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Los Angeles News Chopper Crashes, Killing 3 People; Fencing Goes Up at Kennedy Center After Board Votes to Close It; Senate Confirmation Hearing for Three Trump HHS Nominees. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 16, 2026 - 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: This rate hike that we've seen in three years, and Warsh's words about inflation did not seem to ease any worries. That was really why you're seeing what you're seeing here. We're going to keep an eye on this.

We're going to check in with CNN's Matt Egan again before the closing bell.

In the meantime, today, NTSB investigators are visiting the site where a Los Angeles news chopper went down in a fiery crash, killing the pilot and the reporter on board, as well as a third person who was on the ground. The impact and the fire were so severe that officials could not make out the tail number.

It's not clear what caused the crash, but a video feed from the helicopter appears to show a warning alarm sounding and then the aircraft rapidly descending. The footage may be hard to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't pull up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The pilot was George Marciniw, the reporter Eliana Moreno. They were covering a deadly bus crash for KNBC in Telemundo, and their colleagues at KNBC remembered them fondly, saying that the two loved their jobs covering breaking news. We're joined now by Tim Dechant, who knew them both. He is a former KNBC helicopter reporter and photographer who helped train Eliana Moreno.

Tim, thank you so much for being with us. I know this is an incredibly hard day for you and everyone who knew and loves these two. How are you processing the news?

TIM DECHANT, FORMER KNBC HELICOPTER REPORTER AND PHOTOGRAPHER: It's been pretty rough. I got the text last night, and when I read the text, it took a long 30 seconds for me to process what happened. It was from a former manager of mine, and he was to the point.

You know, no survivors, and KNBC's helicopter crashed. At that moment, I knew she was in it. She was great at her job.

George, I got to fly with him about a year ago, and he was an amazing person, too. I actually described that he flew that helicopter just like a feather. He was a great pilot.

He was also a flight instructor, many years of experience. Eliana, just basically, the best way to describe her is a beautiful soul. She also came to my wife and I's wedding, and that was great because I've known her, let's say, for 12 years, and I was one of many people that helped her out that she pretty much learned on her own.

She was quick at it -- to pick up on camera operation and reporting. She was a master. You now, it's just hard to settle in right now.

KEILAR: You say she learned on her own, but you did help train her. You were obviously an important mentor to her. She was this very specific kind of journalist, which is very specific to markets like Los Angeles, an aerial photojournalist and reporter.

Tell us about her professionally and what she brought to what is a unique role.

DECHANT: It is a unique role. It's very unique because it's something that you can't just learn for a few days. Like I said, she picked up on it well.

What she brought to the crew, she actually brought, I'd say, humor and just a nice, beautiful vibe. She always had that, always laughing. I never seen her -- you hear this a lot, but this is true.

I never heard her speak badly about anybody. She was always very humble, kind, and just a beautiful soul. And she brought that to the crews there.

I know a lot of pilots were excited when they would be assigned to her, and they loved working with her. George, like I said, he was a well-trained pilot and a great person. He had a lot of experience to bring to the crews too.

So this industry is a small industry, so everybody knows each other, even though you're competitors, but he had a lot of information and resource to provide to others too.

KEILAR: You said he flew that chopper like a feather. I mean, he was flying a helicopter to gather the news in a highly dynamic situation, in a very competitive news market. I mean, there would be a lot going on, I'm sure, in a situation like that.

What did he bring to that very specific environment?

DECHANT: Definitely awareness. I'm not a licensed pilot, but I had plenty of hours in the back seat basically. You're using every limb of your body to fly a helicopter.

[15:35:00] You're using your left and right hand. You're using your feet for the pedals. You're also monitoring multiple radios. And his job, fly the helicopter safely, look out for traffic during those big famous L.A. pursuits. You know, he's, you know, seven, I got you there, nine, two, I got you there.

And he's positioning the helicopter to get the best shot but also being safe at the same time. And he did that in a manner that was just so like smooth and graceful. And what happened was basically, he was performing the auto rotation, like they call it, from the looks of the video, just as he trained all these pilots, they train thousands of hours for this procedure, and just wrong place the wrong time, you know, the low altitude, no forward airspeed, and he -- the truck and buildings weren't there, it's a good chance we'll have a different discussion today. It was just wrong place at the wrong time.

KEILAR: Can you talk a little bit about how your -- how the news community is handling this? I mean, just for me growing up in Southern California, I watching Colleen Williams announced this. I mean, she's been a staple on the news.

And this is obviously a news family there that is -- we've seen the emotional effects that they're dealing with. You know, this is very, very tough in a tight knit group of people who know each other personally and appreciate each other professionally. How is everyone doing?

DECHANT: To be honest, probably not that great. You know, the people I've spoken to and texted, they're taking it pretty rough because this hits home really close to home. And like I said, it's hard to process it.

And it's, everybody knows each other, even though like you have competitors, but it's a family. Even if you're working at a different station, photographers know each other, producers, anchors, it's a close family. And seeing that like Robert Kovacic break down when he found out on air that it was, you know, the KNBC helicopter, that it was -- that's when it really struck and you see that emotion and that's what's going on.

It's extremely hard to report on your own personnel loss like that. Because she carried the newscast sometimes. Sometimes you have these crazy pursuits or fires, something and you think she'll run out of things to say, but she finds a way to narrate the story and continue on because I'm thinking like, oh my gosh, I've never thought of that.

So that's another thing she brought to the industry is, oh wow, she's talking about that. And she was able, amazing how she could put together a story and illustrate it and keep in mind she's running the camera at the same time. So you're talking, operating the camera, listening to the IFB, monitoring the scanners.

And she did it like it was, you know, just secondhand, just, you know, easy. She made it look easy, that's for sure.

KEILAR: Yes. And even communicating with George on air sometimes as we heard her colleagues talking about, you know, they really were a team and just sort of working as a team. I know they're going to be missed, Tim.

We really appreciate you speaking with us about them. It's really important. Tim Dechant, thank you so much for being with us.

DECHANT: Thank you.

KEILAR: We'll be right back.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: So today CNN observed workers putting up fencing outside of the Kennedy center in Washington, DC. And this is just a day after the center's board voted to close it. Shortly after the board's vote yesterday, President Trump implied that if his name isn't eventually put on the building, these renovations are not going to happen.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Less than two miles away. The Trump administration is moving forward with its plan to install temporary signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The latest effort to pressure the Smithsonian over how it tells America's story.

We're joined now by CNN's Sunlen Serfaty and Rene Marsh. Let's start with what is happening at the Kennedy Center.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Walking around there today, Boris, you really get the sense that this is certainly a building and an arts institution that's really frozen in this state of uncertainty. The lights are off inside the building.

As of 6 p.m. last evening, the doors were closed for public access. And we watched them today carry out there. You can see there some fencing and that blocks public access around the main center of the Kennedy Center.

Now the reach, which is a smaller part of the campus, is open. I walked in there. They were having some rehearsals for -- we heard Jolene playing. They were having rehearsals for a Dolly Parton show that takes place next week. But I asked one of the workers, I said, are you guys going to remain open?

She says, essentially, your guess is as good as mine. I do not know. Now the public access to the main building is closed.

That fencing will remain up. And we did observe some small construction starting to take place off to the side. Not clear exactly what that is.

But many workers are left in kind of the state of confusion as this plays out in the courts. Many workers told me that they brought their laptops home. They were given no instruction whether they could work from home or not. As this continues to play out, we know that Congresswoman Beatty, she filed an emergency appeal to get more information about what the plan is for the Kennedy Center. And they have until tomorrow at 10 a.m. to respond.

KEILAR: Of note, the scaffolding is sort of closed off such that you can't see the wording still.

[15:45:00]

SERFATY: That's correct. The tarps are still up. The scaffolding is in front in large part to prevent the public from going inside the building, that the lights are off inside.

KEILAR: OK. And so, Rene, what more are we learning about the Trump administration's plans to put up these temporary signs outside of the Smithsonian?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is all a part of the larger pressure campaign on this independent institution. And it drew concern from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, as well as Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, actually wrote to the Interior Department asking questions about this initiative, because really unprecedented. What you have here is one agency being pitted against this independent institution. And historically, the Smithsonian and Interior Department have worked together to tell America's story.

And now you have these institutions where the Interior Department is basically putting a warning label type sign outside of the Smithsonian. So in response to the letter from these two lawmakers, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum laid out the greatest detail that we have received to date. So there will be 12 temporary signs, estimated costs for taxpayers roughly $84,000.

And within that letter, Interior Secretary admits that this is really an unprecedented move, really, putting these signs outside of the Smithsonian. But he also paints this picture that the reason for the unprecedented move is because of unprecedented circumstances. And we have a portion of the letter in which he says, "We are not aware of a prior instance in which the leaders of a taxpayer-funded museum located on or near federal property have sought to use the museum and public funds to advance ideologies and distract from the coherent and accurate telling of American history."

And then he goes on to tell what are the issues that they have, what justifies them putting these signs outside of the Smithsonian, because the executive order from the president didn't give us much insight to that. He points out not only exhibits that he says he has issues with as far as gender and whether gender is considered a binary, you know, man versus woman or biological. He also points out immigration policies, the use of the words illegal immigrants.

He says that there are exhibits that train high school students not to use language like that. But then he also broadens out and says that Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian, he has been a part of DEI initiatives, and he points to writings and comments from Smithsonian leadership. So it's not just the exhibits, but they are defending these signs also based on comments and writings of Smithsonian's leadership.

The signs aren't up just yet though.

SANCHEZ: Rene and Sunlen, thank you so much.

SERFATY: Sure.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, several of President Trump's nominees for critical roles in the Department of Health and Human Services are facing a confirmation hearing today, including his third nominee to be Surgeon General.

The details when we come back.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: After more than a year without a U.S. Surgeon General, President Trump's third pick for the job faced senators today, along with two other nominees for critical HHS posts. Dr. Nicole Saphier is one step closer to becoming the nation's top doctor. Also, Chris Klomp is vying to be deputy HHS secretary, the second in command to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Dr. Timothy Westlake is nominated to be assistant secretary for mental health and substance use.

CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell monitored today's Senate confirmation hearing. Meg, what were the big takeaways?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Dr. Saphier is a familiar face to many. She was a former Fox News medical contributor. She also was a radiologist with a specialty in breast cancer who worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

So in many ways, she is a more sort of mainstream medical person than we have seen previously nominated for surgeon general. But the main question we heard from a lot of Democrats and have heard throughout hearings of Trump's health picks for leadership roles has been whether these folks are willing to break with the president and with RFK Jr., if required. Take a listen to one exchange about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-NH): Before turning to other issues, I want to ask you a simple question. If directed by the president to take action that would break the law, would you follow the law or follow the president's directive, Dr. Saphier?

NICOLE SAPHIER, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE: I have no intention of breaking the law, Senator.

HASSAN: So you will follow the law? SAPHIER: I will follow the law.

HASSAN: And Dr. Westlake?

TIMOTHY WESTLAKE, NOMINEE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE: My ultimate responsibility is to the American people. I'd follow the law.

HASSAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TIRRELL: Now, those questions, of course, were about the law, but often they come up about science and specifically about vaccination policy amid this major measles outbreak we've been seeing now for some time here. There was a question to Chris Klomp, the nominee to be number two at HHS under RFK Jr., about what has come up around a dispute around how to characterize measles-related deaths. There's a dispute between HHS and Pennsylvania.

And what he said here is illustrating. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS KLOMP, DEPUTY HHS SECRETARY NOMINEE: We must address these operational shortcomings, a clear definition, a commitment to publish transparently on the website, and then a proper policy discussion or a policy response, in this case, promoting vaccination for measles so that we achieve or maintain our elimination status.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TIRRELL: So RFK Jr.'s number two nominee there saying they need to promote vaccination to try to end this measles outbreak -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Interesting. All right, Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for watching those hearings for us.

Ahead, stocks are tumbling after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We're watching the markets. Moments before the closing bell after the Fed voted to raise interest rates.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Matt Egan is at the Federal Reserve. Matt, what are we seeing?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Boris and Brianna, I think this is one of those times where the market reaction might look a little bit worse than it really is, right? So the Dow is down about 600 points. It's only about 1.2 percent. But the S&P is down a lot less than that. Only around half a percentage point. Nasdaq is basically unchanged on the deck. Now, look, I don't think the market is shocked by what has happened today.

Everyone expected an interest rate hike the first in three years. And that's exactly what we got. One thing that is a little bit surprising, though, is the bond market reaction.

Initially, the bond market seemed to love this. Bond prices went up. That drove the all-important 10-year yield down.

That's good news for Main Street and really for Wall Street. But then that reaction reversed. The 10-year yield has actually moved back up.

Now it's above 5 percent just a bit. So I do think that signals some continued nervousness in the bond market. But look, bottom line, this was a momentous day for the Federal Reserve.

[16:00:00]

And it's really the first concrete evidence that we have that the Kevin Warsh-led Fed is truly independent from the White House and is willing to back up its tough talk on inflation, with real action. Back to you, guys.

KEILAR: All right, Matt. Thank you so much for that and your coverage today. We appreciate it.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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