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Trump's Mail-In Ballot Battle Heats Up as First Wave Goes Out Today; Two Men Pulled Out Alive from Nepal Tunnel Nine Days After Floods; Soon, Clancy Jury Returns to Court After Tensions Flare Over Holdout. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 04, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, miracles in the mud. Two men found alive in Nepal. They had been trapped for nine days in a hydropower tunnel submerged in a catastrophic flood. We're hearing from them, their families, and CNN is on the scene as more rescue missions are underway as we speak.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And a clash in the Lindsay Clancy trial courtroom over demands for a juror to be removed. The defense is claiming that juror, quote, refuses to listen to the law, and now the judge wants to hear from that juror directly.

And then breaking overnight, diesel, the backbone of the global economy surging to an all-time high, and one oil executive is warning of a possible diesel crisis from West Virginia to Florida.

John and Kate are out today. I'm Omar Jimenez with Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: We begin with major developments in President Trump's battle over mail-in voting. Starting today, the first ballots of the midterms officially go out in North Carolina after a chaotic week for the administration's push to overhaul how Americans vote by mail.

Late yesterday, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to step in, filing an emergency appeal that would give the U.S. Postal Service sweeping powers to enforce the president's new changes on mail-in ballots.

A federal judge is keeping those rules on hold for now, but if the block is lifted, several election fes- officials have told CNN there is simply no way for them to pull this off in time, warning thousands of voters may not be able to vote in the election this November. And a new whistleblower report alleges that the new system to verify those ballots is riddled with problems, all of this with the midterms now less than two months away.

CNN's Kristen Holmes live this morning at the White House. What now, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think, Sara, it certainly seems as though we are entering in, or at least tap dancing around absolute chaos territory. And, in fact, this emergency appeal came just hours after a judge in Massachusetts said that he had grave concerns about implementing this plan before the election, saying that it would cause chaos in states and cause major disenfranchisement to these various states.

So, what are we actually talking about here, and why could this be such a problem? This is about the postal service. This is about a March executive order that essentially prohibits the Postal Service from distributing ballots to states, or voters in states, who do not share their voter data with that agency.

The other part of this, to keep in mind, is it also allows the agency to review the ballot process and the envelopes to make sure they are in compliance, which, again, keep in mind, these ballots are already going out in North Carolina. So, how is that exactly going to work?

Now, we heard from Justice Ketanji Jackson Brown. She is the one who handles emergency appeals in this region, and there was a signal from her that they're going to move quickly but not immediately. Essentially, she did not order an immediate stay, so ballots are still going out. Nothing has been implemented. But she did say that she wants the parties to respond to this emergency application by Tuesday morning.

So, that's likely when we're going to see the next movements in all of this, a reminder that a federal judge is the one who put a block on this. Again, lots of talk about chaos, about disenfranchisement of states, that this wouldn't work. And on top of that, this whistleblower account saying they're basically rushing through the process to try and get this done, which would also cause disenfranchisement.

So, there is a lot going on here, and we are tracking it very closely.

SIDNER: We all are, as those ballots go out today. And we talk about the fact that, you know, we're two months away from the election, but the truth is, the election starts the minute people get the ballots, the mail-in ballots, and that happens really early.

Kristen Holmes, thank you for your reporting this morning. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Well, breaking overnight , pulled alive from deep underground, two men rescued more than a week since the disaster struck Nepal. Rescue crews pulling two men out of deep tunnels at Nepal's power plants. You can actually see them, got video, lift one of them out.

They have been trapped there for nine days, and earlier this morning CNN's Hanako Montgomery was at the tunnel where the rescues happened.

[07:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, we're at the Trishuli-3A Tunnel, one of the worst hit tunnels due to that deadly flashflood in Nepal. And you can see there are dozens of rescue workers right now passing what appears to be body bags. They are also tugging at a rope. They are trying to get more access to people who might be stuck inside but it is very unclear right now whether those people are alive or whether they are dead.

Earlier on Friday, they were able to rescue two individuals out. Those people were alive and they're hoping that because they've seen more signs of life that there might be more people inside who are still alive. But, again, you could imagine just the arduous conditions that these individuals would have been in over the past nine days with very lack of resources, with a lack of resources, potentially no water, potentially no food.

And, again, you can see here rescue workers passing down what appears to be black body bags. We've also seen during our 20 to 30 minutes here at the tunnel, the rescuers passing down oxygen tanks and also face masks. Again, we're not sure who might be inside the tunnel, whether those individuals are alive or whether they are dead, but these rescuers are trying desperately to get these people out right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And Hanako Montgomery has been doing great reporting from there for the better part of a week, and she joins me now live from Nepal.

So, Hanako, one, just tell us a little bit more about what you saw and what are you learning now as, as these rescue efforts continue?

MONTGOMERY: Yes, Omar. When we were up at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, we saw those rescue workers, people from the Nepali army, from the Nepali Armed Forces, desperately trying to get access inside those tunnels. We saw them standing on poles. They were trying to keep their balance as they were passing down equipment into the tunnels. We saw them handing down oxygen tanks handing down headlights probably to get more light inside those very dark spaces.

And we also saw of course them tugging at a rope. I was speaking to one of the commanders there on the ground asking him whether he thought that there might be someone alive on the other end of the rope and he said he just wasn't sure.

Of course, there's now renewed hope because those two workers were pulled out alive earlier on Friday but they just aren't able to confirm at the moment whether there are more individuals in there who are still alive, though that commander, Omar, did tell me that he believes around 40 people remain inside and they are desperately trying to get those people out.

And, Omar, we heard from one of the workers earlier on Friday who has been evacuated to the capital, Kathmandu, where he's receiving treatment at a military hospital. Here's what he said about his time inside that tunnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My responsibility was to save everyone's life. After the accident happened, I could not run by myself. I had to save everyone. In the process of saving everyone, I told them that there was an accident in the big dam. I asked everyone to escape outside. Doing so, I wasted time and I could not get out. I got trapped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: I mean, absolutely heroic act on this part -- on the part of this man Sanjay Sah (ph) who was inside the tunnel again for more than nine days. And as you heard just then he sacrificed essentially his time to escape the tunnel in order to save his coworkers.

And we heard earlier also from his father who said that he actually had lost hope that his son would be alive. He believed that he might be dead. But after getting news that Sanjay was alive, of course, this is an extremely joyous moment for his family, one that many other families are not able to enjoy. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Just some incredible stories of rescue amid what has been so much sadness in this devastating disaster, which, of course, you have helped document over this week.

Hanako Montgomery really appreciate the reporting there for us in Nepal.

All right, coming up for us we are continuing to follow the Lindsay Clancy trial and some dramatic moments. The verdict might come down to a single holdout juror. We expect major developments in court this morning. We're going to bring it to you live when it happens in just a little bit later this morning.

And why is one of the biggest counties in Texas slashing the number of available polling places ahead of a key Senate race? We're talking cutting more than voting sites for over a million voters. We'll bring you those details.

Plus the heart-stopping moment a speeding train crashes into a semi truck driver escaping with just seconds to spare.

That and a whole lot more coming up.

[07:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Very soon, jurors in a Lindsay Clancy murder trial will return to court after a fiery end to the day yesterday. The jury remains deadlocked with the defense accusing a single juror of refusing to follow the law. This morning Judge William Sullivan is expected to question that juror as the case inches closer and closer to a potential mistrial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If we come back here in a half an hour with a mistrial because of a juror that has just spurned the instructions of this court, it's a shame. My motion is to remove this juror that refuses to listen to your instruction on reasonable doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now, the jury has now deliberated for more than 36 hours. The defense says Clancy was suffering severe postpartum psychosis when she killed her three young children and should not be held criminally responsible. Prosecutors have another idea. They have argued that she acted intentionally, rationally, and swiftly.

CNN's Kara Scannell, here to break all of this down for us.

[07:15:01]

It's sort of an unusual scenario there, that you're seeing this defense attorney saying, hey, this juror is out of line, and he wants him off the jury?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. The defense lawyer wants that juror off the case. And today, according to Kevin Reddington, that's Clancy's lawyer, the judge is going to bring in a juror for additional questioning.

So, this should shed some light on how this is going to play out. But it all stemmed yesterday from this note that came in late in the day where we learned later that it was that this juror, according to Reddington, was not willing to follow the law on reasonable doubt.

But how this unfolded in court was really something. The judge had brought all the attorneys up to the sidebar. At this point, we just know there's a note. This is after 36 hours of deliberations, two notes saying the jurors cannot reach a decision.

And he brings them up to the defense table. Reddington is quite animated. He's throwing papers down on the judge's bench. Then at one point, he goes and he gets Lindsay Clancy, who was in her wheelchair at the defense table, wheels her up to the bench so she can participate. And the judge brings in each juror one by one. Our producer in the courtroom said that they were sworn in and that they were asked questions. It was brief, and that most of the jurors were nodding in agreement with the judge.

Then the judge had excused the jurors, brought everyone back in, and reread the definition of reasonable doubt. The judge then explaining to everyone why he did that after the jurors had left court. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, I've asked if they are able to follow my instructions according. They swore earlier that they could. They've said at this point that they can. That was specifically addressed towards these specific question, and that's what I'm doing. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: And so the prosecutor said that that was sufficient. No one knows where this jury is. Clearly Clancy's lawyers thinks that they're 11-1 in his favor. He said he wants that juror removed. It's a really high bar to get a juror removed from the case.

And so the judge will conduct some further inquiry on this today. We'll see if there's any credibility to this statement that the juror's not following the law, and then the judge will make some decisions.

But even if this juror were to be removed, it's not over. There's a stack of alternates that are waiting in the wings. One of them would be brought in, and then deliberations would begin all over again. So, this isn't over until it's over.

SIDNER: Yes. We'll learn more this morning. 36 hours of deliberating. If they bring in a new juror, that would be wiped away, and that entire jury would have to then start again going over every single thing because this one juror has not been inside of the jury to make their assessment as well. It is a lot to consider.

Kara Scannell, it is good to have you here this morning, thankful for you. I appreciate it.

All right, breaking overnight, diesel prices just hit an all-time high. Fuel experts calling this the lifeblood of the economy. What this record high price means to you and your wallet.

And the White House launching an arcade game website. The games, they deport immigrants and build a wall.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

JIMENEZ: All right, folks. The final holiday weekend of the summer is here, and it's going to be a busy one and an expensive one. Americans are expected to pack airports and highways at near-record levels this weekend. TSA, for example, projecting over 17 million people will take to the skies this weekend and into next week. But travelers on the roads are facing the highest gas prices ever for this time of year. The national average today is $4.15 a gallon.

I want to bring in CNN's Pete Muntean, who is live at Reagan National Airport for us. So, Pete, let's just start with how the lines are looking to start this Friday.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: We are in the rush right now, Omar. You know, hard to believe that we are at the unofficial end of summer travel, although it is not going out with any sort of drop- off. The FAA says air traffic controllers nationwide will handle about 52,000 flights in total today.

Hard to believe that that number's actually smaller than the peak we saw yesterday, 54,000 flights in total handled by air traffic controllers yesterday, although the biggest number of passengers will be today, according to the TSA. 2.9 million people expected at TSA checkpoints at airports across the country today.

The thing to watch though, of course, will be the weather. We may be out of the summer travel season unofficially, although we are meteorologically still in summertime. The big concern is thunderstorms, of course, and the FAA is warning of possible ground stops today here at DCA, Philadelphia, the New York area airports, Florida. Chicago may have some late morning thunderstorms. There was a probable ground stop today in Boston. That is the strongest language in the FAA's plan because of runway construction, also a potential for bad weather there.

Of course, all of this means that some folks may be looking to drive instead. Today is actually the worst day to drive, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, with the longest stretch of the worst possible times for traffic between noon and 8:00 P.M. local time where you are.

The best advice from AAA, leave before noon today. The big superlative we have seen from AAA, according to travel analytics firm INRIX, they say that traffic will be worse, double the norm on I-95 southbound between Boston and Providence later today. So, so many places you may want to hit the road early if you're considering traveling for this Labor Day rush. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Yes. So, if you're seeing this now, now might be the time to get in your car.

[07:25:02]

And just, you know, let's just get on the road, get it going, don't wait until later.

Pete Muntean, I always appreciate it. Good to see you.

All right, we're also following key developments in the battle over mail-in ballots. The Trump administration is now issuing an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to green light sweeping changes just weeks before Election Day.

Plus, the incredible moment a group of strangers rushed together to lift a car off of a cyclist. You're going to have to see it to believe it. We'll bring you that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]

JIMENEZ: All right. Breaking this morning, the price of diesel climbing to a record.