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U.S. Airman Shot Down in Iran Shares Harrowing Rescue Story; Texas Republican Condemned for Racist Post on U.T. Students; Amazon Pauses Operations With 21 Air After Miami Cargo Plane Crash; 78th Primetime Emmy Awards Kick Off Tonight. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 14, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:40]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We're learning new details about the harrowing rescue mission to save two U.S. Air Force aviators who were shot down over Iran. For the very first time, one of the crew members, identified only by his call sign, Bravo, shared his story of being stuck behind enemy lines to CBS' "60 Minutes."

This is the moment that he says he realized that his parachute was damaged after his F-15 was hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAVO, U.S. AVIATOR RESCUED FROM IRAN: My parachute was damaged in the initial attack. At one point, when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most -- it was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.

So I paused right then and I prayed, Lord, you will be done, but if I'm getting through this I need help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now the officer explained that the impact broke his back, his arm, and his shoulder and it left him with a sprained ankle and bloody scrapes to his head and face. Still, he was able to hike up a 7,000- foot ridge and hide in a mountain crevice as elite Air Force teams backed up by U.S. air power raced to locate him.

You see this on the video right here, unbelievable. 50 hours after the crash, 50 hours, Bravo was finally rescued and he described what that felt like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAVO: The moment a P.J. showed up to me on that ridge line was one of the greatest moments of my life and I don't know how to say it any more clearly than thank you for all that they did.

NORAH O'DONNELL, HOST OF "60 MINUTES," CBS: What did your rescuers say when they got to you?

BRAVO: Specific conversation, I think I'll leave for another time as I don't want to release anything that's not just my story to tell.

O'DONNELL: What did you say to them?

BRAVO: Let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by Frank Kendall. He served as Secretary of the Air Force and he is the Author of the book, "Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It Or Not." It's just an incredible account that we hear there. What did you think about the new details that we've learned straight from these aviators?

FRANK KENDALL, FORMER U.S. AIR FORCE SECRETARY: They're trying to be consistent with what we already knew publicly, but I think it's very compelling to see this very professional, very courageous and gritty, I think is a good word, airman describe the experience that he had and all the efforts that went into getting him out and saving him. It's an extremely strong ethic of our military to not leave anyone behind and we saw that in spades with this operation. It's quite a credit to our military.

KEILAR: That parachute not opening, that was -- that was something that really struck me as new.

KENDALL: Terminal velocity without a parachute is about 175 miles an hour and with a parachute, you're closer to something like 10, so it makes a huge difference. What it sounds like he did was he was able to get enough canopy deployed to at least slow him down pretty significantly. He still hit faster than you're supposed to hit by substantial margin, I expect, and had all those injuries as a result.

KEILAR: Yeah, terrible. So CENTCOM Chief, Admiral Brad Cooper talked to "60 Minutes" as well about the more than 90 U.S. troops who were on the ground. So those are the folks who were on the ground as part of the rescue, which is in addition to so many more who were involved. Several hundred in the air, three to five thousand who were supporting overall.

How significant is it that there were 90 on the ground?

KENDALL: Well, it was it was a significant risk that was taken to get this man out and you can imagine, I remember Desert One many years ago. We were trying to get the hostages out of Iran and how that operation didn't succeed. We left some aircraft apparently in this case as well because they couldn't get out.

We were lucky. It was a risk that I'm not going to second guess afterwards. It all worked out and I'm glad it did, but it was taking a lot of risk. Again, testament to the skill and professionalism of our people and the assets that they have.

KEILAR: Looking at this through a kind of P.R. prism, this is a war that is going on without an end in sight. That's not good for the administration. This story is a pretty amazing, incredible story and so there's certainly a value in them telling it. I do wonder though, when it comes to the intel portion of this, revealing sensitive details, do you have any concerns that too much has been revealed?

[13:35:00]

KENDALL: I didn't see anything there that made me particularly disturbed. I did feel that acknowledging what the CIA had done and the deception that was mounted, emphasizing that, that's already been public, so it's known that there was something like that done.

There was also some revelation of some special capabilities that were used to get people out at the end that weren't really amplified about. So there were some things that were a little bit marginal to me, but I don't think any serious damage was done.

KEILAR: While I have you, I want to ask you about something that the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, said in an interview last week. He said that Iran, quote, "Blew the hell out of the U.S. base in Bahrain." We had known that there was a lot of damage there. CNN had reported on an unprecedented level of destruction there.

We could see on the satellite images some of what had happened. But this is really the biggest acknowledgement that we've gotten from the administration about how much damage was done. How essential is that base in Bahrain to the U.S. and the region? What are the consequences of this?

KENDALL: It's an important base, but there are alternatives. It's very close within range of Iran, of course, and so are some of our other facilities and bases in the region. I've been skeptical of that basing for quite a long time, and my fears were realized in what's happened in Iran. There are also a lot of commercial facilities that can be attacked.

Saudi Arabia is being attacked now, their pipeline, for example. So one of the lessons I learned from this, we've all should learn from this conflict, is that we have to pay more attention to the resilience of facilities in the region, whatever they are.

KEILAR: Former Secretary Frank Kendall, thank you so much for being with us.

KENDALL: Thank you.

KEILAR: Appreciate it. A Republican's racist post on social media leading to a flood of criticism from lawmakers in his own party and also from Democrats. It's far from the first time that he's enraged people on both sides of the aisle. We'll roll the tape next.

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[13:41:27]

KEILAR: A Republican running for a powerful state office in Texas is earning the ire of several prominent Republicans after a xenophobic post. At the center of this controversy, Bo French. He's the Republican nominee for a spot on Texas's Railroad Commission and the former Head of the Republican Party in Tarrant County, which is home to Fort Worth.

Here's the post, a photo of a group of students of South Asian descent celebrating the Texas Longhorns come-from-behind victory over the number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Bo French's comment on the photo, quote, "I heard U.T. graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."

Texas House Speaker and fellow Republican, Dustin Burrows said the post crossed a line. GOP state lawmaker, Jared Patterson called the post racist. Another representative, Lacey Hull, said this post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans, and said that French should delete the post. Texas' outgoing Senator, John Cornyn said, quote, "This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism or look the other way while it becomes normalized?"

Bo French's post is even factoring into Texas' oddly competitive Senate race. Democratic candidate, James Talarico calling on his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, to condemn French's post. Paxton responding that he condemns racism in all its forms without mentioning French or his specific comment.

This kind of post, though, is nothing new for French. He has repeatedly made anti-gay, anti-disabled, anti-minority, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic social media posts. The Texas Tribune reporting that in October of 2024, Bo French responded to a post by former Republican Congresswoman, Liz Cheney with, quote, "Never go full R word."

And he did not abbreviate as he joined the growing number of high- profile mega Republicans who are defiantly using that word in political discourse, bringing it out of retirement, along with other phrases used to pick on some traditionally marginalized communities.

A week later, French reacted to a Democratic advertisement on X. Guarantee one of these dudes is a, as he said, slur for homosexual. And he said there is literally nothing manly about any of them. That's also according to the Tribune.

October of last year, responding to a picture of Native Americans giving Mount Rushmore the middle finger, Bo French posting, quote, "Since we are going to denaturalize and deport all the third-world savages who hate our country, I am calling for adding these third- world savages who we conquered, then bizarrely let have a nation inside our nation to the list.

In June 2025, French polled his followers to choose between Jews or Muslims for who is the bigger threat to America. After that one, he resisted a call from Texas' Republican Lieutenant Governor to resign, insisting that he was not anti-Semitic. We reached out to French for a response to his latest post and previous controversies. We have not yet heard back.

But he did have this to say about his numerous controversies to CNN affiliate, WFAA, during an interview this past July. Quote, "Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth. And so when things come across as being controversial, it's because I've said something that is true that some people don't like that truth. And so they want to claim that it's hateful or something like that. But I don't regret anything I've said."

[13:45:00]

After two other failed attempts at state office, Bo French was heavily favored to win this election to Texas Railroad Commission for a key role in regulating the oil and gas industry in a state where oil is king, of course. But this election could now be a big test for French and the state if voters think he has messed with the bull and they think about giving him the horns.

I'm joined now by Kayla Guo. She's a Politics Reporter for the Texas Tribune based in Austin. Kayla, Bo French, he said, as we show there, a lot of things over the years that those who follow Texas politics may be familiar with, but these comments have gone nationally viral. Why is that?

KAYLA GUO, POLITICS REPORTER, TEXAS TRIBUNE: I think that's right. And I think that's due in large part because Senator Cornyn spoke out against those comments yesterday. I will say relatively speaking to some other posts that Bo French makes on the regular, this seemed almost mundane compared to other posts he's made using slurs and that kind of thing, as you described.

But Senator Cornyn, who, of course, is on his way out after losing the primary in May to Attorney General Ken Paxton, he spoke out, called on other Republicans to call Bo French out on this rhetoric. And you saw many, many Republicans come out and either address it head on, call it racist, say he should delete the post, or you saw some others address it maybe a little bit more obliquely. And I think that's brought a lot of attention to it.

Bo French is running in a fairly low-profile, low name-recognition (ph) race in Texas. But I think this certainly elevated a little bit.

KEILAR: So, I mean, is this bad for Bo French as he's running for the seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, or could it possibly help him, the attention?

GUO: I think Beau French, we've seen him double and triple and quadruple down on those remarks and other remarks he's made. I think he's certainly playing to the Republican base here in Texas. And I think you'll see people in his comments and in his replies defending it, seeing the issue as more an issue of immigration, calling for pauses on H-1B visas in universities, which Governor Greg Abbott has called for as well. And so certainly, I think it's something that appeals to the Republican base here in Texas.

KEILAR: So Governor Abbott highlighted that the photo actually showed Texas unity. He said, quote, "The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. We unite under the brand of Texas."

He said, quote, "That doesn't mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H-1B visas at our universities." So you mentioned that policy that he stands behind.

How are Republicans, Kayla, managing their opposition to French's rhetoric with their support for tough immigration policies?

GUO: I think some of them, like Governor Abbott, are threading this needle and trying to thread this needle of not wanting to alienate their base and people who are really clamoring for pauses on H-1B visas, really strict immigration control, really harsh deportation campaign, but also recognizing that this is a really tough election year for Republicans and that people on the statewide ticket are going to try to have to appeal to maybe moderates or people who are not so rah-rah in this conservative agenda.

So I think you see Governor Abbott, whose statement was notably softer, I think, than some other Republicans who are maybe not on the statewide ticket condemning French's remarks.

KEILAR: Yeah, they do sort of run the gamut. It's very interesting to read them very closely here, right? Now, being a Texas Railroad Commissioner, that doesn't really seem to have anything to do with immigration policy, correct me if I'm wrong on that, but it is something that is quite powerful and meaningful in Texas. Can you explain what he would do in this capacity if he's elected?

GUO: Absolutely. So the Railroad Commission is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas. Of course, a very big deal economically in terms of jobs and also just culturally as well.

Railroad commissioners don't have control over immigration policy, but we've seen Bo French make it pretty much a centerpiece of his campaign. He talks very little about oil and gas regulations and policies that he supports, and much more is sort of the red meat issues that the base is really into. And so this is a three-person agency.

He would not, you know, change the math one way or another at this point. There are two other Republicans on the commission at this point. But, you know, then that's what I think we hear some maybe more moderate Republicans saying that if they sit out this race, a Democrat winning would be a big blow to Republicans across the state, but wouldn't change the math in terms of the actual, you know, votes that they take at the commission.

KEILAR: All right. I think some people who might not have been watching this race will now be watching this race, though. It's gotten a lot of national attention now. Kayla Guo, thanks for talking to us about it. We appreciate it.

GUO: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: So it's television's biggest night. The stars are out tonight for the Emmy Awards, and we're going to look at who could win and the special reunions planned for the evening.

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[13:54:32]

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Amazon says it is pausing operations with 21 Air, the cargo carrier that operated the aircraft that overran a runway at Miami International Airport last week.

Information from the cockpit voice recorder shows one of the pilots expressing concern about the plane's excessive speed moments before it ran off the runway and crashed into a van, killing five people. Amazon says it's reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident.

[13:55:00]

In a statement, 21 Air said in part, quote, "We remain focused on supporting the families and loved ones who were impacted by this accident. We are confident in our safety policies, procedures, and training."

Republican Congressman, Tom Tiffany says he's ready to get back to work after the small plane that he was traveling in made an emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake. Tiffany is running for Wisconsin governor, and he said that the aircraft lost power on Saturday night. Only he and the pilot were on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM TIFFANY, (R) GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE, WISCONSIN: And Len said to me, we are going down, pull your seat belt tight. And that's exactly what I did. The gravity of this is probably just hitting me at this point. It's quite a night, quite a day, and I'm just grateful for the Lord for sparing us to see another day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: As the plane sank, they called 9-1-1 and swam to shallow water and waited for help. Both suffered minor injuries. The congressman thanked the rescue team and said the pilot's decision to raise the landing gear before they hit the lake may have saved their lives.

And happy birthday to Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, turning 71 today. He spent part of his special day at the Vatican Library, where a new art exhibit was being unveiled. While there, he received this, a cake, as a crowd sang happy birthday in Italian.

And it's TV's biggest night, the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards kicking off tonight in Los Angeles, and there's plenty of buzz for top contenders like "The Pitt" and "Widow's Bay." Tonight's show will also feature iconic reunions celebrating "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Charlie's Angels." CNN Senior Entertainment Reporter, Lisa Respers France is with us now with a preview.

So, Lisa, what are we expecting for big winners in the drama and comedy categories?

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, Brianna, all eyes are on "The Pitt," which was the upstart last year, the little medical drama that could, and they won. This year, if they manage to win Best Drama again, they will be the first drama to pull that off in its first two seasons since "Mad Men" did it back in 2009.

So all eyes are on "The Pitt," but also on "Hacks," because we want to see if the star, Jean Smart, can go five for five with her Best Actress in a Comedy category. If she wins, there's a lot of excitement because this is the last season of "Hacks." The show, of course, is so incredibly popular and they managed to have 24 nominations, which was the most for any comedy in a single year. So there's plenty of excitement for that.

And then you mentioned, of course, the two reunions, which is going to be "Charlie's Angels" for 50 years. So we're going to see some of the cast members from that series who are still with us. And "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," 30 years. I cannot believe it's been that long, but we get to get a reunion from them, too.

But I think a lot of people are also really interested in seeing how this year's host, Mariska Hargitay, who is, of course, a star on "Law & Order: SVU," she's hosting this year. And so she's had a really great year. She already won two Emmys for the doc she did on her mom, Jayne Mansfield, the actress. And so people really want to see how she performs tonight.

And producers have said we're going to see a little razzle dazzle from her, might see some singing and dancing from her, which is going to be very different. We're not used to seeing her in that light. So I think all in all, it is turning out like it's going to be a pretty good show. At least that's the expectation, Brianna.

KEILAR: That's going to be great. I mean, Charlie's Angels 50, that also makes me feel old. But the Buffy being 30 plus, whatever age Buffy was during Buffy.

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: I don't know, Lisa, that's some rough stuff right there. How are you handling that?

RESPERS FRANCE: We're not old, ma'am. We're seasoned.

KEILAR: We're seasoned?

RESPERS FRANCE: We are seasoned. We're seasoned.

KEILAR: I know, but I only feel 30.

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: So it's just -- I've just it's strange math problem I'm trying to wrap my head around here. But -- RESPERS FRANCE: You were only two when Buffy came out. So I get it. You were only two-years-old back then, Brianna. So, of course, you know --

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: Lisa Respers France, all right. We'll be watching along with you. Thank you so much.

And be sure to join our own Elizabeth Wagmeister later today for a CNN and Variety Red Carpet Live special. You can stream that starting at 5 p.m. Eastern with your CNN All Access subscription. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

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