Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Millions Along Central East Coast Brace for Powerful Nor'easter; Trump and Xi to Share Tea, Tour National Archives as Xi Wraps Trip; 30-Year-Fixed Mortgage Rate Tops 7 Percent for First Time Since Jan. 2025. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 25, 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: Also developing right now, a nor'easter gaining strength, threatening much of the East Coast with flooding, strong winds, and rain. The next few hours here are going to determine just how impactful the storm's going to be.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Three days with the Chinese leader, for what? New reporting on what has changed and what has not after the Trump-Xi meetings.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a wild courtroom brawl. A murder victim's father-in-law accused of jumping over attorneys to attack a killer in court. Now, he is facing charges.

I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Breaking this morning, millions are bracing for a rare September nor'easter that is set to bring flooding, winds, heavy rain along the East Coast. Already, the storm is pounding areas from North Carolina to New Jersey. Powerful waves breached protective sand dunes meant to protect this North Carolina highway that you're seeing behind me there.

But after high tide, the waves destroyed the main road that typically connects the Outer Banks barrier islands, and the storm has already flooded parts of Virginia, where communities are bracing for even more flooding later today and tomorrow.

But the storm's bull's eye is New England and New York's Long Island, where the strongest wind gusts are expected. Crews on Long Island have built sand dunes and cleared drains, hoping to get ahead of the flooding. Meanwhile, parts of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island could get up to a month's worth of rain in just a matter of days.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking all of this rain, wind. I mean, you got it all with this rare nor'easter. I mean, it's September.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, you're right. We usually see these things October, November, December, not necessarily this early into the year. We're already starting to see those winds ticking back up, sustained winds about 15 to 20 miles per hour, those wind gusts up around 30 to 35. Those numbers are only going to go up as we go through the next 24 to 72 hours.

Here's a look at that low pressure system. So, this is the storm we're talking about. It's going to ever, ever so slowly just kind of creep along the East Coast. Again, notice by about 11:00 tonight, it really hasn't moved all that much. Even by Saturday morning, we don't really see all too much in terms of movement.

And what that means is all of these areas along the East Coast are going to get round after round of very strong winds, very heavy rain, coastal flooding pushing in just basically up and down the eastern seaboard.

Here's a look at 9:00 A.M., again, very heavy rain across New York, Newark, up through Hartford, Providence. Then by Saturday night, that's when you start to see some of the heaviest bands begin to spread into areas of Providence and Boston. Even looking at areas, though, of Atlantic City, you're still looking now at your, probably your third or even your fourth round of very heavy rain bands moving in by about late Saturday evening.

By Sunday morning, you start to see that slight jog towards the west, bringing it even closer to the coastline. That's what's going to push all of that water inland, the coastal flooding. That's when that's going to be the biggest concern. And then by Sunday night, again, still not very much movement.

Now, we talked about the coastal flooding, but wind is also going to be a factor. You see some of these wind gusts here up around 50, 55, even 60 miles per hour. So, that's going to take some tree limbs down. We could have some significant power outages here along the coast both Saturday and Sunday.

You've got these wind advisories and even some high wind warnings across areas of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This is not just for today. This is in anticipation of those winds staying strong both Saturday and Sunday.

You also have all of your flood alerts here, so your flood watches, flood warnings, flood advisories, basically up and down the East Coast. Again, this is going to be a multi-factor storm as we go through the next several days.

SIDNER: Yes. And we should think about, you know, those who are traveling perhaps, you know, flights because of the gusts of winds that are so, so strong could be affected. And the roadways could be flooded, so driving as well, something to keep in mind as we look forward to the weekend.

Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. I appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: Yes, thanks. That's me.

SIDNER: Sorry. BERMAN: All right. This morning, tea at the White House. President Trump is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the final day of his visit to Washington. The two will then head to the National Archives to view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, maybe the Bill of Rights, which enshrines freedom of the press.

[07:05:03]

This caps a trip that has touched on trade, A.I., Taiwan, and the war in Iran, and included a state dinner last night where the two leaders exchanged toasts.

Let's get to CNN's Kristen Holmes live at the White House this morning. Great to see you there, Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. And in those toasts, it sounded a lot like what we heard several months ago when both of those leaders were in China, some of the same rhetoric, specifically from President Xi. Now, today will be a little bit different than what we've seen the last several days just because there will be pool coverage. Both CNN will be at the National Archives, CBS will be having pool coverage here at the White House. We'll actually see the president and President Xi on our T.V. screens.

Now, there has been some criticism that while this event has been incredibly lavish, there's been pomp and circumstance. There's been a lot of lightness when it comes to actual substance. One of the things that people are noting is that we haven't really gotten any kind of breakthroughs on trade, on artificial intelligence on the fact that China still has support in doing business with Iran as the United States continues to be at war with Iran. So up there you have the schedule for today.

The leaders will be greeted again together on the South Portico with their spouses. They will have tea. They will go to the National Archives. They will do a tour of the vault, as you noted, where some of the most sacred texts of U.S. democracy are stored. Interesting to see President Xi, who is the, leads the largest communist country, will be there to tour those documents. And then President Xi will head back to China.

BERMAN: And, Kristen, something that I'm not sure I've ever seen before, which is there's this ad on T.V., a taxpayer-funded government ad which seems a little bit like a campaign ad. It's full of praise, direct praise for President Trump.

HOLMES: Yes. As you can see it there on the screen, it's just like these very quick clips of President Trump. It talks about how he is against communism, against socialism. Interesting to have this happen on, again, after a three-day visit in which he hosted the leader of the largest communist country, and also sat with a governor in -- or a mayor in New York and who he has deemed a socialist. But it says that he condemns both socialism and communism.

And this is what the White House said when we asked them specifically about it. They did not say how it was funded, although it does say it was paid for by the U.S. government. They said, the ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.

BERMAN: All right. Perhaps more on this to come.

Kristen Holmes at the White House this morning, thanks for being there. I appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, here is one message. Up until 4:00 A.M., thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail. That is one of the more than 100,000 text messages shared between the woman who had an affair with an -- the mistress and the man, a former American Idol contestant, now accused of killing his wife. Messages, some of them read aloud in the courtroom. So, what could happen next in that courtroom today?

And breaking overnight, the average price for a gallon of gas, just shy of $4.50 now, and also now the cost of buying a home just got more expensive as well.

And about those Terminator-style human-fighting robots that we love so much, or fear, Sara talked to the CEO of the company driving this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: Some tough news this morning. If you're looking to buy a home, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage now tops 7 percent. That's the first time since January last year. The National Association of Realtors says to also expect 7 percent as the new normal. Mortgage rates are now at their highest point, their highest level in either of President Trump's two terms.

CNN's Matt Egan has a closer look on what all this means. So, what are you looking at?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate homebuyers right now, they're just facing this double whammy, right? Home prices are historically high, and now borrowing costs are very elevated.

So, the average rate on a 30-year fixed above 7 percent for the first time since the end of the Biden administration, up five weeks in a row, and this is a trend clearly moving in the wrong direction, because at this point last year, a mortgage rate was around 6.3 percent. Two years ago, just before the presidential election, 6.1 percent.

This is happening for a variety of reasons, including the sell-off in the bond market. But when you zoom out here, you can see how timing really is everything when it comes to getting a mortgage, right? Back in 2019, mortgage rates were around 4 percent. Then during COVID, some people were fortunate enough to get a mortgage for under 3 percent.

Then inflation skyrocketed. Rates went through the roof. At one point, mortgage rates in 2023 were approaching 8 percent, but clearly moving in the wrong direction. As you mentioned, some experts are warning 7 percent, this might just be the new normal. This is super frustrating for people who want to buy their first time home, but they feel like they can't, right? Not at these prices, not at these rates. Also frustrating for people who do have a low mortgage rate, but they want to sell. They want to move, but they feel like they can't because they don't want to give up that mortgage rate.

Let me just show you how this works out.

[07:15:00]

So, say you were in the market to get a $500,000 home with 10 percent down. Back in late February, mortgage rates were under 6 percent. That was before the war started. Monthly payments were around $3,500. But look at this. All because rates have gone up, monthly payments now above 3,800, so, $300 more per month, right? That's $300 that's not going towards gas or groceries. It's not going to get you a nicer bathroom. It's just going towards interest. And over the course of a year, that really adds up, right? You're looking at almost $4,000 more in costs.

So, you put it together, the higher rates go, the more unaffordable it is to buy a home, and the more it just makes it feel like the American dream of homeownership is out of reach.

BOLDUAN: Yes. That has been the trend for quite some time. It's not been going the other direction in a bit.

It's good to see you, Matt.

EGAN: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you very much for this. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate. Breaking overnight, the medical director of a Pittsburgh children's hospital stabbed to death in a violent home invasion. His wife also injured in the attack. What we're learning about the suspect this morning.

And Stanford University apologizing for an ad that used A.I. to change a student's race and gender.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right, happening today, new testimony in the murder trial of a former American Idol contestant accused of killing his wife. Now, much of the focus has been on the woman with whom Caleb Flynn was having an affair.

She spent days in the stand discussing thousands of text messages she exchanged with him. Jurors also heard audio of an A.I.-generated love song that investigators found on Flynn's phone.

With us now, CNN's Jean Casarez. That's a pretty odd moment right there where the defendant wouldn't lift his eyes while that song was playing.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was something else. 107,000 texts, 107,000, and they were deleting them constantly. They were on all different platforms. Aaliyah was really in charge of how to delete things.

And then she went to Florida in January, it's interesting, and lo and behold, her iPhone dropped in the ocean, so she lost it, and then her Mac computer she left on a plane or somewhere, so she lost those devices. But with forensic analysis, they were able to find texts. She had to read one yesterday in the courtroom with Lindsay's mother, father, and her sister in the gallery.

Listen to what she had to admit she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEGHIA BOTNER, PROSECUTION WITNESS: I said, do you know how badly I want to say F it to any rules and any barriers and just love you with my entire heart for the rest of my life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message. 64,281.

BOTNER: I just wish I didn't say this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does the message say?

BOTNER: I mean, it says, I want to kill her, Caleb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said that?

BOTNER: Me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.

BOTNER: I said, It's so bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.

BOTNER: He said, that makes two of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So, she admitted that she wanted to kill her.

Now, in cross-examination, the defense focused in on almost every text message. He said he hated his wife, Ashley, hated her. Did you ever think maybe he didn't hate her? That maybe actually he loved her a bit? And she admitted that. Also, focused in on the fact she had an obsession with the wife, absolute obsession. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOTNER: I said on October 21st, I can't be stuck in it anymore. You promised you'd leave her. If you want your girls full freaking time, then you can't -- then you can't have me ever again. And you have chosen that, so I have to release you and let you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how did he respond?

BOTNER: He said, I understand.

I said, I'm done with my heart being played with. Either you leave her and choose me, or stay with her and choose that life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now, Lisa Botner has not been charged with anything at all, but the defense theory is that it was someone else. It was someone that came into that home and had motive to kill Ashley Flynn.

BERMAN: Oof. All right, that is some pretty, pretty provocative testimony there.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much. More to come after today. Kate?

BOLDUAN: There are new details in the death investigation now of Nolan Wells. A state autopsy apparently found no water in his lungs, though officials say he drowned. What questions that is now raising.

And a powerful and rare early fall nor'easter is hitting the East Coast right now. Millions of people are going to feel the impact of the storm, so when and where you will need to be watching out.

And for more of the stories you need to know to get your day going, my show 5 Things is streaming on the CNN app and CNN All Access right now and every morning

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SIDNER: New this morning, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is enjoying a lavish visit and constant praise from President Trump, sources tell CNN that intelligence groups inside China are passing intel to Iran that's helping the country take aim at American targets in the Middle East. What's unclear, what role, if any, the Chinese government is playing in this.

CNN's Zachary Cohen is following this for us. It is a juxtaposition that for a lot of people will be hard to swallow. What are you learning?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, that's right, Sara. We're told by multiple sources that recent U.S. intelligence assessments credit support coming from China for helping Iran improve its targeting of U.S. bases and ships in the Strait of Hormuz in recent months.

And this is -- this includes a July strike that multiple sources pointed to on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.

[07:30:07]