Cornell Students Call for Transparency, Accountability from University

0:00This briefing is brought to you by Easter Seals Disability Services. Real belonging begins with all of us. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything goodness world stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at MintMobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required, intro rate for three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra, see full terms at MintMobile.com. From civil lawsuit to criminal investigation, the lead starts right now. The alleged gang rape at Cornell University now in the hands of a special prosecutor. New York Attorney General, Latisha James, taking over the case as we learn of a ketamine overdose and a drug related arrest all just one day before the alleged attack at that very same frat house.

1:02Also, the seller, President Trump, headed to Mobile, Alabama, but why this Ruby Red State? Is it a smart strategy for Republicans or a sign of nervousness 32 days out from election day? And new comments from that hero pilot, attacked in the cockpit. What he says about the terrifying moment, his co-pilot tried to hijack the plane. Welcome to lead on Pam LaBrouhne in for Jake Tapper, who was on assignment, and we begin with our law and justice lead. The alleged 2024 gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house is now an active criminal investigation. That's according to New York Attorney General, Latisha James, who is taking over as a special prosecutor. New York governor, Kathy Hocal, removed Tomkins County District Attorney, Matthew Van Halton from the case, saying she had lost faith and his ability to oversee it fairly.

2:02No public official gets a look the other way when the system breaks down and fails our young people. And as governor, I will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug. A comprehensive investigation of this nature takes time, but my office is committed to seeing it through. Earlier today, I spoke with Jane Doe's attorney, Thomas Dufra, who says he supports the decision to bring in a special prosecutor. I was planning on writing a letter to the governor myself today requesting that she appoint the special prosecutor, and she saved me having to do that. And I was thrilled that she did, because she recognized clearly that something was going on up in Ithaca, New York that was inappropriate. Meanwhile, mounting questions for Cornell University police. Today, the university revised its FAQ page about this alleged assault. The page initially said, Cornell police shared all investigatory information,

3:04but now it says, campus police shared Jane Doe's sworn statement and the Snapchat screenshot. Also today, new details about police activity at that very same fraternity house, just hours before the alleged assault. Sarah Jason Carroll reports from Ithaca, New York, where students are demanding transparency. But we learned yesterday, raised even more troubling questions, about what was done and not done, after this young woman came forward. New York's governor, visibly angry, as she stood next to the state's attorney general, focusing her eye on the Tompkins County District Attorney and the Cornell police department. In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang raped while in talks created by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney? Governor Kathy Hocal referred to crucial statements, Jane Doe allegedly made to Cornell police in 2024.

4:06A New York Times report showed, according to a university internal investigation, Jane Doe allegedly told campus police, I can say with 100% confidence, I was raped. That allegation was not included in what university police handed over to the district attorney. Them sending a partial record over is in my judgment a failure. Attorney General Leticia James, now leading the investigation. Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly, that they will be seen and heard. That is the promise of our justice system. I stand ready to lead a process guided by the facts and the law. According to the New York Times report, there were about 120 pages of Jane Doe's interviews with Cornell police and the school's title nine office. The Tompkins County District Attorney

5:07telling CNN earlier this week, he received a six page statement, which did not include her explicit rape allegation. The DA says he supports the governor's decision, saying it has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the university. She clearly said I was 100% raped. She clearly says she was hit and there was violence utilized. All that was sanitized out of the six page police report. I think there was a lot of protection of the university and its reputation. And I don't like the word cover up, but it feels like a cover up was going on. Some students here telling us they welcome the attorney general taking over the investigation. Many still critical of the university's response, saying there has not been enough transparency, accusing the university's president of not publicly addressing the issue enough. I think administration needs to talk to our students, not just handle it and let our students have to do it. Our students are the ones who have to conduct the town hall

6:08to be heard and understood, whereas they get to just leave, go home, and send out an FAQ with no type of real explanation about our disciplinary process. The administration at Cornell have released written statements since the alleged assault two years ago, including one on Tuesdays, saying in part, the events that took place on our campus in 2024 were appalling then and remain so now. We recognize that these reports have raised difficult and understandable questions about how Cornell responds to allegations of sexual misconduct on campus. We visited the university president's office today, but we're unable to meet him and he did not respond to our multiple calls requesting an interview. And Pamela also wanna point out that according to the Cornell police records and Title IX investigation, a few things, in the days just before Jane Doe, she was sexually assaulted at the Chi-Fi house.

7:10One person apparently overdosed on ketamine at the Chi-Fi house and apparently there was also some sort of a drug related arrest at the very same fraternity house. And of course you remember Jane Doe alleges on the night that she was sexually assaulted, she was given ketamine at the house. Pamela. Jason Carroll, thank you. Join us now is Jane Wing, a sophomore at Cornell University. She attended yesterday's student assembly and spoke about a similar experience in reporting a sexual assault. Thank you so much for coming on Jane. So you describe feeling let down by the university's Title IX process after your experience. How so? Yeah, the entire Title IX process that I had gone through with my case here at Cornell, I felt like it was just treated with a complete lack of urgency, lack of responsiveness.

8:12And the entire process of me filing paperwork and trying to deal with the entire process of filing while or in the midst of all of my mental and emotional kind of feeling was just there was just a total lack of structure and kind of like transparency in that process. And when I was reading on the case with Jane Doe and seeing her kind of discontent and how our school administration failed her as well, it really, really resonated with me. And it made me realize that this is an issue that wasn't just in my situation, but with hers and with so many other, you know, Title IX filings across, you know, the university's kind of like administration. So in the aftermath of reporting your case, how much did you feel the burden was on you to make sure that the Title IX office was moving forward with its investigation?

9:15It's difficult because with my case, it felt like the burden was kind of pushed onto the victim or like the survivor in this situation me to be the one to consistently reach out for follow-ups after I submitted all of my paperwork. They had responded to tell me that, you know, oh, we are going to look into this case. We're going to possibly start an investigation and we will be in touch with you shortly about, you know, should we need any sort of additional information? And after that, the responsibility became entirely my own to try to send follow-up emails, try to get updates. And I think because of the lack of timeliness in which my situation was dealt with for me personally, after, you know, a few months, I realized that it wasn't very conducive for me personally to continue kind of like hearing to the end of this case.

10:17And I had just requested for it to be closed. But it's because of this lack of timeliness that so many other victims and survivors are discouraged from truly seeking out justice within this process because of how slow it is. Nobody wants to have their case be dragged out, you know, months and months on end and have to relive through that trauma every single time, you know, it gets brought up. That was my personal experience with it. And I'm sure I can't speak on behalf of every single victim, obviously, but that was definitely my personal experience with it. And I think for a lot of other victims as well, the fact that our system is in place is not enough to ensure that the actual students and the actual victims are really able to utilize those resources to eventually seek out justice. In terms of last night's public forum, do you think anything actionable came out of it?

11:21I am very optimistic. And I don't want to say that I'm optimistic because I think, you know, the school is going to turn around from this and, you know, resolve sexual violence forever and ever. But I, as somebody who's studying public policy here at Cornell and has taken a lot of classes, you know, with Cornell professors here learning about, you know, different policies that we can enact going into the future. It's a, you know, create some sort of positive change. I really do hope that this situation is a kind of wake of call for both the Cornell administration, but also for every single institution of higher education out there, nationwide, to kind of look within, realize the, you know, systems of support that are there or maybe not there for their students and really take this opportunity as a way to listen to our student body, listen to the actual needs

12:23and demands of survivors and to be able to implement policy that's going to put them first going into the future. Tell us more about the atmosphere on campus since this civil suit was filed. And the campus has been in the natural spotlight, both in the perspective as a Cornell student and as someone who has gone through the Title IX process. It's complicated because I think you see a lot of, kind of both sides of the coin here. There are some people who decide to kind of deal with the situation by not really talking about it at all or pretending like everything's normal and okay. I've personally had some teachers or some like, you know, clubs on campus basically treat this as, oh, you know, it's happening right now, but it's going to eventually blow over. And in the meantime, it's more important for us to continue as normal and to, you know, still provide all of the Cornell

13:25students here, just like the same kind of consistent education, same opportunities, same events. That personally for me feels very, very discouraging and upsetting to see because it kind of makes it feel like nobody cares or that nobody is really, really invested in, you know, the mental health of all of the students on campus as a whole. But I do also see a lot that's kind of on the opposite side of this coin being all of the amazing, amazing student organizations on campus who are speaking up about this and trying to create a change. Well, Jane Wing, we so appreciate you coming on to share your experience and your perspective on everything happening about everything happening on campus right now. Thank you so much. Absolutely. And a reminder for anyone who may be navigating a similar crisis, there are people who can help at the Rain Network short for rape, abuse,

14:26incest, national network reach them anytime at rain.org with two ins or call 1-800-656 hope. And so a head new text message is sent to President Trump revealed how outgoing Republican Senator Tom Tillis reportedly lashed out with the president who threatened his political career. Plus, that hero flyed you by pilot in his own words. What he's saying today about his co-pilot trying to hijack a passenger plane. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task. Unless you have a partner like Shopify, they have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Hines, and all birds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your site, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. The real cost of a break-in isn't your valuables.

15:26It's the feeling that your home stopped being safe. Simply safe keeps danger away from your family with three layers of protection. One, smart AI cameras and live U.S. based agents help stop intruders before they break in. Two, we sound the alarm at points of entry. Three, our agent's request emergency response. Play and start a business. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you're not in a business. Three, our agent's request emergency response. Play and starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 60% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplysafe.com slash Spotify. Outdoor deterrence plans start at $4,99 a month. Visit simplysafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. In our world lead, the hero pilots dabbed by his co-pilot on Wednesday's terrifying fly. The by-flight is speaking out. Sweet mature spoke with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call earlier today. And he was still in the hospital bandaged and recovering. His wife Senal also spoke to CNN affiliate CNN news 18. Let's listen.

16:27We haven't asked him anything because right now, we don't want him to get our flashbacks of the incident. I'm just so grateful to God that he's been saved and everyone on the plane is safe. CNN Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv, Israel. Jeremy, how is Smeet processing all of this? Well, you know, Pam, for the last several days, I've been speaking with several of the passengers who were on that flight, including some of the other passengers who acted heroically to subdue the attacker, the co-pilot in this case. But everyone's been waiting to hear from the Indian captain, Smeet Munchar, the man who successfully managed to open that cockpit door even as he was being attacked. He spoke today to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his hospital bed in the United Arab Emirates, and this is what he said. I was fighting for my life, but there was a moment where I realized if I don't do anything because I'd fallen down,

17:29I was so severely wounded that I had fallen down. At that time, I was thinking, what if I don't get up? And so I've been flying planes for the last 17 years, and I've been a captain for the last 11 years, and even if I shut my eyes, I know what is happening in the plane. And when I was on the ground, I realized that the aircraft was falling down, and I knew in that moment one last push, Smeet, just do it, the doors right there, and even at that time, he was beating me up. And then I just opened it, sir, and then everybody came, and everybody else also played an equal role in this. I was telling, sir, that I was doing this for my life, but at the same time, I knew that I cannot let everybody else die. That's it. And Pam, it's really impossible to understate how critical Mucher's actions were in that flight because those cockpit doors, they only open from the inside. And so without him having done that, none of the other heroic passengers

18:31would have been able to get in there, and subdue the attacker. Dr. Shota Musaev, the dentist on the flight who treated him, told me that he was worried that that pilot, that Indian pilot, might not make it. His blood pressure was dropping. He was falling in and out of consciousness, but thankfully now he's being treated at a hospital in the UAE and appears to be recovering. Yeah, we wish him a speedy recovery. Wow. And is there any update here on me on the investigation into the co-pilot? Well, authorities have yet to publicly disclose the name and the identity of that co-pilot, but so far we've heard from Israeli officials that he is an Omani national, and he has now been extradited from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, where Emirati authorities are now in charge of that investigation. And we expect that Israeli officials will also have some role or at least some cooperation with the UAE in carrying out that investigation. Notable, of course, because initially Israel was largely in the dark. Saudi Arabian Israel don't have official diplomatic relations,

19:34but now with the UAE a very different story. All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Well, just to have the last jobs report before midterm election day, what it shows about the state of the economy and unemployment for one particular demographic rising at its fastest pace since COVID. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I don't know if you've heard, but Mint's premium wireless is $15 a month. But I'd like to offer one other perk. We have no stores. That means no small talk. Crazy weather we're having. No, it's not. It's just weather. It is an introverts dream. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up from payment of $45 for three month plan, $15 per month equivalent required. New customer offer for three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com. In our money lead, the final jobs report before the midterm election is out. And it's likely going to complicate Republicans'

20:34final economic pitch to voters. The US added just 29,000 jobs in September far fewer than expected. Unemployment took up to 4.2%. And workers wages are not keeping up with inflation. Wages are at 3% inflation is at 3.6%. Join us now to discuss is Justin Wolper's professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. ICCU. So shortly before this latest jobs report came out this morning, former Trump advisor Stephen War told my colleague, John Burman, this. We've got record investment in the United States. Manufacturing is strong as it's been in my lifetime. Construction industry is doing very well. For blue collar workers, this has been a real boom period. So other than the fact that inflation is taking up, almost all of the other indicators of the economy are strong. Does the latest jobs report work like that, Justin? I think there's a little lesson there.

21:36There's just not point interviewing. I was talking to lying lies because lying lies lie. 100% of all jobs, right? Theness economy has come from the health care and social assistance sector. The rest of the economy is actually sharing jobs. I don't know why you would want to look at the sectors that Stephen War just suggested you would want to look at. Manufacturing is not doing well. It hasn't been doing well for decades. We have turned the US economy and the global economy upside down with this idea that somehow tariffs are going to turn it around and they just plain haven't. What they have done, of course, is shaped the cost of living. They've nudged that up, making it even harder for the folks who do have a paycheck to get by. I want to talk about one fact that really stood out from today's jobs report. And that is black unemployment rose to its fastest pace in COVID. The unemployment rate for black Americans rose from 6% to 7%. It's even more stark for black women whose jobless rate went from 5% to 9%, 5.9% in August to 7.3% in September.

22:40What do you make of that? My, this is where you're so upset that you interviewed an economist because I'm going to tell you the truth, which is these are very, very noisy numbers. Once you get down to thinking about the unemployment rate by race and then by race by gender, we just don't have very accurate measures. So they bounce around a lot for a month to month. What I can tell you is over the long run, if you run a healthy economy, rising tide lifts all boats. And so generally speaking, the stronger the economy, the better things are for all sorts of underrepresented minority groups. So theoretically speaking, say we were dealing with tariffs in the Iran war, how do you think the economy would be right now in comparison? So we're in an imaginary world in which economic policy was spot on and the US was respected and admired around the world. Wouldn't it be wonderful? I mean, you know, maybe you and I would just have a beer, we'd have a chat, we'd have a smile, we wouldn't be worried about the rising cost of living.

23:41We wouldn't be worried about rising bond yields, we wouldn't be worried about rising mortgage interest rates. We wouldn't just, I've got this constant far right here in my brow, you might have it too. I'd get boats together. That's free bull, right here. I wouldn't even have to pay for my boats. Yeah, wouldn't that be so much better? So let's go to your imaginary world and let's just dream net together because I think that seems like a lovely place. Is there anything, is there any silver lining in the economy right now? I mean, is there anything that jumps out at you that you can point to? You know what that is, a positive indicator? Oh, absolutely. Tell us about that. The problem more, when people say everything's perfect, my job is to say no, it's not. But when people say everything's terrible, they're also wrong. The unemployment rate, it was 4.2% today. It's a tick up from 4.1%. But basically it's been stable for two, two and a half years at a rate that's very low by historical standards, very low by international standards. And so the reality is often joblessness can be a really tough thing in a lot of people's lives.

24:43And for the 4.2% who have it, my heart goes out to you. But I do want to celebrate the fact that it's only 4.2%. That's fantastic news. All right, good. Got some good news in there. I also want to talk about this move that Trump pressured Europe to tap into its emergency stocks of diesel or face a possible ban on US exports of the fuel. He announced earlier today that Europe will now release its diesel reserves. Will that translate to lower gas prices for Americans? And if so, how soon could it be before the elections? So problem number one, the president was talking about diesel there, what goes into yours and my car is gasoline. Problem number two is. Well, but it does factor into our other costs of living items, right? Because it transport trucks and diesel to transport. Yeah. Absolutely. Look, this is a gimmick. And it's a dumb gimmick. Basically, there's a bunch of fuel sitting in tanks and we can get rid of the fuel that's in those tanks. But it doesn't solve the fundamental problem.

25:45Funnamental problem is we can't get oil from the Middle East. We can't do that because the straight-of-arms is closed. We can't do that because we're in the middle of a wall over there. Getting folks to take a little bit of fuel out of their storage tanks. Well, on the upside, it means there's more fuel today. It also means there's less than the storage tanks. But none of the underlying problem is solved. What you might do is make it look like you're taking some action in the days and weeks leading up to an election. Justin Woolfers, always great to have you on. Thank you so much. You're pleasure. All right, right now, and now, Alabama President Trump is just minutes away from taking the stage. Up next, some of his recent rhetoric that has election watchers listening up, including a comment about possibly invoking the Interaction Act. Now your heads would speak. Father, we thank you for this playazness. You'll be OK. Ryan Reynolds here from InMobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything goodness world, stop.

26:45With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying no judgments, but that's weird. OK, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at minmoble.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate for three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at MintMobile.com. The real cost of a break-in isn't your valuables. It's the feeling that your home stopped being safe. Simply safe keeps danger away from your family with three layers of protection. One, smart AI cameras and live US-based agents help stop intruders before they break in. Two, we sound the alarm at points of entry. Three, our agent's request emergency response. Play and starting around $1 a day. Right now, get 60% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplysafe.com slash Spotify. Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit simplysafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. And our politics lead with just 32 days until polls close in the midterm elections. President Trump is declining to rule out sending ICE agents

27:46to polling sites. And in an interview with Time, he was also asked if he'd rule out declaring a state of emergency and the lead up to the midterms. Unless there is widespread violence in the streets, he responded, I don't rule anything out or in. We'll see. You mean the Insurrection Act? The reporter said, yeah, to which Trump answered, I've never used it. I could use it. A lot of people think I should use it sometimes. David Becker is the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research. So David, walk us through what election day in this country would look like if Trump were to invoke the Insurrection Act. And is that an actual concern for you? It's not much of a concern. Look, the president has tried over and over 20 months to exert power over elections in the United States. Power that he just doesn't have under the Constitution under Article I, Section IV of the Constitution. He has zero power over elections. The state legislatures run elections. The state's run elections. So he's tried to sign two executive orders. Both have been blocked by the courts,

28:47including by the Supreme Court. He has tried to seize sensitive voter data from 30 states plus DC. In the 26 courts that have looked at these cases, his DOJ is now O and 26 in those cases. He's tried to investigate past elections. He's come up with nothing. And the fact is, the federal government does run elections, the state's run elections. And we have, in our 250 years of American elections, never canceled or postponed or interfered with a federal general election, not through a civil war, not through two world wars, not through two global pandemics, not through multiple natural disasters. And not even during the war of 1812, when British troops were on American soil, they had seized the city of Detroit. They burned down the White House and the elections of 1812 and 1814 still went on. The president can sign a piece of paper. He can say what he wants to say. But the states were on elections. And if he tries to do anything really extreme, the courts are going to block it right away. Voters in this country, and we might see record turnout, are going to see the same safe, convenient, secure voting

29:49experience they've seen in past recent elections. We're already seeing a lot of early voting. Some of the voters actually said they wanted to vote early because they wanted to avoid any issues on election day. I mean, some voters are worried. There could be some shenanigans of sub-sort. What do you say to them? Yeah. Yeah, I certainly can understand it. We've never seen a president try to interfere with elections as much as he has. We've never seen the federal government before go from being a partner with the states to potentially being an adversary. But for all of that, it's been a lot of noise. And there hasn't been a lot of success on the parts of the federal government and interfering with our elections. Think back to the California primary, where the president aimed a ton of disinformation at California election officials in the aftermath of that primary. He had lawyers from the US Attorney's Office and Los Angeles go down to the vote counting center where they were welcomed because the process is transparent. And they said some political things afterwards. But it's been about four months, exactly four months since that primary. And all the people who won those elections

30:50advanced to the general election, there are no legal challenges. There are no investigations and prosecutions. California's elections have held up to scrutiny. The election officials work as was stood scrutiny. And that's what we're going to see in November. I can understand the concern. And early voting's a great way to avoid any potential problem. 47 states, every state except Mississippi, Alabama, New Hampshire, offer some form of early voting. And I just checked today. I think today we went past a million ballots already having been cast in the November election. We did. I have confirmed that. Just in your work at the center, have you ever been given any reason to doubt the integrity of America's election process? No, quite the contrary. I mean, our process designed to be resilient against all kinds of potential problems. It's a very complex process. We don't run a single election in November. We run about 10,000 little elections all over the country in various counties and localities, run by our neighbors, public servants at the county and local level and at the state level. And their work is transparent.

31:52It's with stands scrutiny every single time. There's never been more scrutiny of elections. And yet, for all of that, all of those elections have withstood that scrutiny by courts and others. It's really remarkable. If anyone has any doubts, they should volunteer to be a poll worker. And they'll see all the redundancies and checks and balances and transparencies in the process that prevent election theft or any major error from changing the outcome of the election. And so you should feel confident about that as we put the polls this year. We're right out of time. But I quickly want to ask you about DOJ announcing charges against 10 non-US citizens of Minnesota who it alleges, either register to vote or did vote in an election. You really sustained an response in which you asserted that non-S citizen voting is incredibly where and will prevent it by states. But when charges are leveled like this, does that undercut the message and so so doubt? So I think maybe that's what they're trying to do. Certainly to announce arrests like this over several elections in Minnesota, this close to an upcoming election is odd for the DOJ to do.

32:53The DOJ has a policy that they're not supposed to be investigating election crimes and announcing it close to an election. But every time they make an announcement like this, it's almost an admission that this isn't much of a problem. 10 people in Minnesota is 0.00, I think 3% of the voter registration list. It had had no impact. Election officials across the country, we run a tracker on our website. And every time you see when these claims are investigated, it's a very small number. States are doing a really good job of keeping non-S citizens off the list. And the numbers are infinitesimally small. All right, David Becker, thanks so much. And up next, the few choice words from outgoing Republican Senator Tom Telles, the colorful language he reportedly sent directly to President Trump who tried to threaten the senator's political career. Ryan Reynolds here from Mid-Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much.

33:53Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying no judgments, but that's weird. OK, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at Mid-Mobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 per three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required, introrate for three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra, C-Full terms at MintMobile.com. In our politics lead, and new text messages released by Politico, we see Senator Tom Telles, the outgoing Republican lawmaker, known for speaking out against the president, berating him this summer. And one text, the Senator writes to Trump, I still want to help, but I don't take this bullshit from anyone, including you, Mr. President. Save that shit for the cowards who don't care if you fail. I care if you fail. And right now, we are failing. Quoting Tom Telles there. Telles's message seems to be a direct response to Trump posting that day that the Senator was, quote, weak and ineffective and acquitter for deciding not to run again.

34:55Telles revealed these texts to the president in his new book called How to Lose Friends and Intagonized Presidents. My panel joins us now. We have Mark Williams here, as well as Adrian Lrod. Mark, to kick it off to you, you really never see Republicans in this day and age. Talk to the president like this. What do you make of it? Well, this is Tom Telles on Jain, right? He's not running for re-election. And he's trying to sell books. I mean, this is like old white guy TMZ at this point. You just, you're dishing on your, on your ex. And so it's, I guess it's sexy for the next 30 seconds. But at the end of the day, I mean, I think he's, I think he's got to sell subscriptions or whatever he's trying to hawk right now. So in another text, he writes, if you had ever threatened me directly with a primary, I would have immediately told you to f yourself. And I would not, that's a bridge too far to say. And I would have announced my retirement immediately, save those threats and head games for cowards and fools. This is quite a peak behind the curtain. Do you think any other Republicans speak to Trump this way privately? I don't know. It's fascinating. He obviously proactively put these texts out there

35:56in his book that he's got coming out, which is also fascinating. Look, I mean, here's the bottom line. Tom Tillis has been very outspoken against Trump for quite a long time. He's made it very clear that he, you know, one of the reasons why he didn't run for re-election is because he doesn't like this current environment with the president and where the Republican party is going. I also think he knew that you would have a very difficult time running against Governor Cooper, who the Democratic nominee, who's incredibly popular in the state. I don't know. I guess I'm not as surprised because he's been so, Tillis has been so outspoken against Trump that he's just obviously doubling down and probably doesn't want to have a career as lobbyist because I think it's going to be that much harder for him to get anything done from the Trump administration once he leaves the Senate. Do you see any more Republicans taking a cue from Tillis? No, not if they want to continue their kind of political careers right now and kind of the Trump era. I think if we really look at it, if these two guys could have figured out how to get along, the Republicans wouldn't be witnessing what we're witnessing in the North Carolina Senate race right now.

36:58We just saw a super PAC pull money out of North Carolina. I think if Tom Tillis is in that race, it is far more competitive than it is right now. But what about the fact that Trump is an historically unpopular president? I mean, could this in a way benefit a Republican like Tillis? You know, I know you said he can't go out lobbying because of this, but I mean, could the tide be turning? I don't think so. I think the Republican electorate is still the Republican electorate. And so if you come out against at least within kind of Republican primary voters as against the president, you're still going to kind of re- Yeah, but I think there's kind of a balancing act. I mean, you are still seeing people who are candidates who are embracing, you know, some aspects of Trump. You're also seeing a lot of candidates, Ashley Henson and IWIFT, for example, who are coming out against the word sales order. And Megan and Salazar, there's a number of them who are really distancing themselves, you know, maybe saying like, thank you, Mr. President, for trying, but like we need to get this war needs to come to an end. Yeah, I know. So on policy issues, you're seeing that happen, but on culture issues, you know, the issues that Trump has really used to galvanize,

38:00insolidify the mega base. It's that much harder for them to come out. Yeah, I think if you find kind of one off, still go against the president, Warner and gas prices, et cetera. But you're not going to see them attacking the president like we saw Tom Tillis in these texts. I want to go to what former Biden press secretary Carinjon Pierre, remember her? She penned in New Alpab and The New York Times where she warns that the current administration is making the same mistakes that President Biden did, particularly on the economy. She writes, the truth is, we had a stale message and outdated models for delivering it. It cost Mr. Biden and eventually vice president Kamala Harris, dearly, President Trump is now making a mistake even more damaging. What do you think about that? She's exactly right. I mean, I worked very closely with Korean when I was president Biden's initial one of his top spokespeople on the campaign. And I took that job then to vice president Harris when we did the candidate switch. I mean, look, we had a lot of strong numbers to tout. I mean, 15 million jobs, record unemployment,

39:01record low black unemployment. So many things to talk about, record number of manufacturing jobs, I can still tout them in my sleep. But the bottom line is the American people are not feeling it. Then you lose a lot of credibility. And so what we were doing, I was just guilty of this, is we were going out there on TV and different mediums and saying, no, actually, the economy is great. You're wrong. You may be feeling some economic pain, but the overall economy is good. I'm glad she wrote this. I think that there were certainly outdated models. And I think you were also seeing, is she makes clear in the op-ed, that Donald Trump is doing the exact same thing, except this time, the economy is far worse. Inflation is up. Gas prices are higher. People can't afford the groceries. As far as it was in 2024. It was hard under Biden for a time. But at the end, when he was leaving office, everything was going down. Go ahead. And KJP, I love that she's a true teller now. When Biden was in office, she was trying to tell us, don't believe your lie and eyes. Inflation is transitory. There's $5 gas.

40:01Don't believe any of that. Joe Biden's behind the scenes, juggling things. But isn't Trump doing that right now? He's saying, don't believe what you see. Well, no, I agree. I just love how people get, you know, she's admitting to say the same thing. She's removed. She's like, oh, well, now I can tell the truth about the messaging that we were saying. Well, and also it brings up the messaging around age because she touches on that. She says of these two men writing, looking back, we misread the public mood, thinking the age conversation would fade. The Trump White House should realize that over the next two years, there'll be only more, not less scrutiny, when the president appears to drift off during meetings. Is KJ about the results of his medical exams or goes on one of his erratic late night social media screens? The president is aging in front of our eyes and seeing him fall asleep at meetings. Do Republicans have concerns? I don't think so. He's not running for reelection. And we're gonna start like, how about the candidates? Yeah, he's running for president for another two years. Two more years. But Democrats didn't even say that about Biden until it became painfully obvious on the debate stage that it was a problem because he was running for reelection. At the end of the day, he's not running for reelection.

41:02Republicans are gonna be like, I think he's good to go. He's the most transparent president that we've had in 20 years. It's 20 years. The most transparent president we've ever had in 20 years. He's in front of the House. But hasn't he since tax returns willing to be paid in the next day, after day, after day, after day, which is far more than Joe Biden ever was. Okay. Are we gonna see the final words? We gotta go. No, I just, I think we are done relitigating the past. As Democrats, we are looking forward to the future. And that's one of the reasons why Democrats are doing so well. And you have a whole new crop of potential people when right when the midterms are over, who are gonna announce their president's if they're presidential bid on the Democratic side. And it's gonna be really exciting to watch. President A.O.C. on the way. Okay, let's see what happens. Thank you all. Appreciate it. Bye. Another live look in Mobile, Alabama. It is rally night for the president and this Republican stronghold. We're also gonna go live to Iowa where Republicans are flooding the state with money. What CNN's political director is reading into all of this coming up. The real cost of a break-in isn't your valuables.

42:15It's the feeling that your home stopped being safe. Simply safe keeps danger away from your family with three layers of protection. One, smart AI cameras and live US-based agents help stop intruders before they break in. Two, we sound the alarm at points of entry. Three, our agents request emergency response. Play and starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 60% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplysafe.com slash Spotify. Outdoor to turns plans starting $49.99 a month. Visit simplysafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Welcome to lead. I'm Pamela Brown and for Jake Tapper in this hour. President Trump is on his way to Alabama. As he ramps up his knit turb campaigning with just 32 days to go. But there are new signs today that Republicans are growing increasingly worried about their odds of holding on to the US Senate. We'll go live to the campaign trail in just moments. Plus, a special prosecutor is now taking over the investigation into the alleged gang rape at Cornell University. New York Attorney General Latisha James stepping into that role today, vowing to get answers into exactly what happened.

43:18We're digging into how these types of investigations work ahead. Also, CNN is the first news outlet to obtain newly unsealed body hem footage, showing Luigi Mangione's arrest inside a Pennsylvania McDonalds. We're going to walk you through the video and what Mangione told police in the moments before he was handcuffed. The lead tonight with 32 days to go until election day, President Trump is continuing his red state campaign tour with a rally in Mobile, Alabama next hour. And tomorrow, he set to head to Ohio with a stop-planted up rascal on Monday before he departed the White House. Trump was projecting confidence about his midterm blitz. We're making a lot of progress. When I go there, we win. If I don't go there, we would not do as well. Well, the rest of the GOP doesn't appear quite so assured. They're going to hang on to the majority when the results come. And the largest Republican Senate super PAC

44:19is pausing spending in North Carolina, where former RNC chair Michael Wattley is up against former Democratic governor Roy Cooper and spending seven figures on ads to back incumbent Kansas Senator Roger Marshall against Democratic nominee Adam Hilton. A dramatic move that signals Republicans are seeing a starkly different Senate map than even just a few months ago. So let's get to our CNN team on the ground following all the latest in this volatile midterm cycle, our lead first to you. What are you learning about the president's actual confidence in his party as he hits the trail this week? The state of Alabama, well, Pamela, president Trump's idea of what is plaguing Republican candidates is that it's a messaging problem. And this comes even as there is rising anxiety among some Republicans about their ability to hold not just the House, but also the Senate as there are a number of competitive contests across the map this year. Now, Trump's solution to all of this is to start campaigning in front of voters in some of very red states like right here in Alabama,

45:22but also to flood the airwaves. And that is part of the reason why President Trump and the Trump administration has been running those taxpayer funded ads promoting the president and his policies. Now, at least three of those ads have aired so far, but CNN has learned that there are many more in the pipeline ready to go. Now, the White House has called these ads public service announcements, but they have drawn some criticism from Democrats and Republicans who say that it's not appropriate to use taxpayer money on that type of advertising. Now, Trump right now is on this blitz of campaign states across the country. Yesterday, he was in Texas in Oklahoma to very red states. And today he is here in Alabama, a state that he won by 30 points in 2024, mobile where he will be campaigning us also very nostalgic for Trump. As it is really the birthplace of Trump's mega rally back in 2015, there were thousands and thousands of people who showed up here for Trump in his first campaign. And those are the types of voters that Republicans need

46:24to turn out in this midterm elections. Trump is hoping some of these appearances will drive out those base supporters, not just in states like this, but also across the country. But Republicans are also facing very real headwinds heading into November. President Trump's approval rating stands at a low point today. The administration also got some difficult news when it came to the jobs report. Not as many jobs were created as expected. The unemployment rate went up. Those figures are difficult to tout to voters, especially at a time when there is so much concern about the state of the economy. Economic cost of living issues are really driving so many voter concerns, heading into November. And that is something that Republicans really have a challenge that faces them in many races across the country in both the House and for the battle for the Senate. All right, I'm gonna bring in Jeff Zollini in Iowa where the latest polling shows Republican Ashley Henson is neck and neck with her Democratic competitor, Josh.

47:25To Jeff, you talked to Henson just this week. What did she tell you? Well, Pamela, this is one example of this really red state rescue mission that Republicans are trying to engage in here. As our let was talking about there, the nostalgia that hangs over the Alabama rally. Also, of course, hangs over Iowa. I mean, President Trump has won this date three times. But that is complicating the efforts for many of the Republican candidates here, including Ashley Henson. She's a three-term member of Congress. A year ago, she was seen as basically a lock for this open Senate seat that's open because of the retirement of Senator Joni Ernst. Now she is trying to distance herself on one hand from the President, but at the other hand, trying to gain some of his support and trying to have the upside, if you will, from him firing up his base. But we asked her specifically about the President saying Republicans aren't selling the message hard enough. He said Republicans aren't selling the policies enough.

48:27So I'm gonna go out there in the country and sell. Is that right or is there a disconnect that he's not hearing what people are saying? Well, I'm certainly out talking about what we've worked on because I think I'm very proud of the relief we've been able to provide so far, but again, that there's more to do. So this is a contrast election about, do we go back to where things were two years ago? So Ashley Henson is trying to make this a contrast election, contrasting things with Democrats. Other Republicans, of course, are as well. But at the same time, they're acknowledging the very real concerns from Americans. When you drive past the gas pump, the high pump, the price of gas, but also diesel. Diesel is at a record high and we're at harvest season here in the Midwest. So that is definitely impacting farmers across the board as well as many other sectors of the economy. But Pamela, it is an open question here. If all of this money being spent on these Republican candidates in red states is going to fire up the Republican base or simply fire up Democrats more.

49:28But as we end the final month of the campaign here, Republicans are doing something they never thought that they would have to do. Again, spend hundreds of millions of dollars defending seats that Trump won by double digits just two years ago. But as President Trump realizes, like every president's party, they lose seats in the midterm elections. He's trying to stem some of those losses. And even as we're talking about this, if the Iowa State House behind me now, state legislators are voting on that huge steel plant that the president proposed earlier this week as a sweetener to voters here. Some conservative Republicans are saying it's too many tax incentives. We'll see how that plays out. So all of these big rescue plans, clearly are designed intentionally to get voters to the polls as the red state tour continues, Pamela. All right, CNS Chefs Ellany and Iowa and our let's signs in Alabama. Thank you both. I want to bring in now CNN's political director and Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian. All right, David. So Alabama, Oklahoma and typically Texas are reliably red states.

50:29How unusual is it to see a Republican president campaign there in the weeks just before the midterm election? Yeah, I mean, what you see is a president in need of shoring up people supporters that are among his most reliable supporters. And he wants to shore them up because there's this huge enthusiasm gap going on in the country right now. We see it in Poll Efterpo where Democrats are so hungry and eager to get out and cast their ballot, many of whom want to cast it in opposition to Trump. And where Republicans are a little less excited about showing up A, that's one of the things is, the Trump coalition, they're just less reliable voters as well and just the people that make up his coalition. So he's hitting spots to try and in live and awaken his core supporters. And you know where Alabama, certainly, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas and Ohio where he was this week and where he'll be over the weekend. These are places that are hosting some of the most hotly contested center races of the cycle. So those while they are red states, they are deep battlegrounds this cycle.

51:31Yeah, that is very true. And so Trump is holding a rally now, Alabama as the jobs report came out today. And it showed the economy added just 29,000 jobs. The unemployment rate increased to 4.2%. Overall, it was weaker than expected. As you pointed out, Trump's approval on economy, economic issues is low across the board right now, which is part of the enthusiasm gap. What does this report mean for the Republican message? Well, certainly not a welcome headline for your final jobs report before the election to have it as you say, sort of underperform expectations, a slight uptick in unemployment. I don't think most voters, Pamela, look at the monthly jobs report to get their sense of where the economy is. I think they live it every day. And we have seen over the course of these many months that Americans keep saying that they're pretty pessimistic about the economy right now, not just Donald Trump's leadership of it, which they are, but just the direction of where the economy is going, whether or not they still see a place for them to get ahead,

52:31where they envision themselves a year from now. It's just a real pessimistic view. And they are having, as Jeff was describing about the pain at the pump, they're having real, weekly, regular pain point in their day-to-day economic existence, and they are taking that out, it looks like on the party in power. This is so interesting to me. The Senate leadership fund, the top Republicans who were packed is pausing, spending in North Carolina, and launching a seven-figure ad by Kansas, the Port Senator Roger Marshall. What does this tell you? I agree with you. I think this is just like an unbelievable development. I mean, it's one that the Super PAC and other Republicans have sort of been foreshadowing that they think the currently Republican-held seat in North Carolina is slipping from them. And there's a popular former governor and Roy Cooper, the Democrat, two-term governor, who has been running a successful campaign there. And so this is a natural thing that happens at the end of the cycle where people look at their resources and say, hey, are we going to keep investing in a race that we think has slipped away from us? No, we're going to put those resources where we think we need them more.

53:32But to your point, the fact that Republicans are saying, no, North Carolina is not winnable, that's going to flip to the Democrats. We're going to pour resources into Kansas to shore up the Republican incumbent there. That was not on anyone's bingo card for 20 seconds. That's a figure is no less, right? I wonder how much, in your view, the races have shifted or the calculations have shifted and just the last couple of months. Yeah, I mean, when this cycle started a year and a half ago, everyone looked at the Senate map and just said, well, Democrats have no chance of winning a Senate majority. All these contests are playing out in states that Donald Trump won by double digits or a lot of them are. And now, given where the president standing is, given the economic discontent that is coursing through the public, even deep red territory, even states that Donald Trump won two years ago by double digits, Ohio, Iowa, Alaska, Texas, these are the actual determinative battleground states and you just showed a couple of polls. These are margin of error races right now. So the map has dramatically moved.

54:35Whether or not Democrats will be able to get over the hump and actually win the Senate majority. That remains to be seen, but they are clearly in the hump. What do you make about Trump basically blaming the messaging on other Republicans? And so he has to get out there to give the message. Yeah, it was interesting to hear him say, I don't think, even himself, he said, I think we've gotten the PR wrong at times. This is a guy who prides himself on his PR skills. This is part of the entire Trump word. I'm not sure if he's looking in the mirror as much on that because another thing that we see in the polling and that you hear when you talk to voters all the time is, he doesn't seem focused on the right priorities, whether it is the ballroom or the Kennedy Center or other things that he does seem focused on. It doesn't seem focused on what Americans deem the right priorities for them. And so therefore I would say he might have some of the blame in terms of the messaging or the PR that may be a skew. You just heard Ashley Henson tell Zelene in that piece, like no, no, I'm touting what we've accomplished.

55:36But how often do you hear Donald Trump focus on the accomplishments of no tax on tips or no tax on overtime? He'll throw it in as a line in his speech, but it doesn't seem to be the message he is driving relentlessly and exclusively every day. He seems focused elsewhere. David Challie and always great to have you on. Thank you. Have a great weekend. Well, CNN is on the ground in France and Spain tonight as protests rock major European cities. We're going to explain why hundreds of teenagers have been arrested and why officials are worried the conflicts could get worse. Thank you. Breaking news in our world, Lee CNN is learning the pilot suspected of stabbing his fellow pilot on that heroin-flied you bifle in a Wednesday was removed from a previous job with a different airline over concerns about his extremist views and sources tell us he was given a different role at the airline. The suspect is an omani citizen and only work

56:37for flyby by for eight months. According to another source, he is currently under investigation for terrorism in the United Arab Emirates. Also in our world, lead a day of protests across Europe in France fires in the streets as high school students clash with police over what they say are deteriorating educational conditions. Hundreds of teenagers have been arrested with officials worried the unrest won't end soon. And in Spain, after days of demonstrations over the countries ongoing housing affordability crisis, the Spanish parliament rejected emergency measures today, reigniting an already furious movement. CNN is on the ground in both countries tonight and we began with Melissa Bell and Paris. Melissa, what are you seeing? Pam, it's been another day of protest on the part of high school students here in France more than 560 high schools impacted by that movement that has just increased in intensity over the course of the last 10 days. So much so that authorities are re-describing Thursday

57:38as a turning point when the protests turned to what they describe as urban violence. Authorities also blaming the far left party LFE here in France of fanning the flames of that movement. Some of their representatives and elected representatives have been at the gates of some of the schools. They for their part defend their rights not only to protest, but defend also the right of the students to make their voices heard. There was this meeting this Friday between the education minister and representatives of the students. The students came out saying that their demands had not been met and urging others to continue keeping up the pressure on the government. And so I think this is something we're going to see last probably in to next week with more protest planned on the part of unions and public sector workers as we saw this week with students determined to carry on keeping the pressure on the government to get their demands met. All the more so now that university students have now joined in with the high schoolers, Pam.

58:40All right, Melissa Bell, thank you so much. And now we go to Pal Mosquera and Madrid. Pal, how are people reacting to the parliament's decision? Well, Pam, the labs of the two degrees that were aimed at easing the housing crisis in Spain has now brought the Spanish politics into a new face of uncertainty. From the opposition, we have heard how the leader of the popular party has asked the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, to bring the elections forward. But it doesn't seem like Pedro Sanchez will please him. Nevertheless, there are some national media outlets that are saying that Sanchez may be considering are actually calling for an early election. But it's not clear whether this will happen. We actually have contacted the inner circle of the prime minister, but they haven't confirmed if this will happen. And from the demonstrators side, they say that are frustrated and disappointed by the fact that these measures won't come into effect.

59:42And that's why they say that they will keep putting pressure on the authorities with demonstrations on the streets, Pam. All right, Pal Mosquera. Thanks so much. And up next, CNN is the first news outlet to obtain videos previously under seal revealing new details about Luigi Mangiones arrest. Dick With Us will be right back. And our law of justice leads CNN has obtained newly unsealed body camera footage showing Luigi Mangiones arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. CNN's Carus Canal explains why the public is just now seeing this video, despite it being part of a hearing less December. Just give me a favor. We're going to stand up on my pipe. You know, you're asking the butter, by the way. I'll save that, but I'll just let you know. I'm going to walk on the pipe. I'll make sure you're on there. Newly unsealed police body cam footage first seen on CNN shows the moments, Altona, Pennsylvania police officers,

1:00:42handcuffed Luigi Mangiones and took him into custody ending a five-day manhunt. Keep your hands on the walls. OK. Let him first. You're right in. Bye. All right. OK. A New York state judge unsealed the footage at the request of CNN after manjooni pleaded guilty to federal stocking charges and admitted to fatally shooting United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. The videos were played during a suppression hearing last December, but if not been publicly released until now, officers responded to a 911 call on December 9, 2024 that the suspected New York City CEO shooter may be in a McDonald's restaurant. How you doing? You put your mask down real quick, former? Yes, sir. Appreciate it. Thank you. OK. The officers immediately thought it was him. That's what I'm saying. I told you, man. The best shooter checked in to also fake money. Officers confront manjooni about a fake driver's license

1:01:43bearing the name Mark Rosario. Is that your name, Mark Rosario? Is that her? No, that's not. That's your real name. You got it. We did. We did? You did? You got it up up here? I'll write it down in the date of birth then, too. How do you find the footage? How do you find the footage? How do you find the footage? I find the footage. Manjooni? I find the footage. What do you guys? No one? Why are you? Why am I here? I clearly should know. A search reveals a gun magazine. OK, it's looking. It's a ****ing ham, dude. That's a ****ing ham. I'm 100%. About 10 minutes later, manjooni is taken to the police station. Manjooni is asked to remove layers of clothing so he can be searched more thoroughly, while another officer unzips his backpack and finds a gun that authorities later link to the crime scene. Where's the backstort?

1:02:44What's it? What's going on? There's a weapon. So, do you want me to clear it? Let's just clear it. Clear it? Yes. OK. It's so bad. There's another magazine that was hidden in this underwear. Yes, underwear. Silence, sir. She also finds manjooni's handwritten notes. It's like a journal. She must have already come on the track. I went. While a different officer ticks off the evidence, including a checklist. No, he has a handgun. Pretty cool. He's a cell phone with an aparoday bag. He has a checklist for today. Tomorrow, he's supposed to do an intel check in and get a survival kit. Manjooni pleaded guilty to federal stocking charges

1:03:45and admitted to murder in United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. He's expected to be sentenced in December. His lawyers are still trying to get the state charges thrown out on double jeopardy grounds. A state judge can make a decision on that later this year. Pamela? All right, Cara. Thank you for that. Wow. What video there? All right, New York's governor has now appointed a special prosecutor take over the investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. A former prosecutor joins me live next to explain how this process may work. And our law and justice lead today, New York governor, Kathy Hocal vowed to unravel the failures in the alleged Cornell gang rape investigation tapping the state's attorney general, Alicia James, to take over the case. In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang raped while in talks created by five men in a fraternity house

1:04:46and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney? In what world is the district attorney not even interview her while anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript? I will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug. I want the truth. I think every parent in the state, every New Yorker wants the truth in this case. And that is why attorney general James will be the one who puts a spotlight on this case. We will review the facts and if warranted, pursue prosecutions. This is now an active criminal investigation. Well, a short time ago at the White House, President Trump lashed out about James' appointment to the case. He's a James is a corrupt person. He's totally corrupt, and I can't imagine it. And I feel badly for whoever she's looking at, because they won't get a fair shake. Join us to discuss his former prosecutor, Katie Fang. Katie, thanks for coming on.

1:05:47So attorney general James' reputation, as you will know, it's highly politicized. She's investigated Trump. She's been targeted with criminal charges by Trump's Justice Department. Given all of that, do you believe she would still governor Hokus' best choice to lead this Cornell investigation? I do. It is a role that is provided for under the law in New York. There's procedures to allow for the New York Attorney General to step into the role of, for example, the Tompkins County District Attorney in this case. And so she can do this. We have seen the Attorney General and even other administrations of a governor in New York step in to take over this role as a special prosecutor. And so it is not unusual. And I do think it'll be one that'll be important, because everybody, including, I think, a public in general had so many head scratching moments over the last few days when it came to, what did the DA get, when and how, what didn't he get? I think it's time to clean the slate, start a new

1:06:48and allow this investigation to move forward with all of the facts and the evidence being developed. Attorney James, Attorney General James was asked by reporters today about her social media posts about the Cornell case earlier this week, where she wrote that she stands with survivors, and that would happen to this young woman was horrific and so forth. Could that cause any issue with her potentially prosecuting, prosecuting this case? No, and let me be clear, I think some people may have a misapprehension of what her role is to be. The Tompkins County District Attorney, if he was doing his role as the DA, he's a prosecutor. And he would be looking to see if criminal charges were appropriate. So now with Tish James stepping into that same role, she's not coming in as a neutral arbiter. Let me be clear, she will look at the facts and the law and she will see if crimes have been committed, but she will be serving in the role as a prosecutor.

1:07:50And a prosecutor is seeking to determine if there is probable cause to be able to prosecute crimes. And in this instance, that will be her role. She will not be the judge in this case. She will be prosecuting the crimes as the evidence supports. And so I want people to understand, she may have made that statement, but I don't find it to be inconsistent with the role that she has been appointed to. So what about first steps? What do you think she'll do to just kick this off? And would you be surprised if she doesn't file any criminal charges? So to answer your first question, there is a remarkable amount of information and evidence that already exists. There was a title, nine investigation that commenced within months after this incident occurred back in October of 2024. So there is a wealth of information that has been provided already by not only the alleged victim, but by the fraternity members, by witnesses,

1:08:52by people at the university, by others. And so remember that already exists, that information. Some of it has already been made public. In addition, she's going to be reviewing what was already compiled by law enforcement. There was campus police, which was Cornell University. We know if the CUPD was not involved, so you really only have the Cornell University in the title, nine investigation. And whether or not their charges are going to come to pass, the resentment to the grand jury will happen, the grand jury will decide what charges are appropriate, but she, as in Tiss-Jemes, will present the charges to the grand jury, and they will return a bill of either they support the charges or they don't support the charges. All right, Katie Fang, thank you so much, appreciate it. And a reminder for anyone who may be navigating a similar crisis, there are people who can help but the Rain Network short for rape, abuse, incest, national network reach them anytime at rain.org. That's with two ends, or call 1-800-656-HOPE. Well, it has been nearly 100 years since Kansas

1:09:55sent a Democrat to the US Senate, but there were signs today that Republicans are getting more worried it could happen this year. The panel weighs in. Next. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING, SONG STATIC MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC CONTINUES IN THE FACE OF HELLS, THE PANEL WAYS IN. NEXT. AND OUR POLITICS LEAD, IT'S PROBLY NOT FUN TO BE NORTH CAROLINE IS MIQUEL WALLY RIGHT NOW. National Republicans just put the pause on ad spending in his Senate race against Democrat and former Governor Roy Cooper due to pretty dismal poll numbers. At the same time, Republicans are pouring money into Kansas with a seven-figure ad buy to boost incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall and his race against Democrat and pastor Adam Hamilton according to sources. Our panel is here to discuss, this is quite a move. Moving money to Kansas for the Senate race there, Ashley, Kansas has not elected a Democrat since 1932. Is it really in play for the U.S. Senate?

1:10:55I should say. Yeah, I was going to say, because we do remember there is a governor that's a Democrat. That's a Democrat, right? So there is an electorate that could actually elect a Democrat, so I think we do have to take it seriously. Obviously, Marshall has been under some scrutiny for some things he did in the past lately. I think it's a race we need to pay attention to. North Carolina, I've been waiting for them to take out the money there. That's a race that most have thought for a long time. We weren't going to win. So let's put it into places like Kansas and Iowa or New Hampshire. But do you think Kansas is in play? Are you worried about it? I'm not worried about it yet. I think Texas is harder for us than Kansas. Oh, OK. What do you think? I can't believe that I'm here talking about how Texas is marginally harder for Republicans than Kansas. Look, it's not the fact that they have a center. It's the candidate. The fact that Kansas has a center of Republican to the Senate since 1932. Yeah. The state Trump won by what 16 points. This is not strategy. This is triage.

1:11:56They've taken their, they've basically written off North Carolina. And Senator Marshall has a lot to defend. He voted for cuts to rural hospitals. He voted against snap benefits. This is actually kind of a tough case. And he's got two former Republican governors who've endorsed his opponent. This is an increasingly difficult map for Republicans. There is a pretty tough ad that's coming out on the Democrat candidate that came out today that it will be interesting to see how the spending in Kansas will actually help the Senator, or not the standing Senator, Senator Marshall. But I also think that you have a really strong candidate on the Democrat side. Hamilton's actually running against Chuck Schumer. He's, I mean, he's saying a little vote for him. So he's talking to his base. We actually have sound about that. So let's listen to Pastor Adam Hamilton. And when I talked to Chuck Schumer, he said, so what's the challenge in getting elected in Kansas? I said, you know, really? I said, I know, I mean, no disrespect. I really, you know, I'm only saying in Kansas,

1:12:57your liability, you're not a, you're not a help. How did he respond to that? He's, he laughed. And I, he's, I understand, I understand. It's a reaction. I mean, this is also not really a red state phenomenon. You have candidates in Illinois and Michigan. And Kansas all saying that we, the Democrats need new leadership in the Senate. I think that's a fairly existential conversation that we're going to have to have after the election. And I think, frankly, Chuck Schumer's a leader of a fairly bygone era. It's why you see so much chatter about someone running the Assembly in a primary next cycle. I think this is, I think what we, what we're, what this is showing is that our candidates are in touch with the electorate, right? And they're comfortable expressing their interests, and they're comfortable expressing views that are reflective of the electorate. I think that's a sign of authenticity and success. Well, and you had the same thing happen with Nancy Pelosi. We have it with Mitch McConnell. I mean, sometimes the boogeyman becomes the leader, of course. I mean, that's just natural. And so you, to be able to run against your leadership

1:14:00is something that they did a ton against Mitch McConnell, a ton against Nancy Pelosi. I don't think it's necessarily different. And I'm sure that Schumer has thick skin and realizes that he's not popular places. So let's talk about Trump and his gripe about the messaging. He's really putting the blame on other Republicans. And so he says that he needs to go out there and get the message out. Let's listen. We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion, and an extremely great job of running the country. The only thing we're doing badly at is public relations. In other words, we're doing a phenomenal job. But by a combination of maybe we're doing a bad job and selling it. I mean, the reality is Trump overpromised on cheap gas, bringing down mortgage rates, ending wars. They're not getting into the war in the first place for that matter. Is the messaging problem in his view really does it belong to him? Well, the policy on the war belongs to him,

1:15:02which I think is the difference. We did pass in the big beautiful bill a lot of tax and send-ups that were helping people. Gas was lower before the war. Mortgage was lower before the war. But ever since over the last six months, everything's changed. And so nothing can get through in the messaging because people are filling their gas prices every single day. And or their grocery prices are still high. I mean, the Biden had the, Kamala had the same problem as well. It's even if the economy was doing better. The stock market's doing better. But getting through that messaging is hard when people aren't filling it at home. Well, I think there's a difference in politics between having a comms problem and having a problem problem. And I think the administration, the past administration had a comms problem. I think this is a real problem because at this point, gas signs are kind of an in-kind contribution to Democrats because they're measuring the inflation. You have a president who knows how to do this, knows how to pick fights with giant corporations, knows how to run as a populist when he needs to. But instead, he's surrounding himself with the richest, radius CEOs in the country.

1:16:03And when the dictator of China comes to town, he walks him over to the bottom to show, he's more concerned with interior decoration right now than lowering prices. It's a drag. I just wonder when he says, we're doing a terrible job. Like, who's we? And I do think, hopefully, listen, I don't think that we should get out of the Iran War just because of the midterms. I think that he has said this many times. We're in the war, whether people agree with why it started or not, but we can't walk away. And so nothing's going to change for the next four to five weeks in regards to the election. So he owns that. And I think he's comfortable with owning that. Do you? He has to. All right, well, let's go to an actual, a rare, it seems, maybe, honest admission that he's worried. Normally, as you know, Trump, like, to frame everything, he's winning, everything where it's going to be great, we're winning. But not in this sound bite, let's listen. We're worried about Michigan. We're worried about Texas.

1:17:04We're worried about a few states. But it's all about 35 different contests, not states, contests. And I'm going to just about all. Is this in those words you've ever heard, Trump? See, I always take what he says and think about why he's doing it. And I think he's doing that to make sure that we're getting he's getting more money or we're raising more money. And I think he's doing it to get out the vote. Of course, he's going to say, well, yes, we are. To be honest with you, we are having some issues in Texas as I mentioned, Michigan. I think it's going to be tough as well. But I think he's also saying that to sound the alarm. But then if Texas is so close, why is he denigrating, can, packs it with his comments on multiple occasions? That's why he's doing it from the beginning, especially the outfits. And I don't know, does this appear in his packs? He's a hard guy not to denigrate. Let's be fair. Let's be fair to Trump. He's not denigrating. Trump made the choice. He's the biggest outfit. It's our mind.

1:18:04Look, here's the thing is, you got to dance with the one that brought you out, right? And Trump sort of made his bed with this. I think when you see him talking about worrying about Michigan and Texas, it's because they're suffering there. And instead of going in actually making the case for candidates, he's just enjoying the adulation. All right. We'll leave it there. Dr. Orton, actually, Davis. Great conversation on this Friday. Appreciate it. And up next, CNN goes inside the fight to keep hospitals open and some of the most rural parts of the US. And the health lead, the incredible effort to keep some of America's most rural hospitals operational. It is the topic of the next episode of the whole story with Anderson Cooper. Here's CNN, Senior National Correspondent, Ed Levin Dara. We spent 30 days inside the West River Health Services hospital in the tiny town of Heading Gert North Dakota. This hospital serves parts of North Dakota, South Dakota,

1:19:06and even parts of Montana as well. It's a massive area. And what we heard over and over again from community members there during our month-long stay is that if it wasn't for this hospital, this town would die. But this hospital in this place sits at a fascinating crossroads in America in 2026. Rural health care is struggling to be able to continue functioning. It also sits at the crossroads of the intense immigration debate here in the United States. And I want you to listen to one of the doctors there that we got to meet who talked about how difficult it is to get health care workers to come to a place like Heading Gert North Dakota. Everybody wears multiple hats. The CEO drove the ambulance. It's hard to recruit people because there's a lot of education required to be an EMT. Hi, Paul. I'm Dr. Pummel. What happened today?

1:20:06Did you get laid ahead? Did you have chest pain? Sharmies is what happened? I've been doing ambulance runs for about three years. Now, just as a driver, help get people from here to there. Did you happen to be 12 weeks? We have over 40 positions open right now. This is my office with around 200 current employees. This used to be the full lobby. This job has probably been open for about 10 years 2016. This is a fascinating hour. I'm incredibly grateful to the CNN documentary team and our photographers and producers who spent so much time getting to no members of this community embedded there in the hospital. We're also grateful to the hospital opening its doors to be able to get you to be able to see up close what they are challenged with every day. So I hope you'll tune in this Sunday night. Looking forward to it. The whole story with Anderson Cooper Air Sunday night at 8E Stern, then the next day

1:21:10on the CNN app. And I'm excited to share some news of my own. I've got a new streaming series about to debut. It is called Body Language by CNN and its spotlight's important women's health issues and experiences. And it draws on much of my own experience navigating various challenging periods of my own life and my health. And as I'm sure many women can relate to just being isolated and alone throughout my struggles. Here's a preview. My body was telling me something. It's not right to get out of bed. My pain level is only 10. I would bow to a doctor and I would hear you were just anxious in your head. You were just a hyper-conjure. And who would lie about that? It was hard to be taken serious. Nobody had real answers for me. And I was afraid to talk to anyone about it. I didn't even know how to talk to my husband about it. I didn't know how to talk to my friends about it. I felt embarrassed. I was a shame to meet help. And I can't imagine how many other women are out there feeling the exact same way that I did. And that's why I want to do this. I'm Pamela Brown. And this is Body Language by CNN.

1:22:11Thank you to all the women who told their stories. Our goal here is really to create a community that cuts through the uncomfortable and unspoken parts of women's health and give people answers and places to turn based on science and research. The first four episodes of Body Language by CNN will premiere next Thursday and you can find them online at CNN.com slash Body Language. And coming up Sunday on Saturday, the union, the director of the National Economic Council Coven Hassett, that Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Easter right here on CNN. You can follow me on X and Instagram at Pamela Brown CNN. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at the lead CNN, Aaron Bernadau Front starts now. LinkedIn is pretty amazing at helping you grow your small business. We cannot stop your new clients from emailing you at 3 a.m. We can help you sell, market and hire in one place. We cannot help you be in three places at once.

1:23:13And while we can't help you organize your calendar, LinkedIn can help you land more clients so you have a calendar to organize. Grow your small business on LinkedIn. Learn more at LinkedIn.com slash small business. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here from InMobile now. I don't know if you've heard, but Mint's premium wireless is $15 a month. But I'd like to offer one other perk. We have no stores. That means no small talk. Crazy weather we're having. No, it's not. It's just weather. It is an introverts dream. Give it a try at minmobile.com slash switch. Cementmobile.com.