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The Situation Room

Affordability Crisis; Chaos on Flydubai Flight; Surviving Postpartum Psychosis; New Lindsay Clancy Defense Strategy?. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired September 30, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney says the prosecution did not actually prove that Clancy killed her three children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, ATTORNEY FOR LINDSAY CLANCY: Where's the evidence that she did this? Where is the evidence that she did this? This entire case is based on speculation. Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: This was Clancy's first time back in court since her trial ended with a deadlocked jury, with a mistrial.

So, during the trial, Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, had argued that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings, and therefore should not be held criminally liable.

So let's go live now to CNN correspondent Jean Casarez to make sense of all of this.

Jean, what is the legal strategy here, in your view?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's -- it came out of the blue yesterday, right, as he was arguing this renewed motion for required finding of not guilty.

So he's asking the judge in this argument to find her not guilty because of the insufficiency of the evidence. Now, here's what he prefaced it with. This makes it, I think, understandable for all of us. At the beginning of this trial process, he wanted to bifurcate the trial.

He wanted two separate sections of the trial, the first trial to be whether she's guilty, whether she intentionally killed her children with premeditation and atrocity or cruelty. If the jury said beyond the reasonable doubt yes, then you go into the second phase, where it's the psychosis, that she's not criminally responsible.

And he said, I'm going to argue the motion in this way. That's what he said yesterday. So, conceivably -- and the judge denied that, by the way. It didn't happen. If there had been that initial phase of the trial, it looks like that he would have and he would have had to have said that she's not guilty because deficiency of the DNA, deficiency of fingerprints, there was no investigation.

But, Pamela, what was fascinating yesterday, we listened to what he said about the timeline when Patrick left. He said there wasn't time enough for her to do it there. And once she threw herself out the window in socks, he said it would take two hours for a core body temperature to get down to what hers was when she was taken at the hospital.

So he's saying that timeline right there, that something else happened. And if there is another trial, he's going to try again to have a bifurcated trial. You heard that yesterday, two parts. So it may be a completely different defense.

BROWN: So what is the prosecution's stance right now?

CASAREZ: The prosecution, Timothy Cruz outside said, we have made no decision yesterday, he said, if we are going to retry her. The judge wanted a trial date. He was pushing the lawyers, set a trial date.

And that can be in theory, because he wants to move this along if there will be another trial. Now, the next hearing, November 2, we may learn more. But the motions are flowing, and the motions means this is an active criminal case. We just have to see if it's proceeding to trial or not.

BROWN: All right, Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

Well, after surviving postpartum psychosis, Esty Rollhaus is using her experience to try to help other new mothers, going on to become a reproductive psychiatrist. Rollhaus now pushes for better U.S. perinatal mental health care.

And our CNN's Meena Duerson has a look at her story in a SITUATION ROOM special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ESTY ROLLHAUS, REPRODUCTIVE PSYCHIATRIST: You know, it almost feels like it didn't happen. It feels so unreal.

MEENA DUERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Esty Rollhaus was a new mom when she was hospitalized here for what she later learned was postpartum psychosis.

ROLLHAUS: That was the worst part of my life. I can say it this way, but I wish Lindsay Clancy was here.

This was two weeks before I was hospitalized.

DUERSON: Ten months after giving birth to twins, Rollhaus was struggling.

ROLLHAUS: The world turned gray. It just all felt so bleak that I couldn't see a way of anything getting better.

[10:35:02]

DUERSON: She stopped being able to sleep, and her symptoms escalated rapidly.

ROLLHAUS: I remember feeling like everyone was staring at me, and then I heard people saying derogatory things about me, which I now recognize as a hallucination. I felt like there were helicopters tracking our car, and then I felt like there was, like, broadcasts happening about how terrible I was.

The plot against me was to take my babies away from me because I was an unfit mother.

DUERSON: It took two trips to the emergency room for doctors to recognize the severity of the crisis, where they gave her husband a devastating choice.

JONATHAN SCHWAB, HUSBAND OF ESTY ROLLHAUS: They were like: "You can sign this thing that is going to involuntarily commit your -- like, she doesn't want to," but they were like: "You have to. You have to do this. Like, this is like -- she is not well."

And Esty was like really, really upset at me and was like: "If you do this, I'm going to divorce you." And it's like, oh, my God. Like, what do I do?

ROLLHAUS: Now I understand that that was really an act of heroism on his part.

DUERSON: Rollhaus was hospitalized for 11 days.

ROLLHAUS: I met with a psychologist in the hospital, and even though I was 11 months postpartum, she said, this is a postpartum story, and she is the one who sent me to The Motherhood Center.

DR. CATHERINE BIRNDORF, CO-FOUNDER AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR, THE MOTHERHOOD CENTER: People don't realize how dangerous these illnesses can be when left untreated.

DUERSON: Dr. Catherine Birndorf created The Motherhood Center to treat pregnant women and new moms with mood and anxiety disorders.

BIRNDORF: One in five women will have a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder.

DUERSON (on camera): One in five.

BIRNDORF: One in five. There wasn't even a name for reproductive psychiatry when I started. It's gone from don't even mention it to we're now having a national conversation.

DUERSON: Do people in the medical field know enough about...

BIRNDORF: No.

DUERSON: Know what's happening with a postpartum person?

BIRNDORF: No, they -- I don't think they do. Is the health care provider you reach out to able to diagnose it, not just say, oh, that's being pregnant, or that's, yes, you're a new mom, of course, you feel that way?

DUERSON (voice-over): A treatment center like this is more common around the world, but still rare in the U.S. Lindsay Clancy's attorney said she sought care at a similar facility, but was discharged the same day.

BIRNDORF: We started 10 years ago and had hoped to really have more centers by now, but insurance companies don't recognize perinatal mental health issues.

DUERSON (on camera): What do you mean?

BIRNDORF: I mean that they're not in our Diagnostics and Statistics Manual, people using the manual will have a common language, and that insurance companies will recognize it to pay for it. If you can't see it in that book, nobody believes that it exists.

DUERSON (voice-over): Rollhaus is one of the thousands of women who've worked with The Motherhood Center since it opened in 2017.

BIRNDORF: How are you?

ROLLHAUS: How are you? Hi. Oh, my God. Wow. Wow. Yes, I used to sit over here.

BIRNDORF: People like their chairs, you know?

ROLLHAUS: Yes.

BIRNDORF: They like their chairs.

DUERSON (on camera): Lindsay Clancy sought care from numerous providers.

ROLLHAUS: Yes.

DUERSON: What do you what do you guys make of that when you see a story like that?

ROLLHAUS: That could have so easily been me.

BIRNDORF: Wow.

ROLLHAUS: Like, I got really lucky in coming here.

BIRNDORF: But only one person could have so easily -- this is the same story. (CROSSTALK)

BIRNDORF: It could have so easily gotten the other way. What is justice from here is really taking this moment and really moving it forward. The system has to change.

DUERSON: So this is part of your course that you put together?

ROLLHAUS: Yes.

DUERSON (voice-over): Rollhaus was inspired by her experience to become a reproductive psychiatrist, one of fewer than 500 in the country.

ROLLHAUS: It's really cute to see them play.

DUERSON: Her twins are now 10 years old, and three years ago, the couple welcomed a third baby through surrogacy to protect her mental health.

ROLLHAUS: I could never have imagined a wall like this and a family like this. This is beyond my wildest dreams. I really want people to know that they're not alone, that this can happen to normal people, and you can get better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Wow, what a powerful piece there.

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. You can call or text help to Postpartum Support International at 1-800-944- 4773.

We will be right back.

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BROWN: All right, we're following that breaking news out of the Middle East where a Flydubai flight had to be diverted after two pilots engaged in a bloody brawl.

Moments ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and may have apparently tried to crash the plane.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us live with more.

So, what can you tell us, Eleni?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pamela.

So, what we understand, and early this morning we heard the news of this flight that was diverted and ended up in northwestern parts of Saudi Arabia in Tabuk, and then more details started sort of coming up, and now the latest, where you have got these images of some passengers covered in blood, news of the pilots and the co-pilots involved in some kind of violent altercation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that one of the pilots had tried to crash the plane after the stabbing incident. But some of the flight radar data really shows just how dramatic and harrowing this must have been for the passengers as we're getting more information.

So the flight dropped from 34,000 feet, Pamela, to 16,500 feet. That's a drop of around 17,400 feet in the span of two minutes. Then you see the plane being stabilized and then eventually seeking emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

[10:45:10]

As we're starting to get more information through -- and I have to say it's mostly from Israeli officials, as well as sources -- that this violent altercation was then stopped by some of the Flydubai crew, as well as passengers on board, and then Flydubai crew, according to a statement from them, that they were able to eventually take control of the plane and land it safely.

Flydubai has also put out a statement just a short time ago, and they say that the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown, and we have to wait for a formal investigation. They're urging all parties to refrain from premature speculation, very different from what we're hearing from Israeli sources, and also some of the accounts of people on the aircraft as well.

And you can see some of them covered in blood. And you can also just hear the distress in their voice. This is going to be a very big issue diplomatically. It is going to bring into a lot of questions around security on flights, whether this was just an altercation between pilots.

What was the source of that altercation? Why was the plane not on autopilot? Was autopilot disengaged deliberately, or was it because it was a coincidence at that moment in time? All these things, we're still waiting for as an investigation gets under way.

Saudi Arabia says that the two pilots are now currently in hospital. They both have been injured. And then there's efforts to try and get the passengers, around 170 or so, back into Israel and massive effort there to try and get people home, Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Eleni Giokos, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there. How frightening for those passengers. Wow.

Well, affordability back here in the United States is on the minds of so many Americans, especially heading into the midterms. Up next, we will speak to one California restaurant owner forced to close his doors over high costs.

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BROWN: Well, with just over a month until the November midterms, affordability and higher prices are a top issue for voters across the country. And that includes California, where the candidates for governor, Democrat Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, are both drilling down on the issue.

CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with a Hollywood restaurant owner who says he had to close his doors because of the state's economic challenges in this SITUATION ROOM special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight is last call at Employees Only Restaurant and Bar, the final pour for owner Tom Sopit, closing after nearly 10 years in West Hollywood.

TOM SOPIT, OWNER, EMPLOYEES ONLY RESTAURANT AND BAR: It's just becoming increasingly tough to operate in this state and in this city. So we decide to close.

LAH (voice-over): A bittersweet end to service after surviving the pandemic.

SOPIT: I'm concerned.

LAH: This was Sopit in March 2020. COVID-19 gripped the country. Sopit's restaurant shut down with all the others. His rent was $1,000 a day. He was completely underwater.

SOPIT: All we can do is help each other.

LAH: Help is what he did. Sopit's small staff prepped free meals for any worker who lost their job. For weeks, he donated food to emergency rooms across Los Angeles. He turned his parking lot into an outdoor patio, pivoting with ever-changing protocols.

(on camera): How do you survive that, but you have to close now?

SOPIT: Through the years, the economics of the state and the country has really changed. We have tried. It's not like one thing that took us out. It's just, what I like to say, death by 1,000 cuts.

Affordability has really impacted our state. Cost of goods, the cost of labor is much higher than everyone else in the country. California labor laws are really tough. The insurance is a big part of it, with wildfires controlling the premiums and the increases, all the carriers leaving the state, and that's why it went up so quickly.

LAH: How much did the shrinking of Hollywood impact you?

SOPIT: Oh, immensely. It disappeared overnight. We're not really Hollywood anymore. All these people that are -- that used to work here, used to work in the city of Los Angeles are now gone. All the businesses close early because there is no foot traction. It's a completely different city now.

LAH: Tell me about what you see when you drive around West Hollywood. SOPIT: There's a lot of for lease signs up, a lot of businesses that

are shutting down, many just a few months after they open. It's really sad.

LAH (voice-over): Sopit voted for Gavin Newsom, but is today a registered independent. He says the political system is failing people like him.

(on camera): Your advice to the next governor of California?

SOPIT: Yes. My advice is, focus on the issues. Focus on the real challenges. Drive up and down the street. Get your hands dirty. I think you can't just keep taxing businesses and people. How are we just keep paying more taxes, but somehow the state just keeps going downhill? That doesn't make sense. There has to be some real change there.

LAH: I asked Sopit whether it matters who the next governor of California is. He says that he's very pessimistic, that he's not sure it matters who occupies that office. But he does add that whoever wins the election, that person begins to tackle the issue of affordability.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right, our thanks to Kyung.

[10:55:00]

And make sure to watch CNN's California governor's debate tonight with Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. That is tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 Pacific on CNN, and streaming live on CNN All Access.

And here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour.

Breaking news out of Tennessee. A federal appeals court has stopped what would have been the first execution of woman in the state in 200 years.

Plus, we will discuss potential changes at the Pentagon with New York Senator and Armed Services Committee member Kirsten Gillibrand.

And will self-policing of AI work? We're going to speak to a prominent AI ethics researcher as concerns over AI safety grow.

That's all new next hour.

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