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CNN Headlines: Two Men Rescued From Flooded Nepal Tunnels; Judge Expected To Question Lone Juror In Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial; Trump Admin Takes Mail Ballot Fight To Supreme Court; Vance To Reporters: Iran Conflict Is Not A War. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 04, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:30]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: An amazing scene overnight, two people pulled out alive from a tunnel in Nepal. More on that developing story.
Plus --
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KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's one juror who refuses to listen to the law.
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SMITH: Dramatic moments in court and more are expected today in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. It is all coming down to one juror.
And a truck trying to get over some train tracks. But then this happens -- don't worry, everyone survived. We've got more on that story coming up.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us today.
Let's get this started.
We begin with a dramatic development in Nepal. These two men that you're about to see on your screen seen here trapped for nine days. They were rescued from the inside of the tunnels of a hydropower plant. The moment of the rescue was all caught on camera
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(CHEERING)
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SMITH: It's been more than a week after the Nepali-Chinese border region was devastated by a massive wall of water. Over a thousand confirmed dead and scores are still missing.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery describes the rescue shortly after it happened.
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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rescue operations have been ongoing, even nine days after the disaster. Now you've seen that dramatic footage where you can see individuals getting pulled out. We've also heard, again, from authorities and our sources on the ground here that they hear voices.
So, there is hope, Elex, that perhaps there might be more people stuck inside, that they can get access to.
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SMITH: CNN's Hanako Montgomery reporting in Nepal.
Now, workers have been using heavy machinery along with any other tools possible to gain access to the rest of the tunnel. Hundreds of workers are still believed to be missing at this and other hydro plants. One tunnel rescue expert called these heroic efforts a world first. We'll hear his take on the dramatic developments later this hour.
We are also tracking major developments in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial. In a rare move, the judge in the case is expected to question a lone juror during today's deliberations. Now, this comes after Clancy's defense attorney alleged that that juror was, quote, refusing to listen to the law.
CNN's Ivan Rodriguez is at the courthouse.
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IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Day six of jury deliberations are now over in the Lindsay Clancy trial. Behind me, you can see a crowd of reporters around Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, after what was an extraordinary day inside the courtroom.
The judge then brought the jurors in one at a time and questioned them briefly, all while defendant Lindsay Clancy was just feet away from each juror. It was only after this when the judge instructed the jury again on the meaning of reasonable doubt, and sent them back to continue deliberating.
With the jury out of the courtroom, we heard from Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington. He argued that a single juror, quote, refuses to listen to the law and is preventing a unanimous verdict. He also called for the juror to be removed.
Prosecutors said that there was no way to know who was right or wrong without improperly intruding on the jury's deliberations. Judge Sullivan agreed, saying it would not be appropriate for him to side with one juror or with the other 11.
Jurors will now return Friday for their seventh day of deliberations.
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SMITH: Well, the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to let the U.S. Postal Service withhold delivery of mail in ballots. The emergency appeal sets up a major Supreme Court showdown less than two months before the midterms, and just one day before North Carolina starts sending out the nation's first absentee ballots. President Trump signed an executive order in March, telling the Postal Service to review states mail ballot programs.
Here's CNN's Gabe Cohen talking to Phil Mattingly last night, all about it.
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GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That federal court judge had blocked the Postal Service from mandating these rules. And the administration was sick of waiting and said, were going to leapfrog up to the Supreme Court, and we want them to decide on this because we want these rules in place for the midterms. You mentioned that the Postal Service earlier today, really for the first time, acknowledged that they do have this portal built, or at least they will an operational as of next week.
[05:05:02]
They said, for voluntary use, but the administration wants it for mandatory use. It's only voluntary right now because of that injunction from that federal judge. Remember what these rules say is that state and local election officials not only have to adopt universal envelopes and unique barcodes for all envelopes with mail ballots, millions and millions that will go out across the country.
But also, they're going to have to upload that envelope information, as well as the names and addresses of every mail ballot recipient across the country into this postal service portal before the ballots go out. Otherwise, they're going to get rejected and sent back.
And it is clear that election officials all over the country do not feel like they can implement this in a matter of weeks. As you said, North Carolina's ballots are about to go out. Several other states are going to follow in the days ahead.
They have been sounding the alarm that there's no way they could reprint all of these ballots so quickly. It would cost a ton of money, and they will have to retrain a ton of election officials all over the country to use that portal -- portal to make sure there aren't administrative issues, that ballots do not get rejected, perhaps in big batches and kick back.
And then you mentioned that whistleblower account from a postal service worker who said that what they have witnessed inside the Postal Service is a sloppy and rushed effort to build this system that it is not ready for prime time.
And just a little while ago, I spoke to the American Postal Workers Union that really had strong words for the postmaster general, David Steiner, and this administration, saying that their staff have not been trained on this. It is not ready to go. They want the postmaster general to step in and say, we're not going to do this.
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SMITH: In Missouri, a major setback for Republicans in the fight over congressional maps, the state Supreme Court has blocked a new House map backed by President Trump, from being used in the midterms. Now, Republicans had hoped that the new boundaries would help them gain another seat in Congress and protect their narrow house majority. Instead, the court ruled that voters must have their say first, ordering a statewide vote on whether to keep or reject the map.
Missouri's attorney general says she plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
Vice President J.D. Vance faced a lot of questions from reporters about the conflict with Iran, which he stressed is not a war. And he couldn't say when it will end.
CNN's Sherrell Hubbard reports.
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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President J.D. Vance hosted a White House press briefing Thursday afternoon. It was the first such briefing in over 40 days, and the first since former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt departed her post last month.
During the briefing, the veep gave updates on the Iran conflict, downplaying the battle, just a couple of months out from midterm elections.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wouldn't call it a war.
HUBBARD (voice-over): Vance said there is no active shooting, although the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire for three consecutive days this week.
In a separate exchange, Vance did say the pressure remains on.
VANCE: Everything that could happen is on the table -- economic pressure, military pressure, diplomatic pressure, covert pressure.
HUBBARD (voice-over): On the subject of affordability, the V.P. said it will take time to rebuild America's middle class.
VANCE: America's inflation problem wasn't created in a day. It was created by very bad policies of the Biden administration.
HUBBARD (voice-over): And he put the blame for high gas prices squarely on Iran.
VANCE: Thank you all.
HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.
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SMITH: And speaking of that pressure at the pump, as of this morning, gas prices are $4.15 for a gallon of regular unleaded. That is up $0.95 since last year.
AAA predicts Labor Day travelers will face the highest gas prices ever for this time of year.
AAA is also saying that the soaring price of diesel has reached an all-time high today.
For more on that, we've got CNN's John Lawrence
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JOHN LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Getting from point A to point B will cost a pretty penny this holiday weekend.
PATRICK DE HAAN, HEAD OF PETROLEUM ANALYSIS, GASBUDDY: Oil prices have gone up rather dramatically this week on new escalations between the U.S. and Iran, and continued Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia have continued to push gas and diesel prices higher.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Vice President J.D. Vance wouldn't set a timeline for when the U.S. could see the cost of fuel fall back down to at least $3 per gallon.
VANCE: The reason gas prices are so high right now is because the Iranians are shooting at commercial shipping.
JEFF COLGAN, DIRECTOR, CLIMATE SOLUTIONS LAB, BROWN UNIVERSITY: It's no wonder that many Americans are more worried about affordability than they were before the war began, before president Trump decided to start a conflict that most Americans didn't want in the first place.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): But analysts say there are ways to try to save a few bucks while filling up.
DE HAAN: Every state has dramatically different prices. Shopping around and how you drive. Also, setting your cruise control, lowering your speed slightly can actually greatly increase your fuel efficiency.
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LAWRENCE (voice-over): I'm John Lawrence reporting.
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SMITH: More than half a million customers are without power after strong storms slammed the Great Lakes overnight. Michigan has the most outages, with more than 279,000 customers in the dark. That's according to poweroutage.us. You're looking at some of the damage in Detroit. Pennsylvania was also hit hard by strong winds and heavy rain. Look at
this geyser shooting up from a manhole in Pittsburgh last night.
Rows of bleacher seats were destroyed and debris was scattered across a stadium in Toronto after severe weather there. The storms brought heavy rain, flooding, golf ball sized hail and wind gusts of nearly 70 miles per hour.
A significant cleanup project. We do know there will continue to keep eyes on that.
Lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. We've got new details on the health of longtime Senator Mitch McConnell and his return to congress.
Plus, several A.I. chat bots went down at the same time on Thursday. What caused the massive pause? We've got more details there straight ahead.
Plus, an ICE agent is charged for allegedly lying about a shooting incident with an immigrant in Minnesota. Details on where the case stands, coming up.
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[05:15:48]
SMITH: Today, an ICE agent accused of lying about what led him to shoot a Venezuelan immigrant during an operation in Minneapolis, is expected in court. Cristian Castro faces federal charges for allegedly making false statements about the incident, according to multiple sources.
CNN's Whitney Wild explains why this is a major development
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WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: This is an enormous moment. This is the first time the Department of Justice is charging an immigration agent for conduct that happened on duty during one of these nationwide surges.
Here's what we know. We know that he is being charged federally with making false statements. And our sources are saying that there is still a discussion between Minnesota prosecutors and the Justice Department in Washington about whether to bring a more serious civil rights charge. Those conversations are ongoing. No formal decision has been made there.
Let me bring you back to January 14th, when this all started. According to the Hennepin County attorney's office, who has already filed charges against the ICE agent here, Christian Castro. This began as basically a case of mistaken identity. Castro was in Minneapolis. He ran a license plate on a vehicle that came back to a registered owner who was not a U.S. citizen. A chase began. The driver of that vehicle jumped out, ran toward a
home. There was a brief foot chase. That man slipped. The ICE agent followed, also slipped, and there was a scuffle here between that man and another man named Julio Sosa Celis.
The two men ran inside the home and, according to the Hennepin County attorney's office, that is when Christian Castro opened fire. He is now facing charges for second degree assault in the state of Minnesota. He is also facing a charge for making a false statement because, according to the Hennepin County attorney's office, he gave a completely different narrative from what video and victim accounts showed. He had claimed he had been beaten and he -- that he only opened fire when he was in fear of his life. Again, they say that the video and victim statements flat out contradict that information.
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SMITH: Thank you, Whitney.
The Trump administration launched a series of arcade style games on the official White House website. One game called Rio Run has players capture people at the southern border, and the user icon is an older white man in a blue tie. And the crosshairs appear to be brown, black, or white. When the player catches a crosser, they suddenly appear in an orange jumpsuit and follow behind the player.
Another immigration themed game is Build the Wall. The White House official said, quote, this is an effort to further contrast between a culture of fun and winning and the dark socialist version Democrats have for America.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, concerned about how much private info you upload to your phones, tablets or laptops. We'll tell you about new safeguards being put into place. Meanwhile, on a street in Chicago, a literal technology jam, that story and more coming up
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[05:23:27]
SMITH: ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and other popular A.I. platforms are back up and running after experiencing a rare and seemingly simultaneous widespread outage yesterday. According to the Down Detector website, nearly 40,000 users reported issues with ChatGPT alone. The majority came from New York, L.A., Chicago and San Francisco.
In a statement, OpenAI officials blamed a routing error while Anthropic cited infrastructure issues. The issues were resolved by Thursday afternoon.
Let's stay with artificial intelligence for a second. Consumers are growing wary about how much information they're sharing with the new technology. In today's money matters, Maribel Aber has more on what Google is doing to reassure its users.
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MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Maribel Aber here at the Nasdaq market site.
As artificial intelligence becomes a bigger part of our everyday lives, cybersecurity experts say approach every online interaction with caution. Be mindful of what you upload and redact as much personal information as possible. Tech companies are also giving users more control over their data.
Google's new save feature is one example. It lets you choose whether photos, documents, audio, and video from your google search interactions are saved to your search history. You can turn the feature on or off from within your Google's account privacy controls. Saved media can be reviewed and deleted at any time.
But this isn't blanket protection.
[05:25:00]
Google says saved media may be used to train its A.I. models and improve its services. And remember, this is just one privacy setting on one search engine. Google's broader privacy controls are still managed separately.
The Federal Trade Commission offers expanded tips on how to protect your data, no matter where you interact online, your money and your privacy matters.
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SMITH: A sidewalk in Chicago got clogged up by a bunch of delivery robots. You just have to see this. A woman was out for a run this weekend, ran into this cluster of delivery bots blocking her path.
Coco, the company that operates the robots, told CNN that a deployment error caused the cluster. It says the issue was corrected and the bots were cleared. It says it's also taking steps to prevent it from happening again. Yeah, don't mess up my run.
Ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a miracle rescue. Two men found alive nine days after those catastrophic flash floods in Nepal. The latest on the search for more survivors coming up next.
Stay with us.
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