The Atlantic: NPS Changed the Way it Prioritizes Projects to Expedite Trump’s Requests

24:11Over the last three years, she has now had four relapses. So our doctors have been pretty honest with us. They're like, listen, she's facing some pretty long odds of, you know, still being here in a couple years, you know, or even one year. She knows that. We don't like to talk about it all that much. It's pretty tough to talk about. but you know as long as there's a little glimmer of hope and you buy those chunks of six months for maybe a new drug or a new trial comes along you know like we tried to start a trial in Cleveland a month ago. For the past five years the McMahons have been doing what just about any family would try and do.

24:44They've taken Sabina to doctors all over the country and this summer it was time for another cross-country train ride. A spot had opened up in a clinical trial at university hospitals in Cleveland. This one was for a South Korean drug being tested in patients under 18 for the first time. I'm about to take my first dose, the trial drug, lactose circuit. I spilled water on myself. But they never got a chance to see if it worked because less than a week later, a routine scan found her lung tumors were growing once again. It's relapse number five. When we saw those scans, it was really clear that if we didn't do something aggressive, that she probably just had a few weeks.

25:30It was moving very rapidly. Dr. Ryan Roberts is Sabina's oncologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. The week we came, he was at a conference that connects the few leading experts on osteosarcoma with patients and their families. Everything that we're doing at this point is just trying to buy a little more time. Find time for work. I've seen kids like Sabina who, you know, were able to graduate, were able to have their first girlfriend or boyfriend, were able to learn to drive, you know, what we want. And what we try to do is to buy time where they can do the things they want to do, be with the people that they love, and create the memories that are going to linger.

26:14For these doctors and these patients, this is an important conference. Sabina was named to an advisory board that weighs in on research ideas. And so it's a whole bunch of kids my age. All of these kids are, they had osteosarcoma or their siblings did. For Sabina, this would be a chance to connect with other people just like her and to have some fun along the way. But when you have osteosarcoma, nothing is easy. A call comes in from the hospital. She needs to get platelets. I mean, that's what they said. Turns out that last stretch of chemotherapy, it left Sabina's white blood cell count low. Dangerously low.

26:55A nurse has asked that she leave the conference immediately. It's a tough call. I think it's worth the risk. The phone nurse said we needed to go in right now and get a bag of platelets. It would mean we'd have to miss the conference, meeting up with the junior advisory board members, missing the dance. But now, Dr. Roberts, being the rock star he is, said, well, just a minute. He really wants her to have this experience. We can just go in the morning. Such a relief. I'm so relieved. I was like, wow. Everyone's relieved, especially Sabina. Cancer will never make stage fright disappear.

27:41But it does put it in perspective. And for one night at least, a chance to feel like you're not so alone. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Columbus, Ohio.

27:55Since Sanjay's visit, the family's summer has gone well. Chemotherapy shrunk Sabina's tumors by more than 90%. 90%. She's scheduled for another surgery next week. She was also healthy enough to go back in the studio to finish her first full album as a singer-songwriter. It's called Forget Me Not, and it went on sale today. Go buy it. Well, the Trump administration keeps pushing claims about voter fraud. What the numbers actually show so far, that's next. Plus, a live look in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We're standing by for President Trump's arrival for a big campaign event. We're back in a moment.

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29:35We're back in the politics lead and diving into the Trump administration plans to utilize claims of widespread election fraud to influence the midterm elections. In Nevada, Homeland Security officials are working to try to prove Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen's earlier claims that upwards of 15 ,000 non-citizens were registered to vote. But a CNN review of DHS emails and meetings revealed the numbers so far don't add up. Joining me now, CNN's Gabe Cohen, CNN's Marshall Cohen. We're going to front run the Twitter jokes. They are not the Cohen brothers. They are not related. And the CEO of the League of Women Voters, Selena Stewart.

30:09Gabe, I want to start with you. You're behind this great reporting on what's going on with this review in Nevada. Take us deeper into what you found. Yeah, so this ties back to that primetime address that you may remember the president made last month related to election security. And at that point, he and his administration announced these findings that they framed as this bombshell that the Department of Homeland Security had reviewed public voter lists from four states and found 250 ,000 non-citizens registered to vote in just those four states. One of those states, Nevada, they said the number was just shy of 16 ,000 non-citizens who were registered there.

30:47Again, it was framed as further evidence of that longstanding claim from the president that there is widespread voter fraud in this country. Well, since then, we have now recently obtained these emails and a recording of a meeting between Department of Homeland Security officials and Nevada state election leaders that really raise questions about just how solid those findings, those numbers actually really are, because behind closed doors, what we found were those Homeland Security officials acknowledged that actually they've only confirmed out of all those people that 185 of those people are non-citizens that they spotted on Nevada's voter rolls.

31:28They described 6 ,200 others as higher confidence matches, but they still have to be investigated. and that sort of jaw-dropping 16 ,000 figure they described as, quote, preliminary. I want to take a listen to a bit of how one of those homeland security officials described it in that meeting. So what you're saying is the 15 ,000 number has not been vetted, basically. So I probably wouldn't use the sentence it hasn't been vetted because definitely we've done something with it to get down to 15 ,000. So I wouldn't say that. But it hasn't had a full manual review of each one. It is a lot of work to go one by one.

32:21And so now the administration is asking states, as they have been for months, to help them investigate these cases, potential non-citizen voters. And to be clear, it is illegal for noncitizens not just to vote, but also to make false statements to register to vote. Sometimes they do get registered. Just look at that situation in New Jersey, that screw up that was announced last month that both Marshall and I have reported on. But I think one of the big points of concern here is what is this evidence that is being used to push for dramatic election reforms that the administration wants to make and potentially to sow doubt in the results of the midterms?

32:55And is it sound evidence? It's an essential point. It's great reporting. And Selena, I think what I would ask you is like contextualize what we just saw, what Gabe's reporting is. We were talking during the break that there are so many of these things. These guys are covering every single day. I catch up with like half of it because of how many different pieces of this are moving. What do you see when you see Gabe's reporting? So I think the administration has gotten caught with their pants down, right? And so what I mean by that is even on the clip that you just saw, there was a question about whether or not things had been vetted.

33:27Vetting means that you don't use your first sample. Any researcher worth their stuff, they're going to pull a sample that's going to be overly inclusive. But you don't share that with the public until you feel pretty confident that that's a really good sample. And so I think that's what we're seeing here is that it wasn't a good sample. To go from 16 ,000 to 185 is a pretty large gap. That's a pretty big delta. And so it's clear that there's some more vetting that needs to be done. I think everyone, all Americans want clean elections. We want to make sure that the right people are voting, people who are eligible to vote.

33:53But even in the situation in New Jersey, that was a DMV error. That was the Department of Motor Vehicles that had a glitch in their system and registered people incorrectly, not people who were going trying to vote. So we have to be really clear about what's going on here. And, you know, I think that there's this constant narrative to villainize voters or individuals. And that's just not what's happening. We haven't seen any evidence of that across the country. The league has sued multiple times on this issue, and there has been no evidence of voter fraud. Marshall, I mentioned that there's very many different elements flying around on these stories at this point.

34:26Spotted this week in D.C., election denier Tina Peters, former election clerk in Colorado, convicted in a scheme to breach election systems in an attempt to prove the 2020 election was fraudulent. It was not. She met with high-level administration officials Harmeet Dillon from the Justice Department, Civil Rights Division, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and pitched plans that would assert unprecedented plans for the midterms. Explain what your reporting is here. You know, you could call this an election conspiracy roadshow, Phil. Now that she's out of prison, Tina Peters has been traveling the country at conferences.

34:58She's been on a ton of right-wing podcasts. And this week, she was here in Washington, D.C. for those high-level meetings. Harmeet Dillon, that's no joke. She's the chief of the Civil Rights Division at DOJ, playing a key role in this administration's efforts to change election procedures. Also, Howard Lutnick, you mentioned the Commerce Secretary. His department has been involved in some of this stuff, too, by promoting claims of non-citizen voting like Gabe was talking about. What's she doing? These aren't just photo ops and meet and greets. She is pitching a plan. And I talked earlier this week to her attorney, Peter Tickton, who said that she's on a mission.

35:37Listen to this. Well, she has a plan. And I don't know whether she'll get the support to make sure her plan gets implemented. But her plan differed from mine greatly. It's still going to need an emergency order in order to have it happen. The point is that somebody needs to take this vote by the horns and move it. She wants the president to sign an order invoking emergency powers to assert extreme federal control over the election. Trump has tried to do a lot about the election, but he hasn't gone that far yet. There are people to his right, like Tina Peters, still lobbying for more before November.

36:19What would your take be on an effort to sign an emergency order? So I think that it has to be done. One, I don't agree with that. You know, before we do things like that, we have to be very clear about what we're doing and what the purpose and what the goal and what the what we're trying to achieve there. And I just don't see enough leading to that. In terms of, you know, Ms. Peters, I think this, she is outsized influence in the situation, right? I think that certainly a governor has clemency authority. That is, that is normal, but it does not erase the fact that a person was tried, convicted for a crime, right?

36:52And so I think that when we're thinking about that and the type of crime that she committed and the fact she's meeting with DOJ, that's really, really important to vet that and be very clear about what role, because one individual cannot undermine election security or a voter's ability to have access to the midterms or the election generally. By the way, I spoke to the, I asked the governor all about that, and he said he stands by the commutation and she has her free speech rights. There is so much that we're going to get into in the months ahead on all of this. You guys are doing stellar reporting.

37:23I've read like half of your court cases. There are a lot of them right now. Appreciate you, all three of you, for coming in. Thanks so much. Well, President Trump just minutes away from arriving right there in Merle Beach, South Carolina. He'll hold a rally tonight for Republican Senator Darlene Graham. Can he help deliver a win after recent candidates he endorsed didn't win? We're going to head to South Carolina next.

37:59A sampling there of music from Angelique Kidjo working with Pharrell, Quavo, Charlie Wilson, just to name a few. Kidjo is from a small West African country of Benin and now the newest artist with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Here's Jake Tapper with the five-time Grammy winner. Thank you so much for joining us, Angelique. What does this recognition on the Hollywood Walk of Fame represent for you, considering this will be multiple firsts for the Walk of Fame? I think it represents that my continent that is at the center of all culture is being recognized. It recognized me as a citizen from the world.

38:40and this continent of Africa has been producing music so much. There are so many young artists coming out today that this is a moment for them to reckon with the fact that they also can be the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Do you meet young African or even African-American artists who were inspired by you? They didn't see themselves represented in various ways, including on the walk before, and now they do. and that gave them the confidence to go forward? Oh, yeah. I mean, I can give you a name. You have Bonnebo, you have Rayma, you have Ira Star. I mean, the name goes on and on. And the thing is, today it's a moment where I'm seeing my continent being so awakened because they realize the momentum that is today and what it means to be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

39:38and all those people I named that grew up listening to my music and the list is long. You cannot talk about all of them and that's the power of music. That's what makes me humble. I stay humble because I write music and I hope it will touch people. It will tell people stories and we can share those stories together and move together and that's what this Hollywood Walk of Fame means to this young generation that grew up with my music and keeping my feet on fire. Your latest album, Hope, was released in April. It includes collaborations with American artists, but it also featured African artists and showcased their work to an American audience.

40:19Talk about that, if you would. I mean, this album, Hope, is dedicated to my late mother, but the collaboration comes organically, and it comes with the value that my parents pass on to me that is expressed by people from all walks of life, African-American, African, and even if you're not African, this music, this album, is for me to tell people in this chaotic time that we live in, we need to take a step back and dig into our own hope. Hope is a very important and powerful tool that we have because if you give away your hope, everything that is going on will crush you. And if you want to fight against darkness about people's lie and all these things that are going on, you wake up hopeful and say to yourself, what can I bring to the table that make this chaos go away?

41:14And how can we create a world that is more inclusive, more peaceful, that we all can live in? I'm thinking about the youth of today, the youth in America, the youth in Africa, the youth around the world. There's so much anxiety, Jake. And the thing is, we need to find a way to tell them through our music, hold on a minute. There's something here that is called hope. Listen to it. You want a different world, start building up on that hope and create that different world that you want now. And we can help. We need the media all around the world to forecast more and more youth on the program because the time is changing and we need to listen to them.

41:56Their point of view counts for us to find solutions. All right, Angelique Cajot, congratulations again, and thank you for joining us. Thanks for having me, Jack.

42:09Welcome to Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump just landed in South Carolina, and soon he'll take the stage for a rally aimed at ginning up support for Senator Darlene Graham after she made a series of blunders. With just a few days until this runoff election, will the power of the Trump endorsement carry her across the finish line? Plus, the first week of testimony wraps up in just a few minutes in the Tupac Shakur murder trial. And there was drama in the court today as the defendant, Dwayne Davis, spoke for the first time in his trial, accusing prosecutors of endangering his family.

42:43Also, it's the latest installment of our series, AI, Friend or Foe? If you ever flew Spirit Airlines, worked there, emailed someone who worked there, then your personal information will soon be used to train AI models. We'll explain what kind of data is included and how exactly it will be used. And new details tonight on what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to do when they return to the United Kingdom in the coming weeks, including a potential return to acting for the Duchess of Sussex. That's ahead.

43:16The lead tonight starts in the beautiful state of South Carolina. President Trump is set to take the stage in the next hour to rally for late Senator Lindsey Graham's sister, Darlene Graham. It is a critical moment for both Trump and Graham, as some of Trump's steadfast supporters openly reject his pick for the U.S. Senate, a race that's going to a Republican runoff on Tuesday. Now, one state representative says the world is, quote, laughing at Darlene Graham, particularly after her debate performance earlier this week, where Graham admitted that she, quote, wasn't that informed about national security and said this.

43:48There's 50 million people in South Carolina. them. Half of them live paycheck to paycheck. The population is closer to five million. Trump was asked about her debate flub just about an hour ago. All she was is being honest. She's very smart. She's surrounded by very good people. And she said that she's totally for the military. I mean, she's going to do what the military wants and really what the president wants. She understands that national security is my thing. So here's the latest. Earlier today, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford threw his support behind Graham's opponent, Congressman Ralph Norman, while former Governor Henry McMaster just endorsed Senator Darlene Graham.

44:31We start things off with CNN's Betsy Kline in Myrtle Beach traveling with the president. Betsy, it's always good to see you on the campaign trail. Is this as close? Is this as much of a jump ball as it seems right now? Yeah, Phil, the folks I've been talking to here are extremely clear-eyed. This race is going to be very, very tight. In Tuesday's Senate runoff election between Darlene Graham, who's, of course, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a very close friend of President Trump, is really setting up a key test of how powerful and potent his endorsement really is. It comes on the heels of several high-profile losses for candidates that he has endorsed in their primary races.

45:12So the president now all in on Darlene Graham. You saw him double down on his support when he was asked about that debate night gaffe. He brushed it off, said she was being honest. But there is widespread acknowledgment within her team that that was a bad moment, that she fumbled the ball. They feel at this point like she has recovered with a focus, with a message on affordability. However, they really feel good about their support among women as well as suburban voters. And the selection of Myrtle Beach for this rally is very notable. This is one of the fastest growing metros in the country. It is historically very supportive of President Trump.

45:52And they are really trying to capitalize on that with both this event and their message. We saw a series of signs heading into this arena for Darlene Graham. It said, quote, endorsed by Trump, trusted by Trump. So in an election where it's really going to come down to a matter of turnout, that they believe matters, Phil. You know, Betsy, we've been split screening you with the senior senator from the states of South Carolina, Tim Scott. It's a pretty red state. Taking the time to campaign there, I assume, means that this is a very personal race to Trump at this point. Yeah, it's certainly personal.

46:27He described Lindsey Graham as his best friend. So certainly he feels a personal tie here and a stake to visit. But of course, South Carolina is not a battleground state. And a lot of people are questioning whether this is the best use of his time two weeks out or two, excuse me, two months out from a midterm election. Of course, you and I both know very well, Phil, that a president's most valuable commodity is their time. Presidents have very finite amounts of that. The fact that he is coming here to South Carolina, again, I think really underscores how meaningful his relationship with Lindsey Graham was.

47:02The unflappable Betsy Kline, a savvy veteran dealing with the arena noise. Tim Scott, Betsy Kline, South Carolina, thanks so much. We'll be talking to you throughout the course of the rally. Our panel is joining me now. And, Ashley, first off, I want people to understand the contrast of Tim Scott on the trail versus Tim Scott, like, in the hallways of the Capitol is very jarring. He's very good on the track. Having covered him in 2016 when he was going around with Rubio, he actually can electrify a crowd, doesn't really talk to reporters in the Capitol. Just want to note, feel free to change that.

47:35Kind of the last point that Betsy was making, the commodity that is time for a president. Red State, there are midterm elections. He's got a huge war chest that he hasn't opened the spigot on yet. There's a lot of frontline guys looking around saying, like, hey, anytime, man. The importance of this to Trump. Does it match up with the importance of it politically? Number one, I think it's important to him because he asked her to run. I mean, he's the one that asked her to run for the full-time Senate. So I think it's very important. Listen, I did my own little very sophisticated focus group of my dad and his friends who live in Myrtle Beach area.

48:11And they were like, what's Trump doing? I mean, that's their response. If he likes Darlene Graham, that's who we're voting for. There was absolutely no concern that she didn't know the answer on Taiwan. And I also think it's mid-August. The election and then now the runoff has been so close that people are going to go to the polls. And she's probably going to win. It's probably going to be closer. But Norman's been around for a long time. And at the end of the day, I think she'll pull it out. Let me add one more thing to the Norman thing. And people forget, because we talk about Lindsey Graham and his tragic passing, but Lindsey Graham only got 60 % of the primary vote just a couple months ago because it's not a good thing, no matter if you're a Democrat or Republican right now, to be an incumbent.

48:54They're the most unpopular people in American politics because folks are sick and tired of all politicians. And I think she's getting a little bit of that, and you know this, Phil. In a runoff, it's a super small electorate where Donald Trump could have more of an impact, but also Norman's been around a long time, and he'd been waiting a long time for this seat. And there's a lot of folks who think they had done his time. So what's the turnout? Because the turnout will matter here, because it's only going to be a small little group of Republican voters. To that point, now that I know that you have a focus group on hand, I mean, I will approach this with the humility of having assumed from the jump, like, oh, Trump's behind her, wanted her to run.

49:30This is a done deal. Everybody's going to get out. Nobody got out. Credit to Darlene Graham for being the top vote getter in a packed primary of people with a lot of resume behind them. do you think the flubs matter like the debate commentary that I don't really know that much about national security not really knowing how many people are in South Carolina like that's a that's a good cable hit does it matter to the electorate that comment matters more I think than the national security aspect because what she did say of what she cares about and what she's worked her whole life on is making sure that people have a good life I mean she's obviously been very, very focused on the cost of living and making sure that people that don't have enough money have services.

50:14And so that's her focus. Her brother's focus was national security. And listen, at the end of the day, we all know if she has good national security staff around her, she is going to support the troops and it's not going to matter at the end of the day. I hope, listen, she's been through hell and back and she's even going through it more now because of what she's just been thrust into, which is big time. And I hope she pulls it out. Listen, And I think that she'll be a good, thoughtful senator. I think the comments matter more because this is probably such a minuscule electorate that is more tuned in than anyone.

50:45Folks that are on Twitter, folks that are reading, not the infrequent voter that Donald Trump actually got to show up in a general election. It's just the opposite of that. And for Democrats, there are over 50 marginal congressional seats in America where the House will be flipped. And not a one of them are in South Carolina, to your point earlier. There's lots of places. This week, the Cook Political Report moved Texas and Iowa one notch more Democrat, where he could be there rallying his troops for Ken Paxton, but he's in South Carolina. And he will be. But listen, at the end of the day, he asked her to run, and he's going to Myrtle Beach.

51:14I mean, so he's, I mean, this is like... I can smell the pork rinds and the baby oil from here. Can we talk about Chuck's beard? No, we don't talk about my beard. I've been gone for two weeks. I want to talk about his tan. Like, how does somebody go to Alaska and come back with this guy's tan? Okay, I want to keep this on track, because actually, one of the things that I've been thinking about a lot is, and Trump brings this on himself because he cares so deeply about his endorsement record. People are just like, Democrats are frothing at the idea that he could lose another race where he endorsed.

51:41I don't really care if he wins or lose. His record of endorsements doesn't matter to me in terms of how I cover things. But I do wonder from a political perspective, if you see kind of an indicator of maybe he is losing his influence. Maybe if he does hit the road later, it's not going to matter as much as it would have two years ago. So I looked at how many people he's endorsed this cycle, which is over 335, I think was the number. Like city council members are my favorite. And he's lost 12. Yeah. So like when everyone's saying he's lost so many, he's won 96%. So I think places like South Carolina, it does really matter.

52:15But I think there's a lot of people hoping that she loses just because of his endorsement, which is not fair to her. And if you look at someone that would be a good senator in regards to my politics of moderate Republican politics, she would be much better for me than Norman, who has been very, like, much of a destructionist and not wanting to pass certain goals. Freedom caucus guy, yeah. Yeah, so I think that he, she is much more in line personally with what I hope that South Carolina would bring to the table. Do you read anything into endorsements, wins, losses, anything like that, in terms of the president's record going into the midterms?

52:49I watch the lame duck and you cover the hill much more than I do. And I think you know that I know that people will get more of a spine if he's defanged some moving into a midterm. If the Republicans lose Congress in November and they've got so much legislation that they need to move through the system in November and December. And he's lost a few of these races. He won't be president again. I think it's a whole new look in Congress when it comes to voting because they won't be scared no more. Trying to bait me into an appropriations discussion. I will not have it. We got a lot more to get to.

53:18You guys are sticking around. We've got much more to discuss this hour. Coming up, North Korea is sending a drone squad to Russia to help them target Ukraine, as President Trump seems to be courting Kim Jong-un for another meeting. We'll talk to a lawmaker about the lofty implications with the nuclear nation. That's next.

53:40This just into our politics lead, the Pentagon has forced out several top staffers at Stars and Stripes, an official U.S. military publication that has historically operated with editorial independence from the military. Publisher Max Lederer, Editor-in-Chief Eric Slavin, and a reporter were given separation notices. You're looking at the Stars and Stripes' own reporting on this. Lederer had already told staff he would retire next month, saying his philosophy differs from the Defense Department's direction of leadership. And Slavin told The Washington Post he was dismissed for insubordination.

54:11related to an interview he gave to CBS for a piece on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's efforts to exert control over stars and strikes. But to our world lead, you're looking at the aftermath of a deadly double-tap Russian strike on a Ukrainian shopping center today in central Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say at least 15 people are dead and more than 100 wounded after Russian attack drones hit the same location about a half an hour apart. And now CNN is learning Russia is calling in reinforcements for its drone program, including a North Korean drone unit that could attack targets in Ukraine. Joining us now, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy, a Democrat from Illinois on the Oversight and Intelligence Committees.

54:52Congressman, really appreciate your time. Obviously, North Korea and Russia have been getting closer since they signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact two years ago. How serious of a threat is the North Korea-Russia partnership to NATO and to the U.S. at this point? It's very serious. They've provided ballistic missiles to the Russians. They've provided close to 25 ,000 troops on rotation through Ukraine. And now they're providing something like 400 drone operators to the Russians to now participate in kind of drone warfare. And so this is a problem for various reasons, but one of which is they're obviously adding to the fight that the Ukrainians have to deal with and munitions that the Russians did not have previously that they now have at their disposal.

55:48The latest reporting from CNN on the drone units that are going over comes just a few days after President Trump announced that U.S. military drills with South Korea would be scaled down, as he put it, quote, based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. Trump clearly wants another meeting with the North Korean leader. Denuclearization hasn't gone that great with Iran up to this point. Do you have any hope that Trump's posture, the way he operates with Kim Jong-un could have lead to an outcome of some sort? No, we've seen this movie before. It didn't turn out well the first time in Trump's first term.

56:25Look, when you push your friends, partners and allies away like the South Koreans, it just shows weakness on our part. And that invites further aggression. And that's what's going to happen with regard to the North Koreans. Not only that, but the South Koreans are now hedging as well. There's open talk in the South Korean political system about developing their own nuclear weapons. And that is the opposite of what we want to see on the Korean peninsula. We pursued a denuclearization strategy, and now we're going in the opposite direction. And it could really create a very, very, very dangerous situation in an already dangerous part of the world.

57:07Your Judiciary Committee colleagues today released a new report called Pardons, Inc., how Trump and his clemency for cash racket let white-collar criminals and international drug dealers walk free and dodge billions in restitution owed to their victims. President Biden pardoned members of his family as he left office. Why is this a different situation? Well, this is a different scale we're talking about right now. Look, we're seeing kind of a two-tier justice system where if you're a friend of the president and you give campaign contributions especially, you're likely going to get clemency even in some very, very heinous crimes.

57:48Not only that, but as this report details, the people that get clemency are now not paying restitution that would otherwise go to the victims of their crimes. And so it's a double whammy. On the one hand, these people are getting a get out of jail free card for being a friend of the president. And then the victims are suffering the consequences and not getting the restitution that they are owed. And so it's just corroding our justice system every day that this continues. That report out today, I think probably a preview of one of many things you will see Democrats pursue if they're in the majority in the next congressman.

58:28Congressman, really appreciate your time as always, sir. Thanks so much. Thank you so much. Well, as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Spirit Airlines sold personal passenger information that's going to be used to train AI. We'll explain what kind of data and how it'll be used. That's next.

58:52A live look at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where you see right there, Republican Senate candidate, Republican Senator Darlene Graham is speaking at a rally. President Donald Trump will be at that rally and speaking shortly. We'll keep an eye on that. Well, in the meantime, it's time for our series AI.

59:10friend or foe. So have you ever flown Spirit, worked for the airline, even corresponded with someone at the company? Well, some of that data is now headed to Google to help power its AI. Google paying$10 million for Spirit's data. The deal comes after the airline halted its operations in May. And joining me now is Sarah Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants. And Sarah, we were just talking about it. I saw the headline. I was like, I don't know that I love that. When you see the headline, explain to people what this is and how it's been communicated to former employees, many of whom are still looking for work or in the process of training for work, if they have to worry about something here.

59:49Well, first of all, this wasn't really communicated at all. It was just in a bankruptcy filing, hidden in the middle of a bankruptcy filing Friday night. And we had to make sense of it and put our objection forward. And we were actually successful in getting this push back. So the sale is not approved yet. The next bankruptcy court date is September 9th. It was going to go through on August 19th, but we've pushed it back because what this says is that even though they say it's going to de-identify the names involved and there's confidentiality for customers, for employees, all of their data is available.

1:00:24Their employee emails, their tax records, their payroll records, their timesheets. all of this confidential information, frankly, and their disciplinary files. As they're out trying to search for other jobs, these are people who lost everything overnight. Their airline shut down with no notice at all. They had no health insurance, no paychecks. We had to work on getting them their last paycheck. They are still waiting on their vacation and earned sick time and other benefits that they are due. And we're fighting for that in the bankruptcy court. There's nothing left to give out. But this is insult to injury in a time when these workers are really trying to just look for work and then thinking, what?

1:01:02This is my data. How can you sell this to someone else? When I no longer have a relationship with Spirit, Spirit did not make good on its commitment to me. And now you're saying that you're going to take my data and my personal information, too, when I'm trying to get a job somewhere else. How much of when your members are there, there are a litany of things your members, as you are relaying, are concerned about here. The idea that it's being used to train an AI system or an LLM, how much are you hearing about that aspect of it, given no one really knows exactly what that means at this point? Well, look, I mean, the very first thing that people are concerned about that we're talking to is their personal data.

1:01:42Very, very concerned about that. But also then they're immediately asking the other questions. What does this mean for our future? Is everything just for sale? Are we going to be completely controlled? Are people going to know everything about us? And that's just for sale? All of our personal data, anywhere, anytime? There's a lot of concerns about AI and how this is going to be used and why Google would want this. And I think that, you know, the one thing that's sort of interesting is I think about all of those disciplinary files that were handled by HR people. And what Google's really doing is taking this to try to train AI to replace those jobs.

1:02:17So how ironic. But it's very, very concerning across the board. And I think this is something that Americans have to be concerned about. It's very good, actually, that our union is there because there would be no one to object otherwise. There could be employees that would go through this kind of process. And without a union, they'd have no one to stand up for them. Yeah, I mean, you were just saying you found out about it in a court filing, not that the company or former company or any officials were actually reaching out to you. People would say, like, look, these companies have everything on us at this point anyway, consumer data.

1:02:47I think this gets to the specific issues of your members, which is personnel files, work-related issues. What's your biggest concern, and what do you think your next steps are as you try and help out your members? Yeah, so we're going to continue to fight in the bankruptcy court, and we are saying that the sale should not go through unless this can be made sure that it's completely confidential. We have to be able to ensure that we can track that. Right now it's an unnamed third party that supposedly is going to de-identify this. there are no assurances whatsoever at all. So if we can get those assurances that this will be completely confidential, then we're not trying to hold up the sale.

1:03:27But we're gonna be arguing that. And the next court is September 9th. But beyond that, I think that we have to take this out and we have to think about this in terms of policy because this is a new terrain that all of us are facing with AI. And policymakers need to be thinking about this when we're thinking about the kind of guardrails that we need to put on this new industry. And, you know, I work in a heavy regulated industry, and we remain safe because of that. There is an FAA. There should be an FAA agency for AI. And this is one of the considerations that needs to be made. Sarah Nelson, I really appreciate you coming in.

1:04:05Please keep us posted as we move further into this court case. Thanks. Well, court is just about to wrap up in the Tupac Shakur murder trial. After one week of testimony, where are we? In that case, our team that has been inside the courtroom joins us next to bring you up to speed.

1:04:25Breaking news on our Law and Justice lead. Week one of testimony in the Tupac Shakur murder trial just wrapped up moments ago. But for the first time in court today, we heard from the man accused of orchestrating the fatal 1996 shooting of Shakur. CNN Josh Campbell is following the case for us. Josh, tell us about that moment. Well, it came out of nowhere. In fact, the court was still in session. And we haven't heard the defendant here, Dwayne Davis, who, of course, has pleaded not guilty to charges in Tupac's murder. He raised his finger and wanted to get the judge's attention. And it's unclear exactly what he was referring to.

1:04:58But he appeared to take exception to what he said was his address being disclosed publicly. Here, watch that moment. They keep giving off my address. They've broken my house, fatalized my house. This stuff is wrong. I've heard it's going on both ways, that there's concerns both. Now, again, it was not clear what he was referring to, but the judge did admonish both sides, both the lawyers as well as the witnesses, to not release any information that shouldn't be public. In fact, at one point, it got a little snippy because the prosecutor said, well, I think he's upset because we're prosecuting him for murder.

1:05:38And which to which Dwayne Davis then responded and said, no, I'm upset because I think you're endangering my family. So, again, something we did not expect today. Yeah, no question about that. On the actual substance, you've been covering every minute of this. despite claiming he made up the past stories of his involvement with Tupac's murder, the jury continuing to listen to recordings of Davis speaking about his role in that night. What do we know? Well, he was indeed the star witness during this first week, his own words. He spoke to police officers long ago. That was recorded. He also gave a series of media interviews in which he talked about his role that night.

1:06:17Now, he says he didn't actually pull the trigger, but it was his nephew. and they allegedly opened fire on Tupac as well as rap producer Suge Knight out of retribution because Dwayne Davis's nephew was allegedly beaten up earlier in the night by Shakur's entourage. Now, one video that was played for the court included a documentary, Death Row Chronicles. We hear him describing that night. Have a listen.

1:06:44You want to pull it up? I was in the front seat. Happened to see my friend. Sure. You said the shots came from the back. Big Dre, Orlando. Who shot Tupac? I'm going to keep it for the code on the streets. It just came from the back seatbelt. Said he was going to keep it for the code on the streets. And that's something that law enforcement has grappled with in this case, that you have these competing gang factions that didn't want to initially explain exactly what happened. And it's worth pointing out that documentary also included a dramatized recreation of what exactly occurred. But you're seeing there on your screen images that were introduced in court, actual images of the BMW that Tupac Shakur was in when he was shot and killed.

1:07:31Of course, finally, Phil, the big question in all of this, we have two competing versions that Davis is told. There's the past versions where he said, yes, I was there. I was involved. He's now saying I made it up in order to make money. The big question, how will this land with the jury? Which side of this story will they actually believe, Phil? Yeah, hanging over everything, wrapping up the first week, Josh Campbell. Appreciate you, my friend. Thank you. Of course. Well, he's positioned himself as one of President Trump's fiercest critics. But today, California Governor Gavin Newsom praised one of the president's actions, calling it, quote, one of the best things he's done.

1:08:02So what is it? That's next.

1:08:11We're looking at a split screen of rallies. South Carolina, it is where it's all happening in politics right now. The runoff election coming up. President Trump will be on stage in Myrtle Beach shortly. He's expected to speak there soon. On your right, Darlene Graham's opponent in the runoff, Congressman Ralph Norman, about to start a town hall in Anderson, South Carolina. We're going to be keeping an eye on that. But also today, Vice President J.D. Vance rallying with Republican candidates and promoting the administration's economic policies at a steel plant where his grandfather once worked in Middletown, Ohio.

1:08:43I want to jump right in with the panel that's back with me right now. Chuck, the vice president talked about his grandfather, James Vance, working at the same steel mill. Different name, pretty sure different ownership at this point. Here's what he said about his grandfather's politics. Back then, he said that Democrats were the party of union men. So he usually voted Democrat, but he thought way too many politicians were just plain old corrupt. And he was right. It's one I think a lot of people think like that. I don't think that's specific to J.D. Vance's grandfather. I'm more interested in who wins the battle of who do you trust more or, frankly, who's less corrupt when you talk to folks on the campaign?

1:09:25There's a lot of anxiety out there with working people. And I've been to that steel mill. And you know this, Phil. I worked to work in a factory when I was 19. I'd never been to college. I was a teenage father, and I'm that worker he was talking about. I followed my father into that rubber plant. And those guys have been looking for an outlet because we were taught, if you work hard, you play by the rules, you work a little overtime, you can get ahead, maybe you can send your kids to school. Well, that has been shrinking, even under Democrats and under Republicans. And the reason they can't get away with this is because they're in charge right now.

1:09:53They weren't in charge when Donald Trump got elected. Donald Trump got a lot of those voters. As a Democrat, I give him credit because he was saying, I'm something different. I'm not one of those politicians. But they bought that. But now they're not buying it anymore because they're in charge and things continue to go up. And I think that'll be the Achilles heel as we head into the midterm. Actually, I think it's such an essential point because this gets it. My next question, which was what Vance said today about affordability. On the affordability question, we know that under Joe Biden, the cost of a median price home nearly doubled.

1:10:26Now, for the first time in over five years, rents are falling for the first time. We got a lot of work to do, but we're finally seeing that American dream of homeownership become accessible again to our young people. First off, that last part is just flat out not accurate right now when you talk to young people. But putting that aside, it's more like the echoes of when I was covering the Biden White House, listening to them over and over again, be like, we're making progress. We're working on it and being like, well, people aren't feeling it right now. And that didn't work out great for them. No, and I think that's our same problem right now.

1:11:01And also you have the stock market and other things that are doing really well, but are the general people. But also those voters you were talking about, like yourself, they also don't like that everything's free for everybody either from the socialist message. I mean, I think that there is like a big chunk of people that like hardworking people and just expect the government to help them out as well, but just not for free. as you're giving me an evil eye. But I also have to say one thing that came out today that's good. We're finally talking about and we're going, you know, we're going into this last stretch after Labor Day.

1:11:33They're opening up imports for beef prices, which was a major policy decision today that was announced, which will help bring beef prices down, which I think is huge, because that was a major issue under Biden and hasn't gotten better under Trump. And then also, if you look at the numbers this week, the job numbers, 15 percent, The job numbers for manufacturing are the highest they've been in 15 years. But are people actually feeling it? So we do have some momentum. We need to continue talking about it. But right now we're losing the messaging battle in regards to everyday Americans. And I think the irony of that is on a macro level, without any question at all, the resilience of the U.S.

1:12:08economy, the ability to make it through tariff shocks, oil supply shocks, and really produce on a macro level has been without question great. It also did that a lot with the Biden team, too. And they always kind of ran into this problem, which is the difficulty of this moment. You mentioned the beef deal that was announced today. We're still waiting for a lot of details. There is no question. Like, if you want to know how the administration feels about affordability issues, that is a prime example. Because they're allies in Montana. They're allies in Nebraska. If you are a rancher or a cattleman, you are not happy right now.

1:12:41But to your point, depending on how it's implemented, it will have an effect. And that's why it hasn't come out for the last two years. I mean, and this is why it's coming out now. And my firm is working on congressional races from coast to coast and marginal races. And in none of those races, Ashley, are we saying that things are free when we're running ads? We're not saying we're the party to give you things free. We're running ads saying things cost too much and that things haven't gotten any better under. And we're not in charge. They're in charge. So it's cost and corruption. But it's also about the anxiety that I talk about.

1:13:10Because I think this is the piece that we're missing. I think Ashley's talked about it because it's that anxiety that's caused Trump to do what he's done with beef prices because they're desperate. It's what he's done with Iran because he wants gas prices down. I just, as we've talked about, came back from Alaska this morning and gas was$9.56 a gallon. I know it's Alaska, but things are really anxious out there for folks right now. And I think that's why you're going to see the rubber hit the road as we get to Labor Day, because Trump is desperate to talk about the economy. Ashley, my friend, talks about how they should be talking about it every time they can because the window's closing in.

1:13:44You said something earlier with your reporter from South Carolina. Actually, she said it. There's one thing in politics you never get back, and that's another tick of that clock. You never get back that time, and folks are really wondering what's happening going into Labor Day. By the way, citing Alaskan gas is like citing that one gas station near the Kennedy Center that's always like$30. Oh, my God, it's the worst. It's not a fair comparative. It's like$20 a gallon. I do want to ask about something because on the economy, You don't see a lot of Democrats saying nice things about the president and his team.

1:14:14California Governor Gavin Newsom did have one. Listen. I'm enthusiastic about encouraging people to get a Trump account. I think it's incredibly important. It's one of the best things he's done. Take advantage of this to not fall prey to the politics or the cynicism or maybe even the fear that if I download a Trump account, somehow that means something it doesn't it just means something for your kid it's not trump's money it's your child's money i don't i don't care about the politics it's good policy totally democrats who understand this stuff know it's good policy you surprised that newsom would come out and say no i actually think it's very smart because i i was actually just saying this the other day i think he's getting tired of just criticizing everything the president does there are some good things and this is one of them and listen i don't have a you have kids that you can take advantage of this because they're now up in the eight.

1:15:10But, you know, I don't. I got grandkids. Yeah, but it's a big deal. And that's going to be something that is changing the future of some of these children. I think as we move into 2020, we get past these midterms, I think you're going to see a contrast in 20 Democrats that are running for president or which one of them just do it with a hammer every single day and folks that are looking for ways to find some commonality because folks are frustrated. You have a different memory of the 2020 primary than I do about folks just trying to find, just kept going further and further. Which, no, I agree.

1:15:45I ran Bernie Sanders political campaign. I know. But see, my biggest fear for our 2028 is running against AOC, because I think she brings out so many different people, and I think she has the excitement. You don't agree with me necessarily on this, but I think that it's really hard for her to, you know, not win a primary. We will see. That's way, way far in the future. Here we go. Ashley Davis, Chuck, I appreciate you guys. Thank you, as always. Well, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make their return to the United Kingdom, she could also make her return to acting. There's new details next.

1:16:23New details tonight on what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to do when they return to the UK. Here's CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister. Hey, Phil. So this is really big news. Meghan Markle could be making her big return to acting in a major way. A source familiar with ongoing discussions tells me that Meghan Markle is in talks to possibly join the third season of Guy Ritchie's Netflix series, The Gentleman. Now, a deal is not in place, and Deadline, which was the first outlet to report that Meghan got an offer to join the gentleman. They say that talks are hypothetical at this point and that no role has been decided for Markle.

1:17:06Now, I have reached out to multiple representatives for Markle. None of them have gotten back to me. Netflix declined to comment. But here's why this would make sense. Of course, this all comes on the backdrop of Meghan and Prince Harry making their return to the UK with their two young children. But also remember, they have a deal with Netflix. Of course, they did their major docuseries on Netflix. And also Meghan Markle has been doing her lifestyle show on the major streaming giant. So time will tell. But again, a source does indicate that these talks are ongoing. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you.

1:17:44Well, in our politics, Jake Tapper's got a look at a brand new book that imagines how a future civil war in the U.S. may play out. Our politics lead now. Breaking up is hard to do. America's differences right now feel increasingly extreme. And a new novel by Kurt Anderson called The Breakup imagines that roughly 20 years from now, the United States has endured a right-wing domestic insurgency, fought a civil War and essentially agreed to peacefully divide itself into two separate countries. And underneath that is another breakup, the 23-year marriage of the protagonist. So the novel asks a similar question about both relationships.

1:18:24At what point do differences become irreconcilable? And when is something broken still worth trying to repair and save? And Kurt Anderson joins me now. Kurt, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Congrats on the book. So you wrote a novel in which America actually breaks up into separate countries. In a New York Times op-ed, you argue that America is already beginning, essentially, to live separately, conscious uncoupling, as it were. Did you write this novel because you think America is, a United States of America is likely to ununite? I don't know about likely. I feel like it seems likelier to me, less far-fetched as a story, the kind of story that I tell in the breakup, than it did when I began thinking about it and writing three or four years ago.

1:19:08So I would say, I think it's much more plausible than it was. And what I do think is that coming back together in the old way, without some radical transformation of our governing apparatus is not in the cards, in my sense. I want to read an excerpt from the book. The wife in the book, Natalie, says, quote, as the country started cracking up, I felt caught in a tragic love triangle. the two Americas hating each other, me still loving them both. And I wonder if you think that Americans are losing what Natalie has, a love of both. Do you think that in blue enclaves, people just don't even see the good in red states and vice versa?

1:19:56Yes and no. My experience, traveling around the South, talking to my own friends, they're still like, oh gosh, I love this country. But what they share is Natalie's sadness at what's going on and the seeming irreconcilability of these, no, they're the enemy, this mutual contempt that goes nowhere but getting more intense. Natalie also says, quote, and it's not going to happen, Ash, that's her husband, ex-husband, this cracker barrel versus whole food civil war. The people I grew up with are not going to risk their speedboats and RVs and mortgages to start a war over drag queens and pronouns and unisex bathrooms and too many black people on TV ads.

1:20:34Natalie's convinced regular Americans aren't going to leave their comfortable lives to fight a civil war over that. She turns out, well, I don't want to ruin anything, but the war does happen. Learn that in the first chapter. How does a country enter a civil war when nobody wants to actually fight a civil war? Well, that's what we discover. I mean, Natalie grew up in East Tennessee, by the way, she's working class, so she has a whole different view of the red states than her husband, who grew up in LA, has. But that's why she had her, as she says, disparagingly lived experience, that this just wasn't going to happen.

1:21:11And what, among other things, we find out about the war that does happen, the uprising, in a way more than a civil war, which she doesn't want to call it, is that they recruit thousands of people to kill and assassinate and kidnap and blow up things. But ultimately, because an administration that decides, no, this is a war and we have to crush it, it works. As any such uprising in this country, I believe, would happen. You describe, I mean, obviously the metaphor of the Civil War for a breakup of a marriage and vice versa. It's a love affair. It's a love affair gone bad. Do you still believe in the love affair of America, of the United States?

1:21:58I think we're farther gone than, say, Asher and Natalie are in the book. And Asher and Natalie's, their differences are not entirely political. They're over technology, they're over culture, they're over a lot of things. But they're not ex-spouses yet in this book. And so there's some hope for them, a lot of hope. And there's hope at the end of the book about America, I think, that maybe splitting up, as with divorces, is better than the option of staying in a terrible marriage. So I think that old civics history idea that we grew up with, oh, no, this is great. America, America, eclectic. Everybody of all different kinds of points of view could have their opinion.

1:22:43I mean, I do think that's the love of that is gone. And that's what I don't see returning without some incident, things, something that makes the fever break. All right. The book is The Breakup. A great novel. Check it out. It's out now. Kurt Anderson, thanks so much for being here. Thank you. Thanks for classing up the joint. Thanks. My pleasure. Sunday on State of the Union, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, former Vice President Mike Pence, and author Jonathan Haidt. That's Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN. Aaron Bernadette out front starts now.

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