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CNN Headlines: President Trump To Address U.N. General Assembly Today; Mississippi Grand Jury Declines Charges In Nolan Wells' Death; U.S. Military Confirms It Has Deployed Weapons In Space. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 22, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:50]
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. It is half past the hour so let's check in on our top stories this morning.
First up, more than two months after Nolan Wells' body was found a Mississippi grand jury says it has found no evidence to support bringing charges in the teen's death. The 18-year-olds body was found after a Fourth of July boat trip with friends off the Gulf Coast. The grand jury report agreed with authorities that Wells had drowned and found no criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing.
And the attorney for the Venezuelan man who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Texas says he had not been properly treated for a gunshot wound. The attorney says he was moved from the hospital to a detention center with a bullet still in his back and he has lost movement on the left side of his body.
And world leaders have gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. President Trump will be speaking later on this morning, and his speech will be kicking off a week of major diplomacy, which will include discussions about the war with Iran.
CNN's Maddie Gannon has more from Washington.
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MADDIE GANNON, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT: The main event for Trump in New York will come Tuesday morning when he's set to officially address the General Assembly. Trump used his speech last year to question the purpose of the U.N. and tout the conflicts he says he's been able to end. This year's speech comes as the U.S. is tied up in its own war with Iran. That conflict currently appears to be expanding in the region and further disrupting key global shipping routes.
MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: What you'll see at the U.N. General Assembly is a lot of discussion of the freedom of the seas, the U.N. law of the sea, freedom of navigation, whether it's Straits of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab, Suez Canal, Panama Canal. GANNON: Two officials told CNN that Trump is expected to meet with leaders of Gulf nations to talk about the war on the sidelines of the summit.
Trump is also expected to meet with several other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a post on true social Monday morning Trump again called for the war between Russia and Ukraine to end, referring to it as "ridiculous and never-ending."
Trump is also expected to sign a new security agreement with Denmark and Greenland. He made the surprise announcement last week after months of threatening to annex the Danish territory.
And it all comes before Trump will head back to Washington to host the leader of China with issues like artificial intelligence and trade expected to be top of mind.
In Washington, I'm Maddie Gannon.
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FREEMAN: To this now. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is defending his decision to meet with President Trump on Monday. The two sat down at the mayor's official residence and discussed a number of issues.
Mamdani spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour about that meeting.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I just wondered if you thought that you might get to this working relationship when he was calling you, you know, a lunatic, radical, probably a communist during the campaign. You were calling him a fascist amongst other things. Things have changed.
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK CITY: Well, I think we've both said that we would be willing to have a conversation if it could benefit the people of the city. And to me, you can hold very disparate opinions and also be able to sit down because that is what this work demands of us. If I was only willing to speak with people who agreed with me all the time, I would be sitting at home looking in a mirror.
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FREEMAN: Mamdani confirmed that he initiated the meeting where the two discussed immigration and migrant safety. The leaders also discussed affordable housing and plans for a massive development backed by the mayor. Trump said he would consider supporting the project, noting it would need a lot of federal approvals.
A preliminary hearing on CNN's lawsuit in response to President Trump's media ban is set for tomorrow. MS NOW and Politico were also banned from the White House and have joined in the retaliatory lawsuit. The networks allege President Trump's ban violates the Constitution's due process protections. It also requests that access be restored immediately. President Trump insists his ban is not an attack against the free
press, but rather on "fake news." But Vice President J.D. Vance described the move differently. Take a listen.
[05:35:05]
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JD VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's not banning media outlets. What he's doing is saying we're not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda.
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FREEMAN: Federal Judge Tim Kelly, who will hear Wednesday's arguments, has previously ruled against the White House in First Amendment cases. And the president already appears to be anticipating a loss, posting on Truth Social that he expects to appeal the judge's eventual ruling.
All right, let's turn back now to the new details in the Nolan Wells case after a Mississippi grand jury says it found no evidence to pursue charges in his death. The jury ultimately agreed with authorities that Wells drowned and found no criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the district attorney is pushing back against widespread allegations that race played a role in this case.
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ANGEL MYERS MCILRATH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: Just this weekend, I read where a congresswoman had met with Nolan's family and the Crump team and said that Nolan Wells is another Black boy murdered and no one seems to care. Ma'am, you are wrong. The Crump team knows this and knows that they are dealing with a district attorney whose unwavering pursuit of the truth gave them all a seat at the table to offer the grand jury any and every piece of evidence they deemed important to this investigation.
Keep in mind that this meeting with the congresswoman was after the Crump team advised my office they had discovered no evidence of a crime against Nolan. And understand that our investigation was exhaustive and our complete investigation was presented to the grand jury.
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FREEMAN: After the grand jury report came out, Ben Crump, the attorney representing the Wells family, released a statement saying, "We don't know how Nolan died, and neither does the state of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating, and if it will not pursue this to the end, the Department of Justice should."
Former state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, Dave Aronberg weighed in on the report with our Laura Coates. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Crump did add in his statement that the grand jury report did not determine how Wells suffered a head injury and "To this date, not one person has explained how they got there." He says it does warrant further investigation.
But let's talk about the grand jury process and what's presented to them. Does it strike you as particularly persuasive that there was an opportunity for the family's data as it relates to his phone or the independent pathologist and their forensic person being able to speak, even though they did confirm that there were some parts of his internal neck structure that was retained, they say, appropriately by the medical examiner.
In layman's terms, break this down for our audience as to why statements like this would not raise suspicion.
DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY: Well, first, the grand jury is not to find the answers in the case necessarily.
COATES: Um-hum.
ARONBERG: It's just to find -- to find whether there was probable cause --
COATES: Right.
ARONBERG: -- that a crime occurred, and they could not find any probable cause, right?
And then you have Dr. Mitchell, who was the pathologist, the independent medical examiner, who was hired by the family and Ben Crump. And he also did not find that Nolan was murdered. He found no fractures; he found no deep-tissue injuries. He did find some discoloration behind the head that he considered inconclusive and worthy of further investigation.
And then, as you correctly said, there is -- there are some parts that are missing -- organs and neck structures -- but that's not unusual. And so the independent medical examiner could not fully evaluate the lungs, airway, stomach, or possible neck injuries. So there are some questions.
But the grand jury had evidence -- had access to everything and they still said we can't indict anyone. There's no evidence that there was a crime there. And also, all the internet theories about the friends of Nolan's -- by all accounts, Nolan's friends loved him. There was no obvious racial animus out there. And so, sadly, this really does look like an accidental drowning.
COATES: Just so I can be clear from what you've said for audience, it's not normal that somebody would have organs or parts of their body missing in the autopsy procedure. Transferring from one to another medical examination, there are often retained body parts in one and then normally handed over. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Now, in its ruling, the grand jury acknowledged that if evidence emerges in the future that "suggests Mr. Wells death was non- accidental, it would be presented to and taken into consideration."
OK, back now to that developing story. Lindsay Clancy's attorneys say a retrial of her murder case would violate her double jeopardy protection rights, and now they want the entire case dismissed. Clancy's defense team filed a motion to throw out the case after a jury deadlocked earlier this month and a mistrial was declared.
[05:40:05]
And a dismissal is not all they're seeking. Clancy's attorneys say that mistrial was announced without a full investigation into concerns about the lone holdout juror. That juror has been accused publicly by his fellow panelists of being on his phone and not engaging during deliberations.
CNN's Jean Casarez lays out the defense's case for dismissal.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN REPORTER: The defense in the Lindsay Clancy trial has filed a brand new motion on Monday in regard to this holdout juror. They want information preserved in many different areas.
Number one, they want his juror questionnaire preserved, his juror summons preserved. They want any background information that prosecutors got about this juror way back in February -- it was a potential jury pool at that point -- preserved. They want all of the electronic communication surrounding jury deliberations, including sidebars, preserved.
They also want video -- court video from inside the hallway that was next to the deliberation room and this goes in regard to his cell phone because one of the other jurors said publicly in an interview that he wouldn't deliberate, that he had his phone and he just kept doodling on his phone. Well, that now creates an issue with the defense of what was happening on the phone. Was he investigating on the phone? Was he corresponding on the phone or just doodling and doing nothing on the phone?
So they are asking the judge to have a summons issued to the phone company to preserve the court records and the telephone records of this juror so they know exactly what he was doing on his phone during the days of deliberation, during the court day. And they want also a neutral examiner to take his cell phone to actually look at the phone.
Now they want an inquiry additionally of the juror -- his truthfulness on his questionnaire. For the judge to bring him into court and to ask him number two, if swearing he could follow the law during the jury deliberations was that honest and truthful and also asking him about the use of his mobile phone during the jury deliberations. Now we have not heard from prosecutors. They have not filed a response to all of this. But the defense headline here is that they are not letting this holdout juror go. And remember, what the defense wants in all of this is a dismissal outright of all the charges for double jeopardy to attach so the prosecutors cannot retry this case.
Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.
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FREEMAN: Weather Express now. A potentially historic Super El Nino storm could hit California hard this winter and the state is already preparing for it. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. California is exceptionally vulnerable to El Nino impacts. The governor's office says making the emergency proclamation now will help communities prepare before severe weather intensifies and expedite resources. The state has already seen sea levels rise and could see widespread coastal flooding and erosion along with landslides and mountain snowstorms this winter.
And a monsoon could kick into gear as soon as today in New Mexico. The weather phenomenon is being fueled by unusually moist air over the state. And some places could pick up more than a month's worth of rain in just a few days with lingering flooding threats remaining throughout the week.
Today, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art officially opens to the public in L.A. I'm super jealous of, of course, anyone who gets to go to this incredible spot. It took "Star Wars" filmmaker George Lucas and his wife 16 years and around $1 billion of their own money to open up the museum. Visitors can check out part of Lucas' 1,300-piece private collection he amassed over 50 years, including art, costumes, movie props, and memorabilia. I'm jealous of Elex who's going to be there today -- I know.
Coming up next on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, the recent shooting outside of a synagogue is leading to calls for tougher hate crime laws. We'll explain next. Stay with us for that.
Plus, what does the U.S. military have, or I should say, why does the U.S. military have weapons in space? We're going to dive into the unusual move after a quick break.
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[05:49:00]
FREEMAN: The military is now publicly acknowledging it has weapons in space. Experts say the announcement marks a major shift bringing a long rumored issue into the open.
CNN's Michael Yoshida has more on this.
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TROY MEINK, AIR FORCE SECRETARY: The United States now has on orbit space control weapons.
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): For the first time, the United States military saying publicly it has weapons in space.
DR. JESSICA WEST, SPACE SECURITY EXPERT: Fundamentally, the technology and anything in orbit didn't change this week. What changed is acknowledgement.
YOSHIDA (voiceover): Security experts say military activity in space is not new. For years, the U.S., Russia and China have accused each other of building capabilities that could threaten satellites, jam communications, interfere with GPS and more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are seeing the space domain being more contested.
YOSHIDA (voiceover): Some see the announcement as a warning to other countries the U.S. can and will respond forcefully to threats in space.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an opportunity for the United States to just remind people, the public, it's not just the Chinese that we're watching -- the Chinese and the Russians -- and we are being comparable to them. We are meeting what they are doing.
[05:50:07]
YOSHIDA (voiceover): Others worry saying it out loud could make weapons in space feel more normal and make escalation more likely.
THOMAS GONZALEZ ROBERTS, DIRECTOR, GEORGIA TECH'S ENGINEERING SPACE POLICY LABORATORY: When states invite one another for more demonstrations, more tests, part of a natural deterrence framework, we enter into a tricky pattern of a warmness to escalation.
YOSHIDA (voiceover): And because so much of daily life now relies on satellites and other technology in space, what happens in orbit can have real consequences here on Earth.
WEST: Space is the highway of our world when it comes to essential services, critical infrastructure, the data that we use day-to-day, our economies. This is not a space where we want to see, you know, open armed confrontation.
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FREEMAN: Let's go around the globe now to see what's making headlines today and we'll begin in Canada, where Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is pushing for new laws to fight hate and extremism following Sunday's shooting outside of a synagogue in Ontario.
This next video is from a nearby neighborhood where the gunshots and police sirens can be heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) Gunshots, sirens.
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FREEMAN: Police say a 29-year-old man with a shotgun exchanged fire with officers as worshippers gathered nearby to observe Yom Kippur. And the officer in the hospital -- is in the hospital in critical condition along with the suspect. The president of the synagogue telling CNN that officer had been hired to protect the congregation and was in an unmarked car when the shooter approached the building. The motive for this is under investigation.
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Plane landing during strong turbulence from Typhoon Dujuan in Tokyo.
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FREEMAN: And take a look at this. This view from a passenger shows you what it's like to land while dealing with a typhoon. You can only imagine what it felt like to be on that plane. Incredibly, it landed safely at Tokyo's airport during strong turbulence caused by the storm. Airlines will have to deal with more than 100 delays and cancellations because of the weather. I'm telling you, every time I see stuff like that, so thankful for pilots.
Okay, still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, if you own an iPhone, you may be eligible for part of a $250 million settlement. Details on that ahead.
Plus this.
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Puppies being rescued from burning house.
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FREEMAN: Just incredible. Crews rushing into a burning house and finding a bunch of puppies. More from that rescue video coming up after a quick break.
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[05:57:10]
FREEMAN: In today's Money Express, if you own an iPhone, you may be eligible for some money from a class action settlement.
Maribel Aber joins us now from the Nasdaq MarketSite with more details. Maribel, tell us who's eligible.
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: OK, Danny. So we're talking about a $250 million class action settlement. It's related to Siri's AI rollout. So Apple was accused of falsely advertising Siri's advanced features before they were ready. The tech company denies any wrongdoing.
But customers who purchased an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max or any 16 model between June of 2024 and March 2025 can file a claim. Approved claims could receive up to $95 per device with the average payout around $25.00. Claims can be filed at smartphoneaisettlement.com by December 21.
Hey, Target's car seat trade-in event is back by popular demand. Customers can trade in a used car seat and receive a 20 percent Target Circle discount on other qualifying baby products. The retailer recycles the car seats to create pallets, plastic buckets, carpet padding and even products. The trade-in event takes place now through October 3.
And one of the most popular cookies in the world is about to get a brand overhaul. Parent company Mondelez says customers can expect to see new price points, improved packaging, and in some cases, new formulas. The snack company plans to roll out details on a brand remodel over the coming months. The company says that despite an average of $5 billion in global sales annually, there are still avenues for growth.
I mean, Danny got to tread lightly. Want to keep the OG fans happy too?
FREEMAN: Yes, you do, indeed.
All right, Maribel Aber. Nice to see that reporting. Appreciate it.
All right, let's check in on some of the stories we're tracking today.
We're starting in Wisconsin with video of an intense high-speed chase that ends with a car driving 100 feet into a lake. Watch this.
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POLICE OFFICER 1: (INAUDIBLE). (Bleep). Holy cow. Right in the water. (Bleep).
POLICE OFFICER 2: Twenty-seven, vehicle is in the lake off of South Shore Drive.
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FREEMAN: Oh, my God.
Officers went from chasing that car to helping the people inside get out of the water. Two people ended up in the hospital. Officers charged the driver with reckless driving and a litany of other charges.
And talk about an unexpected catch. A group on board a charter boat off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, reeled in a U.S. military drone, believed to be a clone of a notorious Iranian drone. You can see in the photos the drone takes up most of the bow section of the fishing boat. The drone was discovered near Eglin Air Force Base, home of the U.S. Air Force's 90th (sic) Test Wing. A wild story there.
All right. And check out this dramatic bodycam footage of deputies in Broward County, Florida rescuing five puppies and their parents from a house fire. The officers scooped them up in a laundry basket and saved all of the pups before firefighters put out the blaze. This happened earlier this summer, but we're just now seeing the video. City officials recognized the deputies for their life-saving actions last month. No word on what caused the fire.
[06:00:13]
Happy about those puppies being rescued there. Look at those -- oh, sweet guys. Thankful to those first responders.
All right, that does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Danny Freeman. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
