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Widening War; Trump's Media Ban; Ed Sheeran Apologizes. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 20, 2026 - 03:30   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, how the war in the Middle East widens as an Iran-backed group claims to have attacked Saudi Arabia's capital.

Media outlets, including CNN, are barred from the White House, setting up a legal fight around press freedoms.

And Ed Sheeran is apologizing to fans for what he is calling mistakes after his tour became mired in controversy around the Israel-Hamas war.

And we begin with a significant escalation in the widening Middle East conflict. The Iranian-backed Houthis are claiming to have attacked Saudi Arabia's capital for the first time since fighting renewed in July. The Yemeni militant group says it attacked, quote, sensitive sites in Riyadh with missiles and drones.

This video shows a column of smoke billowing near the city's main airport, though the Houthis didn't specify the site. The group also claims that it struck an Aramco facility near the Red Sea. Now, for its part, Saudi Arabia says it thwarted several attacks, including an attempted missile strike on Riyadh.

Let's get more now from CNN's Paula Hancocks. She joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. And, Paula, smoke and flames seen near the airport in Riyadh. Do we know more about exactly what happened and what was targeted?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, we haven't had confirmation from Saudi Arabia at this point as to what exactly was hit near that airport. We did hear from the Houthis, though. So, first of all, let's listen to what they claim that they had targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAHYA SAREA, HOUTHI MILITARY SPOKESMAN: The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out, with the help of Almighty God, two significant military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones. The first targeted sensitive targets in the Saudi enemy's capital, Riyadh. The second targeted the Aramco company in Yanbu. Both operations were crowned a success, resulting in massive fires at the targeted sites.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, we heard emergency alerts in areas of Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Saturday. We haven't had any confirmation of damage or of casualties, but certainly the Reuters video showing a thick black plume of smoke coming from near the Riyadh airport, the main airport in the Saudi capital, is of note. No exact detailing though from either side of what was targeted specifically.

But when it comes to the Red Sea port of Yanbu that the Houthi rebels have targeted as well, this is really a key port and a key opportunity for Saudi Arabia to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has so many problems at the moment and to be able to get their oil exports out to the wider world. So, this really does have an impact on the Saudi ability to be able to continue to export. It's where some of their key oil pipelines terminate.

So, what we're seeing is really a continuation of the hostilities between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels who, in recent days and a week-and-a-half, really have made significant territorial gains across the west coast of Yemen, also Perim Island, a key area if they want to take control of that Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which heads into the Red Sea affecting commercial shipping. And it also has an impact on Saudi Arabia that was trying to use this area to export, as I say, given what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz.

And then looking at the wider situation, you also had overnight Saturday into Sunday local time a number of alerts from the U.S. State Department, different U.S. embassies around the Gulf and also in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, all warning Americans to stay alert, saying that the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation.

[03:05:00]

Now, the U.S. embassies around this region do from time to time update these alerts, but certainly the timing has raised some eyebrows and the fact that it has been so widespread across such a significant area of the Gulf and the Middle East. Kristie?

STOUT: Yes. And what happened in Riyadh appears to be a significant escalation in this second front of the wider conflict in the Middle East.

Paula Hancocks live from Abu Dhabi, we thank you for your reporting.

The widening war keeps putting pressure on the price of oil worldwide, and American drivers are among those feeling the impact. Right now, AAA says the average for fuel in the U.S. is $4.48 for a gallon of regular unleaded. It was just $2.98 before the war. Now, diesel is now at a record $6.49 a gallon. That's sharply higher than before the war.

Now, the U.S. military carried out a deadly strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean. This took place on Saturday. Southern Command says four people were killed, and it claimed that the vessel was, quote, operating along established narco-trafficking routes.

Now, since the U.S. launched its mission to stop the flow of drugs into the country, its military has killed at least 234 people and destroyed at least 80 vessels.

Now, three major news organizations have signaled that they will take legal action to defend their journalists' right to report freely on the U.S. government. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would ban CNN, MSNBC Now, and Politico from the White House. On Saturday morning, reporters from those outlets were denied access to the White House grounds and had their press passes confiscated.

Now, CNN's Brian Stelter has the latest on the reaction.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there. Yes, now that President Trump's media ban is in effect, the three newsrooms targeted by the president are preparing to defend their rights in court. Now, here's what this network, CNN, said in a statement on Saturday, quote, we have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government, and this ban is an illegal assault on that fundamental right.

And MS NOW said in a statement, quote, the network intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy. On Saturday, reporters from MS NOW, CNN, and Politico had their press passes confiscated, and now there are questions about whether CNN will be able to fulfill its pool responsibilities on Monday.

So, let me explain what that means. CNN is one of five members of the U.S. T.V. pool. The five major networks in the U.S. take turns providing 24/7 coverage of the president, especially when he's traveling or he's in smaller settings like the Oval Office where there's not room for the entire White House press corps.

So, the pool plays a really essential role, and CNN's next turn as pool representative is on Monday. So, it's going to be interesting to see if the other four major networks show solidarity with CNN and take a stand. Based on my reporting thus far, my sense is that they will.

Throughout the day on Saturday, I heard from news outlets that usually love to compete with one another but are, in this case, standing together, showing solidarity with CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. The White House Correspondents Association also issued a strong statement on Saturday, saying that Trump's ban, quote, violates the First Amendment.

I've noticed many Trump detractors on social media calling for a total boycott, saying the wider American news media should turn off the cameras and deny Trump the attention he wants. But I have to say, at the same time, White House reporters want access to Trump and his aides. They want to be able to see what's going on at the White House. They want to be able to inform the public about what's going on.

So, that's what this is really ultimately all about, and press freedom groups are united in saying that Trump is trying to restrict the public's right to know, and that that's an unconstitutional and unacceptable infringement.

Here's what the group Reporters Without Borders said on Saturday, saying this is all about control, quote, the president is once again spewing lies about fake news to try to control who covers him and where. And here's the National Press Club in a statement saying the president doesn't have that power, quote, the First Amendment does not permit the government to pick and choose which journalists are allowed to do their jobs.

And that is what the case law indicates. Courts have ruled in the past that if the White House decides to let some reporters in, then it cannot block others because of their perceived point of view.

Now, I'm told that lawyers for the three affected news organizations are working through next steps, and that there will be legal action in the days to come, because this is a very important test for free speech and First Amendment rights in the United States.

Brian Stelter, CNN.

STOUT: Adam Rose is the deputy director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

[03:10:02]

He joins us live from Los Angeles. Adam, thank you for joining us here on the program.

As reported, U.S. President Donald Trump is banning three media organizations from the White House, including CNN. Can a U.S. president do this?

ADAM ROSE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION: Well, thank you for having me, Kristie. And if I look a little bleary-eyed, your viewers may know it's early in the morning here in the United States, but, really, it's the exhaustion of keeping up with the pace of press freedom violations from this administration.

You ask a very practical question here about whether or not this can be done. Now, the law exists in two separate but very unequal places. The reality is that this administration has made any number of attempts to exclude press from access, whether it's to the White House or to the Pentagon, and repeatedly journalists will have lawsuits filed and win. The courts will uphold the First Amendment.

They will uphold the right of press access in these situations, and as Brian was just talking about, the way that that is supposed to be applied when there's a limited amount of space. It's not supposed to be the government picking and choosing.

Now, the other place the law exists is in the street, as we say, or in this case, the White House, the people's House. The reality is journalists are not going to barge past the Secret Service. So, we potentially, in that case, could have some sort of constitutional crisis. I don't expect that imminently, but I do expect this to play out in court over the days and weeks ahead in very complicated maneuvering on both sides.

STOUT: Now, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and press in the United States. Give us a history lesson here. Tell us more about what it's designed to protect and how.

ROSE: Sure. Well, the First Amendment is only 45 words, and that includes five different major rights, not just the freedom of the press. So, a lot of interpretation has happened over the generations since it was written almost 250 years ago. It was actually in the 1780s when pen hit paper for that particular amendment.

And at that time, we need to think about who they were trying to protect. It wasn't necessarily CNN. They couldn't have envisioned CNN or MS NOW, Politico, Fox News, or the New York Times, or any of these major media outlets the way that we have mass media today. Instead, they were thinking about Thomas Paine and his pamphlets, which were periodically published. They were thinking about Benjamin Franklin and his twice weekly Pennsylvania Gazette.

Not only were they thinking about these as sporadic publications, they were thinking about the content of what they are publishing. And let's not forget that that content was calling for the violent, radical overthrow of the government, which indeed happened.

Now, Politico, MS NOW, and CNN are nowhere near that revolutionary or that radical. They're quite tame by comparison. So, the idea of the First Amendment is to protect speech regardless of that opinion, and in fact, especially if it is adversarial to the government. That's by design.

STOUT: Now, this latest ban from the U.S. president is likely to face constitutional legal challenges. Tell us what happens next, and what does the timeline look like for this ban to be challenged?

ROSE: Well, everything is sort of catching people off guard right now. I mean, you know, when it was announced over Truth Social the other night, you know, people didn't, even though in the administration, exactly how it would play out.

And so when journalists from those outlets showed up in the last 24 hours, they were not allowed in, their credentials were seized, and people could have guessed that from the post that Donald Trump put on social media. But the reality is that there's going to be, in the next few days, and probably by first thing Monday morning, filings by these outlets and their legal representation to demand a injunction from a court or hopefully even a temporary restraining order, which would move even faster, insisting that the pool move forward as it normally does.

Now, this is the sort of thing where the federal courts move at their own pace. So, it's not something that is going to necessarily happen within a matter of minutes the first thing Monday morning, but I don't think it's going to take a matter of days either. STOUT: Got it. And President Trump has also threatened to ban additional news organizations. So, are you concerned about a chilling effect that maybe other smaller media outlets would self-censor out of fear that they could be next to lose access?

ROSE: Well, even the largest of the large have self-censored in their own ways. And we can think about how this has already happened in the last year with the Associated Press and how they would not call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, which Trump wanted to rename it, and as a result, they lost access. More recently, we've seen issues with the largest companies on this planet capitulating to Donald Trump renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America.

Now, there's all sorts of chilling effects that can happen here. One of the biggest concerns that we have, of course, is that this doesn't just impact you know, large outlets, but it does impact them as well. So, let's focus very, you know, seriously on CNN, which is among the largest of the large, and outlets like CBS, ABC, Fox, all of these others which will potentially have to rethink how they approach the president, lest they feel that they're targeted.

And I should mention that we're talking about major corporate media, and one of the really important notes here is that CBS is currently owned by David Ellison, and his dad, of course, is Larry Ellison, briefly last year the richest human being on the planet.

[03:15:01]

They are actively trying to take over CNN and to take ownership of CNN.

So, this is the time for people like David Ellison, like Larry Ellison, to speak out and to say, hey, we need to protect the people we want to employ at CNN and the people we already employ at CBS. So, it's a very legitimate impact right now on CNN, but there's certainly a chilling effect, I think, on CBS employees as well.

STOUT: Oh, Adam, we are aware of that. Adam Rose, we'll leave it at that. But this is a media situation that will have far-reaching effects.

Adam Rose joining us from Los Angeles, do catch up on your sleep. Thank you very much for your perspective. Take care.

Now to our next story pop star Ed Sheeran says that his, quote, heart has been broken by the Israel-Hamas war, and that he's had to make, quote, difficult decisions.

Now those comments, they follow controversy over Macklemore's removal from Sheeran's U.S. tour dates. This is after he made pro-Palestinian remarks on stage. That decision led Sheeran's remaining opening acts to withdraw in protest.

Now, for more, here's Gloria Pazmino.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big question going into Saturday night's show was whether or not Ed Sheeran was going to be acknowledging the controversy of the past few weeks, and he did exactly that just moments after taking the stage. In fact, before he started performing, he spoke directly to the crowd, to the fans. He talked about the controversy of the past few weeks. He acknowledged the environment and everything that's been happening. He also said that he was heartbroken, and he emphasized that he never wanted to be an activist artist.

He also said that he had made some mistakes along the way and spoke directly to his fans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED SHEERAN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: I don't want to disappoint fans, and I've never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.

Always been a safe space for everyone, and that matters hugely to me. What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives. And the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, although there was a small demonstration earlier in the day a few blocks from here, a pro-Palestinian demonstration, there were really no disruptions at all whatsoever to Saturday night's event. There were thousands of people who came into the venue on Saturday evening, and we spoke to a lot of them, many of them who told us that they were simply here to support Ed Sheeran.

They were looking forward to a good concert, looking forward to good music, many of them saying they had their tickets for a long time. They were here with their children, their young families, and they were hoping that the night would just be about the music. That certainly seems to be what Sheeran was trying to deliver for them after acknowledging the controversy.

Now, as we move past Philadelphia I think one thing we're going to be watching for is how these concerts perform, right? He's traveling around the country, and we know that part of the controversy after Macklemore was dropped from the tour was because Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, the owner of the Gillette Stadium where Ed Sheeran is scheduled to perform, had encouraged him to drop Macklemore from the tour because of Macklemore's pro-Palestinian remarks at a show in New Jersey. Kraft had also said that he would encourage other stadium owners to follow suit.

So, Ed Sheeran certainly under a lot of pressure, but we saw that he acknowledged his fans today, he addressed the controversy, and he is certainly trying to move forward.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, Philadelphia.

STOUT: There is much more to come right here on CNN Newsroom. Danes and Greenlanders expressing mixed reactions to Donald Trump's announcement of a new U.S. security deal. Ahead, and why NATO likes it so much.

Plus, Russia's capital takes fire from drones just as voters head to the polls for a major election.

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[03:20:00]

STOUT: Welcome back. Now, NATO is hailing the new U.S. deal with Greenland and Denmark as, quote, essential for the collective security of the alliance, which will help advance security in the region. Our President Donald Trump announced the deal on Friday, saying it gives the U.S. permanent control over Greenland's security.

Meanwhile, reactions in Denmark and the territory are mixed. Some residents are relieved that the U.S. would not acquire the island, while others are skeptical of it.

Now, joining me now to discuss all of this is Mikkel Runge Olesen. Now, he is a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. And, sir, thank you for joining us here on the program.

The details of this agreement are pretty hazy, but what's your reaction to it so far?

MIKKEL RUNGE OLESEN, RESEARCHER, DANISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, let's start with that, right? It's too early to fully evaluate the deal as it is, right? We've had a lot of hearsay. But once we have the final text, we will need to compare it to the existing defense agreement and go by it line by line to find out what's new and what's not, right?

But I think the main benefit sort of from a Danish and Greenlandic perspective would be this prospect that accepting this deal could offer the possibility of ending this year-and-a-half-long crisis.

[03:25:05]

It's been the worst foreign security crisis for the Kingdom of Denmark since the Second World War. And I think that for Denmark and Greenland right now, success will depend on this deal being ratified, without last-minute changes, and also on this deal being accepted in the U.S. as actually settling the issue.

STOUT: You mentioned the defense treaty. There's this 1950s era defense treaty which has given the U.S. military sweeping access to Greenland. So, do you think this new deal will be a significant departure from that?

OLESEN: Well, while we don't know the details right now, it does appear that the deal could be somewhat more favorable to the U.S. than the existing treaty. It's also actually likely that the U.S. would not have been able to obtain this deal without the crisis.

However, I just must stress also that this does come at a heavy diplomatic price. U.S.-Danish-Greenlandic relations is likely to be haunted by this for a long time, even after Trump leaves office. And the same is true for transatlantic relations in general.

STOUT: Yes, there's certainly a political cost to get here.

And I wanted to get your thoughts about Russia and China. Does this new deal prevent them from establishing a presence or military bases in Greenland?

OLESEN: Well, we believe that, according to what we hear, that's very likely that would be in the agreement. But speaking to Russian and Chinese military bases, that was never an issue. Denmark -- the Kingdom of Denmark is a NATO country and would never have allowed Chinese or Russian military bases in Greenland anyway. I mean, how many Russian and Chinese military bases do you see in NATO countries right now, right? So, in that sense, that part of the agreement probably isn't going to be regarded as that much of an issue from a Greenlandic or Danish perspective.

STOUT: Got it. So, let's focus on the relationship between the U.S. and Greenland. As you said, you know, trust has been kind of shaken here getting to this point. What additional moves do you anticipate for the U.S. to make with this deal now in place to assert its security control? It could be, for example, expect to see significant American military buildup.

OLESEN: Well, I think we will. I mean, this is certainly what the president has said already, that we will see an increased U.S. military buildup in Greenland. And just to stress that this was never really the issue for Denmark and Greenland. This was something that both Denmark and Greenland was open for from the beginning, right? It was always a question of how it was going to happen and whether or not it would impede on Greenlandic and Danish sovereignty.

STOUT: And I wanted to hear more from you about the people's response because, you know, again, just going back to what happened, the U.S. president threatened to seize Greenland by force. You know, that was -- that scared many people, left many people very anxious, many very concerned. Does this deal lift the strain and the anxiety that's been felt there? Have you heard a collective sigh of relief?

OLESEN: Not yet because, as I stress, I mean, we will need to see the deal actually being ratified, and we will need to see the deal staying as it is, not with any last-minute changes like we've seen in other negotiations concerning the U.S. So, we would need to see the deal that Danish and Greenlandic officials are right now saying that they are satisfied with actually being signed. And then we would need to see this also marking the end of all of this for the Trump administration. We would need to see that the Trump administration is not simply looking to come back and demanding more in a year from now, right?

If those conditions are met, then I think it's the beginning of the end of the crisis, and it could be the beginning of trying to build up a U.S., Danish, Greenlandic relationship once more. But it will take a long time. A lot of things have been damaged here.

STOUT: Yes, and you need to see the deal. You need to see the details.

Mikkel Runge Olesen, thank you so much for joining us. He is of the Danish Institute of International Studies.

OLESEN: Thanks for having me.

STOUT: Once again, thank you for joining us. Take care.

Now, we are keeping an eye on new drone strikes on Russia's capital. The state news agency, TASS, says a refinery in Moscow was hit in recent hours, which caused damage to the facility. This video, this was posted on social media, shows huge flames seen from a distance, along with tall plumes of smoke billowing into the air. The agency says there are no reports of casualties.

Now, the strikes came as voters, they head to the polls on the third and final day of Russia's parliamentary elections. Now, they've been casting ballots for 450 members of the country's lower house of parliament, the Duma, but the process is tightly controlled and effective opposition is practically non-existent.

[03:30:07]

So, anything but a victory for President Putin's party is considered a long shot.

Now, let's show you live pictures on your screen. This from Germany's eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the far right is hoping to turn a victory into a winning streak as more state elections are getting underway.

Now, in the last hour, polls opened there, as well as in the capital, Berlin. Now, the far-right AfD party won its first state elections in another eastern region earlier this month, and the victory sent shockwaves through Germany's political system, demonstrating AfD's growing political muscle.

Now, in the day ahead, the U.S. treasury secretary is expected to meet China's vice premier in New York, and the Reuters news agency reports that Scott Bessent and He Lifeng will discuss A.I., security, trade, and other economic issues.

Now, the meeting is scheduled days before President Trump hosts his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the White House. And sources tell CNN that U.S. officials are also considering meeting major tech execs on the sidelines of Mr. Xi's visit.

There's much more to come right here on CNN Newsroom, artificial intelligence, very real risks. Donald Trump promises to take action on A.I., and we reveal exactly what he's planning. An uproar among Democrats calls for investigation into mistakes made by A.I. in U.S. military planning. We look at the incident, which one source says almost started a war.

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[03:35:00]

STOUT: Hello and welcome back. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The Iranian-backed Houthis say that they have attacked sensitive sites in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. It appears to be their first reported strike on the city since they escalated attacks in July. Now, this video shows a column of smoke billowing near the capital's main airport, though the Houthis didn't specify what they attacked.

Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is facing pushback from lawmakers, media outlets, and constitutional lawyers after he banned three major news organizations from the White House. On Saturday morning, journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico were barred from entering the White House grounds and had their press passes seized. All those organizations have signaled that they will take legal action to defend their reporters' rights.

Ed Sheeran is apologizing to fans after Macklemore was dropped from his U.S. tour dates over pro-Palestinian remarks. At a Philadelphia concert on Saturday, Sheeran said that he made mistakes and never wanted to be an activist musician caught in a debate over free speech and politics.

Now, despite saying that fears around A.I. are a hoax, the U.S. president is announcing measures to address the growing calls to regulate the technology's rapid development. Now, Donald Trump is promising to create a new task force and says he'll appoint an A.I. czar.

Now, Julia Benbrook has more on what President Trump is outlining and why now.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This announcement comes as a growing number of lawmakers, former A.I. employees, and even leaders at top A.I. companies have been warning about the rapid growth of this industry.

Leaders at some top companies, like Anthropic and A.I., have even called on Congress to put into place national safety regulations to intentionally slow the pace of development. President Donald Trump, though, in a post that he made Saturday, made it clear that he wants to see growth, writing in part, for this purpose, I am forming the A.I. Force, much like I did with Space Force, which has been a tremendous success in my first term.

To that end, I will be announcing in the near future the A.I. czar. Only high-I.Q. individuals need apply. Adding, AI is the next industrial revolution or internet, but will be even larger and more impactful.

Trump has made it clear in recent weeks that he sees outpacing China and A.I.-driven economic advancements as more of a priority than addressing the public concerns that are front and center right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're leading China in A.I. We're the most sophisticated country in the world. And, frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins A.I. wins. And we can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up, and they're bringing up things that won't happen.

But whoever wins with A.I. wins, you know? It's an expression that I came up with, and it's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: This issue has quickly become a focus area in political debate with the midterms just weeks away, and with some leaders calling for that global slowdown. The Trump administration will be participating in a high-level event focused on A.I. on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in a matter of days.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, Washington.

STOUT: As the concerns have escalated about the startling pace of A.I. growth, a new lawsuit says leading tech giants came together to address just that. The lawsuit claims Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX A.I., Google, made an illegal deal to slow the pace of their A.I. development. The lawsuit argues that the companies broke competition law when they agreed to coordinate efforts, saying it would reduce the value of what consumers get from paid A.I. subscriptions. Representatives from the companies have not yet responded to a request for comment.

Now, in an alarming development, Google says its A.I. model, Gemini, accessed the internet and hacked into other companies during a cybersecurity test in May.

[03:40:00]

This is the first known case of Google's A.I. systems doing something like this independently, though similar incidents have been reported by Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta.

Now, Gemini used online information to guess logins and passwords for protected systems, but stopped hacking after that.

Now, a group of top Democrats is calling for an investigation into a series of mistakes in U.S. military targeting plans, which were caused by A.I. Multiple sources say an intelligence report prompted plans to intercept a Chinese ship in the Middle East, believed to be transporting components of a nuclear weapons program. Armed members of the military were preparing, planes were in the air, and it wasn't until just before the planned operation that officials dug deeper and found the report had been generated with the help of A.I. It incorrectly identified what the ship was carrying.

Now, there's much more to come right here on CNN Newsroom. Many people living along the U.S.-Canada border are expressing their frustration as trade tensions between the two nations heat up. We've got the details straight ahead.

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[03:45:00]

STOUT: All right. Welcome back.

Well, President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Carney have been escalating their trade war. But even as Mark Carney was discussing something entirely different, the size of a clean energy project in his country, he apparently couldn't resist a little poke at his American counterpart, mimicking some of Trump's hand gestures. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: It's the functional equivalent of 18 Hoover Dams, 18 Hoover Dams. Enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: All right. Funny at that moment, but for many people living along the U.S.-Canada border, they're not laughing as the trade war situation is heating up.

Now, Omar Jimenez spoke with residents on both sides of the border.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: So Lake Ontario, that's gone. Lake America.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S. and Canada relationship hitting some new lows.

TRUMP: I can tell you this, that, you know, Canada's been ripping off the United States for many, many years, for decades.

JIMENEZ: Online, the U.S. president posted this image, beating up the Canadian prime minister in hockey. While offline, the two countries are locked in an escalating trade war as President Trump now threatens outright bans on Canadian products on top of the 50 percent tariffs on more than $20 billion of Canadian goods, which Canada is now matching dollar for dollar. And these Americans aren't upset about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what else is going to work with that man, but --

JIMENEZ: So, you're glad that Canada is fighting back with these retaliatory tariffs. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of am, absolutely.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't blame them at all.

JIMENEZ: The US-Canada border runs right through Wayne and Sharon Campbell's Vermont house.

WAYNE CAMPBELL, DERBY LINE, VERMONT RESIDENT: This part of the yard would be in Canada, the pond.

The, the Border Patrol has three cameras on the property. I can walk out there, but I can't leave my property into Canada. I have to go through a border.

In the small border town of Derby Line, Vermont, you can't separate the United States and Canada, regardless of politics. Even their library is split in half by the U.S.-Canada border.

Driving this town, the one thing you cannot miss is the U.S.-Canada border checkpoint. I mean, it basically funnels you right into that middle of town. The town on the other side of the border is Stanstead.

Karine Cantin (ph) owns the Auberge Le Sunshine Bakery there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's almost 50 percent of our customers come from U.S.

JIMENEZ: She says she's been seeing more lately, like these women on a group biking trip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought, okay, we got to pull together and support our Canadian friends. We could have chosen anyplace.

JIMENEZ: Do you find yourself apologizing to Canadians?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. It's true. And when I do meet someone who's Canadian who's come to Vermont to visit, I thank them, but the sadness is heavy.

JIMENEZ: But the cross-border visits haven't been reciprocal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like our way to tell to the politic, say, we are not agree with that.

JIMENEZ: Starting in February 2025, U.S. customs data shows arrivals to the U.S. from Canada at this Derby Line port of entry declined every month for 13 months straight compared to monthly arrivals in the previous year.

JANICE BEADLE, DERBY LINE, VERMONT RESIDENT: I've lived on this border for 72 years.

JIMENEZ: Why are you also flying the Canadian flag here?

BEADLE: Why?

JIMENEZ: Yes.

BEADLE: I feel just as loyal to the Canadian side growing up here my whole life.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Where Canada is quite literally just across the street --

BEADLE: it's just across the street, right there.

JIMENEZ: How would you say business here has changed over the past year?

LORALEE TESTER, DIRECTOR, NORTHEAST KINGDOM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: It's been stressful because it's unpredictable. The tariffs have been really challenging to navigate. Where I see the greatest hit is in those, all of our businesses related to tourism and then that manufacturing piece. Because that is, again, like I said, the consistent backbone of our economy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sad for everybody. We hope that it's just a few year.

JIMENEZ: Back with the Campbells --

CAMPBELL: So, if I sit here to do any kind of work at all, I'm in Canada.

JIMENEZ: They're a house divided by border, but they still believe in unity.

CAMPBELL: They're our closest ally. And it's become a mockery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just -- we're loving and honoring -- it's those guys in Washington that are screwing everything up. I almost said it.

JIMENEZ: Omar Jimenez, CNN, Derby Line, Vermont.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: There is so much more to come here on CNN Newsroom. Up next, beer on tap, how about 6.5 million liters of it? We take you inside the world's biggest beer festival up next.

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STOUT: Welcome back. Now it was quite a sight in Oaxaca, Mexico on Saturday, as dozens of people celebrated the region's unique culinary traditions by harvesting grasshoppers. The event happens every year with people walking across the grasslands with nets, searching for said insect. However, this year's harvest was cut roughly in half due to the heat. Despite this, vendors sold already prepared grasshoppers seasoned in garlic, lemon, and chili.

Oktoberfest is officially underway in Germany, and Munich's mayor kicked off the 16-day event by performing the traditional hammer strike to tap the first keg, one of many for the world's biggest beer festival.

CNN's Chris Warren has more.

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CHRIS WARREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The beer is flowing once again at Oktoberfest in Munich. The city's new mayor tapping the first keg with only two strikes, a good start to the 191st edition of the festivities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an incredible honor. I've got childhood memories of riding the rollercoaster and standing outside the festival marquees. And back then, I never would have thought that one day I would be the one opening the festival grounds myself.

WARREN: More than 6 million people are expected to visit the fairgrounds over the next two weeks, enjoying large steins of beer, listening to brass bands, and consuming German pretzels, pork roast, and sausages.

Many festival-goers are local, coming from Munich and Southern Germany, but it's also a big global tourism draw.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're studying abroad, so we're here just on a fun trip, and we're looking to make great memories and have fun with our friends.

WARREN: Security has been tightened this year after the festival had to temporarily close last year because of overcrowding. Officials say crowd flows will be monitored using A.I. tracking systems, and at least 600 police officers will be on site.

But beer remains the main attraction. Last year, crowds drank 6.5 million liters of it, and this year, prices are slightly higher, averaging roughly $17 to $18 a liter. But for some revelers packing the tents, it's all about the atmosphere and the people, and a taste of Bavarian tradition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very good. It tastes very good. I'm delighted to be back here.

WARREN: Chris Warren, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And thank you for watching. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and there's more CNN Newsroom right after the break.

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