25 Years After 9/11: The Cost of Leaders’ Decisions

27:40So you're seeing a lot more of the suspected narco boat operators when they are actually detained and alive. They're just they're simply released back without any charges or coordination with the local law enforcement in those countries to figure out what was going on. So, you know, we shouldn't discount that all of that has been going on for many years. It actually did stop a large portion of drugs. Maybe not everything. Right. But these are massive illicit economies. The profit incentive is huge. So smugglers are always going to find a way to get some amount through. I will say, you know, the other government that stands out as pretty cooperative right now is Mexico.

28:13Maybe surprising because, of course, they have some of the strongest organized crime groups of all. But the Mexican government of Claudia Sheinbaum has really been stepping up. They've closed a lot of fentanyl labs and have come down pretty hard on that trade. Well, Freeman, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up next, the new unearthed messages from FBI Director Cash Patel, revealing that he really sure seems to care a lot about trolls and what they say about him online. Plus, the notable exchange caught on camera today between New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that's raising hackles among conservatives.

28:48Stay with us.

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29:22Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Audio ads that connect. Display ads that stand out. Run them together on Spotify and unlock incremental reach for your campaign. In our politics lead, newly released texts, internal text messages between FBI officials show that the director of the FBI, Kash Patel, pushed the Bureau's communications department to fight back against online trolls, despite warnings from the comms officials that it would look bad. On Thursday, journalist Seth Hatenna found those texts released by the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act in February after an X account posted, and these are the account's words, not mine, Patel's, quote, retard rating just went to all-time highs.

30:10Congratulations, cash, unquote. Patel pressed the FBI's public affairs team to respond with the Bureau's record year results. An FBI communications official refused, writing, quote, quote, we're not responding. That would look bad on you. Patel shot back that it wasn't about the troll, but about the number of views that the tweet was getting, saying, quote, people see it and need to be seeing our stats. The FBI declined to comment to CNN today about this. The panel joins us now. Corbyn, let's start with you. Patel's focus on social media has certainly drawn scrutiny throughout his tenure. The vice president's social media presence has drawn drawn scrutiny throughout his tenure, including Patel disclosing some sensitive information about investigations, perhaps prematurely.

30:58What do you think about his push to respond to the quote unquote retard rating? Well, I mean, I think it sort of goes in line with a lot of the administration, which is they are very, very thin skinned and they are willing to use the resources of the government to protect their thin skin. I mean, I think he said he also doesn't understand social media. He thought that the views were actual comments. I remember reading that in the text messages. It's really bizarre what they're focusing on. There's a lot of things happening in this country, right? There's an increase in anti-Semitic violence. There's an increase in Islamophobia.

31:29There's like all this stuff happening, and the FBI director is instead focusing on whether or not somebody thinks his retard rating went up or not. And, you know, I think it's bizarre, and it's a dereliction of duty. What do you think, Ashley? Well, first of all, if my son said that word, I'd slap him up against the head. I just think it's such an offensive word. And for the record, it's this troll that you said. No, no, no, I know it wasn't. I'm just saying, like, why are we even? But anyway, the point is. The only reason just to justify why we even quoted it is to show how stupid it was. Totally.

31:58No. Like, and not worth responding to. Exactly. Which goes back to your comment of thin skin. Yeah. Right? I mean, like, why would he even lower himself, in my mind, to respond to whether it was a troll or whatever? I mean, crime is down. So all the things that you said, but also crime's down. Murders are down. Like, let's talk about that. Don't worry about some trolls calling you a retard. Yeah. Let's turn to the 9-11 ceremony at Ground Zero today because there was some controversy. A few hours into the reading of the names of the victims, a pool camera feed showed a clearly emotional man. And then it cut to a few seconds of New York City's Mayor Zoran Mamdani and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sharing a lighter moment laughing.

32:40And Ashley, this is getting a lot of heat on the right. What do you think? I think that there's going to be a lot of campaign ads made out of that. I mean, who knows what they were talking about this day. That picture right there is what we should be remembering, not that one. The one with the guy crying over who died in his family or loved one that day. And so I just, I mean, it's poor taste. But I'm not going to criticize AOC, your old boss. And I'm not going to, because who knows what was happening. But it's going to come back and bite them. People have human moments, and unfortunately sometimes they get caught.

33:11I'm sure what they were laughing about had nothing to do with it. No, no. Yeah, I mean, I think that's, yeah, there's, I mean, I think, you know, unfortunately, when you're under a microscope, you have to be diligent about what you're saying when, and you've got to know your environment, you know, and that's exactly the reason why. Because if you're doing something that looks untoward, it can be completely taken out of context. So, yeah, there will be some political ads about it, there'll be political hay made out of it, and it'll be completely disingenuous. Like, people will know that they're obviously not laughing about 9-11, they're not laughing about anybody that's dead there, and yet they'll say it was in poor take.

33:44I will say, I could understand somebody, I'm not saying this is my opinion, but I could see somebody seeing that and saying, you're at the 9-11 memorial, they're reading names, don't laugh. You know what I mean? It's not a lot to expect. I'm just saying, I think it doesn't have to be, there's going to be a lot of disingenuous objection to it, no question. there's probably also going to be some sincere objection to it, don't you think? No, listen, was it wrong? They should have been reminded that they're going to be on camera every minute of that service. And they made a mistake. And it will come, I don't know if it's going to swing votes one way or the other, but it's definitely going to be remembered.

34:22Here's a worse moment. So last night at the Republicans' midterm convention, it wrapped up. Ted Cruz was giving a speech, a senator from Texas. An audience member could be heard shouting, quote, quote, he should be shot as Cruz attacked Mayor Mondani and Abdul Al-Sayed, who's a Democratic Senate candidate. Here's that clip. When Mondani says he wants to seize the means of production, he means it. When Abdul Al-Sayed says he has a, quote, obligation to comply with Sharia law, he means it. And when James Tallarico says he wants to dismantle capitalism, he means it. Wow, that guy sure said that a lot.

35:11And it looked like Cruz heard the first one. Maybe he couldn't make out what was being said, but that is really, really ugly and awful. Yeah. And I think it reminds me of John McCain, though. Right. I remember, you know, when he had the comment about Obama being a Muslim and hating America or whatever, and then he stood up to that and said, no, we're not going to do that. And I get that you're in an environment that's more of a rally and things are going, you want to keep the energy up. But that was a call and response, he should be shot. I think that's a point to jump in. But Ted Cruz also just, I was watching him saying that he wants all the killer robots to be American.

35:46So Ted Cruz is on a gaffe spree, in my opinion, over these last few days. Ted Cruz is running for president. Not the way I would make it. I mean, you cited John McCain, who was a man of character. What do you think of that? Well, I don't know if he heard it or not. I know Ted very well. I don't think that it's something that he would ever say is the right thing to say. But this is the problem with politics in our country right now, that people say that, and that's how you rile people up. That's the problem. But also, and I don't, again, I don't know if he heard it, but if he did hear it and he didn't say anything, that was the wrong thing to do.

36:23Although, anyway, he was giving a speech, so maybe he didn't want to disrupt the flow. Well, he was thinking about his next sentence, right? All right, okay. Anyway, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. Coming up next, I'll speak with the 9-11 widow who today bravely called out the lack of justice when it comes to Saudi Arabia since the attacks 25 years ago.

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37:21Back in our national lead. An unusual moment at the Ground Zero Memorial today. The widow of a bond broker who was killed on 9-11 used her platform to demand answers 25 years after that horrible day. My husband, Tom Strada, you are missed more with each year that passes. But how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder? For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9-11 families. That was Terry Strada, who you probably recognize.

38:05She's on the show as often as we can get her and she joins us again today. Terry, you received a round of applause today. I presume from 9-11 families when you use the platform not just to speak about your husband, Tom, but to demand accountability from the leaders who are sitting right in front of you who have covered up Saudi Arabia's role in 9-11 for 25 years. Have you always planned on saying this? Tell us how this came about and what was going through your head when you made the remarks. Well, 25 years is a really long time to carry this burden. And we've always been trying to get the administrations to pay attention to us, to side with us, to work with us, and to stop protecting the kingdom.

38:45And each and every administration has let us down. And I had just had enough of it. And when I learned that all four of them were going to be in attendance, because I think we had all four, right? I knew it was a perfect time to say something. I kind of felt like if you had the nerve to do all of these bad things to the 9-11 community and to America, I mean, if you're going to bury the truth about the kingdom's role, that hurts all of us, then I'm going to call you out on it. It was the four former living presidents. So Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, President Trump was not there, but Vice President Vance was.

39:19The 9-11 families involved in the case against the Saudi government, the legal case, are asking for the Trump administration to declassify a trove of records that you believe could show even more evidence that the Saudis and the Saudi government were complicit in the 9-11 attacks. What do you think might be in those records? A lot of it has to do with telephone records. You'd be shocked how telephone records tell the full story. There's other things, but you know, Jake, we have so much already amassed. I mean, what we presented in a federal courtroom was amazing, and the judge ruled in our favor, and he said, you're going to trial against the kingdom because the evidence is so credible that they sent their agents here to the United States to set up the network that was needed for the hijackers.

40:05And they said, you're going to trial. However, the Saudis appealed. But that's what's happening next month. We're going to go back in for oral arguments at the Second Circuit Appellate Court. And our lawyers are going to lay it all out again, how serious the charges are and what the evidence says. That's why we are now calling on the Trump administration to get involved, because you can't deny it any longer and you can't hide from the truth. So you were just feet from Vice President Vance today, and apparently you asked him to deliver the message back to Washington, where President Trump stayed today.

40:37He went to the ceremony at the Pentagon. Back in November, President Trump met in the White House with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS, for the first time in seven years. And he defended him when my former colleague Mary Bruce of ABC News asked about the anger from 9-11 families. He got mad at her. Have you or any of the 9-11 families received any kind of explanation from the Trump administration about the president's defense of MBS that day? No, we haven't heard anything. And then did you see how MBS was so eager? I'll answer the question. And then he took victimhood. He said that Saudi Arabia was a victim of Osama bin Laden.

41:15And that was the most absurd thing I've heard, although that was one of their talking points for years when I was working in Congress to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. They are not the victim. The victims were every single person that was murdered on that day, whether it was in the Twin Towers, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on the airplanes or at the Pentagon. The mothers, the brothers, the sisters, the fathers, the daughters, the sons, they were the victims, not the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Terry Strada, as long as I have this show, you have a chair and a voice and a platform to come and talk about these issues.

41:49We look forward to talking to you next month when the trial commences. And may your husband's memory be a blessing. Thank you for joining us today. It is. Thank you for having me. As diesel fuel hits a new record today, news of a Saudi pipeline attacked and an island at the mouth of the Red Sea captured by the Houthis, Iranian allied terrorists. Could all this activity spell major trouble in the days and weeks ahead? What we're tracking, coming up.

42:39anniversary sale at SimpliSafe.com slash Spotify. Outdoor deterrence requires a SimpliSafe Active Guard outdoor protection plan starting at$49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Tennessee 2012. Welcome to The Lead on Jake Tapper. This hour, a fast-moving situation tied to the war in Iran. What was a detour for oil tankers and cargo ships trying to avoid the Strait of Hormuz is now under attack, a threat from Houthi terrorists backed by Iran. The Houthis have already captured a strategic island near the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia is shutting down a pipeline.

43:12What we know about their call for help to President Trump, the Saudis. Plus, ripple effect of all this activity in the region impacting the price that you're paying for gasoline and diesel now hitting a record rate. Also, President Trump urging his most loyal supporters to, quote, cheat like hell in the upcoming midterms. Was that a joke or an act of desperation. And the must-see moment in history going down tonight at the U.S. Open and at the historic Arthur Ashe Stadium.

43:47Hello, we start with our worldly and new problems linked to Iran and the price of oil and gas and potentially much more. Today, the Houthis in Yemen, the Houthis an Iranian-backed group that the U.S. government has designated terrorists, claim that they captured a strategic island that you've probably never heard of. It's called Parim Island. It's in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, right at the entrance to the Red Sea. It's between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Don't confuse it with the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz, which are on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula and already are a choke point due to the Iran war.

44:20The Red Sea has been an alternative route for oil and cargo ships. That's the important thing you need to understand here. And now that alternative route is at risk. We learned today that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS, called President Trump twice on Thursday, asking for the U.S. military to strike the Houthis. President Trump turned him down, which is not to say that the U.S. is not helping Saudi Arabia in different ways. Let's talk about this all and the implications with Nick Robertson, Kylie Atwood, and Brett McGurk. Brett has a new book coming out October 6th. It's called Brink, Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages.

44:59And we'll be talking about that in the days and weeks to come. Nick Robertson, let me start with you because you have visited Parham Island at the end of August. Let me play a quick part of your report.

45:10Not many outsiders make it here. We're the first international journalist they've seen in years. 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. Babal Manda. Babal And look at across out there. You can see Africa across there, Djibouti, literally just across the sea there. Vice President Tariq Saleh is a rarity at the moment. A political leader still in Yemen and still fighting the Houthis. This is Iran trying to put pressure on President Trump. Exactly. Are you getting any support from the United States?

45:56Just talk. Just talk. Nick, tell us more about the island and your visit there. Yeah, look, it became pretty clear in early August that the Houthis were going to make a land grab for the Red Sea. And that was that was why we went there. That's why we tried to get there, because all the indications were there. But when we arrived on the island, you really see it's pretty much had a small ragtag force. It was difficult to get there. We went out, set off in a boat to get there, a little Yemeni Navy boat. and we had to turn around because the Houthis had drones in the air. I got that from several sources.

46:33They actually targeted something just further north from where we were. So it was already sort of in the danger zone. But what you realize when you were there, given, as you have said here and explained, the international significance of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, there just didn't seem to be a force on the ground there that was a match for the international importance of the place right now. And the reality is when you can stand there and look across and see Africa and get this, you know, we did a live broadcast. I couldn't get a phone signal from Yemen, but I actually picked up a phone signal from Djibouti.

47:11That's how I was able, we were able to do that broadcast in part. That waterway is so narrow there. So look, the Houthis are fast learners. They get their equipment, a lot of it from Iran. Iran has mined the Strait of Hormuz. it's not beyond the wit to realize that the Houthis can very easily close the Bab al-Mandab Strait by mining or literally, you know, shooting at passing vessels and shutting it down. So it's given them a much greater amount of power, if you will, on the international stage. And the leverage they believe in is the leverage that we've seen Iran use, that we've seen the Houthis use against Saudi Arabia.

47:51They're striking into Saudi Arabia to put Saudi Arabia off from supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government force. And it all comes to that focus point on Perim Island, the Babu-Mandab Strait. The Houthis just got a whole lot more powerful. The Iranians got more leverage in the region. And the West has a very big problem on its hands now if it wants to open that water way up. Brett McGurk, what are the implications if the Houthis continue to control Parham Island? This is the Babu Mendev Jake it translates as the gate of tears or the gate of grief and if you're a U.S. policymaker you're in CENTCOM that's very apt because this is a gnarly gnarly problem and the Houthis have just seized that entire coastal area and apparently this island where Nick is always at the right place of the right time or wrong place at the right time it's extraordinary.

48:39Look I think we have to do what we can to try to support the Yemeni government forces as fledgling as they are to try to push back here. This is a massive international problem. If we're serious about being a country that stands for freedom of navigation in these choke points, the Bab al-Mendeb is central. And I have to say we kind of took our eyes off this ball. I mean Yemen became an awful horrific civil war but underneath that and even as we really backed out of this entire mess, Iran continued to arm the Houthis with hundreds of these anti-ship ballistic missiles and after October 7th they started shooting them at our ships and they dealt with this almost every day when it's in the White House.

49:17It's an awful problem but we can't just keep our take our eyes off it and Brad Cooper the CENTCOM commander is in Saudi Arabia today. I'm sure they're talking about the situation. This probably has some more twists and turns. Serious development and this is one thing that Tehran will like to see this and they want it they want the Babel Mendeb to be a central choke point. It's about 10 percent of energy trade but also important about 10 percent of global trade. It connects the Indian Ocean up to the Mediterranean and vice versa. So if you're buying a car, if you're buying furniture, there's a decent chance that it's going through that strait.

49:49The alternative is around the Cape of Good Hope all the way around Africa, which of course is crisis. Kylie Antwoord, tell us more about this call that MBS made or calls MBS made with President Trump trying to get the U.S. to strike the Houthis. Yeah, so our reporting is that there were two of these phone calls that the Crown Prince made to President Trump yesterday on Thursday, urging the United States to actually carry out these strikes. We should note that President Trump declined to do so, but the U.S. has been providing direct support to the Houthi, excuse me, to the Saudis in their military operations against the Houthis.

50:23So they have stood up a joint command in Saudi Arabia with the Saudis providing intelligence support and support when it comes to targeting. But the U.S. does not want to be dragged into further military strikes against the Houthis right now. So that's really critical. But the other part of this is that obviously the Saudis want support in going after the Houthis. But even more dramatically today, they need support not only against the Houthis, but against other Iranian-backed groups. And this has been a problem for some time for the Saudis. But with this east-west pipeline that has now been struck, according to our sources from drones that originated in Iraq, presumably launched by Iranian-backed militias there, the Saudis are now facing a situation where they have had to shut down that pipeline in order to assess what the damage is there.

51:16So they're not only facing the Houthi problem in the Red Sea, but they're also now facing, because of these running back militia, the possibility of not being able to even get their oil to the Red Sea. Brett, you just mentioned that the CENTCOM commander is in Saudi Arabia talking with MBS. Multiple sources tell CNN that he's not the only American there. There are about 100 U.S. military advisors, they're called. I never know exactly what that means. But they're there. That seems significant. What are they doing and who are they? Well, one thing, I mean, we do, I think the White House is probably trying to draw a line.

51:52What is our key interest here is try to keep that freedom of navigation open. That means if CENTCOM were to see a missile launcher or something, that would be a viable target. So I'm sure we're sharing intelligence with the Saudis. We're right now trying to assess the situation of what actually is going on. Another wrinkle in this, you know, the UAE was also in Yemen supporting part of the faction as part of the Yemeni government, Jake. and they left about six months ago. That was part of the UAE-Saudi tension, just adding how complicated this is. So I'm sure Brad, Admiral Cooper, who has his hands full, he's trying to wrap his arms around the problem here with the Saudis and others and say, what can we try to do to rest this territory back?

52:30That's going to be a tough challenge. What might those military advisors be doing other than sharing intelligence? I don't think we're in direct combat operations in Yemen. It's hard to do something like that completely under wraps. But we advise the Saudis. We help train them. We help maintain their equipment. So we do a lot in Saudi Arabia. That's targeting support, presumably. That's targeting support, intel support. Look, I think if we can find Houthi targets, and obviously CENTCOM does a very careful job in Yemen of trying to separate civilian targets, we'll share that information. So this is going to be going on for some time, Jake.

53:02All right. Kylie Atwood and Brett McGurk and Nick Robertson in London, thanks to all of you. Appreciate it. As we continue to monitor all this, we should just note diesel prices just hit a record high. I don't mean like a record high in the last month. I mean a record high ever, topping the$6 mark. My next guest says the numbers could go even higher, dramatically higher in the weeks to come. And then Vice President J.D. Vance's big moment at that Republican midterm convention last night, his remark about Republicans being called racists, that's getting some flack today. Stay with us.

53:43A stunning new number in our money lead. The price of diesel topped$6 a gallon for the very first time ever today. And that's just the average. AAA reports that diesel in California now averages$7.98 a gallon. The state producing nearly half of the country's vegetables and even more fruits and nuts. And regular gas that hit$4.30 a gallon, up 15 cents in just one week. and a far cry from the$2.98 average we had back on February 28th before the first bomb started dropping on Iran. Let's bring in Tom Closa. He's chief energy advisor at Gulf Oil. Tom, we're monitoring the Saudi Arabian oil pipeline system hit by projectiles.

54:30Do you see that becoming a major factor in the prices we're already paying for petroleum? Yeah, I would stress that we hit$6 without any impact from the east-west pipeline. And that happened really in the last 24 hours. And it was always observed that maybe the Houthis might be a wild card. And obviously that wild card is part of the deck right now. Gas and diesel prices did, of course, start going up well before the pipeline was hit, as you note. What is with this spike then?

55:06Well, diesel is the most active product internationally. We use about 30 million barrels a day across the planet. You know, gasoline's about 26, but every country depends on diesel. And, you know, here's the problem with it, Jake. We know that when gas prices get up to$450 or$5, that people stop driving as much and we get demand destruction. We don't know really where that will occur with diesel prices. Is it occurring in California? with$8 numbers. This is occurring in the rest of the country at$6. We may actually go up to numbers that make these prices seem stupid in comparison when we get into the real high demand season toward the end of the year.

55:51On the diesel record, I want to play this sound from a farmer in Iowa. Diesel is$5.88 a gallon. Obviously, diesel used a lot in the agricultural industry. Take a listen. Cars, for the most part, are gasoline powered and they have the option of burning E15, which was 360 at the pump yesterday. But my tractors and my big trucks to haul the harvest out of the field burn diesel fuel and the tractor fuel is above five dollars. And the trucks have to burn fuel that have 50 some cents of highway fuel tax on it to pay for our roads. So he's making the case for ethanol in his diesel fuel. Do you see state and federal governments lifting restrictions on this so that farmers can be helped out?

56:38Well, it's not going to happen right now because you need the technology on the engine side to burn it. But John Deere, for example, has got a prototype tractor that can use E99, which is like 99 percent ethanol instead of diesel. You know, the price of ethanol is probably 45 percent of the price of diesel. Now, diesel has more BTUs, but ethanol is so much cheaper that if you have those vehicles now, you might see a migration to that fuel instead of diesel fuel. Here's a very basic question on the subject of diesel. Why do trucks and tractors need diesel as opposed to just regular gasoline? it's all about power and it's all about torque and power and until now you know diesel is a bigger molecule it's got more btus so you need it for certain industries but you know there is development now of using some other things you know another alternative down the road might be propane propane has far fewer btus than diesel but it's very cheap and the united states has an absolute glut of gas liquids coming out of the shale.

57:52President Trump has said for weeks now that the U.S. has total control of the Strait of Hormuz. How do you see it? Well, I think there's a lot of nonsense out there with the rhetoric, and we've got three geographic hot areas right now. We've got the Persian Gulf, we've got the Red Sea, and we've got the Black Sea in Russia. And that's one of the big problems. You know, I will say I would not blame him for the fact that drone warfare has inflicted so much pain on global refining that that's where it's showing up, showing up in prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. And that's a result of the fact that drones are kind of like the Gatling gun of this century.

58:34The president also has said repeatedly that gas prices are going to go down right after the midterms, that Iran's going to keep the pressure on the Strait of Hormuz through the American elections and then ease up. Do you see that happening? I don't think so. I think right now we're on we're on a trajectory that's going to keep prices quite high. And, you know, we're talking about probably spending 70 billion dollars more since the war began than we would have otherwise. So I think it's a difficult problem. It's a difficult problem to solve. And, you know, right now it's an absolute mess because you've got those three areas with just terrific violence being inflicted on the energy infrastructure.

59:16I would say I would mention also that East West pipeline will have to watch that. Pipelines can be fixed very, very quickly if it only amounts to a segment of pipeline that needs to be replaced. If the Houthis or Iraq have bombed, you know, electric stations or pumping stations, then it will be much more significant. And that was a key detour bringing crude oil to the Red Sea. Tom Kloza, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up next, the horrific Amazon cargo plane crash this week in Miami. The spouse of one of the five innocent people killed that day is going to join me on what would have been his loved one's 54th birthday.

1:00:04In our national lead, today would have been the 54th birthday of Carlos Acosta Fajardo. Carlos, along with four of his colleagues, were killed on Sunday when that Amazon cargo plane overran a Miami runway and plowed into the van that they were in. In addition to Carlos, the victims are 47-year-old Javierski Reyes Quevedo, 53-year-old Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 55-year-old Rolando Alaman Leon, and 75-year -old Julio C. Pineda. All five men worked for a cleaning company, four airlines. Joining us now is Carlos's spouse, his widower, Nelson Fernandez, as well as Nelson's attorney, George P. Gutierrez Jr.

1:00:53Thank you so much to both of you for joining us. And Nelson, I am so sorry for your unspeakable loss. How did you find out about the crash? How did you find out that Carlos was involved? I was called by the detectives that was a family member of Carlos. And I was hearing that something was wrong with an airplane, but never in my mind I thought that Carlos would be involved. When they told me they wanted to come and speak to me, then I just popped and found out that he's dead. I was asking if he's alive in the hospital and he said no no no he's dead and I went off my mind just went to a shock because he left in the morning kissing me goodbye and he was going to call me when he gets to work as we usually do and he was going to be back home around 1.30 2 o 'clock I never heard from him since and today is his birthday instead of celebrating his birthday, I'm mourning him.

1:02:06Yeah, he would have been 54 today. What do you want people to know about him? Oh, what I want people to know about him, that he was a special being, a special soul, those that come to once in a lifetime, that is impeccable. A good friend, a good son, super son. He supported his family in Cuba. Good brother, good companion at work, and a good spouse. He would take care of me when I was sick, and he would just take care of the house and take care of the homework so I wouldn't do anything and get recuperated. So he was very special, honest, very honest. Out working, loved plants, animals. He loved his friends, friendship.

1:02:59He was a very happy person. Even tomorrow long, he would put music and dance first in the middle of the yard before he started pushing the lawn more. And I miss all that. Sounds like an amazing guy. George, one of the other victims, Widow, filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this week. Do you have any plans to file any similar lawsuit on Nelson's behalf? Well, Jake, we're going to be mourning him this weekend, and we're going to have services for him. And the coming days of next week is when we plan on filing a lawsuit to respect the process and the grieving process. But that is certainly coming in the next couple of days.

1:03:46George, a spokesperson for Amazon said the company is committed to supporting families. What kind of support are you expecting or do you think Nelson deserves from Amazon? We haven't received any calls or any concerns in any regard. So I don't know anything about that at this point. So it's just words at this point. George P. Gutierrez, Jr., Nelson Fernandez, thank you both. Nelson, again, our deepest condolences. May Carlos's memory be a blessing. Thank you. President Trump making waves in Dallas last night, again, this time when he urged his supporters to, quote, cheat like hell in the midterm elections, which are coming up in just 53 days.

1:04:34He also said this. You know what happens if you don't vote? You go to hell. You know that. Okay? Is anyone really listening to this? The panel's next.

1:04:59In our politics lead, President Trump needs to drive big, big turnout among his base for Republicans to hold on to Congress. That's clearly top of mind. But speaking of Trump's mind, one has to wonder what exactly may have been going through it when he said this last night at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas. Please raise your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States that I will go out with my family, my friends. I'll do it anyway. I don't care if I'm registered or not. I'm going to try and cheat like hell like they do. I am going to go out and I'm going to get my friends, my family, and we are going to vote on November 3rd.

1:05:48Okay, that last part made sense, but everything before it, I don't know. My panel's back with me. Okay, Ashley. Okay, well, we're doing exactly what he wanted, which was to talk about it. The president calling for his supporters to cheat? Okay, but he's making fun of the Democrats on that because he thinks that they cheated. Obviously, we all know that. And we also know that it's not true. Okay, yes. I agree with you. But he also, even with the 5 ,000 payments, that everyone is obviously up in arms about all the different ways of how it's not going to work. The bottom line is it doesn't matter.

1:06:24We're all talking about it. And so like 99.9 % of this country just heard that they may get$5 ,000. In keeping with that, let me also play this moment. The Republicans resurrected this bizarre video and played it on the Jumbotron last night at the Dallas convention. Take a listen. And on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, I need a caretaker. So God gave us Trump. God said, I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, fix this country, work all day, fight the Marxists, eat supper, then go to the Oval Office and stay past midnight at a meeting of the heads of state.

1:07:05So God made Trump. So I don't think that, I think they mean that. That's not him joking around. I think they mean it. What's your take on this, Corbyn? He does get up by noon, I think. I mean, he's famously sleepy lately. You know, it's bizarre to me that this is where they're trying to do with it. You know, Trump's down by 13 points in Florida right now. You know, they... Remember when Obama had Greek columns at the Denver convention in 2008? And everybody thought that was insanely egomaniac. Or the brown suit. You know, it's like he's got terrible fashion sense. Like, yeah, there's this idea that this guy gets to be this megalomaniac, right?

1:07:45He is a completely self-obsessed narcissist. And we have to just pretend like it's kind of normal, you know? Like, he's put his name on everything. He's writing checks. You know, he's got his signature on checks. It's bizarre. What about the cheat-like hell comment? What'd you make of that? I mean, I agree, actually. It's just him. That's what he does. He's trolls, right? See, there you go. You're giving him a pass. Well, I hate AOC. I mean, that's true. I am. I mean, I don't, you know, the funny thing is, right, it's not that funny. Like, I've heard Democrats come out and say, oh, they think that 2024 was rigged.

1:08:18And I'm like, guys, no, the system actually functions. You know, believe it or not, of all the problems we've got, actually, we're still good at counting ballots. That actually functions. You know, there are some problems with elections, but it's mainly before you vote, not after. So let's, can we just turn to from 2024 to 2026 to 2028? Vice President Vance. They're really pushing him to be the heir apparent. He opened for Trump last night with this message. We're going to play some more of what he says, but this is getting a lot of attention. Take a listen. And we were tired of being called racist for noticing that our country was becoming dirtier and poorer and less safe and less prosperous.

1:08:58Well, I mean, that does sound a racist, Ashley. Yeah, but here's what I have to say about, and I've just seen clips of his speech. I didn't watch the whole thing. He was a good speaker, and I think that he set himself up for clearing the field, potentially. There's a lot of time, like, does Rubio jump in? Does Ted Cruz jump in? Ted obviously really wants to, but he riled the base almost as good as Trump. Well, I'll play some more of that in a second, not just this controversial part, Harper, what do you make of it? I mean, that's what we were saying about Zoran and AOC earlier. You've got to also be aware, like, that's a strange sentence to string together.

1:09:37You know, I'm called racist because I'm talking about how dirty and poor and, you know. How were you called racist for that? What were you saying that made that comment racist? If it was because of black and brown people, was your assessment of why we've become poor, why we're dirty, then that probably is racist. Well, that's what the comment sounds like he's saying. That's exactly what it sounds like he's saying. Even in the defense. I don't know what you would... All right, let's move on to some of the stuff that Ashley was talking about in a more positive light. Here is some more of the vice president.

1:10:06It's pretty cool to hear a crowd that is this fired up chant your name. So go ahead and do it again.

1:10:14My friends, we got to take stock of what we've accomplished. When we came into office...

1:10:25can we please we got to take care of business this november then we'll worry about what comes next

1:10:33jd48 meaning jd vance being the 48th uh uh president um i mean ashley's right that that he seems to be doing okay with that crowd what do you think i mean he's definitely connecting with the trump base i'm you know i'm from appalachia right where he claims to have been from which i I would argue with that. But anyway, you know, and definitely people are connecting with him. You know, they are connecting with him. They feel that he is a, I think, a move forward even from Trump in a way. You know, that he's got some of the Trumpian ideas and some of the Trumpian swagger, but also is a little more strategic maybe in what he says when he says.

1:11:08Well, we thought until we just heard that. He's also half his age, like literally half his age. There's a long time left. I don't know. I mean, it will be much more interesting if we have other candidates in the race. You'll have like 50. Oh, man, I hope so. Do you think that if J.D. Vance runs that that really that this clears the field that the big because Trump endorses him with the MAGA money back backing? I think it does. Really? And you think that the hopes of a Ted Cruz or Pete Hegseth or Marco Rubio or whoever is waiting in the wings and a lot of Republicans and you still have Nikki Haley, you still have Ron DeSantis, you know.

1:11:46Yeah, I mean, I would love Nikki to run again, but I think that let's see what happens after November if Republicans feel they can start being, speaking their mind a little bit more with some of the Trump policies because there won't be an election and see how popular he is like going into that. We are seeing a lot of stories, especially in The New York Times. There's a great one by Maggie and John Swan and somebody else about J.D. Vance, the skeptic of the Iran war. There's a lot of that out there that you got to feel. Well, somebody's leaking it. Somebody's talking to reporters about, hey, J.D.

1:12:21Vance is skeptical of this. Absolutely. And I think that they're, you know, they're seeing the problems of the Trump administration right now. They're seeing that, you know, and you can tie so much of the inflation, so much of the cost that we're seeing right now, skyrocketing straight to the Iran war. That's why we're seeing the plumbing. Yeah. Yeah. And I think he's trying to distance himself in a very smart way from decisions of the Trump White House, not Trump himself. The question, though, is going to be, does Trump come out of this midterm with as much influence over the MAGA base as he had before?

1:12:47I'm assuming he does. Like, because, you know, I mean, there's just this sort of almost unshakable love in the cult of MAGA. Let's see what let's see if Rubio steps down in January or shortly after. To make some money, as is rumored, right? Well, to make some money or to run, because I think... Right. But also, Rubio is not tied to this war as much as anybody else. Even though he's the Secretary of State. No, he's... I mean, do you see him involved? No, but J.D. Vance is the one that set up the peace deal that didn't do very well. But also, Trump made him do that. So I just... I'm sure that Trump's playing his Machiavellian.

1:13:23You know, strange things can happen in midterms. Remember, the 2022 midterms weren't as bad for Democrats as it was anticipated. It's going to be a red wave. And so President Biden decided he was going to run for re-election. So you never. Well, we've heard there may be a guy running for a third term. That's what I'm saying. I'm hearing that over and over. That's what I'm hearing. You're going to change the Constitution. Thanks, everyone. Appreciate it. Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, I'm going to talk to House Speaker Mike Johnson at Sunday at 9 and noon Eastern on CNN. Coming up, two friends, two champions, but only one chance to be king of the court tonight at the U.S.

1:13:59Open. We're back with our sports lead next.

1:14:09In our sports lead tonight, a historic All-American semifinal matchup at the U.S. Open. Ben Shelton, Francis Tiafoe, two competitors with a close friendship off the court, will face off for the fifth time in their careers, and no matter who wins, an American man will compete in Sunday's final and get the chance to end a 23-year Grand Slam drought. Joining us to discuss, CNN contributor Kerry Champion. Kerry, before we get into what this could mean for the final, let's talk for a second about the significance of the semifinal match itself. For the first time, two American men, two black American men will face each other in a U.S.

1:14:47Open men's singles semifinal. Why is it so important? What does this moment mean for American tennis to have these two black American men facing off? Well, it's interesting because we have been working on a series recently on a show that I am doing about what it really means to be a rival in American tennis. And to see Francis Tiafoe and Bill and Ben Shelton going head to head is really special in so many ways. Because, one, there has been a conversation around American men's tennis about how competitive they are. if in fact they can compete with the Rafa Nadals of the world and the Novak Djokovic and the Roger Federer's, all those who have been number one for so long.

1:15:26And what we're seeing is what the USTA has put out, these great American tennis players. We miss the Pete Sampras and the Andre Agassiz of the world. So to watch these two American players come head to head in this special way means that not only is tennis on the rise for American men, but also we're watching the rise of what it looks like and how exciting it is. Arthur Ashe even lamented that we needed some more players on the American side for men that had this very brash personality that could play in your face, that could tell you who they were and be unapologetic. And we're finally seeing that.

1:16:02So sadly, we have to watch these two players go head to head, but it speaks volumes about where American tennis is going and what it looks like for what it could be. Tennis fans say this is the best they've seen Tiafoe compete in a major this year. You wouldn't know that he had right hand surgery just last month, but Shelton, he just beat Carlos Alcaraz and has won four titles on tour this year. So who do you think is going to win? You know, I have been asked this question, Jake, so many times, and it's such a tough question. But okay, so let me just indulge me for a second here. I describe who they are in terms of their personality.

1:16:41So when I look at Ben Shelton and I look, he was in college in Florida. He left college to play. When I look at Francis Tiafoe, his way was a different way, but they both have been coached by family members and people who know their personality and they love each other. First of all, they really do get along so well, which I love to see. They both have girlfriends who've played professional sports or sports in college and they have that competitive edge and that drives them. What I like about this matchup is what you'll see as we are showing these photos of them is that these are two friends who appreciate their greatness.

1:17:18They are two friends who are excellent in both of their sports and have different ways of approaching. Ben is a grinder. We watched that in that five-hour match against Carlos Alcarez, and I think he caught Carlos in a way where he still had that energy and he wanted it more. And I know that his way of playing is very much just keep going, keep going, never give up. Francis does that as well. So what we're seeing is two bulls and one has to tire out. So if you were to ask me who could possibly win this, it's the one who's going to be exhausted after it goes five sets. And if you think that that match went till 3.30 the other morning with Francis, excuse me, Shelton and Carlos Alcares, this one might be just as long because they are going to grind and grind and grind.

1:18:06And if I had to pick just right now, because you put me on the spot. I am going to give it to Francis Tiafoe. That's just the spirit that I have right now in terms of energy. I feel like Carlos Alcarez might have really took the best out of Ben Shelton. And I really couldn't call it, but I'm just saying only because that match that they had was so excruciatingly long and it also required so much energy from Ben. So I hope, I don't know how much time he had to turn around and get ready. We won't hold you to it. I put you on the spot. I made you pick one and I appreciate that you did. Kerry Champion, thank you so much.

1:18:42Appreciate it. 25 years after 9-11, memories fade, survivors pass away. When we come back, CNN's Tom Foreman has the lesson we all need to remember. Never forget.

1:19:09Finally from us and our national lead on this 25th anniversary of September 11th, what once was our common experience of shock, trauma, and grief is something that tens of millions of younger Americans can't possibly remember. CNN's Tom Forman now reflects on the persistence of memory and its absence.

1:19:35People are jumping out the windows. Over there they're jumping out the windows. The situation is that two airplanes have attacked them. Nearly 100 million people have been born in the United States since that September morning. One-third of the nation has no real memory of that terrible day. We made it all the way downstairs. And then when we were just about to come out of the building, there was another blast. And sharing the memories is growing more difficult. The greatest number of victims were in their mid to late 30s, meaning many of their parents have passed away. Many spouses, partners and friends are approaching old age.

1:20:21About an hour ago, about 8.45 Eastern time, one plane crashed into the tower, the World Trade Center tower on the right, the first of those towers that you can see behind me. Some who were front and center are gone too, and others have slipped from the limelight, including the man who heard the news at an elementary school in Florida, a half hour from where some hijackers trained. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. More than 3 ,000 children lost parents. Eight children died on those planes. The youngest, Christine Lee Hansen, was two. Her stuffed rabbit is now in New York's Memorial, one of several sites tasked with maintaining the nation's collective history of 9-11.

1:21:15Another is at the Pentagon in D.C. and another in a Pennsylvania farm field where the last plane came down. The voices of some victims can still be heard there. OK, well, I just wanted to tell you I love you. We're having a real problem on the plane. I'm totally fine. I just love you more than anything. Just know that. 9-11 led American troops to Afghanistan, hunting terrorists behind the attack. They would stay for nearly 20 years, even as the nation back home moved on in so many ways. This is new for me, this kind of heat. Consider in September 2001, Tom Brady was in his first season as a starting NFL quarterback.

1:22:03Taylor Swift was 11, the iPod was about to debut, and an Illinois state senator was almost 10 years away from this historic moment. The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. A quarter century after any major event, collective memory starts passing from witnesses to historians, filmmakers and teachers. Yet on this anniversary, people who cannot remember that dark day are still gathering with those who cannot forget. Tom Foreman, CNN. Erin Burnett Out Front starts now.

1:23:03Reaching your audience on Spotify with display ads is easy. Use your existing creative and launch your first campaign in minutes with Spotify Ads Manager. Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast, All There Is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. My guest on the podcast is NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Kurt Busch. He's grieving the recent death of his younger brother, NASCAR champion Kyle Busch. I'm trying to grieve in ways to help people. I want your mom, my dad, and I try to do it where I'm not biting off more than I can chew and back off a little bit. I'm trying to help everyone get through this and share stories.

1:23:44It's not going to get any easier, but time will help heal. I have a nice therapist that I worked with towards the twilight of my career. Has therapy helped? It has. I embraced it a few years back, whereas the young Kurt, you know, teenager, 20-year-old, 30-year-old, nah. Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.