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Trump Set to Sign Bipartisan Crypto Bill; Colorado Dentist's Daughters Testify in His Murder Trial; More Than Half of Teens Use AI Companions Regularly. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 18, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Any moment, President Donald Trump set to sign a first of its kind cryptocurrency bill. It's known as the Genius Act and aims to regulate what's known as stablecoins. They're digital tokens which have values tied to regular currencies like the U.S. dollar. Now, a handful of Republicans initially blocked the bill earlier this week. They said it didn't align with President Trump's executive order from earlier this year by including a ban on digital currency backed by the central bank. So a lot of terms here.

So here with us now is business journalist and the host of Public Radio's Full Disclosure, Roben Farzad. Thanks for being here.

ROBEN FARZAD, HOST, PUBLIC RADIO'S FULL DISCLOSURE: Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right. This is big for crypto, but I think the average person knows about Bitcoin. This latest move more focuses on stablecoin.

Can you just contextualize for the everyday person how significant this law would be and why it's being considered sort of a milestone?

FARZAD: This is the formal codification of crypto, which kind of has been its own little wild, wild west. I think mom and pop know ambiently that this asset class has done stupendously well over the last 10 years. I mean, it's the best performance in history.

You know, I get calls from relatives. What is crypto? Where do I buy crypto? I need crypto. I need more crypto. And now it's at a record high.

You have a friendly administration in the White House. So there's this attempt, if you read between the lines, of connecting the formal multi, multi trillion dollar regulated banking system to that kind of wild west, trying to put guardrails around it.

JIMENEZ: And so, you know, the bill has had bipartisan support. Some Democrats, though, Elizabeth Warren, for one, she's a ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee. She argued that it does not have enough safeguards for consumers or financial stability in a way that maybe the traditional forms of U.S. currency typically has. What should people know before potentially investing in stablecoins or something like this, maybe in this new phase that might be different from what we've seen to this point?

FARZAD: This is still volatile, brave new world kind of stuff. Even a stablecoin, which is pegged to like a one to one to the dollar, theoretically, it's not to preclude some sort of financial crisis situation where you had an FDIC assurance for several accounts on banks. But Warren will remember herself in 2007, 2008.

There were runs on the bank. There were guard rails. There were things -- there were moments where you kind of, you know, the known knowns and the known unknowns, I think what the late Don Rumsfeld used to cite.

And we don't know what we're kind of getting into here. If people think that this is effectively as good as the dollar, it's backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, they might behave in a way or the companies issuing these stablecoins might behave in a speculative way that the government is not willing to backstop. But the problem with this time and again is the correct regulation comes after the fact.

When something goes wrong, we can't exactly look into the crystal ball and see how an experiment of this size is going to play out.

JIMENEZ: So I guess that -- because that was going to be my next question is -- what what are some of the biggest challenges here? If this is sort of, I guess, legitimizing crypto in a way that we haven't really seen, at least at this point.

[14:35:00]

How do you regulate? How do you monitor? How do you try to, I guess, cut down on some of the volatility that we've seen in the crypto market to this point?

FARZAD: There's going to be some whack-a-mole going on because the banks, who many of them have opposed this, have said, we don't want these stablecoin issuers out there offering yield or inducements or enticements to make it look like an FDIC-protected safe bank account. You're not allowed to offer yield on these products, but some offer other things like, you know, in-kind yield or perks like with credit card companies. So they're going to be doing that because this is going to be a race to grab that kind of market share.

The banks out there are saying, meanwhile, this is not fair to us. We have all of these restrictions, state restrictions, FDIC restrictions, capital controls on our balance sheet. I mean, things that happen after the financial crisis.

We want to make sure that people out there know that this is not as safe as the U.S. dollar. In fact, what is the pain, ultimately, that you need a replacement for the U.S. dollar like this?

JIMENEZ: See, this is why you're bringing it here. Laid it out so great. Roben Farzad --

FARZAD: But to be honest, I can't even understand it myself. If no one can explain it to me in less than 30 seconds in an elevator, caveat emptor.

JIMENEZ: We got business advice here, too. Roben Farzad, appreciate it as always. Thanks for being here.

FARZAD: Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, coming up, the latest on the Protein Shake murder trial. Why the daughter told the jury her father wrote a letter asking her to make a deep, fake video of her mother. Stay with us.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Day four of testimony resumed in the murder trial of a Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife by placing lethal chemicals in her protein shakes. James Craig has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including first degree murder and solicitation to commit first degree murder. Yesterday, jurors heard from the lead detective in the case whom Craig allegedly tried to have killed.

They also heard from his two daughters, one of whom testified that her father asked her and wrote in a letter step by step instructions on how to create a deep, fake video of her mom asking for chemicals. These were the same chemicals that prosecutors say ultimately caused Angela Craig's death.

CNN law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild is with us. Whitney, what have you learned here?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: This letter that James Craig sent to his daughter, according to her own testimony, left her feeling confused. She was very upset. She was disappointed. She had this mix of emotions and she laid all of that out for the jury, Brianna.

And let me walk you through exactly the instructions her father gave to her. According to her testimony, she says that the letters instructions included buying a laptop, installing a private network and a dark web browser and paying for the project using a prepaid visa gift card.

And again, the father, James Craig, here referred to this video as a project. He also asked her to then burn this video onto a thumb drive and then tell investigators that she'd found it in her mother's bag and then later destroy the laptop.

What the what the video was supposed to say -- basically is supposed to be a video of Angela Craig asking her husband to buy these lethal chemicals. This includes arsenic, cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, which is the active ingredient in eye drops and Visine. And the video was supposed to look like it had been made several weeks before her death.

This is a central piece of evidence, Brianna, for two reasons. I mean, the first is that this this second oldest daughter, you know, really testified about her relationship with her mother. She's bringing this, you know, this victim to life for the jury. She is also poking holes in James Craig's defense, which is that he had been telling people that Angela Craig was suicidal. This idea that she was struggling and may have taken her own life is central to his defense.

And the prosecution is trying to use as much evidence as they can to support this idea that James Craig had mastermind a plot to make it look like Angela Craig took her own life. When, in fact, she was a happy, healthy, thriving mother of six.

In addition, the oldest daughter testified Thursday. And what she said was that she was very close with her mother. She said through tears that she was her best friend.

And she said that when she and James Craig were discussing her mother's death, James Craig did not want an autopsy. And the oldest daughter was concerned that because they didn't know how Angela Craig had died, that it was possible that her illness had been passed on to her younger children. And so she was concerned about this idea that there was a hereditary illness. And when she brought that concern to James Craig, he became very quiet.

These are, again, two very central pieces of evidence here. You know, it is a gut-wrenching, highly emotional testimony for the jury to hear.

Again, bringing this woman who has died to life for them so that they can see how much she was thriving, how much she was loved. But also very explicit, detailed evidence that the prosecution believes pokes holes in James Craig's central defense -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, very interesting. Whitney Wild, live for us on this story. Thank you very much -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: I'm going to get you updated on some other headlines.

The daredevil skydiver, maybe best known for his record-breaking jump from the stratosphere back in 2012, died while paragliding in Italy on Thursday.

[14:45:00]

Local media reports that 56-year-old Felix Baumgartner, the fearless Austrian base jumper, lost control of his paraglider and crashed into a hotel swimming pool. Italy's national broadcaster, RAI, says authorities are working to find out the exact cause of the crash.

But Baumgartner rose to international fame when he broke the speed barrier during a live stream. Remember this? Live stream skydive, 24 miles above the earth, literally looking like he's jumping from space. Take a listen to what he told CNN's Patrick Snell on the 10th anniversary of that jump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, SKYDIVER: I was trying to inhale that moment. I looked around. The sky above me was completely black.

I knew the whole world is watching. And then I did my little -- my little -- I said what I had to say. Sometimes you have to go up to understand how small you are.

And then I said, I'm coming home now. And then I did this one step into the unknown. And then I was on my way, accelerating to 890 miles an hour in just a little bit more than 50 seconds.

It was a very breathtaking moment that will stay in my mind for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And Red Bull, which sponsored his jump, said in a statement that they are, quote, shocked and overwhelmed with sadness over his death. I remember that jump, incredible, incredible stuff.

When we come back, a new survey shows how and why more teens are regularly chatting with AI companions. We're going to bring you the stunning findings next.

[14:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It's a different type of imaginary friend. A new survey shedding light on the relationships that some teens are developing with so-called AI companions, which are digital characters who actually text and talk with users. According to the survey from Common Sense Media, 72 percent of American teens say they have used AI companions, with more than half saying they use them regularly.

JIMENEZ: Yes, a third of teens surveyed say they use their AI companions for social interactions and relationships, which includes friendship and even romantic interactions.

Michael Robb joins us. He is the head of research for Common Sense Media and one of the writers of this new report.

All right, there's a lot in this, but I guess let's just hit the basics. For parents of teens, what is the major concern from this data here?

MICHAEL ROBB, HEAD OF RESEARCH, COMMON SENSE MEDIA: There's a couple concerns. I mean, number one is just acknowledging that the kind of use that AI companions are for is quite different than the kinds of things that people probably typically associate with AI, which might be more like homework help or, you know, generating images or things like that. This is really more like relationships, chatting with AI companions about your day, getting emotional support, maybe even turning to them if you have, you know, more serious problems that you want to deal with.

So as a parent, you know, I think I'd be concerned that my kids might be engaging with AI companions in ways that are not good for their social development and that they might be sharing things that are inappropriate with AI companions and also getting inappropriate responses back.

KEILAR: Well, yes, speak to that a little bit because your survey actually found that among AI companion users, a third report feeling uncomfortable with something that an AI companion has said or done. Talk a little bit about the responses that you gathered on that.

ROBB: Yes, so you're right, about a third say they felt uncomfortable. And if anything, I think that might be understated because kids might not recognize that what an AI companion says back to them might be problematic. We actually did some separate assessments of some of the popular AI companion tools and found that they more than readily shared content that was age inappropriate, stuff that was, you know, sexual in nature, you know, stereotypical kinds of responses, things like advice that might actually be harmful if it was followed by teens.

So, you know, to say that a teen felt uncomfortable with some of these things means that they might be encountering some of this, maybe also not even reporting some of the things that could be causing them to be uncomfortable.

JIMENEZ: Well, and there's another aspect of this study too, the 31 percent of teens in your survey say conversations with their AI companions are as satisfying or more satisfying than those with real life friends.

Look, I have friends I talk to online more than in real life. Sure, sometimes those conversations go better online than in real life. It just is what it is. But is what you found in your study here, is that as concerning as it sounds?

ROBB: Yes, I mean, listen, when you look at the survey, you see that most kids say that they are using AI companions because it's entertaining and because they're curious about the technology.

But I think there is a more vulnerable segment of kids, a substantial minority of them, like you point out, who are using them in ways that would concern me as somebody who's, you know, invested in children's well-being. These tools are programmed to be, you know, very validating and agreeable, and that might feel especially appealing to a teen during, you know, the emotional ups and downs of adolescence.

So, you know, to have a space where you can go where you can practice your social skills or confess something that you may not want to tell a real person might sound appealing, but there's a cost to not talking to friends or family. You know, you don't necessarily develop the skills that are going to be needed in terms of, you know, understanding other people's perspectives or picking up on social cues or the things we know are really important for real-world human relationships.

KEILAR: There's also, I mean, the age difference might matter here, and I wonder what you can say to that.

[14:55:00]

The difference between, like, a 13-year-old talking to an AI companion versus an 18-year-old who maybe has a little more knowledge about the world, what do you see in that?

ROBB: Yes, that's exactly right. I mean, we would expect that developmentally kids are going to be getting different things and approaching AI companions quite differently, and what they understand about AI companions is going to be different. So the 13-year-olds and the younger teens in our study tended to be more trusting of AI companions than older teens were, which I think indicates that some of the older teens were a little more skeptical, kind of brought some of the what we call, like, a healthy habit of mind of critical thinking to their interactions with AI companions that the younger teens were not.

So, I mean, I think that points to a real need for some real work to educate kids, you know, what we call digital literacy, to help them understand what these tools are, how they are programmed, and why you should bring a healthy skepticism to them.

JIMENEZ: Really interesting stuff. Michael, Rob, thank you for breaking all that down for us. Appreciate it.

ROBB: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, happening now at the White House. We're going to give you a live look. President Trump is about to sign the first cryptocurrency bill into law. Stay with CNN. We'll have more coming up.

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