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One World with Zain Asher
Surge in U.S. And Iranian Attacks After Weeks Of Relative Calm; Oil Prices Top $100 A Barrel For First Time Since July; CNN Poll: No Clear Leader In Maine, Michigan 22Senate Races; More Delays On Second Day Of Major U.K. Flight Disruption; Frustrated Firefighters React To 9/11 Toxic Air Quality Report; New Apple CEO Expected To Launch Foldable iPhone; New Data: The U.S. Just Had Its Hottest Summer On Record; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired September 09, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. The second hour of "One World" starts right now.
It could mark a dangerous new phase of the war. The U.S. and Iran trade strikes as CNN learns of construction at a suspected nuclear facility.
ASHER: Also ahead, a brand-new CNN poll just released moments ago. Details on the tight midterm race in the U.S. and all of this means, of course, for
Donald Trump.
GOLODRYGA: And later, never-seen-before new -- in the next hour, Apple's new CEO unveils the company's latest and greatest one of the products that
something that Apple has never done before.
And we do begin the hour with what could be a dangerous new phase in the Middle East, as the U.S. and Iran intensify their tanker attacks and the
threat of a regional war escalates elsewhere.
ASHER: Yes. U.S. CENTCOM is rejecting Iranian planes that had struck two American vessels today near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it caused extensive damage to the warships in response to an earlier U.S. strike on five
Iranian tankers.
GOLODRYGA: Those attacks prompted a significant retaliation from Tehran, which then launched a missile barrage towards an American military base in
Jordan. No deaths or injuries were reported.
Now, it all comes as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia add to concerns that the war is expanding. And earlier, the U.S. Secretary of State indicated
that it may not end anytime soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The back and forth is pretty straightforward, and that is that Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval
ships. And for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Meantime, CNN has learned that analysts are seeing a, quote, surge in construction at a suspected Iranian nuclear site known as Pickaxe
Mountain. They say the underground facility is likely designed to be a safe haven for Tehran's nuclear activities.
CNN's Davis Winkie joins us live now from Atlanta.
It's the activity -- the surge in activity and construction around Pickaxe Mountain suggested Iran is really trying to protect their nuclear efforts.
But just walk us through what we've learned about the site and -- and what -- what the latest is on the U.S.' approach.
DAVIS WINKIE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. So, the Pickaxe Mountain site is deep underground. It's buried under tens of meters of
granite, meaning that it is hardened and a really difficult target for U.S. weaponry. That's part of the reason why analysts believe that it's been
built out recently.
The analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank dug through six years of satellite imagery and documented a recent
shift in Iran's construction strategy for the site.
Previously, the work was focused on digging underneath the mountain. But during this calendar year, the shift has focused more on hardening the
tunnel entrances to the facility and to seemingly doing interior construction as well.
The analysts say that they believe that there are three possible purposes within the context of Iran's nuclear program for this site. The first is
that it could be set up as a highly fortified underground uranium enrichment hall. That would allow -- you know, allow Tehran to enrich
material that could potentially be used in a nuclear weapon.
Another possibility they highlighted was that it could be a site that is used to build the centrifuge machines that are used in the enrichment of
uranium for other sites.
And the third would be that this could be an underground safe haven for other related nuclear weapons works, such as converting uranium gas into
uranium metal.
In fact, their main facility for that used to be located above ground at the nearby Natanz site, and it was destroyed during Operation Midnight
Hammer last year.
The analysts at CSIS cautioned that if there is an enrichment hall going in at Pickaxe Mountain, it's almost certainly not online yet, nor has it been
hit by the U.S., thus far, in the current conflict.
That's in spite of the fact that the nearby facilities at Natanz were hit during Midnight Hammer and had been hit during the conflict since then.
[12:05:01]
However, Pickaxe Mountain is believed to be too deep and potentially out of the reach of the U.S. non-nuclear weapons.
That hasn't stopped President Donald Trump from repeatedly threatening to strike the site, though. He reiterated that threat as recently as last
week. And he's also noted that U.S. intelligence has been keeping a very close eye on it to make -- and are making sure that there's no such
activities going on there.
What we did also learn while reporting this story was that the U.S. prepped for a secret test at the White Sands Missile Range that appeared to be
related to classified capabilities that could target underground facilities such as Pickaxe Mountains.
We found a publicly available memo, justifying some contracting work related to that. And three sources confirmed that the planned test
described in that memo was linked to the Iran war.
We also did analysis of some satellite imagery that showed prep at a test site that is geologically similar to Pickaxe Mountain. However, we could
not independently confirm whether the U.S. actually tested that capability or not.
The upshot of this though is that, you know, this is a very significant facility for the Iran nuclear program and the U.S. is trying to figure out
how it can counter that.
Zain.
ASHER: All right. Appreciate you being with us. Thank you so much.
WINKIE: Thanks.
GOLODRYGA: Well, CNN military analyst retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins us for more on this. Colonel, it's good to see you.
So, you say it's not a surprise that the Iranians, particularly at this site, Pickaxe Mountain, would want to rebuild their nuclear weapons
program.
What can we establish now with U.S. intelligence satellite imagery, what have you, about what's happening underground? And how much of that remains
an intelligence gap?
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, that's a great question, Bianna. And it's great to be with you.
It's -- it's one of those areas where the intelligence gaps are going to be significant. We can definitely see, via satellite, what they're doing above
ground.
And even maybe, you know, have some indications of what's going on at, you know, some of the lower levels below ground.
But one of the problems is the precise nature of the -- of what they're doing below ground is going to be very, very difficult to ascertain using
satellite imagery technology.
So, this is one of those areas where it requires other sources of intelligence to actually go in and determine what they either are doing or
might be doing. So, this would be human intelligence, potentially signals intelligence. Those are areas that could be exploited for a potential
indicator as to what's going on in the Pickaxe Mountain facility.
Now, the other thing to look at is potential international travel from Iran's allies. You know, are Russians coming to the site? Are Chinese
coming to the site -- Chinese experts or North Korean experts coming to the site?
We do know from prior activities that Iranian and North Korean experts have exchanged visits when it came to the -- the respective nuclear programs.
And the extent of that cooperation is really unknown.
But that would be an indicator that something is going on if they do get a visit from a country like North Korea, where, of course, that -- that
country has nuclear weapons and that would indicate that there might be some sharing of technology in that case.
ASHER: When Donald Trump says, we may hit Pickaxe Mountain soon, I mean, how much of a tall order is that just given, A, what we know of U.S.'s
capabilities and military capabilities and just how buried underground Pickaxe Mountain actually is just in terms of, you know, the nuclear
facility? I mean, the whole point of Pickaxe Mountain is that it would be impenetrable.
LEIGHTON: Yes, exactly, Zain. So, this is a real challenge when it comes to targeting a site like Pickaxe Mountain.
And as Davis pointed out in his reporting, one of the things to look at is, you know, how far is this site buried underground? So, we know that, you
know, that some elements of the site are around 170 meters or so below ground, according to some estimates.
If that is the case, that becomes difficult for something like the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which is the 30,000-pound bomb that would be designed
for something like this to actually penetrate and explode at -- at the desired location or the desired point of impact.
So, you know, something like that is, you know, it's very, very difficult to gauge exactly how far they've come in terms of building it, but also in
terms of what kind of structures they have that are protecting it.
And one of the things that we do know, though, about Pickaxe Mountain is that, at least part of it, is buried under a layer of granite. Granite is a
very hard walk. It's, you know, basically impenetrable to, you know, a lot of the ordnance that we have in the U.S. inventory, at least at -- at deep
levels.
[12:10:12]
So, that is something that, you know, would also determine the kinds of weapons that would be used and also what kinds of, you know, target areas
we would actually go after. Would we go after the entry point? Would we go after something that, you know, can penetrate the ground a bit more?
And that would be something that we would have to be determined by the target tiers, which are the people that, you know, actually set the targets
in, then program that into the weapons that are then delivered to something like that, if -- if the decision is made to go after Pickaxe Mountain.
GOLODRYGA: Colonel, can I just talk to you about bigger picture what's been happening the last few days, which appears to be a renewed round of kinetic
escalation and a bit more risk taking, I would argue, on the part of the Iranians targeting U.S. ships? They have not hit their target. And the
United States has responded by continuing to strike and sink Iranian tankers.
But what does that tell you about the threat, not only to U.S. ships in the region, as we know to other countries where U.S. hosts bases in those
countries as well, or they have those countries host U.S. bases.
Is there a risk that at some point, we -- we could see U.S. personnel hurt, killed again?
LEIGHTON: Oh, it's certainly a big risk, Bianna. And, you know, when you look at the types of targets that both the Iranians and some of their proxy
forces, like the Houthis, for example, have picked out, they're going after targets in places like Jordan.
You know, near Aqaba, there is a facility that the Iranians have tried to target. And, of course, the Muwaffaq Salti Base in another part of Jordan,
has also been the -- the scene of repeated attempts by the Iranians to attack, some of which have been successful in the past. So, yes, the risk
is very high for U.S. personnel in the region.
And one of the things that we have to consider is what kinds of force protection methods are actually possible for the U.S., given the fact that
a lot of our interceptor missiles, you know, especially the Patriot batteries and the THAAD batteries are in short supply. And a lot of that
inventory was, of course, depleted by a considerable extent because of prior activities in this war with Iran.
So, the risk is much higher now that that inventory is depleted. And that very fact, of course, makes it difficult for the U.S. not only to plan
defensive operations, but also to use those forces for potential offensive operations against Iran.
So, the Iranians and their proxies are very cognizant of that. And they are basically doing what they -- they think they need to do in order to, you
know, not only gain leverage, but possibly gain the upper hand, at least temporarily in the region.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. It's one of the reasons why the Pentagon and Pete Hegseth extended some deployments well into 2027. We just don't have an end date in
sight for this war.
Cedric Leighton. Thank you, colonel. Really appreciate the time.
ASHER: All right. The war --
LEIGHTON: You bet, Bianna.
ASHER: -- in Iran is roiling global oil markets. The price of Brent Crude, the international benchmark for oil, hit $100 a barrel Wednesday morning.
That is the highest level since July. You see WTI there at $96 a barrel.
CNN's Anna Stewart joins us live now from London. Anna, here we are again topping $100 a barrel for the first time in at least a couple of months.
Just walk us through what's next. I mean, prices are likely to remain elevated given that there is no end to this war, as we've said many times
in sight.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I think we've seen a real escalation just in terms of the attacks on tankers, both from Iran and the
U.S. At least seven tankers have been struck since Tuesday evening.
And also a broadening of the conflict once again. You know, we've seen tankers being attacked not just in the Strait of Hormuz, but rather Persian
Gulf, off the coast of Dubai, in Iraqi waters. So, this is worrying traders as well, because where is safe for these tankers to transit.
And, of course, there were also Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. So, all of these attacks, every time we see a flare-up, we see
an immediate knee-jerk reaction in that oil price. So, it could fall back below $100 again.
However, I would say the baseline of the oil price is just trending high and it has been over recent weeks.
And -- and speaking to oil traders, you wonder where it's going to go next. Now, Goldman Sachs have actually released a note today. They have raised
their forecast for where oil prices are going to be for this year and for next year. They're raising it by $5 a barrel for this year to, I think it's
$85 a barrel. So, significantly less than where we're at.
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However, they say that is their current sort of forecast. Their worst-case scenario, if we see continued and escalating attacks in the Strait of
Hormuz and around the Gulf, would be for all prices to go back up to $120 a barrel, which is something we haven't seen since right at the beginning of
the conflict with Iran.
So, we are seeing a significant escalation and a broadening of the conflict. And all of that for traders just means they are now pricing in a
much more prolonged conflict.
The only hope is that there are, at least from traders' point of view, that pipelines are expanded across the gulf to try and find other ways of
transiting oil out. But, of course, you have issues around the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait as well.
There's also a lot of talk about dark flows through the Strait of Hormuz, tanker is simply turning off transponders. So actually some oil is getting
out that's possibly not always accounted for.
But even then, you know, we are seeing this steady increase in the oil price with these absolute terrible spikes like we're seeing today above
$100 a barrel.
ASHER: All right. Anna Stewart, live for us there. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, this just in, brand-new CNN polling on two critical Senate races with just 55 days from the midterm elections. Our
polls show races in both Michigan and Maine are incredibly tight.
Let's discuss with the one and only Harry Enten. Harry, one day, we're going to have to build a wall for you here in our studio.
ASHER: We can't help but smile.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Thank you. Thank you. That's what I'm looking for.
GOLODRYGA: Because we're -- we're so close, but we're so far away. We're like two flights, two floors apart from each other. And, yes --
ENTEN: You will always be with me though in my heart and soul.
GOLODRYGA: Same, same. Let's talk about this new polling because it is interesting. Two-thirds roughly of voters in Maine and of Michigan
disapprove of Trump. Majorities there say they want a democratic Senate, and yet -- and yet, both races are so close.
What is holding Democrats back, Harry?
ENTEN: Yes. I mean, let's just take a look here. You know, you're mentioning both Maine and Michigan. And for our international audience,
right, we have the midterm elections coming up in November.
Donald Trump's political future, the final two years of his presidency will very much rely on the outcome of these races and of the United States
Senate large. So, let's just kind of walk us through it, right?
Let's talk about the United States Senate. OK. What do we have? The choice for Senate here. Maine, no clear leader. You mentioned that, right?
Michigan, no clear leader. You mentioned that.
What we are seeing is Troy Jackson, the Democrat, three points ahead, three points ahead of Maine, of Susan Collins, Republican, but again, well within
the margin of error. That's why we call it no clear leader.
The same thing going on in Michigan, right? Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat, scoring three points better than the Republican, Mike Rogers, but again,
well within the margin of error, no clear leader there.
Now, I would almost flip the question that you said on your head, right? Which is, wait a minute, Abdul El-Sayed came out of that democratic primary
in Michigan, a very tight race, has been seen as quite controversial, and yet -- and yet, he's doing slightly better than his Republican opponent.
Why is that? Why is that?
Well, it's what you said, right? Just look at these net approval ratings for Donald Trump. Look at them in Maine. Look at them in Michigan. He's 36
points underwater in Maine. That is his disapproval rating is 36 points higher than his approval rating.
In Michigan, his disapproval rating is 31 points higher than his disapproval rating. And why is that so notable? Because this was a state
that Donald Trump won. He won in 2024. And now, he is deeply underwater in those states.
Now, again, the races are close, but what is ultimately going to be the factor that determines what happens here? One of them might be President
Trump, but the same thing that is bringing President Trump down, in my mind, is the thing that is ultimately going to determine these races,
right?
For our international audience, there's been a lot of talk, especially in Michigan, about the issue of Israel and U.S. policy on Israel.
But what is the top issue in your choice for United States Senate? Look at this. Number one is the economy and the cost of living. We see 47 percent
of likely voters in Michigan say that, 45 percent in Maine.
Look all the way. You have to go. I've sort of pit, you know, I've sort of brought these two together because we're not going to have an entire list
of six issues on a screen, and then the audience go, what is going on here?
But number six is U.S. policy in Israel, but it's just three percent who say that in Michigan. Just two percent say that in Maine.
So, this idea that this race is close because of Israel, I'm not quite sure I necessarily buy it. And if it is, I'm not particularly sure that that
will hold towards the midterm elections when people are actually casting their ballots.
I think ultimately the economy and the cost of living is what is going to be what is driving these races and President Trump's great unpopularity.
So at this point, if I was putting a, I don't know, a hand on the scale, I'd say advantage Democrats. But as you said, Bianna, these races are
really tight at this point. Three points, three points. I dare say they're even tighter than the three of us are.
[12:20:13]
GOLODRYGA: Wow. You really just --
ENTEN: I know it's really tight. It's really tight, right?
GOLODRYGA: Tied that bow up so beautifully, Harry. Just one of your mini talents.
I agree though, I think given the numbers that we see there in terms of foreign policy in Israel on this election, it may explain why El-Sayed, at
least recently, has focused more on healthcare costs and the economy and not global affairs.
Good to see you, as always, Harry. Nice haircut.
ENTEN: Thank you very, very much.
ASHER: I hadn't noticed.
ENTEN: I think they did a great job. They did a great job.
GOLODRYGA: I have -- I have a real eye for that. Yes.
ENTEN: And a nice -- and a nice little lifestyle --
GOLODRYGA: And nice trim too.
ASHER: Harry, you always look handsome.
ENTEN: Thank you. Bye.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Harry.
ASHER: He loved the compliment. I always know how to get you, Harry.
Airlines are scrambling to clear a backlog on this. The second day of major flight disruptions at the British Airports, including Heathrow, the seventh
busiest airport in the world.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The chaos began Tuesday with an air traffic control outage. Departure boards at Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted airports showed flights
after flight canceled or delayed. This isn't the first time in a recent years that a major outage has affected passengers at Heathrow or other U.K.
airports.
CNN's Clare Sebastian has more details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. This is the coastal California home of actor, Nicolas Cage. The driveway essentially collapsed and opened a giant hole in the
street. The incident caused gas leak and authorities have blocked the entry to other homes on the street in Malibu Tuesday. It happened after Tropical
Storm Marie passed by last weekend, causing rain and dangerous waves along the Southern California coast.
Airlines are scrambling to clear a backlog on the second day of major flight disruptions at British airports.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. This is the story we were telling you about before the break.
ASHER: I just realized that.
GOLODRYGA: The chaos began Tuesday with an air traffic control outage.
CNN's Clare Sebastian has more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, flight disruptions at U.K. Airport stretching into a second day Wednesday while questions mounted
after an air traffic control glitch led to about 30 percent of all U.K. flights being cancelled or grounded Tuesday. That's according to an
aviation analytics firm. That affected tens of thousands of passengers.
[12:25:11]
From NATS, the U.K. air traffic control operator says it was a technical problem with their flight processing system, part of the backend I.T.
network that processes flight data and feeds it to air traffic controllers. Though as of now, they say there's no evidence of any foul play, including
a cyber-attack.
But after several other high-profile outages in recent years, NATS are facing growing pressure. The CEO was called in to speak to the British
Transport Minister Wednesday. And the government has demanded a full investigation with a deadline to report back in a week.
Several airlines who are having to deal with the fallout of this, of course, have spoken out. This was Ryanair's CEO on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEAL MCMAHON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, RYANAIR: Enough is enough. It's time for the U.K. government to intervene, so we can finally get NATS up and
running and fix the chronic ATC issues that we've had.
We, once again, call on the U.K. government to fix U.K. ATC and put somebody in charge who can do the job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Well, NATS has disputed a claim from Ryanair that Tuesday's outage was caused by the same issue that led to a major outage in 2023.
They're saying this was a new problem.
But in an already difficult and costly year for the aviation sector, this is another layer of risk that has left airlines and passengers, for now,
paying the price.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: The fallout has begun after the New York City mayor's announcement about air quality concerns surrounding Ground Zero just days
before we mark the 25 years since 9/11.
On Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records. The document show -- documents show city officials at
the time knew that air quality around the collapsed wind towers was unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public.
[12:30:04]
ASHER: A short time ago, unions representing New York firefighters express frustration over the newly released report saying, what could we have done
differently if we had this information sooner? More than 12,000 FDNY members have been diagnosed with at least one illness from the World Trade
Center.
For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Randi Kaye. And, you know, you were there listening to what was said by the union representing the FDNY.
And, essentially, you know, they summed it up quite well, I thought. This idea that the city prioritized the health of the economy of Lower Manhattan
over the health of firefighters and first responders.
Because, of course, if they had said to people, listen, the air quality down there is simply not safe, it would have completely destroyed New
York's economy. And they didn't want that to happen. And therefore, they allowed people knowingly to enter harm's way, which is a really tough pill
to swallow.
Walk us through the reaction, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Zain and Bianna, you could really hear the frustration on the part of these FDNY union members
today. You know, and they -- they basically echoed what you were saying. They were saying that, you know, you remember -- they remembered certainly
when officials in New York City were encouraging people to bring their families down to that area and to spend money and to come visit. And that
is something that they feel was very, very dangerous.
And because now we know in this -- in this document drop of about 170,000 documents and pages that the city officials misled residents about the
toxic air quality and made them believe it was safe for the first responders to be down there and certainly for -- for people to return home.
And part of what came out in these documents is that officials withheld information about asbestos and other toxic chemicals. They also said that
there was major lead contamination, which was covered up. And they also discouraged these first responders from wearing respirators.
So, we now know, according to them today, that 453 firefighters have died since 9/11, from 9/11 related illnesses and cancers. They just buried the
453rd just yesterday and 200 have died since the last big anniversary of 9/11, the 20th anniversary.
So, they were saying that if there had been earlier truth, there would have been earlier screening and earlier treatment. And here's a bit more of what
they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. JAMES BROSI, PRESIDENT, FDNY UNIFORMED FIRE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: At the earliest time of October, the city was making a fiduciary choice to
prioritize the economic stability of Lower Manhattan over the health and safety of the firefighters, the police officers, the construction workers,
and the children that went back to school down there.
What we learned was the air was as toxic as we said it was. What we learned is that we were dying with every breath we took down there. What we learned
is that the city knew it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And they did say today, Lieutenant James Brosi did say, that he's not looking for anyone's head on this. He said, it might not have changed the
outcome, but they certainly would have been asking for more protection if they had known the whole story.
And they could see it with their own eyes. They also saw the testing machines that was -- that were testing the air quality. They were -- they
were going every day, they said. And as he put it, officials lied about what was -- what the results of those tests were.
So, the -- their goal now with this is to I.D. more toxins that were in the air, because by doing that, they can expand the timeline for people who are
sick and expand the coverage. Because what's happened is people who might have joined the fire department afterwards, and they were at the academy
after 9/11 using equipment that might have been contaminated, they might get sick.
And so they want all of these people, children and families of these firefighters and these first responders who may have been home or use the
car where the equipment was, also to get coverage.
They want to be able to connect people who get sick later to the World Trade Center and the pile that -- that they worked on or their families
worked on.
So, their -- their goal right now really is to identify more toxins so they can connect the cancers if they do develop and get these people coverage.
ASHER: All right. Randi Kaye, live for us there. Thank you so much.
KAYE: Sure.
ASHER: All right. Time now for The Exchange. Joining us live now is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lukas Alpert who covered the aftermath of
the World Trade Center attack and later found out that he himself also suffered from a 9/11 related illness.
Lukas, I am so sorry for what you've been through. And, you know, obviously when we talk about 9/11, obviously, the -- the main focus is, of course,
the people who lost their lives in the Twin Towers and in those flights.
And I've always felt that not enough, we don't speak enough about those who have lost their lives in 9/11 related illnesses. I understand that you
ended up suffering from thyroid cancer.
And initially, it was very difficult to sort of make the connection, right? Because you were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. And it took a while before
you actually understood that it was specifically related to the amount of time you'd spent covering the aftermath of -- of 9/11.
[12:35:07]
Just talk us through your emotions, you know, after Mayor Mamdani released this report. I -- I imagine there's a sense of anger, betrayal, distrust.
You know, give us your take on -- just give your -- your reaction to -- to all of this that we've got yesterday.
LUKAS ALPERT, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING JOURNALIST: Sure. I -- I would say that, you know, as somebody who's kind of studied this issue quite a lot
over the years as a journalist, you know, what comes out in the report really just reinforces, I think, what a lot of people knew all along was
that the air was far worse than the officials kind of led people believe in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
You know, and I think anybody who was actually down there kind of knew that instinctively the air smelled terrible and it just felt accurate. You know,
you knew you were not breathing in something good.
But this is, you know, more -- more definitive evidence of, you know, what was being collected, the data that was being looked at at the time and not
for those chaotic months after the attack.
GOLODRYGA: You're absolutely right, Lukas. And -- and we talk about the air quality there at the time for any of us who were there. You know, I was at
-- working at the Stock Exchange on September 11th and came back, you know, the following Monday when the markets reopened and it was months of just
that acrid, horrible, horrible smell.
And I was surprised to see so many tourists and -- and people coming and -- and wanting to get pictures and just thinking to myself that this can't be
safe as I was, at times, taking my mask on and off leaving the office.
You wrote, though, that it took 18 years for you to realize that you, in fact, were medically a victim of 9/11. What kept you initially from
connecting that cancer to Ground Zero?
And I guess the broader question is, how many more people do you think are still out there who have missed that connection that have been dealing with
mystery illnesses?
ALPERT: Well, in my case, you know, I wasn't diagnosed with cancer until 2015, so we're already talking 14 years later and I've been fine up until
that point.
And, you know, when that initially happened, you know, I didn't make the connection. I just didn't think, oh, I've breathed in this air 14 years ago
and now I'm sick. I just thought, well, people get cancer. You know, that happens like often, you know.
And the, you know, I have thyroid cancer, which is very treatable. You know, survival rates are almost 100 percent. So, it wasn't something I was
sitting there thinking, oh, wow, this is so awful.
It was only in 2019 when a colleague of mine, I was working for the "Associated Press" at the time and he -- he reached out to me. I hadn't
heard from him in a decade or more. He said, you know, I got thyroid cancer. And I'm going to apply for the -- the World Trade Center health
program and compensation fund. I need, you know, somebody who's there, witnessed me there to write an affidavit. Would you do it?
And even then, I didn't immediately put two and two together and I said, "Oh, you know, of course I had thyroid cancer too. I'm happy to write this
to you." And he wrote back and said, "I don't think this is coincidence." And -- and that's when the light kind of light one off of my head.
You know, so that's how long it took, you know. I mean, and I think there are a lot of people out there like that.
You know, the CDC estimates that in what is considered the official exposures on that there's as many as 400,000 people who were exposed to
toxic air.
You know, the program currently has 154,000. And so, you know, we're already talking that there's still, you know, quarter of a million people
who may turn up, you know, and going forward in this program with ailments.
You know, and there's a lot of criticism about how the exposure zone has been drawn. You know, it stops at house and street. The air did not stop at
house and street.
So, I think it'd be pretty hard to really determine exactly how many people were. We'll -- we'll never know. We will really never know how many people
were fully exposed to this, but it's a lot.
ASHER: Lukas, you mentioned that it was essentially when this report came out, you know, it brought to light what many people already knew, because
you were down there covering the aftermath of 9/11. As was Bianna, she was working at the Stock Exchange at the time. There was a particular smell of
the air. It was clear that it wasn't safe.
There's a difference between knowing that the air isn't safe in theory and then discovering that officials had been essentially lying. I mean, you had
officials in New York praising firefighters for their courage, saying that, you know, they were heroes. I mean, these guys have put their life on the
lines, you know. They were -- they -- they're the quintessential New Yorkers, American heroes, these guys, at the same time gaslighting them,
minimizing what they had been exposed to.
And so that is -- that is a very difficult pill to swallow, I think, for a lot of New Yorkers. I mean, how do you reconcile those two things?
[12:40:02]
ALPERT: I mean, I would say, and again, as somebody who spent a lot of time looking at what's been reported and what information was available, you
know, I haven't looked at all 170,000 documents in these boxes that have been released.
But, you know, these are air quality test reports. And there's been a lot of reporting on this question that, you know, the air quality testing
reports were all over the map. And, you know, the question has always been when the EPA and local health officials were making determinations on if
the air is safe or not which -- you know, which data they were using, was it the stuff that was, you know, reported at 500 feet above the ground, on
the ground, you know, 10 blocks away, 15 blocks away?
And you were getting readings that were kind of all over the map. So, I think, you know, there were certainly early in the early days, in the early
years, there was full knowledge that there were test were -- there was test data that was coming back that was well above what would be considered
acceptable levels, but there was also stuff coming out that was not.
So, you know, there's been a lot of -- there's been a lot of allegations and anger towards Christine Todd Whitman, the head of the EPA, Rudy
Giuliani, the mayor in New York at the time, and a lot of the health officials.
So, this is -- like I said, it's just -- it reinforces what, you know, people who have been very engaged with this issue have known all along.
But, you know, it's -- it's just more evidence and data. So that's where -- how I feel about it.
ASHER: All right. Lukas Alpert, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us, for --
ALPERT: Thank you.
ASHER: -- sharing, you know, your experience and all. And also for your bravery, just in terms of, you know, staying down there despite, you know,
the obvious signs of the air wasn't good. You still stayed that down there and continue to report. And so we thank you and we appreciate your bravery
at that time. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Hard to believe it's been 25 years.
All right. We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Let's take -- take a look at the markets right now. The Dow, the NASDAQ, S&P 500, all down about half a percentage point. This
is your business breakout.
ASHER: All right. President Trump is unveiling his next move in the trade war with Canada. He's threatening to enact outright bans, not just tariffs
on a slew of Canadian goods. Experts say that the longer these trade disputes continue, the more likely it is the consumers will see higher
market prices by next summer.
[12:45:05]
GOLODRYGA: Lionel Messi is set to become the new owner of a Spanish professional football club. The Argentine star has reached an agreement in
principal to buy 100 percent of C.D. Eldense with the deal expected to be completed in the coming days. Messi already owns a stake and a fifth tier
Spanish club.
ASHER: So long South Park, hello South America. The hit animated show is changing its name in a satirical take at President Trump's push to rename
everything from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Ontario. The new season premieres September 16th.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Apple's annual iPhone event begins in just a few minutes. It's the tech giant's biggest day of the year and expectations for
2026 are even higher than usual as the company launches not just a new iPhone but a new CEO as well.
ASHER: Yes. For the first time in a decade, it won't be Tim Cook taking to the stage. We'll actually see this guy, John Ternus, Apple's former senior
vice president of hardware engineering. Ternus aims to quickly cement his place at the top by launching a new version of Siri equipped with A.I. and
Apple's first foldable phone.
CNN's Lisa Eadicicco looks at today's -- looks at the significance of the company and of what's happening today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: I'm here at Apple Park where Apple is expected to announce its first foldable iPhone today. And this
would be the first major product launch under new CEO, John Ternus, who just took over the new job on September 1st.
And this is a big moment for Apple for a couple of reasons. For one, the iPhone hasn't changed all that much in its nearly 20-year history. Yes,
it's gotten bigger screens, faster processors, better cameras, but this is -- this wouldn't be the first time that it's truly changing into something
a little bit different than the slab of glass and technology that we've been accustomed to for nearly two decades.
So, foldable phones have existed for a while. Companies like Samsung, Motorola, Google have been releasing them for years, but Apple has yet to
step into that market yet. So, there's a lot of excitement and anticipation around what Apple's take on the foldable phone is going to be and whether
it can push it into the mainstream.
And also, this is John Ternus' first major product launch. Given his background in hardware engineering, there's a lot of expectations that he's
going to usher Apple into a new era of fresh products and innovations. So, it seems like this wouldn't be a way to kind of kick off that new run as
CEO. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Still to come on "One World," the three-year-old who stayed calm and saved her mom's life with a phone call to relatives
hundreds of miles away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:35]
GOLODRYGA: Data release in the last hour says that the U.S. just had its hottest summer on record. That's according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, which says June to August, that period of time was the warmest for the contiguous states.
ASHER: Yes. Heat domes affected nearly every portion of the Lower 48 states. The record summer comes as the El Nino weather phenomena in the
tropical Pacific grows stronger.
GOLODRYGA: Let's get into the details and break down the data with CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir.
Bill, every summer, we talked about record heat. And what really stood out this summer in particular were just these heat domes. And the fact that
this unbearable heat would just sit over a location, sometimes, you know, multiple states, for days on end.
My son was in Texas for a week, a couple of weeks ago, and they had no relief in sight. They were in triple digits all week. Is that also to blame
on El Nino and -- and its effect?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is part of the overheating planet we're on. Absolutely. These domes now the result of
scientists believe the jet stream breaking down as the planet overheats.
NOAA saying officially that this summer was three degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial averages, a three degree earth fever, basically.
And you can see how the symptoms of that manifest themselves in ways that range from annoying to expensive to deadly. We saw summer camps and Fourth
of July celebrations canceled by as a result of heat or wildfire smoke, these huge storms.
And it manifested itself differently regionally. Look at this map of the -- of the entire United States. This is temperature. There are white spots,
the few spots. That's everything that was average this summer. Everything else was above average. There's no blue spots for record cold anywhere on
there.
So, you can see the -- the Southwest, which is the sort of source of the Colorado River drought, just bright red, those four states there, but
pretty much all the West.
And then when you look at the precipitation maps, 60 percent of the country right now is in drought. But in the Midwest, there in Indiana and Illinois,
record wet summer. So, a warmer atmosphere makes the wets wetter, the dries drier.
And unfortunately, it's just going to keep getting hotter. You know, the Dust Bowl back in 1936 was the hottest record. It's now been broken by this
one. That was a year in which the heat wave exacerbated horrible agricultural policy in the United States, which led to the Dust Bowl.
There's parallels today as we have these record shattering temperatures only going in one direction. Meanwhile, the policy of the Trump
administration in this White House is to deny the science and resist any -- any sort of attention to -- to fixing it right now.
So, how hot it gets? There has been adjustments that the worst-case scenarios of recent years, we -- we sort of eliminated those because
renewables like the solar and batteries and these have become so expensive and so widespread across most of the world.
But we're still headed towards three degrees of warming Celsius, so that's twice as hot as it is right now.
And if this is sort of what life looks like at 1.5, the U.N. announcing, we're never going to meet the Paris Accord promise. You can only imagine
how much it'll be when it's at two degrees or three degrees of warming.
GOLODRYGA: As we say, this may be the coolest summer in our history.
ASHER: It's so scary.
GOLODRYGA: Now, every year we say that. It's -- it's terrifying.
Bill Weir, thank you for all of the important work you continue to do.
Well, not all heroes wear capes, as they say. A Texas three-year-old is being hailed a hero after saving her mom's life.
ASHER: Yes. The toddler stayed calm when her mom collapsed, facetiming family members hundreds of miles away and opening the door to let first
responders in.
Jesus Martinez has the story of one of the bravest little girls in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESUS MARTINEZ, REPORTER (voice-over): If you want to know what a hero looks like --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We go around here real quick.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Look at this room and you'll see a lot of them.
AIDEN WILKIE, MOM SAVED BY TODDLER'S QUICK THINKING: I didn't know what was happening. I couldn't hear or see anything. So, it was all up to her.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Yes, even three-year-old Emi is a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her actions serve as a reminder that heroes come in all ages and that even the smallest acts can make a meaningful difference.
[12:55:08]
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Earlier this year, Emi's mom, Aiden, went into a grand mal seizure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only person in the house with her is my three-year- old granddaughter.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Emi facetimed her grandparents --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am in Georgia. My daughter is in Rusk.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): -- who lived nearly 700 miles away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we've been trying to coach our three-year-old that if something happens to mom, you call Nani or your Papa.
WILKIE: The only thing that I do remember from everything is the fact that she was rubbing my hair and telling -- like I could hear briefly, like,
mommy, it's going to be OK.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Emi stayed right there with her mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are doing fantastic. Nani is so proud of you.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Doing exactly what she had been taught to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She just (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness. She's doing so good.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): Emi was able to flag the paramedics to her apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's OK. That's good. That's what we want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's good. Do you see the pretty lights?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell them. Tell them. It's your apartment. Can you yell for them? Say, come here. Come here.
TIM SPURGEON, EMT, U.T. HEALTH EAST TEXAS: As we arrive on scene, of course, you know, everybody's looking for this apartment. We keep getting
told, hey, she's standing at the door, you know, yelling, "She's here. She's here."
Very courageous and very brave.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): And while Emi may just be three years old, her mom says what she did was anything but small.
WILKIE: She is, for sure, my hero above anything else.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): And with a stethoscope in her hand now --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you say stethoscope?
NOEMI VATAVUK, THREE-YEAR-OLD HERO: Stethoscope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.
MARTINEZ (voice-over): There is no doubt Emi will continue to be a hero in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: She's got a bright future ahead of her.
ASHER: What a great note to end the show on.
GOLODRYGA: All right. That does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
