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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Kennedy Center Board Votes to Put Trump's Name Back on Building; Interview with Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA); New ICE Detentions Top 46K Last Month, setting a New Record for Trump Admin; New ICE Detentions Top 46k Last Month, Setting New Record For Trump Admin.; Iowa Democrats Seek To Flip Seats In Rural Rebound; Lake Mead, Nation's Largest Reservoir, Hits New Record Low. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 13, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JASON CARROL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... wearing body-worn cameras. We have reached out to ICE about that, but did not hear back from them. ICE is in the middle of a nationwide rollout of bodycams for their officers. That should be completed by the end of the month.
Also, we should tell you that the Fairfax County district attorney's office is also weighing in on this today, basically saying that they've been hearing from people from the community who've been very concerned about what they've seen and that they are reviewing the incident --Erin.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right, Jason, thank you very much and thanks to all of you for being with us tonight. AC360 begins now.
[20:05:39]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, from the Newsroom. We begin tonight with a major new development in what has been a great interest of the President of the United States since taking office a second time. Some would consider it a preoccupation, namely renovating, renovating Washington landmarks, bulldozing, some outright botching a renovation of at least one, the Reflecting Pool, and, in the case of the congressionally designated living memorial to the murdered President, John F. Kennedy, putting his name above Kennedy's out front.
Now, two months ago, a judge said only Congress could change the name of the Kennedy Center and order Trump's name removed. The ruling is being appealed, and there's been a tarp over the sign for weeks now. But today, the Kennedy Center's Board, which the President handpicked and chairs, voted to put his name back up, though in a different form. It used to read the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The judge said no and now the board has voted to put under the Kennedy Center name the words restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump. That is according to two people who were briefed on the decision. Talking afterwards, "The New York Times", one board member and friend of the President said his goal is to make the President's name, "as big as it can get." Quoting further from "The Times," dear leader, energy and all, "The board directed officials to honor Mr. Trump for bringing the center back from the brink of disaster, presenting a series of possibilities that included naming the center's grounds the President Donald J. Trump Plaza."
So, that is one challenge to the court. The other is the board's decision to close much of the complex for two years of renovations, something that the President has long wanted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You have to close it. Putting new marbles in beautiful, beautiful marbles. When you do marbles, you can't have people walking over the marble every night as it's drying and setting and going to a play. So, we thought the best way. I mean, I -- what I know best in the world is construction. The best way to do it is close it, do it properly and reopen it and have a grand reopening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Clearly, he is not losing his new marbles. He loves the beautiful marbles. What the judge in the case will make of the board's actions remains to be seen. He's expected to review their resolution shortly. CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment, but has yet to receive any.
As for the President himself, his desire to hold sway over the institution in some form is long standing. He installed the current board and became chairman less than a month into office in about a year ago, said this. It seems only half-jokingly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Since 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors have been among the most prestigious awards in the performing arts. I wanted one, I was never able to get one. This year, it's true, actually, I would have taken it if they would have called me. I waited and waited and waited and I said, the hell with it. I'll become chairman and I'll give myself an honor. Maybe I'm going to honor next year, we'll honor Trump, okay?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: CNN Sunlen Serfaty is there tonight, joins us now. So, what more do we know about this resolution approved by the Kennedy Center's board?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson, this resolution really makes clear that the board is not backing down from this legal fight that, frankly, this arts institution has been embroiled in for months now and for the better part of this year, frankly.
The board today huddled and they ultimately emerged deciding that they would close for two years. The entire complex, but keep one part, one small part of the complex. It's called The Reach; it was a recent addition to the Kennedy Center. They would keep The Reach open and hold some smaller, very small performances there. They hope that that puts them in compliance in essence, with the judge's court order that they need to reopen at least partially in good faith while these renovations are going on.
But it certainly was that striking part of what we heard from multiple sources after the meeting today. The most striking part, the fact that now the President, as chairman of the board -- and board who notably handpicked, voted today to throw up his name again up on that building.
And as we know, we've covered this from June, when the name came down. This is a critical piece of information that the President wants on the side of the building. They will make some modifications. It will not be above President Kennedy's name now, what they say it will be below and it will certainly read specifically that President Trump restored and renovated this building. So, they are trying, in essence, to make it work somehow to be in compliance with the court order, while also, they believe, featuring President Trump's name.
Now, a short time ago, I spoke with a co-counsel of the plaintiffs who has sued over these changes to the Kennedy Center. He called this an act of defiance. Here's more of what he had to say.
[20:05:22]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATHANIEL ZELINSKEUS, WASHINGTON LITIGATION GROUP: This is very much an act of defiance. The court was very clear, the court said that the name had to come down and that it had to revert to the status quo. This is a kind of cute attempt. it's too cute by half to try to find a workaround to the courts order. And even if it's not a direct defiance of the order, it certainly is an effort to evade the court's justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: And they will challenge the moves that the board made today to again throw up President Trump's name. And they believe that they have a strong case, they tell me. But, Anderson, it can't be overstated how this building, this specifically these names on this building have become such a central part of President Trump's second time in office. The fact that he, his sights have set on remaking Washington, D.C., remaking the Kennedy Center and a big part of that is his name.
When this name came down behind me in June, it's notable that the tarp behind me has stayed up ever since his name came --.
COOPER: Yes, I was going to ask you that. It is bizarre that the tarp has been up this entire time, lest anyone see that Donald J. Trump's name has been removed from said building. It's, Sunlen, I appreciate it. Thank you very much. I'll take my ridiculousness over to the jar of glass.
SERFATY: Okay.
COOPER: Joining us is contributor and podcast host, Kara Swisher, also former federal prosecutor and best-selling author, Jeffrey Toobin.
I mean, I'm listening to somebody talk, and all I'm watching is the tarp behind. It's, we're living in like a parallel universe.
KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I live there. I am always amazed that it's still there, the tarp is still there.
COOPER: It's really, I can't believe we're even talking about this still that this is what, there's a war going on and he's focused on this.
SWISHER: And also nearby, there are two very golden, right now two and they're going to be four very golden statues of horses, enormous gold statues, which also have been re-golded and stuff like that.
I mean, Scar is really busy remaking Pride Rock is how we feel in Washington. And the thing is, Kennedy Center has been sort of a great part of Washington, and now it's completely a dead zone.
COOPER: It's a dead zone. It's going to be closed down for two years.
SWISHER: Well, they're trying to open The Reach, which is this nice area, but it's small. It's very small and they can't do many things like events there. It's a very small event space. So, the question, and then the National Symphony Orchestra is having financial problems due to what's happening.
And so, they've wrecked an entire economy in the neighborhood. And also, something that kept my children there, school children, all kinds of things.
COOPER: Jeff, I mean, legally is this --
JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I actually think he may get by on this legally because there were two parts of the judge's ruling. One was the name and Congress designated the name as the Kennedy Center. And this is not a change of the name, I think, although that will certainly be the issue.
COOPER: But it's so surreal, like, it's literally bizarre that we're talking about, he wants the name saying that he renovated the building.
SWISHER: He can do a plaque.
TOOBIN: Well, he could have done a plaque and they do have designations of other people inside the building.
COOPER: If every President put giant words on the building like, I renovated this building, that would I mean, it's just --
TOOBIN: Well, it's absurd and Orwellian, especially considering he didn't renovate it. He destroyed the Kennedy Center. I mean, that's what's so bizarre about this whole thing, is he's taking credit for something that he did the opposite of. But legally, I think he might actually win because he is not technically changing the name.
The other part of the order, the judge's original order, said they shut down for two years without any study. Now they have actually done some study and they think two years is reasonable. And so, I think he might actually win his case. But, you know, from a political or moral point of view, this whole thing is an obscenity.
COOPER: You know, Kara, when the President first visited the Kennedy Center, he made a controversial statement. I want to ask you about it, because he said that Betty Buckley was the best Grizabella ever in "Cats."
SWISHER: Okay.
COOPER: And I'm wondering, do you think that's true?
SWISHER: I think she was an excellent Grizabella.
COOPER: She was really good.
SWISHER: All the Grizabellas have been excellent. I don't feel I --
COOPER: Oh, you're --
SWISHER: I just saw the recent one.
COOPER: You don't want to incur the wrath of Grizabella Alumni community?
SWISHER: No, why would you? Memories, they, the new one is fantastic, "Jellicle Ball." That Grizabella is fantastic.
COOPER: Yes.
SWISHER: You know, it's the same thing of where, you know, I was just in Chicago. His name is there. He likes to put his name everywhere. And so, I feel like, why can't we just project it on there for him or put it off to the side with a beautiful golden plaque.
COOPER: But I mean, according to a recent CNN poll, 73 percent of U.S. adults said the President is not paying enough attention to the country's most important problems.
SWISHER: Yes.
COOPER: I mean, this is taking up his time.
SWISHER: Yes, it is.
COOPER: The redecorating, the golding --
SWISHER: And the East Wing and the golding of the statues and the arch, there's a million things. And so, I joke about Scar at Pride Rock, but that's what it feels like living there, like all this stuff happening.
[20:10:12]
TOOBIN: It's also worth remembering, he is not going to be President forever, and it is going to be very low hanging fruit if there is a Democrat President to get rid of his name absolutely everywhere.
Now, the arch is going to be difficult to get rid of and maybe they won't and the same thing with the ballroom, given how enormous they are.
SWISHER: They can build it that fast.
TOOBIN: If they are actually be built by 2029.
SWISHER: And you forgot the Reflecting Pool.
TOOBIN: Well, the reflecting --
SWISHER: It was lovely.
TOOBIN: Which is not going well.
SWISHER: Right, which is not going well.
TOOBIN: But, you know, it is just worth remembering that some of this can be undone and certainly will be, you know, on January 21st, 2029.
SWISHER: Or sooner, by the way, because the midterms.
COOPER: Jeff Toobin, Kara Swisher, thanks very much, appreciate it.
Coming up next, something deeply serious food shortages, contaminated water and living conditions reportedly so grim aboard the U.S. Aircraft carrier in the Iranian war zone that the mental health of some sailors on board has been suffering. Some sailors have been trying to jump overboard. What the Defense Secretary is saying about the reports, what the Navy is doing about the problem and the answers that lawmakers are demanding from both.
Later, the growing questions about ICE tactics in the wake of the encounter, one Virginia woman had at gunpoint with one officer with the agency now pulling people off streets at a record pace.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:15:36]
COOPER: Democratic senators tonight are demanding answers from the Pentagon and Navy about living conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The carrier and its crew of 5,000 sailors and Marines have not been in port in more than 200 days, which is a record.
In a letter to the Defense Secretary and Secretary of the Navy, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal cites widespread reports of supply shortages, water contamination, plumbing issues and deteriorating mental health among some of those on board.
"Stars and Stripes" and "The Navy Times", citing interviews with sailors and families, report there have been several thwarted attempts by crew members to jump overboard, and three U.S. officials tell us that one sailor actually did manage to do it last month, but thankfully was rescued from the water.
A different official said the sailor was wearing a life vest, was not hurt, but that the Navy considered the incident a mental health episode. Today, Defense Secretary Hegseth pushed back on the reports of poor conditions aboard the Lincoln.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF WAR SECRETARY: They are completely misrepresented. Listen, we make sure at every ship, every crew, every captain, has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those High Seas and those austere conditions with less port calls, it's incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, that said, a U.S. official tells CNN the Navy is sending the carrier USS George Washington to the region to relieve the Lincoln. Joining us now is Massachusetts Democratic Congressman and Marine combat veteran, Seth Moulton, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee.
So, have you ever heard of a situation like this on an American military vessel? I mean, it's been out there for a long, long time. What do you know about the conditions?
REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): I mean, I've not heard of situations like this before, and I've spent quite a bit of time on a ship myself. You know, one of the fundamental problems here, Anderson, is that the carrier cannot pull into any local ports because Trump and Hegseth's war has actually made these ports unsafe.
So, it's just yet another tragedy that lays bare the folly of this war. The Gulf is less safe for our ships, for our allies, since they started the war than before. And it also just shows that the administration clearly had no plan going into this conflict, and has absolutely no clue how to get out of it.
COOPER: You heard Secretary Hegseth say the conditions on the USS Lincoln have been, "completely misrepresented." Can his assessment of troop conditions be considered credible at this point do you think?
MOULTON: There's nothing out of Hegseth's mouth that can be considered credible. I mean, remember, this is the guy who lied about his own misuse of classified information. And if this wasn't a problem, they wouldn't be rushing to replace the ship. So clearly, he's lying about the conditions.
And you know, the other problem here is that it's just hard to keep up morale when the troops don't believe in the mission. And it's very hard for anybody, whether you're serving in the U.S. Military or simply watching what's going on from anywhere in the globe, to believe in what this administration is doing with Iran. This war has not just been a failure. It's totally backfired. Iran has more power, more control. That's why they can't go into port than they ever have before. That's got to be pretty disillusioning to the sailors aboard that ship.
COOPER: Do you think the mental health of troops gets enough attention, or does it kind of get overlooked because so much of their service comes under the heading of sacrifice and risk to their safety?
MOULTON: You know, it absolutely gets overlooked, Anderson. I wrote a law called the Brandon Act that allows troops to get mental health assistance outside their chain of command if they're not getting it from their chain of command. And I wrote this piece of legislation because it's a problem, because sailors, Marines, you know, soldiers have died because they cannot get the mental health help that they need in a timely fashion.
So, the Brandon Act kind of complements the 988 Legislation that I also coauthored to provide a mental health hotline, not just for our troops and veterans, but for people all across America. But the bottom line is, I had to write these bills because it's a problem and it's not being addressed. It's not even being taken seriously by this administration, especially.
COOPER: I mean, can Congress do anything at this point? Obviously, there's occasional hearings when Hegseth and others appear on the Hill. Theres always a lot of clash and fiery soundbites that does anything actually change?
MOULTON: Well, we need to fire Hegseth. I mean, that's what needs to happen. And trust me, I've been working to build a coalition that includes to get rid of him, because that's the only way it's going to happen.
But in the meantime, we absolutely need to conduct an investigation. I've called for that already myself, and we need to make sure that we get to the bottom of exactly what's going on, exactly what happened, and hold the administration accountable.
I mean, this is another place where we just have not done enough to hold the Trump administration accountable. And when lives are being lost of our bravest, our finest, who put their lives on the line for our country, for all the rest of us, well, it's high time for Congress to get to work and hold this administration to task.
[20:20:56]
COOPER: Congressman Moulton, I appreciate your time, thank you.
COOPER: Coming up next with local law enforcement today, getting involved in this week's tense gun point ICE encounter in Virginia, growing questions about ICE tactics and training across the board.
And later, John King ahead of the midterms in Iowa. Red state, last time that now could be in play for Democrats.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:25:25]
COOPER: When we first showed you this video last night from a dash cam in Virginia of a U.S. citizen looking down the barrel of an ICE officer's gun. Karolina Molina recorded the video Monday. The Fairfax County attorney's office says, "We have heard from community members who are concerned about the situation. We are aware of the incident and are reviewing it."
I just want to play you some of the interaction, warning some of the profanities are being hurled by Miss Molina toward the ICE agent. Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ICE AGENT: You almost ran us over.
KAROLINE MOLINA, U.S. CITIZEN: I didn't almost ran you over.
ICE AGENT: You almost ran us over, stop playing.
MOLINA: You are so full of sh*t.
ICE AGENT: Stop playing --
MOLINA: You are full of sh*t.
ICE AGENT: --All right, you're not funny.
MOLINA: You're not funny.
ICE AGENT: I will arrest you. Keep it up.
MOLINA: I'm a legal citizen. I don't care. Oh, my goodness.
ICE AGENT: I'm going to lock you up.
MOLINA: Okay, for what?
ICE AGENT: She's the one that tried to run us over.
MOLINA: Run you over, when? I got recording, I got dash cam. I got dash cam. That's a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Miss Molina was not arrested and has denied she was trying to run anyone over. DHS released a statement which read in part on August 10th, 2026, while ICE was conducting targeted immigration enforcement in Falls Church, Virginia, an anti-ICE agitator began to drive her car in circles around our ICE officers and then attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle against them all in an attempt to help illegal aliens get away. She denies all of that. This incident puts renewed scrutiny of ICE training and tactics. Last month, ICE took more than 46,000 people into custody, setting a new high under the second Trump administration, according to internal data reviewed by CNN.
The White House has a goal of 2,000 arrests per day. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz takes a look at ICE's tactics and recent deadly incidents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In July during a car stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, ICE vehicles pulled over a white SUV that they say was driven by an undocumented immigrant.
You can see an ICE vehicle pull in front to block the SUV while agents approached the man from behind. An agent breaks the driver's window and then the car takes off, hitting an ICE vehicle in a parked car. That same agent shoots at the car as it drives away, opening fire on a residential street. The driver in that car was never apprehended.
KENNETH COREY, FORMER NYPD CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT AND TRAINING: This is not the right way to conduct a car stop.
PROKUPECZ (voice over): That incident occurred the same month as two fatal ICE encounters in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas, also involving car stops.
In Maine during a traffic stop, ICE shot and killed 25-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who was not the target of the immigration operation. With Guerrero shot behind the wheel, the vehicle circled uncontrollably for about a minute.
COREY: Shooting the driver now turns that car into essentially an unguided missile. You've probably created a situation of even greater danger because there's nobody left in control of that car.
PROKUPECZ (voice over): That same week, officers fatally shot a Mexican immigrant, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, during a vehicle stop in Houston. The local district attorney's office is conducting an investigation into the shooting.
At least seven people have been killed and 12 have been injured in shootings by federal agents during immigration enforcement since Trump's second administration began.
ICE appears to use some of the same aggressive tactics in the latest incident in Virginia, where an agent pointed a gun at a woman during a stop.
MOLINA: Are you really --
ICE AGENT: Are you following us?
PROKUPECZ (voice over): In many of these instances, the Department of Homeland Security has issued statements defending ICE officers, saying the drivers were trying to use their vehicles as weapons. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Shimon Prokupecz joins us now, along with former acting ICE Director John Sandweg.
It's interesting because obviously when, you know, it was in, Minnesota when this was getting a lot of coverage and the tactics were very out in public, there was obviously then, you know, they got rid of some of the folks that they were doing that stuff in Minnesota and new leadership came in, but they're actually, I mean, there's 46,000 people in custody in July, the numbers are huge.
PROKUPECZ: The numbers are huge, they're doing it in a very different way, quieter and also the people that they are now targeting are not the criminals that they said they would be targeting. It's really low hanging fruit, just to put it plainly, it's people who may have overstayed their VISA or people who have questionable status or working through immigration court to try and maybe get asylum and to get legal status, but there's that gray area.
And so, what they're doing is they're now going after those individuals just to get these numbers up. You know, there was all these promises. You know, I interviewed the head of the ICE office here in New York City just about a year and a half ago, right before Trump took office. We're only going to go after criminals. We're only going to go after criminals. Well, that's clearly not happening.
COOPER: Their definition of criminals, anybody who has crossed into the United States.
PROKUPECZ: Correct, but they were talking about people who were convicted of crimes or had been charged with crimes and who had court cases pending. That's clearly just not happening.
COOPER: John, is a quota of 2,000 arrests per day, practical from an operations standpoint?
JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ACTING ICE DIRECTOR: No, no Anderson. I mean, first of all, the biggest problem with that is, as Shimon says, what it does is it forces the agency to focus on these non-criminal targets. Generally, in immigration enforcement, the apprehension of serious criminals is a much slower, more tedious process.
You have to do a lot of investigation to try to get a good location on that individual, build a targeting package, and then deploy a large number of officers to go out there and take that person into custody. The problem, from the administration's perspective, is while those are really high-quality arrests, you can't make a ton of those in a short period of time. There's certainly no way you can make 2,000 in a day.
And so under this kind of pressure that the agency is under, you end up doing things like we're seeing here on the screen, arresting not just border crossers, but visa overstays, people who have never had any sort of criminal arrest in their life, people who are even, in some cases, weeks away from getting a green card because they're married to a U.S. citizen. Everybody has to be fair game, and what you end up doing, Anderson, is you drop the ball on your focus on criminals when you work that way.
COOPER: And John, in the hiring process, I mean, just to get enough officers, enough agents out on the streets, have they lowered standards? Is the training as -- I mean, I remember there was talk of, you know, cutting the training down by number of weeks.
SANDWEG: Yes, the training was shrunk, right, Anderson? And you compound that with another problem, which we've lost a lot of senior people out in the field who would provide that -- establish that culture, right, once those new recruits come in.
But obviously, Anderson, there are a lot of concerns here with how they went about their recruiting in terms of what type of candidates they were getting. But I think what also concerns me is that, like, historically, they're engaged in a hiring spree like we've never seen before, right? ICE is going to double probably by the end of this administration with this, you know, with just the influx of money they have. But there wasn't that pause -- you know, they started hiring right away.
And the problem is that the offices that do the vetting, the offices that help interview the candidates, and then do those more deep background checks that are not even like the kinds, like, you know, at my law firm, right? They include interviews of neighbors and really trying to make sure that somebody is suitable to be a federal agent. It's impossible to believe that they could be engaging in the amount of hiring they're doing right now while maintaining the same quality, right, unless they've really built out those offices.
So that's another concern I have. And we have heard stories of people getting into the academy, only to discover that they have a felony arrest or a criminal conviction on the record, something that was missed before we even -- we brought them on board.
COOPER: Yes. Shimon, last night we talked about these electric shock gloves that they've now ordered. That's still going on.
PROKUPECZ: It's still going on as far as we know. I mean, you know, we're not really getting any answers. So there are a lot of people that are concerned about this -- civil rights leaders, the ACLU. The attorney general here in New York, Letitia James, has said that perhaps she's going to try to take some kind of court action.
I kind of looked into this today. There actually was a time when the NYPD, they were approached, and they actually -- I spoke to a chief, and he said, yes, we consider this, but given the environment that we're operating in, it wouldn't work. And we thought maybe in isolated situations or more isolated containment situations when dealing with mentally unhealthy people or those kinds of situations, that maybe we can use it in those, but only with emergency services officers. And so they thought against it. And so it's a lot of questions about this.
COOPER: Shimon Prokupecz, thank you. John Sandweg, always, thank you. Appreciate it.
Up ahead tonight, water levels in Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir, hitting a record low. What that means for millions of people across the West who rely on it.
And a new All Over the Map report from our John King from a red state, a red state that Democrats now hope will help them regain control of the House at midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think this is actually a democratic year in Iowa?
MICHELE PEGG, CHAIR, LOUISA COUNTY DEMOCRATS: I feel like the opportunity is there. And I feel like people want change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:38:17]
COOPER: We are now 82 days away from the midterm elections, and the path for Democrats hoping to retake control of the House goes through Iowa. But it is a state that President Trump won by 13 points back in 2024 after carrying every county except for one. For his latest All Over the Map report, John King travels across the Hawkeye State to see where Iowans stand now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): The mighty Mississippi. Back to Iowa from the East. Davenport is Iowa's third-largest city. Scott County, a critical battleground within the battleground.
KING: Just that Iowa's in play as we enter the stretch is a big deal in and of itself.
KING (voice-over): Iowa Democrats are upbeat about Rob Sand's odds for governor. Josh Turek is competitive in a Senate race that would be a huge midterm upset if the Democrats can win. Christina Bohannan running for Congress again in the 1st Congressional District. She lost by just 800 votes last time.
The 1st District spans 20 counties, most of them rural. For the past decade, Trump country. He won 19 of the 20 in 2024.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you are. Hello there.
KING (voice-over): Door-to-door in the sweltering summer heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did we hit here?
KING (voice-over): Grueling enough. Now add in this.
PEGG: My name is Michele. I'm actually the Louisa County Democrats chair. This is Diana.
KING (voice-over): Seven in 10 Louisa County votes went to Trump last time.
PEGG: I think he's a Republican. Fine.
KING (voice-over): But Michele Pegg keeps walking, keeps knocking.
KING: Do you think this is actually a Democratic year in Iowa?
PEGG: I feel like the opportunity is there. And I feel like people want change. I think that people want to feel heard.
[20:40:05]
I do not feel like they are actually feeling like they're heard with either party. So if you want that, that opportunity is absolutely there. 100 percent, come on down.
Thank you, sir.
KING (voice-over): So far, no takers beyond local candidates.
PEGG: We've been trying to get candidates to come walk with us, meet their constituents. That's been met with a little resistance.
KING: So why is that?
PEGG: You know, I think there's nervousness about coming out and knocking on doors and being met by people who don't necessarily agree with your views. And --
KING: So there's nervousness about democracy?
PEGG: You shut the front door.
KING: The Democrats see opportunities even here in Iowa, speaks volumes about the 2026 midterm year and about President Trump's political standing. Donald Trump carried Iowa all three times he's led the Republican ticket. 52 percent in 2016, 53 percent in 2020, and 56 percent, just two years ago, in 2024.
Plus, Republicans hold all four of Iowa's House seats. Republicans hold both of Iowa's Senate seats. And Republicans have controlled the governor's office here for 15 years.
KING (voice-over): This is the Iowa Amateur Championship, Beaver Hills Country Club in Cedar Falls.
CHRIS MUDD, IOWA VOTER: I would probably just run a 9-iron up there.
KING (voice-over): Chris Mudd plays as often as he can.
MUDD: He's going to play it back in a stance and hit it low, and I'll bet he's up pretty good. Beautiful.
KING (voice-over): And he clearly knows this course.
MUDD: Everyone has their way. I'm not good enough to lead a way. KING (voice-over): Loyal Republican, three-time Trump voter. Yes, has a few friends upset with Trump. Others, though, like him, more frustrated with Republicans in Congress.
He hears the summer buzz about a big Democratic year. Mudd's belief, though, is that Republicans will get things straight by November.
MUDD: I do think that Republicans will come out. I think we have to -- he is -- Trump is on the ballot, whether anybody likes it or not. I mean, if we want any of Trump's policies to move forward, we're going to have to do well in November.
KING (voice-over): Mudd's vote is not in question, but his take on the economy and the mood here helps you understand why Iowa is now in the middle of the midterm competition.
MUDD: Housing is expensive. The interest rates are expensive, and gas is expensive. People are upset. They're frustrated with the way things have gone on them. You know, I can't tell you that I'm 100 percent excited about everything that's happened, but I believe that there's some pain that we have to go through to get this thing fixed.
KING (voice-over): Ashley Hinson is the Republican congresswoman here. But she's running for Senate now, and the House seat is up for grabs. Iowa's 2nd congressional district leans Republican. Trump won 20 of its 22 counties just two years ago. But Republicans are suddenly a bit nervous, even here.
KING: The Democrats have a very simple message -- vote blue, hurt Trump. The Republicans are having a harder time motivating their base because a lot of their base is dealing with the cost of diesel, the cost of fertilizer, the cost of gas, and all that is from a war that they thought their President would not start.
KING (voice-over): These new homes are in West Des Moines, part of the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the Midwest. These changing suburbs a critical piece of Iowa's midterm math. The reading and public bookstore doesn't hide its politics.
LINZI MURRAY, IOWA VOTER: We're trying to say that, especially with literature, sharing your story is what cultivates more empathy in the world, and we are severely in a deficit of empathy in the world right now.
KING (voice-over): Linzi Murray was born in China, adopted by a family in Kansas City, went to college in Iowa, and returned three years ago to open the bookstore and start a family. She sees the chance for a big blue year, organizes the shelves with a purpose.
KING: Are Democrats dreaming, I guess, is the question.
MURRAY: I would -- I mean, doesn't anything start with a dream to begin with?
KING (voice-over): The bookstore is close to breaking even. Murray went to Washington to promote legislation to lower credit card fees, says Iowa's Republicans in Congress wouldn't help.
MURRAY: We're just going to keep pushing and pushing and pushing, and we just have no more -- I don't know, more diplomatic way to say we have no more Fs to give.
KING (voice-over): The third district includes Polk County, Des Moines, and its suburbs, but then a giant rural swath stretching to the Iowa-Missouri border. Trump won 20 of its 21 counties in 2024. Yet the third is a midterm toss-up, and another test of whether Democrats can manage at least a modest rural rebound.
More cows than people here.
SHANEN EBERSOLE, IOWA VOTER: She's going to snuggle you, because remember, Sarah's a --
KING: That's all right.
EBERSOLE: -- total pet.
KING: Just roll it right off?
KING (voice-over): Molasses and minerals in these 200-pound tubs.
EBERSOLE: You got it?
KING: I got it. Sorry, I didn't realize you get a double.
KING (voice-over): Giant salt cubes on top. These cows will deliver calves just before Election Day.
EBERSOLE: Girls, be nice.
[20:45:04]
KING (voice-over): Shanen Ebersole is a rancher, a Republican, a three-time Trump voter, and a midterm wild card.
EBERSOLE: Our governor's race is ridiculous.
KING (voice-over): Not happy with the war.
EBERSOLE: First and foremost, we need to take care of our Americans. And that is one frustrating point of the Iran war, is because I voted to take care of us first.
KING (voice-over): And not happy with a Republican congressman, she sees as too willing to put the party line ahead of rural Iowa.
KING: Do you take a chance on a new Democrat and say that would send a message, right?
EBERSOLE: I am really still leaning that way.
KING: Leaning for change?
EBERSOLE: Yes. I believe that change is always a good thing.
KING (voice-over): Change would mean voting for Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott. And if Democrats win this seat, it's a safe bet they win the House majority. And that gives Ebersole pause, because she keeps hearing about the rise of Democratic socialists.
EBERSOLE: It's a really tricky time, because, in my opinion, we have to consider, like cows, the people that you hang out with, the friends that you have in life, are so important.
KING: So you want change, you're just kind of afraid of it?
EBERSOLE: I'm afraid of how the other people will change them.
KING: Right.
EBERSOLE: The friends that they hang around will change them. Because once they get together as a group, herd dynamics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Anderson, this is a bit of a flashback, but less than two years ago, November 2024, Donald Trump wins 94, 94 of 99 counties in Iowa. Part of a decade of dominance for Republicans in the Trump era. But now, in 2026, the Democrats think they are competitive statewide for governor, competitive statewide for Senate, competitive in at least two, maybe three of the four congressional districts.
What does that tell you? It tells you that in Iowa and across the country, this is a great midterm season of opportunity for the Democrats. Will they seize it? We find out 82 days from now.
COOPER: All right.
KING: Anderson?
COOPER: John King, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Up next, the water level at the United States' largest reservoir hitting a record low, as state officials grapple with each other over how to manage it.
Also coming up in just about 15 or 16 minutes from now, the return of my -- actually about 20 minutes from now, the return of my streaming show, All There Is Live. My guest tonight, a producer for Stephen Colbert's Late Show, Paige Kendig. It's just one month. She lost her job, her mom to cancer, and the love of her life, her partner Bryan, to glioblastoma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAIGE KENDIG, SENIOR PRODUCER/DIRECTOR, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: I was planning on having him love me for the rest of my life, but I am so incredibly grateful I was able to love him for the rest of his.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:51:52]
COOPER: Last month was the hottest ever recorded in this country, and as temperatures hit a record high, water levels hit a record low at the nation's biggest reservoir, Lake Mead. CNN's Bill Weir has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the boaters who still love Lake Mead, reminders of the mega-drought are all around. The bathtub ring, which shows the high water mark from the mid-80s, is now almost 19 stories tall. Old sunken boats and worthless drinking water intakes get more exposed by the day.
WEIR: They couldn't imagine when they built this, the kind of mega- drought that would drop Lake Mead by 70 percent. That used to be the water intake tower.
WEIR (voice-over): A satellite time-lapse shows how much of the nation's biggest reservoir has disappeared in the last 25 years, Mead 27 percent full, while Lake Powell only 23 percent and dropping. Together, they keep 40 million people alive in seven states, which have never agreed on how to share.
While the dry lower basin states of California, Nevada, and Arizona have volunteered to make cuts, Doug Burgum's Interior Department could force much steeper ones, especially to junior rights holder Arizona, where water is needed to make everything from copper to microchips to most of the nation's winter vegetables.
GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D), ARIZONA: I would argue that all of those things are not just important to Arizona's economy, they're important to the national economy.
WEIR (voice-over): And Governor Katie Hobbs seems willing to fight for their share all the way to the Supreme Court.
HOBBS: We are very hopeful that it will align closely with the proposal that we put forward, the three lower basin state proposal, and nobody wants to end up in court, but this is a critical situation for Arizona, and I'm going to use every tool available to me. We have set aside millions of dollars to fight in court. If that becomes necessary, I hope it doesn't, but we're not at that point yet.
WEIR (voice-over): Utah is among the upper basin states refusing to offer new cuts, even as St. George has some of the cheapest water and highest per capita use in the West. And that's not even counting this private surf ranch with wave and wakeboarding pools for 56 homes and another similar development under construction.
WEIR: You can surf in the driest county in Utah. How can you justify that? Whether they're pulling it out of a brackish aquifer or --
ZACH RENSTROM, GENERAL MANAGER, WASHINGTON COUNTY WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT: Yes.
WEIR: -- it's private water --
RENSTROM: Yes.
WEIR: -- how is that a good look for Washington County?
RENSTROM: So unfortunately, like other communities, certain things were approved years and years and years ago, and we're kind of dealing with those. Since then, we have completely changed all our rules, but not just a surf lake but a data center or a golf course. We've implemented this very strict policy now of large water users.
WEIR (voice-over): Zach Renstrom is trying to get his very conservative county to copy Las Vegas, where nearly every drop of Sin City's wastewater is captured, cleaned, and put back into Lake Mead. Thanks to the foresight of leaders like Pat Mulroy.
PATRICIA MULROY, FORMER CEO, SOUTHERN NEVADA WATER AUTHORITY: I mean, the minute you accepted climate change as a reality, you had to accept that this day was coming. And if you're in the water business, you hope for the best and plan for the worst.
[20:55:03]
WEIR (voice-over): She thinks Burgum should be using more carrots and sticks to get the states to agree and proposes desalination plants in California for irrigation so farmers could give their shares to thirsty cities and wildlife habitats.
MULROY: To put the states through the pain and anguish of having to go through another round of cut discussions, I would put that off. But where I would put my energy is I would put the states together and empower a body or a group in the lower basin and upper basin to look at ways to augment this river system.
I mean, we have stayed away from desalination, and it blows my mind. You can't conserve your way out of this. You can't cut your way out of it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Bill Weir joins me now. What about hydroelectric power in the Western?
WEIR (on-camera): It's big.
COOPER: Yes.
WEIR (on-camera): It's big. When the water is really rushing, about 1.7 million homes get their power from Glen Canyon and Hoover Dam, but when it's low, it's about half that right now. So it really matters.
But right now, Lake Powell is about to hit another record. It's about 20 feet from de facto Deadpool, where those turbines, the infrastructure, they want to protect that. So that means they can't release cold water through the Grand Canyon, which really helps that ecosystem. Can't refill mead from there.
And right now, everybody's praying that this El Nino brings a ton of snow this winter. The Rockies had no snow last year. But praying for snow is not a policy.
COOPER: Bill Weir, appreciate it. Thank you.
WEIR (on-camera): You bet.
COOPER: In a few minutes at 9:15 Eastern, my streaming show All There Is Live returns. A companion broadcast of my podcast on loss and grief to watch it at 9:15. Just go to CNN.com/AllThereIs. The QR code at the bottom of the screen will take you there.
On a nightly newscast, we talk about big events in politics and society. We rarely cover the truly important big events in people's lives. Yesterday was the 40th birthday of a man named Ian Alexander Lahikainen. He died six years ago of glioblastoma. His death didn't make headlines, nor did his birthday yesterday, but his -- to his mom and dad and friends, it's a huge event and a difficult day.
I interviewed Ian's mom, Mary, a while ago on my podcast, and I reached out to her yesterday just to let her know I hadn't forgotten Ian's birthday. She sent me really moving voicemail. And I put it together in a video for her and for all of you because a lot of us have days in our calendars that few others remember but we will never forget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY LAHIKAINEN, MOTHER OF IAN ALEXANDER LAHIKAINEN: Ian, how thrilling it would have been to see you turn 40. Where would you be in life? Would you have a dog or a cat? Married? Children? Busy with life and work and family? I wish I'd gotten to learn what your kids would have called me and dad. I would have been the mom happy to get a call when you had the time.
Just an update on your wonderful, busy, exhausting life. I don't know what that feels like. I see what it looks like all around me, but I stand outside looking in.
I am lucky that I got to be your mom. You changed me. An explosion of love that I never knew existed happened the moment they handed you to me, and we locked eyes, and I can remember what it felt like.
You told me at the beginning of hospice that I was your best friend. That was a gift that you gave me. I should have told you that you were my soulmate. The very last picture of you takes my breath away.
I took it on my birthday while you slept. It was three days before hospice ended. You said happy birthday to me that night, and I told you that you were my gift. That was true your entire life, sadly because of cancer. I got to spend your entire life with you, and I had the honor of holding you in my arms at the last moment of your life.
It wasn't supposed to end so soon. Our house is too quiet now. I love you so much. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being my son. You are my very favorite human.
My Ian. My son. Mom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Happy birthday to Ian.
Also on my streaming show tonight in 15 minutes, a deeply moving conversation with a woman named Paige Kendig. She was a producer for Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. And in May, she didn't just lose her job, she lost her mom to pancreatic cancer and her partner, the love of her life, Bryan, to glioblastoma. He was 43.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENDIG: Bryan and I met seven years ago today. I'm not sure I believe in love at first sight, but I'm pretty sure I figured out I loved him that night. From that day forward, except for one day when he was off the grid in the Idaho wilderness, we didn't go a single day without speaking, and right now that silence is heartbreaking. He died early in the morning on the 14th of May.
He couldn't speak to me, but I spoke to him all day. I told him I didn't care what happened, that I would sign up to do it all again, and I meant it. I was planning on having him love me for the rest of my life, but I am so incredibly grateful I was able to love him for the rest of his.
It was an honor of a lifetime to make sure he knew how loved he was right up until the end. And one day, I hope that's enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: You can hear the full interview. It's about 30 minutes with Paige in 15 minutes. Again, join my live streaming show, 9:15 p.m. Eastern at CNN.com/AllThereIs. I hope to see you there.
That's it for us. The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
