Searching for Answers About the Manhattan Mass Murders

26:00That's why we're talking about it day after day after day. It is such a shocking scandal. You're right. Maybe Donald Trump had no knowledge. Maybe those Trump Epstein files that The Wall Street Journal has reported A.G. Bondi told Donald Trump about. Maybe they're benign, but let's see them. The American people are entitled to have that information. So if the New York judge, Engelmeyer, says no, is there another judge to go to? I mean, let me also just posit that, like, Pam Bondi and Donald Trump right now, President Trump, could just decide we're going to release these files, FBI files, Treasury files, Southern District of New York files, Southern District of Florida files, have at it.

26:42We've redacted the names of the victims, go to it. And they won't. But is there another judicial avenue for them to prepare? Yes. Our FOIA requests will be perfected. And later in August, if we do not get these files, we are prepared to go to court and open another judicial avenue. The Freedom of Information Act allows you to go to court when it is in the public interest to get information out there. Jake, the Department of Justice has filed with the courts saying the 6E material, the grand jury material, the most protected material is in the public interest to get out there. That is an admission that we will use to get all these files before the American people.

27:30Interesting. All right. Well, the best disinfectant is sunlight, as they say. Norm Eisen, thanks so much. Coming up, what's turning into a big old mess down in Texas. Republicans want to redraw congressional maps. Democrats say, hold up a minute. Today, the public had its chance to weigh in. You're going to hear some of that. Plus, hear from a Democrat who could lose her congressional seat over the efforts of her Republican colleagues.

27:56You should have said four words to the governor. Don't mess with Texas. Don't mess with Texas in our politics lead today. Today, Texans got a chance to weigh in on efforts by Republicans to reshape their congressional districts to try to seize more Republican seats from the few Democratic seats left. Let's bring in one of those Democrats, Congresswoman Julie Johnson. If Republicans get their way, her seat in Dallas and its northern suburbs just might be eliminated. Congresswoman, are you going to have a congressional district in 2026? Well, who knows? You know, the Republicans haven't had the courage to actually drop a map and release it.

28:37You know, they've had all these hearings, redistricting hearings. We had one last night here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that had, you know, just a ton of people show up for on no map because this is really a sham process for them and they haven't released the map. So we'll see. It's going to be very difficult for them to squeeze five Democratic seats and turn them into Republican seats without materially weakening all the Republican seats around us. So you've used an old Southern adage to this whole idea. You say a pig gets fat, a hog gets butchered. I had to have that translated. Apologies.

29:13I'm from Philadelphia. So I guess it means Republicans potentially overplaying their hands. That's a hog getting butchered. And then also, you note that there's in addition to possibly weakening safe Republican seats in Texas, Democrats are now talking about redrawing their maps. California, New Jersey, Missouri is actually Republican state. But but some other explain that. Do you think that Democrats need to to meet the Republicans at their own game? Absolutely. You know, this is a this is the war for the future of our country and the soul of our democracy. You know, what the Trump administration has done is kick millions of people off of health care, make a bunch of seniors and veterans and kids go hungry.

29:54And they've obliterated due process and through our immigration actions that they've been taking. And so this is all out war for what does our country stand for and where are we going in the future? And so, you know, I'm all for fair and independent maps as long as we're all playing by the same rules. But if Republicans want to do partisan gerrymandering in states like Texas and Florida and the like, then Democrats need to do the same in blue states like California to level out the playing field. We can't go forward, given the state of our country, with our hands handcuffed behind our back and not playing by the same rules.

30:31It's just not OK anymore. So this is as I think there's an old Abraham Lincoln quote, when times are anew, the calls of actions are anew and it's time to have a fresh look at things. And so that's kind of where we are. And to your point of our wonderful Texas expression, a pig gets fat and a hog gets butchered, that's exactly right. You know, Republicans are going to be greedy about these seats. There are millions of Democrats in the state of Texas. You know, I won my congressional seat by 24 points. You know, my colleagues, Jasmine Crockett and Mark Vesey also appear in North Texas, won by even greater margins than that.

31:05So to have the great displacement of all these Democrats and reallocated to Republican districts, that's going to substantially weaken them. And so it's, you know, it's a thing that a lot of my Republican colleagues, you know, they tell me quietly off to the side. They don't want this. This is not anything of interest to them. But this is Trump having a desperate attempt to try to, you know, keep the House when he knows he's way underwater in our poll numbers and he's likely to lose it as a fair election. Let me ask you about your party in general. You're a more moderate Democrat in Texas. Nationwide, it seems like there's a lot of energy with the it's not even progressives.

31:44It's literally Democratic socialists. And I'm wondering if you worry at all about the growing influence of the progressive wing, Democratic socialist Zoran Mamdani. He could be the next mayor of New York City. He won the Democratic primary there. The Democrat Farmer Labor Party endorsed a Democratic Socialist for mayor of Minneapolis instead of the city's sitting Democratic mayor. Are you worried about that at all? Well, you know, obviously, you know, I don't personally subscribe to the socialist line of thought. But, you know, Democrats, we're a big tent and we're a party that is inclusive for all the folks.

32:25We don't have to agree on all the issues. You know, my folks, I come from a more moderate area, and that's why they've elected me to represent their values. And folks that have a more left progressive wing, they may elect somebody different. And that is all OK. There's room for all viewpoints within our party and in our caucus. And that's what I think makes the Democratic Party vibrant and robust and sometimes a little chaotic at times versus we don't all have to step in line and believe the same thing and keep our tune to the same to the same note as the Republicans do. All right, Congresswoman Julie Johnson from the great state of Texas.

33:02Thanks so much. Appreciate it. It's so good to see you again. Thanks for having me. The Venezuelan makeup artist who was deported to El Salvador and spent four months in the notorious Seacott mega prison is describing the psychological toll the ordeal has taken on him after his release. Andri Hernandez Romero was freed from that prison July 18th, along with about 250 other Venezuelans who had been deported from the U.S. to El Salvador in exchange for 10 U.S. nationals who had been held in Venezuela. Romero, who is now back in Venezuela, his home country, told California Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia he's struggling to process his life moving forward after what he went through in prison.

33:44Well, legally speaking, of everything that is happening, there are many things I don't understand. There are many things I still haven't been able to process because of the psychological damage they have caused us. Andrew originally came to the U.S. legally in 2024 seeking asylum, but then he was detained during the Biden years and then deported to El Salvador by President Trump's administration. His legal term legal team is telling the U.S. that Andrew is still figuring out his next steps in his immigration case. Coming up, did a Colorado dentist kill his wife by poisoning her protein shake, what jurors heard from the prosecution and defense just before deliberations.

34:30That's next.

34:35In our law and justice lead, jury deliberations are underway in the trial of James Craig. He's the Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife by poisoning her protein shakes. Craig faces six felony counts, including murder in the first degree, solicitation to commit murder in the first degree, solicitation to commit perjury and solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. CNN's Gene Casares has been following the story. So, Gene, what was the prosecution's final argument here? Well, they're still deliberating, by the way, in Colorado. They have not stopped yet.

35:08But the prosecution focused on for about an hour and a half so many things. But they really took, which is the most critical of the elements of first-degree murder, deliberation and intent, and put it together with what they say are the facts, that for 10 days he researched poisons. He researched undetectable poisons. He then placed orders for them. He then received them, and then he caused her death by administering them to him, to her. We know arsenic. We know potassium cyanide. We know he went out one night and bought 12 bottles of Visine. The next night, seven more because tetrahyzoline is in it.

35:48And then also Oleander, he actually didn't get. Law enforcement intercepted it. But here is part of the closing argument of the prosecution. It can't all be true. This guy is not trustworthy or credible. He spent 10 days killing Angela Craig. and he could have stopped on day one or day two or day 10. He kept going. What makes matters worse for him are these other charges, tampering with physical evidence, solicitation of that, and also perjury, solicitation. He was trying to get inmates that were going to be out to plant some notes, get some friends to say that Angela wanted to commit suicide.

36:32And that is the defense here that she was broken because of this serial adulterer. She had just had it. And it got to the point where she asked him to research these poisons and to get them. And he said, look, this is on you. I'm I don't want you to do this. But he finally gave up and allowed her to kill herself. Here's the defense. There is so much that's just missing and you can't speculate about what's going on in those missing minutes. And so he's facing life in prison. The jury will continue to deliberate. And, you know, Jake, you know, when you think about this, this is real life. These are people that could be living down the street from you, next door neighbors.

37:22It's not fantasy. It's real life. And it's shocking. Yeah, I mean, it's especially shocking. Top five undetectable poisons that show no signs of foul play as a Google search history. I mean, that is just wild. I mean, how does a defendant overcome something like that? Well, I think it's tough. The defense tried to show all the things that were not tested. They never found the potassium cyanide. They didn't test a lot of the laptops. They didn't find her most recent diary. But I think that. If there's one chance for him, if there is a juror who had someone in their family commit suicide, they could relate to it.

38:07There could be a jury nullification here. And I think that's far fetched. But you'd never know what a jury is going to do. Yeah. I just think at some point murderers. I mean, the Google searches are quite interesting. Jink Saras, thanks so much. Appreciate it. A somber scene just moments ago in New York, a procession for that fallen NYPD officer, Dita Rule Islam, who was killed in yesterday's office shooting Manhattan bagpipes playing as his fellow officers watched as his remains were removed from the medical examiner's office to a mosque in Bronx. in the Bronx. We'll have new details coming in on this tragedy ahead.

38:54Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the New York Police Department is sending teams to Las Vegas to search for answers at the home of the man who murdered four people in a Manhattan office building last night. What we're learning about the note the gunman left behind and about the four victims, innocent, taken way too soon. Plus, Congress responds after Epstein-accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell offers to testify, but demanding major conditions. So what comes next? Also, the Trump administration moves to revoke the EPA's ability to make rules to protect you from climate pollution. If successful, they would strip away the federal government's most powerful tool for trying to control planet warming pollution, fighting climate change, the explanation from the EPA, and the impact this could have on every single community coming up.

39:44And a brand new study from the Alzheimer's Association shows that you can slow your cognitive decline as you age. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to walk you through the brand new study and what you need to know and how you can apply this to your everyday life.

40:02The lead tonight, the many unanswered questions after the horrific mass shooting in New York City. A man carrying what police describe as an M4 assault-style rifle walked into a Manhattan high-rise, apparently intending to target offices of the National Football League inside the building. He did not get to the NFL, but he killed four people before ultimately killing himself. A little while ago, New York City police officers lined the streets outside the medical examiner's office as the body of Officer Adida Ruhl Islam, the Bangladeshi American police officer killed in the shooting, was moved from the medical examiner's office to a mosque in the Bronx.

40:42CNN's Jason Carroll is near the site of the shooting in Manhattan. Jason. Well, Jake, we are learning much more about the suspect involved in all of this. Police say that Shane Tamora actually had two mental health episodes, one in 2024, another one in 2022. In addition to that, Jake, he was arrested for trespassing at a hotel casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, back in 2023. But in addition to all that, he also had a license to carry a concealed weapon. And so police investigators now learning much about the suspect as their investigation is now well underway.

41:29Tonight, police thousands of miles away from the Manhattan crime scene positioned outside the shooter's Las Vegas home as investigators try to learn as much as they can about Shane Tamora and his motive for carrying out the deadly attack. The New York Police Department is sending two teams to Las Vegas. To conduct interviews and execute a search warrant at Mr. Tamora's home. They'll also visit the gun store where he legally purchased a revolver on June 12th using a Nevada concealed carry permit. Neighbors outside the suspect's home stunned to hear about what had happened. It's not something you really expect to see, so yeah, it's a real shock.

42:10The 27-year-old worked here at the Horseshoe Casino as a surveillance department employee. Police have uncovered some of his movements in the days before the shooting. He left Las Vegas in his black BMW on July 26. He traveled through Colorado. The next day, Nebraska and Iowa. Then on Monday, July 28th at 4.24 p.m., he was in Columbia, New Jersey before he entered New York City. Surveillance video shows a male exit a double-parked black BMW on Park Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets carrying an M4 rifle in his right hand. As for his intended target, the early investigation suggests Tamora was headed to NFL headquarters at 345 Park Avenue.

42:59We used the wrong elevator bank. These pictures, obtained by CNN, show some of what investigators found inside his car, including a nylon rifle case and a Ziploc bag filled with ammunition. Police also recovered a revolver and Zoloft, an antidepressant medication. According to our law enforcement partners in Las Vegas, Mr. Tamora has a documented mental health history. Police found a suicide note in his back pocket, where he alleges he suffered from CTE, a brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. The note saying, in part, you can't go against the NFL. They'll squash you, adding, study my brain, please.

43:40Tamora did not play in the NFL. He was once a promising high school football player in Southern California, described by a coach in a 2013 local newspaper article as lightning in a bottle. Studies have shown CTE in former football players, though it is more common in pro athletes. The motive appeared to be connected to the shooter's belief that he was suffering from CTE and he was an ex-NFL player. Those items just don't pan out. He never played for the NFL. And so we're still unraveling this terrible shooting that took place in the city.

44:23So again, Jake, so many questions about the suspect involved in all of this. But many people here in the city thinking about the victims, those five victims, including the fallen officer. You showed some of the images there. I want to bring some of those up again as the body of Diderol Islam was transferred there in the Bronx. Poignant moments as some of the officers saluted as his body was being transferred. Again, he was 36 years old, the father of two, and his wife was pregnant, expecting their third child. Jake? It was horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. Jason Carroll in New York, thanks so much.

44:58CNN's John Miller is a former deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism for the New York Police Department. John, what are your sources telling you about the investigation right now? Well, they're focused on was anyone else involved? Did anyone else know anything? So far, it appears that he was acting alone and that that is not the case. But there is also the issue of the gun. He purchased the.357 Magnum in June, but the other gun was purchased in Nevada before that by a year or two. And that's the weapon that was used here. It starts with a lower receiver. That's basically the mechanics that contain the parts where you would place the magazine with the ammunition in, where you'd install a trigger.

45:40It is basically the guts of the gun you would build behind that, the other parts. So that was purchased by a former or a co-worker of his at the Horseshoe Casino, a security supervisor he worked with, and apparently came into his possession. So one of the people they're looking at is this individual, Rick. You will also note on the suicide note, he writes, and I quote, tell Rick, I'm sorry for everything. It is possibly a sign that he understands that when they trace this rifle and it comes back to a legal purchase made by Rick, that he understands that may cause problems for his former security colleague.

46:29week, but that is one of the people that has been interviewed by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. And the two teams coming out from New York City, the team of detectives and FBI agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the team of NYPD detectives from Homicide are both looking to talk to the same individual about how that gun part that became this weapon came into to Mortis possession. So, I mean, it just, you look at the image of the shooter, of the murderer, just walking in broad daylight with an M4 assault-style gun, walking into this building, and the first question is, how on earth did no one stop him?

47:15But maybe that's a naive question, but what do you think? Well, I mean, how many people are going to confront a guy who's walking right past him with an assault weapon except a law enforcement officer? And when he came through that lobby, Jake, the first thing he did was he spotted that law enforcement officer and he targeted him. And, you know, his target was the NFL. We now understand that. The only NFL employee that he actually shot was passing by the police officer. And, you know, when you look at the security video, I'm told you see the police officer go down and the NFL employee go down at the same time.

47:53Then he took the elevator to the wrong floor and may have believed that this whole building was the NFL building. But he ended up in Rudin Management, the building's management company, a big real estate management company. And then the other video, I am told, shows he goes hunting through the hallways until he encounters that victim. And then other people are barricaded and hiding. And eventually he takes his own life. What a world. John Miller, thanks so much. Appreciate it. If you or anyone you know is considering suicide, please dial the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The number to text is 988.

48:32Or if you or someone you love needs help, 988. There is help for you. There is love for you. Turning to our politics lead, Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, and doing 20 years for sexually trafficking kids, is offering to testify before Congress. But she has some demands, some conditions. She wants immunity, for example. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed Maxwell to testify next month, August 11th. Maxwell's lawyers initially wanted her to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. But then they offered to cooperate with Congress. Comer has since said he is not going to grant her immunity.

49:07Joining us now to discuss Caitlin Collins, our friend and the anchor of The Source, our chief White House correspondent, and so much more who broke this news. Caitlin, what are some of the conditions Maxwell's lawyers are laying out in demand in exchange for her to testify? Well, Jake, you mentioned the big one there, which is immunity. And that seems unlikely to go anywhere with Republicans in Congress who have made pretty clear that that is not something that they believe should be on the table for Ghislaine Maxwell to sit down with them. She did get partial immunity, remember, when she sat down with the deputy attorney general behind closed doors for about nine to ten hours.

49:40But to do so in front of Congress, we are seeing lawmakers just say they don't really have the appetite for that, and that includes the House Oversight Chair, James Comer. And so he had subpoenaed Ghislaine Maxwell for her testimony next month in front of Congress. Her attorneys have responded in a letter today saying, one, they want that formal immunity. Two, Jake, they want to interview the deposition to not happen at the correctional facility where she is serving her term. They cite the potential for leaks inside this letter that I received today. Third, they believe that she should get those questions from the committee in advance.

50:11And Jake, what they said in the letter, her attorneys that, quote, surprise questioning would be both inappropriate and unproductive. So they basically want to know what the lawmakers would ask her before she sat down to actually answer those questions. They say because she has to do so much prep in order to get ready for those questions, Jake, but obviously to get those in advance and not being able to go off script would seem to be something that members of Congress would go up against. And then last, Jake, and this is obviously a notable one, they said that this deposition and interview with Congress should happen only after her appeal to the Supreme Court is finished.

50:45Remember, she is appealing that conviction, the sentence that she is serving right now for sex trafficking, up to the Supreme Court. And that could be months, Jake, before that testimony happens, if they wait until that issue is resolved before the Supreme Court and whether or not they weigh in on this matter. Obviously, she's gone to other courts and now has taken it up to the Supreme Court. And so really, Jake, when you look at all of this put together, she is basically saying, yes, I am willing to come and sit down and speak with Congress. But I need all of these things in exchange for doing so, including immunity.

51:15or they note at the end of this letter, Jake, that if she got clemency from President Trump, then she would be willing to go and sit down. So basically saying questions in advance, immunity or a pardon or reduction in sentence from the president of the United States before she'd be willing to go and sit down with Congress. Obviously, as you noted, the House Oversight spokesperson said earlier, this idea of granting her immunity is not on the table for them right now. It just seems so arrogant. It's like Beyonce demanding her own trailer at Farm Aid. I mean, you're a convicted sex trafficker. A little humility.

51:48Kaitlin Collins at the White House. Thanks so much. Don't miss Kaitlin on her show, The Source with Kaitlin Collins. That's tonight and every weeknight at 9 o 'clock Eastern, only on CNN. We're going to have much more on these major developments in the Epstein saga ahead as the key congressional committee rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's demand that she testify only in exchange for immunity. Plus, what I'm learning about two top Biden aides that are set to appear before the House Oversight Committee tomorrow behind closed doors as Congress investigates the former president's cognitive decline. Stay with us.

52:19Back with our politics lead, Ghislaine Maxwell, offering to testify before Congress under certain conditions, including congressional immunity and getting the questions ahead of time. The immunity request was denied. Let's bring in our experts. Kate, it is clear that the drumbeat is not dying down. Listen to what Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told Manu Raju earlier today. It's not like senators want to go back home and just lay around. They want to go back home and answer their people's questions about the reconciliation bill and the rescission bill and what they think about, frankly, the Epstein files.

52:56That's all anybody seems to want to talk about. The Epstein files is all anybody seems to want to talk about. It's not going away for Republicans. Are Democrats using this effectively against them? Well, I think there's no question that the most political damage being done to Donald Trump and the Republicans are by the Republican base, not by the Democrats. And the Democrats are, I think, driving this in a way that the Democratic Party is looking for some energy, looking to show some fight. And I think that doing that and continuing to look like they are pushing Trump and the Trump administration, putting his feet to the fire, I think that does something for their base.

53:30But ultimately, the political pain on this is coming from Republicans and the Republican base who've said, you know, you've been throwing us red meat about the Epstein files for years. And now you're in a position to make them public and you're not willing to do it. And we've seen this has continued to be a problem. I think, you know, Johnson tried to bring the House into recess in order to sort of dissipate this. But there's a very long history of August recess turning the temperature up on issues and not down. Yeah. And Lauren, talking about the red meat, here's some of the red meat being thrown by the Attorney General Pam Bondi just this year.

54:07What you're going to see hopefully tomorrow is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names. Everything's going to come out to the public. The public has a right to know. Americans have a right to know. There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children. At the end of the day, isn't this entirely a self-inflicted wound by the Republicans? Yes, I think so. And, you know, that's why I think it's really important that Trump get ahead of this. You know, Congress is doing their own investigations. You've seen the Oversight Committee and others make a lot of comments about this, want to force the issue.

54:43They want to do the interview with with Maxwell. Yeah, with Maxwell. But ultimately, Trump needs to get ahead of this. They need to go ahead and disclose what they're going to disclose or give a very good reason on why they are not. I think it would be fair to say that we don't want to release the videos because it is going, for example, these videos show horrible sexual exploitation. So that's something that is easy to explain to the public. But what they're not doing is explaining why they're not releasing these files and why they are not redacting these files to protect the victims. And I think ultimately answering that question will satisfy a lot of the base because it is a lot of the Republican base that's really upset about this.

55:20The MAGA that has been waiting for this type of transparency and this accountability for people in power. I think it's a theme of taking on the elites, taking on people in power, taking on corporations, people who hurt the working class. And that is what is ultimately hurting this, not necessarily the details of the Epstein case, the fact that they feel like these people are not being held to account. Well, Congressman Ro Khanna, Democrat from California, he's been out there trying to make this part of a larger argument for Democrats. Like, look, Donald Trump stands with the elites. He's not what he said he was.

55:50And then obviously turning to Medicaid and antitrust laws, et cetera, et cetera. I haven't seen Democrats other than Ro Khanna do that effectively. But do you think that that is going to happen? I would hope so. I mean, I think that is certainly the more effective way for Democrats to make the argument. I think what Ro Khanna has been doing on this is smart. I think, you know, ultimately the aim here, to Lauren's point, is is less about the details of the case, although certainly the fact that Donald Trump is being so is being so unwilling to be transparent, raises a lot of serious questions about whether there is potential criminal activity on his part.

56:26We don't know. Right. We don't know that. But politically, I think the more effective case for Democrats is to really, you know, to pierce this veil of authenticity that he's had for the 10 years that he's been on the public stage. Yeah. And speaking of the House Oversight Committee, Lauren, this week in the investigation into President Biden and his cognitive skills and all that and his deterioration, they're interviewing the two top Biden aides outside his family, Steve Ruschetti and Mike Donald. And this is something that obviously Republicans are much more eager to talk about than the Epstein files, or at least some Republicans.

57:03Do you think this actually this continued story is a problem for Democrats or is it old news? No, I think it's a continued problem because, again, it's kind of to your point about the authenticity. Authenticity is a huge issue with voters right now, and it's something that they want from their politicians across the board. The Democrats suffered horrible reputational issues because of Biden's cognitive decline and the cover up that they associate with that decline. So I think keeping this in the news and exposing any further staff cover up is an important line of attack for Republicans, especially in places like North Carolina and others where you're going to have very competitive races in the Senate.

57:42And it's going to be important for the Republicans to be able to tie these members to the Biden administration, to the national party, to the cover up, to the inauthenticity of the Democratic Party. Do you agree is it going to hurt Democrats? Look, I think there's no question Republicans are going to try to keep it front and center. It was a political drag on the Democratic Party that to argue anything other, I think, is foolish based on everything that transpired. However, I do think Republicans are going to struggle to make this feel relevant to voters. The time that at a time when Joe Biden is not president of the United States and Donald Trump is president of the United States and is making decisions that are leading to people losing their health care, leading to prices being higher.

58:20I mean, you know, I think people don't feel are not going to feel the urgency and the intensity around this that the Republicans would like them. All right. Thanks to both. You appreciate it. The massive reversal from the Trump administration today as it moves to revoke the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to make any rules about climate pollution. That's next.

58:44In our Earth Matters series today, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, described a major move by the EPA as the, quote, largest deregulatory action in the history of America. The Trump administration is seeking to revoke the EPA's ability to make rules about planet warming pollution from fossil fuels. If successful, the repeal would basically strip the government's most powerful way to fight climate change and at what cost. We're joined by CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir. Bill, what is the likely impact of today's announcement? Well, Jake, if it's successful, it would strip away the government's ability entirely to regulate tailpipe pollution, smokestack pollution, the biggest contributors to manmade climate change.

59:31We know now you can prove it in a seventh grade classroom that burning carbon dioxide makes things warmer. It makes the atmosphere warmer. The storms get stronger. The drought's longer. It has a devastating effect. The scientific consensus is agreed upon around the world. But now it seems the Trump administration, in sort of a kill shot towards climate regulation, is undoing the very underpinnings of this. The endangerment clause goes back 16 years. It was mandated by the Supreme Court. It gives them the right to do this. Stripping it away would make all these regulations, you would guess go away.

1:00:05That seems to be what Zeldin is going for. They just put out this report to back up this move written by a handful of people who are notorious in climate science for their fringe views, trying to downplay the risk of climate change. At the same time, they've buried peer-reviewed science from the world-leading scientists and agencies across the U.S. government right now. So it seems like they're trying to codify science denial and make it that much harder for any future administrations to do something about manmade global warming. And this comes as we see increased examples of extreme weather fueled at least in part by manmade climate change.

1:00:44Lee Zeldin says that he's just trying to balance economic growth with environmental protection. What do you think about that? Well, I mean, economic growth and carbon has been decoupled for years now. The American economy grew even as fracking brought down the cost of carbon and it switched away from much dirtier coal. You know, China has done the same thing. It's been proved around the world. Texas leads the nation in solar and wind and battery installations, not because their climate woke, but because that's the levelized lowest cost of energy in the world now at the utility scale, much cheaper than gas and coal if you're building a new power plant today.

1:01:21Almost 90 percent of the The projects in line are renewable energy right now. So Lee Zeldin has made an incredible about face on the climate phase in his career right now. And this is this is one for the record books. All right. CNN's Bill Weir. Thanks so much. Let's look more into the science and politics of this with Zeland Hoover. He's a former senior advisor at the EPA during the Biden administration. And let us also extend, as we can right now, an invitation to EPA Administrator Zeldin to come on the show to talk about this perhaps tomorrow. So what do you think the impact of this decision will be?

1:01:57What happens if the federal government stops making rules to combat climate change? Jake, thanks for the opportunity to be here today. It's really an abrogation of EPA's responsibility. Congress gave EPA under the Clean Air Act a clear mandate to regulate pollutants that endanger public health or welfare. And that's what this endangerment finding is. It is a robust analysis that has been in place for well over a decade now, establishing that climate change does impact human public health and welfare. And they are attempting to roll that back because that is a way to kick the legs out from underneath all of these critical regulations that protect public health by going after climate pollutants in the power sector, the transportation sector, aviation sector.

1:02:56And so it is really an effort to circumvent the regulatory process. They do not want to have to articulate why they want regulations that are anti-public health and pro-pollution. And so they're trying to skip that process by undoing this so-called endangerment finding. So you just heard Bill refer to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court case, Massachusetts versus EPA, which said the agency had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and methane and other greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act, which is law. And that led to the EPA establishing carbon limits for vehicles, for power plants.

1:03:39Those are limits that the Trump administration says are simply too costly and unworkable. What's your response to that? It's quite telling, Jake, that in the materials they put out today, they really emphasize the costs. Well, the cost that they were showing for the vehicles rule, for instance, is the same cost that the Biden administration put out last year. What they're not showing are all of the many benefits that the Biden administration had also calculated. Benefits like fewer kids ending up in the hospital with asthma, families spending less on gasoline because they have more efficient cars, savings attributed to less extreme climate impacts.

1:04:23So, yes, any regulation has costs and benefits, and the work of an agency like EPA is to balance those. But you can't only have a conversation about the costs. If Lee Zeldin succeeds in this mission, won't a future Democratic president and a future Democratic administration be able to bring back the EPA's rulemaking ability? Well, first, I'm glad you said that if they succeed, because this will be challenged. And they've really set an uphill battle for themselves, because, again, they are trying to articulate a position in the year 2025 that climate change does not harm the economy, that climate change does not harm public health, which is really quite an extreme position to try to defend.

1:05:11But if they are successful, if they do succeed in fending off legal challenges, then yes, the next Democratic administration will have the opportunity to redo the endangerment finding. But that takes time. And that is time that will slow down work to tackle the most pressing causes of pollution in local communities. And so, yes, it can be undone down the road. But at what cost? At the time that it takes to to address some of the most pressing pollution needs across the country? All right, Zeland Hoover, thanks so much. Appreciate it. And again, our invitation is extended to Administrator Zeldin to come in.

1:05:52Our small business series takes us to Illinois next, where a family owned shoe company is warning that Trump's tariffs could cause their business and others across the country to close their doors. how they're working with lawmakers to try to change the tides. That's next.

1:06:11And our money lead, Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper, is hiking prices, they say, because of President Trump's tariffs. After a warning back in April, today Procter & Gamble revealed that those hikes are going to start next month because profits are going to take a$1 billion hit from tariffs. And this This brings us to our Business Leaders series, where we talk to small business owners from coast to coast about the impact of Trump's tariffs. Lori's Designer Shoes, for example, is a family owned company that's been operating for more than 40 years in the great city of Chicago.

1:06:44And co-owner Matt Andre joins us. Now, Matt, where do you manufacture your products and how have you been impacted by tariffs? So, Jake, we're a small importer of record from the EU. Our primary focus is handcrafted leather shoes made in Italy. The tariffs have affected us in so many ways. But most importantly, they create a crisis of cash flow for independent retailers like Lori Shoes. These costs are ultimately passed down to the consumer. There's no way around that. But more importantly, the skyrocketing cost of goods are worrying us. We're worried about our 35 incredible employees that we're able to offer health insurance and benefits to.

1:07:34And without immediate tariff relief, we're not certain we're going to be able to sustain that. So it sounds like you're considering layoffs. You have to consider layoffs. Have you had to raise prices? Have you eaten some of the costs? How have you dealt with it so far as of this day in July? So with our new fall assortment, yes, we do have to raise prices nominally. We're eating some of those increased costs. But consider our net costs on our imports are increasing by a whopping 30 % just from last fall. By the numbers on an annualized basis, our cost increase will be anywhere from$150 ,000 to$200 ,000, equivalent to three or four full-time salaries in our company.

1:08:24All right. Have you noticed the behavior of your customers changing at all in this economic environment? Yes, the customer behavior has changed. They're much more apprehensive to buy. And on a micro level, just to illustrate, we have one of our hero products, our best-selling boot. last fall, my landed cost was$132. This fall, my landed cost is$174, nearly a$40 increase, a 30 % net increase. So while we're raising the cost$20 at retail, our costs have increased by more than double. So for a retailer, tighter margins, lower volume, concerned customers, it's a recipe for disaster. It's a good looking boot.

1:09:09Now you've met with your lawmakers about these issues. And there's actually work being done on a bipartisan legislation to talk about this. Tell us about that. So we have common sense policy asks that we're after, Jake. We're looking for narrowly tailored exemptions for sectors like footwear, where over 99 % of the goods are produced overseas. And there's a physical impossibility of producing here stateside. these exemptions for small businesses will not harm the broader trade goals of the administration but they will provide immediate relief for Main Street America. All right the business is Lori's Designer Shoes you can find them in Chicago or online.

1:09:53Matt Andre thank you so much appreciate your time sir.

1:09:59The announcement from the UK Prime Minister today that has Israel accusing Britain of rewarding Hamas. That's next.

1:10:12In our worldly new fallout from the ongoing starvation crisis in Gaza, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer just announced that the United Kingdom will recognize the state of Palestine this September unless the government of Israel takes substantive steps to end what Starmer calls the, quote, appalling situation, unquote, in Gaza. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says the British plan will harm efforts to reach a ceasefire and constitutes, quote, a reward for Hamas. Also today, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry reported that the overall Palestinian death toll since October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, has surpassed 60 ,000.

1:10:49We should note that the Palestinian Health Ministry makes no distinction between civilians and Hamas militants. All this comes as the IPC, which is a United Nations-backed initiative of 21 well-known aid agencies. The IPC is declaring a worst case scenario of famine currently taking place in the Gaza Strip. And we're joined now by Ross Smith. He's the director of emergencies for the World Food Program. Thanks so much for joining us. What are you hearing from your crews on the ground in Gaza right now? Yeah, thanks for having me on, Jake. We're seeing absolutely devastating scenes on the ground.

1:11:27As you've seen on some of the television images, you know, starvation for a large percentage of the population. We estimate a quarter of the population in the brink of famine and up to 100 ,000 women and children with severe acute malnutrition. So these are for the teams on the ground. It's very, very difficult circumstances to work, both to see the devastation, but also to the working conditions for our teams and our partners. The World Food Program for whom you work. It's part of the IPC that's a larger group that works on food security. And they just issued that new alert claiming that famine is currently playing out in Gaza.

1:12:04What exactly does that mean that famine is playing out? Yeah, so there was an alert issued today by the IPC partners, which says that we are on the brink of famine in Gaza. So when they look at how much is available for people to eat, they look at the levels of malnutrition, and they look at the levels of mortality. And so we are close to declaring a famine in Gaza. We do not have all of the evidence for that, but certainly what our teams are seeing on the ground is definitely a famine situation. And if nothing changes, what's going to happen? What's your worst fear here? Well, if we don't see sustained action, a significant scale up of humanitarian assistance, We will continue to see the really shocking images that you see on your screens of women and children that are in dire need of medical assistance because they are starved and because they are malnourished.

1:13:01So what we're asking for is really sustained commitment on the ground to have a surge of humanitarian response inside Gaza. And the IPC has put out a list of recommended actions in addition to surging supplies and food. They want an end to hostilities. They want to ensure access for the delivery of humanitarian aid, protecting civilians, aid workers and infrastructure, restoring humanitarian assistance and restoring the flow of commercial goods. Given the current state of the Israel Hamas conflict, are any of those likely? well i mean what we've been calling for for some time wfp and the rest of the humanitarian community is a ceasefire that will allow us to work effectively on the ground and until we get a ceasefire ceasefire like conditions we're going to continue to see what we see you know what we need is that sustained as you as you indicated those those conditions there that sustained access to life-saving assistance and we need a much greater scale than we've had now we've had since Sunday over the last three, four days, we've had about 50 percent of what we've requested to move in prior to that, less than 10 percent.

1:14:12So our viewers see these heartbreaking images from Gaza. Is there an effective way that ordinary people, people just watching right now, can help? I think the best way is honestly is being aware of the situation, understanding the reality in Gaza, understanding what the situation and the facts are. And I think that is the most important thing that your viewers can do. We do have enough supplies sitting on the borders of Gaza to move in. We have more than two months worth of food assistance available right on the borders of Gaza that we can surge in immediately. So we have the supplies, we have the capacity, the knowledge, the expertise, the partners, and what is happening, what you see on the screen now is completely avoidable.

1:14:58So what we need is more awareness of this and ultimately more diplomatic action to allow us to work. All right, Ross Smith of the World Food Program, thank you so much.

1:15:13New groundbreaking research out today revealing ways that we can all slow down the aging process. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to come back on the show here to break it all down for us. That's next.

1:15:27So, Brad, it's for you now. Air Force One has just landed at Joint Base Andrews just outside D.C. President Trump returning from his weekend trip to Scotland. Next stop, the White House in just a few minutes. And our health lead, we can't avoid aging, but is there any way to slow down its effects? According to a brand new study out today from the Alzheimer's Association, moderate changes to diet and increased exercise can slow cognitive decline in older adults. Let's get to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent and author of Keep Sharp. What did the breakdown study found for us? This was a very exciting study and I think pretty inspiring what the findings show for a lot of people who are concerned about dementia.

1:16:11So the headline really has been that about 40%, so close to half of cases of dementia, are likely preventable. That's a pretty extraordinary headline. I think for a lot of people, they believed you're going to be diagnosed with dementia. There's really not much you can do about it. There's not much you can do to prevent it or to reverse it. And the data is starting to emerge that shows that's not the case. So the study that we're talking about here was a U.S.-based study that sort of replicated findings that we had seen in other countries around the world. Just over 2 ,000 participants between the ages of 60 and 79, and they were cognitively doing fine.

1:16:46not the greatest lifestyle, this kind of sedentary lifestyle at increased risk of dementia. And what they found was that when they put them through a structured program to try and improve their lifestyle, which included regular exercise, Mediterranean diet, brain training, socialization, health monitoring, they had a significant improvement in terms of overall reducing the likelihood they would develop dementia. They compare two groups, a group that went into a structured sort of program and a group that sort of did it on their own. They both improved in terms of actually reducing their likelihood of dementia, but the structured program, they did even better.

1:17:24There was also another study that came out showing people who had already been diagnosed with cognitive impairment. Could they be actually changed as well and proved? I did a documentary about this called The Last Alzheimer's Patient, but the short answer is yes, even in people who had already been diagnosed with cognitive impairment. doing 20 weeks of a vegan diet, exercise, strength training, stress relief, online support sessions. They saw people whose symptoms either stopped, stalled, or even reversed. I was worried about my own brain health. I have a significant family history of Alzheimer's disease.

1:18:01So I went through the program myself that Dr. Richard Isaacson had put forth, and I had a chance to talk to him just a few months into actually adopting those lifestyle changes. Listen to what he told me. Your numbers went from eh to now working faster and better than your age. You're actually six years younger than your age. Six years back of brain health. I think that's sort of the point of these studies. We have a lot more control over the progression of potential brain problems than I think we previously realized. All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Sanjay is going to take your questions on this topic.

1:18:41Scan the QR code on your screen right now to submit a question. And Sanjay is going to be back later this week to answer some of your questions. In our world lead, the Trump administration is set to burn 9.7 million U.S. purchased contraceptives as part of the dismantling of USAID. These contraceptives are mostly long-lasting types of birth control. The earliest some of them are going to expire is 2027. It's not clear exactly when the supplies will be destroyed. The Belgian government is in talks with the U.S. Embassy to try to find alternative solutions. Strange. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, ThreadsX, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper.

1:19:19You can follow the show on X at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts. Aaron Burnett out front starts now. I'll see you back here on The Lead tomorrow, 5 o 'clock sharp Eastern. See you then.

1:19:35Go inside the sports moments that brought us together and made history. From the underdogs to the rivalries and the miracles. It sends chills down your spine. It's what sport was all about. The new CNN original series, Decades in Sports. Now streaming on the CNN app.