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Amazon Cargo Plane Overshoots Miami Runway, Hitting Cars; U.S. Envoys Witkoff And Kushner In Ukraine For the First Time; Senator Fetterman Responds To Bombshell Report; Elon Musk Supports Ken Paxton; Michigan Avoids Upset On Hail Mary As Refs Return One Second To Game; Diesel Prices Hit Record High. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired September 06, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the "CNN Newsroom," everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. We're going to start this hour with breaking news out of Miami International Airport where a ground stop is in place after officials say a cargo plane overshot the runway, hitting several vehicles on a road near the airport before catching fire. This is what the scene has looked like. You see the plane there right on the edge of that parking lot but, of course, across those roads as well as an Amazon cargo plane that we have been watching through.

CNN Aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is on the line now. So, Pete, what more are you hearing about what happened here?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Omar, we're getting the preliminary details from flight tracking site Flightradar24 that this 21 Air Boeing 767 went off the end of the runway in Miami International Airport. That was a flight operating for Amazon Prime Air. And this plane, according to local fire officials, went into a parking lot of a nearby Amazon warehouse. The preliminary flight tracking data shows the plane landed about 1.42 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time -- sorry, 1.53 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, flew 2 hours and 11 minutes from San Juan, Puerto Rico, touched down on the runway and exited the runway, still going about 112 knots. It's about 130 miles per hour.

Thankfully, this runway has what's called a runway safety area, a clearing where if an airplane goes off the end of the runway, it would theoretically not hit anything, although we are still awaiting details from local officials there in Miami about whether or not this plane struck any vehicles nearby. There's a north-south road there that goes just off of the end of runway 30. This is not exactly a short runway. This is about 9,000 feet long, so nearly two miles long there at the Miami International Airport.

The weather at the time, stormy, according to the automated weather report there from the Miami International Airport. The wind out of the south gusting to 26 knots, so about 30 miles per hour.

This runway headed northwest. So, potentially, this airplane could have landed with a tailwind. Of course, that's something that would have made the landing roll longer and it's something investigators will, of course, want to look into here as they begin digging into this crash. We know that there was a fire, at least on the right side of the plane, heavy smoke pouring out of the plane. According to local fire officials, about 60 different units, 60 different fire trucks and emergency responders ended up on the scene there.

So, this is something that investigators really have their work cut out for them as they begin to try to figure out why this airplane went off of the end of the runway. You've heard of the term runway incursion. That is when an airplane is on the runway at the wrong time. We covered those type of incidents en masse in 2023. This is what's known as a runway excursion. That means an airplane going off the runway when it's not supposed to.

And those incidents happen with incredible regularity. They're the most common type of incident involving airplanes worldwide. This is something that the FAA has really tried to tackle, installing a system called EMAS, which is a type of crushable cement at the end of runways to try and slow an airplane down if it goes off the very end, like in this situation here.

We're still trying to figure out how many people involved. We know that the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating for a cargo flight such as this. There would usually only be two pilots on a longer cargo flight. There may be three or four pilots working in shifts rotating off, but this is only about a two-hour flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, so likely only two on board. And then, of course, the questions about those on the ground. And that is the detail that is still sort of remains to be seen here.

We know the National Transportation Safety Board is aware of this incident, has not launched an investigation yet. That would typically signify that there are fatalities involved, although we know that they are gathering information as this comes in. Still a very fluid situation right now, Omar.

[17:05:00]

JIMENEZ: Yes. Still a lot we don't know. However, based on what we are seeing in the images we're showing on screen, clearly a situation that happens so quickly in those final moments going across that roadway. You see even where the resting point is for this cargo plane, very close to those cars in the parking lot as well.

Pete Muntean, really appreciate these details on this developing breaking news story. We're going to continue to monitor this. As we get those details, we'll bring you those as well.

We also want to get you updated on some of the other stories going on around the world, including U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, wrapping up their diplomatic trip in hopes of ending more than four years of Russia's war in Ukraine. The pair met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv today, and this is just a day after sitting down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Now, the U.S. delegation sounds optimistic following these meetings. I want you to just take a listen of what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: We came to see President Putin first. We needed to hear where he stood. We had good, concrete conversation with him, which we advised President Zelenskyy and his team about. Both sides have to come to a resolution here. My job and Jared's job together are to bring the parties together, to narrow the issues between them, to create good communication channels. Hopefully, we began that process constructively in the last 48 hours. We're confident that there'll be a good resolution here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: CNN's Julia Benbrook is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey where the president is this weekend. So, Julia, this was the first time, as we mentioned, Witkoff and Kushner having visited the Ukrainian capital since the war started, but where do things go from here?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a good question. It's still not exactly clear if any significant progress came out of these talks, but it has been a weekend of diplomacy for special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They said that they had substantive talks with officials, and they are expressing hope that the next step could include a return to trilateral talks involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.

Now, they wrapped their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just a few hours ago. They thanked the Ukrainian leader for his hospitality and expressed hope that there could be a good resolution coming out of all of this. That visit comes as the Ukrainian capital has seen a barrage of Russian missiles in recent weeks, and it came after the two met with Russian President Vladimir Putin just yesterday. Those talks lasted for roughly three hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED KUSHNER, WHITE HOUSE ENVOY: But with President Putin, we went through a lot of the ideas that hadn't worked to date, and we really tried to think about, you know, what would the elements be that are needed for this durable peace that we've spoken about, and what are the things that Russia can gain from it, what are the things that Ukraine can gain from it, and what are the things that the world can gain from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And prior to this trip, President Donald Trump, who is spending his weekend here in New Jersey at one of his properties nearby, he said that he was sending over a great negotiating team and expressed that they would see what they could get done here. At the same time, though, he did acknowledge the complicated nature of these peace talks. That alone is significant because as he started his second term, he said that this conflict would be easy to resolve and that it would happen very quickly.

Other attempts at lasting agreement for peace and end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine stalled last winter, and some of the key sticking points are very big issues, including territory and security guarantees.

Now, we have reached out to the White House for more information. They say that next steps were part of these discussions, and those will be revealed in the coming weeks.

JIMENEZ: All right. Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting. I want to bring in CNN global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. She served as deputy Pentagon press secretary during the Biden administration. So, Sabrina, can you just help us read between the lines a little bit of this diplomatic speak here that we're seeing from Witkoff and Kushner? What should we take away from this visit?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Well, right now, there's not a lot to take away. What you're seeing is basically an opening of dialogue on both sides. You're seeing an exchange of pleasantries, sort of heaping praise on Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff being there to engage Vladimir Putin's side and, of course, Vladimir Zelenskyy's side.

But we don't really have the substance of the details of what this potential peace plan was presented to either side and how each side is going to work at the diplomatic negotiating table to come to some resolution. I thought what stood out to me was Steve Witkoff saying that he's confident we're going to get to a resolution.

[17:10:00]

That's really indicating that we're nowhere near that resolution. Both sides are going to need to really take a look and see what they'd be willing to negotiate on. And as Julia was just saying earlier, one of the big sticking points for both Russia and Ukraine is the area of the Donbass. You know, Russia, I think, occupies about 70, 75 percent of that. But Ukraine has made gains back during the war and over the last year. So, Ukraine is actually coming into any potential negotiations with a bit of an upper hand than it did, let's say, you know, back in February, you know, two years ago when Zelenskyy met with Putin in that now infamous Oval Office visit.

JIMENEZ: You know, one of the things that we heard from Zelenskyy and Jared Kushner, really both pushing for trilateral meetings with Russia and the United States. Is that really the next step here? What needs to happen to get to that place?

SINGH: Well, there's a lot of things that need to happen. I think one of the things that's most critical is that Russia needs to actually agree to that and to come to the table with some serious places where they would be willing to make concessions. You know, over the course, since the administration, since this administration has been in office, we have seen the Ukrainian side be willing to negotiate, be willing to make concessions and agree to temporary ceasefires so diplomatic talks can take place. And every single time, we've seen Vladimir Putin actually say, no, we're not going to agree to that.

So, I think trilateral, you know, negotiations and any type of diplomacy, I think it's always a good thing, whether it's, you know, dealing with Russia, Ukraine or even the Iranian side. I mean, talking to each other is a good thing. It's really the commitment from Russia that we don't know how serious it will be. I think that's what's going to potentially undermine any talks in the future.

JIMENEZ: You know, I was talking about Russian leverage, so to speak, with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, last night, and he said the way to get Russia past its sort of maximalist demands is through pressure on Putin, both militarily, which Ukraine is doing and financially which the Europeans and Americans are doing, but could be doing more of. What do you believe that next threshold should look like from a place like the United States, for example, to try and actually exert some real pressure on Russia that might be beyond just sanctions?

SINGH: Well, he's absolutely right. I mean, Russia and particularly Putin responds to strength. And so, I think you're seeing negotiators from this administration, whether it's Witkoff and Kushner or the CIA director, Ratcliffe, going to Russia and saying, you know, you're not really in a position, in the strongest position that you think when it comes to Ukraine.

But I think, just to take a step back here, I mean, Russia is not our ally and the fact that this administration, particularly the president, goes after our allies, you know, sort of in Truth Social posts or more publicly but does not stand up to people like Vladimir Putin who we know is supplying Iran with intelligence that is helping Iran target our U.S. bases in the region. We know that there is a close line of support both militarily and economically between Russia and Iran. So, there's a lot more that this president, that this administration could do to really strangle the Russian economy. Sanctions is certainly one of them.

But I do wonder what those conversations were like in the room with Witkoff and Kushner, if they really push Vladimir Putin to say, OK, you need to stop sharing intelligence with the Iranians, you need to stop provoking our NATO allies. As you -- as CNN has obviously recently reported, there was a drone attack or almost a drone attack at a German airport last month. So, I do wonder how much this administration is pushing Putin in particular to lessen some of the hostilities with our with our NATO allies and then, of course, supplying Iran with intelligence as well.

JIMENEZ: Sabrina Singh, always appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

Meanwhile, still to come, Democratic Senator John Fetterman speaking out for the first time since a bombshell report detailing harsh criticism from former staffers. We will tell you what he had to say. Plus, Elon Musk dipping his toes into the midterms once again. We're going to take a look at the key Senate race in Texas ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:00]

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JIMENEZ: Tonight, we've got some new exclusive reporting. Senator John Fetterman is lashing out at former aides. Now, in a Wall Street Journal report from earlier this week, Fetterman's former staffers accused the Pennsylvania Democrat of being indifferent about his work as a senator and routinely skipping constituent meetings. Now, for the first time since these accusations were made public, Fetterman is speaking out exclusively to CNN and to CNN chief congressional correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday, Manu Raju, who has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator John Fetterman is engaged in an extraordinary rift with his own staff. This after a stunning report in "The Wall Street Journal" with leaked text messages and accounts from former staffers accusing the senator of routinely skipping constituent meetings and showing indifference to the job, all of the courts, conservative media, and battles the left flank of his party.

[17:19:59]

Now, the senator did not respond to "The Wall Street Journal" but he did to me last night and is his first statement on the controversy. Now, the senator called the report -- quote -- "the third hit piece from disgruntled staffers. Per usual -- lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous." The senator then went on to talk about three of the incidents detailed in the journal report, calling them -- quote -- "stripped of any context and circumstances."

In one text message from last September, Fetterman asked his staff why he had to -- quote -- "keep having to meet with officials from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia," known as CHOP. Because they're worried about Medicaid cuts, the aide said. Fetterman responded in the text -- quote -- "Well I'm not." In a statement to me, Fetterman said, I made a dumb joke, and for that, I sincerely apologize.

But he pointed to a photo he posted on X meeting with hospital officials and said -- quote -- "I've met with their team virtually and in person. My office and I will always and have always been an advocate for CHOP, support their requests and any other needs that we can assist with."

Now, the journal report also revealed that Fetterman skipped a funeral for three police officers killed near his hometown of York last September, citing a text message in which the senator griped that the services three hour length. Quote -- "This may be a nonstarter," Fetterman wrote in the text, according to the journal. In a statement to me, Fetterman said he took steps to express his condolences and met with the family members affected. He said -- quote -- "On the day of that tragedy, we privately ordered flowers to be delivered for their families and expressed my condolences publicly," he said, citing a post on X expressing his grief. He said -- quote -- "In June of this year, I privately attended a Tunnel to Towers fundraiser in York for the families. I met with their chief and the family members directly to express my condolences."

Fetterman, according to the journal, also skipped a planned meeting with three paralyzed Pennsylvania veterans to discuss health care legislation. Now, the paper reported that after Fetterman's staff told the veterans he was not feeling well due to something he ate, he then showed up about an hour later in his office appearing fine and then conducted an interview on Fox News.

Now, in the statement to me, Fetterman said -- quote -- "It was my intention to meet with the group prior to the meeting. I was at home throwing up, so I asked my staff to continue with the meeting which they did. Hours later, I felt well enough to continue the day as scheduled." Now, the senator told me -- quote -- "No matter how many smears or stories, I'm proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania."

For Fetterman, this is one of a series of stories from past staffers who have come out to raise their concerns about his behavior, including one from last year from his former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, who raised concerns after the senator was public on how he got diagnosed and was treated for clinical depression. Fetterman pushed back against that report from last year, similarly calling Jentleson a disgruntled staffer. Jentleson says that this new report is the latest round from a new round of staffers who have raised concerns about the senator's behavior.

The senator himself could face more questions about his schedule and how he has conducted himself in the days ahead. There's a new X account from former Fetterman staffers who are threatening to put out more information about him, potentially embarrassing the senator, and they're doing this in an anonymous Twitter account that they plan to reveal in the middle of this month.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, we want to get you to Miami right now where we're listening to Miami-Dade officials after an Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: At approximately 1:58 this afternoon, a cargo plane crashed at Miami International Airport as it overran the runway number 30. It came to rest at a field adjacent to the airport. At this time, we can confirm that we have at least five deceased individuals, and we have multiple individuals that were transported to local hospitals with unknown injuries. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Homicide Bureau will be the lead agency in charge of the death investigation portion alongside our local and federal partners as we all have different parts of our investigation to conclude.

We want everyone to know that this area is still a very active scene. So, if everyone at home, if you do not need to be in this area, please, we ask that you refrain from coming into the area. We have also dedicated a hotline. If you believe that one of your family members may be involved in this tragedy, please contact the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office at 305-471-2400.

[17:25:00]

That line is for family if you believe that your family is involved. Please, otherwise, keep that line clear. We will be providing further information later on as it becomes available. Now, I'll say it in Spanish now, and then I'll turn it over to the mayor.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: All right. So, you're listening to Miami-Dade officials. They just gave us an update on this Amazon cargo plane that overshot the Miami runway. And we just got the tragic update that five people have been confirmed killed, more injured as well. As the officials told us, those injured have been taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.

But, obviously, this is something that happened a little bit earlier this afternoon. You can see the images on the right side of your screen as this cargo plane overshot the runway in Miami, went over that road that is essentially behind the tail of this plane, and came to rest just on the edge of this parking lot here in the vicinity of those cars.

And one of the major questions in all of this is, look, this is -- this is a cargo plane, so it's not necessarily full of passengers even though there is crew here. But with the proximity to the road and so many cars, we were wondering who would be affected as part of this. At least in this initial update, we have some of those answers. Five people killed.

So, we're going to continue to monitor as we get more details coming from this incident that, again, happened this afternoon. We are still trying to learn more here. But those are the latest right now. Five people killed. We'll have some more coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

JIMENEZ: Elon Musk is getting back in the politics game. The world's richest person is opening the wallet of his super PAC to help Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton beat his Democratic opponent in the Texas Senate race, James Talarico. Now, Musk's America PAC, largely funded by the billionaire himself, has targeted the Texas contest in its early spending for the midterm.

CNN reporter Patrick Svitek joins us now. So, Patrick, can you just tell us about this new reporting?

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN REPORTER: Yes, this was one of the biggest questions on the Republican side of the midterms in recent months, which was when would or would Elon Musk get back into the political folds and help Republicans try to win the midterms and keep control of Congress. And so, in recent days, we saw the first disclosures from that group America PAC seeing a few million dollars spent on a number of competitive races right now, including that one you mentioned, the Texas Senate race.

Republicans are worried about this race. This is a traditionally red state, and we've seen a number of polls in recent weeks that show the race is very tight. This is not a race that Republicans can afford to lose if they want to maintain control, maintain their majority in the Senate. And so, it was not necessarily surprising that this is one of the early races that this group is focused on.

Texas is also a state that, you know, has become very close to Elon Musk and vice versa. I mean, he has embraced the state with his business empire in terms of the number of projects that he's set up there. SpaceX is headquartered in South Texas. And then the political leaders in Texas, from Governor Greg Abbott to Senator Ted Cruz, have also welcomed Elon Musk with open arms. And so, it makes a lot of sense that this Texas Senate race may be at the top of his priority list for the midterms.

JIMENEZ: All right. Patrick Svitek, really appreciate the reporting, something we will watch as we approach Elections Day. Now, meanwhile, the fire chief in Miami just spoke. I want you to take a quick listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY JADALLAH, FIRE CHIEF, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Ray Jadallah, fire chief for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Just to kind of touch up on some of the things that Madam Mayor and the sheriff had already mentioned. So, just as you heard, just before two p.m. today, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue received an Alert 3 from MIA Tower. Alert 3 is a confirmed aircraft accident that occurred just west of 67th Avenue.

What we found was a very complex situation here. As you may have seen or may have heard, the airplane did strike a couple of vehicles that required a couple of victims that were actually trapped in the vehicles. So, a complex extrication with our technical rescue team started to occur.

In addition to that, we had a very complex fire, engine compartments that were on fire, including a search and rescue of the pilot and co- pilot that were trapped in this aircraft. Now, my understanding is with the FAA, they want this incident to refer as a 21-air cargo aircraft. This is the aircraft that was flying on behalf of Amazon. This is the information that has been provided to fire rescue. This is the information that's being relayed to our media.

A total of 60 fire apparatuses arrived, just shy of 200 men and women from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, to begin the actual search and rescue and firefighting cause. Now, we do have a unified command that has been established with numerous public safety agencies, including outside agencies, as the sheriff had mentioned. This incident will continue for the next several days as we play now a supporting role with the sheriff's office as they determine the cause of the deaths.

Total 10 that were involved. Five fatalities, three that are in critical condition that were transported to the trauma center, and another two that were transported to a local hospital. In total, I know that typically, a request for the response times for our aircraft rescue firefighting apparatus, they arrived within 30 seconds of after getting a call.

[17:35:02]

As you're well aware, these incidents require seconds, not necessarily minutes, in regards to a response. We do still have an active fuel leak that's occurring off of the aircraft that is being mitigated as we speak, as we go. Now, one of the other questions that tends to occur for the FAA is that the incident, the actual cause of the incident will be determined by the FAA and the NTSB. In Spanish, I'm going to have Erika Benitez (ph) provide you information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: All right. So, you were just listening to fire officials in Miami-Dade County. They're updating on this Amazon cargo plane that overshot the runway. We know five have been killed. Five have been hurt as well. And we got details from the fire chief there saying they found a complex situation. The plane did strike a couple of vehicles, as he described it, which led to some being trapped in their vehicles, and then led to the fire department using some of those extrication efforts to get some of those out.

He also described an aircraft fire. This is a cargo plane, as we mentioned, where there was crew inside, and the crew was trapped at one point, as the official described. And he also said that a total of 60 fire apparatuses responded to this.

You can see the images on the right side of your screen here. This is where the plane came to rest. The runway is way off to the left of the screen. You can't even see it in frame at this point, but you can see the road with which it needed to have passed and then eventually came to rest on the edge of this parking lot here. You can see what appear to be fire officials putting some water on the plane as well.

But, again, as we learned from officials, this plane struck multiple vehicles on its way to this resting place. And as we now know, five killed, three are in critical condition, two others were also transported to the hospital as well.

So, we're getting all of these details as they come in live. This happened earlier this afternoon. We're going to continue to monitor this. We'll bring you the latest as we get it for now. More coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

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JIMENEZ: All right, folks, the college football season kicked off with a little bit of controversy here. The University of Michigan Wolverines, they avoided a major upset in the closing seconds of their game last night against the Western Michigan University Broncos. They were trailing 12 to 7 with time running out. Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood tossing up a Hail Mary that sailed out of the back of the end zone. It looked like Western Michigan had won, but then there was a review, and referees actually added a single second back to the clock, giving them one more chance.

And Underwood makes the most of it, this time under pressure. He makes sure the pass stays in the end zone. You can see it going up. This time, it is caught, and 16th ranked. Michigan wins 13 to 12. Really an unbelievable catch there. Western Michigan that close to beating a team in the Associated Press poll top 20 for the first time in school history.

But the Big Ten Conference said in a statement that it was following video review, that it was determined Western Michigan's number 18 started his jump on the previous play from an established out-of- bounds position and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock. That's why that second was added.

So, I want to bring in the president of Western Michigan University, Russ Kavalhuna, and head coach Lance Taylor as well. Good to see you both. I really appreciate you taking the time after what I know is a long night. Coach, I want to start with you because, look, you see what I imagine was you believe the ball going out of bounds. You think you won. Now, all of a sudden, you got to refocus and try to make sure that you can do all you can to stop what would eventually be the game winning play. Walk us through what was going through your mind and what was really a chaotic final few minutes of the game here.

LANCE TAYLOR, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS: Yes, after the first Hail Mary attempt that we stopped successfully, we look up to the clock, it's zeros on the clock, and most of our sidelines started, you know, running out, started celebrating. The rest communicated to me that they were, you know, it was under review to make sure that the time was completely off the clock and to try to start getting the team back on the sideline. So, that's what we did as coaches, trying to get our team back on the sideline, settle them down, understand that we may have another play left.

And, you know, the officials came back, said that they were putting one second back on the clock, there would be another play. And at that point, it's, you know, reset and refocus. How do we respond? It was a chaotic few moments, a rollercoaster of emotions. But as a coach, you try to control the controllable, which is how we respond and show up for the next moment, being prepared. And honestly, I felt confident. Our players had played extremely well all game for 60 minutes, had battled in the game, showed that we belong, and given ourselves a chance to win and really proud of the effort, resilience that they showed. And so, I felt confident in sending our team, our defense back out for one last play. And, you know, that play mission was able to execute, catch in the end zone. And so, you know, a rollercoaster of emotions there and an opportunity to respond again for our team.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, President Kavalhuna, you spoke to Big Ten conference officials after the game. Can you just tell us what their explanation was to you in the moment?

[17:45:00]

Were you satisfied with what they were telling you? I know now, you know, 24 hours later, you're able to reflect a little bit. But in that moment, could you believe what they were telling you?

RUSS KAVALHUNA, PRESIDENT, WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: Well, I'll tell you what they told me. It's that they have a review process that involves video that they review through something they call the review office by technicians that review video of the game and video of the clock. And what I was most concerned about was what almost everybody was contacting both the coach and me, frankly, each other about, which was that the broadcast showed a completely different result.

And I've seen the two videos. And at my request, the Big Ten disclosed that video that they relied on. And, of course, all of you who are at home that watch again, you can see those are two different videos. And the Big Ten said they had an established process that they go through to review that. And they use one set of videos and that's what they relied on. And it does show that that there was a second left on the clock. However, the broadcast shows a different outcome. So, that's their process. They apply the process. There's also no appeal to that process.

I got to say, I'm not entirely enthused with the idea that folks at home and referees see different video. But the truth is we got to go forward. And this football team played its tail off. And we're clearly the better team on the field, and I'm really proud of that. And for those that had to go through the heart wrenching loss of that, we're going to try and pick up the pieces and move forward and be stronger as a result of this.

JIMENEZ: And coach, just to that point a little bit, just to just to explain for some of the folks who were watching at home, there are different clocks that are used during the course of the game. They should be synced up. But there's a clock that's shown on the broadcast, another one at the stadium as well, and then also clearly this one that the referees are using as well. Can you just walk us through what you are paying attention to clockwise in the game? And have you ever had a situation like this, where different clocks appeared to show different results with a margin just like this?

TAYLOR: Well, the only clock that we can see on the field is the scoreboard clock.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

TAYLOR: And, you know, as the play is going, I'm, you know, looking at the play and also kind of checking the game clock or video board clock. And, you know, it was just like what most people saw at home. It was zeros before we touched it. But this is not the first time I've had a review of, you know, how much time is left on the clock. And, you know, I will say, you know, the officials had reviewed several other calls and spots for markings of the football during the game. They were professional in how they handled their conduct and communication with me.

And, ultimately, you know, just like I tell our team, I have to exemplify, you know, control what we can control. As a head coach, when they tell me that there's a second left on the clock, what we have to do is be prepared to go out there and defend it no matter, you know, what I think the clocks say and, you know, trust their judgment that there was equity there and fair play.

JIMENEZ: You know, President Kavalhuna, after this game, I'm sure you've been busy, so you haven't quite seen all the chatter online. But as you might imagine, a lot of hot takes here. But, you know, we know that this was a Big Ten officiating crew. This is a Big Ten team. You're at the big house. There are a lot of folks that looked at this and said, well, hey, the cards were stacked against Western Michigan here. Some going as far as to say, even in a joking manner, this is rigged. You know, it was rigged for Michigan. And I know, based on what I've heard from you, you don't quite believe that.

But is there -- are there reforms you would like to see from either the Big Ten or from otherwise to eliminate that sort of opportunity for speculation in big games like this, whether it's offering, you know, a Mac set of officiating crews as part of this? I just wonder how you're thinking about maybe ways to prevent this wide speculation in the future.

KAVALHUNA: Yes. Well, this is a human game where, you know --

JIMENEZ: Yes.

KAVALHUNA: -- student athletes are working their tails off, trying to beat each other, and then referees making calls. So, there's going to be controversy in these sports in any regard. I looked into this in depth. I did because I wanted to support our student athletes who I believe deserve that. And I wanted to make sure that whatever the process was, was applied fairly. I looked -- I'm a former federal prosecutor. I looked in depth about it. I'm not in love with the process that was applied.

[17:50:00]

As I say, it got the league looking with one set of cameras and the viewers looking with another, which invites some scrutiny. I told the commissioner of Big Ten about that. But in the history of college sports, and this will not be the first or the last controversy, there has been no change in what I can see in the outcome of a game because of a controversial call. So, we need to look forward. And yes, I think it would be a reasonable question to ask, can the viewers at home and the referees that are going to be looking at calls look at the same video?

And I got to tell you, if we get more attention on this game, I think what you'll see is you should get more attention on this football team. This football team was supposed to lose by 28 points. This football team won its league last year, and we're on a trajectory. And, frankly, we were the better team on the field last night. And we plan to take this and go forward.

But in college sports right now, what is more important than a controversy is for the world to look at Western Michigan University and our team for the way we handled the field when we when we possessed the ball for double the amount of time than our opponent, how we had a victory taken from us in a difficult way, and how we handled ourselves that night and going forward, which is what you're going to see when you go to Western Michigan University and whether you study in our classrooms or play on our sports teams. When we get knocked down, we get back up, and you're going to see that.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And it goes without saying, look, this is game one of season. It is a long season. As a former college athlete myself, you know, this is where the journey begins. Coach, president, really appreciate you both taking the time. The Western Michigan Broncos take on Monmouth this coming Saturday. Appreciate you both after what I know has been a long night and long day.

TAYLOR: Thank you. Go Broncos!

JIMENEZ: Here we go. All right, we're also following some breaking news out of Miami, we've been keeping an eye on this, where a cargo plane overshot the runway, striking cars, and there are fatalities. We'll bring you the latest on that story, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: In case you didn't realize, it's Labor Day weekend. Millions of Americans are hitting the road for their last summer fling, but it might be a little bit of a surprise at the gas pump. We're talking four dollars, 15 cents on average for a gallon of regular, says AAA. And that average has never been, by the way, above four dollars a gallon before for Labor Day.

But it's not just the cost of filling your tank that's a problem. Diesel. It is at an all-time high. We are talking five dollars and 90 cents a gallon. That means it's costing businesses about $657 more to fill up the tank for all those 18 wheelers you've been seeing on the highway if you have been driving this Labor Day weekend.

So, I want to bring in Tom Kloza. He's the chief energy adviser for Gulf Oil. And Tom, look, transparently, these higher oil prices can technically be great for companies like Gulf Oil, but could they also reignite inflation? I just wonder how you're analyzing these numbers and the current environment that we're seeing right now.

TOM KLOZA, CHIEF ENERGY ADVISER, GULF OIL: Well, they're good news for companies that refine petroleum. Gulf is just the distributor and a retailer. But the refiners are making, in some cases, twice as much money on the refined products as they are on the crude. So, I would say this is a quiet but very, very concerning crisis right now, because whatever way you convey things across the country, you're going to pay a fortune. California is close to eight dollars on diesel right now, by the way.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes, yes. That 590 we mentioned, just an average across the country. So, some places much higher than that. Some places, you'll be able to find prices a little lower than that as well. Obviously, the backdrop to all of this is what is happening with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. If we could, if the U.S. could strike an ideal diplomatic resolution with Iran and let's say oil shipping went back to normal the next day, would that help or do you see these high prices as a little stickier in the near term if a deal was struck?

KLOZA: I think these prices are very, very sticky, and the reason is that we've got warfare going in two theaters, the Persian Gulf where refiners are being knocked out by drones and by missiles and then in Russia. I counted up. Just since July 31st, you've had three million barrels a day of Russian refining capacity that have been hit by Ukrainian drones. So, that's the reason why you're paying or people are paying $200 a barrel for diesel in a market where crude oil is only $90 or $93 or so.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You know, throughout all of this, you know, there are folks analyzing these numbers and these factors in many different ways. We've heard from the Trump administration before that they have forecasted gas prices will cool off, but we've also heard that before. I just want you to take a quick listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WRIGHT, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF ENERGY: We want it back below $3 a gallon, and it will be again before too long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Very soon, you'll be at two dollars and 50 cents a gallon for gasoline.

(APPLAUSE)

And even lower than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:00:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: I think we can get back to $3 dollars, hopefully.

UNKNOWN: When?

BESSENT: Maybe by Labor Day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, look, all right, we are here at Labor Day. Hasn't quite happened. Again, the political realm, very different than the business realm at times. But bottom line, I just wonder how much weight do you give to any price forecast with the U.S. and Iran still struggling over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Is it, essentially, you just have to wait until this is resolved?

KLOZA: I would say any presidential administration this century, it has been more propaganda than it has been really predicting what's going to happen with prices. And right now, we're looking at a fall that's going to be the most expensive ever for gasoline, but really for diesel. And that's going to fuel every aspect of inflation.

Think about the farmers who are paying record prices for fertilizer and record prices for diesel right now. You're going to see higher agricultural prices through the harvest season.

JIMENEZ: Tom Kloza, I appreciate the time and expertise. Thank you for being here. And a new hour of "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.