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What We Know with Max Foster

Crude Oil Prices Surge Past $100 Per Barrel On Iran Worries; Trump: $5,000 To Every U.S. Adult If Republicans Hold Congress; A.I. Concerns Grow After Warnings From Anthropic Employees; Iran-Backed Houthis Seize Key Red Sea Port Of Mocha In Yemen; Sources: U.S. Expands Support For Saudis Against Houthis. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 10, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:45]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Oil, gas and borrowing costs are surging. It comes amid growing concerns over the conflict in the Middle East. Bond yields are

climbing not just in the U.S., but around the world.

Now, for the first time since May, Brent crude hit $105 per barrel. Both the U.S. and global benchmarks are trading above $100. These costs will

likely rise as fighting intensifies in the Middle East beyond crude oil. Stress from Iran is showing up in other markets. Diesel prices, which are

essential to power, trucking and shipping have surged this year to record highs.

Let's get straight to Anna Stewart, who joins us live from London because we are seeing the headline prices here increasing.

But talk us through what's happening underneath that to make it happen.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, we're seeing a huge spike in terms of the price of crude oil. But, of course, we also have to consider

the price of refined oil, the oil we all use for various products that factories use. And there's one really interesting metric, which is the sort

of the gap between diesel prices and crude prices.

Obviously, diesel being a refined fuel is always much more expensive than crude oil. But the gap between the two is at its highest, I think, ever at

this point, which just goes to show this isn't just about the raw crude oil getting out of the Middle East at this point. This is also about

refineries. Refineries have been hit in Russia. They are now being hit in Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels.

So that is really impacting the cost of the refined oil that, you know, consumers use day-to-day, as well as the fact that we are seeing an overall

rise in the cost of crude oil, lifting the cost of all oil, refined or not, across the board, and also, of course, pushing up the cost of inflation,

the cost of all goods. It's not just the fuel we all use to heat our homes, fuel our cars. Almost every good we buy at any point, at some point, has

been transported with a fossil fuel.

FOSTER: So, we're spending more, but also it's costing more to borrow, which is a really damaging dynamic, isn't it?

STEWART: Yeah. So, we've seen an incredible rise really in bond yields, which move inversely to bond prices. And just today, I'm not sure whether

we have the 10-year treasury. This is the U.S. 10-year bond. But it has hit a really high level, 4.9 percent.

Now, that is extraordinary if you give -- if you consider that we've just had the intervention from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said

he would do a $6 billion treasury buyback. That was supposed to keep a lid on bond prices. It hasn't.

This means the cost of borrowing for the government has just risen significantly. And this is for the U.S. government, of course, that has got

a debt that has crossed the $40 trillion level. The cost of living is going up. Oil prices mean that inflation will creep up more and more and more.

As a result of that, central banks around the world are looking at raising rates. Today, the ECB did just that. Next week, the Bank of England meet,

the Federal Reserve meet.

And as rates rise, not only will people be dealing with the cost of living and the cost of inflation, but they could also be dealing with an increased

cost of borrowing, whether you are a mortgage owner or whether you have a loan for a car.

So, we are looking at a pretty miserable end to the year, I think, Max, leave you on a cheery note.

FOSTER: Yeah. As you say, it's global as well. It's not just a U.S. thing. Thank you so much, Anna.

Well, fresh conflicts in Yemen and the Red Sea are also piling more pressure on energy markets. Later this hour, we'll bring you Nic

Robertson's exclusive report from the region for you.

Now to U.S. politics and a stunning offer from President Donald Trump, one that he's hoping American voters can't refuse. During his speech at the

Republican National Convention, President Trump promised to pay a dividend of $5,000 to every adult in the U.S., but only if Republicans retain

control of the House and Senate in the upcoming midterm elections. With his party's outlook ahead of the vote looking pretty dim, the president made

this plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So please, I ask you this as maybe more important even than the Trump dividend. Please pretend that I'm

running and get out and vote on November 3rd or sooner.

[15:05:11]

Because in actuality, I really am running.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's go to Washington now, the senior White House reporter, Kevin Lipdak, of course, there.

I mean, is he effectively paying people to vote for him in this election. Is that what he's saying?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I mean, if you're just listening to his own words, it kind of sounds like that. It seems like he's

suggesting that if Republicans retain their majorities that these checks will be going out to every adult in the United States, which does sound a

lot like he's paying people for a win here. Now, legal experts have been kind of parsing this. They say that because this payment would come after

the election and that because it would go to every adult, whether they voted for Republicans or Democrats or didn't vote at all, that it wouldn't

necessarily run afoul of rules that prohibit any kind of expenditure in exchange directly for votes.

But I think the president bottom line here is making pretty clear that he is desperate to get of Republicans across the finish line, just given some

of the unfeasibility about what exactly he's proposing here. You know, there are 270 million adults in the United States. That would add up to

about $1.3 trillion that he is suggesting go out via checks to the American public.

It's not really clear where that money is coming from. The White House isn't saying -- the president isn't saying he just did an interview with

Fox News in the last hour was not at all clear from that where he envisions money coming from, and J.D. Vance, the vice president, when he was

interviewed directly after the speech last night, seemed to suggest that perhaps this could come from tariff revenues.

But those are nowhere near $1.3 trillion. And remember, the federal government has actually had to pay some of it back because the Supreme

Court found that the tariffs were illegal. So logistically, financially, it's not explicitly clear where this is coming from.

I would also say politically the president doesn't exactly have a great track record for following through on these promises. Remember, he promised

the American people a dividend from the tariff revenues a year ago. He also promised the American people that he would cut checks based on the savings

from the DOGE cuts that were in place in the beginning of his term. None of those checks ever materialized.

And so, this does sound like kind of a far-fetched promise from the president, but it's one that he made nonetheless. I will say that not every

Republican that you talk to is getting behind this plan. Obviously, the Republican Party is historically one of financial responsibility of trying

to reduce deficits. The United States already has $40 trillion in debt, and this would just add to it.

You also hear concerns about what it would mean for inflation. Republicans have spent the last five years criticizing the Biden administration for

sending $1,400 checks after COVID that they say contributed and really juiced the inflation crisis in the United States. And it's not really clear

why a $5,000 check sent to every American adult would be any different from that.

FOSTER: Kevin Liptak in Washington as ever, thank you so much for that.

Now we're going to look at a new report from Anthropic saying the A.I. firm detected and stopped biological misuse of its models in what may have been

an attempt to build bioweapons. The discovery is feeding into growing concerns over artificial intelligence, including whether it could kill us

all. It's a question many have been asking after a senior Anthropic employee said there's a more than 10 percent chance A.I. could wipe out

humans within a decade.

His comments came after an Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, quit early this week saying A.I. labs are gambling with our lives. Coxon spoke more

about his fears with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night. He said it's hard for people, many people, to believe just how possible such a scenario

is. And he said industry employees are begging for A.I. to be regulated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB COXON, FORMER ANTHROPIC RESEARCHER: So the precise scenario sounds a little bit like science fiction. It sounds like something that's not real,

but I think it is frightening real. And it's easiest to understand it if you think about real things that happened two months ago. So, two months

ago, OpenAI agents' A.I.s hacked into third-party infrastructure entirely at their own accord. And this was like a concentrated hacking spree that

they carried out of their own volition.

And I think that if you extrapolate into the future the level of capabilities of these A.I.s, with the same independent volition, they could

cause extreme havoc, for example, hacking critical infrastructure, building extinction-level bioweapons.

[15:10:01]

There's a lot of ways that the A.I. could actuate itself in the world.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: You know, a lot of these CEOs of these companies will, you know, will go to Congress and say, hey, we would love

regulation. Anthropic, in their new statement right now, says the world would benefit from the industry adopting a lawful, verifiable way to work

together to pace how we release powerful models.

You know. the argument, it's an arms race. If a U.S. company doesn't achieve the best A.I., a Chinese company or some bad actors out there

might. Do you believe that these companies actually do want regulation? Or is it lip service?

COXON: They completely do. This is completely honest. Just in the same way that the response to Evan's post was sort of surprise. It was like, this

can't be real. Surely a guy working on this technology can't actually believe there's this level of danger.

No, that's completely genuine. And these people are also completely genuine when they are begging to be regulated. This is a genuine -- they find

themselves in this scenario where they're compelled to race towards building a deadly technology.

And they would love for some sort of international body to allow them to approach it at a reasonable pace. They just don't trust that the people

around them are going to get there in a safe way. So they feel like they have to race there, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Clare Duffy joins me from New York on this.

I mean, regulation is an interesting question, isn't it? He's talking about an international body, the global regulatory system is broken up into

nations. You're expecting them to somehow work together in a global system and even agreeing to set up a global body would take a very long time and

A.I. could do a lot of damage in that time.

So, what's the talk about a possible answer here?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah, Max, I mean, it is really alarming because it doesn't feel like we are any closer to real regulation of this

technology, not just a global agreement, which, as you said, feels very far away. But even here in the United States, there is still talk about wanting

the U.S. government to do more to put controls around these companies. And yet that has moved very slowly and there is debate on both sides of this

issue.

And then you have this Anthropic report out today that really underscores some of the fears that you hear that safety researcher talk about. This

report is Anthropic talking about actors that it has disrupted over the past eight months who it believed were trying to misuse its technology. It

covers all kinds of threats, including things like actors attempting to use Claude to create fake social media profiles and websites for influence

operations, attempted cyberattacks using Claude to develop conventional weapons like missiles and drones.

But one of the most alarming here, which you mentioned, is this concern that actors were attempting to have biological misuse of these A.I. tools.

Now, the company cited five examples where it saw actors trying to get around its guardrails for certain regions that restrict access to its

tools, and then trying to do complex scientific research, which it says its models are now capable of. It did say, Max, that it wasn't entirely clear

whether these actors were trying to use these A.I. tools to create actual cures, actual vaccines, or potentially bioweapons, and so it blocked them

out of a sense of caution here.

But you really do get a sense of how advanced these A.I. models are becoming, the fact that there are actors who are aware of these

capabilities, and the companies are really racing to keep up with this at a time when they are also in many ways begging the government to do more to

regulate them, to help them, and sort of lead the industry in making these tools safer.

FOSTER: And can you just explain a bit about bio A.I.? Because it came up in the program yesterday as well, models trained on proteins. Things are

moving so quickly, but I know this is in the early stages, but how is that different from the A.I. we're used to?

DUFFY: Yeah, I mean, it's really -- it's tricky because on one hand, this is one of the most promising areas of A.I. researchers. You hear A.I.

researchers talk about the potential for A.I. models to help develop new materials, help develop new vaccines, help develop new cures for cancer.

This is one of the big selling points of this technology. But the same thing that makes it so powerful for testing and developing new drugs could

also make it extremely powerful in the hands of bad actors to develop biological weapons and things that be really dangerous for humans. And so,

it is a real tension here. You certainly don't want to slow down the scientific research that could lead to those positive outcomes, but you do

obviously want to make sure that you're blocking bad actors from creating bioweapons with this technology.

And I think that is part of what these companies ask for when they're asking for regulation from governments is how do you make sure that you

keep this technology in the hands of good actors but make sure that bad actors don't have it?

[15:15:02]

That is, I think, a major tension when we talk about this technology. And it is advancing very quickly, as you said, Max.

FOSTER: Absolutely. Clare Duffy, thank you so much for joining us from New York on that.

Now, coming up, CNN gets exclusive access. And we'll bring you a closer look at a vital link for moving gulf oil. now coming under threat in the

expanding Iran war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: We have more CNN reporting out of the Middle East. Yemen's strategic port city of Mocha on the Red Sea is now in the hands of Iran-

backed Houthi fighters. Gaining control of Mocha means more leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is crucial to the flow of oil. The waterway

has taken on major importance since the war with Iran, effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

This video from a Houthi-controlled news channel is said to be of Mocha Port.

CNN's Nic Robertson says Yemen's government has been appealing to the U.S. for support which hasn't arrived.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: When the sun came up this morning, it appeared that the government still had some vestiges of

control in Mocha, but within a few hours, it became very clear that the Houthis had taken control by late afternoon. I spoke with the information

minister of Yemen from the internationally recognized government, and he said Mocha has changed hands. The Houthis have it. It is very sad, he said,

because of the suffering that that's going to bring to the people there.

And I heard from another source as well who was involved in trying to sort of help in the defense of Mocha. And he said, look, we were speaking to

CENTCOM in the U.S. about the situation on the ground, speaking directly, this source said, to Admiral Cooper, trying to get in the U.S. attention,

he said, several days before Mocha fell about what was happening.

And he said, you know, he was being told from U.S. officials that the Saudis are watching, the U.S. is watching, and there'll be Saudi air

support. And he said that didn't come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: There -- Nic Robertson there, and his team recently gained exclusive access to Perim Island, the new flashpoint in this escalating

regional conflict. And here's their report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yemen's Navy is taking us to Perim Island, the heart of a little-known local war that's getting pulled into America's war

with Iran.

ROBERTSON: So, what happens here next could affect us more than the Iran War already has. These islands, this vital waterway, the price of oil, it

is all vulnerable right now. And what happens here could impact President Trump's political fortunes.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, Iran-backed Houthis have hit several Saudi oil tankers on these waters. They're a bypass to the Strait

of Hormuz. As we find out, Houthis are a constant threat here.

ROBERTSON: Suddenly, we just had to turn around. We're told it's because drones have been reported in the air. This is a hot war, and this is one of

the epicenters of that war.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Our second attempt, getting closer.

ROBERTSON: This here that you're looking at out across the Red Sea, the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, the narrowest point on that Red Sea.

Those ships out there, that's what this is all about.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Commercial shipping, critical for the global economy.

Eventually, we make it, a greeted by Yemeni government forces, keeping the vital waterway open.

Not many outsiders make it here. We're the first international journalist they've seen in years. But we're not going to have long. The Houthi drone

is still a threat.

ROBERTSON: And it looks for all the world like the place that time forgot. It is really stuck out here in the middle of the ocean. Looking out across

the ocean this way.

Yeah, Bab el-Mandeb, Bab el-Mandeb. And looking across out there.

You can see Africa across there. Djibouti literally just across the sea there.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Perim is at the strait's narrowest point, just 12 miles from Africa. Since Iran blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,

Saudi diverted its oil exports through the Red Sea, helping keep global oil prices down. Ten percent of global oil used to flow through here.

ROBERTSON: It's down to about less than half of that, or about half of that now. And if the Houthis get control of the Red Sea, if the Iranian

proxies, the Houthis get control of the Red Sea, they can shut the oil flows here down to almost nothing.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): What we don't see on our short visit is a military force that measures up to the scale of what's at stake for the rest of the

world.

For the commander in charge of this region, that's a worry.

ROBERTSON: Because the Houthis would try to kill you, right? The Iranians would love to have you down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many times.

ROBERTSON: So many times. I know.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Vice President Tarik Saleh is a rarity at the moment, a political leader still in Yemen and still fighting the Houthis.

TARIK SALEH, VICE PRESIDENT, YEMEN PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL (through translator): We told the world that this is an Iranian plan, but no one

listened to Yemenis back then, that this is a battle that would not only affect Yemenis, but the region and international community.

ROBERTSON: This is Iran trying to put pressure on President Trump.

SALEH: Exactly.

ROBERTSON: Are you getting any support from the United States?

SALEH: Just talk.

ROBERTSON: Just talk. How do you feel about that?

ROBERTSON (voice-over): "Disappointed," he says.

Even so, Saleh is bullish about his troops, claiming games on the battlefield with new equipment and new tactics, hitting Houthi hideouts

with quadcopter drone attacks similar to those used in Ukraine. But it won't be easy. After years of fighting, the Houthis are well dug in,

control the capital, the northwest of Yemen, including much of the Red Sea coast. The government has the east and the south, with the Houthi attacks

pressing towards the last stretch of Red Sea coast under government control.

What Saleh's troops organize for us next is a hard reality check about what they're up against.

ROBERTSON: So right now, we've just got into a big, armored vehicle. Interestingly, it's all blacked out, the windows are blacked out, so we

don't know where we're going.

[15:25:06]

ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's here. to a highly secret and secure stash of Iranian-made Houthi weapons snatched, the Yemeni military says, from

smugglers at sea. This sophisticated anti-ship missile capable of hitting tankers from hundreds of miles away, cutting-edge anti-aircraft missiles,

ultra-high-spec optic radar. They readily admit more gets through to the Houthis than they can catch.

ROBERTSON: What's Iran's strategy with the Houthis?

ABDEL NASSER EL-MAMIOUH, DIRECTOR, NRF MEDIA (through translator): The U.S. siege on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz has made Iran look at its

options and activate the strongest one, the Houthis to close Bab el-Mandeb. They are saying if our economy collapses in Iran, so will the world

economy.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, the Houthis have been stepping up attacks on Salah's forces. In Mocha, it's a vital trade port, a regular

Houthi target hit multiple times, so much so the harbor walls are littered with sunk and sinking ships.

ROBERTSON: And here, this is a piece, the tail fin from one of those Houthi missiles, see it heavy, ripped into the ground, splattered across

here in the port, all across this boat here. So many missiles landed. The port authorities had to shut the whole port down.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Sixteen people lost their lives, the port director tells me, and 1,500 employees are now without work. The Houthis, he says,

are trying to kill their economy as well as the people.

More than 10 years of civil war have all but broken Yemen. Humanitarian groups say more than half the population need their help. But now, Iran's

war with the US threatens to push Yemen over the edge.

Saleh has a salutary warning for Trump. Yemen's losses could be his economic pain.

SALEH (through translator): We see the high cost paid by international community to secure the passages of few ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

If the Yemeni forces were supported right now, they will make more achievements with a much lower cost than the Strait of Hormuz.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Trump's Iran legacy is getting more complicated.

Nic Robertson, CNN, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: This just into CNN, and it's an exclusive. Sources saying the United States is expanding its intel support for Saudi Arabia for the

kingdom's campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. In fact, there are now more than 100 U.S. military advisors on the ground in Saudi Arabia.

Zachary Cohen has more on this exclusive reporting -- Zachary.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Max, we're learning that U.S. personnel, over 100 U.S. military advisors are on the

ground in Saudi Arabia, working side by side with Saudi Arabian forces as part of what is described to us by sources as a joint forces command. And

this is all about facilitating intelligence sharing and targeting -- the sharing of targeting information between the US and the Saudi military as

it relates to the Saudi campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

And we just heard the concerns from Nic Robertson's piece, the concerns on the ground in Yemen, that the Houthis are gaining significant ground and

could potentially threaten to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. something that could threaten yet another key shipping corridor with the Strait of

Hormuz already effectively threatened by Iranian forces. And we're told that this ramping up of U.S. intel and targeting support for the Saudis in

this Houthi campaign is directly tied to the ongoing conflict with Iran and also comes amid indications that Iran has significantly stepped up its

support of the Houthi rebels in Yemen. U.S. intelligence indicating that hundreds of IRGC officers are similarly on the ground in Yemen helping

coordinate those Houthi attacks that have gained significant territory in just the last few days.

And so, this really does speak to the urgency of the threat now posed by the Houthis as both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are concerned about the

potential of a second front opening in this conflict. That's something that we've heard from officials of both countries for weeks now, that the

Houthis could be activated to try to open a second front in this conflict. And it appears that that has started to potentially take place here.

CNN previously reported that Iran had been considering and plotting an economic, quote, nuclear option if negotiations with the U.S. fell apart.

We've seen him previously reported that Iran had been considering and plotting an economic quote nuclear option if negotiations with the U.S.

fell apart and it was this option of enlisting the Houthis to try to shut down shipping in the Red Sea.

And we're told now by U.S. officials that that does seem to be Iran's goal in coordinating and in supporting the Houthi rebels in their latest

endeavor as that conflict continues to escalate. And so, the concerns here are twofold. One, that the fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia is

continuing to escalate, civilians are being killed, and two, that this could spill over and open into a wider conflict one that does become

unmanageable of sorts, particularly if the Houthis do succeed in effectively closing down the Red Sea.

That's going to have massive implications for the global economy. It's going to have massive implications for President Donald Trump's ability to

bring this war with Iran to a close. But at the same time, we're also told that this intelligence and targeting support does have its limits, at least

for now. And that limit does exist in direct participation in Saudi strikes against the Houthi rebels. The U.S. is not currently actively participating

in those strikes, but providing relevant information and even providing a tool that we're told allows the Saudi officers to see the entire battle

space in real time.

This was something a source described and compared to the Maven system that the Pentagon currently uses. It's a very sophisticated tool developed by

Palantir that speaks to the level of support the U.S. is providing. So, this is a space to watch for sure due to the concerns, but also now being

reflected by the US, ramping up support for Saudi Arabia.

FOSTER: OK, Zachary Cohen, appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up, a $5,000 check for every American adult. That is if Republicans keep Congress. But who would pay for it?

Economist Justin Wolfers breaks down the numbers just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Jimmy Kimmel says he's had another clash with U.S. regulators, this time over an interview with one of the Democrats' biggest hopes for

the midterms. The comedian and talk show host says he's keeping his interview. Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico off broadcast TV.

Instead, it'll be posted on YouTube. Kimmel says it's because of threats the Federal Communications Commission made against his show and stations

that run it.

Let's bring in CNN's Brian Stelter because get the FCC's view on this as well.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, yeah, this has been going on all week long, all year long, Max, this battle between the FCC and the U.S.

and some of these broadcast networks. Essentially, there are old rules in the United States about equal time. If one candidate is running for public

office, then they're supposed to be able to have all their rivals have equal airtime on broadcast stations.

These rules have not been enforced very much for decades. There are lots of exceptions and loopholes. But under President Trump, his FCC director

Brendan Carr has been trying to aggressively enforce these rules against stations that Trump doesn't like, namely ABC. So earlier this year, the

government opened an investigation into ABC over the daytime talk show "The View", known for its anti-Trump commentators, because of one of these

interviews with James Talarico, the same Texas Senate candidate that Kimmel is now planning to So there's been this ongoing drama about how the rules

are being enforced, whether the rules are being enforced fairly.

And now at this point, ABC is trying to be very cautious, basically telling Kimmel, you can interview this guy, but you've judged us go put it on

YouTube. And of course, the coincidence or the irony to all this is the interview will probably get a lot more attention because of this

controversy, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, exactly. It's probably going to get viral.

Brian, thank you so much.

Now in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, the Dow's losing streak seems to be continuing. If it closes in the red, it'll be the fourth

straight session of losses. It's down more than 2 percent over the past week.

This is our Business Breakout. The European Central Bank is raising interest rates for the second time this year. Rates are going up by a

quarter of 1 percent to try to tackle growing inflation caused by the U.S. war with Iran. Mortgage rates in the US are also going up. The average rate

for a 30-year fixed mortgage has hit its highest level for more than a year. Home sales fell by 1 percent compared to last year, according to the

National Association of Realtors.

And copper prices have hit a record high. Fears of a slowdown in production have seen the spike -- price spike, just as A.I. companies are looking to

use copper in their data centers. Traders are also worried about new tariffs on copper products from the Trump administration.

Now, President Trump is promising a $5,000 Trump dividend to every American, every adult American, if Republicans keep control of both houses

of Congress. He hasn't said how he'd pay for it, but it's a plan that could cost more than a trillion dollars and would require congressional approval

as well. And now more checks, Trump says his administration will send $500 rebates to nearly every million Obamacare enrollees starting in October.

It's not the first time Trump has made these kinds of promises.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's even under consideration a new concept where we give 20 percent of the DOGE savings to

American citizens.

We're thinking about a rebate because we have so much money coming in from tariffs.

We're going to issue a dividend to our middle-income people and lower- income people of about $2,000.

REPORTER: Will that be in time for Christmas, public shopping?

TRUMP: No, no, not for this year. It'll be next year sometime.

We have so much money coming in from tariffs that we'll be able to issue at least a $2,000 dividend and also pay down debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: What we don't know is will Mr. Trump's promise of dividend checks pay off for him politically?

Joining us now, Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan.

Thanks for joining us, professor.

I mean, a trillion dollars, they say they've got so much coming in from tariffs that's going to cover it. Is that correct?

JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: No, no, no, no and no. Let me give you two facts. The first is the budget deficit this year is set

to be just about the largest it's been in post-war America outside the financial crisis and COVID. So that is not having a fiscal house in order.

Secondly, roughly speaking, the total amount of tariffs that the government has brought in after it's mailed out refunds because it wasn't allowed to

issue a lot of them, that probably accounts for 11 cents out of every dollar that the president has said he wants to send out.

[15:40:03]

So, what this really is, it's a plan to take $5,000 from Americans and send it back out to Americans. So, you can't make money out of nothing. He's

sending Americans money that belongs to Americans. The only way he's going to get it is by borrowing it.

It's going to lead to the largest budget deficit we've seen outside of COVID, roughly the sort of budget deficit we saw in the wake of the

financial crisis.

FOSTER: He would also need congressional approval for it. So, you know, he may not have the control of Congress, of course, after the midterms. We

don't know what will happen. So, it would rely on him having that. I'm just wondering whether Congress would consider approving this anyway.

WOLFERS: Look, let me tell you how dumb this proposal is. The proposal is this is I will send out a $5,000 check if Republicans win both houses. So

apparently, I think the president's saying if the Democrats win, there's no economic emergency and nothing to be done here. He's saying he's only going

to send this out if Republicans win both houses.

I mean, it's an amazing admission. He is saying that a Republican House and a Republican Senate would create such an economic calamity, we would need

an enormous fiscal stimulus to get out of this.

Look, the truth is, even if you got a Republican House and a Republican Senate, I still believe there's enough folks with enough integrity that the

idea that they would give up everything that they want to do in order to send out $5,000 checks is something that none of them would do, which is

another way of saying the president didn't mean it when he said it. He understands he didn't mean it. And he's lying to each and every one of us

when he says, I think there's a chance I'm going to send you a check.

FOSTER: It's appealing, though, isn't it? $5,000. There is a cost-of- living crisis. He's trying to speak to that. A lot of people who aren't fed up with politics, maybe they -- you know?

WOLFERS: Mate, I would love it. If any of your viewers wants to send me $5,000 right now, I will be most appreciative. I will vote for them for

president.

But the thing is, they would be sending me their money. The president's not talking about sending me his money. He's talking about sending the American

people the American people's money.

There's no magic money machine in all of this. He's taking it from Americans and the hassle and the stress. There's nothing being

manufactured, created, improved, or anything for anyone's life.

The president is treating the American people with utter contempt. He's saying, I think you're so stupid that you will not ask the question,

where's the money coming from? But when it comes from your government, it comes from you.

FOSTER: Professor Wolfers, you explain things very clearly. I appreciate you always coming onto the show. Thank you so much for joining us.

Coming up, remember the days you could stroll up to the airport departure gate even without a ticket? Well, they might be about to return. Some U.S.

airports are about to make a big change to their security, and we'll take you through the details, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:32]

FOSTER: Twenty-five years after the September 11th attacks changed the world of aviation forever, U.S. authorities are making a big change to

airport security in a throwback to those pre-9/11 days. Starting this week at 13 U.S. airports, TSA will now let people go all the way to the gate,

even if they don't have a ticket to fly.

That means TSA PreCheck members will be able to wave off their families at the gate or greet their loved ones straight off their flight. This isn't a

completely new scheme, 21 airports in the country already let people without tickets access the gates, even suggesting that people stay for

dinner or for shopping.

So, what we want to know is, will people without tickets want to spend a day at the airport?

Joining us is Katy Nastro, travel correspondent for the Flighty Tracker app. Thank you for joining us.

I mean, if you could just explain for people outside America what the current system is and what's changed, then we can understand what's

happened here.

KATY NASTRO, AVIATION & TRAVEL CORRESPONDENT, FLIGHTY: Yeah, so thanks for having me, Max. So essentially, in the United States now, we have a trusted

traveler program which pre-vets and really does due diligence for a select group of travelers, dubbing them as low risk. And so those travelers have a

separate dedicated line, have a sort of a more seamless experience through airport security. Now, with this new program, Gateside by TSA PreCheck, it

is essentially allowing those travelers who are already a part of the trusted traveler program, TSA PreCheck, to bring a family member that

applies for -- or family or friends, I should say, that applies a day to up to three days in advance of a departure to walk them to the gate.

And this largely disappeared after 9/11. And essentially, it really was the first time that you weren't allowed to sort of walk through the airport

without being a traveler. Now, again, as you had mentioned, that there are select airports around the country that do have their own specific non-TSA

sanctioned sort of a kiss and fly program where you can walk a loved one to the gate.

But this is definitely a departure from what we typically see in an airport day-to-day. You mainly, for majority of airports around the country, see

ticketed passengers going through security. So, this is definitely a larger update or a repackaging of sorts of a pre-9/11 experience.

FOSTER: But it was brought in for a reason, wasn't it, after 9/11? So, are they relaxing safety or did they look at this rule and say it wasn't

necessary? I mean, just explain if things got safer or not.

NASTRO: Yeah, I definitely want to reiterate that these are trusted travelers. There's an extra layer of security that is already done by

having dedicated By having a person that already has TSA PreCheck, where you have to get a background check, you have to have fingerprints taken,

you are already dubbed a low risk in TSA's eyes.

So, it's not essentially as if anybody can really take part in this program. There is, again, that extra layer, that extra verification process

that really has already taken place. And this is really a way of TSA to sort of give the traveling public the nod that, yes, we are not risking

safety to then be able to just make this program that, again, largely went away pre-9/11.

It is we are not risking safety to then be able to just make this program that, again, largely went away pre-9/11. It is, again, a repackaging.

[15:50:00]

And I don't want to suggest that this is any way less safe to go through an airport, you know, if you have travelers that are non-travelers, or I

should say non-travelers, but It does raise concerns for those of us that are the traveling public that, you know, is this eventually going to lead

to anyone that is non-ticketed to be able to go through security like a ticketed traveler?

I don't foresee that taking place because 9/11 really implemented such strict protocols here in the U.S. So I do want to reiterate, this is not

TSA jeopardizing safety. In fact, it is merely adding another layer by having only TSA PreCheck verified non-travelers being allowed to go

through.

FOSTER: Reassuring. Katie Nastro from Flighty, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Earth just registered its hottest August on record, and the records don't stop there. this summer as a whole, tied with the summer of

2024 as the hottest season on record globally. Europe's climate monitoring agency, Copernicus, blames two factors, human-caused global warming and the

strengthening El Nino in the Pacific Ocean.

Bill Weir takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It's official. The summer of '26 was a full three degrees hotter than average. And it showed us vividly

how the symptoms of this man-made fever range from annoying to expensive to deadly. Summer camps and fireworks displays disrupted by wildfire smoke and

extreme heat. Explosions of ticks along hiking trails and algae blooms on lakes and reflecting pools.

A hotter atmosphere brings wetter wets and drier dries, which meant record wildfires in the parched Northwest and near-constant flash flood warnings

from the Hill Country of Texas to the canyons of New York City.

Data from Copernicus shows similar overheating around the globe, with deadly heat domes in Europe, fires in Indonesia, and that glacier collapse

in the Himalayas. And the record does not include the full force of a growing El Nino, which is just starting to shatter temperature records in

the Pacific and could devastate a California coast already reeling from mudslides and erosion.

[15:55:00]

`26 now unseats 1936, when a heat wave turned disastrous agriculture policy into the Dust Bowl. And there are parallels today. The United Nations just

announced that humanity will definitely break the Paris Accord promise to hold global heating at temperatures lower than they are now, while American

politicians shrug off climate science and protect polluters.

So, a lot more heat is on the way. And for the rest of our lives, the only question is how much?

Bill Weir, CNN New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN. More after the break.

END

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