Trump Falsely Claims Stock Markets Hit New High Today

21:39And Phil, I don't think there's anybody happier in America right now than the Scots and the Tartan Army. I got so many random hugs and so much beer spilled on me last night at the game, but it was worth it. They are a great group, and many of them are attending the game here again tonight. We're at the Marlins ballpark, and we've already seen a few kilt-wearing folks going by. Not as many as last night. We're told by the Marlins that they broke an attendance record last night. They actually had more tickets sold on a Monday night for the game than ever before, actually than since 2017. And they really do credit the Scots for that.

22:11But tomorrow night, as you know, the big game, that's when Scotland takes on Brazil in the World Cup here tomorrow in Miami. Phil? Just outstanding. My expectations were very high for that piece, and you soared over them. Randy Kay in Miami, thank you so much. Awesome, awesome, Victoria. Well, breaking news from Capitol Hill. we now know what Bill Gates told Congress about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. And that's not the only new transcript coming out. A member of the committee that oversaw those interviews will be here next.

22:41I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. Dr. Darby Saxby is a psychologist at USC who has been researching what happens to men as they become dads. How do their brains change? How do their hormones change? What happens to their mental health and to their other relationships? Men are built with the brain architecture that can adapt to parenthood. I think of caring and parenting not just as traits that you're born either being good at or not, but as skills that you can hone through time and repetition and practice. And so women are really socialized to expect to occupy a primary parenting role.

23:26And we don't necessarily raise our voice with that objective in mind. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now wherever you get your podcasts.

23:37Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration are making Americans sicker while stripping away their actual protections. This is a health emergency that is happening in this country, and every single American should be concerned. And our health lead a joint public forum today with lawmakers from the House and Senate examining the Trump administration's public health agenda, including dismantling agencies and anti-vaccination rhetoric. Joining us now, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia. Really appreciate your time, sir. Just today you highlighted a new report that reviews evidence from over 80 officials and medical experts who examine the Trump administration's public health agenda.

24:16And I think my biggest question was, of all the things you found, what alarmed you the most? Look, I mean, there's a lot in there that I think should concern all American families. The reality is that Americans are getting more sick, not actually healthier. Look, two things I want to point out that are really important. The first is the real destruction over vaccination programs that are happening across this country. We have found and spoke with numerous folks from the CDC, from HHS, that are talking about entire divisions being dismantled. We're talking about researchers, scientists, folks that are in charge of ensuring that people are vaccinated and safe.

24:53We're seeing because of this destruction, things like the measles, obviously pandemics around what just happened with COVID. We're looking at preparation for Ebola and other pandemics in the future. Diseases, they're now beginning to come back. What's happening right now around the world with Ebola, what's happening right now in the U.S. with the measles should concern every single family. And the investment in these programs is all but gone. In fact, people are losing right now their access to preventative medicine through vaccinations across this country. The second thing that we also realize immediately is the amount of money that is being stripped away.

25:31$16 billion has been removed for research, for programs to fight cancer, to fight HIV AIDS, to fight diabetes research. Just completely wiped out. And so now what you have is some of the best researchers across the country at our universities, at our medical centers, now have had all their funding stripped. We are losing the battle as it relates to research and on pandemic prevention. And that is not making us healthier. It's making us more sick. I do want to turn to the Oversight Committee's Epstein investigation, because just within the last hour, the committee released transcripts of its interviews with billionaire Bill Gates and former Jeffrey Epstein assistant Leslie Groff.

26:09In Groff's interview, you asked her about phone calls between Epstein and Donald Trump before Trump became president. I'm interested in what she told you about those calls. Well, as it's clear from the transcript, she made it very clear that she actually did arrange conversations between President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Now, we'd known, according to Jeffrey Epstein, that they were close friends. He viewed him as very close to the president. And Ms. Groff made it clear in her testimony that she did connect them multiple times. It could have been meetings. Certainly there were phone calls. And so that is something that was important for us to understand.

26:42We have additional questions about that relationship, not just for Ms. Groff, but for other folks in that Epstein orbit. The reality is, is that she has a lot of information about why she connected so many women with Jeffrey Epstein and so many victims point to Ms. Groff as someone that was deeply involved in the trafficking and abuse of women. And so all of that is important as we move our investigation forward. You accused Vice President J.D. Vance of being a, quote, much more central player in the Epstein cover-up than previously believed. What's that based on and where does your push to have the Vice President testify stand right now?

27:19Well, look, I think the reporting has been very clear. J.D. Vance was hosting Situation Room meetings with top admin officials, the chief of staff, the head of the DOJ, the head of the FBI, directing strategy on how to exonerate Donald Trump from the Epstein files, on discussing Ghislaine Maxwell, talking about having Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine to help exonerate Donald Trump. They were talking about pardons. And so we have to still understand how many meetings did J.D. Vance actually lead in the Situation Room? What else was he directing the FBI and the DOJ to do. And so we, for the first time now, know factually that J.D.

27:56Vance was in the situation room having these Epstein conversations and strategy sessions. Why the situation room? This is a room for emergencies, national security. And so J.D. Vance has a lot of questions to answer. We have questions prepared. We've asked Chairman Comer from Oversight on the Republican side to bring him in. I think this is a good reminder for folks. This investigation is still very much ongoing. You have an interview with billionaire Leon Black set for this Friday. Given the extensive financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein, what questions do you need answered? And what would you consider a meaningful breakthrough for the committee's investigation from him?

28:32Well, Mr. Black has an opportunity to actually do the right thing and be honest with our committee. We know that he was a key piece of how Jeffrey Epstein was able to accumulate so much wealth. We want to know from Mr. Black, how else did Mr. Epstein accumulate those resources? Why was all that money being sent to Jeffrey Epstein? And who else was providing him the amount of financial support that he had to commit these crimes? In addition to that, we have heard from numerous survivors that have pointed to Mr. Black. Mr. Black has a lot, in our opinion, to answer for. Was he involved in the abuse of women and girls?

29:04Did he know others who were involved in the abuse of women and girls? Survivors want to ensure that Mr. Black is honest with the committee. He has been pointed to as someone that also could have committed abuse himself. And so all of those questions he will be needing to answer to our committee just at the end of the week. Earlier this month, Epstein survivors met privately with House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, brought documents from the Epstein files, including an email list listing men in Epstein's orbit, Virginia Dufresne's 2015 testimony. Soon after, Comer said he would seek testimony from Alan Dershowitz.

29:38Do you have any sense of where that stands and how it kind of shaped the direction of the probe? Alan Dershowitz is going to be in front of our committee. I think that's something that Chairman Comer has already made pretty public. The other thing that the survivors asked for in that meeting was to ensure that Todd Blanche would come before our committee to ask questions specifically about the Epstein files and the investigation. So Chairman Comer has said that he's planning on having Todd Blanche into our committee. We're expecting that to happen. That has been our request. He has been at the center of this cover-up and essentially the botched release of the files, the redactions that dock survivors, put the survivors and their families in danger.

30:16Mr. Blanche, certainly if he's going to become the AG, needs to be in front of the Oversight Committee. Congressman Robert Garcia, busy day on multiple fronts for you. Really appreciate your time. Thank you. We're expecting a big day tomorrow on Capitol Hill. President Trump will be there for lunch with Senate Republicans. Why there may be some tension in those conversations next.

30:42We're back with our politics lead. President Trump may be in for a wake-up call during his lunch tomorrow with Senate Republicans about his push to pass the Save America Act, a voter eligibility bill. Here's what Majority Leader John Theron is expecting from his members. Hopefully they'll come. It'll be a good back and forth, give and take, and people will be direct and honest, and I'm sure they'll be direct and honest.

31:08Trump hit back with more pressure on Thune this afternoon. We have to be able to get voter ID. So John is a leader and hopefully he can get the votes. Let's get right to CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. Manu, are we like headed for a showdown fisticuffs tomorrow or what? Well, it's potentially, but typically the way these things go, Phil, As you know, the president comes up here, he gets a long step winder of a speech. It becomes a bit of a rah-rah affair behind closed doors. There isn't a ton of time for a back and forth, and it rarely gets contentious. But it does come at a particularly fraught time for the president and the Senate GOP because of the president's insistent demand that they pass the Save America Act, which John Thune has said repeatedly and has demonstrated on the Senate floor, simply does not have the votes to pass.

32:02He doesn't even have a simple majority of votes to pass. Trump has even called away with doing away with the Senate's filibuster. There still aren't the votes to get rid of the filibuster either. And then you add other issues as well. Bill Poulter is the acting director of national intelligence. The president pulling back on the Jay Clinton domination to lead the DNI. That causing so much concern within the ranks. And also how he's handling the war with Iran and this MOU that was signed between the U.S. and Iran, which has got enormous criticism from Republicans in the Senate. Those are all bound to come up.

32:34But Save America Act, a number of Republicans that I spoke to today made clear that they needed to convey to the president that there is no way that this could pass in this Congress. Is this a mistake for him to continue to demand this? It's an unachievable goal. Even if you get past the reality of having to nuke the filibuster, you're not going to implement something as sweeping as these bills and have it ready for prime time. This is a waste of time. It's a distraction. Are you concerned about the oil sanctions being eased right now? Yeah, I mean, my gosh, we're back to pre-JCPOA. A lot of us have expressed concern that if we take sanctions off of them with regard to simply bringing them to the negotiating table, that that puts us at a disadvantage long term.

33:17And the big question would be, how will President Trump sell that Iran deal to Republicans on the Hill? Will we hear any of the criticism that we heard from Senator Tillis and Senator Rounds about this issue. And, of course, Phil, those two Republicans were not among the four Republicans who broke ranks today to join with Democrats to rebuke the president and calling to limit his war powers with Iran. So there is a lot of dissatisfaction on different wings of the GOP over how the president's waging war with Iran. But will they bring it up with him tomorrow? That's going to be a big question. We'll watch as they meet behind closed doors, Phil.

33:52I always enjoy thinking about the very anxious Capitol Hill communicators trying to identify for their bosses which nondescript Capitol hallway Manu Raju was standing in. Before votes, Manu Raju, I appreciate you, my friend, as always. Well, my panel is here now. Mike, Manu makes a really great point about how historically the Senate Republican lunches have gone with the president. I've tried to game out every different way this could go. Most of them end up with everybody loving each other. But this is a tense moment. It is a tense moment. And, you know, this is the policy lunch. So he's coming to talk policy.

34:30And the way Leader Thune has run this is very different than the way Leader McConnell ran these. That was there was very top down with Leader McConnell. Part of what Thune sold when he beat Cornyn and Rick Scott in the race for leader was that I want to open up the conversation. I want everybody to be heard. And he's really delivered on that in these policy lunches. So I think he's anxious, I would assume. He's anxious. Maybe he can just sit there and let others talk to the president about this. But there aren't the votes there for the SAVE Act. There aren't the votes there to throw out the filibuster.

35:07And this issue keeps coming up and it keeps derailing. Every time the Republicans in the Senate seem to have progress and movement forward, this SAVE Act comes up and it just derails what's coming. Yeah, I don't envy the position. He can't invent two, three, six, eight votes out of thin air, which is always the biggest holdup here for somebody who's tried to do everything the president wants. Which I'm sure Trump doesn't understand that math. It's not his kind of math. You're just not trying hard. Exactly. That's what my teachers told me in school. Exactly. Try a little harder. I think one of the things that Thune told CNN yesterday, he wants his members to speak up, to be candid with the president.

35:46Do you think that will actually happen behind those doors? It depends. I think, well, certainly the members who are no longer in the game. The FOMO caucus? Exactly. They have no problem. But look, I would imagine they're looking at the harsh reality that these guys need something to campaign on for some of the members who are in tough races. And when you know that the Iran war is wildly unpopular, this MOU is very, you know, it's very fluid. No one's quite sure what's really in it and what's not in it. we're spending all this time talking about, you know, this reflecting pool rather than kids getting kicked off SNAP and health care and other concerns that people have.

36:24You can't go home and say, hey, I passed a voter ID bill and think that that's going to win you the vote. So I would imagine, I think Mike's right, Thune is probably also like, I need him to hear it from other people, not just me, that this is real. And that when I tell you the votes aren't there, the votes really aren't there. And that we're not. And of course, the other dynamic, Trump is filling the pressure that with the midterm elections, if we should have one, and if it gets to go how it should, he's going to be facing the voters, the accountability from the voters, and it's not probably looking good for him.

36:56So he's putting pressure on now, it seems, before running the risk of not having the same kind of control. So just quickly, I'll add this. The whole dynamic may change tomorrow. The president was in Pennsylvania talking about affordability issues, about jobs, about all of that. That's maybe the issue that he talks about tomorrow and they all come out. You really think so though? And I'm not, I promise you I'm not being, no, I say this, like he doesn't like talking about it. I know he knows his members want, but in his mind, it's not something that resonates with the people that come to his rallies.

37:28Like he doesn't, he doesn't think it's a message. This isn't a rally. This is a policy lunch. And when you know you're walking into a situation in which you are going to have these major disagreements, maybe just change the subject a little bit. I wouldn't be surprised. That's not how he rolls. He rolls in. He is the kind of guy we've seen over and over again, no matter what the event is. We've seen him do it in the Oval Office. He will say what he what is on his mind, what he wants to talk about. So if he wants to go in there and say, you got to go sell this Iran deal. Why aren't you out there defending me?

37:58I mean, he may say that. But on the on the Save Act and the filibuster, I don't think he wants to talk about a loss. And I just don't see with hearing the truth. Well, there just aren't the votes there. And they're not moving. They're not votes coming from people that are waffling. We agree. They're just not there. He's not there. Okay, Karen, I want to ask about, obviously, the most important policy issue that exists right now, the reflecting pool. Yes. Which we're just going to keep talking about because the president keeps talking about it on some level. The president posted new photos today of the reflecting pool looking less green, maybe not quite so American flag blue.

38:33He talked about the six arrests police have made in connection to vandalizing the pool. I want to play that and something else he said about his renovation back in May. Listen. Somebody went in with a knife and cut it. They cut it up good. And then they cut a 200, 350 foot slip in the form of lots of little slips. A real horrible stuff. This will last for at least 50 years. You'll never have a leak. It's very strong. You couldn't. If you had a knife, I don't want to give anybody ideas. If you had a knife, you can't even cut it. It's so strong, so powerful. It's like powerful rubber. He didn't clarify what kind of knife.

39:10No. As he said, little cuts. So you don't know how. I feel like we would have seen that. There's like cameras on it at all times. Might have noticed that, yeah. To be clear, don't vandalize stuff. Like, that's stupid. Good, basically. You should be in trouble if you do. However. Getting serious for a moment. You know, today ProPublica came out with a report. 770 ,000 children have been kicked off of SNAP because of the big ugly bill. And our president thinks that's what he should be spending his time talking about. It's really disgusting. I mean, it's such a microcosm for the guy can't tell the truth to save his life.

39:40He literally has to spend his time making up stories because he's so petty about what happened. Just say, you know what? We're just going to drain it and we're going to repaint it. You don't have to go into these fantastical stories about people who vandalize it and we're arresting people. I mean, just accept it. Instead, he cannot accept you made a mistake. And instead, we get the lies. It's costing more than he said it was going to. I mean, it's such a microcosm of the disaster of this presidency. I could not disagree with you more for this particular reason. And this is where I do give the president high praise.

40:20The beautification of Washington, D.C. was long overdue. Now, whether or not this particular paint job and knife work in the reflecting pool is a reflection on that, we can debate it. But, God, we're talking about this a lot. I don't know if we're talking about it because he's talking about it or we're talking about it. But ultimately, if you do go around Washington, I've had a chance recently, this city does look better than it did last year. And it looks better than it has in the last 10 years. And I think there's some value to that. It is a vicious cycle. But not the reflecting pool. We're not sure who's talking about it first.

40:56Everybody just keeps talking. It's a bad thing. Everyone's talking. Karen Fennie, Mike Dubke, appreciate you guys. Stick around. We're going to talk about it in a little bit. All right. A lot more to talk about at the top of the hour, including a big day in American politics, primary election day in several states. We'll be talking about the notable names vying to become the face of Manhattan in Congress. That's ahead.

41:20Authorities say the gunman in yesterday's deadly shooting in Montreal, Canada, was targeting police. One of two people killed was a police officer, 34-year-old Mohammed Benardouan, the first officer killed in a shooting in Montreal in 24 years. The other victim was Michael Mizrahi, a Jewish man from Israel. The police said the gunman used a long gun to open fire on the officers outside the hotel. Officers fired back, killing the man. Today, investigators are reviewing a 100-page document they believe the gunman wrote. Law enforcement sources say the writing references the insult or involuntary celibate ideology where mostly men blame women and society for their lack of sexual or romantic attention.

42:05Welcome to Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. This hour, it's election night and America and all eyes are on a series of high profile races in New York. How much power does the Kennedy name still carry? Will a Mamdani endorsement help candidates topple the Democratic establishment? We're live on the campaign trail in moments. Plus, a tearful plea from NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie today as new reporting emerges surrounding the disappearance of her mother, Nancy. Sources say a note sent to media outlets days after she went missing that investigators believe this from the kidnappers claimed Nancy Guthrie was dead.

42:38A former FBI agent will join us with her analysis ahead. Also, there's a new bipartisan push for more guardrails to protect kids online, including on video games and social media. I'll be joined by two moms who are leading the fight and turning their grief into action. And the most decorated American cross-country skier in history is on Capitol Hill this week on a mission to protect future Olympic Games from dwindling snowfall and rising temperatures. Jesse Diggins will join us live in studio.

43:12The lead tonight, high stakes primaries are happening in Utah, South Carolina, Maryland, and New York. And we start with the Big Apple because that's where a slew of high profile Democratic House primaries are taking place. Including an open race to replace retiring Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler for New York's 12th Congressional District. Some notable names include Jack Schlossberg, George Conway, New York Assemblyman Micah Lasher, and Alex Boris. We start things off with CNN's Jeff Zeleny, who is in New York, where polls will close in a few hours. Jeff, what have you been seeing there? Well, Phil, there are three hours left of voting here in the 12th Congressional District on the Upper West Side of New York.

43:51And people have been streaming in here. Now there's actually a line which we have not seen all day long. But again, people coming here to vote after they finished work. And most of the races we cover in a midterm election cycle are about control of Congress. That is not this. Of course, New York is deep blue, there's no doubt. But what flavor of blue, what ideological leanings of blue, that is what is being decided here. It makes it so interesting and so fascinating. The brand new mayor of New York, of course, in his sixth month on the job, he is endorsing in three key races here against two Democratic incumbents.

44:23That is something we very seldom see, so we're keeping an eye on those tonight. And right here in the 12th, of course, this is to replace and to fill the shoes of Jerry Nadler, the longtime member of Congress who served 17 terms in Congress. He retired, so this is a wide-open race. And, yes, you mentioned the name of Kennedy. This is going to attest the power of the Kennedy family name because, of course, Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, is on the ballot here. We will see if he is able to hold up and emerge as one of the leaders. But it's also a very competitive race with Alex Boris.

44:58He's a New York Assembly member, and he's really testing the strength of artificial intelligence. He's been reigning in this regulation in the estate capital here, and that has made him a target of these companies. So millions of dollars have been spent against him. So this is one of the key races here. But above all, the mayor's endorsement and his power of what type of Democrat is going to be elected is going to be so important here. But for the next three hours, at least, New York candidates are still or voters are still voting here. Of course, all eyes are going to be on the votes when they start coming in after nine o 'clock.

45:39Phil? Jeff, one of the reasons you've long been one of the best political reporters in the country is you gasp. Talk to voters about what they're thinking about and what they want here. What are you hearing on the ground there from voters? Well, there's no doubt that affordability is one of the central concerns. Burns, obviously, it's been playing out in every single election that we have covered. But here in New York, it's also several other issues. Israel has been front and center in this race as well. Of course, that is one of the reasons that the mayor has been using for his endorsements against Dan Goldman, for example, a sitting member of Congress.

46:16But talking to voters, again, the cost of living and the wanting to see something different in Washington. The Trump agenda, the Trump administration comes up again and again. And George Conway, we should point out, is also running for Congress in this seat. We talked to him just a little while ago, and he said, look, he has no regrets for putting his name in the hat. He was not protecting victory at all. But he says that he believes Democrats still need to stand up to the president. So all those things are on their minds. But affordability, not a surprise, probably leads the pack of answers that we've gotten today, Phil.

46:50Jeff Seleney, very big night in New York. Thanks, as always, my friend. My panel is back with me now. Karen Finney, I was trying to describe this primary night to somebody earlier, and it's like Democratic on Democrat violence on some level, which is like Mike Duvke's favorite time of year. Who would say tension? Of that. So there's a lot of different dynamics. Jeff did a great job of laying them all out. Yeah. What are you watching tonight? What's interesting to you? I think what's most important is who has the winning message, because that is communication that every Democrat in this country should be paying attention to in terms of, I think I heard Jeff talk about affordability, housing, health care costs.

47:30Those are the top issues we keep hearing about. But what will be a little bit different between these Democrats is how they would accomplish that. And so I think paying attention, what are voters saying, what is resonating with voters? I'm more interested in that than the labels between, you know, Myla, I know Mike and my Republican friends like to throw around the, oh, my God, Democratic Socialists. OK, but we should all be paying attention to what is that telling you about the mood of the electorate? Because I'll tell you the other thing we keep hearing, and it's why you had some Trump Momdani voters, is who's going to get something done?

48:01Who's not going to take any crap and who's going to get in there and just get it done? It's part of why Momdani, frankly, was appealing to some voters, because they thought, you know what, let's give somebody else a try. It's a really smart point, Mike, because I think people assume Republicans on nights like this are like feet up, popcorn. And don't get me wrong, that certainly happens. But there's also something to learn from every race or from every primary night. What do you want to learn from tonight? So Jeff had a line in there, what shade of blue, and I was just looking up, what shade of blue matches your vibe?

48:31And I think that actually encapsulates what we're talking about tonight. Karen is absolutely right. They're going to find out a lot about what I think for Democrats are going to find out a lot tonight, how the party should go forward to take on not just for the rest of the midterms, but also to run for the presidency in 2028. I'm more interested, though, in looking to see if some of these power centers shift within the Democratic Party. So Mondami decided that he was going to endorse in congressional races and state legislative races, but not in his own city council races. And that was an interesting choice.

49:13So AOC came in. We're going to see if that type of democratic socialism matters. And I take your point very well about how one governs. But I think some of the issues are going to come to the forefront today. And we'll see where that is in New York. But that's not going to be the argument in Utah. That's not going to be the argument in South Carolina. We've got other primaries that are going on. And then Maryland, the Democrat on Democrat violence that I love, is this throne. David Trone. Trone. Because you can't go 30 seconds without seeing an ad. One of the million dollars of ads has been spent.

49:49$25 million to get his old seat back because he decided to take a foray and run for the Senate. It's the most amazing thing of watching two people who weren't endorsed by Hillary Clinton talk about how much Hillary Clinton likes them. Loves them. And I don't, like, it's just commercial after commercial. And as a Republican, we're excited to find out that there's a district that Hillary Clinton's name means something for all of them. Oh, stop. Don't trigger parents early in the show. Okay, so I do want to ask, New York-Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman also facing a tough primary challenge from former city comptroller Brad Lander.

50:18Lander is backed by Zoram Amdani. We'll talk more about that in a bit. But first, Congressman Goldman addressing a Brooklyn coffee shop, which apparently banned him over his defensive views on Israel, deleted posts from Poetica Coffee referenced the American Israel Public Affairs Committee saying to Goldman, quote, we don't need your money. It's probably coming from AIPAC anyways. And quote, do you see how it doesn't taste like genocide juice? Are you still having a hard time telling the difference? Here's Goldman on CNN last night. Take a listen. It's a reflection, I think, of a sad state of affairs.

50:51The idea of accusing someone who you don't know of, you know, supporting a genocide. I mean, it's crazy. It's crazy. Now, I may disagree as to whether or not there's a genocide, but come on, we're better than this. Karen, now the Justice Department is investigating this, but just kind of taking a step back at the dynamics here. Yeah. What was your take on it? Well, free speech, anyone? I mean, come on, we're going after a coffee shop. Look, AIPAC has become very contentious, and it is one of the factors in a number of these primaries, particularly in New York. And as we know, I mean, it has become also a big issue here in the United States for American Jews who have concerns about, you know, yes, retaliate after October 7th, but then have concerns that it went too far.

51:38And you should be able to voice that opinion without being accused of being an anti-Semite. I don't know specifically what the congressman may or may not have said in the context to these folks in this coffee shop. But I do think, you know, we've got to find a better balance in how we talk about what has been happening in the Middle East, because it was alarming to see the destruction of Gaza and the impact on children and families. Not to say that October 7th was in any way, you know, you can say I do not support terrorists, but that doesn't mean I think bombing innocent children is a good idea either.

52:15Do you think the Democratic Party figures out a way to unify on this particular issue? Because this seems like a rupture that has even grown since 24 and is going to grow further. I think this is one of those issues that could divide the Democratic Party. I think some of the other issues, what I found interesting, we were talking about this earlier, of some of the other special interest groups that are involved in these primaries, especially on the tech side, whether it be AI money or crypto money, it's really, those are nonpartisan independent expenditure groups. What they care about is their own particular issue.

52:50And they're making major investments in these races. And I think that's something else that we're going to see. You're going to have the pro-AI and the anti-AI, not Democrat, Republican, but within the parties themselves. So this will continue to grow. And actually in some of these instances, and this actually in New York 12 happened, So the pro-AI group tried to spend money against Boris, but it actually helped him because he was able to say, look who's coming after me. So it's interesting to see how these groups, as they are trying to advocate for their issues, and AIPAC had a similar impact in New Jersey.

53:26So how it's playing out is another thing we should be paying attention to throughout the primary. No, the money's been fascinating in this stuff. I do want to ask, Brad Lander, one of the three House contenders, Mayor Momdani, is backing, hoping to unseat Democratic incumbents. Karen, if Mamdani's political capital turns out to be successful, does that prove to the Democratic establishment that he's the direction voters want? Not quite. I mean, it's New York City. What do you need, Karen Finney? Look, I think, again, when we think about the future of the party, I think it's important to listen to what voters are telling us.

53:57And if voters are saying, here's what we like about Mamdani. Look, we also have a primary in Maryland, as you mentioned. I think pretty safe that Westmore is going to be OK. But part of what voters like is that he is saying, cut through the red tape and get shit done. And that is, I think, what we should be paying attention to. What are voters telling us about what they want, how they want us to govern, and how they want us to move this country forward, in addition to the policy issues that they care about? Well, we've seen that across the board. This on both the left and the right, this is an anti-incumbent year.

54:28I think all the forces that brought Trump back in 24, they're still there. They're still percolating under the surface. But we're going to see more of that as we go forward in both the Democrat and the Republican primary. Yeah, every one of these nights is a data point that kind of gets us further into understanding what those dynamics actually are. Karen Fennig, Mike Dubke, I appreciate you guys. Thanks so much for your time. Well, President Trump reacting today to new reporting that a note connected to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie said she died shortly after disappearing. Is there any hope that the FBI investigators find her?

55:04I hope they find her. I mean, Savannah's gone through a rough. That family's gone through hell. What else we're learning about the search for Guthrie nearly six months after she disappeared.

55:21In the Law and Justice lead, one of the notes sent to media outlets in February connected to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The mother of today's show anchor Savannah Guthrie said that she had died shortly after being abducted, but her kidnappers did not mean to kill her. That's according to multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the ongoing investigation. Savannah Guthrie made a plea for more information on the air this morning. I'm not involved in our coverage, but I can't pretend I'm not here. And so since I am, I wanted to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward.

55:56Somebody knows something. And this is a new story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live every day. And we are in agony. We cannot be at peace. Breonna Fox joins me now. She's a former FBI agent and now a professor at the University of South Florida. Breonna, I see you shaking your head. That's absolutely heartbreaking. Just to start, CNN and the Tucson, Arizona station had known of the contents. Of this note, law enforcement requested the media hold off reporting those contents.

56:33It's now been nearly five months since the disappearance, and this investigation is still ongoing. What do you make of these reports coming out now? Right. Well, I mean, we actually gain a lot of information, but it's all predicated on the idea that what we're hearing is actually true. So we're hearing really secondhand. We haven't seen the note ourselves. And we've learned, presumably, if this is accurate, that Mrs. Guthrie has passed. Now, it's really interesting that a kidnapper would share that, especially because it is also being reported that there wasn't a subsequent ask for money. There were some specific words also used that I think were really interesting.

57:15But all of this is to say, you know, we're learning more about this kidnapper now that we have this new information. This is something that law enforcement already knew, but now that it's out in the public, it could help people to try to identify somebody that sounds more like this person who's writing this note. Now, the family did respond to this particular note on February 7th with a video. Here's a clip. We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us.

57:55And we will pay. As you look at this now with the new context, what comes to mind? Right. Well, when I first saw that video, I mean, the first thing I and some others have thought was, you know, it sounds like that Mrs. Guthrie had passed. Just the tone, the demeanor of the family. There was a lot of speculation about it. But of course, I and many others did not want to come on air and say something like that and hurt the Guthrie family with no information. We didn't know this. But now I think some of our speculations are shown that they were actually accurate. I think also, you know, it's important to say that this kidnapper wanted the family to know that that could be indicating some type of sadistic motives, some type of revenge against the Guthrie's or Savannah in particular.

58:42or could say something completely different, that this is somebody who has empathy, who's trying to, you know, make good on a very, very bad situation. That would lead me to think that there's an accomplice. Maybe it's a female because that tends to be a more female type of behavior. Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation say this note is one of two they believe are legitimate. Tell us, how do they verify something like that? This type of basically validating a ransom note when it wasn't left at the scene is extremely difficult. The type of things that you would look for is something that only the kidnapper would know.

59:20Well, there have been reports, again, we don't know the accuracy, that they referred to an Apple Watch or a floodlight in the backyard, both of which people could know from watching all of the media coverage of this case. The third thing that most recently was reported was they described what Nancy Guthrie was wearing that night. That I also, you know, I'm not entirely sold on because how else would anyone know what she was wearing if she got changed into her bed clothes and went to bed? So, you know, we can't really authenticate these notes because they weren't left at the scene. If they were left at the scene, we would think the only person who could have left them there is the kidnapper.

59:55But this was sent by, you know, either email or through the website at the news outlets, you can't really know who sent it. And it was so far after there was a lot of news reporting, we can't really for sure authenticate it. This case has been going on for almost five months at this point. No person of interest, no suspect named publicly. In hindsight, why do you think there hasn't been much to advance it, even with the initial flood of public tips? Yeah, we were really optimistic in those tips. and I still am. I think in these types of cases, that is exactly what breaks them open. And that's why I think Savannah leaned into that.

1:00:35She said, here's another opportunity to get more tips. There's certain language in that note that I think is unusual saying, you know, she's back with nature, not with God, not with her maker, back with nature. What kind of person would say that? That's unusual. So I think it is worth somebody thinking about, do I know somebody who would say that. Those are the type of things that could break open this case. Other than that, we're waiting on forensics. There wasn't much that they found. And those are really the main things that break open a case. But we still have hope and there is a lot left to be done.

1:01:09Yeah, and certainly praying for the whole family. Brianna Fox, always appreciate your time. Thank you. What we're learning tonight about a secret legal fight between the Trump Justice Department and the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. We'll explain next.

1:01:33Internationally, the latest on President Trump's pressure campaign against the news media. CNN has learned the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas targeting reporters with The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal over a national security leak investigation. CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins me now. Brian, there's still a possibility the subpoenas will be reissued in the future. What are the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal saying about this? Yeah, this is a big deal because this is one of the most severe steps that the government can take against newsrooms, sending a legal order, forcing reporters to cough up anonymous sources.

1:02:07And the stories that were being investigated, or at least the leaks that were being investigated, involved stories about President Trump's planning for the Iran war, about what he was being told in advance, about what he was being warned about, about the risks of going to war. So these were very serious leaks that were coming from inside the administration that the Justice Department was pursuing, apparently pursuing the leakers. The government says it was never pursuing the reporters. But I've talked to reporters who've been on the receiving ends of these before. And when you receive one of these subpoenas or you believe you're about to be subpoenaed, you feel like you are being the target.

1:02:40You feel like you're being the target of the investigation. So in this case, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal were fighting behind the scenes for months to try to get these subpoenas killed. And we learned today for the first time that those news outlets were successful, that the Justice Department did withdraw those subpoenas. Now, why did that happen? Maybe because they were able to figure out the possible alleged leakers in some other way. We don't know. But the point here is that from President Trump on down, his own personal anger about leaks led the Justice Department to start these investigations and to consider subpoenaing journalists from the Journal and from the Post.

1:03:14Here's what the Washington Post said in a statement today about how serious this was and is. Quote, the unwarranted subpoena of our reporter Ellen Nakashima was another sign of the government seeking to compel journalists to become instruments of its investigations. We will continue to stand fully behind the journalism of The Washington Post and fight all efforts by any administration that violate our First Amendment rights. The journal declined to comment today, but last month it said the DOJ was trying to stifle and intimidate essential reporting, and it said it would just keep doing the work.

1:03:44Brian, reporters actually had a chance to ask acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanchett about the withdrawn subpoenas. Did he say anything? Yeah, that's right. And he defended the practice, arguing that this is in line with what past administrations have done. And that is true to some degree. When the Obama administration, when other past administrations went down this road, they were denounced by press freedom groups. And we've heard the same denunciations today from the likes of Reporters Without Borders, calling this a new low by the Trump administration and its pressure campaign. But Blanche also said he made a comment today saying that I'm just trying to pull up my notes here as I put it in the wrong place.

1:04:21He talked about this being something that was not targeting the reporters directly, but was in Ted trying to target the leakers. And he said the administration will continue to pursue anyone who leaks classified information. So that is the stance from the government. This is a necessary step. But in this case, the Journal and the Post are relieved, at least for the time being, that its reporters did not have to actually testify. That's the good news for news organizations in this case. But as you mentioned, Phil, there's always a chance the government will come back around and try again with these subpoenas.

1:04:52It would be an extraordinary step and another infringement on press freedom. Yeah, no question about that. Brian Stelter, as always, my friend. Thank you. Well, up next, we've got CNN exclusive reporting. A U.S. fighter jet pilot shot down over Iran, describing a shocking sight in the moments before ejecting from his aircraft. Those details in moments.

1:05:17In our world lead in April, a U.S. fighter pilot was shot down over Iran, ejected himself, and looked up to see a swarm of drones moving in unison, like jellyfish. Sources tell CNN it could mean Iran's drone capabilities are far more advanced than the U.S. intelligence community originally thought. One person familiar with the F-15 pilot's briefing described it as, quote, real alien shit. Joining us now, former deputy director of national intelligence and CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner. Beth, this particular pilot was concussed because he'd been shot down in a friendly fire incident earlier in the war, but says he did in fact see the Iranian drones operating together like this.

1:05:57What are the implications here? So other than this being entertaining to talk about because it's interesting. It really is. No, it's interesting. It would mean a significant jump up in Iran's capabilities. So the idea here is, you know, we all have been to, we've seen like the Olympics in Beijing where we see like these things moving in unison, right? That is not this. Those are pre-programmed, individually programmed drones. This is where you have almost like a living organism. So think of the reason they call these swarms. If we've ever, you know, you can visualize a bee swarm, right? It like literally is moving in unison together versus like a flock of geese, where if one drops out, you know, there's just a hole in the V formation.

1:06:46They're not really moving in unison. So the only two countries that we know of that have this capability to do this kind of AI analysis, autonomous swarming is China and us, probably. And so it would be a huge deal, and they wouldn't probably be able to do this on their own. That was my next question, is where did they obtain this tech? And are you surprised, if this is something they have, based on the briefing from the pilot, that the US wouldn't have been aware of it beforehand? Yeah, I mean, I would be surprised, although, you know, we have used new technology in this war that no one has seen before.

1:07:30So, you know, war does bring out the best of your tech. But I am a little skeptical, I think, about this report. So, you know, I just think that it's quite possible that a pilot who was shot down twice within 30 days and was reporting this after a concussion, and you're moving so fast in an F-15, and drones, especially if this is like kind of a, almost like a barrage, almost like a barrier, they wouldn't be moving. You could be moving past these so fast or into it that maybe he didn't see what he thought he saw. So we don't know, but it will be investigated. But I think this idea of like a minefield where literally we've used this since World War I, I think, where we put balloons up, right?

1:08:20Yep. And that would create a barrier. And China today uses balloons on these tethers to protect installations. So if we could do this on a swarm of drones that could then move and respond and be autonomous, that would be a pretty big deal and a bad deal because you don't know that they're there. That's a great point. I do want to shift gears since I have you here. The mass firings at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. CNN's Monty Raju caught up with Republican Senator Tom Tillis. He said this. My guess is, based on his past experience, it's just going to be another hot steamy pile of dough shit.

1:08:58Should he dump Pulte? I've staked myself out on Pulte. I think he's an incompetent sycophant and not the right person to lead DNI. And you're undermining, ultimately, what the confirmed administrator should be doing. He's going to inherit what I believe is going to be a mess left behind by Pulte and the distrust for this guy. I think one of the questions that I've had throughout is, look, there's the Pulte piece of this, which pisses off a lot more people than Tom Tillis on Capitol Hill. But there has long been, I think, a shared view, and sometimes it's not just partisan, that, OK, DNI maybe is different than what it was initially put into statute for.

1:09:35It's shifted out. Susan Collins, who helped create the DNI, has said she wanted it scaled back. Not to what Bill Pulte is doing, but what's the balance there between going too far here and endangering U.S. intelligence? And maybe there were some things that need to change. Well, the difference is twofold. One is just the capacity of that organization. They've already lost 50 percent of their workforce. And now we're talking about hundreds more and a process where that's not organized. So this comment about this could be like a more doge whatever could be, you know, how this turns out. And so the problem, like I've said, maybe we should turn this case.

1:10:15It won't be called the DNI anymore. It'll be called DNR, meaning do not resuscitate, because it will become so completely void of people and of competent people that it can't actually produce anything or do anything of its mission. But I think that the second thing here is that, you know, instead of using this process to actually do a review and think about what those missions are, instead we take a risk of firing people who actually are doing important things. You know, like NCSC, an organization no one's heard of, the National Counterintelligence Security Administration or Center. These people are responsible for counterintelligence, meaning when China or Russia comes in and tries to steal technology from U.S.

1:11:02companies, this organization has the authorities to go and meet with those companies and warn them and help them. Who else does that? No one else really can do that. Yeah, seems like a valuable expertise. Every time I come on, I'll give a different anecdote. Thank you. As always, I appreciate you. Alien shit, don't ever forget about. That was just a great quote. Beth Sander, as always, my friend, thank you. Up next, we'll be joined by two mothers who are using their grief to try and help power their families by pushing for restrictions on how kids use the Internet. Their new mission, ahead.

1:11:46Today marks social media victims' remembrance day. Across the country, families are honoring children whose deaths have been linked to harms on social media platforms. Families, lawmakers, advocates gathering for what organizers say will be the largest public memorial yet as Congress prepares for renewed scrutiny of tech companies. Joining me now are two mothers who turned unimaginable loss into a national movement. Kristen Bride lost her son, Carson, to death by suicide in 2020 after enduring cyberbullying on Snapchat. Amy Neville lost her son, Alexander, to fentanyl poisoning after he purchased what he believed was a prescription pill through Snapchat.

1:12:25Kristen, Amy, I am extraordinarily grateful for your time. And I think I want to start with the same question to both of you, Kristen, starting with you. Today's about remembrance. What should people know about Carson? Carson was our bright light in our family. He was our funny guy. He had a great sense of humor and had gotten really great at acting. And we have a very large hole in our family, having lost him six years ago today. And Alex was a brilliant, beautiful, intense boy who just loved learning about the world around him, always full of big ideas and always wanted to share those ideas with other people and educate them on things from the Civil War, Egyptology or Pokemon cards.

1:13:19Kristen, in just a few years, you've helped build Social Media Victims Remembrance Day into a national movement. What does this moment mean for you? Where does the fight for stronger protections for children online go from this moment? Well, six years ago, I felt completely alone. People were not talking about the harms online. And I felt like it was my fault. But the more I spoke out, the more I realized that this was happening to families across the country and that together we have created a movement and created awareness, which is what this day does as well for online harms. Amy, I think for parents watching, for the parent asking you this question right now, because it feels like there has been a pendulum shift of which I know you guys have played a major role in.

1:14:13What is the message you want parents to hear from you? You know, you're absolutely right. With the trial verdicts we recently have had, that pendulum shift is happening and it's happening quickly. The court of public opinion is swiftly changing from blaming parents to realizing that these big tech companies, these billion dollar companies do not have our children's best interest at heart. They really only care about their bottom line. And I think that parents, you know, I hear it all the time that my kid would never do that. But the reality is we just don't know what our kid is going to do in these spaces.

1:14:47Their brain is developing. Things are happening really fast. They want to be treated with more grown up and with more clout as they're going through their teenage years. And these bad actors, these nefarious people on these platforms know how to do that. They know how to lure our kids in and groom them into doing things that we never thought they'd do before. And that really goes for everybody. This isn't just a specific demographics problem. This is everybody's problem. To that point, Kristen, what does real accountability for companies look like? Real accountability is that they can be held liable in the courts for their dangerous product designs and that there's legislation that restricts them from designing these products to addict our kids and create harm.

1:15:40Amy, one of the big questions I've had, this is a rare area of bipartisanship at various moments on Capitol Hill. Do you feel like Congress has listened to families like yours and responded in a meaningful way? they definitely have been listening to families like our and they were responding in a meaningful way but now it sure feels like meta and other tech companies have gotten their hooks into various people and we're seeing the tide start to go back and we need everyone's help in this we need to start calling out what it is that we're seeing happening in congress we heard blumenthal today talk about keeping the duty of care in the kids online safety act and that is non-negotiable for us.

1:16:21Those things have to stay if we're going to have any type of meaningful legislation going forward. You guys are essential, critical voices. What you've been able to accomplish has been extraordinary. I'm so grateful for your time. My prayers are with both of you, your entire families. Thank you so much, Kristen Bride and Amy Neville. Thank you. Thank you. Well, Jesse Diggins may have stepped away from competing after becoming the most decorated cross-country skier in American history, but now she's turning her focus into making sure athletes can compete for generations to come. That's next.

1:17:00In our Earth Matters series, Europe is in the grip of a dangerous and record-breaking heat wave with temperatures soaring. Dozens of deaths have been linked to the extreme conditions, and today France recorded its hottest day since record-keeping began. Schools are closing and heat alerts are in effect across more than 20 countries. Scientists warn Europe's rapidly warming climate is making these extreme heat events more frequent and more severe. Forecasters say even more temperature records could fall in the days ahead. From extreme heat to not cold enough, a delegation of winter Olympians and leading climate scientists took to Capitol Hill today, meeting with lawmakers from both parties to push for action to protect winter sports.

1:17:41snow-dependent communities, and the future of winter itself. Among them was four-time Olympic medalist, the most decorated cross-country skier in American history, Jessie Diggins. Fresh off her final Olympic Games, now retired, she's turning her focus to climate advocacy. And Jessie joins me now in studio. Thanks so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. You spent 15 years racing in the snow around the world. What changes did you see? Like, this was visible to you. You could see the change? What were they? Oh, I mean, we saw it and also we felt it. And as skiers, we feel that first, right?

1:18:16Like I like to say, we're the canaries in the coal mine. We notice the winter changing because that's what our livelihood depends on. And that's what we know. And we breathe skiing and we want to inspire future generations and have them get to do it too, right? So when we notice it changing, that's really concerning and that's really scary for us. And I would say we saw it venue to venue across all of Scandinavia and Europe and places that you would think would have incredible winters. Like our world championships in Trondheim was really, really rainy. And that's really concerning. That's at the end of February up in Norway.

1:18:49And then we were in La Clouseau, France, years ago. And I have this picture of this ribbon of snow on a grassy field where there is mud. And they, you know, you have to put down carpets so that the fans don't track mud all over the trail because they're standing on grass in a field in February in the high mountains. and this is the venue that is going to host cross-country skiing at the next Winter Olympics. I think why this is so valuable is you are the eyes into how acute this is. Like, this is happening. This is not a thing that may happen. This is not something that's happening in the future.

1:19:24How do you get that across to people when you're talking to them, maybe who've got a million other things going on, and you're trying to land the message of like, hey, this is not a future thing. This is a now thing. I mean, we talk about what we're seeing. You know, we're out there on the snow or lack of snow, and we talk about our experiences. And then what's wonderful about Protect Our Winters is we also come in with climate scientists who can also say, look, here's what we're seeing on our side. And it's not just what we're thinking. This is, these are the facts. And so we just talk about those experiences and why it matters to us, right?

1:19:56Like, I want to make sure that future generations, that my great grandkids can go build a snowman or go sledding or learn how to cross-country ski. and all of these kids that I've spent a lifetime of skiing trying to inspire so that they can be healthy and active outdoors. All these families, I want them to be able to have access to this and to have clean air, clean water and a healthy planet. That's important to me. So that's what we leave with. It's a complex moment for climate change, I think, in the policy space because of Republicans and Democrats and who's in power right now. How receptive have lawmakers been on Capitol Hill?

1:20:31I mean, I would say our meetings have gone very well. We're looking for bipartisan solutions because at the end of the day, like, look, we're on the same team here. Like, we're on the same planet. We all want the right to breathe clean air. And I think everyone sits down and says, all right, look, this is a problem. And hey, we may differ a little bit on how we want to go about solving it. But I think that's why we're starting to have more and more conversations on like, how do we bring people together and move the needle quickly enough? What's your ultimate, We have a minute left. What's your ultimate outcome here?

1:21:01What do you want to achieve? Well, I want everyone watching this to know that there are actions you can take, right? Like at home, the most important thing you can do as an environmentalist this year is vote. You can use your voice and you can join organizations like Protect Our Winners, right? Like you can learn about how you can be engaged and active and know that you have power. You have a voice and you can speak for the mountains and public lands and places that don't have that voice. And then in our meetings, we just want to keep planting that seed of like, hey, let's take action together.

1:21:34Let's make it bipartisan. Let's find solutions. And hopefully those seeds continue to grow. You optimistic? I am. I am. I'm an eternal optimist for sure. I think I have to be because the alternative is to bury your head in the sand while the world burns. And I think we have time. We have solutions. We know that we need to protect public lands. We know we need to move towards clean energy. we have the technology to do it and we just need to find leadership willing to get us there. It's really awesome to meet you in person. Thank you so much for coming in. I told you I was screaming way too loud in your last race.

1:22:06So thank you very much, Jesse Diggins. Appreciate you. And I hope you'll join me for my new video series, CNN Breaks It Down. We're tackling the most pressing questions in business and politics. You can find the episodes on cnn.com slash watch. You can follow this show on X and Instagram at The Lead CNN. If you ever missed an episode of The You can watch the show on the CNN app. Herb Annette out front starts now.