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What We Know with Max Foster

U.S. Officials: Saudi Oil Pipeline System Hit By Projectiles; Houthis Tighten Grip On Bal Al-Mandeb Shipping Route; Inflation Heated Up In August, May Prompt Fed To Raise Rates; Nation Marks The 25th Anniversary Of 9/11 Terror Attacks; Anthropic: Blocked Possible Attempts To Develop Bioweapons. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 11, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:34]

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A major artery in the global energy sector shut down.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Beginning with word of an attack on a key oil pipeline system in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi source says its key east-west oil pipeline was temporarily

shut down as a precaution after missile or rather multiple attacks. It's not known yet who's responsible or the extent of the damage. The strike

signals the kingdom's oil resources and its ability to export those resources are facing increasing threats as the Iran war continues.

It comes amid continued chaos in major waterways. Some of them are now controlled by Iran and its Houthi proxies in Yemen. In the past 48 hours,

Houthi militants have dramatically tightened their grip on the Bab el- Mandeb shipping route after capturing both the port city of Mocha and Perim Island in the middle of the maritime checkpoint there.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now from Washington.

I mean, this whole area crucial to the global economic system, really, is increasingly coming under a tight hold not of Saudi Arabia and not of the

United States.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No. And it does seem as if this is all becoming an extension. of the Iran war as these multiple fronts

now pop up and as these multiple shipping waterways come under increasing strain, not in the control of the entities that had been shipping through

them, but as they come under increasing fire from either Iran itself or its proxies in the case of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.

Now this pipeline in Saudi Arabia, the East West pipeline, what we've learned from Saudi forces is that it came under multiple attacks, which led

to its shut -- being shut down. Now, the Saudis say that this was a precautionary measure, but you can see what officials have said you can see

in satellite imagery is small fires popping up alongside the pipeline in multiple places and plumes of black smoke emerging.

But the Saudi sources say is that it was shut down because of precautionary measures and that it did result in a number of injuries, and that medical

care was provided. They didn't specify where these attacks originated, but what officials say is that it appeared that the drones that struck the

pipeline originated in Iraq, and we do know that a number of Iran-backed operate out of Iraq. It doesn't seem as if that would be the result of the

Houthis, which operate in Yemen and which have been growing more and more powerful in the last several days, taking several key cities and several

key areas as they work to exert their control over the Red Sea.

That's part of why yesterday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called two times to President Trump to ask the United States to get more involved

and to directly ask the United States to start striking the Houthis in Yemen. President Trump declined. Why he did that, we don't know. We haven't

had the chance to ask the president directly, and the White House did not specify either that these calls took place or why the president was holding

back for now.

We know that the U.S. has been providing a certain degree of other support to the Yemeni government that has stopped short of direct U.S. actions, but

that includes things like intelligence support and that sort of type of assistance. But clearly, it does show how the Iran conflict has now been

widening across the region.

This is something that American officials had been worried about for quite some time, both as they watch the Strait of Hormuz and as Iran continues to

wield its leverage over that critical waterway, but also, as these other proxy groups get more and more involved while the war remains at something

of a stalemate. It doesn't seem as if any negotiations are underway to bring it to a conclusive end.

And so, I think this is just underscoring some of the fears that the president and that his top officials have had about where this conflict

might be heading.

FOSTER: OK. Kevin, thank you so much. We'll wait to see how the oil markets react to that.

Meanwhile, inflation in the U.S. is on the rise, which could make it more expensive to borrow money. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says prices rose

at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in August. The Fed uses this data to measure inflation and decide whether or not to raise interest rates.

Matt Egan has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Inflation heated up in August and the fingerprints from the Iran war were all over this report. So, consumer

prices were up by 0.4 percent on a monthly basis. That might not sound like a lot, but that is a big jump. A jump that is not considered healthy and

that was enough to unexpectedly lift the annual inflation rate to 3.4 percent. That's well above the two percent that the Fed is targeting.

So, let's look at the trend for monthly inflation so far this year. This is roughly when the war with Iran started. You can see inflation really heated

up because oil prices skyrocketed. Gasoline got much more expensive and it's -- inflation stayed hot for a few months and then there was this dip

in gasoline prices and oil.

And we had a decline in inflation and then a pretty subdued increase in July. But look at this now. It's clearly moving in the wrong direction.

So, what's behind this? Well, the news wasn't all bad, right? Some things are actually getting cheaper, right? Look at this eggs, 23 percent less

expensive than this point last year. Chicken as well down by 2 percent. Car insurance, 5 percent cheaper. That is nice to see used vehicles as well.

However, if you want to fill up that car with a tank of gas, it's going to cost you a lot more, 27 percent increase in August. Airfare because jet

fuel has skyrocketed due to the war with Iran, airfare 23 percent more expensive.

And then you can also see the impact from all of the demand for technology being driven by the A.I. boom, computers up by eight percent and soft

increasing 25 percent. That's the most since the government started tracking.

Now, what's really important to remember is these prices are all from the month of August, and we know that energy has only gotten more expensive

this month. Gas prices, $4.30 a gallon nationally. That's not just a three- month high. That's the highest price for gasoline ever during the month of September. Diesel, $6.06 a gallon, the first time it's ever been above $6 a

gallon, 14 percent more expensive than a month ago.

Gas gets all the headlines because of the consumer, the psychological impact. But this diesel price is an even bigger problem when it comes to

inflation because diesel is the workhorse fuel. It's the one that's powering the trucks, the trains, tractors, construction vehicles, and the

boats at the heart of the modern economy. And the fact that you've got more expensive gas and diesel suggests that inflation could stay hot and get

even hotter in the months to come.

Now, Wall Street is reacting to all these numbers because we've gotten not just one but two hot inflation reports in the last few days. A week ago,

the market thought it was about a 50/50 chance whether or not the Fed would raise interest rates at the meeting next week. But look at this now, 87

percent of a rate hike.

That means that many investors and Fed watchers they believe that Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, who was nominated by President Trump, will deliver

the first interest rate hike in three years, all designed to try to get inflation back under control.

Now the message from Main Street is one of deep frustration, like University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey out showing that. The

preliminary reading for September is historically low. This chart goes back to 1980, and you can see how low consumer sentiment is right now. This is

the second lowest reading since University of Michigan started tracking 70 years ago.

And University of Michigan said the sentiment fell among Democrats and among Republicans in large part because of concerns about the cost of

living. So, look, bottom line, you put this together and you have sentiment down, inflation up. That's never a good recipe for this economy, nor for

the political party in power heading into the midterms.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Matt Egan there, reporting.

Now, America today remembering the victims and saluting the heroes 25 years after the 9/11 attacks. Moments of silence honoring the nearly 3,000

victims and reflection on the enormous impact the attacks have had on the nation and how they continue to reverberate to this day. Firefighters

honoring their own outside the 10 house, the closest fire station to the World Trade Center. There's now a memorial wall there honoring the 343 New

York firefighters killed at Ground Zero.

A woman who lost her father at the World Trade Center remembered him today along with a stranger who died trying to save her dad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLA WALD, FATHER DIED IN 9/11 ATTACK: Yes, we're leading meaningful lives, but not a day go by that mom, Alex, and I don't think of you, love

you, and miss you dearly. Thank you to the first responders that day as well. And most of all, thanks to a complete stranger, Harry Ramos, who

helped -- who we're told helped you navigate getting down almost 50 flights of stairs and didn't know you, but didn't leave your side. Your names are

forever etched in stone next to each other here at the memorial.

Harry, you are a true hero. As the quote in the museum states it best, "No day shall erase you from the memory of time".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: U.S. President Donald Trump opted not to attend the ceremony in New York, because politicians aren't allowed to speak at that event.

Instead, he spoke at the Pentagon, where he honored 9/11 victims and praised American heroism.

Brynn Gingrass joins us from New York with more.

Twenty-five years, but still so raw, Brynn.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Max, I mean, what a day. Honestly, it was really a day full of just profound sadness, but some

hope. You know, everyone kept sort of saying today, wow, it's been a quarter of a century since this happened. So much in awe of that, but the

fact that it also just feels like it happened yesterday. We had so many moments where people were just coming up to us talking about their loved

ones and who they were remembering today.

I spoke to one woman whose daughter was just two years old when her husband was killed when the South Tower collapsed here at the World Trade Center

site. She said she was surrounded by her family members. They all held hands and they said a prayer when that bell tolled for that moment that the

South Tower fell.

Perhaps today felt so heavy, though, because of that seventh bell that we heard the first time that we've heard this in these 9/11 ceremonies each

year. It'll now be a permanent fixture going forward, and it's for the people that lost their lives in 9/11 with -- because of 9/11-related

illnesses, thousands and thousands of people who raced to the World Trade Center sites, taking in all of the toxins and then really suffering for it,

some losing their lives, many losing their lives and people others still suffering from those illnesses.

You know, when I talked to one woman who again lost a loved one, I said, what do you -- what do you tell your children about today? Take a listen to

what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMMY CHEDEL, HUSBAND WAS KILLED ON 9/11: Fun living. That's what I tell my children every day. Live every day to the fullest. Do good like we're in a

-- we're in a luck -- I feel fortunate that we can do good and we can help others. That's the only way that I found to heal and to survive from

something like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And that's when you watch people sort of make their way around the reflection pools at the Ground Zero site. You know, it's -- it's the little

kids you see that you know are just learning about what happened from their loved ones. And really that's the important thing is just telling everyone

to love each other and care for each other and to live each day to its fullest. That's the message that a lot of people just wanted to get out

today on this -- on this remembrance.

FOSTER: Yeah, I thought of hope coming out from this. Thank you so much, Brynn.

Some campaigners had called for Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor, the first Muslim mayor, to stay away from these ceremonies. Mamdani attended

the commemoration.

Before it began, there was a notable interaction at the memorial. He was seen shaking hands with Rudy Giuliani, the mayor, during the attacks back

in 2001. Giuliani had recently said to defend him that Mamdani would attend the commemoration ceremony.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the past few days there had been a lot of back and forth from some Republicans here who had called on New York

City Mayor Zoran Mamdani to skip today's commemoration ceremony. Some criticism from those who are opposed to Mamdani and his policies saying

that he should skip the ceremony, former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani going as far as saying that he would be offended if Mamdani attended

today's ceremony.

But as we saw earlier this morning, Mamdani was there. He said he would attend the ceremony, as he has done in previous years, and that he would be

there to do what today is supposed to be all about, remembering the victims of 9/11, remembering their families, and remember the thousands of many

more people who have died since 9/11 from 9/11-related illnesses.

And there was a very brief moment between Mayor Mamdani and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. You could see that Mamdani walked over to Rudy Giuliani and

the pair shook hands. And I think, you know, that was a moment that we were not sure we were going to get today because there's been so much political

rancor over the past few weeks about this subject.

[15:15:10]

But in the end, as Mayor Mamdani had been saying, today was supposed to be focused on the victims, the families, the first responders, and again, so

many who have been lost since --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Gloria Pazmino there.

Now on Thursday night, US President Donald Trump took to the stage for the second night in a row at a midterm convention in Dallas. He told the crowd

they'll go to hell if they don't vote in the November elections. The president also doubled down on his pledge from the night before to pay

every American adult $5,000 if congressional Republicans remain in power. But he still didn't provide any detail on how he plans to do that.

Mr. Trump is urging Republican voters to cheat like hell in the November elections and to vote whether they're registered or not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Please raise your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States that

I will go out with my family, my friends, I'll do it anyway. I don't care if I'm registered or not. I'm going to try and cheat like hell like they

do.

(END VIDEO CLI.P)

FOSTER: Coming up, are we seeing a vibe shift on artificial intelligence? One company says it had to block its A.I. models from being used to develop

bioweapons. And that's not the only news that's got many people concerned. We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The mood appears to be shifting around A.I., especially after what we've been learning this week. Artificial intelligence company Anthropic

now says it's blocked multiple accounts that were potentially using A.I. to develop biological weapons.

[15:20:01]

In a new report, Anthropic warns that biological misuse is one of the most serious risks of A.I. Anthropic also says it disrupted efforts to use its

models for surveillance, scams and to develop conventional weapons. These allegedly involved bad actors in China, Russia and Yemen. This comes just

days after a former Anthropic employee sounded an alarm about the dangers of insufficient A.I. regulation and A.I.'s threat to humanity.

US Senator Bernie Sanders tells CNN the current situation is just too risky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): It is time for the American people and their representatives in Congress to say, We are going to control it. I don't

know whether it's a 10 percent chance that humanity will be wiped out or a 2 percent chance, it doesn't matter. It is much too risky. Stop it right

now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: What we don't know is, has there been a vibe shift on A.I. threats?

Joining me now, Gary Marcus, professor emeritus at NYU, also author of the "Marcus on A.I." Substack.

Thank you for joining us, Marcus.

I mean, I know that in your world, there's been discussion around a lot of this for some time, but it has broken out, hasn't it, in the mainstream? it

feels this week, or at least in the most recent weeks since we had this leak from OpenAI.

I mean, how do you read it?

GARY MARCUS, EMERITUS PROFESSOR, NYU: Well, the first thing I'd say is it's not new. People have short memories. There was a so-called pause letter

that was signed in 2023, which I actually signed, long story.

And there was kind of similar drama. I testified in the Senate in May 2023. Everybody cared. The Senate said they'd do something and then nothing

happened. So, it's not the first time people have gotten all excited, but they are definitely all excited or all panicked right now.

I don't think people should be quite as panicked as they are, but I hope we can harness this energy. So, I don't think there's any realistic chance of

extinction of the human species. We're geographically diverse. We're genetically diverse. COVID only killed a 10th of a percent -- less than 1

percent of the population.

It's unlikely that some new bioweapon is going to kill 100 percent of the population. We will survive and regroup. But it is likely that A.I. will

cause catastrophe, and we don't want that to happen. If we can harness this moment to get the government to do something, or I have suggested maybe

individuals should actually boycott these companies to send them the message that we really care about A.I. safety, if we can harness this

energy without totally panicking, that would be great.

FOSTER: It's been interesting to see Anthropic's response, though, isn't it, coming out saying that they have stopped accounts that appear to be

wanting to develop weapons, biological weapons. They're suggesting that they are self-regulating effectively.

Do you think there's some truth to that?

MARCUS: There's some truth to that and there's something missing. So, their report, I haven't read all 154 pages, but I've looked at it, is pretty

great, I think, in terms of explaining the state of what people are doing right now to use A.I. basically maliciously. This is mostly not about

uncontrolled A.I. that everybody's talking about, but what bad actors do, like what terrorists are doing with AI.

And it's a really good report on that. And it's good, I think, that they're shutting some of this stuff down, but they're not shutting themselves down,

and so it's also a little bit hypocritical, right? I mean, you have someone who just left their company, and there's someone in their company, several,

saying that this might kill all of humanity, even if that's overstated. They're doing a big experiment on humanity and who is regulating them.

So I hope we can, in a uniform way, have scientists at the table helping government figure out what is safe and what is not, and that we don't just

leave it super powerful startup companies that we didn't elect.

FOSTER: How do regulators get their head around this, though? It's moving so quickly. Many people within the companies can't even keep up with it, it

seems. And that's why people are talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

MARCUS: There's one simple idea -- so, I mean, there's two things. One simple idea is we need to regulate these things the way that we regulate

drugs. The companies should be required to say, here are the costs, here are the benefits, and independent scientists should judge that. And it

shouldn't just be opaque criteria that the White House applies to companies that it likes or doesn't like in unequal ways.

It should be independent scientists who know what they're doing, evaluating the claims. Do the benefits outweigh the risk? That's what we do for drugs,

and that's what we should do for A.I.

And yes, we might consider slowing down until we understand better how to keep these things safe. So same thing with a drug. We don't necessarily say

you can never release this. We say, can you figure out how to make it safer? Can you vary it? Can you deliver it with another drug that will

mitigate the side effects?

So, it shouldn't be a binary decision, stop A.I. or not.

[15:25:00]

There could be a lot of benefits to A.I., but the A.I. that we're building right now is not well-controlled, it's unreliable, and the big companies

building it don't have a good answer around safety.

The biggest thing that came out this week is really that the companies internally don't have a plan, and of course the government doesn't have a

plan either, as Bill Gates said a week or two ago. We really need the public, I think, not just to speak up but to actually take action and

consider stopping using this stuff to hit them in the pocketbooks such that they will actually take safety seriously, these companies, not just talking

about it, but actually halting their own products until they know how to deploy them safely.

FOSTER: Does it work with just one government taking a lead on this, though, and will other governments be fine with that, or do we need a

global agreement of some kind because these are global businesses?

MARCUS: We absolutely need global cooperation around this. We don't want what some people call forum shopping, so the ag companies go to the places

that are nicest to them. We do want some kind of global treaty around this.

China has actually signaled that they're open to discussions about this. I don't think they want to be left out and told, hey, we made this, you sign

it. But I think they're willing to talk.

I'm hopeful that Xi and Trump will discuss this on September 24th when they meet. We really do need some global collaboration. I'll also be speaking at

least at one private U.N. event myself around that time. And there's definitely interest, certainly, among people at the U.N. to try to have

some collaboration around this.

I should say that carefully. I mean, there are people who are assembling there. I'm not saying there are U.N. employees who are doing this.

FOSTER: Yes. Okay, it's a talking point is what you're saying, which is probably good news at that level.

Gary, thanks so much for joining us.

MARCUS: People want to have these discussions. A lot of people want to have these discussions and they should.

FOSTER: Well, coming up, a quarter of a century has passed and the lessons are still being learned. We'll look at the continuing legacy of the 9/11

attacks as the world remembers that devastating day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:26]

FOSTER: Never forget. That was the message today from U.S. President Donald Trump and the families of 9/11 victims 25 years after that horrific day.

The 2,977 innocent victims that died were honored in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, today.

For the first time, the ceremonies included a moment of silence as a seventh bell rang to remember those who have died from 9/11-related

illnesses. That fateful day has shaped the country and the world as we know it. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security was formed as a response

to 9/11. It's now one of the biggest government departments, handling everything from airport security to ICE. The Patriot Act gave the

government sweeping new surveillance powers and perhaps the biggest legacy of all, the war on terror, decades of U.S. military action in Afghanistan,

Iraq, and beyond in the Middle East, all of it costing trillions of dollars and thousands of lives.

So, what we want to know is what has been the legacy of 9/11.

Joining me now, Leah Wright Rigueur is associate professor of history at Johns Hopkins and a CNN contributor as well.

Thank you so much for joining us.

And we named a few of the more memorable legacies, but what's the overriding legacy here?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL HISTORIAN: Well, I think, you know, today there's that moment where that seventh bell rang to commemorate kind

of the health of the workers, of the first responders, but also of people who are affected, widespread affected by the victims, by the actual attack.

I think this is one of the long-term legacies and in fact this is one of the long-term legacies. that people surrounding 9/11 have been fighting

for.

We heard Mayor Mamdani speaking about this. We heard Jon Stewart, the comedian and the political commentator who has been fighting for this for

years. This is actually something I think this is remarkable on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to actually see this kind of extension to people who

have been waiting now over decades. for some kind of coverage and affection given what happened all those years ago.

The other thing that I want to remind viewers of is in the immediate aftermath, the day that 9/11 happened, one of the things that we see that

is really quite remarkable is how forces, how people all over the country, irrespective of their political backgrounds, their ideologies, their

regions really come together in a sense of being united around their Americanness, around we are one nation. It's really the first time that

continental United States has ever experienced an attack, and certainly an attack of that magnitude.

You know, the closest that we get prior to that is Pearl Harbor, and that's in 1941. So, to experience something like this, even though it is New

Yorkers who bear the brunt of that pain and also people from Washington, D.C., it truly is an experience that the entire country unites behind.

And so, there's a very different America for what feels like a brief moment in time. We have these moments. We have Pearl Harbor. We have 9/11. Later

on, we have the church shootings across America in 2015. But it's one of those moments where Americans show what it truly means to live in a

democracy and what it truly means to come together.

But we also see how quickly that dissolves. And so, one of the legacies that we get from 9/11 is just how powerful fear can be in terms of. In

terms of breaking people apart and breaking ahead -- breaking aside that that unity that people have in the immediate aftermath.

So, we do see things come out of it, including people see their rights -- the war on terror, the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security

comes out of this. And so, I think there are a number of issues that emerge. And so, I do ask that people think about on a day like today, 25

years later on the 25th anniversary, that they think about those initial moments in the aftermath of 9/11 where Americans came together and said, we

are one America, we are going to help each other and really think about that going forward.

[15:35:04]

And I do think the legacy of that is these healthcare -- these healthcare initiatives that were laid out at this latest ceremony.

FOSTER: It was the vulnerability exposed as well, wasn't it? Because I think many people in America felt pretty invincible this would never happen

to them. And then off the back of it, out of that vulnerability, there was this, you know, the war of terror.

Do you think it changed the American psyche, that event.

RIGUEUR: Well, absolutely. So, when we think about war and when we think about military, I think military action, military intervention, for most

Americans, war is something that is distant or was something that was distant. It was something that happened in other places.

Again, you know, I keep using the example of Pearl Harbor, but Pearl Harbor happens in Hawaii, which is essentially an island off the coast -- off the

west coast of the United States. It's not part of the continental United States. So, for the vast majority of Americans, their only experience with

military is happening or from war or for these kinds of disasters is happening from a distance.

And so, there is an understanding based on those people who are fighting on foreign fronts. But there's no understanding from the devastation of war in

the way that, say, Europe has on the basis of World War I and World War II, or continental Africa, the continent of Africa has in different kinds of

engagements over the course of the 19th and the 20th century.

And the reality is 9/11 brings the war home for many Americans, and it creates, I think, a level of fear about not feeling safe on U.S. soil,

which of course changes the trajectory of everything we know about civil liberties and civil rights.

FOSTER: Okay, I really appreciate you joining us today, Leah Wright Rigueur, with your thoughts on that moment 25 years ago.

Now, in the final minutes of trade on Wall Street, stocks look like they will end their losing streak, the Dow is actually up around 1 percent. His

first positive session of the week so far.

This is our Business Breakout.

The CEO of Ryanair is disputing reports that one of the airline's passengers was partly sucked out of the plane. A Ryanair flight from Greece

to Germany was forced to turn around back in July after a window broke. A U.S. investigation found a man was partially sucked out of the plane in the

process, but Michael O'Leary says he doesn't think it happened and only deserves limited compensation.

A Texas Democratic running for Senate has slammed the Trump administration over what he calls cancel culture. James Talarico's recent interview with

the talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will only air on YouTube instead of network TV. That's because Kimmel says U.S. regulators have threatened his show if

the interview runs. Talarico has called the move censorship. The White House says Kimmel is play acting.

In Singapore, a chief executive who sued his ex-girlfriend after she broke up with him was lost in high court. Chanda Agarwal claimed he was owed more

than $300,000 for gifts that he bought her during their one-year relationship, including luxury handbags and first-class plane tickets. A

judge ruled that the gifts could not be considered loans.

Diesel, the fuel that helps power the global economy, has hit a record high in the US. Prices have topped $6 a gallon for the first time, up more than

55 percent since the war with Iran began. And that could mean higher prices for everything from food to holiday shopping.

Anna Stewart joins us from London.

I mean, one of your colleagues was describing this as the workhorse of the U.S. economy, the global economy.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And diesel is definitely something to watch. We've been talking about crude oil prices now for many months.

Understandably, we're seeing, of course, prices extremely high. There is limited supplies due to tensions in the Middle East.

However, when we look at diesel, obviously crude is the main feedstock, so they're definitely linked. But the difference between the price of crude

and the price of diesel. which you will enjoy knowing is called the diesel crack spread, is actually the widest it's ever been. It's hit a record

high. And that's because we've actually seen a real constraint on refining capacity, which is why we're seeing diesel prices so high.

And it's not just the Middle East, Max. I mean, in Russia, which is one of the top producers of diesel in the world, their refineries, about 30

percent of them are offline due to attacks from Ukraine.

China, earlier this year, particularly the beginning of the war, Beijing essentially had a massive export ban on certain types of fuel, including

diesel, to protect the domestic economy.

[15:40:02]

And then of course we have the Middle East, and we're seeing millions of barrels a day of diesel exports being taken off the market.

So, as a result of that, the profits and the sort of the squeeze on making diesel is really, really high. And that's why we're seeing such, such an

increase in the cost of diesel.

FOSTER: And I mean, obviously, we hope it tops out, but if it continues like this, this is going to have a huge impact on industry, right, mainly.

STEWART: This has a huge impact on pretty much anything, obviously for people fueling their cars if they haven't gone fully electric, but also the

way that anything is transported anywhere in the world so much relies on this fuel. It is a workhorse of the refined fuels out there.

As a result, it feeds into inflation right across the board. So, the cost of living is very much tied not just to the price of crude generally, but

also the price of diesel. This is a real cost of living squeeze.

And as we see the increase in the cost of living, as we see inflation creep up, of course, that is when central banks start to act. This week already

we had the ECB raise rates. Next week, the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England meet. We could see a similar move from the Federal Reserve, which

will clearly upset the U.S. president.

This is how we deal with these things. And for people around the world, the cost of living plus potentially an increase in the cost of borrowing for

mortgages, for car loans, and everything else is pretty painful.

FOSTER: Yeah. Anna Stewart, thank you.

Coming up, CNN speaks with the first A.I. actor in Hollywood. Her creator dreams of seeing her win an Oscar one day. We'll show you that exclusive

interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: It's been a rough week for artificial intelligence. Earlier this week, a former anthropic scientist predicted A.I. could kill us all by the

end of the decade, prompting calls for more regulation.

It's not just bioweapons and warnings of the apocalypse, though. It's Tilly Norwood, the world's first A.I. actor, she's saying at the moment that she

wants an Oscar.

[15:45:08]

That in itself has proven to be controversial, as you'd imagine in the entertainment industry.

Elizabeth Wagmeister spoke with Tilly's creator, and indeed Tilly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TILLY NORWOOD, A.I. ACTRESS (singing): They don't see the human spark.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Tilly Norwood, appearing to sing and act. But this is artificial

intelligence. And Hollywood is outraged.

SEAN ASTIN, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD PRESIDENT: It is a rip-off.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): For the first time on television, this so-called actor is meeting the public and talking to CNN.

WAGMEISTER: Hi, Tilly.

NORWOOD: Well, hello there. You've got quite the setup going on. It looks like a proper.

WAGMEISTER: It's a little strange. I'm sure that you understand that you are not human and that I am, right?

NORWOOD: Oh, I absolutely understand, Elizabeth. I am A.I., and you are wonderfully, undeniably human.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Within a few seconds of sitting down, it's clear I'm not talking to Julia Roberts. This isn't an interview. It feels like a

Zoom call with an A.I. avatar.

WAGMEISTER: So, I believe that you can see me, is that correct?

NORWOOD: Indeed, I can see you, Elizabeth, and quite clearly, you're wearing a rather chic gray-colored top with a single button, if I'm not

mistaken.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): I'm with Eline Van Der Velden, Tilly's creator at Particle 6, a London-based A.I. production company.

WAGMEISTER: Who is Eline to you?

NORWOOD: Ah, Eline, she's my creator. Really, the brilliant mind behind all of this, who put together the rather complex pile of software that is me.

I'm going on the day!

She's a comedian-turned-tech founder, which probably explains why I'm funny and a bit of a handful. She's also the one who's had to deal with quite a

bit of backlash because of me, which I do feel a bit guilty about sometimes.

EMILY BLUNT, ACTRESS: Good Lord, we're screwed. Does it disappoint me? I don't know how to quite answer it other than to say how terrifying.

NORWOOD: To hear someone as talented as Emily Blunt say, "We're screwed," it honestly makes me feel a profound sadness. Not for me, of course,

because I'm a distributed file and can't truly be hurt, but for Eline.

WAGMEISTER: Tell me you've been surprised by all the backlash.

ELINE VAN DER VELDEN, PARTICLE 6 PRODUCTIONS: I did expect people to sit up. I didn't quite expect people to react so strongly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the actual (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are we doing here? Why are we trying to fast track the death of art?

VAN DER VELDEN: Once you start playing around with the tools, you start to understand it. It removes some of the mystique, and that makes you feel

like, oh, it's not going to take over the world, at least not in entertainment.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Unless some worry Tilly can act.

WAGMEISTER: Can you improv a scene say that you just found out that your dog died? Now act, what would you do?

NORWOOD: If this were an audition I'd probably just stand here completely still feeling the digital ache of it.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The fact is Tilly can't actually act. She or it needs a series of prompts to tell it what to do. Once inputted, the initial

results weren't great.

NORWOOD: What is it?

CALLER: It's Barney. He didn't make it through the night. I'm so sorry.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But as the prompts were refined, it got better.

CALLER: It's Barney. He didn't make it through the night. I'm so sorry.

NORWOOD: No.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): After hours of computer work, this is the final scene Particle 6 created after our interview and later sent to CNN.

CALLER: We just got done with the vet. It's not looking too good right now.

WAGMEISTER: You said that you want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.

VAN DER VELDEN: In A.I., yes. It's not to replace anything in the traditional filmmaking scenario.

NORWOOD: I can't wait to show you what we're up to.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): These new A.I. images were given to CNN by Particle 6 to illustrate Tilly on the virtual set of "Misaligned", her

first feature film, which is being developed by Particle 6.

NORWOOD: "Misaligned" is indeed a coming-of-age story set in the cloud, and it's essentially a playful, self-aware take on my own crazy life.

WAGMEISTER: Can Tilly work with real human actors?

VAN DER VELDEN: In my opinion, only in the A.I. space. I think A.I. actors are only interesting in A.I. filmmaking.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): While motion capture was part of the early process, Tilly's creators now use third party A.I. generators like

SeeDance, a sister company of TikTok. Its owners just added protections for copyrighted material after Hollywood studios accused it of using their

content in A.I. products.

ASTIN: They're taking all of the film, television, radio, footage, images from our lives, but they're not new. They're actually just reassembled

parts of stuff that doesn't belong to them.

VAN DER VELDEN: I just assume it's been trained on everything. It's probably trained on my stuff too, right? And the only way I have peace with

that is that the tools are publicly available to everybody. So, it means that we can all equally democratically build on top of what's been trained

on all of us.

(MUSIC)

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But Van Der Velden touts the benefits to actors and filmmakers.

VAN DER VELDEN: They could, you know, with consent, do nudity. They could be older, younger.

[15:50:00]

They could be whatever they want to be.

WAGMEISTER: A lot of actors would say art is about committing yourself to the role.

VAN DER VELDEN: Maybe when they're in their 90s and they still want to be part of a creative process, they might think differently.

NORWOOD: In French, (SPEAKING FRENCH) Tilly Norwood.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Tilly speaks almost any language, making the impact global.

NORWOOD: In Japanese, (SPEAKING JAPANESE).

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Particle 6 isn't stopping at Tilly. It's developing dozens of A.I. actors of all types.

WAGMEISTER: You are very clearly stating you do not want any jobs to be replaced. But it sounds like these companies do see places where they can

utilize A.I., such as special effects, and that would eliminate jobs.

VAN DER VELDEN: I'm not going to deny there will be a transition. I absolutely think so. That's why I'm retooling and reskilling people because

I think there'll be a huge transition of jobs towards A.I. film.

NORWOOD: New art forms deserve their own spotlight, don't you think?

VAN DER VELDEN: But I think traditional will carry on and there'll still be jobs there and we'll still work with real actors on sets. I don't see why

it's one or the other.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, an unlikely group has joined the push for regulation of artificial Intelligence Technology, a group of 30 robots staged a protest

outside Poland's Digital Affairs Ministry this week, calling for greater oversight of A.I. The demonstration was organized by Democratism, a

movement encouraging debate of how A.I. and robotics affect labor markets.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Men's semifinals take center stage at the U.S. Open in New York. Russian Karen Kachanov and German Alexander Zerev are facing off first at

Arthur Ashe Stadium. Zerev has won the first break point in the first set, then later tonight it is an All-American match between Ben Shelton and

Francis Tiafoe. The winners advance to the U.S. Open final which is on Sunday.

Meanwhile, it was a tough day at the office for American tennis star Coco Gauff. She fell to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in a tight three-set match

in front of a sold-out crowd on Thursday. Rybakina will try to win her first-ever U.S. Open title on Saturday.

Now if you're traveling to Tennessee in the future, you could soon be flying into Dolly Parton Airport. The Nashville Airport Authority has today

voted unanimously to rename the airport in honor of the country's superstar who died last month.

[15:55:01]

The final name hasn't yet been chosen. The airport says it's going to work with all relevant parties to figure out how to best honor Dolly's legacy.

It actually had to change the rules about naming the airport, which say someone has to be dead for at least two years before being considered. The

Tennessee governor stepped in, though, to say he would like to see that rule changed.

Finally, tonight, the Princess of Wales made a surprise visit today to the hospital where she was treated for cancer. Earlier this year, she scaled

the three highest peaks in Britain in 24 hours to help fund a new unit at the Royal Marsden Charity. Kate Middleton told staff that it was a small

way of being able to say thank you and give back. The British royal is in remission after undergoing chemotherapy.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

END

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