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State Troopers Sweep Springfield Schools; Vance Blames Democratic Rhetoric for Assassination Attempt; Tim Taylor is Interviewed about the Titan Catastrophe; Instagram Moves to Protect Teens. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 17, 2024 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The threats have also targeted local colleges. In all the city has received 33 threats all tied to the false pet eating claims.

Joining us now is CNN's Brynn Gingras.

Keep us up to date on - and get us up to speed on what's been happening there. And also you have a local official that is not from there, but is a few hours away, who had a lot to say about this, and none of it's good.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, none of it's good, Sara.

But let's also put into context for the viewers where we're talking about. We're talking about a Midwest American town, Springfield, you know, not even 70,000 people. A small police department. Small resources. And now the state is having to get really involved to help these people out because of these baseless claims. I mean it's pretty incredible.

So, what we know right now is that the state is now sending 36 state troopers who are going to go into schools starting this morning, before faculty get there, so probably already have done that, sweep the entire buildings, make sure they're staying safe for the students to go in, stay there while school is going on and then be stationed for dismissal just to ease some of the anxiety for parents.

We also know that there are two universities there that have received numerous bomb threats, numerous threats of shooting up these schools. So much so that they've had to go to virtual learning for those universities.

And then, on top of that, setting aside all the schools, we're learning from the state that they are going to be adding cameras to that town, that they're bringing in bomb-sniffing dogs, that they're bringing in the homeland security for the state to go in and sweep critical pieces of infrastructure, like the schools, to make sure that everything is calm.

And again, this is all based on baseless claims.

I want you to hear from the governor where he says these threats are coming from.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): These -- theses threats have all been hoaxes. None of them have panned out. We have people, unfortunately, overseas who are taking these actions. Some of them are coming from one particular country. We think that this is, you know, one more opportunity to mess with the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And, yes, he wouldn't say which country that is. He didn't want to, you know, give any more reason to add fuel to the fire.

But look, these claims are also just giving more sort of ammunition to others to speak out. You just mentioned, you know, a local official from a town several, you know, hours away from Springfield, Sara, but a sheriff essentially going on his own Facebook - he's a seated sheriff, elected sheriff, and basically saying, let's call out all the people that support Kamala Harris. Let's get their addresses down. I mean it's just getting very inflammatory, as we know, across this country, but certainly in this area of the state - of the country.

SIDNER: Yes, one of the - yes, I mean, when one of the big things that the Republicans have been complaining about is that resources are being impacted by the immigrants.

GINGRAS: Yes.

SIDNER: And here their rhetoric has greatly impacted this town in ways that they could never have imagined.

Brynn Gingras, thank you so much. I really appreciate your reporting on this.

GINGRAS: Yes.

SIDNER: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Sara.

Joining us right now to talk more about all of this is former Obama speech writer Terry Szuplat. He's the author of the new book, "Say It Well, Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience," and also with us is former Trump administration official Matt Mowers.

Great to see you guys.

So, Terry, add to the conversation that Brynn and Sara were just having. Add to that you've got Donald Trump and J.D. Vance talking about - what they say the need for Democrats to tone down the rhetoric.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, there's a lot of rhetoric going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

TRUMP: A lot of people think that the Democrats, when they talk about threat to democracy and all of this. And it seems that both of these people were radical lefts.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months. I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: This is - well, we're hearing from - some of our reporting is this is going to become part of the Trump campaign's message today and going forward. How do Democrats and Kamala Harris and the campaign respond to this?

TERRY SZUPLAT, FORMER OBAMA SPEECHWRITER: Well, I think this illustrates a bigger problem that's in the country. You are kind to mention the book at the beginning. And one of the reasons precisely why I wrote the book is because the political rhetoric in this country has gotten completely out of control. And if in moments like this the only thing that happens is Republicans get up and blame Democrats, and Democrats get up and blame Republicans, then this is never going to change. We're going to be stuck in this forever.

So, one of the things I do in the book is lay out things that we can all do, as Americans, to help tone down the rhetoric. Yes, the politicians need to do it, but there are things we can all do in our own lives. This is a national problem.

BOLDUAN: It's - it is inspiring to hear you say that. But I will say, the immediate aftermath is exactly what you fear, Terry, is happening, is happening. You hear that from J.D. Vance.

I also - logic, Matt, I will say, if - if they believe, the Trump campaign, believes that heated rhetoric can be dangerous, and it can be, logical thinking does suggest that Donald Trump should be concerned about his own heated rhetoric about Springfield, Ohio, and beyond.

[09:35:08]

But I just had a top Trump campaign surrogate, Republican congressman from Florida, just on with me. And let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: In terms of rhetoric, do you think - do you think Donald Trump, and the Trump campaign, do you think they have a problem with rhetoric as well? REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): No, and I don't. I think especially in

light of the fact that there has now been a second assassination attempt on the life of President Trump, I do not believe so. What we are seeing now is that you do have radical elements of the Democratic Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump - Matt, Donald Trump does not have a rhetoric problem is what he was saying to me. How are people supposed to take that statement seriously, and where does that - where does - where does this take us?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, you know, I think the point that Congressman Donalds was saying there, and I watched part of the interview earlier, I think he went on to say this further, and it's a similar point to the - the - what J.D. Vance was saying in the clip you just played, is they are saying, if you look at who is the candidate, and who is the person who's now survived essentially two assassination attempts, I think we can qualify Sunday as an assassination attempt when someone has, you know, an armed weapon within 500 yards of the former president of the United States, that clearly there is something in this atmosphere inciting them. And if you do look at the rhetoric sustained over a number of years, and not saying that both parties don't have, you know, moments of heated rhetoric, not saying that both sides shouldn't calm down, I'm not saying that. But if you look at from the perspective of what Byron Donalds and what J.D. Vance are saying, given that the only candidate who has now successfully survived two assassination attempts is Donald Trump, one would lead you to believe there is heated rhetoric that is driving these individuals who, yes, are not mentally stable, are not emotionally stable, are clearly in a world of their own, but are incited by some belief in the political system that Donald Trump is such a threat. The word that is often used by the Democratic campaigns and Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, calling him a threat, that they have to take action in their own hands. And it's not something that can be solved at the ballot box.

And that inherently is the problem that we have right now in our country is the fact that you have had this sustained level of rhetoric that is dialed up more. I mean you just had Kamala Harris today say that Donald Trump is responsible for people and women dying. I mean when you say things like that, when you then go, and I believe Byron Donalds talked about this, the Project 2025 plan, that Donald Trump has said he doesn't agree with and hasn't even read, to the point that he hasn't even see it, he doesn't agree with it. You still have Vice President Harris' campaign saying that this is a danger and threat to democracy and Donald Trump subscribes to every word in it. It's the type of lies and gaslighting that does drive people to start saying, maybe I have to take in my own hands.

BOLDUAN: Yes, but -

MOWERS: And that is the problem we have right now (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: But, Matt, I'm going to jump in. I'm going to - I'm going to let Terry get in, but like talking about gaslighting is exactly what I feel like has been happening on our air and in many places for a long time because, yes, you -- both campaigns could need it - have a - have a - a - maybe - they need to both tone it down. But talking about gaslighting is like these lies led to this but these lies don't lead to anything is part of the problem here.

I mean, but, Terry, people use heated rhetoric on a campaign because they think it works.

SZUPLAT: Well, this is exactly - what we just heard is exactly what I'm getting at. Again, if all anyone does is get up and blame other people for this situation, then we're never going to get out of this. We're here having a conversation about political rhetoric. So, let's focus on political rhetoric. Let's focus on the words that we use, that our leaders use, that we use as Americans. So, what can we all do as - you know, everyone says we need to tone it down, but no one ever says what we should do. So, here's some examples.

We can all stop dehumanizing one another. We can stop using words like describing fellow human beings as animals and hordes. We can stop demonizing each other. We can stop using words like wicked and evil to describe other people. We can stop otherizing people and painting everything as an us versus them contest. We can stop, you know, referring to fellow Americans who disagree with us as the enemy, which we hear over and over, enemies who need to be crushed, who need to be destroyed. That's what leads to partisan - the success of partisanship. That's what's leading to political instability and violence.

And again, if you want to talk about political violence, you cannot have a conversation like this without talking about one of the ultimate acts of political violence in American history, which was the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

BOLDUAN: And I think we could also say, looking to - I - maybe we get to the point we're looking to politicians to be the leaders in toning down the rhetoric is not the place to look.

SZUPLAT: No.

BOLDUAN: I'm kind of starting to think, just take adjectives out of everything, the way we talk about things make their sentence structure very basic.

SZUPLAT: Right.

BOLDUAN: And that might be the way we have to talk. But it's really - that is - your perspective on this is fascinating.

And, Matt, it's always great to have you to come on. Thank you very much.

MOWERS: Thanks, Kate.

SZUPLAT: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Kate Bolduan pro-noun, anti-adjective.

[09:40:01]

You heard it here first.

This morning, brand new images released of the Titan submersible moments before the implosion that killed all of the people onboard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: An ongoing Coast Guard hearing is revealing new details about the horrific implosion of the Titan submersible. For the first time we're seeing an image of the vessel's tail cone at the bottom of the ocean floor after it imploded, killing all five people on board.

[09:45:03]

They were going down to see the wreckage of the Titanic.

Yesterday saw shocking testimony from a contractor who worked on the Titan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you have felt comfortable going on the Titan to depth?

TYM CATTERSON, OCEANGATE CONTRACTOR: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you please explain why.

CATTERSON: I don't believe that composites are the correct material for a pressure vessel that's experiencing external compression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever voice your concerns to any Oceangate employee?

CATTERSON: Yes, I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is Tim Taylor, underwater explorer and CEO at Tiburon Subsea.

Tim, thank you for coming on again for us this morning.

TIM TAYLOR, CEO, TIBURON SUBSEA: Hi, Sara.

SIDNER: That was some very powerful testimony. When you heard him say, no, and that he would not have recommended getting on that vessel, and then said, I did tell the owners of the vessel, what do you make of that? How - how bad is it for those who created this - this vessel?

TAYLOR: I - I mean, I - I don't think it's really good. This - we understand that - that this composite was experimental. You don't - people do not get in their cars without manufacturers crash testing them and testing them and testing them. This material should have been tested at depth numerous times without people in it, without, you know, and stressed and flexed and tested.

But every - every legitimate submersible developer has toyed with carbon fiber at one point. In fact, a lot of autonomous vehicles are made with carbon fiber, but they don't have people in them. And for very good reason. And they stick to shallower depths. When you get that kind of pressure of the Titanic and it flexes these things and they - and they compress and they move, they start to delaminate, they start to cut each other, they start to act like sandpaper within themselves and then start - start decaying rapidly, and they don't hold up like titanium or - or steel or like - or stronger materials. And I'm not surprised.

SIDNER: Tim, why use the material in the first place? Is it - is it that it's cheaper? Is it that it's lighter? What is the reason for using that composite material that can be, as you've said, so problematic in really deep depths?

TAYLOR: You want to be innovative. You want to use new materials and you want to break frontiers. This is an experimental vessel. And - and you don't put customers and people that are paying - a safety briefing for someone on one of these things that says, hey, this is really safe. This is the fire exists. If you are on a plane, this is how to get off. We don't tell you that I will use inferior materials to manufacture the plane. You feel safe because they gave you a safety briefing. But ultimately, it's experimental and there was no regulation, there was no oversight.

The -- the - and it wasn't because that system is not in place. This industry has tremendous, tremendous success with manufacturing equipment. It's when someone goes outside the system and ignores the rules because - these rules are made because they were - a lot of - a lot of, you know, people paid some prices early on in their underwater exploration and - and these - these systems were put in place to protect me. And - and if you want to go outside of that as a manufacturer, that's fine as long as you and your testing (INAUDIBLE) that are making the risks. But when you put other people in there. And I think that's why we're here. A lot of people blew the whistle, and there were a lot of people that were compliant. So, there's people still out there that let this go on and didn't say anything for fear of losing their job, or fear of whatever, or just that they wanted to be part of a, you know, Titanic or groundbreaking expedition.

So, you've got to be careful. People have to be aware.

SIDNER: Yes. Truly, five souls lost in that.

TAYLOR: Right.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Tim Taylor, for coming on and explaining that to us all.

John. BERMAN: All right, this morning, the new rules aiming to keep teens safe on Instagram. And we did just get some breaking news. The grand jury indictment against Sean "Diddy" Combs, just unsealed. We're going through it right now. We will tell you what is inside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:32]

BOLDUAN: This morning, Instagram is announcing some potentially big changes. It's most dramatic effort yet to better protect young people using the social media platform, rolling out new rules, giving parents more oversight and control over what their kids see.

CNN's Clare Duffy is tracking this one for us and she's here with us now.

So, what are the changes?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH WRITER: Yes, so, starting next week Instagram is going to start automatically applying these new teen account settings for all users under 18. So, here's what that's going to look like. All teen accounts, new and existing, will be made private, which means even if you're a teen influencer, your account will be made private. There's going to be new restrictions on who can message teens, who can tag them in photos and comments. It's going to auto default teen accounts to sleep mode, which means that they won't receive notifications overnight. Messages will receive auto responses. And it's going to start warning teens when they've spent one hour on the platform each day. And teens will also be limited in terms of the kinds of sensitive content that they can see in their feet. So, think like posts promoting cosmetic procedures.

But what I think is the biggest change here is that 16 and 17 teens will be able to go in and manually change these settings back if they want to. But 13 to 15 year-olds will have to receive parental approval on the app, which means if their account isn't already linked to a parent's account for supervision, they're going to have to set that up if they want less restrictive settings.

So, potentially more oversight for parents here.

BERMAN: Ah, 16 and 17 year-olds. I got - I got two of them.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: They can turn it off themselves. All right.

DUFFY: They can turn it off themselves if they want to.

BERMAN: All right, this will look for about eight seconds, all right, with the 16 and 17 year olds, but I understand that the targets maybe for the younger audience there.

[09:55:05]

When does this all go into effect?

DUFFY: So, teens are going to start today seeing notifications, letting them know that this is coming. And then starting next week for teens in the U.S. U.K., Canada, and Australia. These teens - these changes will automatically go into effect, and then it will roll out to the rest of the world later this year and next year.

SIDNER: Wow. I mean, I think I need them.

DUFFY: I need them too. Totally.

BERMAN: It would be good to get the warning, you've been on for an hour now.

SIDNER: I think I need - right, you've been on for an hour. That one I'd like.

DUFFY: And the overnight thing.

SIDNER: Is there a way to get around this because, obviously, they ask - they ask the user for their birthday, right, so you could put in anything really.

DUFFY: Yes, this is the big question, I think, because Instagram doesn't really do age verification. So, it's easy enough for teens to lie. But the company says that they're implementing new AI to try to catch people when they do this.

SIDNER: See. Busted.

BOLDUAN: How many - I mean think how many kids - how many kids are on - I mean how - this is so many.

DUFFY: It's one of the most popular social media platforms in the U.S. and in the world.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

DUFFY: So, this is something that, you know, Instagram has made some of these sort of menial changes, procedural things over the years. But this is a more comprehensive approach.

BOLDUAN: Well, they've taken a lot of heat and criticism for the lack of doing that till now.

SIDNER: Yes. Finally.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Clare.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Clare.

DUFFY: Thanks.

BERMAN: All right, this has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL with John Berman, Kate Bolduan, Sara Sidner. There is breaking news. We do have our hands on the indictment of Sean "Diddy" Combs. We will tell you what's inside of it. "CNN NEWSROOM" up next.

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