Shutdown Will Extend To Next Week As Senate Leaves D.C.

24 Oct 2025 · 1 h 24 min · 30 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

The Lead (Jake Tapper) covers escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions tied to alleged drug-boat strikes; a sprawling FBI probe into mafia-linked NBA gambling and sports rigging; Israel/West Bank annexation warnings amid Gaza ceasefire diplomacy; and U.S. domestic politics including the government shutdown, Jack Smith’s request to testify publicly, and the White House East Wing demolition for a Trump ballroom. It also notes the Louvre heist video and a Trump pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao.

Guests (backgrounds)

Kristen Holmes (White House correspondent). Stefano Pozoban (reporter in Caracas). Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas; former Navy SEAL; House Intelligence Committee). CNN sports reporter Dana O’Neill (sports reporting). Elliot Williams (CNN legal analyst; former federal prosecutor). Manu Raju (Capitol Hill reporter). Jonah and Adrian (panel commentators). Bryn Gingras (sports reporter). Barrett Berger (former federal prosecutor; organized crime/racketeering). Christine Brennan (sports columnist).

Key claims

Trump says strikes won’t stop and may expand to land; he equates cartels to ISIS. Venezuelans describe political prisoners and fear of U.S. intervention. Crenshaw argues War Powers Act permits strikes in international waters. FBI alleges NBA players/coaches used insider info and point shaving; separate case used high-tech cheating in rigged poker games.

Notable examples

Chauncey Billups (rigged poker) and Terry Rozier (point shaving/prop bets); alleged poker tech like x-ray tables and contact lenses; Rozier allegedly leaving a game early after a tip; White House East Wing rubble for a donor-funded ballroom.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Military Strikes on Drug Boats

0:48 to 1:51

Discussion on U.S. military actions targeting drug trafficking in the Pacific.

“military has now killed at least 37 people in strikes on suspected drug boats.”

Political Tensions in Venezuela

1:51 to 5:00

Exploration of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela amid military posturing.

“We start with our world lead on the heels of a diplomatic victory in the Middle East.”

Public Sentiment Towards Maduro

5:00 to 8:16

Analyzing Venezuelan citizens' perspective on their government's actions and U.S. involvement.

“All right, Kristen Holmes at the White House, thank you so much.”

Congressman Crenshaw on Drug Policy

8:16 to 14:00

Congressman Crenshaw discusses U.S. drug policy and the implications of military actions.

“Joining us now, Republican from Texas, Congressman Dan Crenshaw.”

Government Shutdown Discussion

14:00 to 15:11

Explore the ongoing government shutdown and the political dynamics involved.

“Because we want to negotiate in good faith while keeping the government open.”

Sports Rigging Scandal Overview

15:12 to 15:34

Learn about the FBI's investigation into sports rigging that implicates NBA figures.

“Hidden cameras, special contact lenses that could read pre-marked cards and x-ray table.”

Details of the Rigging Scheme

15:35 to 17:47

Delve into the specifics of the allegations against NBA players and coaches involved in cheating.

“And yes, that mafia, the Gambino and Genovese crime families, among others.”

Legal Expert Analysis

17:48 to 20:10

Gain insights from legal analysts on the implications of the sports rigging case.

“So two very separate cases, very distinct cases, but both landing these guys in some hot water.”

Allegations Against High-Profile Players

20:11 to 21:42

Understand the serious allegations involving NBA stars and the potential consequences.

“And let's talk about the NBA betting allegations, because the indictment was very specific.”

International Political Tensions

21:43 to 22:22

Examine President Trump's warning to Israel regarding U.S. support amid rising tensions.

“President Trump is today warning Israel that it will lose all U.S.”
Show all 30 chapters

Israeli Politics and Annexation Plans

22:59 to 26:12

Discuss the implications of Israel's potential annexation of the West Bank and U.S. reactions.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel today, tagging in for Vice President J.D.”

Jack Smith's Testimony Request

26:13 to 28:01

Explore the context and implications of former special counsel Jack Smith's request to testify.

“Former special counsel Jack Smith is requesting that the U.S.”

Standoff Over Congresswoman-Elect Grijalva's Seating

28:01 to 30:59

Learn about the political standoff surrounding Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva and her challenges in assuming office.

“Imanu, I want to turn to this standoff in the House about seating Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva from Arizona.”

Demolition of the East Wing of the White House

31:00 to 31:46

Discover the recent demolition of the East Wing and plans for a new ballroom, alongside public reactions.

“The entire East Wing of the White House, which of course witnessed so much history, is now history itself.”

Public Reaction to Trump's Ballroom and Fundraising

31:47 to 35:56

Explore the public's concern regarding Trump's fundraising for the East Wing ballroom and its implications.

“about the fact that this ballroom would involve massive structural changes to the East Wing.”

Pardons in the Trump Administration

35:57 to 38:28

Examine the implications of Trump's pardons, including the recent pardon of Changpeng Zhao.

“Americans have too, just be demolished as if it was just some crummy old building that, you know, contractors are coming in and tearing down at Trump's demands.”

Louvre Heist Investigation

38:29 to 42:02

Get updates on the investigation into the Louvre heist and the video evidence that has emerged.

“A brand new video appears to show the Louvre heist in action.”

Massive Gambling Scheme Overview

42:16 to 43:12

Discussion of a large gambling scheme involving NBA players and mafia connections.

“This hour, a massive gambling scheme involving the mafia and some NBA players and coaches.”

Details of the Allegations

43:12 to 46:48

In-depth look at the shocking allegations against NBA players and coaches involved in gambling and cheating.

“are sending shockwaves across the NBA and the United States.”

Legal Implications and Reactions

46:48 to 53:10

Discussion on legal implications of the gambling schemes and reactions from experts.

“I'm going to wait outside poker games and pistol whip five winners a week.”

Technology Used in Cheating

53:10 to 56:00

Exploration of high-tech equipment used in gambling fraud, including X-ray tables and rigged shuffling machines.

“And we're back with our Law and Justice lead.”

Cheating Technology in Poker

56:00 to 58:55

Explore how a phone can be transformed into a cheating device for poker games.

“Well, first of all, this is a regular phone.”

Cheating Technology in Poker

59:44 to 1:00:05

Explore how a phone can be transformed into a cheating device for poker games.

“HomeServe is an easy way to handle unexpected home repairs.”

Pardoned Rioters and New Crimes

1:00:12 to 1:04:21

Analysis of pardoned January 6 rioters who are now facing new legal issues.

“I can say we're very proud of what we did.”

Impact of Trump's Beef Imports on Ranchers

1:04:21 to 1:08:27

Cattle ranchers discuss the effects of increased Argentinian beef imports due to new policies.

“Next, we're going to go to Nebraska, where farmers who were already struggling with rising costs are now worried about how a new Trump policy could hurt their business.”

Endorsement Controversy in NYC Politics

1:08:27 to 1:10:06

New York Mayor Eric Adams endorses Andrew Cuomo amidst a politically charged debate.

“New York City Mayor Eric Adams once called former Governor Andrew Cuomo a snake and a liar.”

Political Rivalry and Accusations

1:10:06 to 1:12:55

The debate highlights accusations between candidates, focusing on Cuomo's past and Mamdani's responses.

“The former governor also suggested President Donald Trump would see Mamdani as a weaker political rival.”

Debate Reactions and Voter Impact

1:12:57 to 1:14:59

Panelists discuss the implications of the debate remarks on undecided voters and the candidates' qualifications.

“Cuomo said this about Mondani in a radio interview.”

Political Endorsements and Strategies

1:15:01 to 1:18:25

Discussion of endorsements in the race, focusing on the shifting dynamics and motivations behind candidate support.

“That's what he said he was referring to.”

Impact of USAID Cuts on Refugees

1:18:27 to 1:22:10

Exploration of the severe consequences of USAID cuts on refugee populations and their dire needs.

“As you indicated, Wolf, early voting starts in a few days.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00And we're live on Match Day as Doug reaches for a buffalo wing. He's got it! Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi, too! What a finish! There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Match Days deserve Pepsi. You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfair gets it. Planning on dining al fresco or relaxing poolside? Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space. Shop now and save up to 70 % off during Wayfair's 4th of July clearance. Score huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget.

0:35Plus, surprise flash deals July 6th. Don't wait. Shop Wayfair's 4th of July clearance now through July 6th at Wayfair.com.

0:48The U.S. military has now killed at least 37 people in strikes on suspected drug boats. The lead starts right now. The Pentagon expands where it's targeting suspected drug votes with yet another hit in the eastern Pacific. President Trump moments ago calling cartels the ISIS of the western hemisphere, but now one country's leader says he's moving missiles amid growing tensions with the U.S. Plus, inside the wild, massive scandal rocking the NBA. Officials say current and former NBA NBA players and coaches and four mafia families are involved in illegal sports gambling and poker rigging schemes.

1:28And the new images today of the east wing of the White House confirming it's totally gone. A whole lot of history now reduced to rubble as the White House doubles down on the donor list for the president's massive$300 million new ballroom.

1:50Welcome to The Lead, I'm Jake Tapper. We start with our world lead on the heels of a diplomatic victory in the Middle East. Is the Trump administration risking an entirely new conflict, even closer to home? Last night, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed a ninth U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat. Alleged. This one was the second such strike in the Pacific after a string of strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Those strikes fueling a deepening public rift between President Trump and Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and Colombian leader Gustavo Petro. This afternoon, Petro said Colombia has been incredibly effective in seizing cocaine on its own, and he accused the U.S.

2:31of carrying out extrajudicial executions, a charge repeated in the halls of Congress as well. On Wednesday, Maduro upped the ante, claiming he has 5 ,000 Russian missiles in, quote, key air defense positions to guarantee peace, unquote. Here's how President Trump put the U.S. position just moments ago. I don't think we're going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Steven's Kristen Holmes is at the White House. As far as Kristen, Trump also suggested expanding some land operations. Yeah, Jake, this is something he's been flirting with but hasn't yet actually done.

3:10One thing was very clear from this roundtable that he hosted that these strikes are not going to stop anytime soon. And in fact, they appear to just be getting started. And I do want to point out something that you noted, this idea that President Trump and really many of his cabinet secretaries have been talking about these alleged drug cartels, equating them to ISIS of the Western Hemisphere. Well, there is a reason for that. That is because administrations in the past have used a legal workaround to not have to to go through Congress when you're talking about armed conflict, and particularly with terrorist organizations like ISIS, like al-Qaeda.

3:43So there's a reason that they continue to link these cartels to those specific terror groups, because it's something that there's a precedent of in the United States. But of course, there are still so many questions as to what exactly is going on with these strikes, not many of which we got answers to today, other than President Trump saying he didn't believe he needed to go to Congress to continue to strike these boats. and then threatening once again to strike on land.

4:12You know, the land is going to be next. And we may go to the Senate, we may go to the, you know, Congress and tell them about it. The C drugs are almost dead and they can't come in that fast from the land. And the land drugs are much more dangerous for them. It's going to be much more dangerous. You'll be seeing that soon. Well, he also speculated that if he did, in fact, go to Congress, He wouldn't get much pushback from Republican lawmakers, which seems about right, given what we have seen on most of the things that he has brought to Congress. And one other quick note, he did flatly deny the idea that B-1 bombers were flying off the coast of Venezuela.

4:48Of course, that is something we and other outlets have been reporting, that this American B-1 Lancer bomber was flying off the coast as these escalations have increased between Venezuela and the United States. He said it was false, but then added that Washington is very unhappy with Venezuela. All right, Kristen Holmes at the White House, thank you so much. Let's get right to Stefano Pozoban. He's now in Venezuela's capital of Caracas. So Maduro's provocative military moves did not stop at the missile announcement. Tell us more about that. Yes, Jake. Well, we've actually been tracking these movements from Venezuelan troops for the past few weeks.

5:27And, for example, Maduro had called for a mobilization of the militia and the reserves before. It was here in Caracas, and then he called it last week in the western regions of Venezuela. But even today we saw reports on social media and in groups of sightings of air defense mobile units mobilized around the main airport that serves Caracas, which is about 30 miles from where I am. It's a sign, I think, Jake, of how seriously the Maduro government is taking this threat from the White House. And in particular, you see that by the constant and incessant presence that military is on the Venezuelan television.

6:09Even today, the Venezuelan defense minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, was once again on television holding a speech and saying that they're ready for whatever should come from the north. Jake? And Stefano, you're talking to Venezuelans who are not only concerned about the U.S. military being used this way, but also the domestic political climate. How are they feeling about Maduro these days? Well, let's make no mistake that this remains an authoritarian government that is controlling, ruling this country with an iron fist. We spoke with several relatives of people who are saying are political prisoners.

6:48According to human rights organizations, there are about 750 of them. And also, Jake, about 100 of them are actually foreigners. We know that there are no longer US citizens detained behind bars in Venezuela, but at the same time you have Europeans, Colombians, Brazilians, Ecuadorians, who are being used here in this tactic that the Maduro regime has employed in the past to use them as pawns, these foreign nationals, as pawns in negotiations with other countries, with the international community. If you speak to their relatives, and in particular if you speak to the relatives of those Venezuelans who are behind bar for political reasons, well, they tell you that they can't wait any longer for this U.S.

7:30intervention. They're really welcoming open arms and they're really hoping that this could be the end of this government as it is right now. Of course, there is a lot of speculation, Jake. If you go around Caracas, it's very hard to have any real feeling of what could happen. There is, of course, a lot of swirling rumours on the streets of Caracas, and not many people are actually willing to go on the record and share their remarks on that because of this climate of fear and intimidation that is coming down from the government. But all of this is also mounting to the expectation, Jake, that something might happen between now and perhaps Christmas, perhaps the end of the year or much sooner, as Donald Trump seemed to suggest earlier today.

8:11Jake? Stefano Pozzoban in Venezuela, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Joining us now, Republican from Texas, Congressman Dan Crenshaw. He's a former Navy SEAL. He serves on the House Intelligence Committee. And Congressman, obviously you're very familiar with Venezuela. You lived in Colombia. In 2019, you told CBS News that Congress should have buy-in if there was any consideration of U.S. boots on the ground in Venezuela. And even then, you cited an extreme reason, genocide. And you said you preferred other countries in the region to take the lead militarily. So President Trump said he doesn't need to ask Congress to strike alleged drug traffickers as he's been doing.

8:50Do you agree? Yeah, I agree. I mean, that's been upheld many times, from the Barbary pirates under Jefferson to Ronald Reagan in Libya to Barack Obama in Libya. It has been upheld that War Powers Act allows the president to engage in that kind of self-defense and that a war would be defined as a prolonged occupation of that country. So, you know, that's quite a big difference from what's happening now, striking known designated terrorists carrying drugs. And we do have 100 % certainty that that intelligence is correct, striking those in international waters. We're a very far cry from going beyond the legal ability of the president.

9:37There are critics, of course, who say that President Trump is taking powers to combat terrorists and using them to address drug traffickers, which in their view is a criminal matter. Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, he has issues with the legality of the strikes. Take a listen. I really think that you cannot have a policy where you just allege that someone is guilty of something and then kill them. We interdict ships all the time off the coast of Miami, off the coast of California. And the Coast Guard statistics say that about 25 % of the boats that we stopped to search don't have any drugs.

10:14So if one out of four of the boats don't have drugs on them, you know, what kind of person would justify blowing up people when one out of four boats may well not have drugs on them? What's your response, sir? The senator just, you know, hasn't gotten the briefings that he probably needs to get. One, you know, you're never going to interdict your way out of the drug trafficking coming out of the Caribbean. and we're losing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Americans to fentanyl deaths, even if it's just cocaine or marijuana that enriches the Mexican cartels that really control all of this so that they can continue pushing fentanyl into our streets.

10:53The second thing is we don't make mistakes one out of four. We just don't. Not in this case. We do have 100 % uncertainty of each of these strikes. That I can tell you. So, look, you're never going to interdict your way out. That's extremely expensive and resource intensive. And it hasn't worked for decades. So the idea of trying something new, and yes, it is against a terrorist organization. They act like terrorists, that's for sure. And you can quibble about whether it's criminal or terroristic activity. In the end, we have all the authority we need to strike them. So if their terrorists and the Trump administration intelligence that they're using is 100 % accurate, why were two of the survivors of a recent strike returned to their home countries of, I believe, Ecuador and Colombia?

11:47I don't know. You're going to have to ask the administration what the thought process is there. But it doesn't mean they weren't doing what we think they were doing. the fentanyl is obviously a serious issue but this the fentanyl is not coming from venezuela and colombia the fentanyl is coming from china via mexico as you know better than i do so how is striking cocaine dealers or cocaine narco terrorists assuming that's who these people are related to the fentanyl and opioid deaths in the u.s which are obviously tragic well i thought i I thought I explained that in my earlier comment. So it's all connected.

12:28The people who control all of this, this entire system, are the heads of the Mexican drug cartels. They're the ones who go down to Colombia. They make those contracts. They make sure it's shipped up. They're the ones making all the money in the end. The old days of Pablo Escobar running the Medellin cartel, that's all over. So only the suppliers, just poor farmers, are the ones making the cocaine and then sending it out. So whether cocaine is killing people or not, the fact is it's enriching the cartels. And the cartels, of course, enrich themselves to wreak havoc on Mexico, which happens to be our biggest trading partner and neighbor.

13:03So I think we have an interest in ensuring that Mexico does not devolve into a narco-terrorist state the way Colombia was back in the 80s and 90s. So it's a little bit more intricate than you might suggest. All of these things are connected. Moving to the government shutdown. Today's day 23. Texas has thousands of federal workers. What are you telling Texans calling your office, worried about putting food on their tables, paying their mortgage and all the other all the other expenses? Yeah, and it's heartbreaking fielding those calls because I don't have any control over Democrat votes. You know, I mean, just to refresh everyone's memory, the House voted weeks ago to pass a clean CR.

13:46A clean CR plus health care provisions like extending community health centers, extending funding for low-income hospitals, extending funding for telehealth. And it was a clean CR, no strings attached, seven weeks. Why? Why is it short like that? Because we want to negotiate in good faith while keeping the government open. And now, what is it, 12 times Senate Democrats have voted to shut down the government. and then somehow have the audacity to call this a GOP shutdown, which is just insane. And I agree with Senator Chris Murphy from way back in the day when he said, look, the time to debate health care issues is not when government funding is on the line.

14:27Now, of course, he said that when it was convenient for him. And I can point to, we have like 20 other examples of Democrats doing that. But I wish I could, look, I tell my constituents, I wish I could control Democrat votes, but I can't. So we've got to keep public messaging on this and be rational. Open up the government. Happy to debate this health care issue. It's complex. It should happen in our committees. It should happen in a calm environment. But you can't do it with the government shutdown. And Democrats are just putting pain on people. And for what? I mean, the Capitol Police are getting paid right now, but they're forced to protect these senators who are literally voting not to pay them.

15:07Yeah. Republican from Texas, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, thank you, sir. And as always, thank you for your service. Hidden cameras, special contact lenses that could read pre-marked cards and x-ray table. The FBI says these are just a few of the tools used in a sports rigging and gambling probe. The defendants include members of the NBA and the mafia. Plus some breaking news on former special counsel Jack Smith, who just made a pretty bold request of the Justice Department and of Congress. That's ahead.

15:39In our Law and Justice lead, the scandal-rocking sports fans and the NBA after federal prosecutors announced an NBA player and an NBA head coach were among at least 30 arrests today in two different mafia-linked gambling and sports rigging schemes. And yes, that mafia, the Gambino and Genovese crime families, among others. Now, one scheme allegedly involved underground poker games with rampant cheating. Another used insider information to place bets on NBA games. And among those arrested, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups. FBI Director Cash Patel says victims were cheated out of tens of millions of dollars.

16:24There is no room for any type of criminal behavior, be it on the world's largest stage or in the back rooms of tiny parlors. Your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out. Violating the law is a losing proposition, and you can bet on that. Let's go to CNN sports reporter Dana O 'Neill. Dana, what does the FBI say that these NBA stars specifically did? Right. As you said, there are two separate cases. It's the first involving Portland Trailblazer head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups. It's kind of a very complicated scheme involving rigged poker games that did include, as you mentioned, members of the mafia.

17:06Allegedly, Billups was the lure who brought wealthy bettors into these poker games where things like illegal card shuffling machines were used so they could not possibly win. they took those profits and split them up and then mafia went on and did what they usually did and asked people to pay them back in ways that are not necessarily kind uh in the other i guess more traditional case if you will terry rozier who plays for the miami heat uh was involved in what is essentially point shaving he would give players and or give people insider information about his status and in some cases remove himself from a game with an injury so that they were able to bet on his points, assists and rebounds, prop bets as they're called, and profit off of that insider information.

17:54So two very separate cases, very distinct cases, but both landing these guys in some hot water. All right, Dan O 'Neill, thanks so much. Here now, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams. First, Elliot, I want to get your reaction to the sprawling nature of this investigation. It spans across nine states. Yes, nine states and you're talking tens of millions of dollars, Jake. Some of these poker games, which the most mind-boggling fact is poker games administered by senior members of La Cosa Nostra, the four of the five families of New York organized crime, some of them defrauded people out of$7 million at a time.

18:33It's a lot of money and quite sprawling. Now, what's interesting in the indictment, Jake, is using the language of asset forfeiture and money laundering, in effect, talking about the people having access to private, non-public information and sharing it and trading it as if we're talking here about insider trading. So it is sprawling. It's a fascinating white-collar case. So the mafia-backed poker scheme, some of the equipment used sounds really like right out of a spy novel. Take a listen. Defendants used other cheating technologies such as poker chip tray analyzers, which is a poker chip tray that secretly reads cards using a hidden camera, special contact lenses or eyeglasses that could read pre-marked cards, and an x-ray table that could read cards face down on the table.

19:31What was your reaction when you heard that? James Bond I mean that truly was my reaction look I've been a lawyer a long time I was a prosecutor and I'm a pretty sophisticated viewer of spy movies Jake I was stunned by some of these things particularly the x-ray table what they also talked about were the code words for fish the little people were the fish and there was another name for the sophisticated folks like Chauncey Billups the former the coach of the Portland Trailblazers sending messages to people in and out of the room based on what these x-ray tables were picking up is just the stuff of novels, not the real world.

20:11It's quite fascinating. And let's talk about the NBA betting allegations, because the indictment was very specific. The Department of Justice alleging that when the Charlotte Hornets played the New Orleans Pelicans in March 2023, quote, Rozier allegedly tipped off a longtime friend that he planned to leave the game early due to supposed injury. He then left the game after nine minutes, generating tens of thousands of dollars in profits. And also when the Orlando Magic played the Cleveland Cavaliers in April 2023, quote, a co-conspirator allegedly leveraged a relationship with a Magic player to learn that several of the team's top players would sit out a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

20:52That kind of detail, what does that suggest? Yeah, and I know, Jake, you're a baseball fan as well. This is the Chicago Black Sox or the Black Sox scandal, but modernized. And there's even another one where they refer to, I believe it's individual number three or player number three, who is believed to be LeBron James, the most iconic player of our time trading on information about when he was not going to be in the game. People have put together the fact that they were talking about the team that LeBron's team was playing at the time and that he was not in the game. Well, someone treated that as a tip and made a lot of money for themselves and other people.

21:29Now, again, all these are just allegations. None of them have been proven in court. But these are quite stunning when we talk about the kinds of money and the kinds of interactions with the NBA that we have here. Elliot Williams, thanks so much. President Trump is today warning Israel that it will lose all U.S. support if Israel goes through with one big move. We're going to have the latest on the fragile ceasefire in Gaza head.

22:2112-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling, and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer.

22:57Our worldly now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel today, tagging in for Vice President J.D. Vance as they both push to ensure the holding of the fragile Gaza ceasefire. Just before Vice President Vance left, he slammed Israel's parliament or Knesset for passing two preliminary votes designed to annex the West Bank. If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it. The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. Annexing the West Bank has been a goal of Israel's far right wing for years. More than 3 million Palestinians who lived in that occupied territory have faced an increased Israeli military presence, checkpoints, and deadly attacks by zealot settlers since Israel's war on Gaza began and long before that as well.

23:51CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv, Israel. And Jeremy, President Trump just addressed this as well. He did, Jake. And you saw Vice President Vance's visible anger reacting to this while in Israel. and now President Trump leaving very little unsaid about what would happen and what will certainly not happen in Israel. Watch.

24:15They're not going to do anything with the West Bank, okay? Don't worry about it. Is that your question? They're not going to do anything with the West Bank. Don't worry about it. Israel's doing very well. They're not going to do anything with it. The president also said in an interview with Time Magazine that Israel would lose all U.S. support if it moved forward with annexation. And this all stems from these two preliminary votes that took place in Israel's Knesset while the vice president was on the ground. One of those votes was about a bill calling for complete annexation of all Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the other more limited annexation.

24:51These were the first of what would be four votes in order for these bills to actually become law. So a long ways away. But the fact that these votes happened while the vice president was on the ground certainly did not seem like a mistake. And it triggered these reactions that we're seeing from both Vance and from President Trump. It also then cued in the Israeli prime minister himself, rushing to try and clean all of this up. His office putting out a statement describing these votes as a, quote, deliberate political provocation. He blamed his opposition. But the reality is that the opposition members who brought these bills forward are members of far-right parties who largely vote in line with the current Israeli governing coalition.

25:32And 19 of the 25 votes required to pass this piece of legislation in its first reading came from members of the own prime minister's coalition. And so it's clear that this is a goal of the right wing within Netanyahu's own governing coalition. He is now trying to put this all to bed, insisting that these bills would only pass with significant support from his own Likud party. And without that, they likely won't go anywhere. The closest signal that we've heard so far from the prime minister that this is not actually going to happen, as President Trump and Vice President Vance are making that very clear themselves.

Read the full transcript

26:11Jake. All right, CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Israel. Thank you so much. We have some breaking news for you. Former special counsel Jack Smith is requesting that the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Justice Department allow him to testify publicly. We'll explain what's behind this request after this quick break.

26:34Some breaking news in our politics lead moments ago. Former special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated President Trump when he was in between presidencies, sent a letter asking the leaders of the House and the Senate Judiciary Committees to allow him to testify before the American people. CNN's Manu Raju is live for us on Capitol Hill. Manu, what is behind this request? Yeah, this is not an unusual effort by people who simply don't want to be deposed and are pushing back against Congress to call for a public testimony. Remember, Hunter Biden did this as well when Republicans were pushing for his private deposition.

27:07And that is not an unusual thing. The question is, how will the people who are in charge of these committees ultimately respond? Will they be open to any sort of public hearing? And we're getting some early indication that the Republicans who lead the committee absolutely are not in favor of initially allowing Jack Smith to testify in public. In fact, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley just put out a statement saying Jack Smith certainly has a lot of answering to do. But first, Congress needs to have all the facts at its disposal. Hearing should follow once the investigative foundation has been firmly set, which is why I'm actually working with the DOJ and FBI to collect all relevant records that Mr.

27:45Smith had years to become familiar with. So ultimately the question here is, Jake, how will the Smiths team respond? Will it be open to a private deposition first? Will this lead to a process fight? How far will Republicans take it? But you can probably characterize this as an opening salvo between Republicans and the special counsel who investigated the president. Jake. Imanu, I want to turn to this standoff in the House about seating Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva from Arizona. She was elected 30 days ago. Speaker Johnson says he'll swear her in, she's a Democrat, when the House returns to session, full session.

28:21But he insists that that shouldn't prevent her from getting to work. It's something that Congresswoman-elect Grijalva flat out denies. Here's what they both had to say to CNN's Caitlin Collins last night. In the meantime, she can be serving her constituents and trying to help them through this chaos, just like the House Republicans are doing. She has 16 employees. She now has her phones and computers set up. He knows exactly what I can and cannot do, and I feel like he's trolling me. We don't have phones. We don't have Internet. I am a tourist in D.C. who does not have an identification to get in through security.

28:58Manu, fact check this for us. Can she or can she not get to work? Does she have working computers, phones, internet, and all the rest? She says she does have devices, but she can't log in to those devices, Jake. And while she is a congresswoman-elect, she does not have the full privileges of members of Congress, meaning she can't just walk around the Capitol. In fact, she does not have a congressional pin. You see, members of Congress have pins around. They can walk around the House. They can walk onto the House floor. They can walk onto the Senate floor. She can't even come into the Capitol building itself.

29:29And she says she is limited in her ability to respond to constituent demands, and they have a whole host of requests from constituents that they can't adequately respond to. So there is a significant limitation there. The speaker himself has had a round of shifting explanations about all of this. Initially, he said that he would swear her in once Congress returned to session. But he has canceled one week of session after another amid this government shutdown fight to pressure Senate Democrats to change course and accept their bill. And he can, he does have the power to swear her in in what's known as a pro forma session of the United States House.

30:05That is a gavel in, gavel out session, no business is conducted, that is happening every few days. He did that in similar pro forma sessions before with two Florida Republicans. I've asked him, why not do that same thing? Initially, he said, well, we'll let her be sworn in as soon as she wants. But then he has since said that he will only do it when the government reopens. He's trying to contend that it was following a precedent that then Speaker Pelosi did when she did not swear in people who were elected during a summer recess. But still, Jake, there are a lot of questions about why the speaker is not moving ahead.

30:37One question that Democrats have is that she would be the 218th signature on the effort to force a vote calling for the full release of all of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The speaker, of course, denies that is behind his motivation. Jake. Yeah, but every day he doesn't swear her in. That's another day that we mentioned the Jeffrey Epstein files on international television. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Appreciate it. The entire East Wing of the White House, which of course witnessed so much history, is now history itself. So who's going to be paying for the ballroom that's replacing it?

31:09That's next.

31:15We're in our politics lead now. Now, let's take a look at these brand new images today of what was once the east wing of the White House until surprisingly some construction equipment took it down. It's basically nothing but rubble now. Totally demolished. It's going to make room for President Trump's ballroom, the plans for which are growing in both size and price, even amid outrage from preservation groups. Secret Service agents closed the park where journalists had been capturing images of the destruction for a time today. The park is now back open again. and my panel's here. So, Jonah, the White House says President Trump insists he's been transparent about the fact that this ballroom would involve massive structural changes to the East Wing.

31:56I don't know that that's accurate, but now sources say the ballroom is expected to be much larger than was even originally planned, and Trump has now said he's raised close to$350 million from private donors for the project. Democrats and preservation groups, other members of the public not happy about this. Trump, of course, does have the authority to do this because of Lyndon Johnson and assertions he made of presidential power in the 60s. Do you think the anger about this is overblown? I think the anger about him tearing down the East Wing and building a ballroom is overblown. It is authority.

32:36Harry Truman gutted the entire actual White House in the late 1940s, presidents can do this. I think dismay over how he's bungled the messaging and the explanations of this is more warranted. Look, he said he wasn't going to touch the facade at all. He said he loved the building. He wasn't going to damage it at all. It just wasn't true. He took everybody by surprise. Came out the sort of the same week he was talking about cutting himself a check of like$230 million from taxpayer money to settle this other, you know, like January 6th stuff. And it's coming across that the guy who campaigned on the she's for they, them, I'm for you message is now just coming across as I'm for me, myself, and I.

33:22It's just, I think it's bad messaging. I think they could have done this much more respectfully, followed a little bit of procedure and not had nearly the headaches they've created for themselves. Adrian, donors paying for the ballroom, and we should give credit to the White House for providing us with this list, but they include Amazon and Apple and Meta and Google, as well as some wealthy individuals, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the Winklevoss twins, who have a lot of interest in crypto. A lot of these companies and people are gonna have businesses before the Trump administration if they don't already.

33:55Crypto companies like Coinbase, tobacco companies like Altria, Palantir handles data software, and on and on and on and on. It is obviously a charitable donation. It's philanthropy. But also in Washington, is anything ever really charity? Yeah, well, it certainly seems like it's not right now, Jake. I mean, look, I think Joan is exactly right. When you were the average voter, the average swing voter, I should say, who was trying to decide who to vote for in this last election and ultimately came down on the side of Trump because you thought your grocery bills were too high, Your medicine, the cost of medicine was too high.

34:34Your gasoline was too high. And you wanted to, you know, sort of, you know, send a sign to Washington that you wanted to shake things up. Now you're looking at this and you're saying, OK, Donald Trump asked for two hundred and sixty million dollars for the Department of Justice or pretty much demanded it because he said that the DOJ, as in the taxpayers of America, owe him this money. He's done nothing to address the cost of goods and services in this country. In fact, if anything, costs have gone up. And then you also, you know, put on top of that the fact that he is going to all of these companies and saying, you know, corporations and saying, give me money to tear down and redo the East Wing so it looks like the Trump ballroom at Mar-a-Lago or whatever he wants it to look like.

35:15If you're the average person, you're saying, you know what? One of the reasons why I voted for him is I thought he was going to help me and my family with costs. Instead, he is catering to billionaires. Billionaires are catering to him. And if there's one thing, Jake, that we know that works in messaging for either party, for just any American, is when you are serving in elected office and you are catering to billionaires over middle-class families, that never works. So this is only going to make things worse for him. But also, Jake, just as a citizen of America who's had the opportunity and the privilege to work in the White House during three separate administrations.

35:48It is absolutely devastating to me to watch an area of the White House that I've spent a lot of time in, and millions of Americans have too, just be demolished as if it was just some crummy old building that, you know, contractors are coming in and tearing down at Trump's demands. Today, the president pardoned Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. He pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023, spent four months in prison. Concerns have arisen because one of the Trump-backed crypto ventures, World Liberty Financial, was used to complete a$2 billion investment in Binance by an Abu Dhabi investment firm earlier this year.

36:30Here's what Trump said this afternoon when Caitlin Collins asked him about the pardon and a potential conflict of interest. Let me just tell you that he was somebody that, as I was told, I don't know, I don't believe I've ever met him, but I've been told a lot of support. He had a lot of support. And they said that what he did is not even a crime. It wasn't a crime that he was persecuted by the Biden administration. And so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people. Adrian, what do you think of that response? Yeah, he gave him a pardon because this guy is going to make his family rich.

37:10That's exactly why he gave him a pardon. It's very transparent. It's very obvious. You know, anyone who is going to curry favor to Donald Trump, he is going to find a way to repay them or in this case, you know, repay them before maybe they come and really, you know, allow his family's crypto business to excel to the level that many analysts think it can. So it's not surprising. It's disappointing. I think we're going to see a lot of additional pardons coming up in the Trump administration. Anyone who, you know, wants to disparage Democrats and wants to curry favor to Trump, he's probably going to pardon.

37:44And Jonah, I mean, at some point, we're going to learn all the money that the Trump family made during this era with crypto and other deals. And I have a feeling when all those facts and figures come to light, it's going to be rather shocking. Yeah, look, this is precisely mucking around with pardons is one of the few things that the founding fathers explicitly said may not be illegal, but is impeachable, which is one of the reasons why I want to get rid of the pardon power, except for the three crimes mentioned in the Constitution, which are piracy, treason, and counterfeiting. And beyond that, all their crime when the Constitution was passed was a state issue.

38:25It should go back to that way. Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. A brand new video appears to show the Louvre heist in action. France's crown jewels being carried off with the assistance of a mechanical lift. That's next.

38:43Your team just added its 67th AI tool and also your 67th security blind spot. The good news? The Vanta agent works like a GRC engineer in the background, finding every app your team uses, scoring the risk, and drafting fixes for you. Vanta is the platform used by over 16 ,000 fast-moving companies like Ramp, Cursor, and Harvey, who are shaping the future with AI and staying ahead of AI risk. Get started at Vanta.com. Queen Carvania stood haloed by the morning sun. An army hung on her every word. My champions, I have sold my chariot on Carvana. It was a lovely SUV, an inexplicably queenly offer.

39:27They're even coming to the castle to collect it. Tonight, we feast. An offer you can feast on. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.

39:42Stunning new images in our world lead. Video has emerged appearing to show the thieves who pulled off that jewelry heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris, making their escape with more than$100 million worth of loot. This comes four days after the crime. And the video could potentially shed light on how this exactly happened. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris with more. New video appearing to show the moment robbers left the Louvre on their mechanical lift, carrying off eight pieces from France's crown jewels. It took just seven minutes from the moment a member of the public called the police on Sunday morning at 9.30 about suspicious individuals wearing motorcycle helmets outside the museum.

40:28By 9.37 a.m., a museum alarm was triggered as the robbers, wearing yellow vests, broke into display cases before escaping through the window they'd used to get in. The thieves made off with jewellery worth about$102 million, but historically priceless, items worn by French queens in the 19th century. The headpiece, necklace and one earring of Queen Marie-Amélie, the large bodice bow and tiara of Empress Eugini, the wife of Napoleon III. The Louvre has now reopened to the public with a reckoning about the security failures that allowed its Apollo gallery to be broken into.

41:12Unfortunately, on the Apollo gallery side, the only camera that is installed is in a west direction and therefore does not cover the balcony affected by the break-in. The window used by the Roberts to get in and out of the Louvre now something of a tourist attraction in its own right. I think it's like an eventful thing in Paris. and I think it's the new tourist attraction, honestly. So we're like, oh, wow, this is happening in real life. So we're like, you know what, let's go take a picture. He just got here, so like, it's the perfect time. 100 investigators are working on this case to try and figure out who was behind this most brazen of heists.

41:54They're considering not just the equipment that was used by the robbers, but some of the things they left behind, a glove, a helmet, one of the scooters they made their escape on, and, of course, the truck that they're combing through for fingerprints. But for now, a big breakthrough in this case remains elusive. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

42:15Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, a massive gambling scheme involving the mafia and some NBA players and coaches. Stunning accusations revealed today, including cheating during poker games and using insider information to bet on basketball games. leading to the arrest of the Portland Trailblazers coach, a player on the Miami Heat, and dozens of others. Plus, American farmers already struggling with high prices are lashing out against President Trump's new deal with Argentina. The White House says it needs to import more beef from the South American country to lower prices here in the US, but American farmers say not so fast.

42:52And former foes teaming up in the fight to lead New York City. Why, the current mayor says he's endorsing the former governor, whom he called a snake and a liar, with just 12 days until the election.

43:11Our late tonight, a sprawling FBI probe into mafia-linked gambling and sports rigging schemes are sending shockwaves across the NBA and the United States. This is all part of two different major federal investigations dubbed Operation Nothing But Bet and Operation Royal Flush. The accusations in the indictments are rather shocking. NBA players faking injuries, underperforming in games on purpose, even giving insider tips about other players such as Lakers star LeBron James. Then there is the separate case, rigged poker games, where officials say high-tech cheating technology, including special contact lenses and x-ray devices that could see through face-down cards.

43:51That technology was used to steal millions from victims. So far, 34 people have been arrested, including Portland Trailblazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, as well as former NBA coach and player Damon Jones. Thirteen members and associates from three different New York mafia families. Yes, I'm talking about that mafia, the Gambino and Genovese crime families, among others, also arrested. CNN's Bryn Gingras says more on the arrests and the shocking allegations that are making the NBA season's opening week rather unprecedented. Your winning streak has ended.

44:28A takedown of an alleged gambling criminal enterprise linking four New York City mafia families and NBA stars. Welcoming Chauncey to the Hall of Fame. Portland Trailblazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat star Terry Rozier, and Cleveland Cavaliers alum Damon Jones, among more than 30 people arrested for their alleged involvement in one of two elaborate schemes involving illegal betting on NBA games or rigged poker games. Let's not, you know, mince words. This is the insider trading saga for the NBA. One document describing Rozier and Jones sending insider tips on players and teams, such as whether a player, including Rozier himself, was going to be sidelined or sick, placing bets to favor their odds and maximize profits, and then allegedly laundering their winnings totaling millions of dollars.

45:22They placed wagers on unders on players to score less, rebound less, assist less, using information that was not yet public. In some instances, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to make sure that those bets paid out. In a second scheme, Billups and Jones allegedly teaming up with members of Cosa Nostra crime families in underground poker games. The scheme targeted victims known as, quote, fish, who were often lured to participate in these rigged games by the chance to play alongside former professional athletes who were known as, quote, face cards. What the victims, the fish, didn't know is that everybody else at the poker game, from the dealer to the players, including the face cards, were in on the scam.

46:18They allegedly also used high-tech equipment to rig play, like this x-ray machine, which authorities say could read cards that were face down on the table. Also used hidden cameras and altered shuffling machines, which... Read the cards in the deck, predict which player at the table had the best poker hand, and relay that information to an off-site operator. And then authorities say some defendants would resort to old school mafia tactics to collect their earnings, such as robbery and extortion. I'm going to wait outside poker games and pistol whip five winners a week. One text message read in court documents.

46:58And JQ said that news of these arrests really just stunning the NBA in the week of its own openers. that Rozier actually playing against the Magic last night, sitting out on the sidelines, though, was arrested this morning in Orlando. His attorney says that he fully plans to fight these charges. And Billups, he coached his team, the Trailblazers, last night and was arrested in Portland this morning. Both men are going to be coming back here to New York to face these federal charges. In the meantime, the NBA says that both men are on immediate leave from their teams while they review these indictments.

47:28Jake. All right, Bryn Gingrass, thanks so much. Let's bring in for more discussion. Former federal prosecutor Barrett Berger, who has prosecuted organized crime and racketeering cases in the Eastern District of New York, as well as USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan. Barrett, the charges for the more than 30 involved in this illegal sports betting scheme range from wire fraud to money laundering, extortion and robbery to illegal gambling. How do you anticipate prosecutors are going to handle these two separate yet overlapping operations? Yeah, I mean, it'll be interesting to see how these cases proceed, because while they do share some defendants, they really do allege pretty different schemes.

48:12My guess is they will be two separate cases that will proceed on two separate tracks. You know, this is really the type of case that the Eastern District of New York has done before, and they do incredibly well. This obviously was a very complex, long-term FBI investigation that involved what I have to imagine is a whole slew investigative techniques, probably cooperating witnesses. But this is what the Eastern District of New York does. They are pros at putting together these sort of large-scale cases that often involve organized crime families. This is, you know, the Eastern District of New York has been one of the leading districts that's prosecuted mob cases.

48:55So they will do this case the same way they do those other cases, which is, you know, methodically dealing with their witnesses, putting forth documentary evidence. And I'm really interested to see what more we'll learn in the coming weeks and months about the link between the athletes and the organized crime families. And I have to say, Christine, for those of us who are fans of the NBA, and I'm really excited the The Sixers beat the Celtics and Vijay Edgecombe is just this amazing new player for us. And all this stuff, I know my Knicks fans are really excited. And then all of a sudden this happens.

49:31How are NBA players and officials processing this all? Well, it is a shock. This is bombshell news. Although in many ways, those of us who and most people who've been aware of what's going on and watch commercials and see what's going on in the business world of sports and NBA, NFL, et cetera, Jake, is, you know, this is a bombshell that is probably the least surprising news we could have. And that is a cynical view, certainly. But the idea that these leagues now are absolutely in lockstep in business with gambling and betting sites and organizations. You see the commercials, you leave for a minute, you come back to the room, you see more commercials about betting and gambling.

50:12So no one should be surprised by this. And in fact, in many ways, we should have seen it coming a mile away. There certainly has been gambling, as you well know, in sports. We can go back to the 1990 Chicago Black Sox scandal. You know, this is not new. But what's new in the last few years since the Supreme Court decision in 2018 legalizing gambling in the States, what's new since then is the way that these sports leagues that used to put up a wall against gambling companies and not even wanting to go to states where there was gambling. Now they're completely in lockstep and sync. And that is why I think this is just the beginning of a real nightmare for a lot of these pro sports leagues.

50:52And Christine, do you think the NBA is going to crack down on this or just let law enforcement handle it? The players do get seminars. They are told don't do this, right? So I think the NBA will continue. And, you know, again, the NFL has had it. Shohei Ohtani's interpreter was ensnared in something like this. So that's Major League Baseball, obviously not Shohei Ohtani himself. But the point is, this is everywhere. You've got lots of young people, mostly men, but women's sports, this could happen too, with lots of money and lots of free time and probably not listening to their agents and their leagues and their coaches the way they should be when they are warned about the dangers of gambling.

51:35And Barrett, how do cases of this size and scope usually get launched? Is it insiders tipping someone off, somebody's arrested and they just, they squeal in exchange for leniency or financial documents are flagged? What happens typically? Yeah, that's a great question. I think your first comment was probably my instinct. Usually cases like this start with some side of, some sort of inside information. It's really hard to get this type of information without a cooperating witness. So, you know, a typical way that these cases would start would be somebody would get arrested on an unrelated charge and in exchange for some sort of leniency, they'd start cooperating.

52:15They'd start saying, hey, if you think I'm bad, let me tell you about all the stuff that's going on over here. You know, how else do cases like this start? Sometimes they start with, you know, investigative journalists who expose something that looks a little shady or fishy and then the authorities follow that. But here, given the nature of the allegations, it would be hard for me to imagine starting this without some side of an insider, right? Somebody who was either at one of these rigged poker games. Maybe there was a victim that then went to the authorities and said, you know, look, this happened to me.

52:48I don't know that this was right. And then they were able to sort of chip away as far as the nothing but bet operation. You know, maybe it was somebody who, you know, either a player or somebody who got ensnared, but probably an insider. By the way, I mean, kudos to whoever came up with nothing but bet. I mean, that's one of the best names for an investigation I've ever heard. Much better than Crossfire Hurricane. Christine Brennan and Barrett Berger, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Much more on this massive scandal in just moments, including a closer look at the technology allegedly used to steal millions of dollars from victims, including rigged shuffling machines, decoy cell phones, special spy glasses to track cards.

53:24Stay with us.

53:31And we're back with our Law and Justice lead. The sprawling FBI probe into mafia-linked gambling and sports rigging schemes is sending shockwaves across the NBA and across the United States. You're looking right now at the high-tech cheating technology that federal officials allege was used to rig poker games, an X-ray poker table to see through face-down cards, a manipulated shuffling machine to predict who gets the best hand, used officials say to steal millions from victims. Joining us now is casino game protection and cheating expert, Sal Piasanti. Sal, an X-ray table, card reading chip trays, rigged shuffling machines.

54:07I didn't know this stuff existed. I guess I'm not surprised, but I didn't know it existed. Can you explain how any of this equipment is used? I can explain all of it. The X-ray table, that's just a table that has cameras built into it that look upward at the cards. It can actually see through the green felt. So you can use any deck of cards. As long as the cards lie above the camera, the camera can see what that card is and then transmit it. The shuffle machines. We just did a special on YouTube and a shuffle machine was hacked. What happens is the Deckmate 2 has a camera in it. and what that camera does it notifies the casino or the dealer or the house if a card is missing also if you took a deck of cards and put it into that machine the cameras know every card and can actually sort that deck out and put it back in order for you for the next day or the next play well the cheaters came up with ways of utilizing that camera as well to know what cards are being dealt and who's getting them.

55:18And that shuffle machine is altered to transmit to an earpiece to tell the people who are going to win. Also, there are machines that were also designed to do a false shuffle, where when the cheaters put the deck into the machine, it sounds like the cards are being shuffled, but they're not. And then as far as the analyzer, the tray. This has been around for a long time. It's not new by no means. If you want to see a quick example of it, it could be built into the tray or built into a cell phone. And basically what happens is this. You could take this deck of cards. Well, first of all, this is a regular phone.

56:04It looks like a regular phone. Put your SIM card in it and it acts like a regular phone. But when I put in a code, now it becomes a cheating phone. So let's go to Texas Hold 'em. How many players? Let's say you can name any amount. We'll say three to keep it easy. Three players. And I'm going to put this on loud so you can hear it. So I'm going to put it on speaker. And now it's ready to go. So when this deck of cards right now is shuffled, it could be in a shuffle machine. that doesn't make a difference, when the dealer takes them out and cuts them, listen to the phone. 3-2. 3-2. That means right now, seat three is going to win.

56:511-2-3. 1-2-3. Ace five is winning. Here's your burn. There's your flop. Two pair. Burn, flop, burn. and C3 wins. This phone will tell you who's going to win. You heard it out loud, but this phone would also transmit to an earpiece. This system could also be designed to build anything. But the earpiece thing, is that also relevant for the camera under the table that can read through the felt? because the dealer is not under the table. He's not seeing it. So somebody else is seeing these images and speaking to the dealer or whomever in their earpiece. Is that right? Correct. That's right. That information is transmitted elsewhere and that person receiving the information sends it back.

57:51And the earpiece, believe me, is very tiny. This is one of the earpieces that I demonstrate. I don't know if you can see it. You got to move the camera. Hold it up a little bit. Oh, my God. That's it. That's pretty teeny. That's like a one milligram pill. Oh, totally. And it goes right into the ear. So now right now, that earpiece is right next to my eardrum. If you were talking to me, sitting right next to me, you can look in. You can't see it. when my partner's talking to me, I hear it so loud. And there's only one way to get that out right now. Magnet. Yeah, I was going to say. Oh my God, yeah, because otherwise it's going to go in forever and cause you depth perception problems.

58:46Sal Piasanti, I could do six hours with you on this. This is fascinating. Thank you so much. Really appreciate your expertise. Thank you for having me. After a pardoned Capitol, after a pardoned Capitol rioter was accused of threatening to kill the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, we're going to take a look at other people charged over January 6th, then pardoned by President Trump, who are now back in legal hot water. Stay with us.

59:13The most memorable gifts aren't found. They're made. Zazzle is a custom marketplace where you pick any product, a mug, a card, a tote, a phone case, and make it personal. A photo, a name, an inside joke. The kind of gift that actually fits the person. That's what 30 million customers have been coming back to Zazzle for over 20 years to find. Right now, save 25 % on your first order at Zazzle.com. That's Zazzle.com. Make it z-amazing. A burst pipe. A dead water heater. The AC calling it quits. Who do you call? HomeServe is an easy way to handle unexpected home repairs. With plans covering stuff basic homeowner's insurance usually won't.

59:57Instead of scrambling for a contractor, you make one call to get the repair process started. Join the millions of customers who trust HomeServe right now. Go to homeserve.com slash podcast for 50 % less your first year. That's homeserve.com slash podcast. Savings compared to renewal price void in Florida. In our Law and Justice lead, in the wake of a pardoned January 6 rioter who is now in jail and charged with threatening to kill House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, President Trump is not just defending his mass pardon of everyone who was criminally charged and convicted in January 6. He says he's proud of it.

1:00:38I don't know of the incident. I can say we're very proud of what we did. We had the courage to do something that should have been done. This, of course, happens as CNN's Gabe Cohen reports. Several other January 6 rioters pardoned by President Trump are now also behind bars accused of other and new crimes. 34-year-old Christopher Moynihan, seen here inside the Senate chamber on January 6th, is back behind bars, accused of threatening to kill Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a text message, allegedly writing, Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in New York City. I cannot allow this terrorist to live.

1:01:21Even if I'm hated, he must be eliminated. He'll make his first court appearance Thursday. CNN hasn't been able to reach his attorney. They've been put in a situation all across the nation where these violent felons have been released back into communities, and many of whom have already re-offended. And that's a shame. Moynihan was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for storming the Capitol, where he was seen rifling through senators' desks. There's got to be something in here. But he was pardoned in January by President Donald Trump, along with more than 1 ,500 others convicted of January 6th offenses.

1:01:59These people have served years of jail. Their lives have been ruined. I think they should have been in jail. Sergeant Akilino-Gunel was among the U.S. Capitol Police officers injured during the January 6th riot. Does it feel like a slap in the face? I mean, a slap in the face is something like I could withstand. I think it's more like a betrayal. At least a handful of other J6ers have also been accused of new crimes in recent months, though not for political violence. Zachary Alam, sentenced to eight years for the Capitol attack, was rearrested in May for allegedly breaking into a Virginia home.

1:02:37I just want to let you know that I'm a January 6th defendant. Matthew Huddle was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop in Indiana, just days after receiving his full pardon. Body cam video showed him scrambling for a firearm, saying he planned to shoot himself. Edward Kelly was sentenced to life in prison in July for plotting to assassinate the officers who investigated his role in the riot. Brent Holdridge was arrested for alleged thefts of industrial copper in California. And last month, Robert Packer, known for wearing this Camp Auschwitz hoodie on January 6th, was arrested after a dog attack that injured four people.

1:03:18What goes through your mind seeing these cases? I mean, I think disappointment is somewhat of an understatement. Gregory Rosen was the top prosecutor on the January 6th cases. He resigned from the Justice Department this year after the president's pardons. The big takeaway is that the pardons were executed and given out and doled out in an incredibly indiscriminate and sweeping manner. And without discernment of who committed violence and who did not, who needed supervision and who did not. And, Jake, there have also been January 6th defendants arrested and even convicted for crimes allegedly committed before those pardons.

1:03:56And that includes 37-year-old Andrew Taik. He pled guilty this year to soliciting a minor back in 2016. He was sentenced just last month to three years in prison for that. But, Jake, he's not actually going to serve any of that additional time. And that's because he's getting credit for the three-plus years he served for his January 6th conviction. Gabe Cohen, thanks so much. Our small business series back. Next, we're going to go to Nebraska, where farmers who were already struggling with rising costs are now worried about how a new Trump policy could hurt their business.

1:04:35We're back with a new segment in our business leaders series. Today, we're going to spotlight cattle ranchers across the United States who have beef with President Trump after he singled support for increasing the amount of low-tariff beef imports from Argentina. The White House says this move is part of the strategy to ease rising beef prices. The president loves our ranchers, and he also loves American consumers, and he wants to do right by both. That brings us to our series where we talk to small business owners from coast to coast about the impact of President Trump's tariffs. Joining us now from his cattle ranch in Nebraska is Jim Scavdoll.

1:05:14Jim, thanks for joining us. So the administration plans to effectively quadruple the amount of Argentinian beef that can enter the U.S. at this lower tariff rate. How are you and Maureen and the rest of your family feeling about this increased foreign competition in the United States? Well, we certainly don't like it. Cattle business is a tough business to make money in the way it is. We don't need politicians beating it down with the imports. Can you explain why ranchers feel that the quality of American beef is so much higher? well we really come a long ways in the cattle industry we have epds on the bulls that

1:06:16we better carcass better maternal and we also have a lot better nutrition now and so our product from start to finish is a lot better than it was years ago and it's a high quality safe product and people like it and they're going to eat it i don't know if so i don't know anything about the argentina meat but i'm i'm not too concerned people are going to like our product. I know it's been an especially tough year for ranchers. I know it's been an especially tough year for ranchers because of drought and disease impacting cattle. The administration says this is just a short-term solution since the price of beef has gone up nearly 14 percent in the last year.

1:07:11How has your business been affected by that inflation? well it a lot of our cost of double uh fertilizer is forty three dollars an acre a year or two ago and now it's seventy four dollars an acre because it comes out of canada a lot of fertilizer got a tariff on it um we're um a new wind roar we tried to trade them every three years three years ago they're 168, and I just priced one, they're 280. So our costs have not quite doubled, but they're pretty close. And these tariffs have hurt you? Yeah, well, naturally. I mean, anytime you've got to pay more for fertilizer and machinery and equipment, it hurts.

1:08:14No doubt about it. Jim Skavdahl, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today. We appreciate it, sir.

1:08:24Thank you. New York City Mayor Eric Adams once called former Governor Andrew Cuomo a snake and a liar. That was just a few months ago. Well, he endorsed that snake and liar today to replace him at City Hall. Why? That's next.

1:08:45And our politics lead, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has officially made his endorsement for the man he wants to replace him. I'm fighting for the family of New York. That's why I'm here today to endorse Andrew Cuomo to be part of this fight. The spokesperson for Adams confirmed that the mayor intends to campaign alongside Cuomo, who he once called a snake and a liar in the coming days. This endorsement comes one day after the candidates took the stage for that one final debate to convince voters who should run New York City. CNN's Gloria Pesmino has more. A fiery final debate in the New York City mayoral race.

1:09:29You have never had a job. You've never accomplished anything. The issue is that we have all experienced your experience. The sharp exchanges between the three top candidates reflecting the urgency of the campaign's closing days with early voting set to begin this weekend. Zoran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin. And Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library. Andrew Cuomo going on offense early and often, repeatedly attacking 34-year-old frontrunner Zoran Mamdani over his lack of experience. The former governor also suggested President Donald Trump would see Mamdani as a weaker political rival.

1:10:12He thinks he's a kid and he's going to knock him on his tuchus. Mamdani routinely countered Cuomo's attacks by pointing to the former governor's own resume. We just had a former governor say in his own words that the city has been getting screwed by the state. Who was leading the state? It was you! A recent Fox News poll shows Mamdani maintaining a clear lead, exceeding 50 percent of support from likely New York City voters. Amid public pressure to exit the race, Republican Curtis Lewa vowing to press on, challenging Cuomo in the sexual misconduct allegations that led him to resign as governor in 2021.

1:10:50Do you ever know that no means no? You know what no means? Mamdani also seeking to put a spotlight on the claims by inviting one of Cuomo's accusers to the debate. Charlotte Bennett is here in the audience. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed? There were allegations of sexual harassment. They were then, went to five district attorneys, fully litigated for four years. The cases were dropped, right? You know that as a fact. In another intense exchange, Cuomo and Sliwa both questioned Mamdani's commitment to combating anti-Semitism. It doesn't justify leaders who stoke the flames of hatred against Jewish people, which is what Zoran does.

1:11:36Some of the statements you've made, like in support of global jihad, you've got a lot of explaining to do, a lot of apologizing to do. My sons are afraid. Their family, their friends, many in the Jewish community are concerned if you become mayor. That drew this rebuttal from Mamdani. I have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad. And frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election. Now, Jake, in terms of that endorsement from Mayor Eric Adams, he said earlier today that he plans to campaign alongside Andrew Cuomo, specifically in communities of color.

1:12:20They are the base of Andrew Cuomo, the base of Eric Adams, which Andrew Cuomo has been trying to inherit. And while we had no expectation that Eric Adams was going to endorse Zoran Mamdani, we weren't really sure if he was going to endorse Cuomo, given just how negatively he spoke about him just a few weeks ago, calling him a snake and a liar and at one point even accusing him of pushing the only black candidate in the race. But it certainly seems like that is all water under the bridge, he said. So today he called him a brother and he said sometimes brothers, they fight. Jake. OK, Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much.

1:12:59My panel joins me now. Jonah Goldberg today. Cuomo said this about Mondani in a radio interview. Take a listen. People's lives are at stake. God forbid another 9-11. Can you imagine Mondani in the seat? I could. He'd be cheering. it's another problem uh but can you imagine that no no no listen it was in the seat on 9-11 yeah what happened in this mom donnie was quick to denounce the former governor saying uh this is andrew cromo's final moments in public life and he's choosing to spend them making racist attacks on the person who would be the first Muslim to lead the city, unquote. And Jonah, obviously, pretty vile rhetoric from Sid Rosenberg and Governor Cuomo there.

1:13:52How do you think this is gonna play with undecided voters in the final days? I think nothing matters. Nothing in New York matters. Everyone's soul is dead inside. I think virtually all of the criticism I heard from the debate, we can put the Rosenberg thing aside for a second, from all of these different candidates, We're all accurate. I think Mondami is wildly unqualified to be mayor, not because he's Muslim, because he actually has no credentials to speak of to run the most difficult city in the country to run. Sliwa has no business being mayor. Andrew Cuomo has utterly disqualified himself by his public conduct as governor.

1:14:29New York City has been left with three craptacular choices. and we'll see what happens. But I, as for the, you know, Cuomo, I don't see it necessarily that he was engaging in hateful rhetoric. He just was not, he was not pulling a John McCain and trying to correct the guy, which I think was a mistake. It probably would have helped him more if he took a higher road. But there's also just an incredible amount of ill will towards Mondami in New York City's Jewish community. And that's what they were tapping into. And the whole thing makes me sad. Yeah. Just to note, when the Cuomo campaign was asked about this, they said this had to do with Mamdani's affiliation with Hassan Piker, who is a progressive podcast host who had said something along the lines of America deserved 9-11 or something along those lines.

1:15:25That's what he said he was referring to. But moving on, Nina Turner, Cuomo was pressed last night on his past quite a bit, particularly the sexual harassment claims. One of Cuomo's accusers was in the audience, Charlotte Bennett, invited by Mamdani. That's a that's a move we first saw pulled by Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton and by association Bill Clinton. How do you think Cuomo did on those issues? He took the words right out of my mouth, Jake. I was going to make reference to what President Donald J. Trump did during a debate. He didn't do well. You can't really explain that away. These were credible accusations.

1:16:05They were not wild accusations. They were very credible. And it's really hard to try to explain something of that magnitude away when you are running for office. So he didn't do well. He tried, but you just can't. He's between a rock and a hard place on that one. not not not an issue he can satisfactorily address i guess it's interesting that mayor adams ended up picking cuomo endorsing cuomo to because uh let's just roll the tape this is what he said just a few weeks ago i want to be clear with you andrew cuomo is a snake and a liar i mean that's not a typical political rhetoric i mean that's not he's not qualified that's not I mean, a snake and a liar.

1:16:53Jonah, what changed? You know, I've been trying to figure this out. I don't pretend to know. But there's a lot of New York City, you know, big Republican donors that have been leaning on Trump to lean on Adams to endorse Cuomo. Adams is sort of a creature at this point of the Trump administration, given the pardon that he got. And so I'm sure all the pressure went that way. And I do think that as the snake and liar comment notwithstanding, you do get the sense that Adams resents Mondami more than he resents Cuomo at this point. Well, his interest changed. One leader in New York. I mean, go ahead.

1:17:38His interest changed. I mean, his interests change. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, as the quote goes. And so that is why he is doing it. I don't see this any different from having the current vice president, J.D. Vance, make reference to President Trump and Hitler. You know, their interests have changed. And so it is in Mayor Adams' interest to be with Governor Cuomo. And that's exactly what it is. It is his self-interest. He's not looking out for the voters or the citizens in New York. You're referring to then-citizen J.D. Vance in a private text chain, no longer private, using the Hitler comparison with Donald Trump.

1:18:19One leader in New York who still has not announced whom he might endorse is House Minority Leader New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. Take a listen. As you indicated, Wolf, early voting starts in a few days. And, you know, I look forward to saying much more about the mayor's race, as I've promised in advance of that moment. We'll have more to say about the mayor's race sometime soon. Nina, the election's in 12 days. I mean. Yeah, that's what I'm asking. What do you think? What is it? What does it say that I don't think Schumer's endorsed now either? No. They just might as well just confess and say they don't want to endorse Assemblymember Mondominy and just move on.

1:19:05Instead of playing in the faces of the people of New York at this point, who cares whether Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorses or not? Thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it. Great having you here. Go ahead, Jonathan. Final thought. Yeah, I'm just going to think it does illustrate how Mondami is a problem for national Democrats. Jeffries is trying to get Democrats and a whole bunch of diverse districts from across the country elected to the House. And they see Mondami as a lead weight for that effort. Well, what happened? The real world impact. I guess not. I don't know. The real world impacts of President Trump's cuts to USAID.

1:19:48That's next.

1:19:56A new study estimates 14 million people could die over the next five years if the current cuts to USAID remain in place. CNN's Ivan Watson spoke to a mother living in one of the largest refugee camps in the world, whose seven-year-old died earlier this year, a death she blames on a lack of aid.

1:20:16Safiya Bibi is 13 months old, but hunger and illness leave her looking much younger. Her mother feeds her baby ready-to-use therapeutic food, an emergency ration provided by the U.S. government. I'm so grateful for this assistance, Safiya's mother says. If they didn't send this money, how could we survive? That is an increasingly urgent question here in the world's largest refugee camp. Around a million Rohingya Muslims have fled to this corner of Bangladesh over the last decade, escaping ethnic cleansing in neighboring Myanmar that U.S. and U.N. experts have called acts of genocide. An impoverished community of refugees utterly dependent on international assistance.

1:21:04But that budget was dramatically cut this year. So far, the UN says these refugees only got 37 percent of their annual budget. This is already having dire consequences for the Rohingya in camps, with critical cuts to their food rations and a sharp decline in access to education. Each refugee in these crowded camps subsists on rations of$12 worth of food a month. But now aid workers are seeing more children going hungry. More and more children are being detected with the severest form of malnutrition, and they're at a risk of mortality because of that. When aid money dries up, that also affects access to health care and medicine.

1:21:53Maryam Khatun's family suffered unthinkable tragedy earlier this year. In February, her seven-year-old daughter Estafa suddenly got sick. She was rushed to a camp hospital, but within three days she was gone. Cause of death, pneumonia and encephalitis. Her grieving mother blames a lack of health care. Big countries used to support us. We still need their help. My child died by the will of God, but the place where I took her couldn't treat her properly. My child suffered and died in pain. The U.S. has long been the world's biggest aid donor. But this year, the Trump administration cut some$8 billion in international assistance.

1:22:36Since then, CNN has documented disruptions in basic services for refugees from war-torn Myanmar, living in camps in both Bangladesh and Thailand. Aid workers predict it will only get worse. If that money is not there, if that funding is not there, there is no hope. Children will be impacted. they will die. We are not going to fund an NGO industrial complex that built itself up, that was taking a substantial percentage of the money and not going directly to the recipients. The Trump administration insists it is cutting wasteful spending. No one has died because the United States has cut aid. No.

1:23:18When a war leaves so many people with so little to survive, any disruption can make the difference between life and death. Ivan Watson, CNN. Thanks to Ivan Watson. Aaron Burnett out front starts right now.

1:23:39This 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.

From the publisher

The Pentagon expands where it’s targeting suspected drug boats with yet another hit in the eastern Pacific. Now, one county’s leader says he is moving missiles amid growing tensions with the United States. Plus, a massive sports gambling scandal rocks the NBA. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More from The Lead with Jake Tapper

All 322 episodes
Shutdown Will Extend To Next Week As Senate Leaves D.C.The Lead with Jake Tapper · 1 h 24 min
Listen in VO