Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Headlines: CNN Denied Access To White House State Dinner Arrivals; Trump And Xi Set To Visit National Archives On Day Three Of Official State Visit; 40M+ On Alert For Powerful Weekend Nor'easter Targeting Central East Coast. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 25, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:23]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Waves crashing along the outer banks in North Carolina as a nor'easter is gathering strength along the East Coast with 40 million people in its path. We're tracking that storm.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That's how dark and hateful I feel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: More shocking testimony from the ex-mistress of an accused killer. The details on what she told the court, as a former "American Idol" contestant is charged with killing his wife.
Plus, Dolly Parton and U2. Behind the scenes stories from the band's front man Bono about her final recording.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
We'll get to those stories in a moment.
But first, CNN, MS NOW and "Politico" are all back at the White House after a judge ordered the Trump administration to restore their access. But that order overturning the president's ban only lasts 14 days. The media outlets are requesting a longer term commitment from the judge. In the meantime, CNN's participation in the TV press pool is still in a holding pattern.
CNN's Kristen Holmes has more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We are following suit with what the rest of the TV pool is doing, which is not sending a camera. This is part of what we have agreed upon, but sending an editorial presence.
So, we submitted two names, me and a producer. We walked up and we were told to talk to the press conference specifically to talk to Stephen Cheung, who is in charge of communications, and that the invitation or the pre-credentialed names were only for a photographer and an audio person. They did not want any editorial presence there from CNN, specifically.
We did try to push back, saying, why are we being denied access? This is what all the other networks are getting. And we heard nothing in response. And to be clear, no one of the other TV networks were also bringing in a camera or audio.
And this comes after we saw President Trump really ranting about the fact that there hadn't been enough television coverage from CNN, specifically about the visit of President Xi. The reason there hasn't been that coverage is that CNN actually was denied entry to the White House leading up to President Xi being here during the entire arrival ceremony. CNN reporters, CNN cameramen were trying to get inside this building. They could not. And that is the reason why we were not there to cover it.
The other reason why the pool didn't cover it is, of course, because they have pulled CNN out of the rotation. We are waiting to see if that has changed at all.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Today is day three of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's official state visit to Washington. President Trump is set to take Xi to the National Archives to see the nation's founding documents in honor of America's 250th anniversary. It is Xi's first visit to Washington and more than a decade, and his second meeting with Trump this year.
They held closed door talks at the White House on Thursday, Chinese state media says the discussions covered trade, artificial intelligence and the U.S. war with Iran. Chinese media also reporting xi said he hopes the U.S. will oppose Taiwan independence.
And this morning, cities along the East Coast on high alert as a major nor'easter targets the area. And with it, a certainty of coastal flooding, heavy winds and torrential rain. Preparations are underway for more than 40 million people today from Boston all the way down to Norfolk, Virginia.
CNN's Reid Binion has the latest
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line is we don't know how bad this storm will be.
REID BINION, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials in multiple states are preparing for the worst as an early fall nor'easter builds strength along the central East Coast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are building berms up of sand to protect the tunnels.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have closed our beaches. Weve also built up sand dunes along the beach.
BINION (voice-over): The storm threatening to bring coastal flooding, wind and rain to parts of the Northeast. More than 40 million people are expected to feel the impacts through the weekend. Forecast models put New England and Long Island, New York, in the bull's eye of the storm's most significant rain and wind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a combination of high winds and heavy rains. We will expect serious power outages.
BINION (voice-over): Areas from Boston to New York City Metro will start to feel the strongest effects of the storm by late Friday or early Saturday. Making matters worse, there's a full moon on Saturday, which will raise high tide levels even further.
[05:05:01]
Flooding is already underway in coastal areas in several Mid-Atlantic States, as beaches get pounded with heavy surf.
In some areas, the impact has already been severe. A section of North Carolina's Highway 12 was closed Thursday after waves breached a protective dune, officials said. There was nearly 500 feet of damage to the highway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been at NCDOT now more than 13 years and I have not seen damage at Pea Island like that.
BINION (voice-over): I'm Reid Binion, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, flash flood warnings now being lifted for people across southeast New Mexico. Some communities picked up a months worth of rain over the last several hours. And you see the retention wall working overtime to keep the water from rushing the highway.
A number of roadways that were closed are now reopened. The Lincoln County sheriffs office says several people were stranded in their homes, and others evacuated because of the rising waters.
Overseas, now, Iran says it presented a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations to reach a final deal with the U.S. and according to the foreign minister, the U.S. has seven days to meet specific conditions to make those two things happen. He didn't clarify what those conditions are, but says its nothing more than what was in June's memorandum of understanding. In response, the White House tells CNN the two sides are having, quote, positive and constructive discussions through the mediators. Meanwhile, Iran's president insists that his country is not trying to
kill President Trump. It comes after Trump and other U.S. officials accused Tehran of plotting his assassination. The White House responded, calling Iran a murderous regime.
The third day of the U.N. general assembly saw a host of protests Thursday as Benjamin Netanyahu got his turn on the world stage. Hundreds of protesters outside, including actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, blocked traffic outside the U.N. ahead of the Israeli prime minister's speech. They wore shirts reading, "Fund people, not bombs," and chanted slogans like "Let Gaza live". Demonstrators blocked the street for more than an hour.
And actress Susan Sarandon was seen being led away in handcuffs. It's unclear if she was arrested or detained, and then later released.
"Hacks" star Hannah Einbinder was also taken into custody. The NYPD says it detained 103 people.
Meanwhile, a significant number of delegates were seen walking out of the assembly as Netanyahu took the podium yesterday. He delivered a fiery speech and insisted the accusations of Israel committing genocide in Gaza are, quote, "the greatest lie of the century," end quote.
Before Netanyahu's speech, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke in a prerecorded video. He called on the international community to ensure the viability of a two-state solution in the face of Israeli expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank and the war in Gaza. Abbas also called for urgent and responsible intervention by the U.N. Security Council.
And testimony resumes later this morning in the murder trial of Caleb Flynn. He's the one time "American Idol" contestant turned music pastor accused in the murder of his wife. On Thursday, the court heard from his mistress, Alleigha Botner, and Botner read hundreds of text messages between the two. And they both expressed frustration over Flynn's marriage.
The court also heard a voicemail that Flynn left for Botner while he was on a 15th anniversary cruise with his wife
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICEMAIL FROM FLYNN TO MISTRESS: I don't feel the need to text. I know I yet again have made things worse. It only comes out of just sheer, absolute, massive love for you. But until I can be released from her, I know that you do not have to do anything. And so I'm sorry. I'm going to text this to you and then I promise I'll delete everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.
ALLEIGHA BOTNER, EX-MISTRESS: I said, do you know how badly I want to say F it to any rules and any barriers and just love you with my entire heart for the rest of my life. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.
BOTNER: Sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixty-four thousand two hundred eighty-one.
[05:10:02]
BOTNER: Sorry. I just wish I didn't say this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The message said.
BOTNER: I didn't mean it, says I want to kill her, Caleb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said that?
BOTNER: Me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.
BOTNER: I said, it's so bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.
BOTNER: He said, that makes two of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You made a comment during direct examination that when you had said that you wanted to kill Ashley, that you didn't mean it.
BOTNER: Said that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And at the time you didn't believe that Caleb meant it either when he said it.
BOTNER: I said that I did not believe he meant it. No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And why did you believe he meant it?
BOTNER: I didn't think he could ever be capable of doing something like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Flynn has pleaded not guilty. He says that his wife, Ashley, was killed by an armed intruder in their home. Prosecutors say it was Caleb who shot her and then staged a crime scene.
Pope Leo arrived in Paris this morning, where he is meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and visiting UNESCO headquarters and giving an address.
Lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Police are looking into the deaths of two students from Ole Miss and the drug Kratom that authorities say was found at the scene of both incidents. And later, why some of Jeffrey Epstein's former advisers are under
federal investigation. The latest developments in that case, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:16:14]
WHITFIELD: All right. Were tracking new developments in the death of Nolan Wells. He is the Mississippi teenager found dead and alone on an island after spending the Fourth of July with friends. The family's attorneys say a state autopsy found his manner of death to be undetermined, with no water in his stomach or lungs.
Benjamin Crump also spoke about digital forensics from the phones of other teens out on the island that day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY: The messages on his phone in the Snaps will show some of his own friends were concerned about people on Horn Island can be racist. That's his friends discussing that on Snap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Last week, a grand jury found there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in Nolan Wells' death, and no charges should be filed in the case.
We have new information this morning into the deaths of two University of Mississippi students on Monday, after a big football weekend. Right now, the investigations are focused on Kratom, an opioid-like herb found in both cases. Eighteen-year-old Aidan Hamilton, a freshman from Inglewood, Colorado, is one of the students, according to the university. The University of Mississippi identified the other student as 20-year-old Robert Strang. Robert was a junior from Atlanta.
Mississippi's department of public safety commissioner says foul play cannot be ruled out until investigations and toxicology tests are completed. CNN affiliate WAPT cited the Lafayette County coroner in saying autopsies are being scheduled.
A U.S. district judge is giving Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery until Monday to answer questions about the settlement deal, clearing the way for the company's merger. Democratic Senator Cory Booker is among those calling for greater scrutiny of the deal. An attorney for paramount denied that a threat to leave California if the merger was blocked constituted blackmail. Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company of CNN.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, gas and diesel prices hit record highs this month. How the spike is taking its toll on everyday drivers, truckers and even first responders.
Plus, after getting kicked off Ed Sheeran's tour, rapper Macklemore launches his own tour to put a spotlight on what's happening in Gaza. Details later in the hour.
Keep it right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:15]
WHITFIELD: Senate Majority Leader John Thune taking a somewhat pessimistic tone when it comes to lowering gas prices. Off camera, he told CNN in part, I think there have to be some ideas out there, most of which I don't think are going to do much to impact gas prices. He added that the best way to lower prices is to open everything up. A point he repeated during a news conference Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: Obviously, we are hopeful that the administrations efforts will lead to getting the Strait of Hormuz open. The administration is doing everything that they can to ensure that this conflict comes to a conclusion in a way that hopefully loosens up the shipping lanes and allows the free flow of oil in that region. And the global price of oil to come down, which will mean a lower price at the pump for a gallon of gasoline for the American people
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Right now, the national average for a gallon of unleaded is $4.49. That's according to AAA.
To put that number in perspective, it costs $2.98 a gallon before the war began back in February. And diesel prices are hitting record highs this month. The current average for a gallon stands at $6.50. Those high diesel prices impacting pretty much every industry, from truck driving to farming and even first responders.
In central Texas, fire departments say they've been traveling across the region, battling fires, having to refuel constantly. Those most affected by the rising cost of fuel are the volunteer fire departments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's definitely a good chunk of change every time we hit the gas station.
Anywhere from $100 to $200, it takes a lot of fuel to fill up these trucks, and the more you run, the more we respond, the more we use.
[05:25:05]
What we spend is what we spend. There's no going around or getting around it.
We also try to get grants and stuff to cover equipment and stuff like that. But so you just have to kind of prepare for these things and kind of set a little budget aside for emergencies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, rough surf, heavy flooding and high winds are all expected along the East Coast this weekend. Residents bracing for a rare fall nor'easter. Details on the change in weather coming up.
And unbelievable testimony in the trial of a former "American Idol" contestant and church worship leader accused of killing his wife. What his former mistress is saying on the stand.
Those stories and so much more coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
