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Donald Trump Meets With U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham For The First Time; Xi Jinping Set To Arrive In Washington For Summit With Donald Trump; Trump Administration Says White House Can Ban Media At Will Or For National Security; Rare September Nor'easter Could Form Off U.S. East Coast; Volodymyr Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Ready For Talks With Russia And The U.S.; Iran Warns U.S. Against New Attacks After Trump's U.N. Speech; Trump Considers Choice to Make a Deal or Annihilate Iran; 100+ Riders Say Six Flags Roller Coaster Caused Brain Injuries; Police Investigate Deaths of Two University of Mississippi Students; Catholic Priests March in Rome to Protest Violence in Gaza. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 23, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:37]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, world leaders are wheeling and dealing on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. What we know about two high-profile meetings expected today.

Plus, Donald Trump is set to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. What's on the table for discussion?

And the Trump administration is doubling down on the decision to ban several major news outlets from the White House. We will break down a new Justice Department filing explaining the decision.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, the United Nations General Assembly is gearing up for a day of headline-making speeches. In the coming hours, the leaders of two nations currently at war will address the UNGA. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to speak in the morning after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian gives his highly anticipated response to President Donald Trump's charge speech.

Iran's president has arrived in New York, and President Trump's special envoy says the U.S. and Iranian delegations engaged in lengthy talks through mediators on the sidelines of the UNGA on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is warning the U.S. against any new attacks on the country. State media reports the IRGC spokesperson says Washington would gain nothing but failure if they did. It comes as President Trump says he is debating whether to annihilate Iran or make a deal.

Well, the U.S. president met with Ukraine's leader on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy called their discussion, "Positive and productive." But he says he got no concrete answer about whether the U.S. will offer more interceptors to protect against Russian attacks.

President Trump reiterated his common refrain that he thinks Ukraine and Russia will make a deal to end the war, but he offered no details about a potential agreement. President Zelenskyy says he's ready to hold peace talks with Russia now, and he says Ukraine is willing to stop targeting Russia's energy infrastructure with drone strikes if Moscow will do the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We had conversation with President Trump and his team, and we raised all the topics. Wish we had enough time to raise all the topics to discuss them, share the questions, needs, problems, in details, and etcetera.

So, we spoke about, of course, about how to end the war. This is the priority. We are ready, and I'm not sure that Russia is ready for today.

But in any way, we speak about energy ceasefire. We spoke about energy ceasefire. For us, we don't want to go to details. We are ready for energy ceasefire. Doesn't matter if they will not. If they don't want us to attack their diesel and refineries and etcetera. So, we are ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump has met for the first time with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. CNN's Anna Stewart reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was a big meeting. It was an important meeting, and at the end of the day, personality politics is obviously very important, particularly to President Trump, and he said that Andy Burnham is a man he can do business with, and he went as far as to say that relationships between the U.S. and the U.K. is on the up more so since Keir Starmer, his predecessor.

So, that was good. A number of topics discussed, but we didn't get much in the Q and A for journalists. They just mentioned the Middle East, Ukraine, immigration, Rolls Royce, and trade. There was even a little bit of banter. There was a moment when Andy Burnham slightly well reminded the president that he had once called Manchester, of which Burnham, of course, was mayor, some town.

So, you know, it was -- it was some banter. It was warm. It was very different style, I suppose, to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Washington on Wednesday for a summit with President Trump. It's unclear whether she will also appear at the U.N. General Assembly. The leaders are expected to discuss artificial intelligence, trade, and national security.

[02:05:13]

China's ambassador to the U.S. is also warning that Taiwan and human rights are red lines the U.S. should not cross during the summit. Xi's visit is drawing criticism from some lawmakers who questioned the decision to host the Chinese leader at a state dinner amid tensions between the two countries.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins me now live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Ivan. So, what's expected to come out of this summit, particularly when it comes to controls over A.I. advancements.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that was certainly a topic of discussion when the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was meeting with Chinese counterparts in New York City just last Sunday, where Bessent actually talked about a need for creating some kind of framework to protect the world's two largest economies when it comes to new A.I. technology. Let's take a listen to what Bessent had to say at that time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We think that just like with any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the number one and the number two A.I. powers in the world, very important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Of course, the U.S. and China are also in the midst of an A.I. technology race, where you have both countries and their companies really trying to get ahead when it comes to this technology, and there's a sharp difference in how their public opinion in both countries reacts to A.I., with a lot of suspicion, according to surveys in the U.S. Whereas in China, there's a lot more embracing of this kind of new technology.

So, fewer calls for that regulation coming from within China, Rosemary, and in fact, perhaps Chinese government officials more skeptical about calls for some kind of regulation coming from the U.S. Their cheap competitor.

There are a lot of trade issues, of course, to discuss. The trade war that Trump launched last year has been in a truce. I think U.S. officials want to see China to follow through on more pledges to do things like buy American planes and buy American agricultural goods, and to release more critical earths materials, rare earth materials to export to the U.S. which haven't quite met pledges that were reported in the past from China, and basically the Chinese side wants stability in this relationship. Here's a big quote from the Chinese leader Xi Jinping that's been

posted on Chinese state media, that this is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, according to Xi. The U.S.-China relationship, "We must make it work and never mess it up," Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Ivan, what pageantry and ceremonies are expected for President Xi's visit?

WATSON: Right. Well, President Trump is slated to meet and welcome President Xi at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on when he arrives, and then there are going to be a welcome ceremony hosted at the White House that will include a military review, concluding with a flyover by U.S. warplanes.

Melania Trump, the First Lady, will be greeting the Chinese First Lady and taking them to an Asian exhibit at the Smithsonian, and there'll be a state dinner hosted at the White House as well.

CHURCH: Ivan Watson, many thanks for bringing us up to date on all of that. Appreciate it.

And there is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including an update on the First Amendment lawsuit against President Trump's White House media ban, how the U.S. Justice Department is planning to defend the move after the break.

Hurricane Polo is rapidly growing off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Details on how the Category 5 storm has turned into one of the most intense hurricanes this year. That's just ahead.

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[02:13:49]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. As a federal judge prepares for Wednesday's preliminary hearing on President Trump's White House media ban, the Justice Department has issued a late-night response to the First Amendment lawsuit brought by CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

Despite protections around press freedom, the DOJ argues access to the White House is a privilege, not a right. The filing insists the president can shut reporters out of the White House at will, or to protect national security. Despite that, President Trump admits the judge overseeing the lawsuit will probably rule in the media's favor. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This is an astonishing filing on a lot of different fronts. One, the Justice Department is arguing that 50 years of court precedent should be overturned. The type of precedent that was guaranteeing that reporters just didn't have press credentials revoked without a formal process, due process that would be -- that would be underlined by the Constitution. That was law set 50 years ago. They say that it's time to throw that out. That's one argument we're getting here. [02:15:03]

The other one that is truly astonishing in how the Justice Department is trying to set this up in court, they have the press secretary from the Pentagon. They say the press secretary from the Department of War saying that it is a national security risk because of reporting CNN, MS NOW, and Politico have done about the White House and specifically about the White House complex, the ballroom that Donald Trump tore down. That becomes, they say, a national security risk, and that is grounds for the president to decide based on that reporting alone, based on his dislike of those stories being published. That should be grounds to throw out those organizations from the White House press corps.

We have not seen this sort of argument before in other cases like this, where the press credentials were revoked of individual correspondents, or where outlets like the Associated Press lost their ability to cover the president in private spaces like Air Force One because they refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, that did happen, and courts are still looking at aspects of that case.

Ultimately, the Associated Press in that situation was not purged entirely from the building, and the court said that press outlets couldn't be purged entirely from the White House. In this case, the Justice Department is going far further than that in these arguments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, meantime, the U.S. First Lady appeared to break with the president's media ban, approving CNN and Politico's press credentials at a sidelined event at the U.N. on Tuesday. A source familiar with the matter said Melania Trump is aware of the ban, and her offers did have discretion over whether certain reporters would have access.

Hurricane Polo is rapidly intensifying as a dangerous Category 5 storm off the southwestern coast of Mexico. It's become one of the most powerful storms this year, with wind gusts reaching up to 180 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center says Polo's rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in under 24 hours is among the fastest on record in the Eastern Pacific.

Well, tropical storm alerts are in effect for Mexico's southwestern coast, with the region potentially facing life-threatening flooding and mudslides, it could face as much as three to six inches of rainfall through Thursday, and even more in some areas. Forecasters expect the storm to remain offshore and move northwest over the next few days.

A rare early season nor'easter could potentially form off the eastern coast of the U.S. this week. The powerful low-pressure storm system could bring high wind, rain, and coastal erosion across the region. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are monitoring the potential of a early-season nor'easter or a strong coastal low-pressure system to impact the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England through the course of this weekend.

Now, as it is always with these types of setups, the devil's in the details. It's really a game of miles. Does this low-pressure system hug the coastline, bringing significantly more impacts to that area, or does it veer out to sea? We're still trying to iron out those details.

But I'm going to run you through some of the latest computer models to give you an idea of what we're seeing. We're already experiencing impacts from this, and it's because of the squeeze play happening between this high pressure to the north and this low pressure to the south. It is driving in winds from the northeast, helping push up the Atlantic Ocean right along the coastline here across the Mid-Atlantic, and that is driving up water levels and also bringing coastal erosion.

But that's not even the main event. The low pressure you see here at the bottom of the T.V. screen that is what's going to strengthen further into the weekend and potentially wrap into southern New England, with more coastal impacts there.

In the meantime, though, we are noticing that there are several river gages that will reach moderate to major flood states, particularly across the Chesapeake Bay and throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. This is likely to expand as we iron out the details of where exactly this storm will go.

Speaking of that, here is one computer. This computer model. This is the European model showing a low-pressure system right off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic by midday on Saturday. But I want you to see how this evolves as we advance this through the course of the weekend. Notice how it pushes towards the west. There are differing computer models showing different scenarios, showing different impacts.

So, that's why we need to stay attuned onto the latest forecast details with this. One thing's for sure: with that type of a setup, that will continue to bring several days of onshore winds into some of the vulnerable coastlines across southern New England and potentially into the mid-Atlantic as well.

[02:20:10]

We'll have winds that could potentially gust over 50 miles per hour, and that could coincide with the astronomical high tide. Remember, we have a full moon this weekend, Saturday, in fact, and that means that we have greater tidal swings.

So, if we combine the strongest part of the storm with the astronomical high tide, that means coastal erosion is a big concern here across southern New England and into the mid-Atlantic. Rainfall, inland flooding, depending on where this sets up, we could see four to six inches of rain.

So, here's the bottom line: the nor'easter impacts, coastal flooding, Virginia to Massachusetts, strong rip currents and beach erosion, and looking after the potential of strong gusty winds that could bring localized power outages to the Northeast. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A flash flood emergency has been issued for parts of northern New Mexico after more than five inches of rain, and more to come. The National Weather Service says a surge of monsoon moisture, warm, humid ocean air pulled onto land, is bringing heavy rainfall and thunderstorms to the area. The flood threat could peak Wednesday.

Still ahead on this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, Iran's president is just hours away from speaking at the U.N. General Assembly. Next, we will look at what he may address and the pivotal talks that could happen on the sidelines.

Plus, new details about the shooting of a Venezuelan man by an ICE agent in Austin, Texas. What the man's attorney is saying, that's just ahead.

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[02:26:25]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church.

Let's return now to our top story about the U.S. president meeting with Ukraine's leader on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Oleksii Goncharenko is a Ukrainian parliamentary member. He joins me now from Kyiv. Appreciate you talking with us.

OLEKSII GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Thank you very much for inviting me.

CHURCH: Of course. So, even though the U.S. president met with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday, nothing concrete appears to have come out of those talks. With Ukraine's leader saying he didn't get any answers on whether the U.S. will offer more interceptors to protect Ukraine against Russian attacks. Why do you think the U.S. is holding back on this?

GONCHARENKO: We had a lot of hopes on this meeting, and in general, we had a lot of hopes, and we have hopes on U.S. involvement in the situation, as famously President Trump said that he will finish this war in 24 hours. Soon it will be 24 months he is in the office, and we hope that finally he will succeed in this because we need peace here in Ukraine.

But for the moment, we don't have any signals that peace is really coming. At least, I think we could go for de-escalation, for example, to stop mutual attacks on the Black Sea or to stop attacks on energy infrastructure and better both.

But for the moment, we don't have any news. And yes, as we understood from the comments of Ukrainian president after the meeting, we don't have an exact promise from the United States to help us with the interceptors, which we badly need because Russia is using ballistics to kill Ukrainians every day.

CHURCH: And on Tuesday, President Trump repeated his much-used line that he thinks Ukraine and Russia will make a deal to end the war, but at this point, all we know is that the U.S. president plans to offer business deals to Moscow even before an end to the war is achieved, and even after the U.S. Congress pass significant sanctions to apply to Moscow. What do you make of this?

GONCHARENKO: I can't confirm. I don't know. Are there real plans to have new business deals with Russia while the war continues? I hope that's not the fact, and that would be an awful signal to Russia because in this case, what for they will end the war? What is the leverage against them to end the war? So, I hope, and I am absolutely okay with any business deals between the United States and Russia. But after the war will end, so I hope President Trump first will end this war, and then, if he wants, he can make any deals with Russia.

I would address U.S. president and U.S. administration to be very cautious because we know in Ukraine that Russia that any deals with Russia are very dangerous. But it's the decision of the United States of America what to do. But the beginning of any deals should be the end of hostilities and of this awful killing of people because of Russian war of aggression.

CHURCH: And President Zelenskyy says that he is ready for trilateral talks with Russia and the United States, and is also ready to stop targeting Russia's energy infrastructure with drones if Moscow does the same. What needs to happen next to get the trilateral talks started, and of course, this energy ceasefire in place?

[02:30:00]

GONCHARENKO: You know, I'm quite pessimistic about possibility of this trilateral meeting, at least soon. Again, I hope maybe I'm wrong. That would be great, because I want this war to end as soon as possible. That's in the best interest of Ukraine, of the world, and even of Russia. But to achieve this, I think there should be more pressure on Russia.

And this new law, which was adopted by U.S. Congress, thanks to all Congressmen and Senators, and thanks to President Trump, who signed the law. And I hope now he will use it, because this really gives him a serious leverage on Russia. And if he will use it, then we will have a real chance.

And I think the first step should be de-escalation. De-escalation in the Black Sea, which will help to stop the food prices to grow like it's happening right now, because the world is so dependent from Ukrainian grain. It will help with energy market and everything else.

So first, ceasefire in the sea, then ceasefire in the air. That can be a real way to peace.

CHURCH: Oleksii Goncharenko, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective on this issue. Appreciate it.

GONCHARENKO: Thank you.

CHURCH: Iran's president will address the U.N. General Assembly in the coming hours. His address comes, of course, as his country is currently at war with the United States, which is growing more unpopular among Americans with each passing month.

A new CNN poll finds that almost two-thirds say the U.S. is not winning the conflict, and more believe President Donald Trump is not doing enough to end it. A source told CNN that President Trump has expressed to his advisers that he would like to meet with the Iranian delegation, quote, "if the conditions are right."

This, as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is warning the U.S. against any new attacks following President Trump's U.N. General Assembly speech. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining us live from London is Sanam Vakil, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House. Appreciate you talking with us.

SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA PROGRAM, CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning.

CHURCH: Good morning to you too. So President Trump, as we just heard, warned the U.N. General Assembly of a big decision he had to make whether to strike a deal with Iran or annihilate the country, and then followed that up by saying he believes a deal will be made right after the midterm elections. So let's start with that threat. How do words like that help get Iran to the negotiating table?

VAKIL: Well, I don't think those words or those threats are really helpful. There have been so many rounds where President Trump has threatened to wipe Iran, demolish Iran since this war began almost nine months ago, that I think it's not those threats that are really meaningful.

They also, of course, raise a lot of alarm in and across Iran. But I think that speech and those threats were really for Trump's domestic audience going into the midterms. He's trying to manage markets with energy prices up, and he's trying to assure people that alongside those threats, diplomacy is also in the cards.

I mean, he really was suggesting that a deal would miraculously materialize after the midterms.

CHURCH: Yeah. And what about President Trump insisting that a deal will likely be made after the midterms, as you say, because Iran is waiting to see how he goes in those elections? That's what he thinks. What's your reaction to that? Is he right? And is a deal to end the war in sight?

VAKIL: Well, he did speak about the midterms and message to the Iranians that he's not worried about the midterms. He also tried to dispel concerns about America's declining munitions stocks as well, which was interesting. But he made it clear that diplomacy is still taking place around the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings.

Going into the meetings, there have been encounters between the Iranian foreign minister and the Qataris that are trying to de- escalate, coming up with suggestions to open the Strait of Hormuz in a sequence process.

[02:35:00]

The Iranians still insist and demand that the U.S. lifts the blockade, provides sanctions relief, and this is happening in tandem while the U.S. Treasury is enforcing an airline ban on the country. So diplomacy is ticking along, but it's unclear if that's going to develop into something meaningful.

There were discussions about reviving the MOU that was signed in June. It won't be called an MOU, it has to be called something else. And yesterday, in New York, there were indirect meetings between Iran's foreign minister and Steve Witkoff and the U.S. negotiating team.

So that is an important development. It's just unclear if diplomacy will get us over the line. There have been rounds of diplomacy that were followed immediately by war.

CHURCH: Yeah, and of course, as we just reported, sources told CNN that President Trump apparently is interested in meeting with the Iran delegation. Earlier, of course, he was saying that he would like to meet with the Iranian president. But as you were mentioning there, I mean, we know that he has said that they did meet, his advisers met on the sidelines with the Iran's delegation on Tuesday.

They called that productive and said it lasted about three hours or so. It is a marked shift in the U.S. president's recent approach and comes as a CNN poll reveals that support for the war in Iran is now at just 26 percent. So what is your reading of his sudden shift and efforts to find a path forward to end this war despite, of course, his threat to annihilate the nation?

VAKIL: Well, I don't think it's a sudden shift. I think that the diplomacy and the diplomatic tracks that have been led by regional states have been ongoing. There is also a consensus among all of the Gulf States that this war has to come to an end. They might be divided on how to end it and on what terms and conditions. But really, across the Middle East, everybody wants this war to end. And President Trump has been meeting with these leaders and hearing their concerns, the worry that another return to military conflict is still very much out there. And everyone is aware that the consequences of a third round between the U.S. and Iran would be disastrous and perhaps even more damaging than the 40-day war of earlier this year.

So I think maybe we're seeing a bit more progress and a bit more creativity and confidence in the diplomacy. And that's perhaps why President Trump is listening and showcasing his interest in what could materialize.

But it is going to require the Iranians and the Americans still to engage with each other in meaningful negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. It will still require both sides to walk back from their maximalist positions. The U.S. still thinks it's, quote/unquote, "winning the war" with the economic blockade, with these huge sanctions that they've put on Iran.

They think that they are going to coerce Iran's neighbors and Iran's trading partners to halt engagement and strangle the country. And so, that gives President Trump still confidence of his position and the U.S. dominance in this situation.

CHURCH: Sanam Vakil, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis and perspective on this issue. Appreciate it.

Well, acting Venezuelan President, Delcy Rodriguez is hailing her talks with President Trump as historic. Tuesday's meeting was their first since the U.S. military captured and deposed former president, Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez is expected to address the General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. CNN has asked the White House whether President Trump plans to speak with Venezuelan Opposition Leader, Maria Corina Machado.

A CNN analysis of photos and videos is revealing new details about how an ICE agent shooting of a Venezuelan man unfolded. The 28-year-old man survived, but his lawyer says he did not receive proper treatment for his gunshot wound. CNN's Yahya Abou-Ghazala reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He shot him from the back.

YAHYA ABOU-GHAZALA, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER & PRODUCER (voice- over): A 28-year-old Venezuelan man was shot inside his car by an ICE agent Sunday in Austin, Texas. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez survived the incident, the latest in a string of shootings by federal immigration agents firing into vehicles.

While federal authorities have released no details about what led to the shooting, a review of photos and videos offers a window into how it unfolded.

[02:40:00]

Shortly before 1 p.m. Dispatch audio captured local law enforcement being notified about a car chase.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ICE is currently in pursuit of a blue Toyota Corolla.

ABOU-GHAZALA (voice-over): The end of that car chase was caught on camera by a woman who was live-streaming while driving. You can hear a siren and tires screeching in the background.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

ABOU-GHAZALA (voice-over): Even though the video is recorded from far away, by zooming in, we can see key details of the incident unfolding. After you hear the tires screech, you can see these two vehicles at a stop. This unmarked black SUV is being driven by an ICE agent and across from it is the blue Toyota driven by Garces Perez.

The cars are stopped facing opposite directions. The ICE agent then gets out of his car and runs around its hood. Then at least two gunshots can be heard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

ABOU-GHAZALA (voice-over): The audio from the live stream appears to be a fraction of a second out of sync with the video. But around the moments when gunshots are heard, the agent doesn't appear to be in the path of the blue car. Instead, the ICE agent is standing behind and to the side of Garces Perez's vehicle. Photos taken afterwards show these two bullet holes in the rear passenger side window.

Garces Perez was shot in the torso according to authorities. His vehicle is then seen moving forward slowly. But it quickly comes to a stop. You can see the brake lights are on. The ICE agent chases after the car and reaches the driver's side. From this angle, it's unclear what happens next. Video of the aftermath recorded from a different angle shows Garces Perez clutching his shoulder and the car door handle broken off.

Earlier in this video, we can see what appears to be the same ICE agent running around the passenger side of the SUV to the driver's side. He then approaches the blue car, seemingly while on the phone. On his vest are the letters ERO as in Enforcement and Removal Operations, a division of ICE. He doesn't appear to be wearing a body cam.

On his belt is a dump pouch, an open bag meant to drop gear and expended magazines of ammo into it while you're shooting. The incident quickly led to protests at the site of the shooting. The attorney for Garces Perez said he was released from the hospital and taken into ICE custody. She says he entered the U.S. lawfully and previously held a valid work permit. But she couldn't confirm his current immigration status.

The Department of Homeland Security says that Garces Perez Illegally entered the country and had a final order of removal, and the FBI will assist in the investigation. It doesn't explain why the agent fired his weapon. DHS has not responded to our request for further information.

Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we have much more coming up on the show, a roller coaster known for its extreme thrills is now at the center of a growing legal battle. When we return, the new allegations that are putting the amusement park, Six Flags, under new scrutiny.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:47:51]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, more than 100 people now say they've suffered brain injuries over the past two years after riding a Six Flags roller coaster in California. The new allegations follow a CNN Investigation that found serious injuries and deaths linked to the ride. Now, attorneys are taking action filing lawsuits against the amusement park company.

CNN's Kyung Lah has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WILK, INJURED ROLLERCOASTER RIDER: It's not about the lawsuit.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: It's hard for Michael Wilk to comprehend how so many people like him say they were injured at Six Flags Magic Mountain on a roller coaster called X2.

He suffered a severe brain bleed and had to give up his lifelong career as an attorney.

WILK: I truly hope that by coming forward, changes will be made. That's why I'm here today.

LAH (voice-over): Wilk's lawyers announced more than 100 people plan to sue Six Flags. Three have already been filed. But many more say they were seriously injured on this ride.

GARY DORDICK, ATTORNEY FOR RIDERS' FAMILIES: We were contacted by more than 300 people injured on the X2 ride. We couldn't take all of the cases. Some were past the time limits in California, which is two years.

LAH (voice-over): A CNN Investigation first reported two women collapsed right after riding the X2 roller coaster at Magic Mountain this summer. They ended up in the same hospital the same week and both women underwent emergency surgery for similar brain hemorrhages.

Pam Guillen was at Magic Mountain with her daughter Camille, celebrating her 16th birthday on July 5th.

PAMELA GUILLEN, INJURED ROLLERCOASTER RIDER: It was seconds. You go in as yourself and then when you come back, you're a medical emergency. LAH: This was from a roller coaster?

GUILLEN: Exactly.

LAH (voice-over): Six days later, then 25-year-old Naomi Greer Wilkinson got on the X2 roller coaster. She collapsed after she got off the ride and was rushed to the hospital where Pam Guillen was being treated.

[02:50:00]

Doctors who treated both Naomi Greer Wilkinson and Pam Guillen say the severe brain injuries were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration/deceleration event experienced while on the X2 ride.

ARTEMIS GREER, MOTHER OF HOSPITALIZED RIDER: I do remember one of the surgeons storming through the E.R. and yelling, how many is it this month? They've got to shut that ride down. He was furious.

Naomi should have never ever in a million years even had the option to get on that ride. It's absolutely insane.

LAH (voice-over): Here's what Six Flags says that makes the X2 roller coaster different. The seats spin 360 degrees forwards and backwards independently around the track. Riders plummet 200 feet at speeds of up to 76 miles per hour with two so-called raven turns or half loops that turn into sheer drops.

In three lawsuits filed against Magic Mountain, riders say the park deliberately hid evidence from the public and riders like them.

CHRISTOPHER BULONE, ATTORNEY FOR RIDERS' FAMILIES: It's the design of this ride that makes it inherently dangerous and makes it dangerous in a way that no reasonable rider would expect. Time after time innocent people are coming off the ride with permanent brain damage.

LAH (voice-over): Wilk stood next to Pam Guillen and Naomi Greer Wilkinson's parents at the news conference filled with regret. He was hurt just months before Naomi and Pam.

WILK: I cannot help feel if I had reported it maybe, maybe something would have happened, maybe Magic Mountain would have taken it more seriously and they would not have been injured.

LAH: We did reach out to Six Flags but the company says it will not comment about pending litigation. It does say that the X2 is no longer running, but Six Flags did not say why it has stopped running. The lawyers representing all of these clients say they will file about a hundred lawsuits and it'll be in the coming weeks.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

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CHURCH: Police are investigating the deaths of two students at the University of Mississippi over the weekend. Investigators found a psychoactive herbal extract in both cases. However, authorities say there's no evidence to indicate the deaths are connected.

Officials have not confirmed whether any substance was a contributing factor in the deaths. Still they're asking residents to avoid unregulated substances and medications not prescribed to them. The county coroner says autopsies are being scheduled.

And coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," priests and nuns take to the streets of Rome to demand a stronger stance from the Catholic Church on Gaza. The powerful symbol they carried with them when we come back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, more than 100 Catholic clergy members calling themselves the 'Priests Against Genocide' are urging church leaders to take a stronger stance against violence in Gaza and Lebanon. CNN's Christopher Lamb reports.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: These priests aren't taking part in a traditional religious procession through Rome. They are protesting against the war in Gaza. There are around 100 priests from different parts of the world protesting what they say is a genocide taking place in Gaza.

And if you look closely, there is a shroud with the names of what the priests say are children from Palestine and Lebanon who have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire in those countries. The Priests Against Genocide group wants the Catholic Church's leadership to be more outspoken in what is going on in the Middle East and what is happening in Gaza and Lebanon.

The priests marched through Rome, will stop at the Vatican embassies to Palestine and to Lebanon, and end up in front of a major arms manufacturer to protest all those who are financing weapons to Israel's military.

Now, Pope Leo has spoken out on the plight of Palestinians and has visited Lebanon, but he has stopped short of describing the war in Gaza as genocide. The priest group which now has 2,600 members across 68 countries and includes cardinals say they are specifically protesting the actions of the Israeli political leadership and have absolute respect for the Jewish people.

CHURCH: Personal items owned by Brigitte Bardot went under the hammer in Paris on Monday. The auction at the Hotel Drouot brought in almost $1.1 million according to the auction house. The items included portraits of the late French film star, diamond rings, and the typewriter she used to write her autobiography. Proceeds will go to the Animal Rights Foundation that became her life's work following her time as a cinema superstar.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, after a short break. Do stay with us.

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