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Trump and Oil Execs to Meet on Reducing Gas and Diesel Prices; Sources Say, Army Secretary Resigns Amid Tensions With Hegseth; Jury Begins Day Four of Deliberations in Clancy Murder Trial. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, what you pay at the pump. President Trump searches for ways to lower gas prices months before the midterms.

Plus, wartime resignation, questions about the military's leadership after the Army secretary steps down amid ongoing tension with Pete Hegseth.

And concerning new information about cervical cancer screenings and the number of women who've never had them.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also happening now, holding onto hope. A daughter desperately searches for her parents who were crossing the border minutes before a massive wall of water wiped out this building in the same area.

Plus, Times Square standoff, what we're now learning about the woman police shot and killed after she stabbed two people within a matter of 20 seconds at Times Square.

And beef bypass, new concerns over food safety after President Trump suggests ranchers be allowed to process their own beef.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, how much you're paying at the gas station is front and center over at the White House today. President Trump is preparing to sit down with oil executives and fuel distributors to discuss expanding refining capacity. As the war in Iran has pushed U.S. gas prices above $4 a gallon, today's prices ring up at a $1.12 more per gallon than before the war six months ago, a 37 percent increase.

They're meeting as inflation-wary voters are just two months away from the midterm elections and dealing with failed promises to bring down prices. Now, the president concedes it could take years, his word, years, to benefit from the new Venezuelan oil deal. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It'll go fast, much faster than what the -- they say two years, three years. But if it was two years, that's a, you know, short period of time. It's hundreds of billions of dollars. It's actually trillions of dollars we're talking about, trillions, and it'll come out as fast as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's Alayna Treene is over at the White House for us. She's watching all of this unfold. Alayna, what is the administration hoping to accomplish in this meeting later today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, look, Wolf, U.S. oil reserves are at their lowest levels in decades, and as you just shared from that clip of the president, this new Venezuelan oil deal, which, of course, he is touting as a big success. As you know, there's actually a lot of questions about how that will actually work down the line, but that could still take years as well to materialize.

And so the persistent high gas prices here across the country, you had that image of the national average is now at $4.10 cents, specifically a barrel or, excuse me, at the pump, $4.10 a gallon, continues to be a huge issue. And, of course, also we're seeing global supplies also be a major issue, not only for the U.S. but for economies around the world.

And so this is a persistent problem that the president and his administration know they need to fix. And then, of course, there's also the political liability of this across the country as the midterm elections are less around two months away.

Now, I will say we did hear from White House Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers. She told me that the meeting today will be with different oil executives, some refiners, and it's specifically to find a way to, quote, collaborate on the best ways to increase refining capacity and further unleash American energy dominance across our entire supply chain. Essentially, they're looking to try and find a way to get the companies in this country to work with the administration to try to bring some of these prices down.

As for who's going to be part of this meeting, we know that the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, he will be there, so will the Energy Secretary, Wolf, Chris Wright, and the National Energy Dominance Council head, Jared Agan.

And I will say one thing is, of course, we know the president tries to downplay at times affordability concerns, and also he often tries to argue that it's the companies, the energy companies, that are part of the problem for the persistently high gas prices in this country.

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So, I think you'll hear a bit, a lot about that today as well.

We may have a chance, reporters, to go in later today. We'll keep you posted, hopefully get some questions in, and really get a sense of what they could try and agree on to try and lower prices across the country amid the ongoing war, of course, with Iran, which really at this point has no end in sight. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene over at the White House, we'll stay in close touch with you. Thank you very much. Pam?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. And new this morning, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is out. Sources tell CNN that he submitted his resignation following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Driscoll also brought up concerns with the Army's transformation and readiness six months into the war with Iran. He's an Army veteran and longtime friend of Vice President Vance, and in a statement, the White House said Driscoll provided, quote, longstanding -- or outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality.

CNN Senior National Security Reporter Haley Britzky is here in the situation room. So, this isn't entirely a surprise, right?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. No, Pam, this has been rumored to have been happening for quite some time now. So we've been hearing for months that Secretary Driscoll was preparing to leave his position as the Army secretary eventually. When that was going to happen was still up in the air, but certainly something he's been considering for quite some time.

BROWN: So, just looking at this big picture, Hegseth also fired the Army chief of staff back in April, along with other key generals, as you may recall. How much did that contribute to Driscoll's decision to resign?

BRITZKY: Yes. So, a source familiar tells us that in his resignation, Secretary Driscoll said that he brought up concerns with the Army transformation and readiness and sort of the administration's impact on that, and specifically Hegseth's blocking of those efforts by firing generals who were responsible.

So, you look at someone like General Christopher Donahue out in Europe, who was really on the frontline of bringing drones into the Army, working heavily with the Ukrainians and other European partners, and sort of modernizing the force in that way, and he was sort of forced to step aside and forced out, not given another position, and he just retired finally last week.

So, these are highly respected military leaders who Secretary Driscoll really leaned on and got a lot of advice from, particularly General George, as you said, who was fired earlier this year, someone that Secretary Driscoll worked very closely with. So, clearly, he has concerns about the direction the Army is headed under Secretary Hegseth and the way that the defense secretary is reaching into the Army and making these decisions for him.

BROWN: All right. Haley Britzky, great to have you on. Thanks so much. Wolf? BLITZER: Thanks from me as well. Also happening now, Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal has released a whistleblower report this morning which details the U.S. Postal Service effort to develop a new system for verifying mail ballots. That unnamed whistleblower says that the new system has invited a host of IT concerns among agency officials.

They go on to claim that some of the procedures USPS is planning, which have been mandated by President Trump, have been hidden from the public. They allege those procedures will make an already complicated and risky plan, even more vulnerable to potential mass disenfranchisement.

CNN has reached out to the United States Postal Service for comment. We're going to bring you new details as we learn them. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes, potentially big implications for the midterms.

Still ahead here in The Situation Room, the death toll from the deadly flooding in Nepal topping 1,000 as rescuers race to save 900 workers trapped inside tunnels underground.

BLITZER: And there's breaking news in the Lindsay Clancy trial. Our Jean Casarez is just outside the court in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jury is deliberating right now. This is their fourth day. We will let you know what's happening here at the courthouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts, right after this.

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BLITZER: There's breaking news coming into the Situation Room on this day four of deliberations in Lindsay Clancy's triple murder trial.

CNN Correspondent Jean Casarez is in Plymouth, Massachusetts, watching all of this unfold. I understand there's some new activity happening right now, Jean. What do we know?

CASAREZ: Something is happening. Our producer, Nicki Brown, stood in line as everyone did. They've just been let into the courtroom. The judge is on the bench. There is now a sidebar, as they routinely do, because the judge always talks to the, the attorneys before he says anything in open court. But, obviously, there is something right now. We have no idea what it is, but, obviously, we will hear on the record, hopefully, very soon.

In the meantime, this is the fourth day of the deliberations of this jury, and they walked in today as they left yesterday extremely stoic, focused, serious, no expressions on their face, which is different from how they used to be, because on Friday, they were talking amongst each other a bit when they walked into the courtroom. They always smile with the judge when he talks to them because he -- okay, the jury, it looks like, is entering the courtroom, asking for everyone to rise, I'm hearing in my ear, and I'm sure you're watching live pictures in that courtroom as this happens.

The attorneys are in place. You see the two assistant district attorneys that are on the prosecution side. You see Lindsay Clancy obviously there as the defendant. And it appears as though we are minutes away from the judge talking to this jury, reading a note from this jury, could be a question from this jury. He had that sidebar with the attorneys.

So, the attorneys now know what is happening. He lets them know first. But now the jury, this is the first time the jury has been brought in during this deliberation at a point where in they are in the midst of deliberating.

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And I think we are -- they're seated now. That tells me the jury is seated in the courtroom. And we're just waiting for the judge to be able to talk to them, ask them, listen to them.

The foreperson is most likely the person that will talk and communicate with the judge, even in open court if necessary.

All right, everyone in the courtroom we're hearing is rising. That is because of the jury, jury coming in. It's a packed courtroom. It is constantly absolutely wall-to-wall, not only media, but people. The people of this community, people have traveled here from outside of the state because they want to experience this historic trial. This is legal history that is unfolding right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Well, members of the jury, I've got your question, and the question is, after many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision. I brought you back out because I know that this was a long trial, all right? I know there were over 80 witnesses. There were over 300 exhibits. And -- but because of that, I'm going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all of the instructions that I gave you to go out and to continue your deliberations at this time, all right?

And so with that, I'm going to ask you to go back out. Like I said, keep in mind the instructions I gave you, reviewing the evidence, and I'd ask you to resume your deliberations at this time, okay? Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your Honor, all rise please. Jurors please rise.

CASAREZ: All right. So, this is a very important big moment right here. The jury said they cannot find unanimity. They are not unanimous. They are divided. And it potentially is a serious situation for them in that deliberation room for them to come out, give a note to the judge, have the judge read it.

Now, normally, what is done at this point is just what you heard. The judge tells them to go back in, keep deliberating.

I think the judge is saying that we will be recessed at this point. This is not unusual for the judge to tell them, go back, very simply. It is not an official Allen charge at this point, it appears. An Allen charge is the charge -- it goes by another name in Massachusetts, but everyone knows it as the Allen charge, where the judge tells the jury, keep going, keep trying.

It seemed like it was an unofficial charge to them to keep deliberating. But, Wolf, this is news because the expressions I saw yesterday, I did not want to give my opinion on them. I just wanted to state the facts. But what I saw was frustration. I saw a lack of unanimity. I just saw it when they walked in, their body language, their facial expressions, the way one lady took her fist and was just at her chin and like this, and then sitting down and looking down at her lap. And sometimes those signs are correct.

So, Wolf, we've got to wait. The jury has spoken. We see where they are now, and the judge has ordered them to keep deliberating.

BLITZER: Jean assuming that they can't reach a unanimous decision, and it's what they call a hung jury, what happens then? I take it that the prosecution could reopen the whole case and start again from the beginning if they decide to do so, right?

CASAREZ: Absolutely. And we are a ways from that because they could find unanimity since the judge has asked them to keep trying. There's also official a reading of Massachusetts charge to the jury to go in and keep deliberating. And the judge will read that because that is codified. It is from statute, and it is from case law in Massachusetts. That did not happen right now.

And I know with the Karen Read case, because we were there on the ground for the Karen Read case in Massachusetts, the official charge to keep deliberating was read two times to the jury because you want a jury to be able to reach a verdict, and that is the point of this.

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But in answer to your question, if it becomes a hung jury, a mistrial will be declared, the prosecution will then most likely, in open court, state whether they intend to retry this case. And then there is a matter of time, and then it doesn't happen right away because you've got a jury pool, people in the community that have watched and lived every moment of this trial, but then, ultimately, potentially a second trial.

BLITZER: And Lindsay Clancy, if there's a retrial, if there's another trial that's about to begin, she still stays in police custody one way or another, right?

CASAREZ: Absolutely. And that's something that people forget because she is in a mental hospital right now. She's observed constantly because of suicidal ideations that the defense said she is still having. But she is in custody. And there was no bail in this case that was ever offered to her by the prosecution, and that it would be status quo.

BROWN: If you would, just explain to our audience again, Jean, what an Allen charge is and why this isn't that right now.

CASAREZ: In our jurisprudence system, we want juries to reach verdicts, and the Allen charge comes from a case in American jurisprudence. It would -- the defendant's last name was Allen. And it became standard that a charge is read to the jury if they cannot come to a verdict for them to keep focusing and keep trying.

So, if this jury today does not find unanimity, they may send another note and come in, and you will watch the judge read an actual Massachusetts case law of what they need to do, and it is more deliberate, it is stronger than what he just said to them because keep an open mind, listen to what your fellow juror is saying. Don't shut them out. Listen, keep deliberating, and then they go back in.

So, this is a process. This is a process that conceivably has just begun. It's early in the day. We will see what the rest of the day holds. But an Allen charge is a charge based on case law in this country telling the jury to continue to focus and deliberate.

BROWN: All right. Stand by, Jean. We're going to continue to cover this. We're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back.

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BROWN: All right. We're tracking this big development in the Lindsay Clancy trial. You had the jury come into the courtroom just moments ago and convey to the judge that there has been no unanimous decision on day four of deliberations. The judge then told the jury to go back, keep deliberating, in hopes of reading -- of reaching a verdict.

The prosecution has the burden in this case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt not only that Clancy committed the killings but also that she was criminally responsible at the time of the offense. Her defense says that, look, yes, she did kill her children, but she was experiencing a postpartum psychotic episode, and that the system failed her.

So, the jury is back in the room deliberating, and we are tracking all of this. Wolf?

BLITZER: And it's a complicated case because she admits, you know, Pamela, she admits that she killed her three little kids, and we'll show our viewers pictures of the three little kids Cora, five years old, Dawson, three years old, and Callan, eight months old. She admits she killed those three little kids, but she was suffering from the postpartum psychosis. And as a result, that's the excuse that she has why she shouldn't be convicted -- of first-degree or even second- degree murder in this particular case.

BROWN: So let's find out more about what this all means, Wolf, with criminal defense attorney Elyse Hershon on the phone. What do you make of this development? What does it tell you, Elyse?

ELYSE HERSHON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. Good morning, and thank you for having me back. I was in court myself this morning, so I apologize not being on video. Essentially, when a jury says that they cannot come to a unanimous decision, the judge will not grant a mistrial right away. What the judge will do is send them back to continue to deliberate.

Now, what we don't know is, are they unanimous on some or one of the charges or none of them? Because remember, part of the judge's instructions is they're supposed to start at first-degree murder, decide if they're unanimously guilty or not guilty before they move on to the analysis of murder two. They discuss that, then they move on to manslaughter. They need a unanimous verdict for or against. Then they move to not guilty for lack of criminal responsibility, and then, of course, the option for not guilty across the board.

So, we don't know if they're completely on opposite sides of the spectrum for each charge or perhaps there's a partial verdict there.

BLITZER: So, Elyse, what if they keep coming back and saying they can't reach a unanimous decision? Does that mean that there's automatically a mistrial? And what happens if there's a mistrial?

HERSHON: So, great question. So, essentially, the jury is not told this, but what the court, meaning the judge and the lawyers, look for are certain keywords or language that's used to imply that they cannot and will never come to a verdict, something like hopelessly deadlocked or absolutely cannot agree, something that's a little bit more extreme.

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