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Experts: Chagas Disease Should Now be Considered Endemic in the U.S.; Trump Suggests Networks could Lose FCC Licenses if They Air Too Much Negative Coverage of Him; ABC Suspends Jimmy Kimmel After Threats from FCC Chairman; RFK's CDC Panel Expected to Change Child Vaccine Schedule; Trump Seeks to Label "Antifa" as a Terrorist Group. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired September 18, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be more of a carrier when it comes to cats, so cats don't necessarily get sick, but they can carry the parasite. Dogs can get sick much in the same way that humans do. They can get infected by the kissing bug itself, by this parasitic bug or they might eat an animal that's been infected.

But either way, they can get sick. They develop some of the same symptoms that humans do. They can be tested the same way through a blood test, and they can be treated the same as humans as well.

Now, as far as mosquito repellent, again, this is not a mosquito that's spreading this. This is a different sort of bug. So, mosquito repellents generally are not going to be that effective. They may lower the propensity a little bit, but not like they do with mosquitoes.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And finally, Stacy from Little Rock wants to know, will these bugs go away when colder weather arrives? Also, what are some of the early symptoms?

GUPTA: So, yes, some good news with regard to that first question. This is - again, it's mostly been a tropical weather bug that sort of transmits the parasite during the warmer weather. So, once it starts to get cooler in the United States, you should see the transmission go way down. In fact, they say once it gets below 62 degrees, you know, really the transmission goes basically to zero at that point. So, there will be a reprieve from this.

But as mentioned yesterday and the day before, this is now endemic, which means this bug is now present in the United States. As far as early symptoms go, sometimes it can be tough, but fever, rash, headache and there's often a very characteristic sort of eyelid swelling because this thing kisses you on the face or bites you on the face. The eyelids can be affected. If you're worried, get it checked out, get treated early.

KEILAR: That's really interesting. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much. Great information.

GUPTA: Yes. KEILAR: And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Jimmy Kimmel benched and now fears backlash. ABC suspending the late-night host after his comments regarding the response to Charlie Kirk's shooting. We're following the latest in this debate over free speech.

And President Trump on his way back to Washington after a historic state visit to the U.K. where at a press conference with the British prime minister, the President spoke about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, Charlie Kirk and his push to regain control of an airbase in Afghanistan from the Taliban.

And they were handpicked by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And now the CDC's new vaccine advisers are meeting to discuss changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and the COVID vaccine.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Right now, President Trump is heading home after his state visit to England. And he just told reporters on Air Force One in the wake of ABC's decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel off the air indefinitely that he thinks network's broadcast licenses could be revoked if they air overwhelmingly negative views about him.

He said, in part: "I read someplace that the networks were 97 percent against me. I get 97 percent negative, and yet I won it easily," he said, referring to the 2024 election. He goes on to say, "I won all seven swing states popular vote, I won everything. And they're 97 percent against, they give me wholly bad publicity -- I mean, they're getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away."

ABC suspended Kimmel just hours after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to take action against ABC and its parent company, Disney, adding, quote, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

We want to play you what Jimmy Kimmel actually said on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL: We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by Greg Iwinski. He's a former writer for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and for "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver." We're also joined by Dominic Patten, Executive Editor for Deadline.com.

Greg, how are you, from your vantage point, seeing this moment? GREG IWINSKI, FORMER WRITER, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: It's

incredibly simple. Late night people have to say things very quickly. And Donald Trump doesn't like a show. And so, the FCC was the method of power he used to get rid of it.

KEILAR: So -- and if you could, when you see it that way, right, you -- and you have been behind the scenes, you've been in the writers rooms, right, on these shows that I just told people that you worked on. There's a possible side effect to all of this with how quickly the FCC chairman said what he said, and all of this developed.

[15:05:05]

The conclusion, the possible side effect to those writers ...

Well, I think part of the problem ...

KEILAR: Okay, let me just ask you ...

IWINSKI: Yes, I mean, part of the problem is it -- there's just -- okay.

KEILAR: I was going to say the possible side effect could be self- censorship. And I wonder if you think writers and comedians are going to be able to withstand that or if that might happen.

IWINSKI: Yes. I really think that the threat is not self-censorship. It's that we're still talking about that Trump getting rid of a show he didn't like is how I see it and not plainly visible facts. The fact that we are still taking stuff 10 years into Trump as good faith, that facts don't matter, that there's always going to be two sides, that's really the problem that got us here. Because Donald Trump told us at the top of the show in the quote you read, he doesn't like the show, it says mean things about him, it should go. And he's going to say that for every show down the line until there aren't shows left that say mean things about him.

KEILAR: We've been very clear about the order of how these things went and also that after the Colbert cancellation, he, you know, he put the -- name-checked Jimmy Kimmel next, right? So, we know he didn't like Jimmy. He's now name-checking Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon. So, it's very clear, he's coming out, he's applauding what has happened, right? And we've been talking to Republicans who support this action about that and challenging them certainly on free speech. I just want to be very clear about that.

Dominic, as you are talking to folks in the entertainment world, what is the buzz here, especially after -- this is not happening in a vacuum. You know, you see Stephen -- what happened with Stephen Colbert. You see these parent companies under pressure and they have, obviously, business decisions to make. How are you hearing about this inside the entertainment world?

Okay. I'm sorry, Dominic -- I actually cannot hear you. We're going to try to get that fixed. Okay, Greg, this becomes a solo interview with you. Speak to that a little bit, because like I said, this isn't happening in a vacuum, right?

IWINSKI: Yes.

KEILAR: This is just -- this is one of many data points. And I certainly would have been interested in hearing what Jimmy Kimmel was going to say in response to this because there has been what he said, and I'm sure some people will take issue with what he said as it is. And then, there's been descriptions of what he said, right? How are you seeing this ...

IWINSKI: Right.

KEILAR: ... as a series of developments?

IWINSKI: Well, I think the question becomes, is it okay for the President to use the FCC to coerce companies into taking business action because he doesn't like their speech? Even if Jimmy Kimmel or Jimmy Fallon later or Stephen Colbert in the past said something offensive that someone didn't like, that was hurtful, that they needed to genuinely apologize for, if any of that happened, should the remedy for that be that the President uses the FCC as a crowbar over affiliate licenses to get companies to comply with what he wants to happen? And I think the answer in America is always going to be no.

KEILAR: So, take us behind the scenes, though. Like I was saying, you've been in these writers' rooms. I imagine this is a very difficult time. And I know you're in touch with a lot of people who are there. What are they saying?

IWINSKI: I think it's hard because when you do late night TV, similar to when you do a news show, you stare at the headlines over and over and over. So, you see up close how bad it's getting. And I think for the late-night community, for entertainment, for anyone who is going to say something that Donald Trump doesn't like, it's not really a canary in the coal mine. It's a dead coal miner. Like, we've moved way past canaries. And we are at a point of real alarm.

KEILAR: And Dominic is now back with us. Oh, Dominic is not back with us. I'm sorry, Greg. I misunderstood my producers here.

Where do you see this going?

IWINSKI: My plan work.

KEILAR: Your plan -- I don't know what you did. What kind of magic you pulled.

IWINSKI: I got Dominic out, yes.

KEILAR: Where do you see this going, though? Because you have -- you know, you have -- obviously, there are corporate interests, um, right? And they are affected by regulators that are controlled by the Trump administration. And then, you have sort of the creative concern, right? The expression, the comedians, the writers and their interests are not always aligned. So, how do you see that playing out and how do you see that going from here? [15:10:06]

IWINSKI: Well, I mean -- and this has been a long-time thing, because conservative comedians have been, you know, fighting for 10 years to say slurs again in their comedy. So, it's not a new conversation.

I think the benefit here is the audience is with us, the people who make things that they like and watch. And a president who is hovering around 30 percent approval, who's upside down with every demographic and upside down on every issue, is very powerful at using these levers of government in ways they were not meant to be used to personally satisfy him. Sure. But the people who are watching the shows that turn on ABC tonight to watch Kimmel and don't see him there because of something that they found maybe in poor taste, but not cancellably offensive, those people will be upset, too.

I mean, Brendan Carr was talking about the power of affiliates and how many complaints they're hearing. I would definitely encourage everyone who wishes they could watch Jimmy Kimmel to call their affiliate and to tell them what they think.

KEILAR: Greg, it's great to get your perspective, and we really appreciate you being with us.

Greg Iwinski, thank you.

IWINSKI: Thank you.

KEILAR: Boris.

SANCHEZ: As President Trump flies back to Washington, world leaders are now considering some of his latest comments on the world stage. President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer both touting their strong relationship, though both leaders acknowledge they disagree when it comes specifically to Gaza and the U.K.'s plan to recognize it as Palestinian statehood. The war in Ukraine was also discussed.

The President saying of Russian President Vladimir Putin, quote, "He really let me down." CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us at the White House.

Kristen, what more did Trump say?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, of course, Trump saying again, he really let me down. But the big question is, what exactly is he going to do about it. And this is where we saw a little bit of light between Starmer and President Trump. Both of them came out to this press conference and it was clear they wanted to show what a good relationship they had.

At certain times, President Trump was putting his hand on Starmer's back. You could see Starmer really avoiding certain questions that would highlight the differences in the two men politically. Again, they are very politically different. But when it came to Russia and Ukraine, it seemed as though there was

a little distance on how they believed Putin should be pressed. President Trump again reiterating that European nations had to stop buying oil from Putin. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin is going to drop out. He's going to have no choice. He's going to drop out of that war. And when I found out that the European nations were buying oil from Russia, I'm willing to do other things, but not when the people that I'm fighting for are buying oil from Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, you can hear there -- him kind of implying that if these countries were to stop buying oil from Russia, he might put sanctions in place. But, of course, we really don't know when it comes to when President Trump would actually consider putting sanctions in place since this has been a moving target.

And I will note just moments ago, President Trump on Air Force One heading back to the United States so that he said -- that he thought that Starmer was somewhat embarrassed, alluding to the fact that he had caught these European countries buying oil from Russia. Unclear whether or not that is actually how he felt.

One other thing to note, this is a big piece of news, is that President Trump did say that the U.S. is trying to get back Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. He continued to say that they need something from us. We don't know who the they is or what they need.

But it was interesting he also mentioned that that base is just an hour from where China is developing nuclear weapons. So, it's something that we're going to likely see movement on from the United States.

SANCHEZ: Yes, one of many angles to keep an eye on.

Kristen Holmes at the White House, thank you so much.

Still to come, changes to the childhood vaccine schedule expected as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new CDC vaccine advisers meet for the next two days.

Plus, President Trump saying he's designating Antifa, a terrorist organization. It's not clear or who -- it's not clear who or what will actually be targeted.

And later, how a new cell phone company is promising to pay you if you stay off your cell phone. That and much more coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:38] KEILAR: Here in the next few hours, we are expecting a decision on the future of two established childhood vaccines, hepatitis B and the measles. The recommendations on how they should be given will come from this panel of vaccine advisors, handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who is, of course, a known vaccine skeptic. Before installing his choices, Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Now, some medical experts are saying that people should not just expect changes to the vaccine guidance, but they should also not follow them. CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell has been watching this meeting.

Meg, tell us what has been happening because we're hearing from well- respected doctors who are saying that you cannot take these recommendations to the bank and it is pretty startling.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna. What we're seeing is a departure from traditionally what we have seen from this committee, which has been packed with public health experts, but as you noted, was completely replaced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with the first installment of new members in June and then five more added just this week.

And what we have been seeing today is essentially a revisiting of long-standing vaccine recommendations from the CDC for vaccines that have been around for decades. And some of these new advisors are even going so far as to say these vaccines maybe need to be retested.

[15:20:03]

Take the measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox combination vaccine, for example, and listen to this exchange from one of the new advisors on this panel and a response from a CDC staff scientist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. EVELYN GRIFFIN, MEMBER, ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES: In this day and age where we do have, I believe, a rising percentage of parents who are not vaccinating in an informed manner, I feel that it is ethical to invite those parents for such a study and say, okay, since you are making this informed choice, let's study this. So, I think I would invite that idea to have a true placebo study.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think at a time where we're seeing the highest measles cases we've seen in many years, it would be concerning to ask parents to risk the chance that they would receive a vaccine that would not end up protecting them from measles, mumps, rubella, or varicella disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TIRRELL: Now, that's just one example of the kinds of debates that we are seeing happen at this meeting right now. So, the measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox combination vaccine is one of the things on the agenda. The other, which is being discussed as we speak, the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose, which CDC scientists made the case for in terms of preventing potential cancer, liver scarring, and damage from the hepatitis B virus.

So, that debate is ongoing now, and we are going to see that vote at about 5 o'clock, 5.30 tonight, and we'll bring it to you. Tomorrow, guys, is going to be all about COVID-19. We may see changes to those recommendations as well. We'll bring you all that news, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. That'll be big news.

Meg Tirrell, thank you very much.

And ahead, President Trump planning to label the far-left Antifa movement a major terrorist organization. Why critics warn the move could be used to target dissent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:22]

SANCHEZ: President Trump says he wants to label the anti-fascism movement, Antifa, a terror organization. Trump called Antifa a, quote, "sick, dangerous, radical left disaster." It's not clear who or what the government would actually go after, though, since Antifa is not exactly a structured group. It's more of a loosely organized movement that doesn't have a leader or necessarily a list of members.

Joshua Skule joins us now. He's the CEO of the security services company, Bow Wave, and a former FBI chief of intelligence.

Thanks so much for being with us, Joshua.

Let's take a step back. Take us through the history of Antifa and where it stands today.

JOSHUA SKULE, CEO, BOW WAVE: Well, I think you've seen the rise of Antifa most recently over the last five to eight years and really looking to be an anti-establishment movement. And elements within them have certainly conducted or incited violence, like we have seen from other groups that have started and conduct violence and have an ideology. It's very tough to investigate domestic terrorism groups, as many have said. There is not a domestic terrorism statute that exists, unlike that of international terrorism.

So, it really lends itself to those members that are looking not just to have an ideology, but when that ideology crosses the line into violence and coercion.

SANCHEZ: And just to touch on the ideology of Antifa, they have a broad range of view, but they're almost exclusively left-leaning.

SKULE: That is accurate. And we've seen left-leaning groups going back to the '60s. We see them exist in today, Earth Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front, abortion. And then, on the right, you see white supremacist organizations, neo-Nazi organizations, all of those organizations having an ideology for which they strive for. And while it's vile and can be distasteful to us as a population, that is what is protected under First Amendment. It's when it crosses that into a conspiracy or a commitment to commit violence.

SANCHEZ: And they've been accused of a number of conspiracies and being behind several incidents of violence, including actually involvement in January 6th, even though, to my knowledge, there hasn't been any evidence that Antifa was involved with the storming of the Capitol. What is your understanding of the group's capabilities?

SKULE: Well, Boris, I think you hit it right on the head. It's a loose affiliation and a commitment to a certain ideology. So, there is no hierarchy. There is no - unlike we've seen other groups. Now, what is going on in the domestic architecture writ large is they've learned these different groups, whether they're right-wing or left-wing, that having a hierarchy, having established meetings, having these things allows the government to charge conspiracy because those meetings coming together under a certain ideology or in a loose affiliation or a specific affiliation allows the government to bring in conspiracy charges, which then have to be tied back to discussions about violence and then a commitment to going doing that.

It is a tough thing as an investigator to accomplish, to make sure that you're balancing freedom of speech, which we all have, and then when does it cross the line and what trips that.

SANCHEZ: So, do you think this designation is more symbolic than it is going to lead to prosecution?

SKULE: Well, I think words matter. Right now, there's not an ability to, quote, "designate a domestic terrorist group." I know that's what the President said, that he wants to designate them.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

[15:30:00]

SKULE: But right now, the FBI has very specific names for domestic terrorism organizations. They are not, quote-unquote, "designated." Getting designated is ...