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Police Report ICE-involved Shooting In Austin, Texas; Trump Wants Triumphal Arch To Double As Military Complex; Trump Vows To Create "A.I. Force" And Appoint Czar; Interview With Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA); Trump To Meet With World Leaders At The U.N. General Assembly; Interview With Representative Greg Casar (D-TX); Mayor Mamdani To Meet Trump Monday Before U.N. General Assembly; Trump's Press Ban Puts TV Pool Coverage In Jeopardy; Paramount Nears Merger Settlement, Some States Not On Board; "The Detour With David Chang" Premieres Tonight. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 20, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:40]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening and welcome. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Danny Freeman in New York.

And we begin with breaking news out of Austin, Texas, this evening, where local officials say an ICE agent shot a man today. It's still early and we're still learning details, but officials spoke a short while ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT LUCKRITZ, EMS CHIEF, CITY OF AUSTIN: At approximately 12:56 in the afternoon today, Austin-Travis County EMS received notification from the Austin Police Department of a reported shooting at the 8000 block of Anderson Square. Austin-Travis County EMS responded immediately, was on scene within three and a half minutes.

One individual was identified suffering from a gunshot wound. The patient was stable. Vital signs were stable, but in serious condition. They were transported off the scene within nine minutes of arrival of EMS resources and transported to a local trauma center, as I said, in serious but stable condition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: The Trump administration has prioritized immigration enforcement, placing federal agents in cities across the country. While the crackdowns have resulted in arrests and deportations, they also have led to violence, some deaths and, of course, protests.

CNN's Rafael Romo is following this story.

Rafael, tell us, what are you hearing?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Danny, that information came from a press conference that happened just a few minutes ago, where we had Austin city officials, including Mayor Kirk Watson, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, and Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz, who together addressed the shooting at a press -- at that press conference.

The officials confirmed that a federal immigration agent shot an individual in their city, described as a male. EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said the person who was shot is in stable but serious condition, and Mayor Kirk Watson said the man was transported to Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin. Watson also said police were not involved in the shooting involving an ICE agent, but local police investigators were at the scene and doing traffic control in the area.

Congressman Greg Casar, who represents part of Austin, was also at the press conference. He said it is appropriate for the community to ask for an investigation with independence, he said, transparency and accountability. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREG CASAR (D-TX): I think the obvious should be said that there is a reason that people in Austin and across the country are deeply suspicious of anything that ICE has said, and there is a reason that people are hurting right now when they hear about this having happened in their city, even before they know all the facts.

We don't know all the facts. People in the community don't know all the facts. But people are hurting and upset because they see how ICE has shot and in some cases even killed people with impunity in other parts of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, Danny, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the incident may have included a foot chase with the ICE agent. Mayor Watson expressed doubts regarding ICE being able to do an independent investigation when one of their own was involved in the shooting and said the Texas Rangers and Austin Police will take part in the investigation into the shooting.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Rafael, before you go, do we know anything about what happened to the ICE agent involved in the shooting afterwards perhaps?

ROMO: Not just yet, Danny. We're waiting for answers from ICE and from the Department of Homeland Security. But it was very telling to hear in that press conference what Mayor Watson said. He said, I hope that the agent involved would not leave the city. He also said constituents are living in fear because of ICE, and they gave every indication, not only the mayor, but the other officials, that they may want to launch their own investigation into the shooting -- Danny.

FREEMAN: OK. A lot of moving parts here. Rafael, thank you so much for following all of it for us. We're going to switch gears for a moment and turn now to Washington,

where President Trump has a new plan to station drones and snipers in the nation's capital, announcing he will convert his so-called Triumphal Arch into a, quote, "top grade military complex." Multiple sources working with the administration on the project said the announcement caught them by surprise.

Julia Benbrook joins us now to discuss more.

Julia, tell us more about the president's new plan for the arch and this controversy surrounding it.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Donald Trump says that his proposed 250-foot Triumphal Arch will now double as a top grade military complex.

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He made this announcement of this development on social media earlier today, and he said that this arch would house, store and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus snipers on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition and storage, adding, there will be no facility like this anywhere in the world.

Our team did learn that this announcement did catch some working on the project off guard. Some of those working alongside the administration on this. And this arch, it's been at the center of some controversy for a while. The proposed location is on a traffic circle, is near a bridge that connects Washington, D.C., and Virginia, and a group of veterans suing against its construction say that this large structure would block the view from Arlington National Cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial.

This is one example of how Trump has worked to put his stamp, his style on the nation's capital. And it's also not the first time that he's added a military element to these plans as a way to sort of justify the new structure. In fact, when it comes to the White House ballroom that he says will go where the east -- the East Wing once stood, when it comes to that, that project is now tied to an underground military complex.

A lot of questions here, especially when it comes to the approval process of this. There are some key federal agencies that play a role when it comes to any changes in architecture and design around the city, and this design concept detail was not included when those plans were submitted.

FREEMAN: Julia, we also got some other interesting news about President Trump saying that he wants to create what he is calling an A.I. force, and naming an A.I. czar. Just before you go, do we have any details on what this force might look like or how it might operate?

BENBROOK: The details are still scarce. He says that he wants to create an A.I. force. He has compared it to creating Space Force, and he also says that he wants to name an A.I. czar to really take charge of this. And he added in that post that only high I.Q. individuals need apply for that job. We do not know at this point who he is considering or how far really in the process they are, but we also know that he has really advocated for growth and made it clear that outpacing China is important to him, even as the concerns have been growing about regulations.

A number of lawmakers, former A.I. employees and even leaders at top A.I. companies have been sounding the alarm about the rapid growth of industry, and some even at Anthropic, OpenAI and others have called for some federal safety regulations to be put into place to intentionally slow the pace of development.

FREEMAN: All right, Julia Benbrook, thank you so much for reporting on both of those subjects. We really do appreciate it.

We're going to continue this conversation about A.I.. Joining us now, Democratic Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, who is co- sponsoring a bipartisan measure on A.I. safety known as the Frontier Act.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for your time on this Sunday evening.

REP. LORI TRAHAN (D-MA): Thank you.

FREEMAN: I'm going to get to your specific proposal and bill in just a moment, but I want to get your reaction to this A.I. force the president says he will create. As Julia noted, details are pretty scarce at the moment. But do you think a separate branch or body like this is needed to oversee this of course rapidly developing technology?

TRAHAN: You know, it's not out of the question that over the long term, we have something like that in place. I just want to remind you, though, I mean, when we set up the Space Force that took an act of Congress. You know, the president just talking about an A.I. force without any sort of durable strategy on how to do that through congressional authorization feels more like a delay tactic.

So, you know, we should be really heeding the alarm or the concern that we've seen these last few weeks. We should not not be in Washington right now. We should be passing legislation and guardrails around the frontier labs. And this doesn't do any of that.

FREEMAN: All right. So let's then get to the Frontier Act. Listen, as you noted, basically all we've done for the past several weeks and months is read headline after headline asserting that these A.I. technologies and companies are getting too powerful by the day.

Tell me, Congresswoman, what is your pitch to Americans that this bill, in particular, this legislation, will protect them and us from the dangers of A.I.?

TRAHAN: Well, we can't afford to wait. Right? We've seen the last couple of weeks really have been a tipping point. We've seen models escape their companies, safety researchers resign. You know, the latest of the CEOs who are basically saying that this technology is getting too powerful and they need Congress to act.

The Frontier Act is simple.

[18:10:01]

It doesn't work on the voluntary system. It mandates transparency, incident reporting, independent verification, not hired by the companies themselves, but certified by the government. And then a kill switch. If there is a model that's capable of catastrophic risk, the government has the ability to step in. And that's table stakes. I mean, we have so much to do in this area, but the fact that we are gambling with the next incident, which might not be just hacking a company, it could cause real damage, is completely irresponsible.

FREEMAN: Well, Congresswoman, it's interesting because a new lawsuit is claiming that Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX A.I. and Google made an illegal deal to slow the pace of A.I. development. Anthropic co- founder Dario Amodei acknowledged potential antitrust issues in his essay last weekend. I'm going to read part of it right here. He wrote, "It's helpful for the U.S. government to mediate or at least enable these discussions. They don't need to participate, but do need to issue a narrow waiver for certain kinds of safety conversations."

Congresswoman, I'm curious, are you crafting this A.I. legislation with input from A.I. companies? And I guess, do you believe them when they say they want regulation?

TRAHAN: You know, I've seen what the CEOs of these companies have put out and it's a good start. Look, I think the problem that I have is that it's voluntary. You know, you -- whatever is agreed to on a handshake, what's good on Friday might not be good on Monday. And so I don't think that we can rely on the honor system. And we have been in touch with companies of all sizes. I mean, right now, certainly it's these frontier models that pose the largest risk.

And which is why frontier puts the heaviest burden on those large companies while still allowing smaller companies, emerging companies, you know, open weight models to have the room to grow. I think our biggest concern right now is that these three or four or five companies are setting the rules of the road, not really thinking about, you know, the smaller companies that need that room to grow, and not really thinking that this needs to be mandatory with independent verification and a government kill switch.

FREEMAN: Congresswoman, House Energy and Commerce chair Brett Guthrie, speaking last week at a Politico event, would not, though, commit to timing for a panel vote on your bipartisan, I'll remind folks, bill saying it may not even come up until next year. You said, I believe on this network even that time is not on our side. Do you have any sense of when you could expect this legislation to move forward, especially because you, these companies, whistleblowers, they're all saying this is urgent?

TRAHAN: It's absolutely urgent. And we cannot wait. I mean, I'm completely uncomfortable waiting the seven weeks until after the election. This is so bipartisan in terms of the calls. Just this past week, you had Steve Bannon and Senator Bernie Sanders on the same stage, basically calling for, you know, humans to keep control over this technology and put guardrails in place. So I'm completely uncomfortable with us not heeding these warnings.

And I know Democrats, you know, one of the reasons why we're fighting so hard to win back the majority is because this is a top tier issue for House Democrats. We are hearing back home from our constituents that they are concerned. They want Congress to act. And we need to, you know, act with the urgency that meets this moment.

FREEMAN: Have you gotten, though, any guarantees from your Republican colleagues in Congress that even after the election, but perhaps before a new Congress, whatever that makeup might be, that when you all get back to D.C., it will be a key priority?

TRAHAN: No, I haven't gotten a commitment. I mean, certainly there is internal and external pressure that's mounting. You know, it's not -- it's not surprising that Republican leadership is taking its cues from the president. And the president doesn't want to do anything. He feels as though these companies regulating themselves is just fine. I think those of us who are in Congress, who have lived through social media and, you know, the absence of regulation and the effects on our children will not stand for that.

So we're going to keep pushing. We're going to make sure that at a minimum, we're calling for hearings, but also, you know, keeping a group who have put pen to paper on bipartisan legislation that can pass both chambers, you know, working on that to get marked up and voted on in the House floor.

FREEMAN: And again, as people in the industry and politicians and certainly the public as well, they all seem to agree that this is an urgent matter for America to get on board.

Congresswoman Lori Trahan, thank you so much for joining us on a Sunday evening to talk about a very important topic. Appreciate it.

TRAHAN: Thank you, Danny.

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FREEMAN: Still to come, President Trump is preparing to meet with world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly this week. The former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. will join us to discuss this.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: This week, world leaders will gather at the United Nations for the annual general assembly.

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This year, the meeting comes at a time when questions of A.I. and security have taken on new urgency. And the U.S. war with Iran is nearing the seven-month mark with economic implications stretching far beyond the Middle East.

So let's discuss this and much more. We're joined now by former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Biden administration, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Ambassador, thank you so much for your time. Let's start here. The war with Iran and the widening conflict in the Middle East is expected, we imagine, to be a top focus of the agenda this week. I'm curious, though, from your perspective, how much of a priority will this be potentially for other nations trying to pressure the U.S. and Iran to come to an agreement, because they're also seeing the intense impacts of this war?

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Well, Danny, this is really going to be at the top of the list for all of the countries participating in the U.N. this week. This is the United Nations. This is the premier organization that brings the world together. And so the world will be waiting to hear from President Trump where his plans are to deal with the situation and bring it to an end in Iran.

It's having an impact on countries all over the world. And it's certainly having an impact on the American public. We're feeling it in in our pocketbooks. We're feeling it in our grocery sacks. We're feeling it in in our gas tanks. So what happens there is something that everyone will be waiting to talk about and hear about.

FREEMAN: Ambassador, I'm curious your perspective on this because for a second consecutive year, the State Department has blocked members of the Palestinian Authority from attending the U.N. meeting alleging support for terrorism. However, Iranian officials this year were granted visas to attend this assembly, even though they are designated as a state sponsor of terror.

Can you shed some light here? Is there a double standard going on here? Is this just because negotiations to try and end this conflict are key?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Well, look, the United States has a responsibility as the host country of the United Nations to provide access to all the participants in this meeting. And it actually surprises me that we would grant visas to the Iranians and not grant visas to the Palestinians. They are an observer state. We need to hear from them. We need to be -- we need to engage with them just like we're engaging with others.

The situation in Gaza continues to be devastating for the people living there. How that situation will be addressed has to be addressed with the Palestinian Authority and with all of those who have a stake in this, and they certainly have a stake.

FREEMAN: Ambassador, I want to switch gears for a moment, because sources tell CNN that the Trump administration will convene a high level event on the sidelines of the general assembly, focused on a -- rather, focused on A.I.. From your perspective, what can we expect from a gathering of the minds on this? Do you expect that nations can be productive working together to address the risks of A.I.?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Actually, I was very pleased to hear that the administration would be hosting this meeting. In March of 2024, my team, when I was ambassador to the United Nations, put forward a draft resolution on A.I.. So that resolution provides some guidelines for how the world would like to proceed on dealing with the issues of A.I., and this is the place to do it. So having this meeting being brought about by the Trump administration I think will be seen as very, very positive. 120 nations signed on to the resolution that we put forward.

China even signed on to the resolution. The president is going to be meeting with President Xi. I have heard that that's on their agenda as well. This is something that's truly important, given what we have been hearing from the A.I. community about the threats and the concerns with A.I..

FREEMAN: Ambassador, there are a lot of eyes, of course, on the big speeches, but a lot of the real work, as we understand, is happening on the sidelines. Can you indulge us and take us behind the scenes of what this week actually looks like? Does the administration, for example, lay out some of their goals and priorities to talk again off of the main speech and main events?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, the main event, of course, is the general assembly. That starts on Tuesday. Everybody will be there to hear the president speak. But what happens behind the scenes are tons of bilateral meetings with countries to address issues that are important to them. I don't know the exact meetings that the Trump administration will be having, but I do know when I was in the job, it was quite intense.

[18:25:07]

It was the president, it's the secretary of state. It's other Cabinet officials meeting with their counterparts here, and then countries, other countries meeting with their counterparts in regional gatherings. So that is -- the meetings on the margin are as important as the big event.

FREEMAN: Ambassador, what else are you looking ahead to specifically? What should the public be paying attention to as this incredibly busy week kicks off tomorrow?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, I suspect that the public is not paying attention to the secretary general election, but that is a huge, huge deal. That election is taking place now. The secretary general will -- the current secretary general will be exiting the job on December 31st, and hopefully the Security Council and the members of the general assembly will come to an agreement on who the next secretary general will be.

And that new secretary general will have the important role of moving this organization forward in the next 10 years -- next five to 10 years. FREEMAN: And again, again, a crucial election that we should all pay

attention to as so many international issues and high stakes issues as well are before the U.N. coming forward.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, thank you so much for previewing, again, what is, I'm sure, going to be a busy week ahead for you and also many, many countries and diplomats. Appreciate your time this evening.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Good. Thank you, Danny. It was great being here.

FREEMAN: And we continue to follow that breaking news of a shooting involving an ICE agent in Austin, Texas. Now, there are calls for an independent investigation, including from my next guest, the congressman who represents Austin. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:16]

FREEMAN: We're following breaking news out of Austin, Texas, where officials say an ICE agent shot a man earlier today. Officials told reporters the man was transported to a medical center in stable but serious condition. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis also said the incident may have included a foot chase with the ICE agent.

Now we're still getting more details about what exactly happened, but Texas Democratic Congressman Greg Casar has already called for a, quote, "full independent investigation." And Congressman Casar joins us now.

Congressman, thank you for jumping on with us, especially after a press conference not too long ago on a busy day. Let's start here. Have you heard from ICE or any other federal officials since this happened in your community?

CASAR: We are demanding all the answers we can get from ICE. We have not gotten those answers yet. I am in touch with representatives of the family and was on speakerphone briefly with the family here, and we are demanding full transparency. That means immediate release of body camera footage, dashcam footage, and cooperation with an independent investigation with Austin authorities.

We're also asking for accountability, which means holding any ICE officer accountable who broke the law and not having any ICE officer leave the state like we've seen in other situations. And finally, we need safety. That means ICE leaving Austin because during their surge the last few weeks, they've arrested school teachers. They've arrested 5-year-old kids, and now it looks like they've shot a man here in broad daylight.

FREEMAN: Congressman, can you shed a little light on how this man's family is processing what happened earlier today?

CASAR: Right now, this man's family is just trying to see him. I understand that he's a delivery driver, and we need the facts to come out clearly here for the family and for all families, because other Texas families haven't gotten that.

Lorenzo Araujo in Houston, who was shot, cover it up. He's just a construction worker headed to work. Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen from San Antonio, shot and killed. ICE said it was his fault. Then when the video finally came out, it showed that he was acting totally peacefully and was basically killed. A U.S. citizen killed in Texas for the crime of celebrating his 23rd birthday.

So ICE needs to get out of our city and start telling people the truth. We need the facts in this case to really understand what fully happened. But what we are seeing from ICE in Texas and across the country is unacceptable.

FREEMAN: Congressman, do you have a sense if this man who was shot was a U.S. citizen or if he was the target of an ICE investigation?

CASAR: We do not have that information yet. I sit on the House Oversight Committee where we're going to get these answers. Right now what we're seeing and hearing from Stephen Miller and from Trump's White House is they're trying to send the message that ICE can do whatever they want. Well, that's not how this works. When Democrats take back control of the House this November, I on my committee and others will be issuing subpoenas to make sure we get full information about every person, whether they are an immigrant or a U.S. citizen that has been shot or detained in abusive ways in this country because there needs to be accountability for these sorts of actions so that it stops happening.

We need our federal law enforcement focused on crime and dangerous to society, not situations like we've seen across the country of U.S. citizens being shot, of completely peaceful immigrant communities being torn apart. We need answers, and we don't need more lies and propaganda from ICE.

FREEMAN: Congressman, do you know if the agent in question is still in the city?

[18:35:01]

Did the agent involved leave or did the agent stay at the scene? Do you have any information on that front?

CASAR: The information I had just a few hours ago was that the ICE agent was on the scene, and we need our local authorities to be able to get information from people in the community. We need to make sure that there is good video of what happened. And yes, just like in any other law enforcement case, we need the agent in this case to remain in the state. That way, if the evidence says there was no wrongdoing, nothing happened, then we can move forward.

But as we've seen in so many other cases, ICE has hidden the evidence and we need to be able to hold this ICE officer accountable if any crimes were committed. And we need to be able to determine that without interference because we saw how Governor Greg Abbott refused to extradite an ICE agent that shot someone illegally in Minnesota. We can't have that happen again. FREEMAN: Congressman Greg Casar, thank you so much for jumping on with

us. I know it's a very fluid situation on the ground in your community. Please come back with any updates as you get them. Thank you.

CASAR: It's good to be with you. Thank you, Danny.

FREEMAN: Switching gears now, before President Trump addresses world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly next week, he will meet with the New York city Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion tomorrow. This will be President Trump and Mamdani's third time meeting face to face and both leaders have been very critical of each other's policies, from immigration to the economy and much more.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now.

Gloria, what more are you learning about this meeting of these two leaders?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's most interesting to me so far, Danny, is that this is happening in Mamdani territory, right? Trump is coming to New York City, his hometown, but he is meeting Mamdani in Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence here in New York City. So it will be very much the mayor's domain that Trump is entering now. We are waiting to learn exactly what the two are going to discuss.

I want to just show you city hall confirming that this meeting is planned for Monday. And they told us that the meeting will be focused on issues affecting New Yorkers. In fact, that's usually what the mayor says when we ask him about what he talks to Trump about, because I have to mention, the two do talk in addition to these in-person meetings. Now, this will be the third time they meet face to face.

And, you know, these are two very different politicians, different ideological spectrums, different views, certainly different styles. And I think it's interesting that it's coming not just ahead of the United Nations General Assembly here in New York City, where Trump, as you said, is scheduled to speak on Tuesday. But it's also coming as poll numbers for Trump have been tanking.

In fact, I want to show you a new poll from NBC showing that 55 percent of voters think Trump's policies have hurt the economy. That's interesting because Mamdani's key issue is affordability, the cost of living, housing, the economy. And that is certainly something that he has talked to Trump about in the past. In fact, I want to just bring us back to the last time -- the first time that the two met, that we didn't really know what we were going to get and we got a surprisingly positive reaction from the president. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think you're going to have hopefully a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am, I will say. There's no difference in party. There's no difference in anything. And we're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: How he's going to be helping New York City continues to be the key question. I want to show you a picture from the second time that Mamdani met with Trump. This was back in February, and Mamdani met with him to pitch him on a major federal housing project. And he took with him props. We know that the president is fond of graphs and props and big signs, and he gifted him this mockup of the "Daily News" cover, a very famous cover when New York City was about to go broke in the 1970s. They printed a cover that said "Ford to City: Drop Dead."

Mamdani came up with his own version of the cover sort of showing Trump that he could help the city of New York. This has certainly been part of his strategy. So we see how Mamdani is approaching this. We'll see how he approaches it tomorrow. Immigration also certain to come up. That remains to be -- that remains a pressure point between the two of them. Certainly, immigration policies from the Trump administration have affected New Yorkers significantly. So we will see how this meeting goes tomorrow on Monday -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Yes, we will indeed. We'll see if the mayor of New York City brings any more newspaper clippings to this meeting with the president.

Thanks, Gloria. Appreciate it.

[18:40:02]

And coming up in just a moment, the Trump administration is defending its White House ban against three news organizations, including CNN, as those three prepare to take legal action. We have the very latest coming up next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: President Trump has denied access to three news outlets from the White House, including CNN. Well, before that, CNN was scheduled to travel Monday with the president covering his upcoming U.N. trip to New York for all of the TV networks.

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It's known as the White House press pool. But now it's not clear what's going to happen tomorrow.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins us now.

Brian, what do we know about this press pool situation? And can you explain how this could affect other media outlets' ability to cover the president?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right. This is day two of the ban affecting Politico, MS NOW and CNN. And there is legal action in the works. But tomorrow is going to be a very interesting test because CNN is one of five members of the TV network press tour -- press pool. The five major networks in the U.S. take turns traveling with the president, tracking him 24/7 and being the pool representative.

The camera crew that is with him if he's taking questions in the Oval Office or he's boarding Marine One, or if he's in a meeting tomorrow with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. So in settings where the entire press corps can't fit, the pool is in charge. CNN's turn to be a member in the pool and to be that responsibility, that's on Monday. That's a schedule that was set by the White House a week ago. So we are waiting to see if the White House changes that schedule and rejects CNN's access tomorrow, or if it goes ahead with that pool coverage.

But you asked, Danny, why it matters to everybody else. Well, it matters because the pictures the pool sends in are the pictures everybody else sees, all the local stations, all the publications that "The New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" that have video operations these days. All the networks all around the world that CNN competes with, they all rely on the TV pool. So tomorrow, a very important test.

And Danny, it's important to note here, sources tell me those three banned news outlets are preparing a First Amendment lawsuit. There are some indications it could be filed in the coming hours. Ted Boutrous, the famed First Amendment attorney, he tells me he has been retained by CNN. And that's notable because Boutrous represented CNN back in 2018, when Jim Acosta's press pass was revoked by the White House. Boutrous successfully got Acosta back to work in that case, and he tells me he is back working with CNN on what might be a lawsuit to be filed soon.

FREEMAN: All right. So a lot of moving developments as we go throughout the night perhaps.

Brian, you also, as I understand it, have new reporting on the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger deal. And of course, full disclosure, CNN is owned by Warner Brothers Discovery. Tell us, what are you hearing about whether state prosecutors might actually greenlight this deal in some way?

STELTER: That's right. California AG Rob Bonta has been leading the coalition trying to stop the merger. But in recent days, Bonta has been holding settlement talks, and he's been trying to encourage some of the other states to get on board and strike a settlement deal. I'm told that four states, several states, at least four, are pushing back and resisting the settlement terms. Those states include New York and Connecticut.

This is notable because a lot of these AGs in these states are up for reelection. They are worried about their reelection potentially. In New York Letitia James is pushing for additional protections for workers. And in Connecticut, the AG there, William Tong, I'm told by a source close to the negotiations is, quote, "fighting to preserve the independence of CNN and CBS News."

So this network and whether it will have editorial independence going forward is all a part of this ongoing negotiation as Paramount tries to get a settlement deal done. Tonight there are protesters gathering outside Bonta's office in L.A. and tomorrow outside Letitia James' office in New York. A lot of pressure to get this deal done, but also a lot of pressure from merger opponents, Danny. So this is another example of a case we're going to hear more about in the coming hours and days.

FREEMAN: All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much for breaking both of those stories down.

And remember, you can sign up for Brian's "Reliable Sources" newsletter at CNN.com/ReliableSources.

We'll be right back.

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[18:52:18]

FREEMAN: You're looking at live pictures right now from Austin, Texas, and our affiliate KI. You can see that protesters have gathered around the area where early reports say that a ICE agent shot a man, and that man was described as being in stable but serious condition. Again, you're looking at live pictures right here from the ground. As you can see, police officers also on the ground in Austin in what appear to be riot gear.

We're going to keep an eye on the situation and we're going to bring you more on this at the top of the hour.

Tonight experience the new CNN Original Series, "THE DETOUR WITH DAVID CHANG," as the celebratory, rather, the celebrity chef hits the road to find the restaurants that make America tick.

Omar Jimenez sat down with David Chang. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What drew you to the road trip in particular?

DAVID CHANG, CELEBRITY CHEF: The road trip in America was sort of like the secret metaphor for the show. Maybe discover things that are in your backyard or that are not so far away, and look at it from a different light. Just have fun. Get in a car with no agenda, no itinerary, and hopefully have a few laughs and some tasty food along the way.

JIMENEZ: You're not going to the places that might be hot among influencers. What are you hoping to find?

CHANG: Sometimes the great experience at a restaurant or eatery isn't necessarily just the food. Sometimes it's the stories. It's the people. Social media, the internet, smartphone, strangely should increase our options, but I fear that it's like making that more myopic.

JIMENEZ: What drives us to the same places. CHANG: Yes. Yes.

JIMENEZ: You know, one of the coolest moments for me, just as a viewer was watching your interaction with -- you sort of went back to your roots in a sense, meeting with the family that supplies.

CHANG: Allan Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Ham.

JIMENEZ: It's one thing to say, oh, we've had a business relationship over the years, but when you were there, it really did feel like you were a member of their family. Did you expect that at all?

CHANG: There's so many things I didn't expect. You know, being here, talking to you, having the honor to do this show, which is basically falling around what I would normally do anyway. Right?

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes, yes.

CHANG: And the restaurant industry is a lot of things. It can be extraordinarily difficult and almost a futile endeavor sometimes. But at its very best it is amazing when you can actually develop relationships with purveyors and artisans and farmers and customers.

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about Las Vegas. You met with a Hawaiian chef while filming this episode. What did you learn about sort of the diaspora community?

CHANG: I've been to Vegas so many times, I never thought that there was a tremendous Hawaiian.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Desert island.

CHANG: The irony is, when we left the casino, that is a very much a Hawaiian local casino.

[18:55:02]

Cord Jefferson, who was my guest, we were leaving the casino, got into a cab and the cab driver who happened to be Ethiopian that was driving, she did a remarkable job at teaching us that actually the largest group of immigrants in Las Vegas area were Ethiopians. And I was like, that's crazy. And sure enough, it's true.

JIMENEZ: It's incredible.

CHANG: That's what this show is about, is just trying new things, new flavor to your repertoire. Eat some Ethiopian food.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: And be sure to tune in, "THE DETOUR WITH DAVID CHANG." It premieres tonight at 9:00 Eastern and streaming the next day on the CNN app. We'll be right back.

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