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Trump Plans For Triumphal Arch Raise Alarms; No Criminal Wrongdoing Found in Death of Nolan Wells; Coroner Finds Hayden Panettiere Died From Effects of Fentanyl. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired September 22, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: New this morning, a heartbreaking update from the front lines of the California wildfires. Two crew members, including the pilot, were killed in a helicopter crash while battling the massive Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park.

So far, the fire has burned more than 3, 400 acres and is just 15 percent contained. The FAA and the NTSB are both working to try to find out what went so wrong.

And, in Wisconsin, a dramatic end to a high-speed police chase. New dashcam video shows a driver fleeing from police so fast that his car was literally throwing sparks before taking a turn directly into Lake Como. Police say they attempted to stop the car after spotting a passenger hanging out of the window without a seat belt.

All four passengers managed to escape the sinking vehicle and swim to safety -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, Wolf, breaking news just into THE SITUATION ROOM.

A South Carolina coroner says actress Hayden Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl, along with other substances. Panettiere was found in cardiac arrest at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, last month.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us live with the details.

What more are we learning here, Dianne?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela, we just received that release from the Greenville County coroner's office in South Carolina.

And they say that the 36-year-old actress Hayden Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl and other substances, and her manner of death has been ruled an accident. Now, of course, there is still an investigation around this. You mentioned back in August, on August 16, Hayden Panettiere was

found unresponsive after her on-again/off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach called 911 for medics to come to an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, where she had been temporarily staying. They attempted to resuscitate her, but were unable to do so.

Now, last week, CNN reported that a source familiar with the case said that Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Los Angeles area authorities had been questioning several people about the circumstances surrounding her death. And they were also examining the possibility that she may have died after taking a counterfeit pill that she believed was another substance.

Now, that source said then that pending toxicology testing would be critical in helping investigators determine whether she ingested a counterfeit narcotic and how it may have interacted with other substances in her body at the time.

Now, again, that was before we got these toxicology results, and that was where the investigation was going at that time. We don't know what will happen after this point. The actress, though, of course, had spoken very publicly about her mental health and postpartum depression struggles and what it was like being a child star.

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She had a memoir that was recently released. And, actually, her career was sort of experiencing resurgence, as she just had a film released in January. Of course, she passed away last month, and many fans and many of her friends and family members have been remembering her since.

BROWN: Very sad.

Dianne Gallagher, thank you -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Also new this morning, new charges in the death of Nolan Wells. A grand jury just came to the unanimous decision that there's no evidence of criminal wrongdoing after the 18-year-old was found dead.

The announcement follows months of speculation of whether his disappearance was racially motivated.

Let's go live right now to CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez.

Omar, what has the family said about this grand jury decision?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the family, one, is looking for more. They don't see this as an end result to the -- to this case here.

But to the news that you were mentioning just a moment ago, this grand jury unanimously found there was no evidence to support bringing charges in the death of Nolan Wells. Remember, he was found dead after a Fourth of July celebration with friends off the coast of Mississippi. They went to a party. He -- they all came back, in terms of his friends, and he did not.

Since then, there has been a lot of attention on this case for a number of different reasons. But let's look at this grand jury report in particular, because it specifically said it found no criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing as part of this after conducting an investigation involving witness testimony, physical and digital evidence, as well as GPS and cell phone data as well.

And then it specifically says -- quote -- "The position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells' body is consistent with drowning."

Now, this grand jury report was released by the Jackson County district attorney's office, and we actually heard from that district attorney, who put out a video statement alongside the release of this report. I want you to take a listen to some of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL MYERS MCILRATH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: The narrative that three white boys and a black boy went to an island and only three white friends returned spread like wildfire. This was false.

There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan's disappearance and death were racially motivated. The 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 and those who didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So, some pretty direct words there.

Now, Ben Crump, he's civil rights attorney, but also representing the Nolan Wells family, put out a statement after this report was released, saying that "The state of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells' death without getting to the truth." It goes on to say: "This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers. Nolan's family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we."

He also cited bruises on Wells' head and body that he said had not yet been explained, which were actually mentioned in the grand jury report, including that the cause of those bruises was uncertain. But the report also said it was not a fatal injury.

It's part of why, when you look at the county coroner's report, it said that there were no immediate signs of trauma. But the family and Ben Crump as well are pushing for the state to release the full autopsy result as well. The grand jury, I should mention, also acknowledged that, if evidence

comes out suggesting that this was not an accidental death, that is something that will be considered and reviewed moving forward. But that, of course, is not what the result is here from this grand jury report, Wolf.

BLITZER: Omar Jimenez, thanks very much for that report -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, let's bring in criminal defense attorney Elyse Hershon for more legal perspective on this case.

So, Elyse, there is no statute of limitations on homicide cases in Mississippi. So where does the Wells family go from here?

ELYSE HERSHON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, and thank you for having me on your show.

So, the Wells family is looking for answers. They're looking for an explanation as to what happened to their son, and there's a lot of suspicion and speculation as to certain pieces of evidence they have where he has some injuries to his head. Is that from his falling or is that from someone -- a blunt-force trauma, someone attacking him and leading to his death?

So the grand jury's role is not to explain what happened to a victim's family, even though they want answers and they deserve answers. A grand jury's job is to review the evidence and decide if there's enough evidence or specific facts that a specific crime was committed, not beyond a reasonable doubt, but the lower standard of probable cause, and they just couldn't get there.

BROWN: And after the grand jury's announcement, here's civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family, said -- quote -- "No true bill does not resolve how Nolan Wells died."

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Can you explain what a no true bill means in this case?

HERSHON: Absolutely.

And following up on what we were just discussing, so a no true bill means there's not enough probable cause at this point. It doesn't mean he was not killed or murdered. It doesn't mean that. But, at this point, there was not enough evidence.

And, remember, also the death certificate determined that the manner of death is undetermined. It did not say accident. It did not say homicide. It left it open. And there are cases that can go forward to a murder trial without that being determined.

But, here, because it's still speculation at this point, the grand jury just did not have enough to say, yes, go forward and prosecute these three friends for murder.

BROWN: I wonder what you thought of the prosecutor's video that we just saw from Omar Jimenez.

HERSHON: So I think that clearly the prosecution -- part of a grand jury proceeding is the prosecution is the only lawyer in that room presenting evidence. There's no defense attorney. Crump is not -- attorney Crump is not allowed in that room, and the people who are potentially being accused or who are suspects are not allowed in that room.

This is just the case from the prosecution's perspective, which means it's not being challenged in front of them, and it's not being questioned. So, without any cross-examination, they still couldn't present enough to point to how this young man died. Was it connected to these three kids? There are no criminal connection between them.

There's no motive at this point. There's no way that they even know that he died. So it's a very sad situation, but, from a legal perspective, we just don't have answers.

BROWN: And, in the end, the grand jury heard from 43 witnesses and reviewed extensive digital data.

In a high-profile case like this, how does a defense attorney counter a unanimous jury here of 23 members?

HERSHON: All the defense can do is try to do their own investigation and try to gather new evidence to reopen the investigation. So the grand jury is not the be-all/end-all.

At this point, prosecution cannot continue, but new evidence could come in. Perhaps an eyewitness comes forward and says, I saw one of these kids do something to the young man Wells, or I saw him trip and fall and hit his head on a rock.

Either one of those things could create some closure and could reopen the grand jury presentation. And there could be charges at some point. Like you said, there's no statute of limitations on murder. So whether this new information or new evidence comes up next week, next year, or in 10 years, this is still something that can be pursued.

Of course, the family wants answers. They did get their own medical examiner to conduct an autopsy, and they didn't get very far with that in terms of, it was still undetermined as to the manner of death. So, if there's more investigation that opens more evidence, that's a possibility.

BROWN: I want to play this clip for you with an interview from an interview with Nolan's parents, and this is his mother and what she said about -- just days after her son was found dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE WONSLEY, MOTHER OF NOLAN WELLS: Transparency is important. Since we started this, that is all we asked for. And it's just a lot of things with this case that's going on that's not clear. I know locally it's being pushed that, oh, it's likely a drowning. Well, you have all these other things that have kind of happened in

between, and it makes you wonder, could there be anything else? And, again, like, I have stated this time and time again. I would expect any parent or person to want to use any resources available to them to find their loved one. This was our baby boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And on the day of his funeral, letters went out to some of Nolan's friends and their families that litigation was reasonably anticipated.

How does a civil lawsuit help a family find answers without a criminal trial?

HERSHON: So, a civil lawsuit is a much lower burden of proof. It's not beyond a reasonable doubt. It's not probable cause. But it could open the door to more investigation and more legal involvement, so lawyers assisting, investigators launching their own investigations.

And depositions are required there, which would mean that certain witnesses -- again, they have lawyers, so they may or may not proceed, but certain witnesses may be requested to testify in a deposition with the other side. That could provide more information that's not available at this point.

So, it could help them pursue their investigation. Remember also, if we look at Karen Read, the grand jury first did not return an indictment for murder. They went back six months later with additional information after they gathered witness testimony statements and after they got surveillance and Ring door cam from the neighbor, and then they charged her with murder down the road.

So this could be the situation here. There's just not enough information at this point.

BROWN: All right, Elyse, thank you so much. Appreciate it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up: the president's new plan to turn his giant arch into a drone base and a sniper's nest.

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BLITZER: Happening now: A striking and controversial new proposal from President Trump, and it's raising fresh alarms here in Washington.

President Trump now says his proposed 25-story arch in Arlington, Virginia, could double as a U.S. military site and would have drones and rooftop snipers. That revelation is raising concerns about militarizing one of America's most symbolic spaces, the nearby Arlington National Cemetery.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more. [10:50:01]

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid raging controversy over the president's proposed arch and relentless claims from the White House that construction will proceed as planned, a surprise change.

"At the strong request of the United States military," Trump wrote on social media, "I have agreed to convert the project to a top-grade military complex Triumphal Arch to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus snipers."

The about-face comes amid fierce outcry from preservationists and veterans groups who clearly saw Trump as an archvillain and claimed his original plan would detract from nearby Arlington Cemetery. Some of them now say the new plan should start the approval process all over again.

REBECCA MILLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, D.C. PRESERVATION LEAGUE: We have been going through this process now for about six months, where it's been reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts. It's been reviewed before the National Capital Planning Commission. And now this is an entirely different complex.

FOREMAN: It's not lost on those critics that Trump has made this maneuver before. When he tore down the historic East Wing of the White House, he stated his goal clearly.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're replacing it with one of the most beautiful ballrooms that we have ever seen.

FOREMAN: But after being demolished himself in the press, polls, and courts, he repainted that pet project too as being as much about defense as dancing.

TRUMP: This will be the greatest military complex/ballroom anywhere in the world. There won't be anything like it.

FOREMAN: This is more than just a battle of architecture and landscaping. Safety advocates who'd already raised alarms over such a massive monument crowding flights into Reagan Airport now must grapple with the idea of drones and gunmen in the mix, even as the president keeps going as he has all along, full throttle.

TRUMP: What I do best in life is build. I build buildings really well.

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BLITZER: That report from Tom Foreman.

Thanks, Tom, very, very much.

BROWN: All right, here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour, new details about the DoorDash driver shot by ICE in Austin, Texas. His lawyer now says he was taken to a detention center -- quote -- "with a bullet in his back."

Plus, a Russian oligarch spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding, and now a Republican senator is suggesting a subpoena.

Plus, testimony is back under way for the former "American Idol" contestant accused of killing his wife. What the wife's mother just revealed about the night she died.

That's all new next hour.

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BLITZER: New this morning: Another starting quarterback goes down just two weeks into the NFL season. And this one cost the New York Giants the game.

CNN sports anchor Coy Wire joins us now.

What's the latest, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, Pamela. Hi, Wolf.

Sam Darnold, Kyler Murray, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and now Giants fans are the latest to be holding their breath. It was the first drive of the game. Jaxson Dart takes this hit, and that's his night. He limps to the locker room, believed to be a spring MCL, MRI still to come.

Now, from there, welcome to old man strength night for the Rams. Aaron Donald hadn't played a snap in 2.5 years, the three-time defensive player of the year out of retirement immediately wrecking things again. Three tackles, including that tackle for a loss, and 38-year- old Matthew Stafford four touchdown passes, moving to sixth all time.

His favorite target, the youngster of the group, almost 34-year-old Davante Adams, 195 yards, two touchdowns, and his 16 receiving touchdowns since the start of last season are the most in the NFL, did you know. The team that got blown out by San Francisco in week one after that much-discussed last-minute travel plan to Australia dominate 28-6.

So, Coach McVay, what exactly happened in week one?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN MCVAY, HEAD COACH, LOS ANGELES RAMS: Sometimes, you win. Sometimes, you learn. And sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that puts you in a bad spot. So there you go.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, to the WNBA, Liberty hosting the Atlanta Dream, playoff seating on the line, and Atlanta's Angel Reese came to work, 18 points, 10 rebounds, and some late game drama.

Fourth quarter, Reese strips Liberty star Breanna Stewart. No foul call. Stewart doesn't love it. She fouls Reese in frustration, then gives the official an earful and gets herself her first technical in nine years. Atlanta wins at 95-84, but these two get to play again on Wednesday.

In Baltimore, postseason hopes hanging by a thread, and Pete Alonso understood the assignment, two home runs against Toronto, powering Baltimore to a comeback 4-3 win. That's his fourth 40-home of season, tying in for most among active players, six games, essentially six must wins, one down. Keep the defibrillators nearby, Orioles fans.

Finally, we now know the inspiration behind one of week two's greatest celebrations. Vikings' Isaiah Rodgers breaks out the hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog. And, apparently, we have his son to thank for this masterpiece, he says. Most sons get their dance moves from dad, but Isaiah Rodgers is like, nah, son, I'm going to take yours and take it to the big screen.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Such a talented young boy. Very, very nice.

Coy Wire, thank you very, very much.

WIRE: You got it.

BROWN: Thanks, Coy.

BLITZER: And the next hour THE SITUATION ROOM starts right now.

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