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Day 2 of Testimony in Tupac Shakur Murder Trial; Statewide Margins in Upcoming Congressional Elections; OpenAI Launches ChatGPT for Teens to Safeguard Young Users. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 18, 2026 - 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: Soon, more witnesses are set to take the stand in the trial of the man accused of orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur. You can see him there. He's the only defendant to face charges in the nearly 30-year-old case.

Duane, Keefe D., Davis has pleaded not guilty in this case. The first day of testimony gave jurors a glimpse into the chaos when the iconic rapper Tupac Shakur was shot in his car in Vegas in 1996.

CNN's Jean Casarez, following all of the details of the trial, she joins me now. What did the jury learn from opening statements and testimony in day one? And what are we expecting to hear today?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So much, Sara. First of all, today they did not -- have not said who their witnesses will be, but they're sort of going in a point chronologically to all of this. But we heard testimony yesterday that has never been heard before.

Witnesses who were on the scene that testified, investigators, what their file report said. And it was very eye-opening. And one of them was Ingrid Stokes.

She and her girlfriends from Southern California had gone to Vegas for the Mike Tyson fight. So after the fight, they're driving around in their car, and they suddenly come upon Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight next to them. And her girlfriend knew Suge Knight.

So they rolled down the window and they're talking to Suge. She said that Tupac was just sitting right there and he was quiet. Well, a little -- they were still in traffic, and they weren't next to him anymore.

They were in a different position. But she said that she saw a white car. And then she looks down. I'm going to let her say the rest. Listen to her testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While you're waiting at that light, does anything happen?

INGRID STOKES, WITNESS: Well, me and Shalane were going to change seats. I was going to drive. I'm the more aggressive driver.

And after what, you know, she was nervous with them coming back in front of us so much. So I, me and Shalane were literally head down, taking our seat belts off when we heard the gunshots. All hell broke loose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to be fair, you didn't see those gunshots.

STOKES: No, no, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: But she heard the gunshots. They shoved it into drive. They got out of there quickly.

They knew that this was a drive-by shooting. Something was happening.

And so then officers started getting on the scene. But the very first officer was Garry Dale. He was actually on a bicycle.

And he stayed with Tupac until the ambulance came. When the ambulance came, he got into that ambulance with him. As they're driving to the hospital, and he begins to have a conversation with Tupac.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRY DALE, FORMER LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER: He was still talking. And I was trying to convince him to tell me the name of whoever his assailants were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he ever respond?

DALE: Yes, he responded, no, we'll take care of it. Something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we'll take care of it.

DALE: We'll take care of it. Something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's the only thing you were able to gather from Mr. Shakur?

DALE: Yes, I couldn't get him to talk to me any further than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So Tupac was alive. He was aware. He was able to comprehend.

He would not say who shot him. And his response was really the code of the streets. We take care of it on the streets.

Now, I want to tell you about another witness at the end of yesterday, Fred Miller. He was one of the leading homicide investigators in the Biggie murder. That happened six months after Tupac. It happened in Los Angeles. It was an after party. And there was a dark-colored Impala that made the shots.

[09:35:00]

They thought that Duane Davis was a suspect because he owned a dark- colored Impala because he got a traffic citation. They called him in. They talked to him.

The judge said he is not involved. We do not believe that he is responsible for this murder. But what it does do is the motive they believed at the time was that there was an issue with Biggie and Sean Combs involving money. And that would have been a motive for Duane Davis.

Also a potential motive in this case, the Tupac case.

SIDNER: There is so much surrounding this case, which is why it has led to so many documentaries and movies about this and interest in this. Jean Casarez, you're watching it all for us, and we do appreciate you.

Full coverage of the trial starts today at 11.30 a.m. Eastern. Scan the QR code there on your screen. Or you can watch on CNN.com/TupacTrial or on the app -- John.

BERMAN: All right, we've got some breaking news. Oil prices back up above $90 a barrel, above $91 right now -- Brent crude. These numbers have been rising throughout the morning. Obviously, this has major implications, not the direction the administration wants to see.

And one of the most popular AI chatbots launching a version for teenagers that they say has safeguards. So what safeguards are we talking about here, and will they work?

[09:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We have a special data treat for you today. We're always looking for ways to look at the elections, look at the primaries that have happened, look at the results that we have. And predict what they mean.

Look at what they might mean for the November election coming up. And our very own chief data analyst, Harry Enten, has a unique look at one state that has voted already.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: Washington.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: And what it might mean for November? ENTEN: I'll take it away, Johnny B. Look, the Washington primary historically has been pretty predictive of what we see come the midterm elections. That is the swing we see from the presidential vote, the prior presidential vote, to what we see in terms of the cumulative, adding up all the Democrats and all the Republicans and chasing the margin between them.

That swing has been quite predictive for the midterm elections. That is the U.S. House popular vote within two points, within two points. So this is quite predictive of what's going on.

And what we see in Washington, what we see is, look, Kamala Harris won that state by 18 points. Look at what the Democrats are doing in terms of beating the Republicans in terms of the cumulative House vote. They have won the cumulative House vote right now, there's still a few votes to get counted, by 24 points.

So we're looking at about a five and a half point swing, which is not anywhere near as large, Johnny B, is sort of saying it, not anywhere near as large as we've seen in some of those special House elections so far. So this is good news for Democrats, but it's certainly not great news for Democrats.

And historically speaking, in midterms since 1994, this has been quite predictive of the swing that we see nationally.

BERMAN: So we're looking at Washington because it has been predictive. You're saying there is a five and a half point swing. So what does that mean, perhaps, for the midterms in November?

ENTEN: OK, so if history holds and Washington is in fact predictive of what happens come the midterms in November and you see, say, a five and a half point swing, what might that look like? Well, Donald Trump won nationally by a point. That would mean that nationwide Democrats would be expected to win the U.S. House vote by about four points. Now, with the redistricting, Democrats probably need a margin of between, say, three and four points. This would put this, for House control, this would put this right basically on the border. This is very different than a lot of the data points we've been seeing so far.

This would suggest a fairly tight battle for the U.S. House of Representatives based upon what we see in Washington state if that swing holds.

BERMAN: Too close for comfort, I think, as Democrats. If Democrats were looking at this and were like, whoa, that's tighter than we think, tighter than we'd like.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: So if you're looking at Washington state, what happened there, you know, what signs do you see about what might be, I don't know if it's depressing it or tying up Democrats a little bit.

ENTEN: Yes, what might be tying up is there seems to be this real divide within the anti-Trump vote. That's what seems to be going on. I mean, take a look at this.

In the Washington 5th District, an independent populist got 16 percent of the vote. In Washington 9, a revolutionary socialist got 17 percent of the vote. Can the Democrats unite these blocks come November?

If they can, they'll do very well. And maybe that swing will be bigger. But if you see this divide, maybe not.

Now, the final thing I will note is people who are putting their money is where their mouths are. Right. In terms of gauging this.

Well, they still expect that Democrats will be able to swing a number of districts. Here's one for you. Take a look at this.

The chance to win in Wisconsin, three. It's a plus seven Trump district. Look at this.

The Democrat with a 71 percent chance of winning, according to the Kalshi prediction market. So Washington saying one thing. There are a lot of other metrics that are saying other things.

But Washington historically has been quite predictive. And if it is, we've got a fairly tight battle for the U.S. House of Representatives on our hand come November.

BERMAN: I'll notice the prediction markets, Kalshi saying that Van Orden might be cooked.

ENTEN: Oh, Johnny B. has to -- he's so smart.

BERMAN: All right, we have a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Thousands of mourners filled London's Trafalgar Square Monday for a vigil honoring Jason Arday, who was the youngest black professor in Cambridge University's history. The 41-year-old died Friday following weeks of intense media scrutiny over alleged plagiarism, which he had denied. His first university even cleared him of those accusations of plagiarism, but Cambridge eventually ended up doing an investigation into his background before he resigned.

The British media pounced on the story. The Telegraph is reporting even J.K. Rowling has chimed in saying Cambridge could have spared him a public shaming. Mourners are calling his death a tragedy fueled by what they say was relentless and racist coverage -- Kate.

[09:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much, Sara.

Nearly one of three American teenagers uses an AI chatbot. And this morning, one of the biggest companies, biggest names in that industry, is rolling out a range of new safety features today for kids under the age of 18 on ChatGPT. OpenAI launching what it's called ChatGPT for Teens, describing it as an experience that gives stronger protections, features designed to promote healthy use, and more control for parents over their children. It will do things like suggest taking breaks from the chatbot. It will allow parents to set study hours for their teens, so only the learning mode of the AI model will be activated during that time.

The move for increased protections comes as OpenAI has faced lawsuits over allegations that ChatGPT contributed to the deaths of teenage users and is harmful to their mental health. Let's talk about what they're rolling out here today. Joining me here in studio is Lauren Jonas.

She's the head of youth well-being and families at OpenAI. Thank you for being here.

LAUREN JONAS, HEAD OF YOUTH WELL-BEING AND FAMILIES, OPENAI: Thank you for having me.

BOLDUAN: Talk to me about what you are rolling out today. It's like a real product, not just an additional thing to add to the AI model. What is tangibly going to be different for parents and teenagers today?

JONAS: Yes, so we are launching ChatGPT for Teens. This is a dedicated, learning-focused experience for teens with additional protections and safeguards. You know, nine of ten teens are using ChatGPT today for learning, and the goal is for this to be a learning tool for teens.

And so what you see with this launch of ChatGPT for Teens is us really moving in that direction.

BOLDUAN: I mean, every parent says thank you. I'll have another when it comes to any tool that can help our kids learn better and learn safely when you're talking about being online. Parents have heard for years assurances of additional safety features coming from social media companies.

You know, nudges and suggestions and parental controls, and largely so many people think it has not been nearly enough, so much so that countries are banning social media for teens. How do you assure parents who've seen this with social media and have seen it feel like it's not enough, that when it comes to AI, your safety features are going to be more successful?

JONAS: ChatGPT is not social media. We are not a social media company. It's a very different thing.

It is a learning tool. It's a tool for teens to expand and grow and create their future. One of the things that we're doing with ChatGPT for Teens, and we were the first in the industry to do this, is launch what we're calling parental safety notification.

So if a teen is having a hard time on ChatGPT, a parent is notified. We're really heartened to see some of our, you know, industry peers follow suit in this regard. With ChatGPT for Teens, we're expanding the categories where we're notifying parents if a teen is having a hard time.

BOLDUAN: How quickly is a parent notified?

JONAS: From the moment that a teen expresses a hard moment on ChatGPT, that content is then reviewed by human beings. So human beings inside OpenAI review that content, and we notify a parent via text message, e-mail.

In ChatGPT, we strive for that whole process to take less than an hour.

BOLDUAN: It's a great goal and it requires a lot of human power. Do you have the human power and capacity to ensure that that happens within an hour?

JONAS: We do, and we keep expanding our portfolio here of notifications where we're making sure that parents have the information and the tools that they need to support their teens in a moment of crisis.

BOLDUAN: I mentioned the lawsuits when I was introducing this segment. Since the company started rolling out some parental controls and other safety features last year, you have faced these new lawsuits. Families in British Columbia of school shooting victims suing the company and the CEO in April claiming ChatGPT enabled the shooter.

In June, the state of Florida sued the company and the CEO claiming that you failed to address ChatGPT's safety risks to minors. Is this rollout going to address those existing concerns?

JONAS: You know, any one of these incidents is too many. I'm a parent. I've got little babies.

I've got seven, five, and three. Three kids, seven and under. And you know, our safety work is never done.

This is 24-7, 365, a continuous effort to make sure that we're getting teens the support that they need in the moments that they need it.

BOLDUAN: But is this addressing the concerns raised in this? These lawsuits came after other features were already rolled out. And then you're saying this is different on top of that.

JONAS: This is an expansion of our safety features. As part of this launch, we're partnering with the American Psychological Association to make sure that the way that the models respond to teens, that we're getting it right.

BOLDUAN: The OpenAI is lots of reporting around OpenAI kind of moving towards and preparing for a potential blockbuster IPO. Not necessarily asking you about that, of course.

[09:55:00] But I was reading in the Financial Times, actually, that as part of this run-up at the end of last month, OpenAI disbanded the preparedness team, which assessed whether its models could pose dangerous risks.

A lot of that's talking about like the true kind of catastrophic end- of-days scenarios that people fear. How does that, though, getting disbanding of teams and reorganizing within your company, how does that impact your ability to do the things that you said? Putting a human touch to notify a parent when there is a concern raised, to make sure that these new safety features will alert a parent within enough time?

JONAS: This is a top priority for the company. We've been doing this work for years and will continue to focus on this work. And you'll see more from us here in the coming weeks.

BOLDUAN: Give me more. What's the coming weeks?

JONAS: You'll see us continue to expand our parental safe notifications to areas like eating disorders, additional partnerships also with Code.ai, previously known as Code.org, to make sure that teens are using these experiences to build their future as well.

BOLDUAN: A lot. I mean, when you say OpenAI, you know exactly what you're talking about these days because you guys are such a leading voice and leading engine in this industry, so these safety features are clearly much needed. Thank you very much for coming in and rolling this out with us today.

JONAS: Thank you for the time.

BOLDUAN: Really appreciate it. Thanks.

BERMAN: Thank you all for being with us this morning. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. What's next?

SIDNER: "THE SITUATION ROOM," it turns out.

BERMAN: Up next.

BOLDUAN: It turned out. Thank you very much.

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