may not see or hear as much from the president today as you usually would.

We have the latest on the fight against his ban on CNN and other media outlets, and what effect it's already had.

And no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. That was the decision from the grand jury in the death of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells. We have more on the reaction this morning.

And a very good morning to you. I'm Danny Freeman, and this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. We're so glad that you're with us this morning. So let's get things started.

First up, leaders right now from around the world are gathering for the United Nations General Assembly. Iran's foreign minister arrived in New York late last night, and Iranian state media is reporting President Masoud Pezeshkian will arrive today. The Trump administration said it has allowed a, quote, core delegation to attend.

The gathering will be overshadowed, though, by the U.S. war with Iran. Although tensions between the two nations remain high, there have been no publicly reported U.S. strikes on Iran in more than two weeks. But President Trump is signaling major decisions on the conflict may be coming. Iran is warning that any attack would trigger strikes on U.S. targets across the Middle East.

CNN's Alayna Treene has more on what to expect at the UNGA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The big focus on foreign policy is really going to come into play on Tuesday when Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly.

Now, his speech is going to touch on a number of different issues. But this is what the U.N. ambassador, Mike Waltz, had to say to reporters last week about his address. He said that the president will, quote, "highlight how he has and how his administration have confronted complex problems head on around the world. He said he will touch on the importance of ensuring that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.

Now, the reason him bringing Iran up, part of the reason its going to be so interesting is because there's actually going to be Iranian officials at the U.N. General Assembly. We're told there's going to be a slimmed down delegation, including Iran's president. But he's also going to touch on other topics, I'm told, and really wants to tout himself as a leader of peace around the globe.

But what I think is going to be even more interesting is in the meetings that come after were told the president has a series of bilateral meetings, one of which is going to be with a series of leaders of Gulf nations, leaders from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the list goes on. And part of the reason that's so interesting is because we know that the president has listened to these leaders in the past, particularly as it relates to military action in the war between the U.S. and Iran. At times, the Saudis, for example, have asked the president to hold off on attacks out of fear of retaliation for their countries. And the president has held off.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Thank you, Alayna, for that reporting.

And President Trump's U.N. address will come as gas prices in the U.S. continue to rise amid the war with Iran. According to AAA, the national average gas price is $4.48, compared to $4.10 just last month.

Now, when the president addresses the U.N. General Assembly later today, it comes as his approval rating hits a record low. Just 32 percent approve of the job he's doing. That's according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. He will address the world with multiple foreign and domestic issues weighing on his presidency.

And while the world will be able to see his speech thanks to UNTV, the president's trip to New York will not get the coverage it normally would. Major television networks are standing by CNN, declining to replace the White House pool after the Trump administration barred the network from fulfilling its assigned duties back on Monday.

MS NOW and "Politico" were also banned from the White House and have joined CNN in retaliatory lawsuit. A preliminary hearing is set for tomorrow.

President Trump insists the ban is not against the free press, but rather on, quote, "fake news," which he describes as a cancer in America.

Now, CNN's Kaitlan Collins has details on what likely led to the president's ban.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's been lashing out about the coverage. Obviously, that's not surprising. It is something that he has complained about for years, long before he was president.

But he's been facing a string of setbacks lately when it comes to the Supreme Court. When it comes to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, gas prices rising, the Iran war still underway. And certainly a big topic here at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

But it was the president being shown a graphic of negative coverage last week by "Politico", we're told by his close aide, Natalie Harp, someone who's often in the Oval Office, often with him on Air Force One, and is actually joining him and traveling with him on this trip to New York just now, according to the reporters who are still traveling with him. She showed him a graphic of negative coverage from "Politico".

And we're told that it's so infuriated the president that he decided to loop these outlets together, lump these outlets together, and ban them, as he announced on Friday from covering him, which he himself, despite the vice president saying earlier today, this is not a ban on the free press. The president himself called it that last week when he was in the Oval Office, taking questions about how exactly he envisioned this working.

Now, what we do know is this is kind of prompted a scramble in and of itself behind the scenes, because this is, for the first time in modern history that the president has not had a major TV network traveling with him. When he goes somewhere, often there is one representative, one team from CBS, CNN, NBC, ABC or Fox who is always with the president no matter where he goes, whether that's a war zone or down the street from the White House or here to New York.

But today, there is no TV camera traveling with President Trump, as the networks are now acting in solidarity after the White House refused to admit CNN and let them carry out their assignment as the TV pool today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: New this morning, a Mississippi grand jury has found no evidence to support bringing charges in the mysterious death of Nolan Wells. The 18-year-old was found dead after a Fourth of July boat trip with friends off the Gulf Coast. The grand jury report agreed with authorities that Wells had drowned and found no criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing.

While in a video statement, the district attorney went even further and criticized the family's attorney, Ben Crump, and others for spreading what she says were lies about the case.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANGEL MYERS MCILRATH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: Family, the Crump team and anyone close to Nolan knew that his disappearance and death were not the result of racial hate or violence. Yet the flames of that narrative, set against the backdrop of Mississippi's terrible history, were fanned by both people who knew the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Meanwhile, Ben Crump released a statement saying, quote, "The state of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells's death without getting to the truth, we are releasing the final independent autopsy report in its entirety so everyone can read it for themselves."

He also called on the Justice Department to pick up the case if Mississippi won't continue to investigate. Former state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, Dave Aronberg, weighed in on the report. Take a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY: It's an unspeakable tragedy, but tragedy is not necessarily a crime. I'm a former state attorney and I see a D.A. here who actually did her job in the face of a lot of outside speculation and internet conspiracy theories. She conducted a lengthy investigation. She gave the families lawyers and their independent pathologists an opportunity to participate.

And then she presented 43 witnesses to a diverse grand jury. And that grand jury unanimously found no basis for criminal charges. So we should always remain open to new evidence. But we can't accuse people of murder based on unanswered questions, speculations or viral videos. So this, for now, means that the state's investigation is done unless there's new information that Ben Crump and others can provide.

I don't think that DOJ is going to pick this up. And if DOJ did, what makes you think theyre going to do a more thorough and fair job than the local prosecutors here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And to that point in its ruling, the grand jury acknowledged that if evidence emerges in the future, that, quote, suggests Mr. Wells death was not accidental, it would be presented to and taken into consideration. There is no statute of limitations on homicide cases in Mississippi.

There is new information about the Venezuelan delivery driver, who was shot and wounded by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Texas. An attorney representing the 28-year-old man says he was moved from a hospital to a detention facility with a bullet still in his back. Federal authorities have not said what led up to the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. He was released from the hospital just hours after the shooting on Sunday. His lawyer told CNN he was released with the bullet still lodged in his back, and he has now lost some movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE LINCOLN-GOLDFINCH, ATTORNEY: With a bullet lodged in his back. He reported to me this morning that he was bleeding, that he was not on pain medication, and I just heard through Congressman Castro's office, who had a staffer visit him, that he has lost movement on the entire left side of his body, which means that he is facing paralysis. So we have to consider this is a man who was shot in the back four hours later, was moved, was transferred, as you said, 100 miles away and is now facing transfer again to a hospital because he is being paralyzed, which certainly none of these transfers are helpful to him. He should have stayed in the hospital all of this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: The city of Austin, meanwhile, saw a second straight night of protests following the shooting. Roughly 100 demonstrators gathered at the Texas state capitol last night, where they carried signs and chanted demanding answers. The protest ended peacefully.

[05:10:03]

We have new developments regarding Lindsay Clancy. Her attorneys want her case thrown out. In a filing Monday, Clancy's legal team asked a judge to dismiss the case, saying a retrial would violate rights protecting her from double jeopardy. The triple murder case ended in a mistrial earlier this month after a jury deadlocked 11-1. Clancy lawyers say a judge denied their request to question that lone holdout juror or the jury foreperson, who told the court that the juror was not following the law on reasonable doubt.

And Clancy attorneys also want more information on that holdout juror, including his jury questionnaire and certain cell phone records. After the trial wrapped, other jurors publicly accused him of scrolling his phone during deliberations and not engaging with them. In a statement last week, the man said his fellow jurors misrepresented his position.

A hearing to consider the motion and a possible retrial is set for next Tuesday.

All right, we got a lot more to come on. CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS like this. We'll tell you why travel was disrupted for thousands of travelers across several airports back on Monday. And a driver leads police on a high speed chase and drives right into a lake. Entire car submerged. We're going to tell you how it all ended later on in the hour.

Plus, settlement reached. Paramount's massive acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is about to move forward. We'll tell you what it means for consumers.

Those stories and much, much more ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.

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[05:15:59]

FREEMAN: Okay, hopefully, if you're trying to fly in the Northeast today, things will be better. At least five major airports had ground stops and massive delays on Monday after the sudden loss of air traffic communications in Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw there's a ground stop due to equipment outage. Do you have any information for us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, man. Nothing works. Let's see. Here at Philly, we lost -- well, we got like a bunch of thousand extra data tags on all of our radars.

Our weather doesn't work. A couple of frequencies over in the sound sector in New York Center doesn't work. I think that's it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeez, okay. Yeah. And, are you expecting it then? Sounds like its going to be worse than that. 11:15 a.m. update?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dude, probably.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, the FAA says they discovered a break in the backup fiber when they tried to switch to that backup mode. New Jersey Transit says that the fiber cable was accidentally cut at a construction site there. According to FlightAware, Newark's airport saw more than 300 cancellations on Monday, which is more than any other airport. All of this coming at a time when Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been calling for better airport systems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We know these problems can happen. We know these cuts can happen. And to Brian's point, as we work through all the new equipment, all the new architecture of our telecom, which is fans, it all takes money. And so that's why we have a holistic view of everything, including how we rework our telecom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Thankfully, all airport operations in the Northeast are resuming this morning.

Meanwhile, the FAA is launching a new air traffic control tool that is supposed to cut down delays and cancellations. It's called smart and is completely powered by A.I. The technology analyzes flight schedules, weather, and airport capacity. It can also find new routes when weather or other problems disrupt flights. The tool will first launch in D.C. and then have a nationwide rollout.

We're learning that the death of Cindy Crawford's son, Presley Gerber, is being investigated as a suspected overdose. That's according to a release from the Santa Monica Police Department. Gerber died Sunday while at a rehab facility. Officials say there's no indication of foul play. A publicist for Crawford says the family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time. Presley Gerber was 27 years old.

Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, we're going to tell you why California Governor Gavin Newsom is declaring a state of emergency now for a monster storm predicted to hit the state this winter. Details later on in the hour. But keep it right here

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:11]

FREEMAN: State A.G.s suing to block Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery have reached a settlement, moving CNN's parent company one step closer to completing that mega merger. Now, Paramount and Warner now expect the $110 billion deal to take effect in early October.

California's attorney general, who led the states antitrust lawsuit, made that announcement yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB BONTA (D), CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger. It is not a blessing of the broader merger. I'm always willing to come to the table for honest, good faith negotiations. And when we can find a strong solution that protects competition and consumers, I'd rather resolve the case, the issue in the boardroom instead of the courtroom. And that's what happened here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter breaks down the terms of the settlement and what it means for CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: The concessions are relatively modest. Bonta did not secure many of the structural remedies that he said he wanted. Instead, he is touting what are known as behavioral remedies with legal language, describing how Paramount will behave in the next five years. The settlement terms require a combined Paramount/Warner to release 30 films theatrically per year, something that CEO David Ellison has said he wants to do anyway. That number will rise to 32 after two years.

The deal also requires Paramount to maintain its theatrical release windows to keep Paramount's Hollywood and Warner's Burbank studios open and not move out of California to invest an additional 1.5 billion in domestic film production. And, importantly, on the news side of the business, to establish a, quote, editorial independence board for CNN and CBS News.

Now, there's a lot of details still to be figured out about that editorial board, but paramount will choose five journalists to sit on it, and they'll have the ability to resolve disputes and set standards.

[05:25:04]

How that will work and whether it will be effective very much remains to be seen.

But some of the state attorneys general are pushing to have this board because they want to ensure that CNN's newsroom has editorial independence from the parent company.

FREEMAN: Brian Stelter, thank you very much for that report.

Now, the merger is one of the largest in U.S. history, and it's financed with the help of sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi that will indirectly own just under a 50 percent equity stake in the merged company.

All right. Coming up ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a new motion filed in the case of Lindsay Clancy. The Massachusetts mom whose case ended in a mistrial in the killings of her three children. The latest developments ahead.

And why a district attorney will not be bringing charges in the case surrounding the mysterious drowning death of a Mississippi teen, Nolan Wells. Details on the other side of the break.

Stay with us.

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