FBI Says It Thwarted Potential Terror Attack In Michigan

25:56I should note there were 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the first term, and there are still a handful that occasionally call out the current Trump administration, Senator Rand Paul, for example, on the alleged drug boat strikes. Do you really feel there are no Republicans left who aren't, quote, cowards, as you put it? I mean, look, it's, do I want to say there's none left? No. It's just hard to find them. And yeah, some speak out occasionally. That's great. The thing is, you need to be speaking out more. And I think what concerns me is, you know, I get called a rhino. I'm told I don't belong to the party.

26:33I'm told I left the party. And like what I believe and what I say is still the same as what it's always been. And so it feels like the party has moved on for me. And so that's, I think why the title that they gave it feels appropriate because it's kind of like the last man standing with old school Republican values. Yeah. Sophia, you were, you were pregnant with your son during the first January 6 hearing that your husband was actually, you know, obviously a participant in. People were calling his office, making death threats against both of you. What was it like watching all this unfold as you were about to bring a child into the world?

27:11It was so hard to watch, especially because January 6th was so, we had just gotten married before January 6th. It was my first actual moment realizing how threats are real. We had experienced several threats following the 2020 election. And that day, honestly, was so transformative in the way I saw the role that I played as a spouse. And going back to that hearing and reliving everything, knowing that I obviously was pregnant and how my life would have been so different if things would have ended, I guess, more tragically than they did. It was so moving. And and and even watching the documentary still pulls me back to that day.

28:06And it's so much still that I think still needs to that. I need to process and sort of. Yeah, still still working through it, I guess. Yeah. You, Adam, you described the moments after January 6th. You thought this was going to be a huge reckoning for Republicans, for Donald Trump. And instead, then Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who you then considered a friend, He went to Mar-a-Lago, gave Trump something of a lifeline. You reflected on that saying, quote, you can always fix a hangover by starting to drink again, unquote. Do you still feel that that's the state of the Republican Party now that all the January 6th participants have been pardoned?

28:43And, you know, even prosecutors get punished in the Justice Department if they even mention the Capitol Hill riot. Well, to torture that analogy, I feel like they started drinking again and now they're into hard drugs. and it's Wednesday and they started that last Friday. So look, I mean, I felt like after January 6th, like it was kind of like one of those mornings where we're like, what in the world happened? And I think we were close to doing that, Jake. This is the crazy thing is there was, you remember this, there was a three or four week period where there was nothing but silence from the GOP trying to figure out what was going on.

29:17You heard nothing from Donald Trump. And then that moment, that second that that picture of Kevin McCarthy and Trump popped up, that changed everything. Trump was back in and McCarthy made a deal that I will embrace Trump to make sure I become speaker. And my answer to that is congratulations. You were speaker for eight months, but congrats. Adam, you say you really didn't want to be on the January 6th committee, but you felt like you had to serve if asked. Do you have any regrets about that time? No, not at all. And, you know, I didn't want to do it when I when I got Nancy actually Nancy Pelosi actually kind of announced me on it before she called me.

29:55But I just knew, though, that I couldn't like I don't want to get choked up, but I couldn't look at my son and tell him, you know, what it means, what it means to do the right thing. If I'd have said no, you know, if I'd have just been like, no, it's too hard. Like this is a moment in history that for whatever reason, you know, I was in a position to do something and I have no regrets. And I think history will reflect January 6 accurately and reflect what it was. Sophia, I'm sure you're proud of your husband, but was there any time that you thought, please don't be on that committee, please, let's just be quiet for the next period?

30:32No, you know that first hearing, by the end of it, it felt so right. Like it felt so that Adam was at the right place at the right time. It was so moving for us to, and people remember that one that we got, I mean, Adam got a chance to speak directly to all those, the Capitol Police and the DC Metro Police that were so traumatized. It just felt so good to be there to remind them how the amazing job they did and validate what they went through because nobody else from the party was doing that. And it felt right it felt um the right time also for us as a family even though looking back crazy times but no there's no regret and in a weird way we were we never i guess i never questioned adam and i guess adam never asked me for if i would be on board because he knew from the start i was it was Something very, it just flowed and we were together and never looked back.

31:39And still we feel we both don't have regrets about anything. Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, Sophia Kinzinger, thank you and congratulations on the streaming release of the film. You bet. Thanks, man. In our Money Lead, the rapidly changing media landscape, Variety reports that star anchor Gayle King is expected to depart CBS Mornings next year. but that seems to be news to King, who told TMZ earlier today, quote, what I'm hearing in the building is not what I'm reading in the press, unquote. It's the latest example of uncertainty and instability and rumors spreading like wildfire, stemming from billionaire David Ellison's recent takeover of Paramount and his decision to appoint Barry Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

32:23Ellison has also been exploring taking over Warner Brothers Discovery, CNN's parent company, I should note, although Reuters reports that Netflix might want in on WBD's studio and streaming businesses. Let's discuss all of it with Matt Bellany, co-founder of Puck News. And Matt, when you look at the scope of changes coming to the media landscape as of late, Seismic seems to sum it up, don't you think? Absolutely. We kind of all knew this was coming. The internet has completely disrupted the television business. Netflix is on the rise. Prime Video, all the tech companies are now in the media business.

33:02But it's really come to a head lately, and we're going to see some consolidation. When it comes to the part of this that has to do with news, how much of the change do you think is a direct result of the Trump administration taking, let's say, a vocal, litigious, occasionally, approach to how news is covered or not covered? Well, I think that's a great point because clearly these large media companies are reacting to Trump. They're changing their policies. They are, in some cases, paying him off. In the case of Amazon, they're making a$40 million documentary about Melania Trump that she is participating in and that will air on Prime Video.

33:44But I think it really went into high gear with the Ellison family. Larry Ellison, who is a founder of Oracle, one of the richest men in the world, he has a very close relationship with Trump. And Trump has been very friendly to CBS since the transaction closed and the Ellisons now own CBS. We see news today that Trump is going to sit down with 60 Minutes for an interview for this Sunday. This is a news broadcast that Trump was suing not six months ago. That's fascinating. What kind of changes do you think Barry Weiss is going to bring to CBS News? We see a lot of people wringing their hands and seem very worried about it.

34:26Other people think CBS News could become more fair. All legacy media could become more fair. What's your take? I think there's a pro and a con. Clearly, this is someone who does not have very much familiarity with television news. She comes from an opinion background, and she's a big proponent for the causes she cares about, such as Israel and kind of the anti-woke movement that you read about a lot. So I think from that perspective, I think a lot of people at CBS are worried that she's coming there with an agenda. And we've already seen some things that have moved the coverage scope of CBS towards a more pro-Israel agenda.

35:10Secondly, I think that she's just a breath of fresh air from a younger perspective. She's 42 years old. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to have someone who comes from outside being involved in these decisions. And, you know, Ellison is very keen on on changing the narrative because he knows that poll after poll shows that Americans do not trust the media. And if he can at least change the perception a little, that's a benefit in his eyes. Speaking of Paramount, Paramount just opened the door and said goodbye to one of their most creative forces, Taylor Sheridan, who's the guy behind Yellowstone and Tulsa King and Landman and a whole bunch of other very popular shows.

35:56He's now going to NBC Universal for a deal that's about a billion dollars, potentially a billion dollars. This is the same time that companies all over Amazon and Paramount this week are slashing staff. Make sense of that for me, if you will. The industry is so wracked with problems that they're laying people off, but they got a billion dollars for Sheridan. Yeah, I mean, Hollywood is in this weird spot right now where they're forced to cut costs. There's competition from big tech, but there's also competition for talent. So for the right things, these companies will pony up. Paramount paid$7.7 billion for the UFC on CBS and Paramount+.

36:42The South Park guys got$1.5 billion. Taylor Sheridan, if he performs when this deal starts, it's a five-year deal that starts in three years, he can make up to a billion dollars. But at the same time, they're paying for this by slashing everywhere else. And it's just really becoming top heavy. And they feel they need to do this to compete with the big tech companies. I should note that I'm a big fan of Taylor Sheridan. I'm not saying it's not worth it, but it just is interesting. Matt Bellany, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up next, one of the most appalling global conflicts that has both Republican and Democratic senators trying to take action.

37:19We'll tell you more.

37:39I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. Nelson Dallas is a six-time U.S. memory champion who not only trained his brain to work better, but he also wrote about it for his new book called Everyday Genius. You know, the message is, is that everybody, no matter where you are in life, what you think your memory currently is capable of, we all can transform our brain. The mind and memory is just like any other skill that you can learn, and it's not a fixed thing. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts. In our world lead, what both Republican and Democratic U.S.

38:19senators agree are horrors being inflicted on innocent civilians. This is happening in Northeast Africa, specifically Sudan. It involves a paramilitary organization called the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. U.S. senators want the Trump administration to designate RSF a terrorist organization. And after you see this report from CNN's Nada Bashir, you'll know why. We want to warn you, some of the pictures you're about to see are deeply disturbing.

38:47With each passing day, more harrowing videos emerge from Al-Fasha in Sudan's Darfur region. In the wake of the retreat of the Sudanese armed forces and a violent takeover by the paramilitary rapid support forces, civilians in the besieged city have faced atrocities on an unthinkable scale. Some of the footage we have obtained from Al-Fashar is simply too graphic for CNN to broadcast. Civilians gunned down as they attempt to flee. Bodies strewn on the ground, lying in pools of blood, filmed by RSF fighters. In this video, two men are stopped by an RSF vehicle. Within seconds, one of them is shot.

39:32The other is heard pleading with the soldiers. Moments later, we hear another gunshot. As the camera pans back around, the man is seen lying motionless on the ground. We have received credible reports of summary executions of unarmed men lying on the ground, being shot, and of civilians as they try and flee the city. The scale of these attacks are such that evidence of the RSF's atrocities are now visible from space, with indicators of bodies and what appear to be large bloodstains detected by experts at the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab. In satellite imagery of Al-Fashir's al-Saudi hospital, clusters of white objects consistent with the size and shape of bodies and reddish discoloration nearby appear to reflect reports of mass killings in the area, as documented by the Sudan Doctors Network, which claims that the RSF, quote, cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the al-Saudi hospital, turning it into a human slaughterhouse.

40:36The RSF has described the claims as baseless, but according to the UN, nearly 500 people were killed in the assault. They're moving neighborhood to neighborhood. They are systematically wiping out those they find that have remained. The paramilitary group has acknowledged what they've described as violations in al-Fatar. Its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, saying in a statement that an investigation will be carried out to hold those responsible for criminal acts accountable. In a directive issued to its fighters, RSF leaders also called on all personnel to adhere to rules of conduct and to ensure the protection of civilians.

41:19Neda Bashir, CNN, in London. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, two federal judges rule the White House must use the contingency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits during this government shutdown. But those benefits were supposed to be distributed in just hours and they still could be delayed. So what does this mean for the tens of millions of Americans, 42 million, who depend on these resources? Plus, the Pentagon has now given the green light for the United States to give long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. These weapons could give Kyiv a big boost in its fight against Russia.

41:54But the final decision now sits with President Trump. Also, CNN is on the campaign trail tonight with just four days until crucial elections that will test not just how voters feel about President Trump's first 10 months back in office, but Democrats messaging across the country. And a new documentary follows three former Navy SEALs who turn to an unexpected treatment to help them deal with post-war trauma. One of those American heroes will join me ahead to explain how psychedelic drugs helped him and other former service members improve their lives.

42:30The lead tonight, two federal judges say the Trump administration must use its billions of dollars in contingency funds towards food stamp benefits amid this federal government shutdown. the rulings from judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts pushing back against the Department of Agriculture's prior claim that they can't dip into the contingency fund with more than$5 billion in it to help the 42 million Americans who rely on the federal food assistance program known as SNAP. SNAP recipients are likely to still face delays this coming month with the expiration deadline scheduled for tomorrow and the money only partially funding this program through November anyway.

43:09But the Trump administration's compliance with the order would likely ease a major political pressure point for Democrats as the government shutdown hits the one-month mark today, meaning 31 days of no work and several weeks of missed paychecks for furloughed federal workers. CNN's Brian Todd hit the streets of Washington, D.C. to hear how these workers are coping with the stress of the shutdown. For Angie O 'Neill, drawing and painting are coping mechanisms.

43:44O 'Neal is a 40-year federal employee furloughed from her job as a program manager for the U.S. Navy. She says she hasn't been paid since late September.

43:57O 'Neal is trying to sell her artwork at the Love Life coffee shop near her home in Laurel, Maryland. It's a way to try to make ends meet and handle the crushing uncertainty of being furloughed. It's about showing the mature realism of my work and the comfort of it all. I'm sorry. Does it comfort you to do that at a time like this? Yes, it beautifully captures my emotions. It keeps me steady. O 'Neal's other coping methods are less soothing. She says she has to think about rationing meals and gas, or even going without medical visits to treat her diabetic neuropathy. If I don't have income, then I can't make those appointments.

44:38I may reschedule them or have to cancel them. Other federal employees and contractors who were furloughed or laid off because of the shutdown are coping by canvassing job fairs. Like this one we attended in Silver Spring, Maryland. I wouldn't be here at a job fair if I weren't trying to hedge my bets, As much as my employer has been very good to me, has nothing to do with it because we're down to survival. Furloughed government contractor Elizabeth Baker says she's cashing in her holiday pay, using unemployment insurance and consulting on what to do if she gets an eviction notice. Other furloughed workers at job fairs wouldn't go on camera with us, fearing retaliation.

45:18They told us about having to lend money to furloughed colleagues, cutting back on gift-giving for the holiday. At K. Scary's bar in D.C., furloughed workers didn't show for a networking session that Scary set up for them because they heard we were coming. But Scary told us what the conversations have been like in those weekly sessions. There's questions about, you know, how do we talk to our kids? Our kids know the government's shut down. They know we work for the government. How do we have that conversation with our kids without overpromising, but also making sure they feel steady? Elizabeth Baker's message to other furloughed workers, try to cope by focusing on your mental health.

45:50Keep the hope. Keep striving. You're smart. you'll get through this. And there is hope for federal employees, furloughed federal employees, trying to get mental and emotional help as they cope with having no work coming in. One of the directors of a series of job fairs in Maryland told us that his group focuses a lot of its counseling just on the mental health of furloughed federal workers. He says, quote, we just want people to know that you don't have to go through this alone. Jake, so many of them are going through such hardships, some of them now going as many as five weeks now with no money coming in.

46:25Yeah, a pain inflicted upon them by our Congress. Brian Todd, thanks so much. Turning to major news in our world lead tonight, the Pentagon has given the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with powerful long-range Tomahawk missiles, assessing that the move would not negatively impact U.S. stockpiles. The White House was informed of the analysis earlier this month, just before Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Let's discuss this with former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired General Wesley Clark. General Clark, always good to see you. The final decision on whether to provide these weapons, of course, rests with President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin has warned against the move.

47:02What are the factors that the president might be weighing? How much of a strategic advantage could these missiles provide Ukraine? It is an advantage. It's probably not decisive in and of itself. It depends on how many missiles and how much you can shoot at once. In other words, when we use Tomahawk missiles, there's 30, 40, 50 missiles in a salvo against a dozen targets. We hit the targets usually with two or three missiles, just to be sure. So if you gave Ukraine several hundred missiles and the means to launch a couple of dozen at a time, you'd have a pretty significant strike package going in.

47:43And that's what would be desirable. But there's so much we don't know right now. First, are they going to be released? Second, how many will it be? Third, are there going to be restrictions on what can be targeted? And then Ukraine doesn't really have the means to plot the targets and so forth for these missiles. These missiles dodge anti-aircraft locations and so forth. So it requires some precision technology to target. That probably remains with the United States. So there's a lot of questions still, but it's a very positive signal from the Pentagon that partially offsets the report that we might be withdrawing a brigade from Romania.

48:20The president has also said he declined to provide the missiles because Ukraine would face operational issues in trying to use the Tomahawks without U.S. help. How significant a hurdle is that? Is it difficult? Does it take a long time to figure out how to use Tomahawks? We've consistently underestimated Ukraine's technical capabilities. So I suspect that they could quickly learn to use the Tomahawks in terms of how to launch them. Got to provide a launcher, got to build that platformer if we're not going to provide that. But that could be done. Targeting requires deep intelligence. I'm not sure that the Ukrainians have that.

49:01They would still remain dependent on the United States. And when we target these missiles, they're not going straight in at a target, Jake. They're zigzagging around terrain features, known radar sites, anti-aircraft, things like this. So you have to plot that target. You have to load that into the missile somehow. Maybe you can do some in-course corrections real time with the new models. But you still have to have a lot of technology to launch it. But the Ukrainians are very smart. Give them a chance. Let's get it going. Let's turn to Venezuela. The U.S. has launched a series of military strikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of the country.

49:41Trump previously suggested he could look towards expanding that operation to include targets inside Venezuela, though he is now walking that back. What would the ramifications be if the U.S. did attack land locations in Venezuela? I think you'd stir up a hornet's nest diplomatically in Latin America. And I doubt that you could make a decisive impact on drug flow going into the United States. Certainly, you can strike airfields. You can strike boats in a harbor. You could strike headquarters. You could run a snatch job against someone you thought was a drug chieftain down there. But Venezuela is not really the center of the drug trade.

50:24You're looking at Colombia coming in from Peru in some cases. And so you've got to ask, what's this really about? Is it really about drugs or is it about sort of jiggling the skeleton key in the lock and hoping you're going to find a way to intimidate Maduro and get him out of there? So we don't know yet. It's not clear. And really, if the administration has a compartmented covert operation going, there's no reason for them to tell the American public about it. But I hope that they will consult with all members of Congress on the on the armed services and intelligence committees and make it a bipartisan effort because we need more bipartisanship in American foreign policy, to be honest with you.

51:11That's what gives us strength. Yeah. Obviously, any president possesses broad authority for military action against suspected terrorists. Those powers are now being applied towards suspected drug traffickers, raising questions about whether these targeted killings are legal and justifiable. What's your opinion? My opinion is that, first of all, most of the people we've gotten probably are drug traffickers. Maybe not in every case. Certainly a submarine is not a fishing boat. So some of that may be legitimate. But killing them? No. That's really a violation of international procedures, international law.

51:52But I don't know what's behind it, Jake. So if this is a show of force designed to pave the way for a snatched job against Maduro or some other effort that's directed under intelligence services that we're not privy to, then you just don't know how to judge it. But on superficial grounds, yes, it's illegal to sort of go out and shoot boats out of the water. That's not the way it's done, but there may be certain circumstances behind it. I think if the administration really wants to deal with this comprehensively, it does need to show the evidence behind it. It needs some kind of a congressional resolution as well.

52:36Drug traffickers are not terrorists. And if it really is a campaign to stop drug trafficking, you've got to look at other countries, including Mexico, and you've got to look at demand in the United States. And thus far, we haven't heard about any programs to deal with U.S. demand for drugs. And that's really what draws it in. Retired General Wesley Clark, thank you so much, sir. Appreciate it. Five people have now been charged after the overdose death of the grandson of actor Robert De Niro. Our legal experts are digging through the court documents in the overdose death. Next.

53:11In our Law and Justice League, five people were arrested Thursday on charges related to the 2023 overdose death of Robert De Niro's grandson, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, and 19-year-old Akira Stein, the daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein. According to prosecutors, the five defendants allegedly were members of a criminal network that sold thousands of fentanyl-laced opioid pills to teens across New York. Let's bring in CNN senior legal analyst Ellie Honig. Ellie, walk us through the penalties these individuals may be facing. So Jake, ordinarily in a drug trafficking case of this nature in federal court, there would be a 10-year mandatory minimum.

53:51That's a heavy hit. That means even if the judge feels sympathy for a person, the minimum, the floor, is 10 years. But because these drugs allegedly caused an overdose death, that minimum is bumped up to 20 years. So that's a really powerful tool that prosecutors had. There was an important Supreme Court decision back in 2014 that said prosecutors in a case like this, they don't even have to prove that the dealers intended to cause a death or knew that their drugs could cause a death. They simply have to show that the drugs actually did cause a death. So it's a fairly low bar for prosecutors. And Jake, the sad reality is prosecutors have used this type of charge much more frequently the last decade or so as the fentanyl pandemic has exploded.

54:33Stats actually show that there was a 44 % increase in this type of charge between 2019 and 2023 alone, and 80 % of those cases involved overdoses due to fentanyl. So I assume this network runs deep. It's so tragic and also horrifying. Is it possible that these individuals will cooperate? Because obviously they're not the, you know, the geniuses, the drug kingpins behind all this. I mean, the fentanyl comes from a lot of times overseas in China, goes to Mexico, et cetera, et cetera. This is a big criminal network. I think there's going to be a rush in the door to cooperate, Jake. First of all, as I just said, each of these people is looking at a minimum mandatory of 20 years.

55:22They are going to be heavily incentivized to come in because really the only way you can get around that as a defendant is if you come in and cooperate, then you can get less than the 20 year mandatory minimum. And from prosecutors point of view, they, if they're doing their job well, they're going to want to go, as you said, to the root of this problem. They're not going to be satisfied. they shouldn't be satisfied with just picking off a couple of New York, you know, Manhattan drug dealers. You want to know where the source of supply is. You want to trace this back as far as you possibly can.

55:48But I want to say, prosecutors also are going to make clear, we're not going to cooperate everyone. This is a five defendant case. If I was handling this, I would say maybe one, maybe two, first one in the door gets the cooperation. All right, Eli Honig, thank you so much. And our deepest condolences to the Stein and De Niro families. President Trump has just responded to the rulings from those two judges who say his administration has to at least partially cover food stamp benefits in November from that agriculture department emergency fund. That story is next. You ever have somebody offer to come home with you from the hardware store?

56:24I am giving away a room makeover. Where's the catch? Three days to complete this renovation. You have no say in the design and we start today. Oh wow. You're not just gonna steal everything. Surprise! Ready to get your house crashed? For real. A little dated. It's time to turn this over to us. You guys got to get out of here. Got to get out of here. Crashers, all new Monday at 10 on HGTV. Just into our politics lead. Moments ago, President Trump responded to the rulings today from two different federal judges who said that the White House and the Agriculture Department must use the billions of dollars in contingency funds to at least partially covered food stamp benefits in November.

57:07CNN's Jeff Zellings at the White House. Jeff, what did the president have to say? Well, Jake, it was that back-to-back ruling from the federal judges that got the White House's attention. Certainly the president just a few moments ago writing on Truth Social from his Mar-a-Lago resort that the White House is now willing to pay. Let's take a look at part of his message here. It says, our government lawyers do not think that we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available. And now two courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. The president writes, I do not want Americans to go hungry just because the radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government.

57:45Therefore, he says, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. Of course, SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. It helps 42 million Americans, about one in eight Americans. So this, of course, is the deadline that is looming tomorrow. So the White House is now saying they will pay. The question is, Jake, how long will that take to actually get enacted? Because it will take a while for the USDA to send the money to the states. And it's not enough to fund the entire month, but only partial funding.

58:21But for the first time, the president is saying he will pay the SNAP funds, much like he did military funding earlier this week. But what it does not do is move the shutdown any closer to being a reach. The president, of course, is not here. The House has been out of Washington for more than a month. The Senate also is not in Washington. So the shutdown is entering a second month here. But at least the SNAP benefits, it looks like, will be paid at least in part. Imagine not having to show up to work for a month and still get paid. Man, nice work if you can get it. Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much. The president of a powerful Republican think tank refused, refused to condemn Tucker Carlson.

59:00In fact, embraced Tucker Carlson after Carlson interviewed and celebrated a white nationalist who constantly says horrific things about Jews and blacks and other minority groups. We're going to get the reaction from a couple of high profile Republican senators next.

59:20In our politics lead tonight, Tonight, the Republican-Jewish coalition annual leadership meeting kicks off in Las Vegas as Jewish leaders grapple with the rise of anti-Semitism on the right. On Thursday, Kevin Roberts, the president of the powerful conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, refused to condemn Tucker Carlson and in fact called him a, quote, close friend after Carlson came under fire from other Republicans for interviewing and celebrating white nationalist and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes. Here's Mr. Roberts. The venomous coalition attacking him are sowing division. Their attempt to cancel him will fail.

1:00:00I disagree with and even abhor things that Nick Fuentes says. But canceling him is not the answer either. Here is this part of the Carlson Fuentes interview that has so many conservative Jews upset. And I think that neoconservatism, where does it arise from? it arises from Jewish leftists. But then like, how do you explain Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, and there are a lot like that John Bolton. I mean, I've known them all. George W. Bush, like the Karl Rove. I mean, all people I know personally who I've seen be seized by this brain virus and they're not Jewish. I dislike them more than anybody. Because like, what?

1:00:49Because it's Christian heresy. What you're saying about putting aside the tribal interest for the corporate interest, that's absolutely the case. And that's the only way the country is going to stay together. That's my concern. And I absolutely agree with you. I would say, though, that the main challenge to that, a big challenge to that, is organized Jewry in America. So not a lot of Republican officials have condemned any of that. But here is Texas Senator Ted Cruz. If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very, very cool, and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jewry, and you say nothing, then you are a coward and you are complicit in that evil.

1:01:44Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Senate Majority Leader, weighed in too today, directly criticizing the Heritage Foundation. Quote, the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement is only as strong as the values it defends, McConnell said. This two weeks after an explosive young Republicans group chat joked about the Holocaust and praised Hitler in a story first reported by Politico. Joining us now, Leora Rez, the founder and executive director of the watchdog group Stop Antisemitism. Now, Leora, you've spent a lot of time rightly calling out anti-Semitism on the left, but we're going to look at this phenomenon on the right today.

1:02:18Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks told Jewish Insider that because of all of this, the Republican Jewish Coalition is going to have to reevaluate its relationship with the Heritage Foundation, adding, quote, We've seen Heritage moving further in this direction, but he still believes it's still well outside the mainstream of where the conservative movement in the Republican Party is, unquote. Do you agree with that? Do you think that this is outside the mainstream? It seems like it's really this anti-Semitic part of conservatism is really growing. Jake, first of all, thanks so much for having me back.

1:02:53I do not think it's a secret that the Republican Party has given the megaphone to radicals such as Tucker Carlson and the fact that the head of a DC think tank, the Heritage Foundation, The head cannot disavow a man who hosts a neo-Nazi cheerleading fanboy who is also a misogynist, an anti-Black homophobic bigot, is not fit to lead the said think tank. So, yes, we do agree with Senator Cruz. We applaud his condemnation of this. We agree with Matt Brooks and the RJC that their relationship should definitely be evaluated under the leadership of Roberts. And we'll see where it goes. But the Republican Party definitely has an anti-Semitism problem.

1:03:50One of the things I've heard expressed as a fear from conservative Jews who love Donald Trump and want him to succeed is they fear J.D. Vance as someone who is helping to mainstream some of these anti-Semitic voices. Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance spoke before a group of students, and he did not condemn somebody that said something pretty blatantly anti-Semitic, that Judaism is all about persecuting Christians. He also said, J.D. Vance, that Christianity is the, quote, most moral faith. What was your reaction to that? My jaw was on the floor, to be honest. He was in front of 10 ,000 students and had an amazing opportunity to shut down a very blatant commentary and accusation and completely drop the ball on it.

1:04:48A student did stand up and repeat exactly what you had just said, accusing Judaism and Jews of persecuting Christians and, you know, other just abhorrent comments. And the vice president, again, had a fantastic opportunity to shut the hate down. And instead, he didn't. And it's just extremely disappointing. Senator Cruz also said he doesn't see enough Republicans calling on anti-Semitism. He thinks it's spreading through young people, particularly on social media. What is the best way for parents, community leaders and politicians to address this? And let me expand this now, because obviously Democrats have an anti-Semitism problem as well.

1:05:28So more globally, what is the best way to address this, do you think? Listen, I have to tell you, it's very apropos that it's Halloween because this is literally a nightmare and it is on both sides of the aisle. On Tuesday, New York City might be electing a socialist anti-Semite in the mayoral seat. I mean, as a refugee from the former Soviet Union, thankfully, you know, landing in America as a small child. I cannot believe that a socialist might be our next mayor in New York City. You look at the other side of the aisle when you have, again, Tucker Carlson as one of the leading voices in the Republican Party and his anti-Semitic ties and platforming of neo-Nazis like Nick Fuentes.

1:06:16We have a big problem in this country. And I think what history has shown us is that whatever starts with Jews never ends with us. This will take down American society and we have to work together to stop the radicals on both sides of the aisle. Leora Rez from Stop Anti-Semitism. Thank you so much. Really appreciate your time. With just four days until crucial elections, CNN hit the campaign trail in New Jersey, where electricity prices are emerging as a major issue for both Republicans and Democrats. Stay with us.

1:06:51And we're back in our politics lead, which means cue the election music. Nice. We're just four days out from Election Day in two pivotal contests for governor in the New Jersey race for governor. Republican nominee Jack Cittarelli cast his early ballot today. A key issue for voters in the Garden State's soaring energy costs. CNN's Arlette Saenz now has this look at how higher utility bills could tilt this nail-biter race. I vote for the people around me and the people I care about. Lisi Cielos runs a flower shop in Passaic, New Jersey, and her business is feeling the squeeze from higher utility bills.

1:07:30The bill just kept creeping up and up and up, and I was like, wow, when's it going to stop? Cielos is like many small business owners and residents across the state, grappling with a spike in utility costs, an issue sending a jolt through the New Jersey governor's race. It's probably gone up on the electricity side 25 to 30 percent. It's even more expensive than my car payment. So if we don't switch that, we really are in serious trouble. The economy is a perennial issue for political campaigns, with voters often concerned about cost at grocery stores and gas pumps. Let's go. But this year, utility costs are emerging as an undercurrent in New Jersey and beyond.

1:08:13Day one is governor. I'm declaring a state of emergency on utility costs. That changes when I'm governor. I'll lower electricity bills. The issue even drawing attention from President Donald Trump. If you vote Republican, your energy costs are going to go down tremendously. If you vote Democrat for her, in other words, your energy costs are going to go, they're just going to go through the roof. In New Jersey, residential electricity prices jumped by nearly 21 percent in the last year, compared to 6 % nationwide. It's the first thing out of people's mouths because they're looking at their monthly electric bills and that's the failed policies of Phil Murphy which have been endorsed by my opponent.

1:08:51Republican Jack Cittarelli says Democrats' push for clean energy is to blame while Democrat Mikey Sherrill says her solution is freezing utility rates. Jack doesn't really have a plan to drive them down and Trump's one big beautiful bill will in fact drive them up here. The high utility cost could become a flashpoint in the midterm elections. But in New Jersey, voters like Cielos are hoping for some relief. Something's got to give because this is me struggling as a business, but I have a mom who's 82 years old and I have to help her because her utility bills are getting crazy. Democratic and Republican voters I spoke with were in agreement that these high utility costs are a key concern in this race, but there was no consensus on who exactly was to blame.

1:09:40Some would say political leaders. Others would point to the power companies or the construction of these energy consuming data centers. But Democratic and Republican strategists I've spoke with do believe that this issue of high utility prices will have staying power heading into next year's midterm elections. All right. I'll let signs. Thank you so much. Let's turn to the panel. So we've got some big races here and I don't know. I don't know who's going to win either of them, honestly. So current Governor Phil Murphy is a Democrat. He's term limited out. The Democrat hoping to replace him is Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill.

1:10:11She says she's the change candidate in this race, which is a tough argument for somebody who is the same party as the current governor. Here's what she told CNN this morning. So when people are gauging the status quo and who's going to actually make change here, I think that's why they're coalescing around my campaign. Because as I said, Jack Cittarelli has given Trump an A, says he doesn't disagree with him. So you have to go all the way back to 1961 when New Jersey elected a governor from the same party three times in a row. Usually they switch. Chris Christie was the last Republican governor and then came Phil Murphy.

1:10:49Now, Trump hasn't even been in office a full year. Can she effectively communicate that she's the change agent? I think so because Mikey Sherrill, she's a pragmatist, she's a problem solver, and she's a great campaigner. So affordability is front and center. And these are the types of Her theme when she was running first time around was ruthless competence in terms of government. And I think that really typifies what we need in this moment. So let's talk about the Trump factor if there is one. We'll see. The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, notes that having Trump back in office has been good for Democrats in special elections so far.

1:11:24Here's what he told Fox. There's been 45 elections on the ballot. Democrats have overperformed in all of them to the tune of about 16 percentage points on average. I expect that we're going to win. Certainly every single poll right now, public and private, shows that we're going to win in New Jersey and Virginia. But as you know, I don't take anything for granted. We should know, when Phil Murphy was reelected, it was like by four points, which is a very, very, in New Jersey, that's very narrow for a Democrat. Absolutely. And listen, I don't think we should win any of these races, and all my Republicans are going to be mad at me about saying this.

1:11:59if we pull off New Jersey, that's a story. If we don't, I think it's like what everyone expects. I just I mean, we're not going to win West or win Virginia. And I think if if he wins in New Jersey, it's a statement, but it's more because of local politics more than national. So just a few weeks ago, Ken Martin said New Jersey was the best place that Trump had to stop Democratic momentum. Republican Jack Cittarelli feels optimistic about his third run for the governor's mansion. Here's what he said last night during a town hall on Fox. We've seen the greatest number of Republicans return vote by mail ballots.

1:12:38We're matching them voter for voter here in the six days or five days of early voting that we've had thus far. Listen, if we go into election day within a certain number of points, we're going to win this thing. You know, it's kind of actually surprising that he's run three times. He's not a bad candidate. I think he comes across as a normal regular guy who speaks the way that normal human beings do. Is there a risk here for Democrats? I mean, do you think it's possible that he could win? I would say this is a margin of error race. So this is very much in play. So I think Republicans do a great job of setting expectations low.

1:13:14So well done. You caught her doing that. Yes. Caught in the act. I know you feel it. I know I know that's your honest answer, but keep going. So margin of error race. And if you do look, last time he was down in the polls by 8%, and after Election Day it was 3%. Similarly, Mike Echero also overperforms her polling. So I think we have two good candidates here, and it's a real race. This all happens with the backdrop of a real dysfunctional Washington, D.C. We've got the government shutdown. We have SNAP about to expire. Food stamps about to expire tomorrow, although it's unclear whether or not the Trump administration is going to follow through and actually use the contingency fund.

1:13:53We have Obamacare subsidies about to expire at the end of the year. And November 1st, you have the health care premiums, insurance rates are skyrocketing. Do you see all of that playing a role as well? And if so, does it help the Democrats? You don't know. I actually think we're all talking about that. I mean, I actually think tomorrow if SNAP goes away, I think that's a huge deal. And it's not going to go away. It's just going to be like downgraded. It's not going to be the whole thing. But I think that this is a Washington, D.C. issue right now. And that's why I feel that both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate need to get their act together and pass a continuing resolution or whatever it is, just like get the government back up and working.

1:14:39What do you think? How does how does the what's going on on the dysfunction in D.C., impact New Jersey and Virginia, you think? I think it's going to be interesting because both sides right now, Republicans and Democrats I've talked to, think they have very strong worldviews and they're stuck in them. So I think this will give us a real-time window into what folks on the ground are feeling and want from government. So I think it's going to have a big impact because I've never seen a situation in these types of government funding discussions. There's a tried-and-true blueprint, and it's talking and negotiating, and none of that is happening.

1:15:12No, it is unprecedented. I appreciate it. Thanks to both of you. Really, really good to have you. Don't miss CNN's special coverage of election night, one year after Donald Trump's election victory voters head to the polls again in critical races across the country. Our coverage starts Tuesday at 5 p.m. Eastern on CNN and the CNN streaming app. Don't forget that. Coming up next, the new documentary following three former Navy SEALs on their journey that leads them to psychedelic drugs to help them with their post-war trauma.

1:15:45In our pop culture lead, In Waves and War is a new documentary coming to Netflix. It offers an intimate look into the lives of retired Navy SEALs as they turn to an unexpected treatment to combat PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and severe depression. You're overseas and you see half your platoon get killed. We're not supposed to leave him. I was just begging, can you please help him? The TBI and the memory loss, I'd meet someone. I don't know what your name is. No idea. He was doing all the things he was told to do, and he was actually getting worse. I got his medical records. I completely changed my approach.

1:16:25Psychedelic medicines prove to be effective, but both are illegal in the United States. So Marcus would have to travel to Mexico. If you love your wife, you'll go to Mexico and do psychedelics. Joining us now to discuss producer and retired Navy SEAL Marcus Capone and the film's director, John Schenk. Thanks so much for being here. And Marcus, thanks for your service. So this documentary, I was obviously inspired by your experience with psychedelic assisted therapy. The treatment was something your wife suggested or demanded, it sounds like. And you were actually against it at first. So walk us through the process and also what it was like watching other service members and veterans go through the same journey.

1:17:07I think just on the right side of that, watching others go through almost as healing as healing yourself. I think as humans, we're servant leaders. And I love watching individuals who come in and they're broken or they're struggling and you watch them go through treatment. Monday, they come in. They can't look at you in the eye. Friday, they walk away with like the sense of like hope again, and they are excited about life again. And kind of what happened to me for about seven years, I was prescribed antidepressants, talk therapy, and went through multiple brain clinics, kind of listened to Western medicine doctors, but I wasn't getting better.

1:17:43And thank goodness for, you know, for Amber, you know, she's my guardian angel. She was working with some doctors that said, recommended, you know, we think psychedelic therapy, specifically a drug called Ibogaine, would help me. What the psychedelics do in a very short amount of time, it goes right into your subconscious and gets to the root cause of the issue that's forcing you to have these symptoms. So John, earlier this year, you guys held two private screenings for Texas lawmakers to try to help them better understand the benefits of these treatments, which resulted in Texas approving$50 million in funding for drug development trials.

1:18:16I mean, that's a huge impact right there. Jake, what we were able to do with this documentary is super exciting. We followed retired Navy SEALs who were pulling themselves and their brothers out of the brink of these mental health crisis and getting them help finally with this unusual treatment in Mexico. The film also goes inside their minds with this animation to show what these guys experience on the Ibogaine, the drug that they take in Mexico. When the legislators in Texas saw that, they couldn't help but what a lot of audiences feel, which is to have tremendous amount of empathy in what these guys have gone through.

1:18:51And then obviously vote with their conscience and put more money into this, what obviously needs to be studied more because it's not just veterans. There's so many Americans walking around with trauma that is not treated properly with the current tools that we have. And the documentary highlights an issue that we talk about a lot on the show, which is that more than four times as many US service members and veterans have died by suicide than have actually been killed in combat. If there's a veteran right now watching, Marcus, and we have an audience that's very veteran-friendly at the very least, and they're interested in trying this psychedelic-assisted therapy, what do they do?

1:19:30How do they go about it? All these psychedelics right now are still Schedule 1, meaning they have technically no medical benefit, according to the FDA, and high abuse or high ability to abuse. We know it's the complete opposite. Individuals are coming to us with substance use disorder, with depression, and they're getting off their meds. They're stopping drinking alcohol. If they are hooked on opioids from surgeries, whatever, they're stopping their opioids. So it's the opposite of what we've been told for so many years. And so I think there's a shift that's happening. We're seeing that these medicines are extremely healing and helpful.

1:20:07And they're literally giving individuals their lives back, both men and women. And when we've fought 20 years of sustained combat, there's a lot of, I'd say, hidden injuries between the years. And that's not just affecting the individual. It's everybody around that bubble. It's the spouse. It's the children. Then it's generations. What this is doing is bringing those bonds and getting rid of them and just allowing individuals to live the rest of their life again. Well, it sounds miraculous, and I hope it continues to have an effect. Marcus Capone, John Shank, thank you so much. And if you or anyone you know is struggling, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

1:20:47It's 988-988. You can call or text. There is help for you. There is love for you. In Waves and War premieres on Netflix on Monday. But before then, coming up Sunday on State of the Union, we're going to have the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant, House Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. That's Sunday morning at 9 Eastern and again at noon only here on CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can catch up on the new CNN streaming app. You can find it at CNN.com slash watch. Aaron Burnett out front starts now. I'll see you Sunday morning.

1:21:29This is CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, thrilled to introduce the new CNN weather app. Be prepared for anything with comprehensive coverage from real experts like me. Download the CNN Weather app on iOS today. From the descendants of history makers involved in the Louisiana Purchase to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, discover the untold stories of American expansion in the CNN original series, This Land. Now streaming on the CNN app.