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One World with Zain Asher

U.S. Envoy Kushner Meets Israeli P.M. on Stalled Gaza Plan; Israeli Prime Minister Has Rejected Trump-backed Gaza Plan; 10-day Joint U.S.-South Korea Drills Began as Planned; Russia Says It Shot Down 800+ Ukrainian Drones Overnight; Search Efforts Continue One Week After Colombia's Earthquake; Hawaii Assesses Damage as Lala Pulls Away from Islands. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 17, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. This is "One World". Ahead on the show, President Trump's

son-in-law is in the Middle East today, hoping to find a way to get the Gaza peace talks back on track. We are live for you in Jerusalem with that

latest.

Plus, Donald Trump announcing he is scaling back joint military exercises with South Korea. We'll look at what Iran had to do with that move. And the

shocking death of Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday raises questions about the role of the British media in all of this.

All right, begin with a blunt warning from the U.S. President to a Middle East ally in the midst of a war with Iran. Donald Trump is threatening to

attack Oman if it gets in the way of U.S. efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the second time the president has threatened Oman, which is engaged

in talks with Iran over the critical waterway.

His comments to Fox News come as the 60-day window for peace talks between the U.S. and Iran expires without any clear path to ending this war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: Talks between Iran and Iran are continuing seriously regarding the taste of the joint

statement, views are being exchanged, and both sides have so far shown that they are determined to formulate a mechanism that ensures interest and

concerns of both sides.

While at the same time ensuring the relevant considerations concerning international shipping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Right, Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak joins us live now from Washington D.C. So, just talking about these statements, these

threatening statements that the U.S. President is making against Oman. Talk to us about why the president is making these statements, especially when

you consider that Oman sees itself as neutral.

They've received bombs from Iran, and also, they've been sort of key mediators in these negotiations as well.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, they've been a strategic partner for the U.S. for many, many years. And the president's

grievance seems to be that they are participating in these discussions with Iran about how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

And the president seems to believe that, as part of those discussions, they're discussing potential ways that both of those countries would be

able to control the waterway going forward. Obviously, Iran has the northern coast of the Strait of Hormuz, and Oman has the southern coast.

And as part of those discussions, one of the resolutions had been, and this has been floated now for several weeks, is that Iran would control the

traffic going in through the route that runs closest to the northern coast. And Oman would control the traffic that is going out through the southern

coast.

And the president, in his view, believes that neither of those countries should control that very critical waterway, that it should be reopened

freely, that ships would be able to go back and forth without any control of either government, which I think does sort of underscore the conundrum

that he now faces.

You know, the ceasefire that he had put in place that he signed at Versailles now more than 60 days ago, has expired. There doesn't seem to be

any indication that talks to get the waterway opened have yielded anything so far. And both the U.S. and Iran are now sort of locked in this economic

standoff, whereby both countries are trying to withstand the economic pain that the channel closing has brought to them, and both sides seem to think

that the other will cave first.

But there's no evidence at this point that, that is really going anywhere. The president is suggesting, and he said again today that the economic pain

will be tougher on Iran, but the leaders in that country don't show any signs of caving. And what the president said in that Fox News interview

that was that he wanted Iran to quote, put up the white flag of surrender and insisting that he's in no hurry to reach a deal.

But clearly, the pressure, both political and economic is mounting on the president. It's not really evident how he plans to get out of it.

ASHER: Right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. As Kevin was just talking about, there are certainly no signs of progress on a deal with Iran.

Washington is trying to kickstart the Trump Administration's stalled peace plans for Gaza.

[11:05:00]

Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke earlier with the Israeli Prime Minister in a meeting lasting four hours. An Israeli source

says that Kushner pressed Netanyahu to move forward with the ceasefire plan and quote, not create obstacles.

Earlier this month, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the 15-point plan for Gaza proposed by Donald Trump's Board of Peace, the Israeli Prime Minister wants

Hamas to disarm fully before any Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza. On Sunday, Kushner held a rare meeting with the Leader of Hamas in Egypt as

well.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us live now from Jerusalem to break all of this down for us. So, first and foremost, how unprecedented is it to have Jared

Kushner meet with the Leader of Hamas? But also, how much of a tall order is it for him to try to persuade Netanyahu to stick to the 15-point peace

plan, especially when so many of Netanyahu's calculations are obviously political at this point?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: So, on the first question, it is an incredibly rare meeting that U.S. Envoy Jared Kushner, the

president's son-in-law, is having a meeting with Hamas, a designated U.S. terrorist organization, in a face-to-face conversation in Egypt.

This is known to have happened at least once before, back in October. That ultimately led to the 20-point ceasefire plan that ended the war in Gaza

and led to the release of the hostages, and it was another one of these meetings in Egypt that led to, or follows rather, the 15-point plan that

President Donald Trump released at the end of last month, calling it an historic breakthrough.

That being said, just because there was a meeting yesterday with Hamas, their New Leader Khalil al-Hayya, and another meeting today with Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, doesn't mean that we suddenly expect to see real progress here. And we've gotten a sense of that because after a

lengthy four-hour meeting between Kushner, Netanyahu, as well as the Director General of the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov and Former UK

Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Kushner pressed Netanyahu to work with the ceasefire plan and to quote, not create obstacles as they're trying to push it forward, according to the

source familiar with the meeting, Netanyahu said it would be quote, problematic for Israel to move forward on the plan and make concessions

towards Gaza, specifically because of the elections.

They would be viewed by the Israeli public as making concessions towards Hamas. So, from Netanyahu's political perspective, it's very difficult to

make progress here, and that is where Kushner is trying to find some sort of wiggling room or some sort of space to maneuver to try to create

progress here.

Now, we did just get a statement from the prime minister's office and a bit from a senior Israeli official who made clear that Netanyahu told Kushner.

There would be absolutely no Israeli troop redeployment-that is, withdrawal or pullback of its forces in Gaza until there is a complete disarmament of

Hamas.

In other words, as has been the case in the past, Israel wants to see complete disarmament before it's willing to take any steps. Hamas, however,

has made clear that it will not be acting on its own unilaterally without a sequenced series here that would lead to both a halt to the near daily

attacks on Gaza coming from Israel, as well as a sequencing of the Israeli withdrawal.

So, it seems, Zain, that there is a very tough task still ahead here as Kushner tries to make progress on the stalled ceasefire plan.

ASHER: Absolutely, Oren Liebermann live for us. Thank you so much. Right, the U.S. is looking to reduce its military drills with key ally South

Korea. In doing so, President Trump could strengthen ties with a long-time U.S. adversary. On Sunday, Trump posted the following message, based on my

very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the U.S. has long ago agreed to participate in joint military

exercises with South Korea.

He then calls the exercises costly, totally inappropriate, and hostile as well. Trump's warm relationship with Kim is in stark contrast to America's

decades-long alliance with South Korea. Over for over 70 years, the two nations have upheld mutual defense treaties, and this is primarily designed

to protect them from North Korea.

Gage Goulding has more reaction from South Korea and explains how the situation ties back with the U.S. war with Iran.

GAGE GOULDING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's kind of two points here. There's the fact that hey, you know, the president's saying we have a great

relationship with North Korea. We want to scale back this operation, and on the other hand, taking a little bit of jab of South Korea, saying when we

asked you for help with the denuclearizing, excuse me, Iran, the South Korean government said no thanks.

Now, in a statement to CNN, the Blue House, which is the official government agency, the head of the government there in South Korea,

essentially said that that's not necessarily the case. That you know they hope that this open communication between the Leaders of North Korea and

the U.S. will lead to quote, meaningful talks between the two countries.

[11:10:00]

And they went on to say that they are actually working to try to help kind of solve the problem that ongoing conflict, if you will, in Iran and open

the Strait of Hormuz. So, they didn't necessarily take a jab back at the president because they are good allies, which also raises the question as

to why exactly would the president do that?

Now, it could just be trying to extend an olive branch to the North Koreans and trying to set up another summit because, again, going back to the

president's first term, there was three different meetings. Actually, President Trump was the first president to ever step foot on North Korean

soil.

Fast forward to now, the second term that hasn't been the case, and in the past, President Trump has extended invitations or interest, if you will, to

try to meet with Kim Jong Un. That has been met with silence, crickets. So, this could be an opportunity for that. Does that mean that he's looking for

a diplomatic win, possibly?

But on the other hand, for the South Korean side, this could be the president saying, look, we asked you for help with Iran, and you didn't.

You know, our protection goes beyond the South, the Korean Peninsula, and we need your help beyond the Korean Peninsula. However, with all of that

said, the focus on that exercise, right?

The South Korean government says that it actually started today. The 10-day operation started today as planned, so it's going to take some time to

fully understand. One, are they actually reducing the amount of exercise that they're doing into what kind of fallout, if any, will happen on either

side of the Korean Peninsula.

ASHER: Right. Let's bring in CNN Military Analyst and Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Thank you for being with us. So, a key part

of these joint military exercises is obviously deterrence, right? It's the message that it sends to North Korea. Now, that doesn't mean that because

these exercises are going to be reduced, that anything dangerous is going to necessarily happen in the short term, but the message about deterrence

is key here.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, it certainly is, Zain. And one of the things about this exercise or these exercises, as we

normally have with the South Koreans, is that they work not only from the standpoint of deterrence, that's the external customer.

But internally, it also helps with interoperability between the South Korean and the U.S. militaries. And that's something that we've basically

been doing since the Korean War, since the 1950s, and that idea of interoperability and being able to work with each other in a very robust,

synchronized fashion is really the key element to the deterrence posture.

And if you lose that ability to work together and to synchronize your operations, that then becomes a really difficult thing to recapture if

there should be any type of incident with North Korea or any other threat to South Korea in in this case.

ASHER: So how does the Blue House interpret this? Because this happened before back in 2018. Donald Trump had that summit with North Korea, with

Kim Jong Un, there was a similar sort of play by him immediately afterwards in terms of talking about reducing the joint military exercises between the

U.S. and South Korea.

Now he's doing it again. So, the message to the Blue House, the message to Seoul, is what, especially as it pertains to whether or not the U.S. is a

reliable and trusted ally still.

LEIGHTON: Yeah, for the Blue House, this is a very concerning development because South Korea is really dependent on the U.S. umbrella. They have a

very capable military. They have a very capable arms industry. But one of the big issues that they need is they need to be able to have what amounts

to a nuclear deterrence.

The South Korea does not have its own nuclear weapons and has deliberately not pursued the path of nuclear weapons because the United States is

providing that nuclear umbrella. So, when it comes to how the Blue House feels about it, they feel betrayed, and that is a real problem because the

South Koreans have been steadfast allies.

They spend well over a billion dollars on every year on U.S. troops in South Korea. The 28,500 or so U.S. troops that are there, and that is

something that has been part of the agreements that have been developed between South Korea and the United States over the years.

And to jettison those agreements because of a proposed, you know, de taunt or whatever we want to call this with Kim Jong Un is a big mistake in my

view.

ASHER: And also, I think it's important to note that there are some, there is one major sort of key difference between now and eight years ago in

2018, and that is the military environment right now is different for South Korea, and that is because North Korea is sort of trying to expand its

nuclear arsenal, it's sort of missile capabilities, and so the threat for them feels a little bit more real than it certainly did back in 2018.

[11:15:00]

So, the fact that he's doing it now. In this kind of military environment, also, you know, is concerning for the South Koreans too.

LEIGHTON: It is absolutely concerning for the South Koreans because the threat from North Korea is being a very real, a very concrete threat.

There's always been that case, and in fact, technically, South Korea and North Korea are still at war. We have an armistice between the two nations

and the U.S.

But that armistice is you know really not a peace treaty, and the war has in essence continued, and that fact is what's really driving this. The

South Koreans have a robust security apparatus because they need to have a robust security apparatus, and in the form of their military and their

other means of power.

So, it becomes really critical for the South Koreans to maintain that capability and to expand it as much as they possibly can.

ASHER: All right, Colonel Cedric Leighton, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate your perspective. Russia says Ukraine launched one of its

largest aerial assaults since the start of the war, saying it shot down more than 800 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Authorities say the attacks left at least six people dead. Footage from Russian-controlled Donetsk shows extensive damage to a shopping mall

following a strike by Ukrainian drones. It's the third mall in the region hit by drones in the past week. The Moscow region also came under attack as

well.

Video shared on social media shows a major fire at a warehouse near the capital Kyiv has increasingly hit industrial targets and distribution

infrastructure, including warehouses operated by Wildberries, a Russian firm that's basically comparable to Amazon. Ukraine says they are

legitimate targets as they supply the Russian army.

Russia is keeping up intensive attacks on Ukraine. A drone strike on Kyiv on Sunday started a massive blaze at a book market. Analysts say as

defenses become stretched on both sides, civilians are increasingly paying the price as more missile targets reach their targets.

All right, still ahead on "One World", a race against time in Colombia as crews search for survivors. The latest on earthquake relief efforts, just

ahead. Plus, more than 100,000 people are still without power in Hawaii. We'll look at the damage left behind from tropical storm Lala.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:20:00]

ASHER: One week on, and the search for survivors in Colombia's massive earthquake continues. A 7.4 magnitude earthquake killed nearly 300 people

and injured thousands more. Search operations continued on Sunday in some of the hardest hit areas, including Colombia's third largest City of Cali,

as the rubble cleared, communities are discovering just how much was lost in the disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we have encountered is a lot of pain. People who lost everything, their homes, their belongings, and people who died. For

us, the hardest part is finding people beneath the rubble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And Latin music stars rallied in Miami on Sunday to raise funds critically needed in Colombia and Venezuela as well. Both countries are, of

course, reeling from devastating earthquakes. CNN's Carolina Peguero has more on the benefit concert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): United for Our Own is the name of the concert that brought together more than a dozen artists in

hopes to raise donations for those impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia.

The proceeds from ticket sales, online, and phone bank donations will go to help rebuild communities, homes, provide food and medicine to the

displaced, as well as mental health support to adults and children. The event that was originally organized to aid Venezuela after the two

earthquakes struck on June 24th, killing more than 6,000 people, was later designated to help Colombia, when on August 10th a 7.4 magnitude earthquake

shook the nation, leaving more than 250 dead.

International Latin artists like Marc Anthony Chian, Luis Fonsi, and others donated their talent and efforts for the cause, made possible by the

collaboration of several non-profit organizations like Global Empowerment Mission, World Central Kitchen, Maestro Cares Foundation, and Univision

Foundation.

Fans came from all over to support and share their thoughts and prayers for those impacted by the natural disasters.

MARTIN LINDENFELD, SUPPORTER: I believe in brotherhood among the nations, especially Latin nation schools. That's what we're here for.

IRVIN AVILES, SUPPORTER: This is the best time to embrace each other and to show our brothers and sisters from Colombia and Venezuela that we are

united, right, and that we care for each other. And that I know they're going through a difficult time, but they're going to go through, and with

our help and the help of God, I'm pretty sure that everything is going to be better for them.

GIANNA SULTON, SUPPORTER: History can change in either a good or a bad way, so I'm here to just support and donate and help as much as I can.

PEGUERO (voice-over): The initiative comes in a crucial time of need, where families who have lost it all, their loved ones, and their homes in both

Venezuela and Colombia slowly rebuild their lives and face the long road ahead of them. Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Meantime, rescuers are continuing to search for survivors after a powerful quake struck Indonesia on Saturday. The magnitude 7.7 quake struck

off the Coast of Flores Island, killing at least 53 people and damaging more than 1,300 homes. Many survivors have sustained injuries or been

displaced from their homes as well, and some are still searching for loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband couldn't walk anymore. He was very frail and weak. He told me, you run. I'll stay here. It's OK. If God wills that

we die, then I accept that. If we live, I accept that too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: OK, let's turn now to Hawaii, where tens of thousands of people are without power after Hurricane Lala struck over the weekend. As you can see,

the storm brought dangerous flooding, road closures, more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. Lala has weakened now to a tropical storm, and

is now moving away from the islands.

Derek Van Dam is live for us at the -- Weather Center. Still, tens of thousands of people, Derek, without power.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, even though the storm is pulling away, the damage has already been done, Zain. Check this out. These are

rainfall totals from what was Hurricane Lala. Yeah, 43 inches of rain. We're talking 100. Excuse me, 1,100 millimeters of rainfall in a short

period of time.

That's why we saw what would normally be a casual waterfall, one of many in the Big Island of Hawaii, turning into a torrent of water that rips down

mountain sides and destroys a lot of things in its path. Unfortunately, many homes near the base of those mountains get impacts from this.

Now we've had some significant wind gusts associated with this as well. Keep in mind the Mauna Kea Summit, that's about 13,800 feet above sea

level, so way up there.

[11:25:00]

But still, 140 mile per hour wind gust. It was cold enough to snow at the top of that mountain, by the way, closer to the ground, this is where you

and I would live, right? If we were so lucky in Hawaii, we were talking about 85 mile per hour wind gust. Certainly, hurricane force there, right?

So that was responsible for knocking out over 100,000 customers without power. Many of which are still in the dark across the Big Island and into

other islands across the Hawaiian chain. Now, the good news is Lala is pulling away. Right now, it's a tropical storm.

You can see on the current radar not much rain associated with the Big Island, where we saw the biggest impacts from this. There are still some

outer feeder bands impacting places like Kauai into Oahu, which is located across the central and northwestern parts of the Hawaiian Islands.

Nonetheless, this is fascinating. You could see that the storm never actually made landfall. That's proof right there that you don't need a

landfalling hurricane to see widespread destruction, and that's why we got to take these storms extremely seriously, and this storm is actually going

to redevelop and get into more favorable atmosphere, where it could strengthen back into a hurricane, a Category One.

But that's going to be for the Central Pacific, really not threatening any land. We call that fish food because that's where it will likely stay. The

rainfall totals going forward not much more than 75 millimeters at its most. That would be at the mountains' peaks, but really, this was the most

terrifying part of the weekend when Lala made its closest approach.

This is what one person saw on the island of Maui as they stepped outside onto his balcony. Can you imagine seeing that sight behind you, Zain?

That's terrifying.

ASHER: I mean, some of these pictures are wild. Derek Van Dam, live for us there. Thank you so much.

DAM: Yeah. You got it.

ASHER: All right. Still ahead on "One World", the light has dimmed on one of Hollywood's brightest stars. We'll look at the life of Actress Hayden

Panettiere. And a Cambridge Professor's university career is still being debated days after he died. Coming up, a look at the controversy and his

life as well. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the stories we are watching today. A senior Israeli

official says that Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that his country's forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas disarms.

President Trump's son-in-law and U.S. Envoy Jared Kushner held a four-hour meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister today on the stalled Gaza peace

plan. President Trump says that he is not happy with the amount of joint U.S.-South Korea military drills. He's also calling them costly, totally

inappropriate, and hostile.

On Sunday, the president said his thoughts are based on what he calls a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un. Russia says it shot down more than

800 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of Ukraine's largest aerial assaults since the start of the war. At least six people were killed.

Footage from Russian-controlled Donetsk shows severe damage caused by a drone striking a shopping center, the third mall in the region to be hit in

just a week. An actress, Hayden Panettiere, has died just five days before her 37th birthday. No word yet on the exact cause of death.

Panettiere began acting as a child when she performed in soap operas, and her fame grew thanks to roles in shows like "Heroes" and "Nashville".

Right, arguments over the life and career of the youngest black professor in the history of Cambridge University continues today, even after the 41-

year-old was found dead on Friday.

In recent weeks, media reports had questioned not only Jason Arday's academic record but aspects of his personal life and claims that he had

made about his achievements. His family says that he was a target of a campaign of abuse that began when he was appointed professor.

Cambridge University recently opened an investigation into that appointment, saying new information about Arday's qualifications had come

to light. A university spokesperson said throughout his time at Cambridge, Jason received a range of support in relation to both his mental and

physical well-being.

This included the provision of counseling, advice, and security measures. Our support continued in the face of intense public and media scrutiny and

after his resignation, I want to bring in Jo Maugham, Founder and Executive Director of the Good Law Project. He joins us live now from London.

Jo, thank you so much for being with us. I understand that you actually spoke to Jason quite a few times when the sort of hounding from the media

began around the time of his resignation and afterwards. Obviously, I'm sure you know these are private conversations, but if you can, I'm sure

both myself and our audience will appreciate just learning a little bit about what was said during those conversations.

You know the state of his mental health and what we can learn. I mean, obviously there are so many lessons to be learned from this story for so

many of us. Anything you can share would be appreciated.

JO MAUGHAM, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GOOD LAW PROJECT: Yeah. So, when the Telegraph, a sort of newspaper on the right of British

politics, ran its story in July, its initial story, sort of calling him a DEI poster child, a group of black academics in Britain got in touch with

me.

I run an organization called Good Law Project, and asked whether we would host an open letter. And that was the first time I spoke to Professor

Arday. So, he wasn't organizing the letter, but I was very concerned about the impact of the coverage on him, and so I called him up.

I introduced him to another couple of academics who have been caught up in the war that Britain seems to be having with itself about race, because I

thought that their experiences might be useful to him. And I guess over the next four weeks or so until his tragic death on Friday, we became friends.

Everybody who speaks to him was acutely aware of how vulnerable he is. So, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, another Professor at Cambridge, has pointed

out publicly on the 31st of July, that autistic people have quite high propensities to ideate suicide, and that Professor Arday was acutely

distressed.

[11:35:00]

So, he's warning everybody about the likely effects of this coverage. And the stories that people talk about who Jason was are absolutely remarkably

uniform. Uniform too, with my experience. He was a very gentle, open, trusting. A really warm, just like the kind of nicest, most delightful

person.

Somebody you always want in the room with you. And I think that's why it's hitting us, even those who didn't know him quite so well, so terribly hard.

ASHER: Obviously, you know there is a debate going on in the UK right now, and just about race and the role that race played in all of this. You have

those who believe that this was a racial takedown. That the fact that people were so interested in this story, you know, this black young

Cambridge Professor, you know, who apparently plagiarized parts of his work.

People were -- there was such a sort of insatiable amount of interest in this story. A lot of people point to the fact that race was at the heart of

that, and then you have other people who say, well, listen, regardless of race, you know if you plagiarize, or if there are somebody has a loose

relationship with the truth, then they have to be held accountable.

Especially when we're talking about someone who is in such a prominent position. You have people debating this on both sides of the aisle. Ones

who say this was everything to do with the race. Those who say this was nothing to do with race. What are your thoughts on this? What is the truth

here, Jo?

MAUGHAM: Well, the story in its inception is absolutely a story about race. You can see that in the very first headline of the very first piece

published in the British National Press. It says he's an example of tokenism of the appointment of black people beyond their ability.

And that piece drew on research done by an academic called Nathan Cofnas, who is a self-described eugenicist and would not balk in the slightest at

the description of him as a racist. He says that if black people were appointed to professional posts on merit, there would be very few of them.

He says that black people's places in sports and entertainment --

ASHER: Sports and entertainment, yes.

MAUGHAM: -- really horrific racist tropes. And then you look at the difference between how Professor Arday was treated and how really

substantial public figures are treated so. Rachel Reeves, until recently, the woman who ran the treasury in the UK, was embroiled in the plagiarism

scandal and was discovered to have basically buffed up her CV, like pretty much everybody on LinkedIn does.

My wife tells me I'm not on LinkedIn. There was very little coverage of that, despite the fact that she was Chancellor of the Exchequer. We all

remember Mark Carney, who was embroiled in plagiarism allegations, but not much interest in those. Jonathan Reynolds, our Secretary of State for

business, misled people.

He said he was a solicitor when he wasn't, and that in the UK is a criminal offense. But none of these stories about white people attracted anything

like the staggering amount of coverage-something like 300 pieces in national papers in Britain over the course of three weeks in relation to

this man, who just on any kind of objective view, was not terribly consequential.

I mean, he was enormously consequential to his family and his friends. But as a public figure, he just -- he wasn't really a public figure.

ASHER: Right. I mean, so many questions about why he was made front page headlines so early and how race obviously was a factor in that. Not

necessarily, you know, whether or not he should be held accountable for some of the mistruths, but the fact that there was insatiable media

coverage over him ultimately, race did play a part in that.

So, my question to you is really about the lessons we should all learn from this, because part of the issue with the British media and the way it's run

is that there's no sort of there's no one person that bears accountability, right? So, it's easy for everybody to sort of move on and say, well, it's

not my fault.

I was just doing what my editor told me to do, but there does need to be some kind of a reckoning here because, you know, we've seen this type of

story before. This idea of the British media just going gung-ho on one particular story, obsessing over one person to the point where the

individual being covered no longer feels like a person.

[11:40:00]

It's sort of just a media object. And no one is asking themselves, gosh, how is this coverage affecting this individual's mental health? It's all

about well, what's the headline going to be? What are our competitors doing? What's the angle? What picture should we use to get the most clicks?

That what -- that is what is being discussed in newsrooms. Will there be any change as a result of this, Jo?

MAUGHAM: So, Good Law Project, the organization I run, is hosting an open letter to the prime minister. We have something north of 80,000 signatures

so far. Most prominent black academics, many prominent black academics and cultural figures have signed the letter.

The signature count is growing quite quickly. I think we need to stand back from all of this. And if I might say so, your very helpful characterization

of what happens in the newsrooms at the moment is the starting point for that discussion. So, although there is a wonderful narrative about the

noble press holding government to account, the reality is a slightly grubbier one.

It's become, and particularly in Britain, an industry, a money-making industry that is seeking to monetize human pain, human grief. It's click

farming. There's not anything that's noble about it, and any other industry that was monetizing human pain would be properly regulated.

And I think we need a regulator for our press because this isn't the first instance. I mean, this is the starkest right because there were so many

warnings given to the media about Professor Arday's terrible mental health. But a few years ago, a woman called Caroline Flack took her own life at the

center of a media storm.

And American viewers will, of course, remember Princess Diana, who sparked what at the time felt like a national outpouring of grief and a

determination to do better, but with the benefit of hindsight, cause some donning of sack cloth and some shedding of crocodile tears, and no real

change.

So, we are asking the prime minister for public inquiry into the media coverage of Professor Arday, how it contributed to his death, and how

things can get better. We cannot watch another man innocent of any crime on any view hounded to death by the media? Black people in Britain are

fearful.

Trans people in Britain are fearful. They are the targets to show of our increasingly out of control press. I'm afraid.

ASHER: I mean, yes. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more about the British press. There does need. I mean, I'm based in the U.S. and I will

say that in the U.S., the press sort of they sort of seem to know when to let a story go. You know, this idea of continuously hounding a single

person every single day.

Or just sort of updating the audience and the readers with just incremental updates to the point where everybody sort of becomes obsessed with a single

story is something that feels to me uniquely British in the way the media is run in that country, and obviously part of it did contribute to

Professor Arday's death.

All right, Jo Maugham, thank you so much for your perspective. We appreciate that.

MAUGHAM: Thanks for having me.

ASHER: All right, help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters in the U.S. Call

or text 988 for help. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and offenders worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around

the world as well.

We'll be right back with more, after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

ASHER: All right, I want to dive deeper into one tragic story we mentioned earlier. Actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36. She was best

known for her roles on the hit television shows "Heroes" and "Nashville". Police say she was found unresponsive Sunday at an apartment complex in

Greenville, South Carolina.

The circumstances surrounding her death are unknown at this point. Let's bring in CNN Entertainment Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister with an

update. I mean, this is somebody who has been in the public eye for many decades. She was a young star. She rose to fame quite quickly.

Just walk us through, especially for our international audience who might not necessarily be familiar with her work. Walk us through who Hayden

Panettiere was and some of the sort of more prominent TV shows that she starred in.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So, this is just such a tragic story. As you said, she had been in the limelight for

decades. She died at only 36 years old. She was just five days away from her 37th birthday. But she started in show business as an infant.

Her mom took her to auditions when she was eight months old. That is something that Hayden Panettiere later spoke about that she actually

resented her mother for, and they had an estranged relationship. But by the time she was five years old, Zain. She was already in 50 commercials.

She starred on soap operas growing up, and then she really broke out in the huge hit "Heroes", which was a big television series here in the United

States. Then later, she was on the show "Nashville", which was another huge hit, and she was also in the scream franchise.

Now, I first want to read to you a statement that we obtained from her representative. This statement comes from her father, and it is just so

sad. He says, quote, it is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of

nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her, and to the millions who watched her on screen, and it really was millions who

watched her.

Hayden Panettiere came up in the 2000s, and this is when the paparazzi was always chasing young women. And young women were exploited in Hollywood

back then. They still are, but back then it was so much worse, where young women were exploited and commodified, and this is something that Hayden

spoke about.

She felt like she never got to tell her own story, but later in life, she wrote a memoir, and Zain, that memoir actually came out just three months

ago. And that is what is so troubling and difficult to hear about her passing because she spoke about all the personal struggles that she faced

and battled, but she really seemed to have turned a new leaf.

She said that she had so much more to live for after battling substance abuse and addiction, domestic violence, postpartum depression, mental

illness. Now, I want to show you a clip from a podcast that she did while she was promoting her memoir. This is with Jay Shetty, and she was speaking

about how her life mirrored her character on that hit show "Nashville". Take a look.

[11:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything kept started matching up from you know the who Juliette Barnes was dating to being an alcoholic, to postpartum

depression, to losing her child, basically abandoning her child. Then it was like, OK, this you guys are just mirroring my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: So, you see there, life imitating art, but in a really difficult way. You could imagine that if on screen, you're this huge star,

but at home you're struggling, and then you're playing this part that mirrors your own life. Just how difficult that would be. So, a really

tragic loss, a life gone too soon, Zain.

ASHER: Right, Elizabeth Wagmeister. Thank you so much for joining us. Hayden Panettiere was 36.

WAGMEISTER: Thank you.

ASHER: She leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter with her former partner. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Right, Italian police are trying to find the bandits who made off with four renaissance artworks from a museum in Sicily. The thieves

bypassed alarms and security at the MuMe Museum on Saturday, allowing them to snatch the works of art. The missing pieces include three panels by

Antonello da Messina.

The pieces are over 500 years old and are considered some of his most important and well-known works. They also took a double-sided panel showing

the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in a Pieta. Museum officials are calling the theft a devastating loss for Messina and the art world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENZO CARUSO, COUNCILOR FOR CULTURE AT THE CITY OF MESSINA: More than a loss, this is a real disaster because Messina, without Antonello, is robbed

of the very essence of the greatest artist of the European Renaissance. Together with the mayor, we want to be close to the museum, and we hope

these works may return home as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Art crime analysts say the pieces are so well known that selling them through legitimate channels will be extremely difficult. And finally,

before we go, CNN is mourning the loss of a giant among our family and industry. Special events producer Alec Miran. Alec died unexpectedly on

Friday over a remarkable 40-year career at CNN.

[11:55:00]

Alec produced many of the biggest and most consequential moments in CNN history, and was a defining, beloved leader on the special events team.

Alec was a mentor, colleague, friend to so many here at CNN. Alec didn't just produce extraordinary courage. He helped encourage and inspire

generations of journalists sharing what he knew and teaching by example.

Alec was 69 years old, and we want to share our deepest condolences to his family. All right, stay with CNN. There is more "One World" with my

colleague Bianna Golodryga, after this short break. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:00]

END