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AAA: Gas Prices Jump 7 Cents Overnight, Now $4.44; Record Diesel Prices Driving Up Costs Across U.S. Economy; Trump's Strongest 2024 Issue Now a Midterm Problem for GOP; GOP Rep. Tells Trump Hispanic Voters Feel "Betrayed" in New Ad; Judge Orders Kennedy Center to Give 30 Days Notice Before Major Changes to Building, Including Demotion; RFK Jr Delivers Keynote Speech to Anti-Vaccine Group He Founded; 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 17, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: ... and that's what brought the flash flooding to portions of Arizona and New Mexico. So, here's our level 2 -- 4 for the day across the Midwest and into the Four Corners region. But I want to show you how things are going to change in the coming days. We're going to see the rain kind of die down over the West and then pick up an intensity across the upper Midwest. So, we're going to focus our attention here now between Omaha to Chicago and Detroit. That's where we have our flash flooding concerns in the next couple of days. Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Derek Van Dam, appreciate that update. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: America runs on diesel, so does the rest of the world. Rising gas and diesel prices mean that basically everything you buy could soon get more expensive. We'll look at the looming problem facing the global economy.

And Republican rift, a GOP lawmaker in Florida says Hispanic voters feel betrayed by the President in a new ad. Another potential problem for the party with the midterms just 47 days away.

And rage against the machines, as more people speak out against A.I. lawmakers are headed home. Are they missing an opportunity to do something before a possible catastrophe?

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

With the midterm elections fast approaching, the sting of higher gas prices is getting more painful. The average cost for a gallon of gas $4.44. That's a $0.07 jump just overnight. And take a look at this map as Republicans head home and they're fighting to keep control of Congress. Every state you see in yellow is a state where voters are seeing diesel hit all time record highs, surging diesel costs. That has a ripple effect on the price of everything that we buy that shipped across the U.S., and that includes groceries. CNN's Richard Quest is following all of this for us.

So, Richard, why did we see this big jump overnight? RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR & EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Well, the thing

about diesel is it's all about refining capacity. It's not so much about the wholesale price, if you like, the price of a barrel. Diesel -- the demand for diesel is always pretty constant because it's used by trucks. It's used by manufacturing, and therefore the demand always remains high regardless of the price.

And if there is going to be refining capacity restrictions or price restrictions or whatever, say, for example, because of what's happening in Russia because of what's happening in the Middle East. So, diesel always gets clobbered much more than, say, regular gasoline. The demand remains very strong when there's any threat to refining capacity, which there is at the moment. That's why you see the price of diesel being hit disproportionately, say, to the price of gasoline.

But even gasoline is going to be hit because there are fears that refining capacity and what's taking place in the Gulf is simply not sustainable for the medium to longer term.

KEILAR: Okay, so the midterms, as I mentioned, are 47 days away. If the war ended tomorrow ...

QUEST: Yes.

KEILAR: ... I mean, what happens the day after the war hypothetically ends? What would happen to gas and diesel prices?

QUEST: Nothing. I mean, in the short-term, they might jump a couple of cents, but if you're asking, would there be a dramatic fall back to where they were, absolutely not. Why? Because those ships in the Strait of Hormuz have to get out.

The refining -- the -- the -- the raw stuff out of the ground has to get to the refining capacity. The refineries have to do their work. It then has to be shipped. But here's where it all gets really tricky, the U.S. is awash with the stuff because of shale oil. So, there's no actual real shortage in the U.S., it's because of the way international markets price things. That gets reflected through the supply chain.

And even though there may be plenty to go around in the case of the United States, you are being hit by what's happening elsewhere, which is affecting the price. In the medium to longer term, it stays exactly where it is.

KEILAR: All right, Richard, thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: It's not just gas prices making voters unhappy. President Trump is now also losing support on an issue that helped him recapture the White House two years ago, immigration. A new poll from Fox News shows 56 percent of voters disapprove of President Trump's handling of that issue. Another survey by the New York Times and CNN shows voters now trust Democrats more than Republicans when it comes to immigration. It has become such a problem for Republicans that even a congresswoman

running for reelection in red state Florida is now calling out the President and distancing herself from his policies, saying that Hispanic voters feel betrayed.

[15:05:07]

Here's the new ad from Representative Maria Elvira Salazar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL): Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. In July, 50 percent of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with national political reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Sabrina Rodriguez.

Sabrina, great to see you as always.

What's your reaction to Salazar's message?

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: I mean, I think this should be taken very serious by the Republican Party. This is as big of a warning sign as you get. You know, Salazar has been saying for the past year, since the city of Miami elected a Democrat as mayor last year, she has been saying that Republicans should be concerned about this, particularly because of the backlash to Trump's immigration policies.

We see in South Florida playing out in a day to day. It's not the dramatic scenes of raids that we've seen in other parts of the country, but the numbers, ICE data shows us that there are huge spikes in the number of arrests there.

So, she's really pointing this out, and it should be concerning because she won her district in 2024 by 20 percentage points. This is a district that Trump won by 15 percentage points. So, if we're talking about a place where Trump won by 15 is in play, that's really concerning for Republicans.

SANCHEZ: It's also notable that that district, the 27th, is largely Cuban American. Cuban Americans historically have been more conservative than other Latino demographic groups. However, it seems as though this has not affected Cuban Americans that have been in the country for a long time, the way that it's affected other groups from -- from other nationalities. I do wonder whether you think there's an indication here that the momentum that Republicans gathered specifically among Cuban Americans in the last election is starting to wane.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. I mean, we do see that. It's -- it's difficult to tell because again, we see South Florida as such a staple and for us, our beloved Hialeah hometown is, you know, a Republican stronghold. And you see Republicans really gravitate to it and really campaign there and still really believe it's a very reliable stronghold.

But we're talking about growing Latino communities in South Florida, like the Venezuelan community, like the Colombian community, like different Central American communities throughout South Florida. And even within the Cuban community, we have seen the Trump administration launch a lot of deportations. And some of these Cubans aren't even being sent back to Cuba. They're being sent to third countries like Mexico, countries in Africa, like Eswatini and Liberia.

So, this is becoming an increasing sensitivity because when people are turning on Univision, when people are opening TikTok, they're seeing videos of families that look like theirs being and dealing with this kind of deportation.

SANCHEZ: I think the other challenge for Salazar is going to be that in previous efforts at reelection, I remember in -- in 2022, she was running against Annette Taddeo, the Democrat in that race. She characterized her as a radical liberal. In this case, she's going up against Eliott Rodriguez, a longtime TV anchor, a person who people know in the community, who's sort of a known quantity. So, speak to that challenge that she faces.

RODRIGUEZ: And a fellow Cuban-American.

SANCHEZ: Right.

RODRIGUEZ: So, he has spoken to -- he's spoken very openly about you want to make attacks about me as a socialist or me as a communist, come on. I'm Cuban-American. I'm from this community. That he's really tried to sort of neutralize those attacks.

Inevitably, they still happen in South Florida. We see the President really leaning into it nationally as well. But I think there's one of the things that Democrats -- the struggles that they've had is candidate recruitment, is how do you get a candidate who can, you know, measure up and -- and fight with someone like Salazar, who, again, it's not just that she's a third term Congresswoman, but she was a former Spanish language newscaster.

SANCHEZ: Right.

RODRIGUEZ: We saw her on TV growing up. But so having someone who can sort of match that and, oh, he was an anchor on CBS Miami. He's a trusted voice in South Florida. That's something that Democrats are really leaning in on and hoping can also just help him with the name recognition that's needed to win.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of name recognition, there was an error that I have to apologize for here, Sabrina. Your intro didn't include the fact that you were the Duchess of Hialeah, Florida. Sabrina Rodriguez, thanks so much for joining us. Always good to see you.

RODRIGUEZ: Thanks for having me. SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still ahead, President Trump -- actually, the Kennedy Center's future may be decided in court. And President Trump is digging his heels on this. A judge is now ordering that any group needs to give notice before doing anything to the performing arts center, including demolition.

Plus, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tells an anti-vax group that he once led that they have a friend at the White House. Details from that conference are coming up.

And later, Congress under mounting pressure to act on A.I. after multiple warnings from whistleblowers. That and much more coming your way next.

[15:09:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:13]

SANCHEZ: We're following several new developments in the ongoing legal fight over the Kennedy Center. A federal judge just ruling that the center's board must provide at least 30 days notice before making any major changes to the building, including demolition. The judge also demanding that the Trump administration explain more after it's said in a court filing that the institution will be closed for at least a week to quote, assess existing safety risks. President Trump warned yesterday the center would quote, "End up being ripped down without his support."

He was also photographed last night, look at this, through a window on Air Force One, looking at a poster that appeared to include the words Kennedy Center demolished. Let's go live to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

So, Kristen, what are officials telling you about the seriousness of this threat to tear down the Kennedy Center?

[15:15:00]

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly something President Trump is escalating when he talks about these threats. It -- we are at a point here where President Trump seems to have a sticking point with his name being on the Kennedy Center and he appears to be using that as leverage, this idea that he would tear down the Kennedy Center as leverage to try and get that done.

And just a little bit about how we got here and why that 30 days matters. One of the concerns that we saw in the counter lawsuit that was brought by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty was this idea that because the Kennedy Center was going to close for a week that it actually could become a slippery slope. It could start longer than a week and it could go on and then it could eventually end and then potentially even tearing it down. So, this judge's order is meant to protect against that.

Of course there's still the question of what the White House is going to do with this order. He, of course, has lashed out at this particular judge a number of times. Will they actually abide by this? President Trump doesn't seem to be letting go of this issue of putting his name on the building and it's really unclear if just this order alone is going to be enough to kind of ease the concerns that many of Trump's critics have right now.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes live for us at the White House, thank you so much.

Still ahead, the nation's top health official headlines an anti- vaccine conference amid the deadliest measles outbreak in decades. We have RFK Jr.'s message next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:01]

KEILAR: Just moments ago, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrapped up the keynote address at a conference hosted by an anti- vaccine group he co-founded a decade ago. The group questions the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines, and RFK Jr. made it clear that he is still in the fight with them, telling the crowd he will be in this and will, quote, "die with my boots on." Joining us now Jonathan Cohn, senior national correspondent for The Bulwark. He covers RFK Jr. extensively and all things health.

Thanks for being with us.

This is a group we should note that Kennedy founded. He told them today they have a friend at the White House. What did you think about his message for them?

JONATHAN COHN, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, THE BULWARK: Well, it was -- you know, seeing him there at that event by itself is -- is a huge statement. You may remember, you know, Kennedy came out of the gates when he -- he was confirmed as HHS secretary and proceeded to -- to go on, you know, carry out this crusade to -- to -- to undermine federal support for vaccination, to introduce new doubt into vaccination.

There was -- it was widely reported, widely understood the White House was not thrilled about this. They thought it was people -- you know, it was alienating potential swing voters. Most Americans believe in vaccination. And the word went out that he was supposed to kind of keep it quiet on the down low and not be too vocal, concentrate on things like food, which are -- which are more popular.

Well, as we -- a lot of us saw a couple of months ago, it turns out Donald Trump is very much on board with this anti-vaccination push. And so, now Kennedy is back to where he was. He is out front. He is talking about what he says without evidence are the dangers of vaccines, trying to undermine federal support for vaccines and appearing as the keynote speaker at this event with this group that's so much associated with raising questions about vaccine, pushing to, you know, pull back on federal support for vaccine, I think says a lot about how much power he still wields within the Trump administration and how much support he's got clearly from the very top.

KEILAR: Yes, he was very out front in his remarks that just wrapped up here. He's making them as measles are at an alarming high, right? Four measles related deaths reported in Pennsylvania, the most in one year since 1992. He said on CNN last month that parents should get their children vaccinated for measles. Is that message reaching, though, the people who need to hear it most?

COHN: No, it's not. And, you know, he -- he will say it grudgingly if you ask him, right? But we -- you just rattled off those numbers. So, that's four deaths tied in one way or another to measles in Pennsylvania right now. It's more than 700 cases. We're at more than 3,000 nationally, which is a new high since 1991.

There is no reason for measles to be spreading like this. We know vaccine -- vaccination can stop it. You know, the last in the past when we've had outbreaks from measles, public health officials, including the secretary of Health and Human Services, would go out there aggressively and say, hey, get vaccinated. It's important to get vaccination. We believe in the vaccine. He does not do those things.

So, yes, he will answer. If you ask him, he'll say, well, yes, you should get vaccination. And then he'll act all indignant like, hey, I support vaccination. And meanwhile, again, he's appearing at conferences like these, you know, saying that actually scientists have never really investigated these links when they have or, you know, there's all kinds of studies being ignored when, in fact, the studies have been looked at. And the scientific consensus overwhelmingly is that vaccines have a safe profile and they protect us against disease that can kill people literally, as we are seeing in Pennsylvania right now.

KEILAR: Yes. He was saying today we're not taking vaccines away from anyone, but was doing all that other stuff for most of his comments that you mentioned. So, in 2021, he spoke at an event in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, when he was chairman of the Children's Health Defense. And he specifically addressing people in the audience in this county known for its Amish and Mennonite population.

[15:25:01]

He said the cure for measles is chicken soup and vitamin A, and neither of those can be patented, he said. But here's what he said to Dana Bash last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE SECRETARY: The -- the communities that are suffering from measles are almost all religious communities that just don't vaccinate. The Mennonites have not vaccinated since 1796, since Edward Jenner invented the smallpox vaccine. It's hard to blame that on me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But speak to the issue of herd immunity and how that does affect the unvaccinated population when the unvaccinated population gets bigger, something that he doesn't really talk about.

COHN: Right. Right. I mean, there have always been pockets in this country of people, of communities for one reason or another, who aren't going to get vaccinated. But when you have herd immunity, which for the measles is thought to be around 95 percent, what happens is you have an outbreak, it stays isolated. It does not have a giant pool of unvaccinated people to spread. That's why we got elimination status. That's why cases have been low for 30 years.

Well, now we're seeing herd immunity. We're missing -- we're losing herd immunity. We're seeing vaccination rates fall for a variety of reasons, by the way. It's a complex phenomenon. There's no single cause. But Kennedy has contributed to that through his writings, through his speeches, and now as HHS secretary.

And when vaccination rates fall below that level, you get an outbreak and then it spreads, and it spreads to other communities outside the communities where you have these large numbers of people who aren't vaccinated. And please, you know, people need to remember there are people who can't get the vaccine. They're immunocompromised. They're very young. And these are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. That's one of the important things about herd immunity -- herd immunity is that it protects people who can't get vaccination. That is what we're seeing right now.

KEILAR: Jonathan Cohn, thank you very much for being with us. We appreciate it.

COHN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still ahead, a lawmaker who is pushing for stronger oversight of A.I. joins us after the break to talk about what needs to be done by Congress to regulate the technology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)