Return to Transcripts main page
The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Trump with King Charles in Windsor Castle; Trump's Second State Visit to U.K.; Protesters Hold Anti-Trump Demonstrations; Federal Reserve Announces First Rate Cut; Israel's Ground Offensive in Gaza Underway; Two U.S. Senators Accuse Israel of Ethnic Cleansing; Susan Monarez Testifies Before Senate Health Committee. Aired 6- 7p ET
Aired September 17, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching
"The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, President Trump dines with Britain's King Charles at a state banquet in Windsor Castle. The Federal Reserve lowers rates for the
first time this year. But the Central Bank's next steps remain unclear. And the former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control tells a Senate
panel that RFK Jr. wanted her to pre-approve decisions about vaccines.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been getting the royal treatment at a state banquet hosted by Britain's King Charles. The dinner capping off a day of
pomp and pageantry at Windsor Castle away from anti-Trump protests in Central London. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was at Windsor ahead of
hosting the president at his countryside house Chequers on Thursday.
Also joining a group of U.S. tech leaders. The U.S. and U.K. have announced a major technology deal with American companies pledging more than $40
billion in investments in the U.K. Here's how the king and the president kicked off the banquet just a few hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: Today our alliance spans every field of endeavor and shows vast potential for growth. The United Kingdom was your
partner in the first trade deal of your administration, Mr. President, bringing jobs and growth to both our countries. And no doubt we can go even
further as we build this new era of our partnership.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Together we've done more good for humanity than any two countries in all of history. Together we must defend the
exceptional heritage that makes us who we are. And we must continue to stand for the values of the people of the English-speaking world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Before the dinner, the president and first lady spent most of the day at Windsor Castle with the king and Queen Camilla. A series of events
included a viewing of the royal collection, a private tribute at Queen Elizabeth's tomb, and a tour of St. George's Chapel. Max Foster has the
story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a welcome fit for a king. President Donald Trump was trumpeted into Windsor Castle, home to
Britain's royal family, at the start of an unprecedented second state visit to the United Kingdom.
Carefully scripted, choreographed photo ops, all far from the reach of the public, but not all went to plan. The president's mugshot, along with
photos with Jeffrey Epstein, beamed onto the castle's walls ahead of Trump's arrival. And crowds of anti-Trump protesters, furious at this
unprecedented honor for a president even less appreciated outside the states.
But today, this was all about making Donald Trump feel special. It was flattery by numbers. The largest ever guard of honor for a visiting leader.
The famous red coats of the British army's oldest, most storied regiments. A festival of pomp and ceremony, the special sauce the British royal family
does so well.
The best of Britain, sweetened with a touch of Americana. Red, white and blue from Britain's red arrows, and the great British weather fouled hopes
of an historic first flypast with American Air Force jets.
FOSTER: A sigh of relief then here at Windsor Castle, after a successful, embarrassment-free day. Tomorrow will be more complex as the political
talks begin.
[18:05:00]
Trade talks, you've got Ukraine, the future of NATO, all topics very high on the agenda on both sides of the Atlantic.
FOSTER (voice-over): Great Britain pulled out all the stops to woo Donald Trump.
KING CHARLES: The ocean may still divide us, but in so many other ways, we are now the closest of kin.
FOSTER (voice-over): Many, in the corridors of power at least, will hope that pomp and ceremony will keep the U.K. in Trump's heart and out of his
crosshairs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Our thanks to Max Foster, who joins us now from Windsor Castle. Max, good to have you. So, I wonder, you know, a lot of pomp and
circumstance, but also some words of friendship and some investment deals. I mean, is it safe to say that the relationship, the special relationship,
is a healthy one?
FOSTER (on camera): Well, I think if they wanted to make the president feel special, just from the president's speech, you've got a real sense
that he did. So, they threw everything at this state event. They couldn't throw anything more, from what I could tell.
Every element was, you know, maximized in terms of numbers, of military, for example, but also picking out the drinks. There was a drink that was
taken for -- there was a cognac, which came from the year of Donald Trump's mother's birth. You know, there was -- every single element of the meal had
some sort of connotation to the Americans or to the Trump family specifically.
One of the marching songs that we heard during the music in the afternoon is Melania Trump's favorite marching songs, apparently, played at the White
House quite regularly. So, they did as much as they can. And when Donald Trump spoke, he was just so gushing in many ways, not just about the
special relationship, as the Brits like to call it, but just about the U.K., even going back to the revolution and how the U.K. set America up in
a positive way.
So, it's quite an extraordinary language. So, I think, as far as the royal family is concerned, they feel their job is done. He feels really special
going into those meetings with Keir Starmer, and it's now up to Keir Starmer to try to get something political out of this.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I wonder if President Trump got some ideas about his own planned ballroom, looking at that grand dining room there at Windsor. Max
Foster at Windsor Castle, thanks so much.
An extraordinary politically-charged meeting in the U.S. Federal Reserve has now concluded here in Washington. The U.S. Central Bank cut interest
rates by an expected quarter percentage point. That is the first cut to borrowing costs since last December. And while the Fed is still expected to
cut rates again this year, individual members were really just all over the map over future policy steps.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell called today's move a risk management cut because of recent weakness in the jobs market, but he also stressed the ongoing
dangers from inflation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: It is such an unusual situation. Ordinarily, when the labor market is weak, inflation is low. And
when the labor market is really strong, that's when you've got to be careful about inflation. So, we have a situation where we have two-sided
risk, and that means there's no risk-free path. And so, it's quite a difficult situation for policymakers, and it's not at all surprising to me
that you have a range of views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: U.S. stocks finished the session mixed amid that uncertainty, with the NASDAQ falling for a second straight session. At today's meeting,
the newly installed Fed governor, Stephen Miran, voted for a half-point cut. He was the only Fed member to do so. He is the Trump appointee, just
confirmed by the Senate this week. Of course, President Trump has long been lobbying for big rate cuts.
Fed Governor Lisa CoOK. who President Trump tried and failed to remove from the Fed before this meeting, voted with the consensus for a quarter-point
cut.
Joining me now, Richard Quest. And Richard, you obviously take today's decision with the guidance provided about future decisions. It doesn't
sound like the board is all on board for a series of cuts to come.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: I think it's a question of fact and degree. They're data-
dependent. They continually say data-dependent. Now, if you just look at the so-called dot plot, we've probably got one or two more cuts to come
before the end of the year. And all members on the dot plot have forecast lower rates by the end of this year and by the end of next year, there's
the dot plot there, than they were back in June. So, the trend is there.
Where I think we get into really tricky waters is where the political pressure comes from. Now, Lisa Cook today voted exactly as you would have
expected her to do. She voted for a quarter-percent cut, that's because that's what was warranted today.
[18:10:00]
It's this decision, and you can see on the far left of that chart, that one outlier, we don't know whose it is, but I'll put tomorrow's tea money that
that one, not the lowest end under 2025, is Stephen Miran's voters, or dot plot.
And again, right the way across, he's the one who was an economic adviser until two weeks ago, he's intending to go back to the White House after he
fills this -- an expired term, and he's doing the president's work. A half a point cut.
And the reason I say that, Jim, is that the other two board members, Wallace and Bowman, both of whom voted for a quarter point cut last time,
stayed with a quarter point cut. So, he is the outlier. He is the one who is putting forward pretty much the views that he knows the president wants,
which is a half a percentage point cut, which frankly is not justified on the economics.
SCIUTTO: Richard Quest, thanks for helping us read the tea leaves, or, well, the dot plot.
QUEST: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Joining us now, Claudia Sahm, she's the chief economist at New Century Advisors, also a former Federal Reserve economist. Good to have you
on.
CLAUDIA SAHM, CHIEF ECONOMIST, NEW CENTURY ADVISORS AND FORMER U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE ECONOMIST: Great to be here. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: So, to Richard's point, I wonder, Trump gets his man on, that man immediately is an outlier on rate cuts. It's quite public. The president
wants big rate cuts, and lots of them. Is that a sign that the Fed's independence is already eroded a little bit?
SAHM: Well, I mean, Fed independence, it really comes down to who's in control of interest rates. Who's the one really calling the shots in terms
of, is it a quarter point, a half a percentage point cut? And with Stephen Miran, I mean, presidents regularly have the opportunity to nominate
someone to the Fed and the Senate confirms. And so, this is a normal course of action. And they would often bring someone on the head of their views.
So, there's nothing fishy, other than the fact that Stephen Miran is still a White House official, that's a little fishy. But in general, like this is
how it goes. The thing that one should be worried about is Stephen Miran could be the beginning of the new Fed.
If President Trump were able to really fill the board with his loyalists, with people that he wants to be successful in removing Fed Governor Lisa
CoOK. that outlier dot that we saw today, that could become the consensus here before too long. And that isn't the point at which independence is
lost.
SCIUTTO: OK. So, give us now just your straight up read of not just today's cut, which was expected, but the guidance on future cuts and also
this balancing act that the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, was referring to is that they're worried about a weakening job market, but at the same time,
inflationary pressure remains.
SAHM: Yes. Powell is right. This was a very difficult moment for the Fed. This was not a good news cut. This was the Fed trying to address the
greater of two evils, right? They're worried about the labor market could be really starting to deteriorate. They want it to insure against that. And
yet, they realize that inflation has been a lot closer to 3 percent than 2 percent in recent years. And that is not acceptable as far as the Fed is
concerned.
So, it has -- it's really tricky. It's balancing out, you know, trying to do -- you know, address the bigger problem. That's not a great situation to
be in. And frankly, one of the reasons there's not a lot of guidance we got today about what does the Fed do next, because those two risks, inflation
gets stuck, the labor market goes out, like these are very fluid right now.
We continue to learn information about what's happening in the economy. And so, we could see the Fed they do a cut now, maybe they pause, they do
another cut later. Like, it's really going to -- we didn't get a lot of guidance today because, frankly, there's not a lot of guidance to be giving
because there's many questions and not an easy path.
SCIUTTO: Of course, the fear is stagflation, a combination of a weakening economic growth and inflation. We're not there yet, but you got some
pressures, right. You invented, of course, the Sahm rule, which is an indicator that signals when the economy has entered a recession. Are we
getting close to that, possibly? What's the direction?
SAHM: So, we have, so far, the increase in the unemployment rate, which is what my recession indicator uses, has been pretty, pretty small, right. So,
we are moving in the wrong direction, which is unemployment rate moving up. So, I think the biggest red flag has been that job creation has just slowed
to a crawl in the U.S. And that's the big concern, because then you're getting pretty close to tipping into actually losing jobs, maybe going to
lay off a recession.
[18:15:00]
So, the risk is there. I don't see it as an imminent like that we're falling off the cliff, but it is certainly something to watch. And it
absolutely is something that the Fed should be reacting to. So, I think that makes a lot of sense. But I do worry a lot that inflation is -- could
be stuck. And that that adds up over time too.
SCIUTTO: And is that inflation driven in large part by the effects of tariffs?
SAHM: So, that has certainly been the extra oomph to inflation. And I and I am of the view that this is a price adjustment process. It's not tariffs
on their own don't create higher inflation for as far as the eye can see. But we went into this year with inflation already having been elevated. I
mean, since 2021 we've had inflation higher than what we've been used to. And frankly, at some point, it would make sense for businesses and families
to build into their plans and to the, you know, contracts, the right decisions they make having that higher inflation.
And if people do that, if they build in that expectation of higher inflation, that's what we're going to get. And we know from history that if
inflation mentality sets in, it is very hard to break.
SCIUTTO: Yes, even recent history. Claudia Sahm, chief economist, New Century Advisors, thanks so much for joining.
SAHM: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Just ahead, two U.S. senators issue a damning report about Israel's activities in Gaza. I'm going to speak to one of them coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Israel's now stationed tanks are on the edge of Gaza's largest city ahead of a planned ground operation. Tens of thousands of Palestinians
are streaming out of Gaza City, which a million people had called home. Israel is carrying out the operation despite global condemnation.
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Markley recently visited Israel and the occupied West Bank. They have now issued a report which accuses Israel
of ethnically cleansing Gaza of Palestinians, using hunger as well as a weapon of war.
Joining me now is Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, one of the authors of that report. Senator, thanks so much for taking the time.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Jim, good to be with you.
[18:20:00]
SCIUTTO: Your report concludes that Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza, citing, among other things, as evidence, the quite
public statements of members, sitting members of Netanyahu's government. Tell us how you came to the conclusion that Israel's actions in Gaza amount
to ethnic cleansing.
VAN HOLLEN: Well, Jim, we did so based on our eyewitness views into the City of Rafah, which was a town of about 270,000 Palestinians in Gaza. We
had been there about 18 months earlier, but this time you could actually look across the border and look at Rafah, which has been reduced to rubble,
but also based on the testimony and evidence from many, many other people on the ground who said that the Netanyahu government is essentially putting
up obstacles to the delivery of food and humanitarian assistance to starving people in Gaza.
And when you take all of that, Jim, coupled with the statements that Prime Minister Netanyahu and others have made, it's pretty clear that that is
their objective. They have said themselves that one of the war aims is to remove Palestinians from Gaza. We believe that Israel was fully justified
in taking action against Hamas, but it's also clear that they've gone way beyond that to imposing collective punishment on the Palestinian people.
SCIUTTO: This has taken place under two U.S. administrations, the Biden administration, now the Trump administration. In your view, given that the
U.S. continues to provide, for instance, military aid and weapons to Israel, that the U.S. is to some degree complicit?
VAN HOLLEN: Not only do I think that, but the title of our report is the Netanyahu government is essentially engaged in a campaign of ethnic
cleansing in Gaza, that America is complicit and the world must stop it. I said very publicly at the time that the Biden administration was absolutely
complicit in what happened there under their watch. President Biden, you know, would draw these red lines. He'd say to the Netanyahu government,
don't do this, and he would be completely ignored. In fact, we would then send more weapons for use in Gaza.
We now have the Trump administration, who actually is just providing a total blank check to the Netanyahu government. They've contracted out
American policy in Gaza and the Middle East broadly to Netanyahu. So, yes, U.S. taxpayer dollars are funding what amounts to this campaign of ethnic
cleansing in Gaza.
SCIUTTO: The Israeli government and its allies frequently call such criticism of its military operations in Gaza and other policies of the
government as attacks on the nation of Israel, or even they go so far as to call such criticism anti-Semitic. How do you respond?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, Jim, I've noticed that Netanyahu uses those names to criticize anybody who disagrees with him, including folks who have been
part of his military. And it's really an attempt to silence people when you say that legitimate criticism of the Netanyahu government is somehow pro-
Hamas.
I'm all for going after Hamas, but what the Netanyahu government is doing is going way beyond that to impose collective punishment on the people in
Gaza. And I will say, Jim, among the people we talked to during our trip were Israeli soldiers who came forth bravely to talk to us. They had served
in Gaza, and they talked about how one of their jobs was to blow up houses so that nobody would have a house to come back to.
SCIUTTO: Some of the sharpest criticism of Israeli activities, the activities of this government, have come, as you say, from inside the
country, among Israelis. The distinction, as you know, between ethnic cleansing and genocide is that, one, genocide is the intent to destroy
people. Ethnic cleansing, defined by using force or intimidation to remove a given group of people.
Of course, genocide is illegal. It's a war crime. Ethnic cleansing, as the law is written, not necessarily so. Should it be?
VAN HOLLEN: Ethnic cleansing? Look, what -- there's no doubt that war crimes are being committed in Gaza. I mean, even the Biden administration
acknowledged that there were violations of international law. As you say, when it comes to genocide, the ICJ has an ongoing proceeding. I'm following
that closely. I'm following the comments and decisions by the independent commission at the U.N., as well as many, many scholars.
[18:25:00]
But the purpose of the trip Senator Merkley and I took was to look at what's happening on the ground. And there's no doubt in our mind, based on
all of those discussions, the withholding of food, there was a blockade in place, as you know, for a very long time, plus the level of destruction of
civilian infrastructure and the death toll of civilians, that this is a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
Let's put it this way, if the Egypt border were -- Gaza-Egypt border were open, you can be sure that you would see Palestinians leaving in droves.
This is not voluntary. This is under coercion.
SCIUTTO: It's notable, of course, that you're beginning to hear Republican and right-wing voices criticize Israel, where some of that criticism in
recent months and years has been largely, though not completely confined to the Democratic Party. On the Hill, do you find that you are hearing voices
from the other side of the aisle, either in private, if not in public, that feel the same way as you do?
VAN HOLLEN: I think there are a growing number of voices, and I think they're responding to people throughout the country, people of all ages,
but a lot of young people, who were raised to believe that the United States stands for human rights, that we stand for self-determination, and
yet, they see the United States being complicit in what's happening in Gaza.
After all, even when the Netanyahu government had a complete blockade on all food into Gaza, they were sending bombs for use in Gaza. That is not
the way to use U.S. influence when it comes to trying to stop what's happening. So, to answer your question, I think the American public is way
ahead of the Congress, but I think Congress is beginning to take notice.
And putting the politics aside, in my view of this is always, what are our American values? What do we stand for? We tell the world we stand for human
rights and self-determination, and the way to achieve that for both Israelis and Palestinians alike is to make sure that we provide light at
the end of the tunnel here and, in my view, have a two-state solution. I know that seems very far off at this time.
SCIUTTO: And of course, you've heard Netanyahu quite publicly say he has no interest in that and might be doing his best to destroy that
possibility. Before we go, given that he clearly sees no limitations to how far he can go and that he has the backing, it seems, of the U.S. president,
and that the U.N. cannot operate as long as the U.S. is issuing vetoes in Israel's favor, what stops the progress of this war in Gaza? What can make
it stop?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, Jim, this is exactly the problem, because the one partner -- party that Netanyahu will listen to is the United States, and
Donald Trump has provided him an absolute blank check, despite saying he was going to end the war in Gaza on day one and bring back the hostages,
which of course is our goal.
Look, I don't know what public opinion will ultimately end up with in Israel. I can tell you that on our trip, our first public meeting was in
Hostages Square in Tel Aviv with hostage families, who said that Netanyahu's goal is not the survival of their loved ones, but his own
political survival. And we've got to put -- we do have to put more pressure collectively on him. There have to be consequences to what he's doing.
SCIUTTO: I've heard similar from other hostage families as well. Senator Chris Van Hollen, we appreciate you joining.
VAN HOLLEN: Jim, good to be with you.
SCIUTTO: Coming up after the break, a look behind the scenes at the CDC. A director who was on the job for just 29 days before she was fired testifies
on Capitol Hill. She gives her side of the story, and it's alarming.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are the international headlines we're watching today.
President Donald Trump praised the close relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. during his toast at a state banquet hosted by King Charles. The
dinner capped off a day of pomp and pageantry at Windsor Castle, away from large anti-Trump protests in Central London.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates for the first time since December last year. The quarter-point cut was widely expected. The
decision nearly unanimous. Stephen Miran, President Trump's former economic adviser, was the only dissenter. He pushed for a half-point cut one day
after joining the Fed's governing board.
The widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny says she has proof her husband was poisoned to death while in prison. Yulia Navalnaya
says biological material from her husband was smuggled out to foreign labs and that independent testing came to that conclusion. The Kremlin said
earlier it was unaware of those accusations.
Just a captivating moment on Capitol Hill today as the ousted CDC director, Dr. Susan Monarez, faced senators after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy
Jr. fired her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Did he ever communicate he was going to change the childhood vaccination schedule?
DR. SUSAN MONAREZ, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: In the -- not until that very day. In that morning meeting, he said that the childhood vaccine schedule would
be changing starting in September, and I needed to be on board with it.
CASSIDY: To be clear, he said there was not science or data, but that you still expected you to change the schedule?
DR. MONAREZ: Correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Monarez was describing the moment she said Kennedy wanted her to rubber-stamp vaccine guidance that she feared would harm children. She also
walked through her final moments before that firing. Contrast her explanation with the testimony of the health secretary earlier this month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MONAREZ: He told me he could not trust me. He told me he could not trust me because I had shared information related to our conversation
beyond his staff. I told him, if you cannot trust me, then you can fire me.
ROBERT KENNEDY JR., HEALTH SECRETARY: I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, are you a trustworthy person? And she said no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Different accounts there. Republican Bill Cassidy chairs the Senate Health Committee. He is also a trained medical doctor. He remained
tight-lipped on whether he still had confidence in Kennedy, and he says he'll reserve judgment until Kennedy testifies before his panel.
[18:35:00]
Joining me now is Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Good to have you on, Doctor. Thanks for taking
the time.
DR. GEORGES C. BENJAMIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION: Jim, thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: As a health professional, I wonder, as you were watching that testimony, did you find those revelations alarming?
BENJAMIN: Oh, they were extremely alarming. And if you think they're coming from someone who was poised, professional, creditable, and
respectful, you know, they were very alarming to me.
SCIUTTO: Can the CDC and other health agencies under the HHS do their jobs, perform their functions with a skeptic of science, it seems, right?
Some would even say a conspiracy theorist about some of his beliefs leading the HHS. I mean, is it possible? Dr. Benjamin, I wonder -- it looks like we
lost him. Screen froze up. We'll try to fix it and then get back.
Now, though, an up-and-close look at funding cuts under the Trump administration and how they're impacting studies of brain cancer in
children. A consortium of doctors and scientists are using new treatments and clinical trials to help some of the country's youngest patients. The
Trump administration wants to stop its funding in six months, a move some fear could set back cancer science for many years to come. Rene Marsh, my
colleague, spoke with a family now navigating this daunting new reality.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIETTE LESKO, FIVE-YEAR-OLD WHO HAS BRAIN CANCER: This is a fluffy one right there.
JIM LESKO, FATHER OF JULIETTE LESKO: We want Juliette to feel like she is a regular kid. Well, to that end, she doesn't know that anything is unique
about her.
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mornings look normal at the Lesko house, but it's not. When Juliette was just three, doctors found a
tumor on her brain stem, ependymoma, an incurable brain and spinal cord cancer.
JULIETTE LESKO: My mom made that and I made that.
MARSH: You made this one?
MARSH (voice-over): She's now five, but doesn't yet know about her devastating diagnosis.
MELANIE LESKO, DAUGHTER HAS BRAIN CANCER: I will never forget that nurse walking us to the elevator just saying to us, you guys are going to be here
for a while. Your world kind of changes.
JIM LESKO: There is no cure for this condition. There is a treatment that works sometimes and it didn't work for Juliette.
MARSH (voice-over): After two brain surgeries, 30 sessions of radiation and two relapses, Juliette is now being treated with an experimental drug,
but it's unclear if it's working.
JIM LESKO: I hope it still fits.
MARSH (voice-over): Her parents, Jim and Melanie Lesko, hope to line up alternative treatment. But the National Cancer Institute recently cut
funding to the pediatric brain tumor consortium, limiting Juliette's treatment options.
JIM LESKO: You can log on to the clinical trials website and see that one of the novel treatment techniques that's being tested, the trial is
suddenly active but not recruiting. It goes beyond hurt, it becomes insulting.
MARSH (voice-over): The PBTC is a national network of top doctors, scientists and hospitals with expertise in pediatric brain tumors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your tongue.
MARSH (voice-over): Giving children like Juliette access to experimental treatments that are often their last option. The funding cut means current
patients can continue treatments, but no new patients like Juliette can enroll.
JIM LESKO: Our next scan, being on September 25th, right now is when we need to know which trial we want to pursue. If the tumor has grown, it
means we need to try something new and we need to try it fast.
MARSH (voice-over): Dr. Eugene Hwang is also feeling the impact of federal cuts. He didn't get the funding he expected for a cancer vaccine. He and a
colleague created that cured lab mice of one of the worst forms of brain cancer. Then, the pediatric network that would have run his clinical trial
also lost funding.
DR. EUGENE HWANG, PEDIATRIC NEURO-ONCOLOGIST: It felt like the train was really starting to gain some momentum. And now it feels like not only is
the breaks been applied, but the engine is being disassembled and the tracks are being taken off the road in front of us.
MARSH (voice-over): Health and Human Services defends the cut, saying it will allow resources to be more effectively used by rolling these clinical
trials over to another larger pediatric cancer network. They say they do not anticipate any funding gap for pediatric brain tumor research.
JIM LESKO: Can I put your backpack on you?
MARSH (voice-over): The clinical trial Juliette's family is locked out of is designed for patients with cancer like hers. And DJ Daniels, the young
patient President Trump highlighted this march.
TRUMP: His name is DJ Daniel. He is 13 years old and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain
cancer.
[18:40:00]
JIM LESKO: For us to see that was actually very hopeful. My child's rare disease is in headlines and -- and acknowledged. And then following that,
all the actual budget cuts and proposed budget cuts to NCI and NIH has -- I mean, had completely taken the wind out of our sails.
M. LESKO: This was already a hard battle, it makes it even harder.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Our thanks to Rene Marsh for that story. Dr. Georges Benjamin is back with me now. And I wonder, when you see funding cuts like that with
impacts on key research, and then you see someone leading the HHS and therefore with the CDC under him, who seems to be a skeptic of modern
medicine, can those agencies do their job with someone like that at the top?
BENJAMIN: They really can't. Those cuts are devastating. You know, imagine when you were in high school biology and someone took your petri dishes
from one study and put them in another study in an indiscriminate manner. You're not going to get the results that you thought you were going to get.
You disrupt the first study you were in, and then you totally make the second study dysfunctional.
No, you cannot do research that way. Those studies have been carefully crafted. And in fact, in some cases, they actually interrupt the care of
people that are already in the studies. And people get sicker and sometimes they die prematurely.
SCIUTTO: A recent poll by the Washington Post found that one in six parents in this country have delayed or skipped some vaccines for their
children. I wonder, are we already seeing the health effects in this country of this apparent retreat from science?
BENJAMIN: Absolutely. Big measles outbreak, a big pertussis outbreak. We have at least one case of polio for the first time in many, many years.
We're already seeing it.
SCIUTTO: Yes. It's alarming to see. It matters. Dr. Georges Benjamin, thanks so much for joining.
BENJAMIN: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, U.S. tech firms increasingly in the crosshairs of the E.U. We'll hear from a top E.U. official with regulatory oversight on
technology.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Three police officers have been killed, two others injured in a shooting in rural central Pennsylvania. The wounded officers are in
critical but stable condition. A source says the shooting happened while those officers were serving a court order. Officials say the suspected
shooter is now dead. Continue to provide any new updates on that story.
[18:45:00]
Well, in business news, shares of NVIDIA fell Wednesday on a report that China has told its tech firms to stop buying some of the company's A.I.
chips. NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, seemed to confirm the report in the Financial Times when he was asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENSEN HUANG, CEO, NVIDIA: We're disappointed about where we're at, but we're patient about where we're at. The -- NVIDIA is a large company, and
we've been working in these markets now for a very long time. And we have relationships in China with the Chinese companies. We've been serving
Chinese companies, American companies, global companies all over the world for a very long time. And so, I have every confidence that all of this
stuff will get sorted out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: China is looking to produce A.I. chips at home rather than buying them from NVIDIA amid a trade -- ongoing trade war with the U.S. The two
countries have reached a framework deal for U.S. owners to take control of TikTok though. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi are expected to
discuss that deal on Friday.
Reports say President Trump is threatening the E.U., though, with new penalties over its regulation of U.S. tech firms. President Trump has been
criticizing individual E.U. countries for imposing digital taxes on American big tech, often lashing out at the bloc's landmark Digital Markets
Act and Digital Services Act. The E.U. has recently leveled major fines against Apple and Meta using those rules. It also hit Google with a fine of
about $3.5 billion for breaking its antitrust laws.
Brussels is increasingly worried about U.S. efforts to remove security safeguards on A.I. as well. This as the U.K. works on its own tech
agreements with Washington now that it is no longer part of the E.U. OpenAI's Sam Altman joined President Trump on his current state visit to
the U.K. along with other tech CEOs.
Anna Cavazzini joins me now. She's the chair of the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market. Anna, thanks so much for joining.
ANNA CAVAZZINI, CHAIR, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S COMMITTEE ON THE INTERNAL MARKET: Yes. Good evening, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So, first, I want you to react, if you can, to President Trump's threats now. I mean, he's saying that if the E.U. proceeds with the digital
services tax as well as other measures here, including the A.I. Act, that he's going to respond with tariffs.
CAVAZZINI: Yes. Listen, these regulations of the tech markets are for the benefit of the consumers, but also for the benefit of smaller companies,
also American companies. I recently met with a lot of American companies who praise the Digital Markets Act because it makes them possible to take
part in a very monopolized market, the tech market. So, we made these regulations, and of course, we are sovereign as the European Union and we
can make our own laws. And that's why a lot of people, lawmakers, but also citizens, are very surprised and also concerned by Trump's attacks on our
regulation.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Some of this is simply about trying to collect some tax revenue, right? Because these companies are quite good at moving their
profits around and therefore not paying -- they certainly do a pretty good job of avoiding U.S. corporate taxes as well. Is that part of the intention
here?
CAVAZZINI: Yes, the regulations we have so far, they provide rules in order to make, for example, A.I. safer or to regulate the biggest risk with
algorithms. We don't have a digital tax so far on E.U. level, but I'm a strong advocate for that because, indeed, when I meet my local businesses
in Germany, I'm a German parliamentarian actually, they say, oh, we pay 24 percent corporate tax, but the big tech corporations, they pay from 8 to 9
percent, even less. So, I think it's also a matter of justice to make them pay their fair share because they make big money in Europe. It's a big
market for the tech companies. So, I think a digital tax on European level would make sense.
SCIUTTO: I wonder if you expect the E.U. to hold its ground on these various regulations. Under U.S. pressure, as you may have seen, Canada
rescinded its own effort, for instance, for a digital service tax because, listen, the U.S. put enormous economic pressure on Canada.
CAVAZZINI: Yes, I'm indeed worried, I have to admit, because, yes, the U.S. has such a big power. The U.S. government is using bullying tactics,
tariffs, what you will, all over the globe. But I think if there is a power standing and maintaining these pressures, it's the European Union because
we are one of the biggest markets in the world. And as I said, we are a big market for the tech companies, so we are interdependent.
[18:50:00]
And we as parliamentarians, we put a lot of pressure on the executive, on the E.U. Commission, to not give in, to stand their ground and make sure
that our regulation, again, that is good for the citizens, for democracy, but also for smaller businesses, is being kept and it's not being watered
down or slowed down in the way how we implement it.
SCIUTTO: Is there any potential common ground, right? Because one thing that is happening in this country is you are seeing some bipartisan support
here for measures designed, for instance, to protect privacy, right, or to protect children from some of the social media apps and so on, while the
U.S. president is attacking virtually any attempt to regulate U.S. tech companies. Is it possible that there might be some meeting of the minds
among lawmakers across the Atlantic?
CAVAZZINI: I think there is common ground. For example, in the antitrust field, like the U.S. has a different approach. It's more like law cases,
antitrust law cases, but they can be very strict. For example, like at the moment for Google and the European approach with the Digital Markets Act ex
ante regulation. But indeed, it's the same goal across the Atlantic, breaking up the big monopolies.
And I think this is a good thing. And I even met some, let's say, Republicans who share also this antitrust idea. And then I think, as you
mentioned, there is a second common ground. Even here, some of the laws that have been put in Congress or in the Senate on, as you said, protecting
children online is also a further common ground, because we see the challenges that TikTok algorithms are posing to our youngest, having, for
example, suicide ideas or anorexia and so on and so on.
So, I think here we can find common ground. But at the moment, I don't see so much willingness from the U.S. side. We all know it. I think we believe
in international cooperation in the European Union, but we have unfortunately contrary signs at the moment, although there would be a lot
of good ideas to cooperate on.
SCIUTTO: Anna Cavazzini, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market, we appreciate you joining.
CAVAZZINI: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Just in, Disney-owned ABC has pulled "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air indefinitely following backlash over his comments following Charlie
Kirk's killing. The move came after the FCC's Trump-aligned chairman threatened action against Disney and ABC. During his Monday evening
monologue, Kimmel suggested that Kirk's alleged killer, Tyler Robertson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. ABC confirmed the suspension, but
gave no further details.
Jeffrey Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has resigned from the well- known food company over a deepening rift with its parent company, Unilever.
[18:55:00]
On social media, Greenfield said Unilever has sought to silence the company's social activism and that, as a result, he could no longer work
there. Ben & Jerry's has clashed with Unilever for years on its right to comment on social issues, most recently the conflict in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Unilever's ice cream unit says they have tried to engage both co-founders in conversation and that they disagree with Greenfield's
perspective.
In today's Good Brief, it is Constitution Day here in the U.S. and here in Washington, D.C. The National Archives is celebrating nearly 250 years,
we're getting close, of American freedom. For the first time, the entire U.S. Constitution will be on display at the Capitol building. That includes
the original Bill of Rights and more than a dozen amendments. The exhibit also features something quite rare, the fifth page, signed by George
Washington, which instructed states on how to implement the Constitution. The historic documents will be on display in the rotunda at the Capitol
until October 1st.
Thanks so much for your company. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
