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British Terror Plot Investigation; Cornell University Alleged Gang Rape Investigation Reopened; U.S. and China Agree to Slash Some Tariffs; Trump to Hit Campaign Trail. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 28, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, the name Ping Ping, one of the giant pandas, that was actually the name of a panda that was sent to the Soviet Union back in the 1950s. So there is some history there as well.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: You get the assignment of the day, Ivan. Thank you so much for coming on and telling us all about those adorable pandas.

Thank you for joining INSIDE POLITICS today.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A campaign blitz and strategy shift. New details on the president's aggressive plan to rev up voter turnout for the midterms.

Plus, some tariff relief. China and the U.S. agree to slash tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods. We will break down which items and what it means for your wallet.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And sounding the alarm. Bill Gates explaining how artificial intelligence potentially could cause a billion deaths.

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

KEILAR: Bracing for an October blitz, the White House crafting a new strategy as midterm hopes fade, and this one could see President Trump on the campaign trail nearly every day next month.

The aggressive plans are said to be coming together, as one Trump adviser tells CNN the upcoming elections are -- quote -- "obviously going to be effing rough."

Meantime, Democrats and some Republicans are now blasting a new video ad released by the White House and paid for by American taxpayers. In it, the president promises what he calls the final battle against communists, the deep state and media outlets.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us at the White House. So, Kristen, what's the president's strategy here?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, all of this is about turnout.

And I really want to read to you what one Republican adviser to Trump told us, because this kind of gives you an idea of what the entire idea behind their travel is, with President Trump hitting the road in almost every single day next month. This is what they said.

They said: "It's all a turnout game. From day one, the campaign committees and the president's political operation have been sharing data to make sure we're hammering the exact people we need to turn out," meaning this, that while President Trump can be incredibly polarizing, he is still a figure within the Republican Party that can drive out the base.

And that is what is behind this. If you take a look at some of where we know that he is planning to travel in October, there are a lot of red states, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, but there's also some more purple swing states, Michigan, Ohio, even though many people would say that Ohio is more of a red state.

The idea behind this is that you put President Trump into these areas that are deeply conservative to drive out the base, not necessarily putting him next to a candidate that's in a sensitive race, because they understand how polarizing he can be, but that they can actually get people to these rallies, get them excited about voting.

That's something that he has really had the capacity to do in the past. Now, I will also note that what really carried him over in 2024 is something that most of these advisers tell us now doesn't exist anymore, which is his ability to win over independents or swing voters.

So, instead, again, this is really him trying to drive out the conservative base. We will see if this continues through the month of October. We do know that it's going to start pretty heavy, but unclear if it's going to continue that way.

KEILAR: And, Kristen, you have some new reporting on the war with Iran.

HOLMES: That's right.

So these negotiations are continuing, and we have spoken to one U.S. official who essentially said that Trump is open to lifting Iran sanctions or at least offering some relief on Iran, on those sanctions and unfreezing some of those frozen funds if they can come to some kind of agreement and if Iran moves the needle when it comes to their nuclear program.

Now, according to this official, these conversations have been ongoing. It's not between Iran and the United States directly. They have a mediator there. And, according to this official, this -- and the mediator, that Iran has showed some interest or some willingness to potentially make concessions on the nuclear program.

But there's a lot of skepticism here, Brianna, and for obvious reasons. One, we have this U.S. official laying out to me that they have repeatedly broke any kind of commitment that they have made to the United States. They have gone after ships in the Strait of Hormuz. So they're not willing to just kind of take Iran at their word.

But we know President Trump would like to see the end of this war, some kind of nuclear deal. So that's something that we're watching closely here.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House, thank you -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: The U.S. and China are cutting tariffs on over $60 billion worth of goods from corn and cosmetics to toys and holiday decorations. The announcement comes after last week's high-stakes meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington.

[13:05:03]

Let's bring in CNN's Matt Egan.

So, Matt, I assume this is good news for consumers.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Boris, it is good news.

It could take off some of the pricing pressure on shoppers this holiday season. I say some because this tariff relief, it only applies to a small slice of the broader U.S.-China trading relationship. I will get into that, but first some details on what is getting lower tariffs.

So the U.S. has agreed to lower tariffs on about $30 billion of imports from China. This impacts about 77 different goods, including some consumer goods like toys, car seats, microwaves, blankets, pillows, footballs, baseballs, electric shavers as well, and then also some more obscure goods that get imported from China, including fireworks, playing cards, and accessories used for magic tricks.

Again, the timing here is noteworthy because this is coming just as the holiday shopping season gears up, and we know American shoppers are very sensitive to price increases right now. Now, China has also agreed to lower tariffs on about $30 billion of imports from the U.S.

This impacts more than 1, 600 different items, including frozen meat, seafood, corn, wheat, wood products, cosmetics, and medical devices. Now, one thing that's been left off this list, though, is U.S. soybeans. And that is going to be a disappointment to American farmers who rely on China buying U.S. soybeans.

This could be a way for Beijing to maintain some leverage over the U.S. in the trade talks. Now, another interesting development here is, the White House says that China has agreed to buy more U.S. coal, agreeing to buy at least 10 million metric tons next year and in 2028. However, we should note that in the past, Beijing has not kept its

promises when it comes to buying specific quantities of U.S. goods. So we will have to wait and see how that plays out. But just to give you some context here, yes, $60 billion, it sounds like a lot, but, remember, this is a very big trading relationship, right?

Last year, the U.S. and China exchanged over $400 billion worth of goods. This blue section of the pie chart represents what's getting lower tariffs. So you can see this is really just a small piece of the pie, all of this coming as the president continues to get low marks on the economy from voters and on tariffs and inflation in particular.

The latest CNN poll shows that 71 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling tariffs. Just 29 percent approve. And, Boris, many Americans, they worry that the president's use of tariffs has had a negative impact.

So, look, bottom line here, this is more evidence that this thaw in the trade war continues, and it does show that some tariffs are going down. But make no mistake here, Boris. Tariffs, they do remain high, and this trading relationship, it does remain tense -- back to you.

SANCHEZ: Yes, at least magicians will be breathing a sigh of relief.

Matt Egan, thank you so much.

(LAUGHTER)

EGAN: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still to come: a New York prosecutor reopening a criminal investigation into an alleged fraternity gang rape at Cornell University. We're going to break down why this case is getting another look.

Plus, questions growing after British police say suspects in an alleged terror plot aimed at a base housing American assets are being released on bail.

And, later, we have liftoff, an unprecedented test flight of SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever made. What this means for future missions to the moon -- when we come back.

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[13:13:05]

KEILAR: New York prosecutors are reopening an investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. The Tompkins County district attorney tells ABC News he plans to present the case to a grand jury.

And this comes less than two weeks after the accuser's attorney filed a lawsuit, alleging seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted his client in October of 2024. No charges were filed at the time, but Cornell acknowledges some students were expelled or punished in other ways. The disturbing details and lack of criminal charges sparking

widespread criticism, including from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, who says they reflect a -- quote -- "culture of rape" at elite universities.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is with us on this.

Gloria, what are you learning about this?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, we should start by saying that the details in this lawsuit are disturbing.

The description of what allegedly happened is extremely graphic. And, as you said, this has sparked new widespread criticism of how universities handle accusations in cases of sexual assault on their campuses.

Now, I want to note that we have now directly heard from the district attorney in Tompkins County. And I want to start at the beginning, right, back in October of 2024. That is when the alleged incident first took place. And it was following an investigation after a Jane Doe reported the incident seven accused Chi Phi fraternity members were expelled.

Others received lesser punishment, including suspensions and written assignments, following the investigation by Cornell University, and the fraternity was barred from the campus. That's all according to this latest civil lawsuit filed by the Jane Doe. The initial investigation resulted in no arrests, no one was charged. And Jane Doe, the victim in this case, has since left the university.

[13:15:03]

Now the Tompkins district attorney is saying he is opening an investigation, presenting new evidence in the case before a grand jury, with the intention of bringing new criminal charges. But he is specifying that the reason he didn't do this back in 2024 is because Jane Doe did not allege at the time that she had been sexually assaulted or drugged.

So this is a very complicated, multilayered case, and we're going to get through all the facts.

First, I want to read from a statement from the district attorney, in part defending his decision not to bring these charges back in 2024. He said -- quote -- "Jane Doe's sworn November -- sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang-raped. On the contrary, Jane Doe's statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual."

I think this is a really important part of all of this. There are laws in the books here in New York that make it very clear that it is difficult to prosecute a case in which the alleged victim voluntarily drank or consumed drugs. And I think that's going to be at the heart of this litigation. But, in this lawsuit, Jane Doe alleges that she started out her night

at her own sorority house. She consumed alcohol. Then she traveled to Chi Phi's fraternity house, and it was once that she was inside that house that seven members of their fraternity drugged her and sexually assaulted her.

There's also evidence in this lawsuit in the form of a group chat screenshot, apparently a message shared among fraternity members, where they were allegedly discussing the sexual assault as it was taking place and inviting others to participate.

We also have heard from Jane Doe's attorney, who told us -- quote -- "Other than her initial contact with Cornell police, she was not contacted by investigators from the Tompkins County district attorney's office or any investigators trained in interviewing rape survivors."

Brianna, we have heard reaction across the board, as you mentioned, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, celebrities also starting to weigh in.

And we have just received a statement from Cornell University defending how they initially handled this case, saying -- quote -- "Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false. A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault."

So far, Brianna, we have been able to contact one attorney for one of the seven students that is named in this lawsuit. They are denying the accusations, and we expect all of this to play out in court, but I think, again, an important and fascinating case, once again putting this spotlight on universities and colleges when it comes to how they handle accusations and cases of sexual assault on their campuses.

KEILAR: Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that.

Still to come: Livestock groups in several states are warning recent ICE operations could disrupt the beef supply chain. Why they say it could lead to higher prices.

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[13:23:24]

SANCHEZ: There are new questions this hour after British officials announced that they plan to release five men on bail who were arrested on suspicion of terrorism on Sunday. Investigators say the alleged plot involved an attack on a U.K. air base used by long-range U.S. bombers taking part in the war with Iran.

KEILAR: Dozens of houses were evacuated in the area as a precaution, and bomb disposal units were seen combing the scene. President Trump called the arrest fantastic, saying the men had been under investigation by both the U.S. and U.K. -- quote -- "for a long time." But, just a short time ago, British authorities said this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURENCE TAYLOR, HEAD OF U.K. COUNTERTERRORISM COORDINATION COMMITTEE: Following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.

To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Nic Robertson is at the scene with more details on this unexpected announcement.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, surprising developments, I think, for a lot of people certainly around here.

The head of the British counterterrorism policing said that these five men that were arrested here a little over 36 hours ago are now being released on bail. They remain under investigation. The four men have been identified in the -- five men, rather, have been identified in their 20s, all of them living in London.

[13:25:00]

But they are now out on bail. The investigation into them continues. The head of the counterterrorism policing spoke about the possibility and motivations that go behind incidents such as this, and this is a pretty rare and unusual incident.

He said perhaps the focus was less on terrorism and more on financial gain, which sort of leads the thinking about what propagated this, what appeared to be a potential terror threat at this base over the weekend, and the base going on to what appeared to be a sort of a high level of security following that and the evacuation of about a couple of hundred residents from a village not far from where we're standing.

All of that seemed to indicate an imminent terror threat. But now the narrative seems to be perhaps that these were young men working for financial gain, and the head of counterterrorism spoke about not ruling out the idea that they were wittingly or unwittingly potentially involved or working for a foreign state. It does seem that this investigation is still at its very early stages.

But I think a lot of local residents around here, when the alarm was raised in the early hours of Sunday morning, helicopters came in, the area was sealed off, families evacuated, the bomb squad coming in, the sounds of controlled detonations late yesterday afternoon, five men arrested, suspicion of explosives and suspicion of being involved in the preparation of acts of terrorism, the sense here was that these men who were spotted by a local resident, a farmer late at night called into the police, then picked up, that they were involved in something nefarious.

Now this really sort of throws the question a little wider, if they were really involved in such serious offenses. They're now out on bail, but still under investigation. So there's far more, far more to know about this. And, as you can see, the security cordon around the base here is still in place.

KEILAR: All right, our thanks to Nic for that.

Still ahead: One tech company says it's launching a new tool to keep AI agents from going rogue.

We will talk about that next.

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