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Sean Combs in court Trying for Bail Again; "Too Hot Not To Vote" Campaign Targets Climate Voters; Trump Ramps Up Pressure for Government Shutdown of Lawmakers Don't Pass Controversial Voting Bill. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: He just spent the night in jail, his first night in jail, and in moments Grammy award-winning superstar Sean Diddy Combs is expected to be in a federal courtroom making a case for his release. He's appealing the denial of his bond yesterday as he awaits trial. Now his lawyers will propose a new bail package.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: It includes restricting female visitors except family. Combs is facing a potential life sentence after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and other alleged crimes. Let's turn now to defense attorney Misty Marris.

Misty, I wonder what you think about this proposal that Diddy's attorney is putting forward to the judge considering the fact that Diddy has shown even while facing legal action he has a propensity to reach out to witnesses or potential witnesses.

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right, so the defense is putting together another package with more restrictions to propose to the judge in this appeal, which is actually before the district court judge that will be overseeing the entirety of this case.

Look, they want to add some additional restrictions so that it shows and furthers their argument that Diddy will, the two parameters that really matter, is he a flight risk? Will he show up for his next appearances? And number two, is he a danger? And that's not just a danger to society. That relates to being a danger in the sense that he might communicate with witnesses, that there could be some obstructionist behavior, as prosecutors have argued.

So they're doing their best to put together something more, but under the circumstances, it's unlikely to be successful. I think we're going to see upholding the bail determination from yesterday.

SANCHEZ: Misty, what do you make of this letter, part of the letter, that the defense team wrote to the judge outlining the rough conditions in this detention center that Diddy is going to be held in? They outlined that there was a murder there a few months ago, that four people had died by suicide in the last few years.

[15:35:00] Generally, that other courts in that district have found it's in rough shape.

Is that going to help him much?

MARRIS: Well, the Metropolitan Detention Center that we're talking about is something that we've heard times, Ghislaine Maxwell complaining about the conditions, other defendants who have spent time there. The reason that you see the defense raising that as another issue in the case, because they're, of course, asking for house arrest, is because in, with respect to these particular very severe charges, there's what's called a presumption of detention. Meaning the defense has the burden to tell the judge and to overcome a presumption that favors the prosecution and favors holding Combs in jail pending trial.

Because of that, anything and everything, including these new conditions that are being proposed to limit who he would have contact with if he were to be on house arrest, in addition to the conditions that have been the subject of criticism in this particular detention center, they're going to use anything and everything they have in order to overcome that presumption.

KEILAR: Misty, let's talk about this case and how it could shape up. This is what Combs' attorney said about a plea deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there any chance Sean Combs takes a plea deal?

MARC AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN DIDDY COMBS: I don't see it happening. I do not see it happening. He's innocent. I believe he's innocent of the charges and he is going to go to trial and I believe he's going to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I wonder what you think about that, Misty, considering that we've heard at least described by the prosecutors, and I'm sure it's normal to sound confident about the case you have, but they say that he videotaped his transgressions.

MARRIS: I think the reason that you're hearing the defense attorney say that a plea deal is very unlikely to happen is because of exactly what you pointed out. There's video evidence. We don't know what else was taken from all of those electronics that were taken in the raid and were reviewed as evidence for this case.

We heard prosecutors say they interviewed up to 50 witnesses. We know that there's a conspiracy element of this, right? We have racketeering that there might be others who are involved.

I think what the defense is really saying is, OK, we're going to take it to trial because any plea deal would be unlikely to be so favorable. We're talking about charges that carry a minimum of 15 years. So the idea that a plea deal is going to be something that will have a not so severe punishment is just really not in the cards for this particular case.

KEILAR: Yes, really interesting. Misty Marris, thank you so much. We do appreciate it.

And still ahead, Bill Nye, the science guy. Boris' favorite scientist live on NEWS CENTRAL. What he's hoping to accomplish this election year with the too hot not to vote campaign.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A new study out today from Climate Central shows that 2024 broke a 50-year heat record around the globe, with a whopping 70 countries seeing their hottest summers. Here in the United States, Phoenix just ended its historic streak of 113 consecutive days of triple-digit highs.

Folks are not just dealing with extreme heat, but people in coastal North Carolina are now cleaning up after floodwaters surged into homes, stranded vehicles, and forced water rescues earlier this week. This was a 1,000-year rain event that was caused by an unnamed storm.

We're joined now by Bill Nye, the science guy who is a legendary science educator. Bill, your reaction to this study and what you make of all these extreme weather events, is there any doubt in your mind that this is climate change at play?

BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY: No, not in my mind. And as we say, it's very difficult to connect any one event, any one event that's not a heat event with climate change. But in general, when there's a lot of rain, that's because the ocean's warmer, the air's warmer, and so you can connect rain events to climate change.

But with all that in mind, there's no question the world's getting warmer, and there's no question that humans are to blame or causing it. I mean, as the saying goes, suppose these events were happening, these extreme weather events, extreme rain events, and we didn't know why they were happening. It was just a mystery. That would be really troubling. But it's us.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and that's part of the reason you're getting involved this election season in the Too Hot Not to Vote campaign. Tell us about that.

NYE: So, everybody, say what you will about what your perception of the economy a few years ago, your perception of price of gasoline or eggs, your perception of whatever may be happening on other parts of the world.

[15:45:00]

But there is no question that one party is ignoring climate change and not having any sort of plan at all to deal with it, and is furthermore beholden to the fossil fuel industry, accepting essentially bribes from the fossil fuel industry to keep this status quo going. And I understand that.

It's hard for a person to change his point of view when his living depends on it. I'm paraphrasing Upton Sinclair there.

But the Democratic Party has been addressing climate change to the extent possible in this contentious time and is developing plans to carry it forward, to use renewable energy to curtail a burning of fossil fuels.

And one more thing, I just remind everybody, the U.S. is the most influential culture in the world. Not only is the U.S. the third most populous country, a third of a billion people, but our culture is everywhere. So the U.S. has to lead the world in addressing climate change. And so I encourage everybody to vote, vote with the environment, with climate change in mind.

SANCHEZ: Now, Bill, you talked about Democrats having a plan and to the extent possible addressing climate change. The vice president has touted both her support for clean energy, but also record levels of domestic oil production in the United States since taking office. I wonder how much oil you think the U.S. should be producing under President Harris if she were to win.

NYE: So, yes, so of course, from my point of view, we want to ultimately not be burning any fossil fuels at all, but practically that's quite difficult and there's going to be a transition. And so everybody, this is a classic example of picking a specific datum and extrapolating, so-called cherry picking. Yes, by burning less coal, we are burning more natural gas.

As the pandemic wound down, we started driving cars again countrywide. And these two effects make it so that you can pick the datum that we're burning -- we're producing more oil and gas than we did previously. And that's good. It's noteworthy.

But the long-term goal would be to transition from coal and gas to natural gas and then from natural gas to renewable sources of electricity. That would be the long-term goal.

Now, people running for president have to move to the center. All good. And I understand that. But first of all, let's vote for a party that's going to do something about climate change.

SANCHEZ: Bill, one last thing, because I know you're passionate about it. You're working to bring awareness to a condition called ataxia. And I believe Ataxia Awareness Day is next week.

Tell us about that.

NYE: So this is something I grew up with. Ataxia means you can't taxi, you can't get around. And so my dad had it, my grandmother had it, my brother and sister have symptoms.

And this is where you lose your balance. You have trouble swallowing. And this is something we inherited. But the deal is, ours has been identified, Spinal Cerebellar Ataxia 27B. And so this is a huge first step.

In my grandmother's day, there was no way to know what caused it. And it's quite subtle how it gets passed on. So check us out at the National Ataxia Foundation. You may be surprised that you have family members that have either this specific type or another closely related type of ataxia.

Thank you for asking about that.

SANCHEZ: Of course, it's important to bring attention to that condition. And we appreciate the work you're doing on it. Bill Nye, thanks so much for joining us.

Always appreciate you, sir.

NYE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We have breaking news into CNN. Former President Trump is ramping up pressure on Republicans to shut down the government.

SANCHEZ: That's if the House can't pass a controversial bill today. One that seems destined to fail. Let's take you live to Capitol Hill with CNN's Manu Raju.

Manu, what is Trump saying?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact he is saying that. He said that Mike Johnson and the House Republicans should essentially not pass a bill to keep the government open if they don't get everything they want when it comes to this very controversial proposal. This to essentially prevent non-citizens from voting, from undocumented immigrants from voting.

That's already against the law. Democrats say it is not necessary. Republicans like Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, say that it is necessary to add some additional protections.

But nevertheless, this is a basic fact. There are not the votes to pass it even in the Republican-controlled House, let alone the Democratic-controlled Senate. And the reason why it's not going to pass the House tonight, Democratic opposition, but also some Republicans who are opposed to passing any short-term extension of government funding.

And what Donald Trump says, as you can see on your screen there, he says that Republicans don't get the SAVE Act. That is the legislation that I'm referring to.

He said every ounce of it. They should not agree to a continuing resolution in any way, shape, or form.

Now, again, this continuing resolution to keep the government open is needed by September 30th. If not, then the federal agencies will shudder.

Mike Johnson is proposing to extend government funding for six months, include this controversial provision, but it is expected to fail tonight. So now Johnson is in a bit of a jam. What will he do?

He can actually try to defy Donald Trump, work with Democrats, pass a clean continuing resolution without any of these provisions, keep the government open, or he can listen to Donald Trump and allow the government to shut down in a matter of days.

[15:55:04]

So a lot of questions here about what Mike Johnson will do. I asked him earlier today if he agrees with Donald Trump's strategy. He didn't exactly say -- guys.

KEILAR: All right, Manu Raju, live for us on the Hill. Thank you. And if you are trying to work out more but miss those sweet sugary treats, we have the story for you ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: As Willy Wonka once said, invention, my dear friends, 93 percent perspiration, 6 percent electricity, 4 percent evaporation, and 2 percent butterscotch ripple.

KEILAR: But we now know that reinvention is actually 100 percent about getting swole, bro.

SANCHEZ: Who are you?

KEILAR: I just read what they write.

That's especially true for candy giant Hershey, who is making a move into the wellness aisle.

SANCHEZ: They've now launched new products, including Jolly Rancher flavored energy drinks, Reese's peanut butter flavored protein powder.

KEILAR: Yes, it's all part of a new partnership. I know, I like that. So partnership with C4 Energy. It's a supplement brand, huge with gym rats. Hershey's wants to seek to offset falling sales in its candy business. Get swole.

SANCHEZ: Get swole, bro, with "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper right now.

END