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Son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaks on Rise of Violence; CDC Advisers Vote to Allow COVID Vaccines, But Only After Consultation with Health Care Provider; Oversight Committee Dems Blast Alex Accosta Testimony; Patel: No Credible Information Epstein Trafficked to Others. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 19, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now to some of the headlines that we're watching this hour. Mark A. Welsh III, the president of Texas A&M University, is resigning after facing backlash from Republican lawmakers over a classroom video that showed a student objecting to a children's literature lesson about gender, which led to the president firing that professor.

Student leaders organized a gathering to show their appreciation and cheered the president as he left campus today. Welsh announced that he was stepping down on Thursday and did not mention the classroom video in his statement.

And a man died after riding a roller coaster at Universal Orlando Resort's newest park this week. A medical examiner now says that he died from blunt impact injuries, ruling the death an accident. The man is in his 30s. He was found unresponsive after riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Epic Universe, according to officials.

Still a lot of questions here. The medical examiner not including any details about those injuries. Officials with Universal say they are fully cooperating with the investigation.

And video released from the Department of Homeland Security shows members of the Coast Guard jumping there onto a boat suspected of being involved in narco-trafficking. DHS says Operation Pacific Viper has resulted in the arrest of nearly 60 people for suspected drug trafficking since early August. More than 75,000 pounds of cocaine have been seized from the drug enforcement operation, according to DHS --Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A couple of hours from now, Utah Valley University will host a Vigil for Unity in the wake of the tragic shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. According to the school, the vigil is going to quote, provide a space for students, faculty, staff and community members to come together in remembering, healing and reaffirming shared values.

We want to discuss with global human rights leader Martin Luther King III. Sir, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. I want to share with our viewers something that you posted online

after Kirk's assassination. You said that your heart was heavy because his death was not only a tragedy for one man or one movement, it was a wound to the soul of our nation.

And you added, The time is now to lay down the weapons of rage and pick up the tools of peace.

Do you feel that leaders in both parties have made a concerted effort to do that?

MARTIN LUTHER KING III: Well, certainly some leaders have done that and others have not. So we have to continue to encourage our society. You know, civility just in general in the political space is temporarily lost.

Somehow we must reacquire that civility. And it should never, ever have gotten to the point where someone loses their lives because of words that they were saying. It is beyond off the rails.

It is going in a direction that perhaps is not sustainable. My father used to say we must learn nonviolence or we may face nonexistence, which would be terrible consequences.

[15:35:00]

SANCHEZ: No doubt. There was something also that you wrote that really struck me because there are people out there and we've covered these stories who have expressed no sympathy for Charlie Kirk. There were people out there celebrating his murder and yet you write about grieving him even as he at times had critical words about your own father. He reportedly went from years ago saying that your father was a hero and a civil rights icon to most recently saying that your father was awful and that he wanted to break the mythical sainthood of someone like MLK.

I'm sure those comments don't land well with you. And yet you grieve this person. What's your message for those out there who don't feel empathy for Charlie Kirk?

KING: Well, my message is that, you know, I have to first tune into my humanity. And this man, although I may have had disagreements with him on many things, he still is a human being. He was a husband and a father, which I can empathize with because I also am a husband and a father.

So his wife and his two children would not have their loved one to go through life now. And I know that experience because I was 10 years old when my father was gunned down. So I have empathy first and I would encourage everyone to consider that.

You know, the interesting thing is he even talked about empathy, you know. And but again, everybody has to define their own course and everyone has the right to do that. And I'm going to always continue to first deal with humanity. I think our society tragically is losing some of its humanity. And maybe that's again, I think there's got to be temporary. We got to always hopefully turn to our humanity first and foremost.

SANCHEZ: You spoke a moment ago about some of those discordant voices that have not called for unity, that have pointed fingers, that have called for vengeance. If not all of our leaders are pushing for peace, if the loudest voices are pushing blame, who should people turn to? Who should people model their behavior after?

KING: Well, again, I don't think any of us can tell somebody you should do this or you should do that. I mean, that's what free will is, the will to do what you say. But you shouldn't -- I would hope that we wouldn't be doing things that destroy and discredit and and diminish.

I always want to come from the position of trying to lift up. That's that's my that's what I've chosen to do. I could have more hostility than anybody. My dad was killed by a white man. My grandmother was killed by a Black man.

So I could theoretically hate and dislike all people. But I've chosen the path of love and forgiveness, which also is the path of what my Christianity says should do. And so I cannot mandate that.

I have no magic wand. I only have what I have to present. And I hope people would consider that more than not.

SANCHEZ: I can't tell you how much I wish people would consider it to. Martin Luther King III, thank you so much for the time.

KING: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: One of the lawmakers questioning Alex Acosta on Capitol Hill right now says that Acosta has expressed zero remorse about that controversial plea deal he gave sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2008. We're going to discuss with an Epstein accuser in just moments.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're following breaking news into CNN, CDC vaccine advisers have just voted on covid vaccine recommendations.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is at the meeting in Atlanta. Meg, what did they decide?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris. So this vote here really changed the recommendation from the CDC for covid vaccines, but not as strongly as many had suspected coming into this meeting. So essentially, the recommendation is for adults 65 and older that vaccination should be based on individual decision making and for individuals six months to 64 years.

The same based on individual decision making. But they say with an emphasis on a risk benefit of vaccination, stressing that they say it's most valuable for people with underlying health conditions, putting them at risk for severe COVID.

There was also a vote, guys, on whether the COVID-19 vaccine should require a prescription. That vote was very close. It was six to six. And the chair of the committee had to break the tie. And he voted against. So they voted down the recommendation that the COVID vaccine should require a prescription.

But still, they are softening the recommendation, which previously had been that folks should receive a covid vaccine -- guys.

SANCHEZ: So this shared clinical decision making, what is that going to mean for patients?

TIRRELL: Right, so it sounds a bit confusing, but essentially it leaves the decision up to patients and their caregivers, anybody like a doctor or pharmacist or a nurse practitioner, anybody who could be providing that vaccine. A conversation could be had and folks can make the decision based on their own individual preferences.

Now, importantly, this committee's recommendations, if adopted by the CDC director, can have implications for insurance coverage. And HHS, the Department of Health and Human Services, notes that this vote provides for immunization coverage through all payment mechanisms.

[15:45:00]

We've also heard from private health insurers that they plan to cover COVID and flu vaccines at least until the end of 2026, guys. So there had been discussions that perhaps there could be limitations for pregnancy or for children or even for the elderly pushing the age up. And that didn't happen here.

SANCHEZ: Meg Tirrell, thank you so much -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are blasting former U.S. attorney Alex Acosta's ongoing testimony about his so-called sweetheart deal that helped sex offender Jeffrey Epstein avoid a federal trial. Acosta is voluntarily answering questions today about that plea agreement that he struck with Epstein back in 2008. Epstein would end up serving just 13 months in prison on state prostitution charges over his involvement with underage girls, mostly spending the night in prison and spending his days outside.

Earlier, Boris spoke with Democratic oversight member Congresswoman Yasmeen Ansari.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI (D-AZ), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: We asked him about whether or not he was aware that during that extremely light sentence of 18 months, of which Jeffrey Epstein only ended up serving 13 months, was Alex Acosta aware that Jeffrey Epstein went on to rape and abuse young girls at that exact time, which is something that I heard directly from one of those girls, now a woman, a couple of weeks ago during our closed door testimony.

So and he claims to not know anything about that. He is not showing any remorse. He does not seem to think that he did, in fact, strike a sweetheart deal. He thinks that justice was, in fact, serve in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A statement released by some of Epstein's accusers expressed shock by what they've heard from DOJ officials at the committee hearing, saying in part, There are victims and witnesses who to this day have still not been interviewed. Will they continue to be ignored? Survivors deserve better and so does the public.

Joining us now is an Epstein accuser who signed on to that statement, Jess Michaels. Jess, thank you so much for being here.

And I know that this plea deal in particular was not pertaining to your case. Your abuse occurred in 1991. It wasn't until 2018 that you started seeing the legal wheels turning in your case.

But but obviously, you know, so many of these women who have been abused girls when they were abused. And you know how this plea deal affects them. And and in a way, certainly you.

What do you think hearing that Acosta, according to that Democratic congresswoman, thinks that justice was served?

JESS MICHAELS, EPSTEIN ACCUSER: So firstly, thank you so much for having me. It's really shocking to hear him have no remorse for this. And and not only have I spoken to other survivors that have that have actually had went through that period of time.

I went back and I looked at some of the details of the case, because as I understand it, he really mentioned some horrific things about survivor credibility, victim credibility during that time. And I don't think that people really understand what happened at that time. It was a 14 year old and her mother that went to Palm Beach police.

And it was federal officials identified 36 underage victims. So not only did he dramatically impact their lives, from a personal standpoint, the way -- the only way I can describe it to the American people is he deprived me a decade or more of getting any help or healing or feeling any sense of relief from being raped by Jeffrey Epstein in 1991.

KEILAR: Yes, that's the sense you get from some of the prosecutors or people kind of adjacent to them was this was a different time when this plea deal happened. This was before MeToo. You know, they had concerns that the girls wouldn't be believed.

But to your point, there were so many alleged victims, even though in the plea deal, they were not all included, right? But certainly not even close to all of them included.

But what do you what do you say to that? Considering at the time, as you're really aware, there were investigators in Florida who were appalled and were working so hard to try to kind of get the goods in this. What do you say to those folks who say this would have been really hard to adequately prosecute as people are demanding?

MICHAELS: I think it's ridiculous because you're talking about children that were sexually abused and trafficked. It doesn't -- I don't even understand the question.

[15:50:00]

It is it is atrocious to even have taken a moment of overlooking these victims, a second of not even reading the statements. I mean, that's -- that's even what we're hearing from Kash Patel, not even reading our statements, not even -- not even looking at them and then not releasing them to us.

It's this egregious disregard for victims. It shouldn't have mattered that it was MeToo. It in no time in history should it ever be OK that children were sexually abused.

KEILAR: Yes, in a way, it's as if these girls weren't seen as children, they were seen as women or something to not be believed.

You mentioned Kash Patel, the FBI director, and the statement you signed on to criticizes his congressional testimony that there was no credible information that Epstein had trafficked victims to other men. Let's listen to this part.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Who, if anyone, did Epstein traffic these young women to besides himself?

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: Himself, there is no credible information, none. If there were, I would bring the case yesterday that he trafficked to other individuals. And the information we have, again, is limited.

KENNEDY: So the answer is no one.

PATEL: For the information that we have.

KENNEDY: In the files.

PATEL: In the case file.

KENNEDY: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: What is your reaction to that?

MICHAELS: Well, he's already admitted there are limited files. He's admitted he's never looked at the victim's statements. He's admitted that the previous investigations fell short. And and so, great, you're the FBI director now, it seems like this is the time to maybe make a plan to -- and if you're not going to then at least release those if the FD 302 reports, release them to the House Oversight Committee, release them publicly. If you're saying that there's no credibility, release them publicly.

The other thing I would like to say is I have talked to survivors that I am shocked were never interviewed or didn't even know whether they were giving an official statement or not. So on so many levels, this investigation of Epstein was botched. There was negligence on top of incompetence, on top of systemic failure.

KEILAR: A lot of questions about how it's been conducted. Jess Michaels, our conversation is far from over. That is it for today. But we would love to have you back on here in the future as this story will continue for some time.

MICHAELS: Thank you.

KEILAR: And we'll be right back.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Breaking news into CNN. Radar and communication outages are hitting air traffic controllers in Dallas and forcing two major airports there to stop flights.

The FAA is investigating the cause of this outage. But as of 3 p.m. Eastern time, there were 273 flight delays at DFW Airport. There were 69 at Dallas Love Field.

The latest publicly available alert from the FAA shows Dallas flights delayed an average of 2 hours, 13 minutes, some more than 7 hours. We're going to keep a close eye on this story.

And it sounds like something from a 50s horror film, but a very real and very expansive marine heat wave dubbed the blob is heading for the West Coast.

SANCHEZ: The blob is coming for us all. About 5,000 miles of abnormally warm ocean water is affecting weather conditions on land and could threaten wildlife. Joining us now to discuss is CNN senior reporter Andrew Freedman.

Andrew, how do these blobs develop?

ANDREW FREEDMAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER, CLIMATE AND WEATHER: Well, they develop based on prevailing weather patterns. So winds have been weaker than average. There was a heat dome part itself over the northern Pacific for much of the summer.

So that kind of calmed the air, didn't stir up cooler water from below. And that meant that the sea surface temperatures really heated up and then it started to seep below the surface a considerable distance.

KEILAR: So how long does something like this typically last?

FREEDMAN: Well, typically we see events like this, marine heat waves like this seasonally, so lasting summer into fall. But in recent years, and this has scientists pretty concerned in recent years, we've seen them lasting up to a couple of years and recurring every few years thereafter. What's really unusual now is that it spans the entire Pacific Ocean, the entire North Pacific.

That's a huge chunk of real estate.

SANCHEZ: I'm typically pro warm water, but this sounds like it could have devastating effects on wildlife and maybe not just in the Pacific, but all the oceans because of the way that the water moves around. I know it's not like the most scientific way to put it, but it's not an isolated problem, is it?

FREEDMAN: No, it's not an isolated problem. And there's actually warm temperature anomalies all the way up into that part of the Arctic, too.

You know, these events in the past have killed millions of seabirds. They've caused ecosystems to go way out of whack as fish look for cooler water that they're used to. It can affect whales. It can affect people, can affect, you know, the seafood that we're used to eating, especially when these are close into the shoreline.

And that is happening now a little bit more in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. And they've seen some die offs of different species, sea lions and marine birds there, too.

KEILAR: And that's just because the food supply goes kaput basically for the birds?

FREEDMAN: Yes, the food supply changes and they're not able to sustain themselves. And also water temperatures can cause other changes in the ages and they're not able to sustain themselves.

And also water temperatures can cause other changes in the ecosystem that actually allow things that are harmful, harmful algal blooms. So the algae that are toxic to certain species can develop.

I mean, an area of warm water sounds like super welcoming. You'd want to dive into it. But when it's this much warmer than average, it actually poses a threat.

SANCHEZ: Andrew Freedman, thank you so much.

KEILAR: And "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END