Top Russian Envoy In U.S. For Talks After Trump Imposes Sanctions

25:07Spook, Flappy, Juice, The Wrestler, some of the nicknames of men allegedly tied to the scheme, all reminiscent of a scene straight out of Hollywood. Better check. Don't rush me, sunshine. You're rushing me one f***ing night. Yeah, he didn't study this hard in school. Cry me a river. Three beautiful kings. La Cosa Nostra is the nickname given to the Italian-American mob. Their lore dates back decades to when the families ran criminal enterprises in New York City, often in competition with each other. This court paperwork alleges, though, the mob families are not a thing of the past. And for one gambling scheme, they teamed up, adopting new technology to rig poker games, allegedly taking nearly$2 million from a single victim.

25:52And when people refused to pay, these defendants did what organized crime has always done. They used threats, they used intimidation, and they used violence. As part of the investigation, authorities scanned thousands of hours of surveillance video, at one point spotting these men, including one dubbed Big Bruce. Court documents show this group already ran illegal gambling operations backed by the Bonanno crime family when they got involved in the poker scheme. Same goes for a defendant who went by the name Flappy, who in text messages confirmed his illegal ring was backed by the Gambino crime family.

26:29This alleged illegal gambling operation hustled unwitting victims out of tens of millions of dollars and created a financial pipeline for La Cosa Nostra to help fund and facilitate their organized criminal activity. Defendant Robert Stroud, referred to as Black Rob, allegedly supplied, along with other defendants, rigged shuffling machines to the operations. That shuffle machine is altered to transmit to an earpiece to tell the people who were going to win. And in one case allegedly helped carry out a robbery to steal one. S. Getting Real in NYC, a text read after the alleged heist. Federal prosecutors have asked that some of the dozens of defendants be detained on the new charges, citing their mob ties.

27:17like Angelo Ruggiero Jr., a member of the Gambino family who allegedly once boasted in prison about being tight with former boss John Gotti Sr. and that he had shot a man in the chest. Some defendants have entered not guilty pleas and in some cases have even posted bail. Bryn Gingrass, CNN, New York. And our thanks to Bryn Gingrass for that report. Joining us now for an encore performance, casino game protection and cheating expert Sal Piasanti. Sal, welcome back to The Lead. So yesterday you showed us how folks can rig card shuffling machines, which is something alleged in the court documents.

27:53The allegations also include x-ray tables that read cards that are face down, which we talked about. But I understand you're going to show us today how some of that technology works. Well, every interview I've done, everyone asked about the x-ray table, the x-ray table. I cannot talk about the table that they use because I have not seen them. I don't know exactly what table they used. I don't know who supplied the tables for them. But the table they talked about yesterday, the cameras that I know of are built into the table and they are filmed underneath. So that way, when the cards are dealt onto the table, the cameras can see the faces of the cards.

28:35However, when everyone talks about x-ray, they think, can you see through the card? Well, I'm going to show you something. And you're going to see this technology. you're going to say the device I have is older. This is not new. But if you look right here, you look at this light. Now, don't ask me anything technical about how this works, because I don't know. I just know a guy. I get these things. They tell me it works, and I know it works. I know it's been used. This thing looks like a light board. It's on. How do I know it's on? Because I plugged it in. It doesn't light up. It doesn't emit any light.

29:08It doesn't emit any heat. I don't know, but it's on. So what does this do? This projects an image. Now, if I take a regular card here, just a regular poker card, and lay it onto this. Now, when I put this camera underneath that card, this camera will see through that card and project it to this image. I am going to shut the lights here because the reflection of the chandelier. But you should be able to see that card. that's a three of clubs is that what that is correct yes it is as a matter of fact let's there it is three three three spades sorry put another one up yeah put a different brand we'll put it we'll put a different brand up there okay you tell me what that is because oh is that that's a two of clubs that's a two of clubs yeah exactly okay exactly now this is built into the table.

30:07And if I put this belt over it or this poker layout, you're going to see that that light goes right through it. And you can still see that card. Oh my God, even with the felt. No problem. That's incredible. Even with the felt, yes. And it's a regular deck of cards. And you could, I guess, so they're constructing entire card tables with that little light box thing and the felt. With those lights in each spot where the cards will be dealt and the camera is is either in a chandelier. I've seen them in pool hall lighting structures. They could be in smoke detectors. The camera just has to be above.

30:51That's all. I won't ask you how it's how it's done technically. And even if you explained it, I wouldn't understand it. How often do people get caught trying to use you trying to use this kind of technology uh it doesn't get caught that much as far as i know like i have a lot of surveillance footage of poker cheating being done in casinos but you got to remember we only look at footage of the people that got caught there's absolutely no way that we know how many people are they using it however i will tell you i know of three crooked gambling manufacturing companies within the United States that supply crooked gambling equipment.

31:31I know these things are being sold quite a bit. So I know it's out there. So all I can tell you is your view is have to learn how to protect themselves. Is it illegal to manufacture or sell this crooked gambling stuff? No, no. Entertainment purposes only. this is not to be used for illicit purposes no no they would they would never hear of that right oh my god great stuff salpia santi no it's not illegal yeah all right we're gonna have you back again soon i just love that this should be a daily segment on this show even i look forward to it even without a news hook i don't care just teach us new fun stuff like that salpia santi uh thank you so much uh really really appreciate it and some i love to your sister um as one trump foe appears in court today.

32:23The potential case against another appears to have hit a bump in the road. Why prosecutors have been hesitant to bring charges against Democratic Senator Trump nemesis Adam Schiff. Stay with us.

32:38Our politics lead now CNN has learned that prosecutors have been investigating but have been hesitant to bring charges against Democratic Senator Trump nemesis Adam Schiff. The charges would center around allegations of mortgage fraud, which would then theoretically lead to an indictment. President Trump was asked if he knows about a pending indictment for Schiff yesterday at the White House. Well, you know, I'm not going to comment on that. I would just say Adam Schiff is one of the lowest forms of scum I've ever dealt with in politics. He's a horrible human being, very dishonest person. I have no idea what's going I hope it's true, but I don't know anything.

33:19My panel joins me now. So, Joe, let me start with you. So, former FBI Director James Comey has already tried to get his case thrown out by claiming this is vindictive prosecution because of President Trump's personal vendetta against him. Comments like this do not help the case if he actually wants, if there's actually anything there. Historically, getting a case dismissed on the grounds of vindictive prosecution is actually pretty tough. Right. Because prosecutors are given a lot of latitude. If they see something wrong, short of bribery or making up evidence, they're allowed to bring the case.

33:51And it rises or falls as it may. Things like this. I mean, this is almost like a case written for dismissal for a vindictive prosecution, where you have the president just basically saying, I don't care. I want him charged with something. So whether it's the installation of the U.S. attorney in Virginia, whether that was defective, whether it was vindictive prosecution, or if you get past the process problems, the case against Comey is really weak on the merits. So one way or the other, I do not see this going the distance. Another person's drawn on Trump's ire, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has been indicted.

34:23She was arraigned in a Virginia courthouse today. She pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud charges. Outside the courthouse, she had this to say. I will not be deterred.

34:38I will not be distracted. This is not about me. This is about all of us and about a justice system which has been weaponized. Now, when she ran for attorney general in 2018, she promised that she would essentially promise that she would bring charges against against President Trump. And in fact, you can go back and then citizen Dan Goldman, now a congressman, was talking about this same issue in The New York Times, vindictive prosecution. So there is an issue here about whether or not what's good for the goose is good for the gander, whether or not she's just getting what she meted out. What do you think?

35:18Yeah, I think you described it right. You know, it's now all the waters are a bit murky and we're sort of looking at it now from this 30 ,000 foot view and everything just doesn't seem to be aligning. regardless I think she did make a point here is that the justice system is being weaponized. The indictment that was signed was signed by a political appointee which is unusual. It's usually signed by a career prosecutor. So I think with some of the comments that Trump has made to your point that you're making earlier about Comey you know some of these cases I think there's grounds for dismissal because there is prejudice already injected into the system from the highest person in government which is the president himself.

35:51So I think there's a lot that remains to be seen here but I think she makes a valid point that Donald Trump is using the levers of power and trying to go after his so-called perceived political enemies. So speaking of extraordinary times, former Trump Svengali Steve Bannon today hinted that President Trump might run for president again, even though the U.S. Constitution doesn't allow for such a thing, in 2028. Take a listen. He's going to get a third term. So Trump 28. Trump is going to be president 28. And people just ought to get accommodated with that. So what about the 22nd Amendment? There's many different alternatives.

36:27At the appropriate time, we'll lay out what the plan is. But there's a plan, and President Trump will be the president in 28. There is this kind of wacky theory that J.D. Vance will run for president with Trump as his vice president, and then J.D. Vance gets into office and flips it. But do you think Bannon actually believes this, or is just this trolling? I think he was with The Economist there. Trolling is the word I would have used, Jake. I mean, I don't know any serious, smart conservative that listens to Steve Bannon. I mean, he's a crazy person. I think this is a troll. I think they love trotting this story out every few months between the 22nd Amendment and the 12th Amendment, which says if someone's not eligible to be president, they can be eligible to be vice president.

37:09It's going to get blocked. And the states control who's on the ballots. You'll have states like California and Colorado who will just not list Donald Trump on the ballot as a presidential candidate in 2028, and that'll be the end of it. So I think they love laughing at people and getting everyone all riled up. But at the end of the day, it's not going to go anywhere. Well, you know, you mentioned that this is a crazy person that no one listens to. And yet this is a person that has a huge platform that people actually do listen to. I think... A lot of people in MAGA world listen to Steve Bannon.

37:36They do. Whether they should is another matter. Exactly. Fair enough. And I think, you know, even though all the case that you outlined and why Donald Trump cannot be on the ticket are all the reasons, I mean, this is not constitutionally possible. I still think you have to take it seriously. I mean, they are bending the levers of power and the courts and the legal system to their benefit. And, I mean, while I don't think a Trump third term is possible, I still think it's something that Democrats should take seriously. I think after January 6th, you've got to take it all seriously. All right, thanks, guys.

38:07Appreciate it. Leaves are changing, temperatures are dropping, and it's time for the Fall Classic. We're live on the field in Toronto, ahead of the first game in the World Series. That's next.

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39:46Limitations and exclusions may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com. Our sports lead. Well, the World Series kicks off tonight in Toronto, Canada, when the Blue Jays face the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are the defending champions after taking home the Commissioner's Trophy last year, while the Blue Jays have not won a World Series since 1993, a series I would rather not talk about. CNN's Andy Scholz is on the field at Rogers Center in Toronto for us. Sandy, what is the atmosphere in the park ahead of tonight's game? Jake, I mean, it's electric here at the Rogers Center as the fans are filing in for game one.

40:20You know, the last World Series pitch here in this stadium was when Joe Carter hit that walk-off home run in 1993 over the left field fence. Yeah, unfortunately, against your Phillies, I know you remember that series quite well, but the Blue Jays, they will be underdogs this time around as they take on Shohei Otani and the Dodgers. And the last time we saw Otani on a baseball field, He had what people are calling the greatest game ever in the history of baseball. He hit three home runs at the plate, and then he had ten strikeouts on the mound in that closeout game in the NLCS against the Brewers.

40:51And, you know, Otani, I mean, he hits balls out of stadiums. He throws 100 miles per hour. I mean, he saves cats that are stuck high up in trees. I mean, Otani, he just does it all. And I talked to some of Otani's teammates, and I just asked them if they could even put into words how amazing he is at the game of baseball.

41:10He's expected to hit these monster home runs and do these incredible performances on the mound and very rarely does he disappoint in that in that sense and when you're able to accomplish that in a game that's based on failure it's truly incredible. I just don't understand sometimes you just like make sure it's uh it's not a machine under there sometimes uh he's special and I'm just I'm just glad um that I'm alive and in this generation that I get to see Shohei with Now, Tani's going to lead off the World Series, and he's likely going to be on the mound pitching in Game 4 when the series shifts back to L.A.

41:45And the Dodgers, they are favored, trying to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Yankees won three in a row back in 2000. Now, the Blue Jays, meanwhile, they're back in the World Series for the first time in 32 years. They showed so much grit to get to this point. They came back time and time again against the Mariners to win that series. And I spoke to the team. I asked him just what would it mean to bring a title back to this city and to the country after so long? I was not even born when they went in the World Series, you know. I don't know if you can put that into words, right?

42:16The city, the fans, you know, the country has been kind of, you know, they won't want this for a long time. So for us to be here, it's an absolute honor. And while underdogs, Jake, the Blue Jays do have a little bit of history on their side. This is the fifth World Series where one of the teams is coming in after sweeping an LCS, while the other team is coming in after having to go seven games to win the LCS. In each of the four previous times that's happened, the team that needed seven games won the World Series. So the Blue Jays and their fans all here in this stadium are certainly hoping the history repeats itself.

42:54All right, Andy Scholes in Toronto, thanks so much. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. For this hour, new numbers out today show what so many families are feeling right now, that prices are still going up and too quickly from furniture to food, clothing and appliances. We're going to dig into the data and a new move by Trump today that could raise prices even more. Plus, the countdown to Election Day is on. And Zoran Mamdani just scored another endorsement in the New York mayor's race. But why did it take so long for the House Democratic leader to back the Democratic nominee? And at this late date in the election, is it gonna make any sort of difference?

43:32Also, there's a new AI app that lets you create super realistic videos. Look, there's me flying through the sky. There it is. That looks right, that looks real, right? There are also fears that this type of technology could pose a serious threat to the world's economy and stability, and we'll explain why. And Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a category four hurricane with winds of 145 miles per hour. Our meteorologists are tracking the forecast.

44:06Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. The Lead tonight. Your family is likely paying close to$200 more this month than you would have at this time last year for the exact same goods. That's according to new inflation numbers. We're going to get you to that report in a moment. Those prices could go up again soon because President Trump today called off trade talks with Canada over what the president is calling a fake ad from Ontario's government, where President Reagan lambasts tariffs. Here's a bit of that ad. At first, when someone says, let's impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs.

44:48And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is, first, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then, while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs in evidence. Okay, so that is the actual speech that Ronald Reagan gave in 1987, talking about tariffs. Here is the ad that President Trump is calling fake. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars.

45:34Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs. America's jobs and growth are at stake. So the bulk of the address that we brought you earlier from 1987 was not, as Trump puts it, about how Reagan actually loved tariffs for our country and its national security, unquote. And the Premier of Ontario now says he's going to begin phasing out the ad, even though it doesn't seem to have been misused at all, Reagan's words. Up until this point, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney says tariff talks with the U.S. have yielded progress.

46:10But Donald Trump called off talks. And today, the Dow closing above 47 ,000 for the first time. The S &P and Nasdaq also seeing boosts. Let's bring in CNN's chief White House correspondent, Kaylin Collins. Kaylin, where do talks with Canada go from here? We don't really know, Jake. Both leaders, President Trump and Prime Minister Carney, are headed to Malaysia tonight for the same summit. So maybe something will happen when they're actually in the same room together and can talk about this. But it's not really clear what the direction of these talks are going to look like after the president terminated them and canceled them, in his words, overnight, Jake.

46:42We did hear from one of his top economic advisors, Kevin Hassett, over at the White House earlier. He wouldn't actually go into talking about the ad itself, Jake, but he talked about frustration in the conversations with Canada and said that, as he put it, there was a lack of flexibility on Canada's part when it came to these talks. But, Jake, I think, you know, in addition to the president saying the ad was fake, as he argued earlier, even though you just showed it, the other thing that stood out to me from the president's comments is he said that ad was placed to interfere with the upcoming tariff argument at the Supreme Court here in the United States on November 5th.

47:15And that argument just actually got extended from the typical amount that it is in terms of how much how long each side will have to argue with the solicitor general. And that is something that the president has said he is considering attending, actually, because he's argued it's such a big moment for his his tariff debate and his pursuit of these tariffs. And obviously, Jake, if the president goes, that'd be the first time in American history that a president has ever attended a U.S. Supreme Court argument. So all of that is kind of at play in the background here. All right, Caitlin Collins, thanks so much.

47:44Don't miss Caitlin on her show. The Source with Caitlin Collins tonight. She's got a special behind the scenes look at the White House this week. That's tonight at 9 Eastern, only on CNN. Let's turn now to a repeated claim from President Trump. As you know, groceries are down. It's all down. Groceries are down. Because our groceries are down. Grocery prices are way down. Prices are way down. Groceries are down. Everything's down. So frequently repeated, those clips are just from the past two weeks alone. But what are the facts? Newly released inflation data shows that grocery prices are actually up.

48:19again last month and have been on the rise since President Trump took office in January. The average price of groceries rose 0.3 % from August to September. On average, grocery prices are about 1.4 % higher than in January when President Trump took office. And they're 2.7 % higher than they were at this point last year. And we can break it down even further because every category of groceries has seen price increases over the last year. Most shockingly, coffee, which is up 18.9%, as well as beef and veal, up 14.7%. Now, economists say it's normal for grocery prices to rise over time. But we need to point out that two of President Trump's signature policies, his tariffs on imported goods, such as coffee, and his crackdown on illegal immigration, which impacts many workers, especially in the agricultural industry, are certainly contributing to the spike, according to economists.

49:19Let's bring in Nebraska's Republican Congressman Mike Flood. Congressman, inflation is back up above 3%. Moody's analytics data reveals that the average family is spending$208 more than last year on the very same goods and services. What do you say to constituents when they reach out and complain and talk about this? What help can you offer? Well, first of all, the announcement today, to be honest, inflation was lower than what analysts had expected. And this is only 10 months into President Trump's term. He inherited massive government spending. We've been cutting that. We were able to prioritize tax relief.

49:56And now we're focused on energy deregulation. We're going to return to an energy independent nation, just as in President Trump's first term. Listen, it took a little time when President Trump started in 2017. He dealt with the Canadians. Canadians. He dealt with the Chinese and we saw more exports from the state of Nebraska. We regressed seriously under the Biden administration. And now the president is back at the table. We're taking steps. This is going to be a win for the president and for the Republicans in 2026. We're poised for that. And I can't wait for it because I think it's going to come here at the beginning of next year.

50:32You're right that inflation is lower than expected, but it is still higher than normal. And President Trump won the election largely on promises to help ease the burden of high prices for consumers. And I wonder, do you think that when President Trump says groceries are down, groceries are down, prices of groceries are down, and every American going to the grocery store can see that that's not true, that sees that prices are going up, especially in some categories like coffee or beef or veal. Do you think that that ultimately is going to hurt Republicans? Well, there's three legs on this stool.

51:10You've got tax cuts, spending cuts, and energy independence. What we need to do now is pay attention to the third one, streamline lease reviews for coal, natural gas, oil, reduce taxes on federal oil and gas leases, provide long-term certainty and stability for lease sales and energy investments, and in Nebraska, extend the 45Z biofuel credit. I'm focusing on energy independence because I think it's the third leg of the stool that needs to be dealt with. We went through four years of Joe Biden where we weren't having ourselves in a position where we have this reliable, stable power. We were relying maybe a little bit too much on wind and solar.

51:48Now we've got an all of the above energy strategy. And when you lower taxes, when you cut spending and you make America energy independent, I think you can take the next step into 2026 and address some of these higher costs. So I guess there's another question about fighting with Canada right now. You're a member of the American Canadian Economy and Security Caucus. The state of Nebraska exported$1.6 billion of goods to Canada in 2024. he stopped trade talks because of an advertisement that aired in Ontario in which Ronald Reagan was largely quoted accurately talking about how he opposed tariffs.

52:33Do you support that, cutting off those trade talks? Listen, Canada is an important trading partner. I'm not going to say anything bad about Canada. We dealt with them in the first Trump administration. We were able to rectify some of the trade imbalance. Didn't the Republican presidential library for Ronald Reagan come out to say that that rendition of President Reagan's words wasn't exactly what he said? You know, I think President Trump here, he always has an unconventional style. And if you wake up in the morning and you say we should go A, B, C, Donald Trump goes A, D, B, L, M, it's always different.

53:09And that's part of his strategy. And I'm sure if you're the premier of Canada, you're waking up today and you're saying, OK, how do we get Donald Trump back in our corner? And what does that mean? They're thinking about ways to work with Donald Trump so they can get this done. He's brilliant when he comes to doing this. Look what he did in the Middle East. You know, he's doing the same thing in Ukraine. He's punishing Russia. If you want a conventional Donald Trump, you're going to have to hold your breath for a very long time. His method is not what they would teach, you know, at some schools, but it works.

53:42And so I'm behind him. I want him to be successful because when he is successful with these talks, we are all successful in America. I mean, polls indicate that the majority of the American people do not think that his economic policies are working. Yesterday, we spoke with one of your constituents, Nebraska cattle rancher named Jim Scavdoll. We talked to him about Trump's support of increasing the import of low-tariff beef from Argentina. Take a listen. 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. Nebraska exported$1.6 billion in beef and veal in 2023.

54:29the number one state responsible for that export. At the same time, beef and veal prices are up more than 14%. What do you think of the administration's strategy here? I mean, they say that they are bringing in all this low tariff Argentinian beef, which your ranchers are not happy about, but they're doing that overall to have more beef and veal in the market to lower prices. Listen, they're sickly cows and they're second choice beef, second rated beef. uh americans want to eat american beef we have the safest we have the most uh the tastiest beef in the world uh we are proud of what we do in nebraska and this whole situation here is really largely uh drummed up because we have a lower herd than we've had in decades we've had a drought in the western united states we've got the screw worm affecting potentially our herd in Texas.

55:22We need to, in my opinion, not import any more foreign beef. Let the prices speak for themselves so that our market and our cattlemen can build more infrastructure and create a larger herd. That said, I'm on record opposing this, but we also have to remember this is a very, very, very small amount of beef in the big picture. It did spook the market for a couple of days, But I'm confident that going forward, let's find a way through this. I'm in the solution phase. Can we reduce imports from another country so that we can communicate to American farmers that we're going to stay the course here?

56:03Nebraska Republican Congressman Mike Flood, thanks for joining us as always, sir. Appreciate it. Have a good day. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers got no paycheck today. The government is shut down for its 24th day. This is the second longest shutdown in history. Are Republicans and Democrats anywhere closer to any sort of compromise or even talking to each other? That story next. Plus, Melissa is still a tropical storm right now, but she could become a Category 4 hurricane within just days. Our meteorologists are tracking the forecast ahead. Stay with us.

56:40Our politics lead. It's Friday, which usually means payday. But for roughly 1.4 million federal employees across the United States, there was no paycheck in sight, nor a sign of when their paychecks might resume. And that's all thanks to the government shutdown. It's now on its 24th day. Since day one of the shutdown, I've been asking lawmakers here on The Lead what they're telling those unpaid federal workers whom they represent. 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. It is the Democrats who are putting the Republican administration in the unenviable situation.

57:20We tell them the fastest way to help people to ensure that federal employees get their paychecks is to end this reckless Republican shutdown. Congressman James Walkinshaw is a Democrat from Virginia. He joins me now. And just point of fact, I know that's Pete Aguilar talking about it's a Republican shutdown. Just the way we have always covered shutdowns is the party that is voting against allowing a clean vote on the continuing resolution is that's the party that's behind the shutdown. In this case, it is Senate Democrats refusing to vote for a clean CR. Now, I know that there's the reason that you want Republicans to include extending the Obamacare subsidies.

57:59I get it. But this is a Democratic shutdown. I don't agree with that. I don't agree that the CR is clean. The CR that passed the House would lock in the devastating health care cuts, not just allow the ACA premium tax credits to expire, but it would lock in devastating cuts to research, cancer research, significant disease research. So I don't think it's a clean CR. I obviously wasn't in Congress for the March CR. I wouldn't have voted for that one either because I don't think that was clean. So you represent nearly 60 ,000 federal employees. You represent a district in northern Virginia. What do you say to them?

58:34They're not getting paid today. And they I mean, I don't know what they're saying to you, but I'm sure some of them are thinking, I get it. You want to fight for stuff. But this is just like my livelihood. Yeah. Well, what I hear from the federal employees that I represent and I represent 50 to 60 ,000 who are employed. I represent thousands who have been fired by the Trump administration over the last nine months. They are fed up with what the Trump administration has done to them. And they see this Trump-Republican shutdown as another in the long list of assaults that they've experienced from this administration.

59:06So they want us to fight. They're hopeful that in the ultimate deal that comes from this, we can secure some protections for federal workers to prevent Russ Vogt from illegally refusing to spend dollars that Congress has appropriated, for example. He's using the—Russ Vogt, the OMB chair, Office of Management and Budget chair, is using the opportunity of the shutdown to try to fire 10 ,000 additional federal workers. He's tried, and we beat him in court. So, so far the courts have said what we've said all along, that those firings during the shutdown were illegal. I think the law is crystal clear on that.

59:39Is there any prediction you might have about when this is going to end? Do you think that there is going to be some sort of, I see no indication that Trump or Johnson, Speaker Johnson, are going to acquiesce to anything you're demanding? Well, I'll give you an indication. This week we have seen, and you have reported, others have reported, a lot more conversations internally among Republicans as to how they're going to deal with this health care issue. Right. They are feeling the heat from the constituents on the ACA premium tax credits. So they're starting to figure out what kind of package maybe could get enough Republican support.

1:00:15My concern is anytime congressional Republicans start putting their heads together about health care, they come up with more ways to take health care away from working families. But they are feeling the heat and starting to have those conversations. What they should do is show up back in Washington and have bipartisan conversations about how we can do that. Congressional redistricting usually happens every 10 years at the zero. So 1990, 2000, 2010. It's an extraordinary time right now because Texas has decided that they're going to redistrict. that has caused something of an arms race of Democrats in California now talking about it, Republicans in Indiana, Missouri, and on and on and on.

1:00:52The Associated Press is reporting that the House of Delegates in Virginia is going to meet to talk about redistricting in Virginia. What can you tell us about that and do you support it? So that'll be up to the General Assembly. I've had no conversations with the General Assembly leaders about that. I learned of it in the media yesterday. I will say I support nonpartisan redistricting as most Democrats do. But the reality is that Donald Trump has commanded Republicans in red states to try to rig the maps in those states because he knows he's losing the midterm elections. And Democrats in blue states or blue leaning states can't unilaterally disarm.

1:01:33So I think in Virginia, we have to keep that option on the table. We have a complicated process to get there and it would have to go before the voters. So just like there's a small-D democratic process in California that will take place, if Virginia moves forward, there would be a small-D democratic process, and the voters could decide based on what Trump is doing across the country. Congressman James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from the great Commonwealth of Virginia, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Another one of President Trump's nominees is under fire for past controversial comments. This time it's both parties confronting the nominee.

1:02:03That story next. Thanks for that.

1:02:34required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. And we're back with our buried lead. That's what we call stories we think are not getting enough attention. Another of President Trump's nominees faced a bipartisan grilling this week relating to past controversial comments about Israel on the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks. Amer Ghalib, Trump's pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, has served as mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, since 2021. Ghalib is a Democrat, but he endorsed Trump for president during last year's election and has been accused of having called Saddam Hussein a martyr and liking social media posts comparing Jews to monkeys.

1:03:16CNN's Kylie Atwood has more. So, Kylie, what happened during the hearing? Well, all of these controversial past comments were on full display, and there were members from both sides of the aisle who were really aggressively questioning him about where he actually stands on these positions given what he has said in the past. As you said, calling Saddam Hussein a martyr, also not standing up against boycotts of Israel, and at one point saying it was a campaign of deception when there were reports that Hamas had carried out sexual violence during the most recent conflict that we've seen in Gaza. So there was a lot of frustration from lawmakers just trying to understand what his positions really are.

1:03:59Senator Ted Cruz was one who had some very pointed questions for him, particularly when it comes to his views on the Muslim Brotherhood. Let's listen to part of that back and forth. In August of 2020, you posted that the Muslim Brotherhood was an inspiration. Do you continue to believe the Muslim Brotherhood is an inspiration? I think a lot of my posts were written in Arabic and mistranslated. It's an ideology. It's not just a group of people. I disagree with a lot of things that they do. Some of them are extremists. Some of them are part of some governments in the Middle East. My question was simple and straightforward.

1:04:37Do you continue to believe the Muslim Brotherhood is an inspiration? No, I'm not part of it. I don't believe in that. Now, Senator Cruz went on to say that he believes that the views of this former mayor of Michigan are in conflict with the perspectives of President Trump. He indicated that he's not going to vote for him. There would need to be other Republicans who would also vote against Khalid if he's not going to get through as the ambassador to Kuwait. So we'll watch and see where this goes. But as you've seen, Jake, not many Republicans on the Hill who have been willing to stand up to nominees of President Trump, even if they have these controversial remarks in the past.

1:05:16How can you be ambassador to Kuwait having called Saddam Hussein a martyr when the United States literally went to war to kick Saddam Hussein's Iraqi soldiers out of Kuwait? And he didn't give a direct answer saying that he does not believe that Saddam Hussein is a martyr. He said that he's dead and then he eventually went on to say that he doesn't think he is. But it wasn't very clear when he answered that question that he has fully changed his mind on that. Kylie Atwood, thanks so much. Coming up next, many people know him because he ruins everything. Actor and comedian Adam Conover talks to us next about artificial intelligence and what he tells us might not make you laugh.

1:05:59Stay with us.

1:06:05In our tech lead, OpenAI's new app, Sora 2, which allows users with just a few text and image prompts to create hyper-realistic video clips. For those unfamiliar with the app, here's an example of something I created on Sora 2. Take a look. First, it's just a fact that societal understanding of AI trails far behind where the technology is. people around the world are going to be confused as to what's real and what's not. And while the fake AI generated videos of historical figures and celebrities have alarmed Hollywood, not to mention the family members of the dead celebrities involved, my next guest says this new AI tool isn't just a threat to the entertainment industry.

1:06:47It could also potentially tank the world's economy. Here now is comedian and host of the podcast, Factually, Adam Conover. Adam, great to have you. Not only are you not a fan of Sora 2, You say it's one of the worst apps in the App Store, but you also say it's proof that the AI bubble is about to burst, dealing a devastating blow to the economy. What do you mean by that? Why? Well, look, the entire AI industry is built on the idea that this is going to revolutionize our economy, right? That there's going to be such massive productivity gains that, you know, our workforce, every industry is going to be transformed.

1:07:23What Sora 2 indicates is that maybe no it's not because Sora 2 is just a TikTok clone that costs OpenAI enormous amounts of money to run. It costs them$5 to make every single video and at best it's just going to replace TikTok. This is not a product that anybody asked for. This is not a product that's going to have a revolutionary impact on anything. and when you look at it that way, it starts to seem like what OpenAI is actually doing is they're in a desperate race to get users and show growth by any means necessary. That's also, I think, why they recently announced they would allow people to make erotic content on ChatGPT.

1:08:02They're trying to boost their numbers to show that they're continuing to grow because they don't actually have a plan for how to use this technology in a productive way. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman allows his likeness to be used on Sora 2. Not all likenesses are allowed. I want to show users two different videos that you created on the app using his image. Take a look. We need more GPUs. The demand is impossible. I can't build the models without your funding. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just help us buy the chips. Look at you, begging. You're a good little piggy.

1:08:43I'm okay. Now, you call this app the most powerful bullying tool in human history. I have a lot of concerns about how it could be misused to create, like, serious conflicts around the world. Are there positive applications for this technology other than amusing ourselves by making these AI slop videos? I mean, can you think of one, Jake? I cannot. I genuinely cannot. I mean, anything that you can do with this app, you could have done before with a real person. And the benefit would have been it would have been real. But now you can make, you know, anybody can make a video of nonsense and post it.

1:09:24OK, great. You know, what's the what is the point of this? What is the point of any of the AI technology that's been rolled out to us? I mean, ChatGPT is just a worse Google that, you know, gives you a higher confidence, worse answer than Google does. people are using it as their therapist, which they do until they talk to it long enough that it tells them to kill themselves. These products have been momentarily amusing, but what they've really done in our society is cause chaos. It's absolutely possible to use Sora to make a false story about a conflict around the world. I made one about the Israel-Gaza conflict in my recent YouTube video that looked completely real and that all someone has to do is remove the Sora watermark and distribute it and they can make it look like anything is happening in any conflict around the world.

1:10:16Why would OpenAI release this? I thought that AI was supposed to make the world a better place, cure cancer, cure diseases, maybe allow tons of workers to get fired and allow businesses to become more efficient. I don't understand how making slop videos is in any way the promise of this technology. And we need to remember that these companies are currently spending$400 billion building out AI infrastructure around the country. And this is what they're using it for. Imagine if we spent$400 billion on something people actually needed, like food, housing, medicine, anything real. Right. So a lot of people are gonna have a tough time knowing what's real and what's not.

1:11:00technology is always way ahead of where our collective conscience is and I am concerned about people using it misusing it to create conflict to create war to create bullying or vengeance or whatever you you said let's show that little video that you made what they're about what we're about to show you is it's fake news literally fake news uh it's about gaza but it's not real at all let's let's show it in a rare scene amid weeks of fighting israeli settlers from nearby communities have crossed the fence under army escort to hand out hot meals and water to hungry families again that that's not real i mean it's great that you used it to show a moment of peace instead of something else but like there are a lot of bad people out there that will use this for ill.

1:11:57Yeah, I mean, my point would be that would be a video that could be used for propaganda if you were taking one side of the conflict and wanted to show the actions of Israeli settlers in a positive light. You could easily do it the opposite way. You could do this to show fake videos about what's happening in Ukraine or happening in any country. And if you look at Facebook right now, Facebook is currently full of AI slop images that tons of, you know, social media addled boomers are just scrolling by and clicking like on and believing, you know, there's a lot of a lot of people in this country who, you know, their brains don't work so good.

1:12:32You know what I mean? They're a little they're a little bit behind. They, you know, maybe they're a little mentally ill. They have issues that cause them to, you know, their critical thinking faculties to go down. These people are getting sucked into these products and they're believing the content. And maybe most of us will be smart enough not to. But again, we have to ask, why are these tech companies the largest companies in the American economy? Why is this what they are choosing to create? Why are they choosing to create something that is actively harmful and shoving it down all of our throats?

1:13:03I mean, Meta, if you open Instagram or Facebook, they will shove the ability to create this BS at you. They will almost force you to use it. And why? What is the purpose? It does nothing for us. Adam Conover, thank you so much. Great to have you. Coming up in his final days campaigning to be New York's next mayor, there's one thing the former governor, Andrew Cuomo, cannot seem to do. That's next.

1:13:30We are 11 days out from New York City's mayoral election, which has pitted 34-year-old socialist Zoran Mamdani against the state's former governor, Andrew Cuomo. Questions, of course, persist about Cuomo's past and the reason why he had to resign the governorship, particularly about the women who have accused him of harassment and more. Our next guest pushed him on this. CNN political commentator Margaret Hoover joins me now. And Margaret, let's play a bit of your sit-down with the former governor. I think I learned a painful, expensive lesson that there you have to be hyper-cautious always because there is a new cultural sensitivity

1:14:20that people may feel, and if they feel it, it is real. I am so hyper-cautious now. By the way, I won't meet with a person alone anymore. I won't meet with a person who I don't know unless I have a witness. It seems to really belittle the allegations against him, some of which have been that he groped women without their consent. Obviously, he denies it. Why do you think it's so hard for him to just say sorry? I shouldn't have done that. Well, you know, no charges were ever brought. And he feels strongly, Jake. This came through loud and clear. that he was politically railroaded in a moment where the Me Too movement was catching men who had created for themselves a series of circumstances that were incredibly bad to marginally bad to, you know, questionably bad.

1:15:22I mean, you can look at the difference between Al Franken's resignation and Harvey Weinstein's offenses and see that there is a gradation of bad behavior. And I think he feels that he was unfairly caught up in that movement. And because of that, that he was politically railroaded in a hot political moment that, frankly, where Democrats held each other to a higher standard than Republicans held each other. And so I think that makes it complicated for him to fully demonstrate the degree of contrition and sincere remorse that many women, in particular Democratic women, want to see in order to feel that he's eligible for this third act of what he wants to be a third act play.

1:16:13Right. Like we see a character arc possible here. But in the third act, if you want to come back, you have to demonstrate that you have apologized, that you have learned, that you have self-reflected and that there is a degree of contrition that will allow people to let you come back and have that third act. And look, he he has reflected. I mean, he has. I there was more self-reflection on that question than on the question of what did you learn about yourself from losing the primary? He said nothing. I mean, he learned nothing about himself from losing the primary. So he recognizes that he does think he has changed and he does recognize we're in a different moment and people are sensitive in a new way.

1:16:56And viewers will have to decide if it's and voters will have to decide if it's a sufficient amount of contrition to allow him that third act. What I heard from him there about how he's changed is that he has changed his behavior because of all these hypersensitive women and this bizarre new culture and everyone else is at fault. So now he can't even have a meeting with a woman, just the two of them, because of their issues. That's what I heard. Do you can you understand why that is? Yeah. A thousand percent. That's what you heard there. What he says right after is also whatever level of sensitivity people feel is what it is.

1:17:37And that has to be respected. Look, it's halfway there. I give him, he's got the ball 50 yards down the field. But does he apologize? No. Does he? I mean, he is eminently defensive in his posture. And so, you know, I did ask him those questions. I pushed him. I asked him a bunch. You know, his team was not happy. But but you can watch the exchange and judge for yourself. The whole exchange and the whole program airs tonight on on PBS around the country, whether whether you think he was sufficiently remorseful. And you can catch Margaret when she hosts Firing Line on PBS. Margaret, always great to have you.

1:18:19Thank you so much. Thanks, Jake. My panel joins me now. Well, Sabrina Singh, you're you're a Democratic woman. What do you think? I think what I would have advised if I were working for Andrew Cuomo is you need to acknowledge more remorse and be apologetic. Did you hear any remorse? I think no. Short answer, no. I really didn't. I think, you know, he tried to kind of encapsulate like the moment. But I think to your point, he was kind of putting it back on the women. And now it's like women are just super hypersensitive. And it's like, well, actually, maybe you should apologize and maybe some of your behavior led people to being sensitive because you made them uncomfortable.

1:19:00I think to Margaret's point, too, you know, a third character arc in Act Three, like, could there have been this arc for him? There could have been. But I think he just missed the ball on it. After a long wait, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has finally endorsed in the New York mayoral primary. He issued a statement today earlier that read,

1:19:30We have talked about this a lot, how he and both Jeffries and Schumer have avoided endorsing Momdani for any number of reasons. One of them, Hakeem Jeffries wants to win the House back. and a lot of Republicans think Mamdani is a gift to them in the sense that they can make Democrats in battleground districts have to decide whether they like Mamdani or they don't. Is this a gift to Republicans? Hakeem Jeffries endorsing him? I don't know. I think he probably saw the writing on the wall and said, I'm going to go with this. Cuomo is so flawed that I don't think there's any way he's going to pull it off.

1:20:02So Mamdani's going to win. And, you know, as a conservative, I don't know that he'll be particularly successful. Hopefully I'm wrong. Hopefully he is for New York's sake. What I take from this, though, is that why is the Republican Party at this moment so unable to compete in a city like New York with two highly flawed candidates? The fact that we can't get a moderate, socially moderate, tough on crime, business friendly, conservative Republican in office. That's what I take from this, that it takes like a bottoming out, like a Rudy Giuliani figure when things get really bad to get elected. So that's what I'd like to take away is like, look, how do we do better as a conservative movement to make ourselves competitive in these cities?

1:20:40Because we really should be, particularly in a year like this. Well, I mean, I'm old enough to remember Republicans, Republican mayors of New York City, not just Rudy Giuliani. Michael Bloomberg was a Republican when he first got elected. Why can't Republicans compete? Or I mean, was this just a failure to seize the opportunity? Well, I think the demographics of the city certainly trend towards Dems. And I think the Republicans did put up a flawed candidate. And at the end of the day, you had a very crowded race. And Mamdani ultimately was a better communicator. I mean, he was disciplined on the message of affordability.

1:21:14No question. Very charismatic. And I think, you know, he invigorated the base in New York. And people wanted someone young, someone new. And frankly, you look at Andrew Cuomo, and he looks literally like the establishment that, and has been the establishment for so many years. And so Mamdani was someone new, someone different. There were some crude comments made in a radio interview that we aired yesterday suggesting that Mamdani, if he had been mayor on 9-11, would have celebrated really, obviously, nasty Islamophobic stuff. Mamdani spoke outside the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx today.

1:21:45Take a listen. Growing up in the shadow of 9-11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city. I will always remember the disdain that I faced, the way that my name could immediately become Muhammad. To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity. But indignity does not make us distinct. There are many New Yorkers who face it. It is the tolerance of that indignity that does. Now, it's true, Joe, that there are people that have actual questions about his position on groups like Hamas and the fact that he doesn't think Israel has a right to exist, but leave it to Cuomo to make him the victim in this situation.

1:22:29Mario Cuomo, right, Andrew's father, he governed for 12 years. So, I mean, when I grew up in Long Island, like, that was like New York royalty. So I think Andrew Cuomo as the son really has this sort of expectation that he kind of deserves the role, despite the fact that he had, what, like 11 or 12 women make these allegations against him. So the fact that he says kind of stupid things, insulting things, doesn't surprise me. It also is the reason why he had a victory that probably was in hand and he coasted and now he's going to lose. All right. Thanks to both of you. A new warning as Tropical Storm Melissa gains strength, the latest track and if the storm could hit the U.S., that's next.

1:23:08In our world lead, Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean are preparing to face what could be catastrophic wind and rainfall from Tropical Storm Melissa. So the storm is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 miles per hour. Melissa's rain has already been attacking the islands for several days, with officials urging anyone in the storm's path to prepare for life-threatening flooding and landslides and power outages. Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, we're going to talk to former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about redistricting efforts, climate change, the return of Nazis in our political discourse, and much more.

1:23:45That's Sunday morning at 9 Eastern and again at noon only here on CNN. You can follow the show on X and now on Instagram at The Lead CNN. Aaron Burnett out front starts right now. I will see you Sunday morning with Arnold.

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