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White House Orders Review of Smithsonian Museums, Exhibits; YouTube to Start Using AI to Guess Ages of Users; NASA to Decommission Satellites that Track Climate Data. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired August 13, 2025 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: The president is on a mission to reshape two of DC's most esteemed institutions, the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center. Today, he named this year's Kennedy Center honorees, saying he had a 98 percent hand in their selection. They are George Strait, Michael Crawford, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, and the rock band KISS.
Now, at the Smithsonian, the organization that oversees the nation's major public museums, the White House just ordered an internal review, starting with exhibits at these eight facilities you see on your screen right now. Administration officials said in a letter the move is to, quote, ensure alignment with the president's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions. The Smithsonian says leadership is now reviewing the letter and plans to work with the White House on this effort.
Joining me now is museum historian Marjorie Schwarzer. She wrote the book Riches, Rivals, and Radicals, a History of Museums in the United States. Marjorie, thank you so much for joining us to talk about a very important subject.
Let's start here. You've read this directive, I understand it. What do you make of it?
MARJORIE SCHWARZER, MUSEUM HISTORIAN: So first of all, thank you for having me on. I read it several times, and whoever wrote it honestly has no idea of how museums work, and they don't know how the Smithsonian is run and administered. So I read it as an intention to create panic among museum professionals, and I want to add that museum workers are much smarter than that, and also to embolden bad actors.
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And that is something that in the history of museums has always failed. So museum professionals are highly dedicated to their work, and they abide by strict codes of ethics.
FREEMAN: Well, let me ask you this, Marjorie, then, because I hear your point, but what do you think the Smithsonian should do in response or do to address this incoming review? SCHWARZER: I think they're doing exactly the right thing. I think they have very strong leadership in place. Like I just said, they have highly dedicated professionals who abide by strict codes of ethics.
And the Smithsonian has a very vigorous code of ethics, and I think they just keep going forward and do what they've always do. Their exhibitions are carefully planned. They've been planned for many years out, and they just keep going.
I think they're responding very intelligently, and I'm not surprised. These are smart people.
FREEMAN: Marjorie, some of the eight museums the White House is initially focusing on include the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of African American History, we're showing them on the screen now, and the National Museum of the American Indian. What do you make of the selections of museums on this list? Why do you think these museums in particular are getting scrutiny?
SCHWARZER: I think that's pretty clear. This is also linked to the sesquicentennial. I hope I said that right.
Since the 1976 bicentennial celebration, the Smithsonian has been working hard to present a more accurate depiction of American history away from singular achievements of white Christian men toward contributions to the nations made by all of this.
I would say that the museums that are targeted are some of the most important history museums in the United States, if not the world, and the work that they have done to give a more nuanced and accurate description of what has happened in America is really important for American identity and American empathy.
Of course they are attacking those institutions, and clearly the intent is tied to a philosophy of racism and exclusion.
FREEMAN: Well, Marjorie Schwarzer, thank you so much for joining us to talk about this evolving conversation about the Smithsonian. Really appreciate your time today.
SCHWARZER: Thank you, Danny.
FREEMAN: And coming up ahead, a new effort by YouTube to prevent kids from accessing inappropriate content online. We'll tell you how it will start using artificial intelligence to guess your age. Stay with us.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Starting today, YouTube is going to begin guessing the age of its users using artificial intelligence, attempting to prevent kids from accessing inappropriate content online. The technology determines a user's age based on their activity on the platform, not the birth date that they submitted when they signed up. It's only being tested with a limited number of U.S. users for now, but it is expected to roll out more widely soon.
CNN's Clare Duffy joins us now. So, Clare, how is this going to work, and why is YouTube doing this now?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH WRITER: Yes, Boris, YouTube, like a lot of the big tech platforms, has faced a lot of criticism for access to harmful content by young users. And also, when these platforms put in place safety measures, teen safety measures, often they receive criticism because teens can pretty easily just sign up for an account with a fake birth date, as if they're an adult, to circumvent those safety measures. And so this is an effort by YouTube to address those concerns.
How this is going to work is that AI is basically going to guess whether a user is a minor or an adult based on certain signals from their account. So the types of videos that they're watching and searching for and the length of time that their account has been around, if the system guesses that you're a minor user, it's going to automatically place you into these more restrictive teen safety settings. So that means you will be -- not be able to review certain restricted types of content, graphic content, sexually suggestive content, your content recommendations will be adjusted, you will be getting these wellness reminders, take a break reminders, and you also won't see any personalized ads.
But this is, you know, going to have implications for all YouTube users, because if you are an adult who the system seems to think is a teen user and you get automatically placed in these teen settings, you're going to have to provide a government ID, a credit card, or a live selfie to verify your age in order to access that adults-only sort of experience on YouTube.
SANCHEZ: And Clare, not everybody is happy about this, right? Tell us about some of the backlash that YouTube is getting.
DUFFY: Yes, so I think certainly some parents are going to be very happy to hear this, happy that YouTube is taking these extra steps to try to protect young users, but there is already backlash, you know, that's rolling out today, but there are some adult users who are concerned about the idea of having to hand over sensitive private information in order to have to verify their ages. Some privacy experts have even raised concerns about how Google is going to be storing this information, protecting this information.
I did go to YouTube and ask them about these privacy concerns, and they said basically that Google has state-of-the-art security systems in order to protect this information, and also that they won't use people's credit card information or IDs in order to target them with advertising.
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But it is going to be interesting to see how YouTube's users start to respond if and when they do get incorrectly identified by this AI system -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: And Clare Duffy, thank you so much for the reporting.
Coming up, we have new CNN reporting on the Trump administration's plan to not just decommission but destroy already paid-for satellites that track planet-warming pollution.
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FREEMAN: A series of satellites that help gather data on climate change and planet warming pollution are expected to be decommissioned by NASA as early as October and some may even be destroyed. That's according to multiple sources inside and outside of the agency.
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Now it all hinges on a budget proposal that's yet to be approved by Congress. Scientists say one of those satellites has enough fuel to last through 2040 and has already been paid for by the taxpayers. But the Trump administration says it's all about cutting costs.
CNN space contributor and host of The Endless Void, Kristin Fischer, joins us now. Kristin let's talk more about these satellites because they're not all the same, I understand that but tell us what's at stake here.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE CONTRIBUTOR: So the ones that we're specifically talking about here, Danny, are called the orbiting carbon observatories. And it's really two separate things. One is a free- floating satellite, like, you know, you and I are probably most familiar with.
And then the other piece of these observatories is an instrument that's been attached to the outside of the International Space Station since 2019. And so it's easy to flip that instrument on or off based on the budget decisions here on Earth. It's the satellite that really makes things tricky.
If the Trump administration were to go forward with decommissioning that satellite, what it would mean is essentially that it would reenter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. That's what satellites do when they're decommissioned. And so that's what's really at the core of it here, Danny, in terms of the decision that's going to be made over the next few weeks here.
FREEMAN: Kristin, can you run through some of the impacts that might come from this? Because I understand, of course, scientists will be impacted, but also farmers rely on climate data for their crops, for example.
FISHER: Yes, so I think what's really important to point out here is that this is not just the kind of science that benefits the United States, right, Danny? I mean, this is stuff that truly benefits the entire world, people all over the world. And so what these observatories, this satellite and this instrument do is they were able to detect that the Amazon rainforest, for instance, emits more carbon dioxide than it absorbs. Really some key data points for climate scientists. Another thing that these observatories can do is they can detect
photosynthesis, which helps predict droughts and potential food shortages around the globe. So those are the kinds of incredible things that these satellites can do.
The question is, does it align with the Trump administration's current priorities, which, as you know, are all about human space flight and human exploration. The argument that NASA scientists are making that are involved in these programs is they're saying, look, the taxpayer has already footed most of the bill for this satellite and instrument, hundreds of, you know, tens of millions of dollars here. It costs a very small amount of money to keep them operational once they're up in space or attached to the International Space Station.
So really there is more money that needs to be invested and funded in order to keep these things up and running, but it's really minuscule compared to the investment that taxpayers have already made.
FREEMAN: Right, you imagine that the cost of getting it up there, building it, doing all the research to get it into space, that's the front end of that cost. Kristin, is there any possibility, though, of saving some of these instruments through maybe a partnership with one of the more and more private space companies that we're seeing?
FISHER: Sure, or perhaps a billionaire. I mean, I'm not going to throw this person. One person comes to mind, Jared Isaacman, right?
This is somebody who was, you know, the president appointed him to be NASA administrator. That appointment was later withdrawn, but Jared Isaacman said afterwards that, you know, there were certain things that he was considering funding even if the Trump administration would decide not to fund it. Now, I'm not saying Jared Isaacman has said anything about these specific satellites or instruments, but, you know, there is a world where somebody like that could come in and perhaps rescue them.
Or, you know, look, Congress could come in and say, we're not going to do this. Right now there is a House bill that would align with the White House's objectives and get rid of these climate monitoring satellites and instruments, but a Senate version preserves it. So really the question now is, can Congress get one of these bills passed before the current funding runs out?
At the moment it looks like that's probably not going to happen, but there are certain stop gaps or things, mechanisms that could be deployed in order to keep these things up and running until a final bill is passed, Danny.
FREEMAN: Well, Kristin Fisher, thank you, as always, for breaking that down for us. Love talking space with you. Appreciate it.
FISHER: Thanks, Danny.
FREEMAN: And we're following a developing situation in Tennessee. Search efforts are now ongoing after severe storms and extreme flooding killed at least four people, including a child. [15:55:00]
This happened in the southeastern part of the state in the city of Chattanooga near the Tennessee-Georgia border.
You can see parts of these images on your screen right now. Floodwaters forcing dozens of water rescues, including one with a woman stranded in the middle of an interstate highway. Now, a flood watch remains in effect as more rain is expected in the area. We'll monitor that story for you.
And coming up ahead, you're about to meet a very special lifeguard who's proving age really nothing but a number. Stay with us.
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FREEMAN: They say if you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life, like working with Boris here. And one lifeguard in New Jersey is proof positive of that life approach.
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Ed Kiziukiewicz is now the oldest active lifeguard in the world according to the Guinness World Record keepers.
SANCHEZ: He is 82-years-old and sharp as ever. He's been keeping swimmers safe since 1961 and he doesn't take time off during the winter either. When it's not beach season, he works as a ski instructor in upstate New York.
Look at him, he looks great.
FREEMAN: He's tan.
SANCHEZ: I feel like he deserves the slow-mo that Dave Hasselhoff and Pam Anderson got in Baywatch all those years ago. Just running toward the camera in slow motion. Cheers to Mr. Kiziukiewicz.
Great to have you, Danny. We'll be back tomorrow. Kasie Hunt starts right now.
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