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FDA Commissioner Nominee Faces Confirmation Hearing; Eight Navy Sailors Attempted Suicide During Iran Mission; Benjamin Netanyahu to Address United Nations; Trump Set to Welcome Chinese President. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired September 24, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

EVAN OSNOS, STAFF WRITER, "THE NEW YORKER": Let's come up with a notification system that allows us to be able to say, if you have an incident that affects national security, let's make sure we have people on the opposite ends of a hotline. Let's make sure we're meeting regularly to talk about what's advancing.

Build trust through those kinds of incremental steps. That is a realistic pathway. What -- if this president, frankly, was acting in a way that would be thinking about the long-term safety of the technology, rather than the kinds of slogans he can put on social media, those are the kinds of steps that grand strategic thinking would suggest.

I think we have seen there's a track record for this. China initially was very skeptical, for instance, of making deals around climate change. They thought that too was an effort to try to hold back China's development.

But, over time, they came to see that, if they did not participate in trying to address climate change, that they would in fact suffer the consequences. China would actually be feeling those effects. And so they did become participants.

That is -- in some ways can be a blueprint for how the United States and China can begin to start to take steps that are not optional at this point. They are really urgent. These two big powers have to figure out a way to begin to put some guidelines together.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: It's so critically important, indeed.

And, Evan, as you know, the U.S. still relies on China for a lot of rare earth material, which is essential for making everything from cars to military equipment, especially sophisticated military equipment. How much leverage does that give China over these current talks?

OSNOS: It gives China a lot of leverage, Wolf.

This was a real surprise, frankly, to the Trump administration. They came into office saying, as one Cabinet member famously said, that China holds nothing but a pair of twos right now, because they believed that China's economy was so weak that they would have to fold in the face of American pressure on trade. Turned out not to be the case.

China has turned out to have essentially control over a choke point in the global economy. Last year, when they invoked these kinds of restrictions on rare earth magnets, it caused immediate effects in American companies. You had a Ford Explorer plant in Chicago that had to suspend production within days.

So this is an issue that they are holding over the United States here. So they -- this is not a case where the United States can push China around easily, nor can China push the United States around easily.

There is a fact that the two countries are in a position to be able to say, look, we have each other at a moment when this technology is going to define the future. Let's figure out rules of the road that allow these two to compete, but does not allow this technology to run beyond the control that either side would consider safe.

That should be the top priority here. And, frankly, I think that my expectations are quite modest. But I think that gradually we are beginning to see over the last several weeks that Chinese leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the risks that AI poses, not only to their own political control, which is their top priority, but also to the security of the country.

So that may be the first steps in being able to build some sort of mechanism to keep people safe.

BLITZER: Well, let's see if that happens.

Evan Osnos, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Thank you so much, Evan.

And coming up: security heightened. The Secret Service and New York police are looking for three people seen crawling out of a sewer near the hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying.

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[10:37:52]

BROWN: Happening now, breaking news: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressing the United Nations General Assembly remotely because the Trump administration has denied him a visa.

Hours from now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the U.N., and he's expected to use his time today to defend Israel's military campaign in Gaza. These speeches come as nearly three years have passed since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel and the subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And while the U.S. did not approve a visa for the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, it did allow top Iranian leaders, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to attend the United Nations General Assembly, even though the U.S. is at war with Iran.

Let's go live right now to CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller.

So, John, first of all, what sort of security did the Iranian delegation that's now in New York get from U.S. law enforcement officials?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, significant security, Wolf.

There are 130 world leaders here for this U.N. General Assembly. Six of those world leaders are considered high security threats. The Iranian president is among those. He's being protected by the U.S. Secret Service and the NYPD.

It's a significant motorcade with a police escort, the limos, of course, the security team, of course, but also a counterassault team built in. So, as far as security, politics are aside. They do that based on the threat.

As far as the fact that he is at war with the United States, that is unique, Wolf. That's the first time that a world leader who has been at war with the United States has been given a visa to come here and address the United Nations.

So, his movements in that context are also a little bit limited. While the security is high, he can really move just between the U.N. and the Iranian permanent mission to the United Nations, which is on the Upper East Side. But unlike other world leaders, he's pretty much got to stay within the box in those two locations or any other authorized bilaterals or meetings.

[10:40:17]

BLITZER: And, as you know, John, the New York Police Department right now and the U.S. Secret Service, they're both investigating after three people were seen exiting a sewer, a sewer right near the New York City Hotel where the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be staying.

What more are you learning about this incident?

MILLER: Well, these individuals were observed by people coming out of the sewer out of manhole covers at about 4:00 in the morning and getting into two vehicles, which went northbound on Park Avenue away from the scene.

People who saw that called 911. A canvas was done for videos, a scan was done for any cameras that caught those cars on the move northbound. And there are some cameras there. And then they're going to try to match that against license plate readers and see if they can narrow down those cars.

Look, the big concern here is that, were agents of a foreign power or terrorist groups operating underneath the hotel where Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and another one who's considered a high- threat delegation among the Secret Service and NYPD, was something planted there, done there?

They did a sweep of that immediately after 911 was called with the Emergency Service Unit, and they did a second sweep yesterday that went further and wider with the NYPD Secret Service and the Department of Environmental Protection, just to say, is there anything here underneath the street that looks like it's been added or out of place?

Negative results on all that. Their general conclusion is, while they investigate this, these individuals are likely the people who we've been seeing across the city going into the sewers and underground systems, urban explorers, people looking for valuable scrap metal, and so on.

But out of an abundance of caution, they took all the steps. And surveillance around that hotel, of course, is extremely heightened today, as well as those entrances to those systems.

BLITZER: Yes, good point.

All right, John Miller, thanks, as usual, for your expertise -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, right now, the president's ally and pick for FDA commissioner is facing senators on the Hill. The tough questions Dr. Heidi Overton may get from Republican Senator Bill Cassidy about abortion and the measles vaccine.

We will be back.

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[10:46:10]

BROWN: New CNN reporting this morning: Eight U.S. Navy sailors deployed with the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide record-breaking -- during the record-breaking deployment, which included combat operations against Iran.

This is all according to a letter dated Tuesday from the acting Navy secretary and obtained by CNN. During my assignment on board the carrier near the Strait of Hormuz in July, where I was embedded, I spoke to several sailors about the challenges at sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I could tell you it's a blast, but it's pretty repetitive work. So it's hard. It's hard on your mental state being out to sea for eight months without being on dry land. It takes a toll on you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, for more on what we have learned from this letter, I want to go live now to CNN national security reporter Zachary Cohen.

Tell us more about what have you learned, Zach.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Pam, this was a letter from acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who was pushing the acting secretary on questions related to the mental health and morale of the sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier that you visited just a couple of months ago.

And, look, this is the first time really a senior Navy official has acknowledged that eight U.S. Navy personnel across the entire Lincoln strike group did attempt suicide during this record-breaking deployment stretching over a year in time and did include a high tempo and a high rate of combat operations targeting Iran.

And I'm told by a U.S. military official that eight suicide attempts is an incredibly high number, even for a deployment as long as the one that the Lincoln has been embarked upon, the official pointing to both the rate of combat operations, as well as the fact that the Lincoln strike group did not make a port call for over six months.

And that's really the time that sailors have an opportunity to not just relax and take a break effectively, but also for the ship to resupply and to get food on board. And that's another question that Kirsten Gillibrand, the senator, was asking the acting Navy secretary about as well.

But, look, this is a number that is broadly consistent with the number of attempted suicides that we have seen across the entire active duty Navy, most recently in 2024. That's the most recent data published by the Navy, which says that about 356 attempts were made out of a force of roughly 337,000.

So, proportionally, that is consistent with the number that we saw aboard the Lincoln strike group, though it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. And the Navy has previously said, though, that they do not see an uptick in suicidal ideations aboard the Abraham Lincoln, nor its support ships.

A U.S. official also previously saying to CNN that they really didn't see any correlation between an extended deployment and the mental health concerns and suicidal ideations. But this is going to only reinforce concerns that we have heard from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, not just about the Abraham Lincoln, but about the carrier strike group force writ large, as the Navy has continued to extend these deployments longer and longer.

BROWN: Yes. And just for people who may not know what a strike force is, you have the aircraft carrier, and then you have the ships, smaller ships with fewer sailors on board that are around it to protect it.

Zachary Cohen, thank you so much. Really, really important reporting there. We know the Abraham Lincoln is on its way home now, fortunately. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, there is help. You can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

We will be right back.

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[10:53:06]

BLITZER: Breaking news, the Senate Health Committee is now holding a confirmation hearing for Dr. Heidi Overton, President Trump's pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

Overton is currently the deputy director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council and a longtime Trump ally. Her hearing comes four months after Trump's first FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, resigned amid intense pressure from the White House following a rather rocky tenure.

Let's go live right now to CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell.

Meg, what can we expect from this potentially critical confirmation battle that's now beginning? What topics are likely to create some friction?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what we're expecting and we have already heard telegraphed from the chair of this committee, Dr. Bill Cassidy, the Republican senator, is that he's going to be very interested in her opinions about vaccines.

He said he's going to ask the same question to Dr. Overton as he asked of Dr. Nicole Saphier, the nominee for surgeon general, particularly about the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine and whether she agrees with President Trump's statement that it could be lethal.

Dr. Saphier said she did not agree with that. He is going to pose the same question, he said, to Dr. Overton. He also signaled that he is interested in what she may do on medication abortion. That is an issue that is before the FDA because several Republican senators have demanded a safety review from the FDA of mifepristone, one of the two medications used for medication abortion.

And Dr. Cassidy has signaled this morning that he believes that the FDA should look into whether a doctor's visit should be required in order for people to access that medication, which could potentially curtail the ability for people to receive that drug through the mail.

So, of course, that would be a long process that the FDA would undertake, but Dr. Overton in the past did cheer when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. And so we will see how she responds to Dr. Cassidy about that.

But, of course, Wolf, the FDA regulates a huge amount of the U.S. economy, about 20 cents of every dollar that consumers spend. And so that includes about 80 percent of the food supply, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, tobacco.

[10:55:08]

So, we're going to see many issues, of course, come up this morning, vaccines always with this administration top of mind -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We will see what happens.

Our medical correspondent, Meg Tirrell, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour.

A new CNN poll finds that Americans are more concerned than they are excited about AI development. Find out who they think should be doing more to regulate it. We're going to talk about what this all means with the man known as the godfather of AI.

Plus, a Venezuelan man shot by ICE is back in detention after being discharged from a hospital for a second time with a bullet still in his back. We will speak with the Texas congressman who just paid him a visit. That's all new next hour.

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