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Connect the World

Energy Strikes Resume as Kyiv's Ties with U.S. Sour; Zelenskyy Praises 'Real Leaders' in Europe; Trump Under Pressure to End Unpopular War with Iran; Dangerous Streets Part of Daily Commute for Haitians; Startup Connects People with AI "Genies" of Their Choice; Paying the Penalty for a Brutal Run-Up. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired October 16, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: And you are looking at live pictures from the White House, where President Trump is expected to depart

later to once again hit the campaign trail ahead of these all-important midterms. It's 09:00 a.m. in New York. I want to thank you for being here.

I'm Paula Newton. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up for us, Ukraine's President is in Brussels today, meeting with what he calls real leaders as he faces a painful break with the United

States. A devastating school shooting at an Oregon elementary school. We'll go to the scene for more details.

And we're just about 30 minutes away from the start of trading on Wall Street. It has been a week where the markets have been looking for some

direction, as you see, they are mostly flat open as people begin to parse what Kevin Warsh, the Fed Chair, said at an IMF meeting just a few hours

ago.

But first, we do turn now to Ukraine and Russia, who have traded overnight strikes on each other's power infrastructure, scoring a firm line under the

U.S. President's so-called energy ceasefire, as attacks between the enemy's resume. So do the signs of growing hostilities between Kyiv and Washington.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, instead, choosing to emphasize his strong relationship with the European Union, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I'm so thankful that we have such huge support from EU Council Commission and leaders, real leaders, so that

they stay with us from the very beginning of this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now the rift deepened after President Trump struck a controversial diesel deal with Russia. Ukraine's President also criticized the U.S. for

pulling back its intelligence sharing. And there is an ongoing dispute over whether the order to disrupt Ukraine's crucial military satellite services

can be linked directly back to the White House.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has been following the story closely. I'll say for this week, Clare, but we all know it's actually been for years. So, I'm

wondering where you place us right now. What more can you tell us about the latest developments in this, especially when some people are saying that

this is a definitive break between the United States and Ukraine, and others saying it's more rhetorical than anything else?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think that certainly, judging by what we see from President Zelenskyy meeting with his European

allies in Brussels today. He is clearly letting his frustration show. We've seen that in a number of defiant interviews this week. It's happening again

today.

But there is, I think, also a concerted effort from the Europeans to sort of tread this diplomatic tightrope, right? On the one hand, they cannot

agree with this diesel deal and the watering down of sanctions. President Zelenskyy is clearly very worried that that could go further into other

sectors and more sanctions relief.

He's putting the issue of Russia's frozen assets back on the table amid mounting concerns from him. Certainly, that Russia could get access to them

before Ukraine does, thereby undoing all of the efforts by his allies essentially to impose a cost for this war on Russia.

So, look again we did see some of that frustration creep through. I want to show you a moment from his briefing, just in the last hour or so, that was

particularly telling. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His personal popularity is very low. Diesel prices in the U.S. are very high, and the war that he started in the Middle East is

not going the way he wants it. Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems?

ZELENSKYY: This is my answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So, look, this was obviously a question from a Sky News journalist about President Trump and whether he thinks President Zelenskyy is being

scapegoated for Trump's problems due to the Iran war. I think its clear what Zelenskyy's answer was there. But there are practical reasons why we

see Europeans treading this fine line.

They cannot overnight replace U.S. intelligence, or perhaps even more crucially, the Starlink service, Starshield, as well, which we've seen slow

down this week. It seems to be more or less restored now. They're sort of creaking back in some places.

There is a significant now challenge to Europe. The costs for them are rising. President Zelenskyy is calling for another 70 billion from

Europeans next year just to survive.

[09:05:00]

He wants European sanctions to get even tougher to sort of replace and compensate for any damage done by the relief that the U.S. is offering

during this diesel deal. So, the pressure is mounting on Europe. Whether or not this will galvanize more action, certainly we're seeing a lot of

positive rhetoric, but on action, we'll have to watch this space, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, especially given that voters in Europe are also weighing in, certainly on the costs of continuing to support Ukraine. Clare Sebastian,

thanks for wrapping that up for us. Appreciate it.

Now, schools are closed, and federal investigators are on the scene in Bend, Oregon, where three young children and a teacher were killed in a

school shooting yesterday. Police say the 16-year-old attacker shot through locked doors to get in, and was eventually gunned down by a bystander. The

tragedy striking at the very heart of this community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE KEBLER, MAYOR OF BEND, OREGON: Like so many in our community are struggling to make sense of a loss that feels unimaginable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please hold your children, hold your loved ones tight.

TINA KOTEK, OREGON GOVERNOR: We are going to do a lot of crying, and we are going to cry together, and we're probably going to cry privately. We must

come together and support each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN's Marybel Gonzales is outside the school in Bend for us. I mean, not at all. There's really so much tragedy in this community right

now, but a lot of questions as well. Especially given the fact that they say that you know a member of the community was the one who really saved

this school from even more tragedy.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Paula, and that person is being hailed by many here as a hero. Now, police have not yet identified that

person. They're simply describing them as a community member. We did hear prior to that over dispatch audio someone describing that person as a

father of the school.

However, police just say that person is a community member. But look, this investigation is still ongoing, as you can see. Police tape still surrounds

the Silver Rail Elementary School. There are road blockades on every entrance or access point to this neighborhood, and you know the community

here is a very tight knit one.

They are mourning the deaths of these four people, including those three young children and that teacher. Right now, though many questions are

surrounding the motive behind this shooting, if that suspect had any connection to the school, what kind of weapon he had? Where he was able to

access that weapon?

Those are all questions that the community is waiting to hear. We're expecting to hear from police later on this afternoon during a press

conference. But look, we know that the school district prioritizes the safety of their students. Back in 2022, the school district began receiving

new door locks as part of a multi-million-dollar upgrade to their security protocols.

We know that parents here are very invested in the safety of their children, and this is described by locals as a community that's very

heavily focused on schools. There are a lot of schools in the district. For now, those schools across the district will remain closed. And to give you

an idea of the widespread impact of this school shooting, we're talking about 16,000 students who will not be in class today.

NEWTON: Yeah, chilling to think that they could not send children back to school in that community, given what happened. We'll wait for more answers

there. Marybel, grateful for you to being there this evening. Thanks.

Now, a personal insult on the campaign trail has sparked a war of words in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance took aim

at Democratic Candidate Abdul El-Sayed while campaigning for Republican Mike Rogers on Thursday. Vance accused El-Sayed of being ungrateful toward

America's history and the people who built the country, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: You deserve better than a little weasel who should shut his mouth and show a little gratitude to the country that

gave him everything.

ABDUL EL-SAYED, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR MICHIGAN: He wanted to raise questions about my commitment to America. And let me tell you, nobody

understands how deep and profound the gift of this country is like a kid who was born here, but for the accident of history that allowed that to

happen. J.D. Vance called me a little weasel today. I'm like, no, no, no. What you're talking about is a Wolverine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: All right, that's a nod to the University of Michigan, El-Sayed's Alma Mater, whose athletic teams are known as the Wolverines. CNN's Edward-

Isaac Dovere is following the story for us from Washington. What could be more American than the mix of football and politics? I ask you that?

But look, this is getting very nasty on the campaign trail, and I am fascinated by the way that it is J.D. Vance, the Vice President himself,

that is really responsible for a lot of the contentious rhetoric here.

[09:10:00]

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, you know, two weeks ago I was sitting in Detroit having lunch with El-Sayed, and we talked about how

much Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have both been talking about him. And El- Sayed said to me that he never really ran to be the main character of the midterms, and it made him a little bit uncomfortable in ways.

But of course, he's also very much leaned into it and wants that fight there because a lot of what he is campaigning on is the feeling that he

will be a fighter to go up against the Trump Administration and the Trump agenda in a real aggressive way. A lot of people in Michigan have been

responding to that.

However, a lot of people in Michigan have also been recoiling from him and feeling like they are uncomfortable with him because of his politics,

because of some things about who he is, and some of them, it's fair to say, but just because of his religion and because of his parents' nationality,

that he's an immigrant, all of that stuff has come up. And J.D. Vance also tapping into that.

So, these are the things that are kind of crashing up against each other in this race, which, based on the polls, remains very tight going into these

last couple of days of the midterm campaign.

NEWTON: You know, I want to point out that look, you spent some time in Michigan. You're talking to people on all sides. CNN officially is looking

at this race as if it's a toss-up. But the elephant in the room here, not to use the pun of the political parties and their symbols, but what about

the polls?

Because there is a distrust of the polls. And I hear you when you say that look, you've listened to Michiganders talk about yes, support for El-Sayed,

but also perhaps those independents and those swing voters still feeling a bit of discomfort with El-Sayed.

So, this time around, is there a difference in the way they're polling? Because we know Mike Rogers is a strong candidate in Michigan.

DOVERE: Well, when I was sitting with El-Sayed at the end of the interview, he said to me, look, I have said I'm going to win this race by seven

points. And I pointed out to him that he had been projecting that he was going to win the primary by double digits because that's what some polls at

that time were showing.

In the end, he won the primary by about a point. It was a very tight primary win for him, and he has continued to have two things going on at

the same time. On the one side, he's had massive rallies for a Senate candidate, hundreds of people showing up, some even 1000 people showing up.

That's a huge turnout for somebody running for Senate, especially not an incumbent Senator. On the other hand, he has had a lot of people who are

remaining either on the sidelines or opposed to him, people who are black leaders in Michigan, people who are Jewish leaders and voters in Michigan,

people who are what you could describe as Trump Democrats.

Obviously, that's a state that Donald Trump won in two of the last three elections, and when he lost in 2020 there to Joe Biden, it was very narrow.

So, there is that resonance for people who are opposed to him, and we'll see on election day what that actually looks like when the numbers match

up.

NEWTON: Yeah, the reason that these midterms, despite polls, will remain quite a cliffhanger. Isaac, glad to hear from you. Thanks so much.

DOVERE: Thanks.

NEWTON: Now, more developments now on the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, and those issues continue to escalate there in the region.

The rebels, backed by Iran, have carried out a deadly attack on Yemen's presidential palace. The palace compound serves as the headquarters for the

country's internationally recognized government.

Houthi rebels say they were targeting an alleged Saudi operations center inside the compound. Yemen's government says the prime minister is safe

following that strike. Now, the turmoil in Yemen comes amid fears of a wider regional war. The U.S. and Iran have yet to reach a deal to fully

reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran appears to be stepping up its attacks on ships. CNN's Nic Robertson picks up the story from there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, there are two major stakeholders in the pressure over the Iran-U.S. deal, and that's Iran

and the United States. And Iran clearly has been ramping up the pressure on President Trump by trying to attack more vessels that it considers are

violating its banning of container ships or oil tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz.

This is coming in the run-up to the mid-term elections. You know the diplomats that I'm speaking to from the region say that this is because

Iran wants to put President Trump in a very, very difficult position coming up to midterms. The president coming up to the midterms wants to

demonstrate that he's the big power when it comes to sort of dictating terms with Iran, although Iran very clearly resists.

And one way for President Trump to do that is to threaten to use the biggest weapon he has available. Whether or not that can be effective,

whether or not he actually intends to do it, whether or not this is all just rhetoric and position. It certainly gives the impression he has a

position of strength here.

[09:15:00]

But the diplomats that I'm talking to are saying, don't expect anything to be resolved quickly before the midterms. After the midterms, the Iranians

are going to stick at their position for perhaps the rest of President Trump's presidency to get the best terms of any kind of deal they can with

the U.S. President.

So, what we're witnessing this spike in violence here, and also, you know, widely believe that the Iranians are pushing the Houthis to up their

attacks in Saudi, on the Red Sea, in Yemen, on oil, putting pressure on oil and container ships again in the Red Sea, all of that is an Iranian

machination as well as a Houthi one to up pressure on President Trump.

That's the sort of broader perspective. Can President Trump use that weapon if he so desires? He could. Would it really have an impact down the road on

a diplomatic outcome? I think the Iranians are playing a much, much longer game.

NEWTON: Thanks, Nic Robertson there. Now, "The Washington Post" photo journalist is in hospital after Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank

attacked her and a group of Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. Heidi Levine, who was on assignment, says settlers kicked her while she was

on the ground, and she didn't see anybody quote trying to stop it.

The assault is part of a wave of settler attacks reported across the West Bank at the start of the Palestinian Olive Harvest. Still to come for us,

CNN gains rare access to an anti-gang operation on the ground in Haiti's Capital, Port-au-Prince. We'll have that after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: The United Nations Security Council has renewed sanctions against individuals and groups fueling gang violence in Haiti. The UN says

thousands of people have been killed or injured in recent months. Now the political chaos has forced upcoming elections to be postponed indefinitely

as the government battles to regain control.

Nick Paton Walsh reports from Port-au-Prince on a controversial mercenary group now entering the fray. Now a warning, the following video contains

material that some of you may find disturbing or even traumatizing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Haiti is so stifled and tormented by gangs, the fight against them has spread to hills outside the Capital, Port-au-Prince. Here in Kenskov,

they were pushed out, but stormed back in again, killing and kidnapping dozens of locals in revenge. We joined police on a days-long advance to

reclaim tiny remote villages with blaring faces for security.

[09:20:00]

But as we move in with the police, the gangs use the fog and hills to keep shooting.

WALSH: You can see that debris barrier there. I mean, another way the gang slowed the police down. About seven or eight shots have kind of flown over

us. We've heard the crack. It's a sign that the gangs are still really close by and don't want the police over to feel comfortable down here.

There's another one.

WALSH (voice-over): More barricades lie ahead. Locals eager on the road to get back to homes they've not seen for two years. The barricades dismantled

and burned, so the gangs can't return and remake them.

WALSH: It was an extraordinary scene of locals just flooding in to kind of reclaim their own streets after the gangs are being pushed out.

WALSH (voice-over): A ritual praising the heavens, overshadowed by ruin. Hours earlier, two helicopters used a pause in the rain to land a police

SWAT team in the hill tops. The helicopters are part of American security tycoon Erik Prince's operation here, bringing new capabilities and the

experience of foreign ex special forces, but not for free.

And these are the first pictures of Prince's private security fighters in Haiti, who led the push with specialized Haitian police in what's called

the task force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear a lot of things about you.

WALSH (voice-over): He tells the police where to position. Nobody has seen their operations in Haiti before, and this drone footage shows gang members

fleeing. Erik Prince made his name and millions in Iraq with Blackwater sullied and reprimanded over civilian casualties there.

His ties to Blackwater long severed, he is now selling a new idea, that private security mercenaries to their detractors can tackle security or

gang problems for failing states that can't.

ERIK PRICE, FOUNDER, VECTUS GLOBAL: Yeah, that's the bad city, right? That's the bad part, right there.

WALSH (voice-over): He was first sent to Haiti as a Navy SEAL 32 years ago, and now he gave CNN his first interview and access to his operation here.

PRINCE: This is when we started a police truck like the one we rode in here on. Pretty much one of those was lost every week, attacked, ambushed,

burned, the occupant slaughtered, butchered. That's done now because there's much better response, quicker air support, drones, whatever that

prevents the police from being overmatched. That's really why we're here.

WALSH (voice-over): Over 2,000 drone strikes on varied targets in the past year. A task force source said here, and what they said was a gang Molotov

cocktail factory. Prince wouldn't reveal his annual fee of likely tens of millions of dollars, but on top of that, he gets a 10th of any new customs

revenue generated if his Lena operation ends smuggling at dozens of illegal border crossings.

WALSH: Did you put a number on what your contract is worth in terms of what the Haitian government pay you?

PRINCE: The previous UN force is that our cost is 1/6 of what their annual camp cost was, so it's a fraction of a fraction of a fraction.

WALSH (voice-over): He had aimed to free up key roads within a year here, but hasn't. Although the UN has said this year has seen the gang spread in

the capital halted, even reversed.

WALSH: You haven't killed any major gang leaders yet. Have there been challenges in some of the operations you're doing? Is not killing top

leaders' part of your strategy?

PRINCE: Look, insurgencies are not defeated by taking out just leadership. I know there's been obsession of that in the United States, but wars are

won by taking significant numbers of enemy manpower off the battlefield. We are in the process of doing that and enabling sovereignty to resume.

WALSH (voice-over): To grasp the enormity of the collapse and daily trauma, we head to the once vibrant downtown of the capital, so long gang held,

sways of it are now overgrown, as though nature is tired of the violence and wants to take back control.

We patrol at dawn, with the new UN-mandated gang suppression force here, soldiers from Chad. First light, when those who live under the gangs, make

their daily break for it to head out to the rest of the world on foot through rivers of sewage and trash to reach work or food.

[09:25:00]

A body lies abandoned in the road, likely dumped there overnight. We go back with them at dusk to see it all happen again for the home trip.

WALSH: Talk about how desperate life must be here to attempt this in the daylight must simply be terrifying. It's eerie being here inside an armored

personnel carrier, but they're risking it out on the street here in the dark, many of them carrying looks like food for their homes, things back

into gang-held areas.

WALSH (voice-over): The promise of a quick fix at a price that's still out of reach. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Pope Leo is expected to lead prayers on Sunday as he continues to recover from lung surgery. These are the first images released since the

Pope underwent that lung surgery. The Vatican says the Pontiff will recite the traditional Angelus prayer this weekend. It will be his first public

appearance since having part of his lung removed after a cancerous growth was discovered.

In its latest update on the Pope's recovery, the Vatican said new tests confirmed a steady improvement in his condition. OK, up next on "Connect

the World", the start of trading and the business headlines, including President Trump's false claims about inflation in America, with just 18

days to go until the midterm elections.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Warm welcome back. I'm Paula Newton in New York, and you are watching "Connect the World". Classes are canceled for thousands of

students in Oregon today after a deadly shooting at a local elementary school. Three students and a teacher were killed. Now, the motive of the

teenage attacker who was fatally shot by a bystander is unclear. We are expecting an update from police later today.

A war of words is erupting in Michigan's U.S. Senate race. Vice President J.D. Vance attacked Democrat Abdul El-Sayed while campaigning for

Republican Mike Rogers Thursday Vance accused El-Sayed of being ungrateful to America and quote a weasel. El-Sayed fired back, saying his full

allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.

Ukraine and Russia are trading strikes on energy sites just three days after President Trump announced a surprise energy ceasefire. This comes as

Ukraine's President rallied support in Europe. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he felt betrayed by the White House deal to import Russian diesel fuel.

[09:30:00]

And we are watching the opening bell there on Wall Street. On all three indices, it was pretty much a flat open. Not too much enthusiasm for tech

or other trades. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh did speak in IMF fireside chats hours earlier, but failed to give any indication of where interest rates

were headed. You see, there the DOW modestly up for the day, almost half of a percent.

Now, with the midterms just 18 days away and the cost-of-living top of mind for so many Americans. President Trump is trying to convince voters that

inflation is in fact under control. The numbers he's been touting do not match the data. Take a listen to what he's been repeating at rallies this

week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 1.7 inflation in the last three months. Think of that, 1.7. He had real inflation. He had

real inflation of 19 percent. 19 percent. We inherited the worst inflation in history. Think of it. And now the last three months, we have 1.7. We

have it down to what he had 19 percent. His real numbers, 19 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN Senior Reporter Daniel Dale, you've been at this for so long in terms of fact checking the data from this president. It is good to see you.

He is back at it. And I have to say, Daniel, despite what you're about to tell us, what you tell us is actually holds true when voters go to the

supermarket or go to the gas station?

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Right. So, the president's numbers on inflation are consistently wrong, and these numbers are wrong. We have not

had 1.7 percent inflation in the United States in the last three months. July was 3.4 percent. August was 3.4 percent. Again, in September it

accelerated to 3.7 percent.

Now I have no idea where he got this 19 percent figure for the Biden era. I asked Trump's White House; they did not respond. Trump himself did not

explain. But my theory is that in 2022, in a speech, he recited the fact that Biden had peak 9.1 percent inflation in June of that year after

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and then he said it's not that.

I believe it's double that. So, if you double 9.1, add a little bit, you get to 19. So that's what I think he's doing here. Of course, you can't do

that. You can't double economic numbers because you feel like it. And so, I, you know, because I don't know for sure what he was referring to, I

wrote an article on CNN.com taking people through some other possibilities too.

Like maybe he was talking about cumulative inflation, maybe he was talking about core inflation. But the bottom line is this: whichever way you slice

it, whatever he was doing, the numbers were plain inaccurate. It just doesn't work.

NEWTON: Daniel Dale, we will count on you in the next few days and weeks for sure as we continue to parse this data. But as I said, many Americans

will be scratching their head because they know that their bills tell them otherwise. Daniel Dale for us, thanks so much. It's good to see you.

DALE: Thank you.

NEWTON: Coming up in sports, we will talk about things that go awry when we're talking about penalty kicks. Yes, you'll want to see this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

NEWTON: All right. Apparently, all of us have learned that AI can do everything from planning a trip to translating a book. OK, maybe now a

California startup is giving a new face to AI, and not just any face. Genies lets people chat face to face with, in some cases, the AI versions

of their sports heroes. Bijan Husseini has more now in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIJAN HUSSEINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is three-time WNBA champion Candice Parker, and this is also Candice Parker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You, welcome to Post Moves. So glad you can make it. What should I call you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I'm the real Candice.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): The Avatar on the other side knows Candice's career better than most, even if it was never around to witness any of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, hold on. The real Candice? OK, that's wild. I'm your genie.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): Genies is an AI startup based out of Los Angeles, California, with a $200 million bet that every athlete, every celebrity,

every person will have an AI personality.

HUSSEINI: Candice, in your opinion, who is the greatest of all time?

AKASH NIGAM, FOUNDER & CEO, GENIES: It's a good question.

HUSSEINI: We got to settle the debate once and for all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, Candice is on that WNBA Mount Rushmore.

NIGAM: Ooh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No question. Two-time MVP, three chips with three different teams. But if you're asking me to pick one across both leagues,

Candice would probably say MJ for the NBA side.

HUSSEINI: There you go.

NIGAM: First off --

HUSSEINI: I love that she's speaking in third person, which is great.

NIGAM: Yes. Which is actually pretty important because the reason why all these talents have decided to sign up is because this isn't actually

replacing them. Like that is not Candice Parker. That is Candice Parker's genie, and so this is kind of like her like extension of her identity.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): The company's founder Akash Nigam says Genies' ambition is to be the visual layer for AI going forward. Behind these

avatars is AI software making it all work. From a few photos, a voice recording, and some background on the person, Genies builds what it calls

an engine-ready character.

It's not a video, but an asset that can operate in real time on any platform, the final result, an avatar that's stylized, almost cartoonish,

and that's on purpose.

NIGAM: Fans don't want to talk to a hyper realistic version of Candace Parker or any talent. If her like lip even moved slightly in a way that

maybe like the real Candace Parker would not move, a fan would immediately one be like that's off, and two is just creepy. This, the fact that there's

a layer of separation, is what keeps Candace Parker comfortable, and then also her fans comfortable too.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): Akash says the style is also a defense against what those in Hollywood fear.

NIGAM: It's like widespread news that LA, Hollywood in general, and AI don't get along. Their concerns with AI is all around the deep fakes being

able to replace them. This mitigates that completely. The reason why we've been able to sign up so much of entertainment and media, they have a huge

checklist of things that need to be true in order for them to launch an interactive character.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): Genies have secured a massive list of intellectual property, including the Players Association of the NBA and MLB, as well as

Webtoons and Hello Kitty's parent company. They have some big players backing them as well, including Silver Lake and Bond, as well as Former

Disney CEO Bob Iger. They've also collaborated with artists ranging from Justin Bieber and Cardi B to athletes like Russell Westbrook and Candice

Parker herself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First, what jumps out to me is the mannerisms. Like all of those are mine, down to the baby hair, to the hair, to the

highlights. All of it is super real. I think it's really cool. This is Candice Parker. Welcome to Post Moves.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): Candice's podcast reaches thousands of people at once, but her genie is built to do the opposite, to engage with one fan at

a time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love breaking down the game of basketball, and so to be able to see my genie saying things similar to what I would say, and

being able to have the knowledge of other things that I have already said is simply incredible.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): Still, as with any new tech, questions are raised.

HUSSEINI: Are you sure people want this? I mean, we've seen a huge pushback from Gen Z when it comes to AI and tech. What is your data showing you? And

because that will be your main consumer down the line.

NIGAM: So, the data is showing the opposite like we know that Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and then also respective fan bases. That are baked into all the IP

that we've signed up want this. They want personalized one-on-one experiences, right?

[09:40:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you say the best part of Candice's game was?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Versatility, no question.

HUSSEINI (voice-over): Ask Candice what she actually gets out of her genie, and the answer is a lot simpler.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, if I ever need a height machine. I'll just talk to my genie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: All right. I'm not sure if AI can help with this next story because there is more than one way to take a penalty in football. In fact, we've

seen various ways through history. But you either can smash it, chip it, place it, but it must go in, right, Amanda Davies? That is the issue here.

Did it go in?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, I mean, it gives a very different meaning to the phrase run up, doesn't it? I mean, it's more of a step up,

inch by inch, painful to watch. People are saying it's showboating. This is Trayvone Reid, but if you're going to show boat, you've got to score, and

he didn't.

It is not the way to go, and unfortunately for his side, they didn't get the win they needed in the Caribbean Cup. But I mean, he's facing not only

the wrath of his teammates but ridicule around the world and on social media. You suspect you're not going to be seeing it again.

But the good news, Paula, we have teams who are doing it the right way, and winning and booking their places in the World Series. That is leading the

way in "World Sport" in just a couple of minutes.

NEWTON: And I'll look forward to that because I know it was quite a closer there as we continue in the baseball. Amanda Davies will be back with us

with "World Sport" in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORTS)

END