Trump Says North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Responded to Call for Talks

25:38But the family of Johann Sebastian, the lawyer representing the family, they have heard nothing. They have heard nothing from the federal government about what happened to their son. And part of what made today's hearing both so very heartbreaking and absolutely enraging was watching his parents speak of their 25-year-old child. who had his whole life ahead of him, was raising a three-year-old daughter with his partner, had helped take care of his mother when she had a breast cancer diagnosis, who was a hard worker, working six to seven hours a day to really provide for his extended family. And he was just going to work on a Monday morning.

26:32As you said, he was not the target of this investigation. He had a valid work permit, was in this country legally, and yet on his way to work within minutes after leaving his house, he was shot dead. And that is the definition of state-sanctioned terror. So do you think that ICE should be ended? There are a lot of Democrats, a lot of progressive of Democrats who think that the agency should be ended? And if you do, then how would immigration enforcement happen? Listen, I think there is a role for immigration enforcement that is important to the security of the American people. And when I say that, I am talking about cybersecurity.

27:23I am talking about the very real role that traditionally, historically, DHS and ICE have played in making sure we're disrupting fentanyl cartels, that we are addressing human and child trafficking. But this version of ICE that is, you know, had a tenfold increase in budget and still can't manage to have body cameras on and operable for their ICE agents and are just in our streets, shooting people without explanation, without investigation, and not being held accountable by anyone. And that is the part of ICE that I think people are just so enraged at what they are watching. They are watching their tax dollars pay for paramilitary force in their communities.

28:28We all want secure borders. We all want homeland security. But this version of ICE provides neither. Congresswoman Catherine Clark of Massachusetts, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. A student newspaper dug into the Epstein files. They were searching for local community ties for its assignment. What its reporters found and published? Well, that sparked the free speech fight, including a threat of legal action. Coming up next, the teens at the center of the battle and why they refused to take down their viral post.

29:10In our Law Justice lead, a high school newspaper in Marin County, California, took on the Epstein files and found itself in the middle of a fight over free speech. For a school assignment, a California student journalist searched the federal Epstein database for any local connections and he posted the findings on Instagram. And the post went viral and caught the attention of a woman named in the story, the head of a local modeling agency. She threatened legal action. School administrators urged the students to take it down. But the young reporters refused, arguing that they are protected under the law and the U.S.

29:46Constitution. And joining me now are the students behind the post, Ben Mueller and Madison Bishop. Ben, take us back to the moment you opened the Epstein files and started searching for local connections. What were you looking for? What did you find that made you think, huh, I need to report this? I can't say I was looking for anything specific. I would say I was mainly just looking for anything at all where Marin County, where we live, was mentioned in the Epstein files. I think I was mainly just looking for, you know, did Epstein visit Marin? If so, what did he do in Marin? Did he have any clients that lived in Marin?

30:22And if so, who were they? And you wrote, quote, I spent five hours combing through the Epstein files. I found my first error in two minutes, unquote. What specifically did you find and what did you do after that? Yeah, so that was actually, there was a duplicate of files that I was looking at just related to this woman just while I was doing my research to make sure I did not say anything libelous. And there was one file where almost the entire thing was redacted, say, for maybe a sentence or two. And then you click on the next file and it was completely unredacted. So that left me feeling a bit shaken about the security of the people mentioned in these files.

31:03And Madison, you were running the paper's social media. When the Instagram posts started taking off, When did you realize this was no longer just a story for your classmates, that there was a much bigger audience checking it out? Yeah. Well, as the social media manager, I have access to all the analytics of each post. So I could immediately see that this one in particular was jumping up higher, faster than the other ones, which was something we expected. Yeah, teenagers are anything but naive when it comes to social media. So we did understand the power of this story when we posted it, but we knew that it was done responsibly, as we heard as Ben took you through his process.

31:44So it was a little jarring at first, but also exciting, and we knew it was impactful. But one of the women named in your reporting, Ben, she threatened legal action. Did she say that anything was wrong in your reporting? And did the threat make you reconsider whether you should have done this? Um, she did say that we slandered her, but she did not mention specifically how. And it did make me reconsider a bit just whether or not naming someone in the Epstein files, what that could do to their reputation, especially if they hadn't done anything wrong. But seeing as this was a woman who had directly interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, I felt like it was an important thing to mention in our reporting.

32:29But there are other names in the Epstein files that are just kept in there. and it might be the author of a book that Epstein read, and they unfortunately are also named in the files. And Madison, your own school administrators asked you to take the post down. What exactly did they tell you and what was your response? Well, they just forwarded along the subject that was mentioned. They forwarded her complaint along, and they asked us to take the post down. And Ben and I thought about it, and we went through the post over and over again for hours, and we realized, no, this content is protected under California state law.

33:07So we met with them in person, and we were able to come to an agreement that this post legally should be staying up. So you're both heading to college this fall. Did this experience, Ben and then Madison, did it make you more or less want to study journalism or be a journalist? Ben? I'd say it honestly made me want to be a journalist more. I mean, now I'm starting to do some freelance work on the side, hopefully soon. And I think just seeing that the things I publish matter to people, seeing that people are willing to read what I have to say, that means a lot to me. So I think it's definitely encouraging to me to continue journalism in the future.

33:51Madison? Yeah, definitely. I also am excited to keep experimenting with journalism, but also how it pairs with social media in this digital age, how there's a balance between those two. Yeah, no, absolutely. Ben Mueller and Madison Bishop, thank you. You know, CNN has internships, so please stay in touch with our team for after your freshman year and have a great, great, great time in college. Thank you. Thank you. Today, the NAACP announced it's working with Nolan Wells' family as they try to get answers as to what exactly happened before the 18-year-old died on a Fourth of July trip with his friends.

34:29The head of the NAACP joins me live next to explain their first steps.

34:39A new update in the case of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells tops our national lead. Today, the NAACP announced that it is working with the family's attorneys and with Ben Crump to push for answers and accountability. It has been more than a month since Nolan's death and still no clear answers as to how he died, why he didn't come home with the people he went boating with on July 4th, or where the state's investigation stands. Nolan would have turned 19 on Wednesday. Joining us now is NAACP President and CEO Derek Johnson. Mr. Johnson, so the Wells family hired Ben Crump in early July. Why is the NAACP joining the legal team now?

35:18We believe we can bring some expertise to support the family and that community to get answers. Our general counsel is the former head of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division with some background and experience in matters such as this. And we want to make sure we can provide the maximum amount of support possible. And this is one of the ways we are seeking to do that. So Mississippi investigators had previously said that Dr. Roger Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who performed the independent autopsy, will be able to review the internal throat structures before the case goes to a grand jury.

35:54Are you hearing anything about a potential meeting or review happening this week? Well, we're hoping that local and state officials will be fully cooperative and transparent with the family. Up to this point, it left a lot to be desired. And quite frankly, a lot of Mississippi residents lost confidence in whether or not this case was being taken serious. So hopefully there are steps in the right direction so that the family can get answers and there are more transparency in how the investigation is going. I want to read something to you earlier this month during an interview with Sean Tindall, who is the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner.

36:38practitioner my colleague victor blackwell brought up benjamin crump's remarks about mississippi's history of racial tensions now tyndall who is white and he grew up in mississippi he said the state has changed over the decades he said quote this is sean tyndall talking i had a lot of black friends through high school i went to integrated schools the days of the past in the 40s and 50s or 60s is something that most mississippians my age and younger don't know anything about including my children so we see the world a lot different than those that that tainted our history as a state. And I can tell you it's a much different place than it was back then.

37:12I know you worked in Mississippi. What's your response to that? Well, action speaks louder than word. I'm still a resident of Mississippi. And the state needs to deal with the perception with some real actions. It is unfortunate we are a month out. The initial response to the case was from the sheriff who took the words of the four young men as if it was fact and had not done a true investigation. We're entering this conversation with no preconceived notions of anyone's involvement. But what we are saying is up to this point, the family have not gotten the type of support and transparency from local or state law enforcement agencies.

37:56I don't know if the state bureau of investigation has gotten involved. It leaves too much to be answered. And so we're going to provide as much support as we can, both to the legal team and to the family, because we think it's important. So what are the first steps as part of the legal team? What is the NAACP going to do? Well, first, they've already taken place. We're working directly with Ben Krop and his team. we're reviewing through our general counsel some of the information they have found, and they're putting together a strategy to move forward. Christian Clark is a skilled lawyer. She served as the head of civil rights division.

38:38She's seen cases where the FBI and others had to go into investigate, and we're hoping her expertise and our reach as an organization would add value and hopefully get this community some answers. How is the family holding up? Well, as any family would, I can only imagine. I mean, you know, your child go out with a group of friends, they come back with his cell phone and he goes missing and later found unaligned. I can only imagine the grief that the family is feeling, particularly the mother. And I hope individuals would hold that level of compassion because it could be any of our children. The goal here is to ensure the family, that community get answers so we can move forward.

39:23as a community across the state of Mississippi and, for that matter, across the country. NAACP President and CEO Derek Johnson, thank you for your time today. Thank you. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the Tupac Shakur murder trial finally underway in Los Angeles nearly 30 years after the hip-hop legend was killed in a drive-by shooting. Dwayne Keith Davis was accused of orchestrating the murder as an act of revenge. We're going to break down what the first witnesses said today on the stand. Plus, it appears Georgia Senator John Ossoff has gotten under President Trump's skin by taking a jab at one of the president's closest but little-known aides.

40:03So who is Natalie Harp, and why is she now being name-dropped on the campaign trail? Also, it's the final hours of campaigning ahead of the next round of primaries, and we're digging into one race that a Republican operative called the who's who of a clown show. But is one of those passengers about to drive straight to the nation's capital? And a warning for anyone planning a beach trip for the end of summer or Labor Day. Hordes of jellyfish taking over some beaches on the east coasts. Thousands of people have been stung just in Ocean City, Maryland this month. And the Ocean City Beach Patrol captain is here to explain what's going on.

40:46The lead tonight, two high-profile murder trials, one involving a hip-hop icon, the other a Massachusetts mom. First, the murder trial centered on one of hip-hop's biggest unanswered questions, who killed Tupac Shakur? Nearly 30 years after the rapper was gunned down in Vegas, a jury is hearing the case against the only person ever charged in his killing. Opening statements began today in the trial of Dwayne Davis. Prosecutors say Davis orchestrated the 1996 hit on Shakur in retaliation because of an attack on Davis's nephew. Davis was indicted in 2023 after detailing his involvement in the deadly shooting in a book and in interviews such as this.

41:27All the chicks was like, Tupac, Tupac. He was like a celebrity, like he was in a parade. If he hadn't even been out the window, we would have never seen him. When we pulled up, I was in the front seat. Who shot Tupac? I just came from the back seat. Davis now says that those accounts were false and it was all just an attempt to make money. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, the defense began its case in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the mother accused of strangling her three children in 2023. Clancy says she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis at the time. Today, jurors heard from Clancy's mother and sister for the very first time.

42:09Clancy's mother testified about her daughter's state of mind leading up to the killings, and one moment she found to be disturbing. One particular evening that was disturbing to me, she was afraid to be alone, and she actually asked if she could sleep with me. Did she indeed sleep with you on that occasion? She did. Our CNN correspondents Josh Campbell and Bryn Gingrass are tracking these trials. Let's begin with Josh, who's in Vegas for the Tupac Shakur case. Josh, what did the prosecution and defense argue in their opening statements today? Well, Jake, you and I have covered a lot of criminal cases.

42:47It is not often that you hear a defense attorney stand in front of a jury and accuse his own client, and forgive my language, accuses his own client of peddling, quote, bullshit. But that's exactly what the defense attorney did here, essentially laying out their strategy. And what they're having to contend with is that although Dwayne Davis has pleaded not guilty to being involved in the murder of Tupac Shakur, after the incident, he did a series of media interviews. He even wrote a book in which he described some of the details from that night. He also had previously met with law enforcement, including the FBI, under what was called some type of immunity agreement involving another case in which he said that he had, on that night here in Las Vegas, near the Strip, had handed a firearm to his nephew, who was seated in the backseat of a car as they pulled up along Shakur's car, and his nephew opened fire.

43:38The strategy now is to say that was all false. He didn't mean any of that. And what he's saying, essentially, the attorney and what Dwayne Davis has said in his own words, he was simply trying to make money off of this story. Whether that's something the jury will ultimately buy, we will have to wait and see. For their part, the prosecution is indeed using Dwayne Davis' own statements as part of the key evidence that they are laying out in this trial. We'll see where it goes. We've already heard a number of witnesses that have called that were there that night, including law enforcement officers who were responding.

44:09It's still going on behind me, today's testimony. But again, this is going to come down to what do jurors actually believe? Dwayne Davis's own words or what his attorney is saying now? Again, as I mentioned, he has pled not guilty. So much of this will be about witnesses and word of mouth because this was 30 years ago. We didn't have the same type of forensic technology that we have today. There aren't ubiquitous security cameras on the streets of most metropolitan areas. There's no footage of the actual shooting itself that night. So again, a lot will come down to witnesses. We'll see how this lands with the jury, Jake.

44:43And Brynn, you're following the Lindsay Clancy trial. Emotions high in the courtroom earlier as the defense called Clancy's sister and mother to the stand. Tell us more about their more about their testimonies. Yeah, Jake, I mean, this is the first time we're hearing from the closest members of Lindsay Clancy's family, specifically even her mother, who said she would text back and forth or call back and forth with Lindsay multiple times a day leading up to those killings that happened in January of 2023, talking about her health, and she told jurors how she noticed it was deteriorating. Her sister did the same thing on the stand, basically saying she saw Lindsay losing weight, how she would constantly be having concern over her medications that she was taking.

45:23And there was one moment, you mentioned the one about her wanting to sleep with her mother in her bed when her mother visited her house in Duxbury, but another moment where she made a confession in the kitchen of her home to her mother and her ex-husband Patrick Clancy. Listen to this.

45:40I remember her being very nervous. I remember her saying, I just have to tell you guys something. And then she told us. What did she tell you? She told us that she had thoughts of harming the children. And jurors were left with that exact ending of the mother before they took a lunch break, Jake. And then when it picked back up, court prosecution then had a chance to cross-examine the mother there talking about really picking apart the text messages that she would send to her daughter saying, you sound to be doing much better. And, you know, how's everything going? Did you sleep well? Sort of these interactions that the prosecution was picking apart.

46:20Now, the defense called started its case rather after the prosecution spent weeks calling more than 70 witnesses to the stand from law enforcement to medical professionals to Lindsay's ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, wrapping up its case. The big question still remains, Jake, is Lindsay Clancy going to take the stand. We don't know that answer quite yet, but of course, we're going to stay tuned to it. And Josh, back to the Tupac murder case. This trial is happening in Las Vegas. Nevada trials are unique in that jurors are allowed to question witnesses after cross-examination. Did we see any of that today?

46:53We did indeed, and you're spot on. That is what is so fascinating about the process here in the state of Nevada. Oftentimes what happens is when When you have a case that's before a jury, they'll take copious notes. And then toward the end, if they have a question about the instructions that have been given to them by a judge about particular evidence, then oftentimes a question will then be submitted at the end. Here, as you mentioned, in real time, after each witness, we're seeing the jury actually ask their own questions. Now, to be sure, up to this point, again, this is day one, no big major questions, kind of aha moments that we've seen so far.

47:28They've asked about the direction of vehicle travel and whether someone saw bullets being fired, that kind of thing. Nothing that actually illuminated anything that we didn't already suspect. But that will be interesting to watch because that gives us insight into what are these jurors actually thinking and which potential witnesses are they going to hear from that they want to hear more from. That will be certainly interesting to watch. Now, oftentimes a lot of also will see jurors emoting throughout a trial. We haven't seen any of that yet. Again, we're talking about day one. Their focus, their attention has been on the witnesses.

48:03And we'll see if that obviously continues. This is expected to last several weeks. And then, again, as I mentioned, we'll see what they ultimately decide, whose word they actually buy here. Josh Campbell, Brent Gingras, thanks to both of you. President Trump says he's reducing military exercises with South Korea, a key ally in the region, just hours before they were set to begin. His reason? His quote, very good relationship with North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un. Is that really going to make the U.S. safer? Plus, today a judge effectively postponed the state murder case against Luigi Mangione.

48:35We'll explain why ahead.

48:43In our world lead, President Donald Trump today is defending his decision to scale back long-standing joint military exercises with U.S. ally South Korea, in part because he thinks South Korea should be doing more to help the United States. We have 39 ,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor, and you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran? That's strange. I'm making it much safer. You see, I'm actually making it much safer. Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect. Okay, so North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has always treated Trump with great respect.

49:33Got it. You know what else Kim Jong-un has been doing? He's been politically backing Iran amid the U.S. war against Iran. He's been infiltrating American companies and leveraging AI and vulnerable Americans to earn millions of dollars. He's been supplying Russia with weapons for Russia's war against Ukraine. He's been continuing North Korea's ballistic missile testing and nuclear program. And of course, he's just been generally repressing his own people. CNN's Will Ripley takes a closer look at Trump's relationship with North and South Korea. Kim Jong-un and his daughter smiling at the circus.

50:15North Korean state media showing them celebrating in Pyongyang this weekend. At the same time, President Trump was posting this picture with Kim, saying, Despite the unfriendly look, Kim Jong-un and I get along great. Relationship Trump is now invoking to make a major change on the Korean Peninsula. ordering the Pentagon to substantially reduce annual military exercises with South Korea. Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong-un, Trump says, adding the exercises are costly and send a totally inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea. The moves are fueling speculation Trump may be laying the groundwork for renewed diplomacy with Kim.

50:55This is kind of a shocking development by the president. We'll see if he has some reason beyond what he stated, but certainly this is not the way to handle a region of the world that really expects reliability from us. For decades, North Korea has demanded these drills stop, calling them rehearsals for invasion and war. For the U.S. and South Korea, they serve a very different purpose, training their forces to fight together on the ground and in the air. There's a reason the Allies stay ready. In 1968, North Korea seized an American spy ship, the USS Pueblo. One American was killed. 82 more were held captive for nearly a year.

51:37In 1987, North Korean agents bombed a South Korean passenger jet. All 115 people aboard were killed. Then in 2010, the South Korean warship Chunan sank near the North Korean border. Forty-six sailors died. An international investigation blamed a North Korean torpedo. Pyongyang denied it. Months later, North Korean shells raining down on Yongpyong Island. Two South Korean Marines and two civilians killed, both nations blaming the other for exchanging fire. All on a peninsula where the Korean War never formally ended. And the North Korean military Trump faces today is far more heavily armed, with Kim's teenage daughter rumored to be his likely successor as he expands his nuclear and missile arsenal.

52:25Kim's military is also more battle-tested, fighting for Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky says Russia wants another 30 ,000 North Korean troops, warning Moscow is helping Kim learn modern warfare. Kim has even built a memorial for those killed, with room for many more graves. Jake, as you know, President Trump has tried diplomacy with North Korea before. After their 2018 Singapore summit, he suspended major exercises. Kim never gave up his nuclear weapons. Now Trump is scaling back drills before Kim has even agreed to talk. Could this be a new opening for diplomacy or a concession before negotiations even begin?

53:05Jake? Well, Ripley in Hong Kong, thank you so much for that report. The U.S. Supreme Court just handed President Trump another loss today, a$5.6 million loss. Those details next.

53:27Our law and justice lead now. The U.S. Supreme Court declined for a second time to hear President Trump's efforts to overturn a$5.6 million verdict after a jury found that President Trump had indeed sexually abused and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll during an encounter in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Here now, CNN's Kara Scannell. Kara. So is President Trump finally going to have to pay E. Jean Carroll, or does he have any other legal options? He's essentially run out the line on his legal options here. And the Supreme Court had initially first said they weren't going to take this case up on appeal in June.

54:07And right after that, the judge overseeing the trial had permitted the transfer of$5.6 million. That was the judgment plus interest that Trump had already put forward. He allowed that to go to E. Jean Carroll. Now, Trump's lawyers said that was improper, and they asked an appeals court to slow that down because they wanted a second chance at the U.S. Supreme Court. Well, now, today, the U.S. Supreme Court is saying that they are not going to reconsider Trump's effort to have them hear this appeal. And her lawyers, E. Jean Carroll's lawyers, say now this whole fighting over the money is now moot, because Trump's lawyers had agreed that they were really just waiting for the Supreme Court to weigh in here.

54:43So it looks like E. Jean Carroll now has this$5.6 million unrestricted. But there is that second appeal from that separate judgment of$83 million where the jury found Trump defamed her. Trump's lawyers have already asked the Supreme Court to take that up, but it's really not clear how soon they'll act on that, Jake. And, Cara, another big development earlier today in the New York state murder trial of Luigi Mangione. Tell us what happened. So the trial was set to begin on September 8th. that is now effectively postponed because, as we reported on Friday, Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges and admitted to murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

55:22His lawyers immediately moved to have the state case dismissed on double jeopardy grounds. Today, the judge issuing an order with this briefing schedule. Now, he will give them Manhattan District Attorney's Office until October 9th to file their opposition to that. Mangione will have time to respond. And then the judge saying the next court appearance in the state case will be on December 10th. That is just eight days before he will be sentenced on the federal charges. So effectively, no trial now in the state court until this issue of double jeopardy is resolved. And ultimately, whoever is on the losing side of that judge's order could appeal.

55:56And it's possible the district attorney's office may drop this after Mangione is sentenced. Karis Cannell, thanks so much. Appreciate it. A colorful cast of characters all competing against each other for a chance to serve in the U.S. Congress. We're going to break down all of the Republicans running in one specific Florida district and just wait until you hear who they are and what their credentials are.

56:28And we're back with our politics lead. Cue the music, please. The CNN election jam. You know, I love it. Tomorrow we're going to see yet another night of high stakes primaries across America, including one particular house race in Florida that I can't wait to tell you about. One Republican operative called it a who's who of the clown show as a cast of conservative, mainly carpetbaggers, compete in the race for Florida's 19th district near Naples. Just this weekend, President Trump through his coveted endorsement to Catalina Lauf, who has run for Congress before in Illinois in 2020. Against former Illinois State Senator Jim Oberweiss, he's not, Trump did not endorse him.

57:14Oberweiss is now also on the ballot tomorrow in Florida's 19th. There's also Ola Hatwatma, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress as well in New York, and then became an advisor to Indiana Republican Congresswoman Victoria Sparks. Two embattled congressmen from other states, of course, are also vying for the nomination. Do you remember North Carolina's Madison Cawthorn? The youngest member of Congress at 26 years old before he was voted out following a rather chaotic single term in Congress in which he claimed people in Washington were inviting him to orgies and doing cocaine in front of him.

57:50He's running in this race, too. Chris Collins from New York, remember him? He was sentenced to 26 months in prison for playing a role in an insider trading scheme. President Trump, of course, pardoned Collins two months into his sentence. He's running in this Florida race, too. We also can't forget Turning Point USA's backed candidate, John Strand. His resume includes former international underwear model and a year in federal prison tied to his involvement in the January 6th attack on the Capitol before being pardoned by President Trump. Candidate Jim Schwartzel is a local Florida broadcasting mogul.

58:21He's running ads on his TV and radio stations deriding the parade of out-of-towners and promoting his own campaign. The seat is currently open since current Congressman Byron Donalds is running for governor. Donalds has not endorsed anyone, so it's still anyone's guess. Which of these characters could win the chance to mount a political comeback tomorrow night? For reaction, I'm joined in the studio with the panel. Malik, quite a cast of characters. Who would you vote for in that Republican primary? Byron Donald. But he's not running. He's not running. Well, that's a little protest vote from you.

58:53Yeah, these are this isn't something that really is on the GOP's radar. You noted that they do have a number of carpetbagger candidates, but it's just not something one of the racists that's really looking at. We're really trying to see what happens with Byron Donald, whether or not he ends up making it to the primary and raking it through the primary to the general and ultimately becoming Florida's first black governor. And it looks like he has a very good chance of doing that. You think he's going to win the primary? Oh, yeah. Oh, I mean, against James Fishback? Yeah, he's going to beat James Fishback.

59:23So let's turn to the story of the day here in Washington. President Trump is attacking Georgia Senator John Ossoff because Ossoff over the weekend said this about the president at a campaign event. While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves the president sleeps through his meetings he gulfs and trades stocks see he doesn't want to do the job he wants to build his ballroom and travel with natalie on their apparently defenseless flying pals. All right. The part that was really, I think, of issue, he wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defensive flying pals.

1:00:16Who is Natalie? I hear you cry. Natalie Harp is one of the president's most trusted personal aides. She frequently travels with him. She's their, what's called a body person, just like always there with the person. It's a tradition here in Washington, D.C. Their relationship was part of the book Regime Change that reported that HAARP leaves admiring notes for President Trump all over the place and credits the president for saving her life in her battle with cancer by signing the 2018 Right to Try Act, which allows for experimental medications to be used before full FDA approval. She credits the president.

1:00:49There are questions as to whether or not the treatment she got actually is because of the Right to Try Act. Well, it doesn't matter. Here's what President Trump said about Senator Ossoff's comments when asked earlier today by CNN's Kristen Holmes. What do you mean Pee Wee Herman? Pee Wee Herman lookalike? No, I would much rather do other things. It's a we're building a great facility here. We're fixing the White House that hasn't been taken care of. OK, so he he didn't respond to the Natalie Harper, but he responded to that he wants to build his ballroom part of it. What do you make of that? I mean, I'm not sure what John Ossoff said that was untrue or a lie.

1:01:26So I think that's part of this here. But I think the fact that he even has to respond to this in general is a problem for Trump. I mean, he doesn't see it's a problem, but the Republican Party does. They are laying out all the things and all the corrupt ways that President Trump is running the White House and running the country. And I think that's going to be a problem come in November. I think we're seeing it with the cast of characters in Florida. Candidate selection matters. I'm not sure they're going to be successful there. And having Trump's endorsement, someone like Donald Trump, I'm not sure, helps them either.

1:01:49So, Malik, Republicans are very upset about this because they think that, John, well, you explain. Well, it's not what Republicans think. We know the reason that Natalie Harp's name is mentioned. Now, he gets to do this whole too cute by half thing and it's a wink and a nod. Awesome. What yet also of what he's talking about is this longstanding rumor that Donald Trump is having a relationship with Natalie Harp. That's what he's referring to. So this whole heart thing that the media is now picking up on, it's really consistent. So you asked about how do Republicans feel about this? We've been here before.

1:02:22We saw what happened during the Bush administration where these were these salacious rumors that Condoleezza Rice was having a relationship with then President George Bush. We saw with Melania Trump having to sue the Daily Mail because they called her an escort. We saw it with Sarah Sanders, Huckabee Sanders, when the comedian Michelle Wolf talked about her ashes being makeup. We've seen this over and over again. The only thing that Natalie Harp has done is been an assistant to Donald Trump. And we've seen over and over again when it comes to the left, when it comes to Democrats and when it comes to even media, they are willing to ignore all of these type of misogynistic and sexist remarks against Republican women or those who are lying to with Republican men.

1:03:07That is what this is about. Just to interject one second, Megan, and then you can say whatever you want to say. There is no evidence that I know of that there's any relationship between President Trump and Natalie Harp beyond a professional one, other than she obviously does feel like he helped save her life. Okay, full stop, go. I mean, I do think that's fair, but I don't think that saying what he is saying is untrue. She follows him everywhere he goes. He does want to build a ballroom. But why mention her name at all? Why mention out of all the people around Donald Trump? Because her name is mentioned in a book, but also you're talking about some of his money.

1:03:37Isn't that her name is being mentioned because of this rumor that there is a relationship between Natalie Harp and Donald Trump? That's why I'm saying Osup gets to do this wink and a nod. Well, I didn't really say this. He's feeding into the narrative because he knows that that's the conversation out there. Everybody fed into the narrative that Joe Biden was too old and didn't know his name. And that's also untrue. OK. So, I mean, if we're going to call spade a spade, you've got to be honest here. I mean, if you listen to Democrats, Joe Biden was pretty much like Saquon Barkley out there. And we know that that wasn't true.

1:04:05This is ridiculous. So yeah, it is ridiculous for him to attack this young woman. It is absolutely ridiculous. And Democrats need to condemn it. But again, we know why they don't condemn it for all of the reasons that I said before. I will just note that the White House response was very furious, attacking reporters who asked about it. And the White House spokesman Davis Engel posted, quote, John Ossoff is a cringeworthy feminine theater kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says, unquote. Cosplaying as Barack Obama, because that's exactly the conversation.

1:04:40Like, look at John Ossoff. He's no Barack Obama, much like there is no one like Donald Trump. So if nobody cares what John Ossoff is saying, why are you so passionate about it? Why is the White House responding? I've already articulated the problem that I have. It is the inconsistency. It is the hypocrisy of Democrats' media when it comes to Republican women. That is what all of this is about, because if those attacks... I mean... This is the same group of people, by the way, and even though I didn't feed into it, this is the same group of people who, even if you mention, even if you mention Willie Brown out of San Francisco and his relationship with Kamala Harris, they thought that there was heresy.

1:05:20They did actually have a relationship. They did have a relationship. But I also think that Republican women have sat here and attacked AOC for freezing her eggs. What about is... So why... But, like, why is that okay? I stand on principle. I'm not okay with... But Megan, let me ask you a question. I have seen people say this is an indication that John Ossoff is, speaking of Barack Obama, is not of the when they go low, we go high school, which is what Michelle Obama said, I think, in 2020, 2016, I forget, whatever. But a lot of Democrats are like, forget that. We're going to fight fire with fire, et cetera, et cetera.

1:05:58We're going to play dirty or whatever, however you want to interpret it. Yeah, but where did that method get the Democratic Party, right? It got us another four years of Donald Trump, where we have not seen the same reactions from Republicans. And I just think, do I agree with the narrative in politics? Do I think, as a former White House staffer, would I want my name out there? No. Was it? Yes, all the time. This stuff happens. This is sort of, you become a public figure. This is what happens. And I'm not calling public figure when you're a staffer. It's not the same. I get it. But you're out there, and this is the kind of things that happen.

1:06:25And when you write him notes and when you're in a book, you put yourself up. And I think that's the problem here. So either all staff is going to be off limits, like families off limits or they're not. And I just don't think Donald Trump doesn't have anyone off limits. So I'm just not sure John Ossoff should have to play. That sounds like a what about ism. All right. Thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it. A political newcomer is trying to unseat a congressman who's held his job for 25 years. Past challenges against this Democratic congressman have failed. Is this year going to be any different?

1:06:50That's next.

1:06:55back in the politics lead experience versus generational change that's the divide playing out among democratic voters all over the country but we're going to take a look right now at massachusetts eighth congressional district where the race appears to be tightening between 25-year incumbent congressman stephen lynch and his challenger political newcomer lawyer and voting rights advocate, Patrick Routh, ahead of their September primary. Patrick Routh joins me now. Patrick, the last time Congressman Lynch received a primary challenge was 2020, three cycles ago. He still secured more than half the votes.

1:07:31Why do you think the voters in your district want change now? Totally, Jake. Thanks for having me on. Look, look what's going on in this country. Look at what has happened to all of our institutions and look what's happening in Democratic primary after Democratic primary. There's so much appetite out there for change right now. People are frustrated with the status quo. They do not like what they see from the Democratic establishment class. And they are ready for people to come in who have a different perspective, who bring a different orientation to the job and treat it like a mission. And that's what this is about.

1:08:02Congressman Lynch is someone who's been in Congress for 25 years, hasn't had an in-person town hall since 2019, takes corporate PAC money, voted against the Affordable Care Act, join the Republicans on the Lake and Riley Act last year. Look, that is not what people want anymore. And this is a time, I think, where lots of voters are looking for new choices. Lynch is 71 years old. You're 39. Also in your state, 47-year-old Congressman Seth Moulton is challenging 80-year-old Ed Markey. Is part of your campaign about passing of the torch that the Democrats have been lagging on? Is it just about age?

1:08:36Well, no, it's certainly not just about age. You know, that race is going on in Massachusetts, but across the country, we see lots of this. It's actually about a lot more than age. I mean, look, I think people are excited to get a different generation in there. You know, I'm a new dad. So childcare, for example, is a top issue for us. It's something I talk about a lot, the solutions to try to get more affordable and even universal childcare is super important to me. It's important to this district. That's one example. But, you know, I don't even really bring age up that much. It is about the vision that you are going to try to bring to the Congress.

1:09:05It's about your record if you've been there for 25 years. It's about the things you're going to focus on and whether you're ready to go down to Washington and actually fight. Age might be a part of that, but it's far from the only thing that's going on in this race. We see your generation or younger generation of Democrats winning in primaries where there's a very active youth vote, where there's a very active DSA. I don't think you're a DSA candidate, but still they tend to go with more progressive candidates. And it sounds like you're casting yourself as more progressive than Congressman Lynch.

1:09:36Will that be a factor tomorrow? Oh, of course. Two weeks from tomorrow, though. Two weeks from tomorrow. I'm sorry. A little more time. Sorry about that. Yeah. Yeah, no problem. You scared me for a second. Sorry. Well, look, it's funny. I get called young on programs like this. I'm 39, right? Like, I'm a dad. I've been a practicing lawyer for a long time. I'm not that young in normal terms. In Congress terms, I am because of the age of how many of the members who have been serving for so long. No, I'm not. I'm not myself a democratic socialist, but like, you know, look at those candidates who are winning and what they're talking about.

1:10:10They are talking about getting corporate PAC money out of politics, corporate money, period. They're talking about fixing our politics so they're more responsive to the needs of working people, tangible, serious, material things we can do to help people on child care, on universal health care, right, on housing. Those are the issues we need to be discussing, and they are the ones who are forcing that conversation. And in this district, I mean, look, I hope I drive younger voters out, but I'm much more interested in just making sure younger voters are part of the process and check in and believe and have some hope for this country.

1:10:41You know, that's my background as a voting rights guy, trying to get young people involved. And it's so important we do that. All right, Patrick Routh, Democratic candidate in Massachusetts, 8th Congressional District. Thanks so much. Thanks, Jake. This is great. Really appreciate it. In our money lead, more than 4 million Americans have lost access to food aid through SNAP benefits, and experts warn that's just the beginning. When President Trump signed his so-called Big Beautiful Bill into law last year, which included historic cuts to safety net programs, including SNAP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported about 42 million Americans were receiving food stamps.

1:11:17As of April of this year, the USDA estimates that number is down to 37 million people. without a reliable source of food aid. Millions of Americans, many of them children, are forced to rely on community aid through services such as food banks. Joining us now is Natalie J. Rowe, who runs one such food bank in southern Arizona. Natalie, thanks for joining us. Have you noticed an increase in people coming to the food bank after these cuts? Yes, we've noticed a huge increase and actually started with the government shutdown, but it's increased over that time, up to a 20 % increase in people needing our aid, but 120 % increase in children requesting our services during the summer when we do some summer snacks for children and passes out at libraries and other summer camp organizations.

1:12:08Are you confident in your organization's ability to provide for these people? Do you have enough funding? Do you have enough food? I am confident that the community will step up. I am not confident in my food sources. This story started for food banks across the country when we received a 50 % cut in the USDA foods that we were getting. You may recall that there was a cut in all discretionary funding, and that cut the USDA food that makes up about 25 % of our distribution and have. We've gone to local retailers and donors and volunteers and asked for more help. And our community, as always, is stepping up.

1:12:50What advice do you have for anyone out there watching right now who's struggling because they don't have those SNAP benefits anymore? I think please stop by a local food bank. There are 200 Feeding America food banks across the country, but we work through 60 ,000 agencies. I would suggest you find the local food bank. we can tell you where the nearest organization providing aid is. We run a lot of programs like mobile distributions. We have a lot of donated food from grocery stores, and we're finding new ways to distribute that. As I mentioned to you, we work with children in the summer. We do school pantries during the school year.

1:13:30We're working to do more home deliveries for people that can't leave their homes. So we're always searching for more ways. So please get in contact with us. And in addition, we have staff that will help you walk through that SNAP process, because here in the state of Arizona, part of the challenge is the bureaucratic slowdown that's occurred for people that are trying to get the benefits that may be eligible. If you could talk right now to President Trump or any other lawmakers in Washington, D.C., about all of this, what would you say? What I'd say is compassion is good policy. I think for everyone.

1:14:08When I talk to everyone, Republican, Democrats, we meet with all members of our delegation. They cover the whole strike. We meet with and work with all kinds of volunteers. They all agree that they don't want anyone to go hungry. We throw away a third of everything that we process, prepare in this country. So there's no need for anyone to go hungry. And it's a very American solution to get that into the hands of people that can help. And for SNAP in particular, it's such an economic benefit, particularly in our rural communities. And our rural grocery stores are struggling like everyone else with inflation.

1:14:43So the SNAP program, which food banks cannot replace, is hugely beneficial. And it helps our farmers. It helps our retailers, especially in rural areas. And it helps people in need. Natalie J. Roy, thank you so much. And thanks for what you do. Thank you so much. Thanks for covering this important issue. Up next, the beach is open, but you're going to have to share the ocean with jellyfish. Thousands of beachgoers are getting stung this summer. So why so many jellyfish and how can you avoid getting zapped?

1:15:24Internationally, if you're looking at your TV right now, that's not trash in the water. That's not trash. Those are jellyfish and quite a few of them. They have been spotted across several popular East Coast beaches this summer, jellyfish. This includes Ocean City, Maryland, where reports of about 2 ,000 beachgoers suffering jellyfish stings in the past few weeks. The weeks-long surge forcing some visitors to skip the water altogether. Joining us now, Ocean City Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin. Captain, you've previously said that in the last 54 years, this is the worst you've seen it for this period of time.

1:16:00What is causing the surge in jellyfish in Ocean City? Well, there's really three factors. The first factor has to do with the warm water. You know, the solar heating of the surface water is there, but we've not had a very turbulent ocean. So the cooler bottom water is not being mixed to kind of cool it down. That's another factor. Without the rough surf and without the currents, the jellyfish are not being broken up. They're not being washed away. And the third factor is, you know, there's been a drought on the East Coast since the fall. So the salinity, the amount of freshwater going into the bay and into the oceans is not as much.

1:16:37So the salinity is kind of high, which is right in the range that jellyfish like. So warm water, lack of current and wave action, and then the salinity, those factors. And when I say the worst, they come every year, but they were here longer this year than they typically have been. And the videos of the jellyfish, at least the ones I've seen, jellyfish are really close to the shore, not even chest deep, but but ankle deep. Some jellyfish just seem to be washing up on the sand. Are jellyfish related first aid cases also at a record high this summer? Well, yeah, what happens is, you know, there are 300 ,000 people on the in Ocean City on, you know, any given day or weekend.

1:17:21And so when you say we've you know, it's 10 miles of beach, one of the largest beaches. So we're talking about along the entire beach. And those are people walking up to the guard saying, hey, what's in the water? What stung me? We're not talking about medical emergencies in most cases, just people getting the irritation of being stung or or just feeling something in the water. So you're going to need to clear this up because there are a lot of viewers watching right now who think, well, well, if I ever get stung by a jellyfish, that I'm just going to have my friend pee on the area where I got stung.

1:17:55True or false? Yes. Thank you. Cheers. Our friends. Yeah, they're the ones. That is false. In fact, the information, one of the best sources right now is the National Poison Control Center. There are lots of varieties of jellyfish, and what you can do for one variety may not work with another. What we're seeing are what we call sea nettles. You don't want to use vinegar. You don't want to use fresh water. What you want to do is wash it off with seawater if you have any tentacles on you, which usually doesn't happen. You pick them off. And what we're suggesting and what the poison control says is mixing like baking soda with seawater into a paste and put that on.

1:18:35Most people that get stung do not need to seek medical treatment. If you have breathing difficulty, tightness in your chest, any of those symptoms, then you might want to seek medical care. But most people don't. People are requesting EMS to be looked at. Those people aren't going to the hospital. They're refusing treatment. And then in a few hours, it starts to subside. And the one thing you can do is the hottest shower or bath that you can safely stand will help with some of the pain. Okay. Hot showers and then also a concoction with baking soda and seawater, but no pee, no urine. And in defense of Friends, I'd heard that rumor years before that show ever came on the air.

1:19:17Butch, are you concerned that this increase in jellyfish this summer is going to become the new normal? Because some of the things you're describing, drought conditions, you know, heat, some of that might be here to stay because of climate change. Well, in this case, the biggest factor for us has been we had, you know, the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic Basin has a lot of tropical activity. We haven't had much this year. When you get a lot of wave action, first of all, it breaks up the jolly fish and it moves them away with the current. Also, it's like when you put hot water in the bathtub, you usually swirl around with your hands to mix the cooler water with the warm water.

1:19:55The cool bottom water is not being mixed with the top. So I don't know if it's going to be here to stay if we get rough serve. All right, Captain Butch Arbin, thank you so much. And you all heard him out there. Do not pee on the jellyfish thing. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram threads, BlueSkyX, and on the TikTok at Jake Taffer. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at the lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of the lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. Aaron Burnett out front starts right now.

1:20:23Go inside the sports moments that brought us together and made history. From the underdogs to the rivalries and the miracles. It sends chills down your spine. It's what sport was all about. The new CNN original series, Decades in Sports. Now streaming on the CNN app.