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CNN Headlines: Source: Trump To Meet With Top A.I. Executives Today; Lindsay Clancy Returns To Court Today; Prosecutors Reopen Investigation Into Alleged Cornell Gang Rape. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 29, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:24]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: The biggest names in artificial intelligence will be at the White House today. President Trump meeting with the tech leaders about the race to develop A.I.
And Lindsay Clancy will be back in court today. Her first appearance since her murder case ended in a mistrial. What today's hearing may determine.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW VAN HOUTEN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, TOMPKINS COUNTY, NY: She told the police candidly what she remembered. And maybe she remembers more now. And if she does, then we want to put that in front of the grand jury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: New York's top prosecutor is reopening the investigation into an alleged gang rape case at Cornell University. Why he says no charges were filed when the allegations first surfaced two years ago.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us this morning.
Let's get this started.
We begin with artificial intelligence. President Trump will be hosting a meeting with the leaders of top A.I. companies at the White House in the coming hours. The heads of Anthropic, Nvidia, Palantir, OpenAI and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg are among those expected to attend. Sources say that the meeting is meant to get the government and top tech officials on the same page in regards to A.I. oversight.
Tech expert Lori Schwartz, who is the CEO and founder of StoryTech, spoke with my colleague Elex Michaelson about what we can expect to see come out of this meeting, potentially.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORI SCHWARTZ, CEO & FOUNDER, STORYTECH: I think it's going to be a lot of trying to get Trump's ear and wanting some breaks, wanting some official breaks, you know --
ELEX MICHAELSON, CEO & FOUNDER, STORYTECH: By breaks you mean what?
SCHWARTZ: Hold -- holding back. Create some regulations, give us some guardrails, make something official so that they all these different companies and their competitors are all aligned on the same page because if theyre not all aligned, then there's a competitive piece to it, right? So one of them can keep going and get ahead.
And so, theyre all wanting things to slow down, but to all be on the same page.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: The meeting comes as OpenAI now says that it will not release its latest model because it doesn't meet the bar for safety. Company executives say that the model called ChatGPT 6.1 Astra wasn't doing enough to stay within its scope and authorization. OpenAI, as well as Anthropic, Google and Meta have all reported models that have either breached their testing environments or tried to do so.
Later on this hour, I'll speak with a tech expert about the red flags being raised, about A.I. and the need for regulation.
Police in Arizona are investigating the credibility of new possible ransom notes tied to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC "Today Show" host Savannah Guthrie. The 84-year-old disappeared from her Tucson area home in February. Earlier note supposedly written by abductors and sent to local news outlets. It demanded millions in ransom. But the FBI previously said some notes were illegitimate. Extortion attempts. No suspect has been named in connection to Guthrie's disappearance.
Today, Lindsay Clancy returns to court for the first time since her murder case ended in a mistrial earlier this month. A status conference should signal how the case will move forward. Clancy admits strangling her children, but claims that she was in a state of postpartum psychosis at the time. Jurors could not unanimously agree on a verdict.
You can join CNN's Laura Coates for CNN all access special, "Lindsay Clancy: What Comes Next?" Laura will be joined by legal experts who are going to be answering your questions about the case. You can submit them now at cnnallaccess-questions@CNN.com.
Well, closing arguments are expected to begin today in the murder trial of former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn. Both sides rested their cases yesterday after days of testimony in the Ohio courtroom. Flynn is accused of killing his wife and staging the crime scene, but has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and several other charges.
CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is following the case from Troy, Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Caleb Flynn is standing trial roughly seven months after he called 911, claiming an intruder broke into his home and killed his wife, Ashley.
[05:05:01]
CALEB FLYNN, MURDER SUSPECT: My wife, she got two shots to her head. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.
DISPATCHER: Do you still see anybody in the house?
FLYNN: No. The door to the garage was wide open.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Prosecutors point to Flynn's affair with a fellow worship leader at his church as a motive for the killing, alleging Flynn believed if he could frame a faceless intruder for his wife's death, he would be able to keep his relationship with his mistress, custody of his daughters and his job.
PAUL WATKINS, MIAMI COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The evidence will not show that Ashley was murdered by her husband.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Flynn's defense acknowledges he had an affair, but told jurors --
DEFENSE LAWYER: A man can fail as a husband without being a murderer.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Alleigha Botner testified about her nearly two year romantic relationship with Flynn, reading scores of their text messages.
ALLEIGHA BOTNER, CALEB FLYNN'S FORMER MISTRESS: I didn't mean to, says -- says I want to kill her. Caleb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said that?
BOTNER: Me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.
BOTNER: I said, it's so bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next message.
BOTNER: He said, that makes two of us.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Including many where Flynn expressed a desire to kill his wife.
SAMANTHA REED, OHIO BUREAU OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: August 22nd of 2025, Caleb messages Alleigha about killing Ashley and one of the messages he states, I was up until 4:00 a.m. last night crying and literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.
GONZALEZ (voice-over): Flynn has pleaded not guilty.
I'm Marybel Gonzalez, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Thank you, Marybel.
The media outlets targeted by President Trump's press ban have issued a new filing in court. This one asks the judge to extend his order that temporarily restored CNN, MS NOW and "Politico's" access to the White House.
This comes after the administration refused to allow CNN to join Trump on Air Force One during his trip to Tennessee on Saturday, as the TV pool member assigned to travel with him that day. The new filing calls the ban an unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms.
We'll continue to track any developments for you.
We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Cornell University under fire over an alleged gang rape by members of a fraternity in 2024. Where the case and investigation stand now, we've got that and much more ahead.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:11:48]
SMITH: Nearly two years after a former Cornell University student says that she was drugged and gang raped at a fraternity house, the case is getting a second look. Prosecutors are now reopening the investigation. But one key question remains, why wasn't the accuser interviewed by the district attorneys office during the original review?
Earlier, CNN pressed the D.A. on that point. And here's what he told us.
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MATTHEW VAN HOUTEN, TOMPKINS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: When you have a comprehensive six-page, single-spaced document that was extremely detailed, extremely candid, extremely, specific, we are not going to reach out to her and say, hey, what you said didn't allege a crime. Can you give us more so we can charge somebody? That's not ethical, that is not ethical for a prosecutor to do that. We do not independently investigate crimes in the district attorneys office. We rely on the police to investigate those crimes.
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SMITH: The lawyer for the unnamed accuser argues that a lack of consent in this case was established from the outset, when the alleged crime was initially reported.
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THOMAS P. GIUFFRA, ATTORNEY FOR JANE DOE: I don't know how anybody who was grossly intoxicated and drugged can consent to anything. I mean, the fact is she went to the Cornell University police to file a complaint because she believed she was a victim of a crime. If this was consensual, she didn't wanted to participate. She wouldn't have gone to the police in the first place.
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SMITH: And here's CNN's Gloria Pazmino with a further breakdown of this case.
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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York prosecutors are relaunching an investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. The new review after a former student identified as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit claiming seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her in October 2024.
While no criminal charges were filed, then Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten says he will now present new evidence to a grand jury. Van Houten told CNN his office didn't bring charges in 2024 because Jane Doe's initial statement, quote, "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped. On the contrary, Jane Doe's statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious and consensual."
His office released only partial statements from her original 2024 statement. Van Houten told CNN his office does not independently investigate crimes.
VAN HOUTEN: We rely on the police to investigate those crimes and. This the statement without blaming her, she told the police candidly what she remembered and maybe she remembers more now. And if she does, then we want to put that in front of the grand jury.
PAZMINO (voice-over): The civil lawsuit also states that after arriving at the frat house, she was visibly intoxicated and that she had consumed about 10 standard drinks within the past three hours. The lawsuit also includes a screenshot of a group chat where other fraternity members were allegedly invited to join the assault.
[05:15:08]
The D.A. said this screenshot included in the complaint was not provided to his office at the time.
VAN HOUTEN: The text messages were completely vulgar and disgusting, but they had with her consent.
PAZMINO (voice-over): CNN has reached out to Cornell University police for comment. It's unclear what other evidence police may have collected. According to the civil complaint, Cornell expelled two of the seven
accused fraternity members, while the others received lesser punishments, including suspensions and written assignments. The frat was also barred from campus.
In a statement, Cornell University said, quote, "None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement. The complainant and respondents had the opportunity to testify and present evidence. At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell."
Ultimately, her attorney says she wants accountability.
GIUFFRA: Her life has been destroyed. She's a woman who comes from a small town. She was not somebody who was a legacy or somebody who was from a wealthy family. This was her dream and it was taken away from her at a young age and it just a horrific fashion.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Thank you, Gloria.
New this morning, Hayden Panettiere's ex-fiance has filed for temporary guardianship of her estate. According to court documents, Vladimir Klitschko filed the petition on behalf of their 11-year-old daughter, who was the sole heir of the late actress's entire estate. The filing says it is urgent and essential to protect the child's future assets, citing concerns that estate property could be lost before an administrator is appointed amid the ongoing investigation into Panettiere's death.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, the Senate passes a bill to overhaul college sports and how student athletes profit from their name, image and likeness, but not everyone supports it. And disturbing details about the number of immigrant children that have been detained, some as young as two years old, going before judges without representation. Well explain later in the hour.
Stay with us.
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[05:22:00]
SMITH: Former special counsel Jack Smith will be front and center before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning. It marks his second appearance before Congress as part of a probe into his investigation of President Donald Trump. That investigation led to charges against Trump related to classified documents found at Mar-a- Lago and his actions leading up to the January 6th Capitol riot. Those charges were dropped after Trump was reelected in 2024.
During closed door testimony late last year, smith said he wouldn't have done anything different. Quote, "Regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat well, new this morning, the Senate is tackling college sports and setting rules on how much money student athletes can make on their name, image and likeness. The Protect College Sports Act gives the NCAA the authority to regulate player compensation limits athletes to a one time transfer and establishes a five-year eligibility standard.
But the bill still needs to clear the house, which is on recess until after the midterms. The NCAA and major athletic conferences have backed the bill, but critics, including the Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO, say that it gives schools and industry more power without protecting the rights of student athletes.
Fans of the Philadelphia 76ers like myself waking up this morning in a new era and with new hope thanks to the King, LeBron James. The NBA superstar made his debut with his new team yesterday, at least in media day
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LEBRON JAMES, PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FORWARD: You have to fall in love with doing things that's uncomfortable. And if we can do that, then we can be a great team. If we don't do that, then we'll be like, oh man, it was a great team on paper and we had a lot of great talent and we lost in the second round. Like, I don't want to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: King James has spoken.
And if LeBron wins it all this year with the Sixers, he'll be an NBA champion with four different teams. The Sixers kick off the season October 20th against the current NBA champs, the New York Knicks.
Now, this was so cool to watch. If you missed it, that was SpaceX's starship splashing down in the Pacific Ocean with a massive fireball. After just three hours in space, it returned to earth yesterday after it made its first trip to orbit. It actually deployed 26 new Starlink satellites, really cool to watch from the launch all the way to the splashdown back here on Earth.
Well, straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, Lindsay Clancy expected back in court today after the case against her ended in a mistrial. We've got the details on what's next for the Massachusetts mom who admitted to killing her three children.
[05:25:02]
And closing arguments are set to begin in the trial of the former "American Idol" contestant, accused in the murder of his wife and mother of their two children.
More on that when CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SMITH: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
President Trump will be hosting a meeting with several A.I. leaders at the White House today. House Speaker Mike Johnson is also expected to attend, and the meeting comes.
