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President Trump Sues "Wall Street Journal" Over Epstein Report; Questions Remain After CBS Cancels The "Late Show"; Astronomer CEO Resigns After Coldplay Concert Video; CNN Poll: Drop In Support For Israel Cuts Across Party Lines; Bolsonaro Lashes Out Against Ankle Monitor; L.A. Fire Official: "Very Chaotic Scene" After Vehicle Struck Crowd. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 19, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:01:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

A new libel lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump is taking aim at "The Wall Street Journal", specifically the newspaper's publisher Dow Jones, its owner Rupert Murdoch, and two reporters who filed that story.

The suit coming after the paper recently published a story on a collection of letters reportedly gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.

One of the letters, the newspaper says, included a drawing of a naked woman's shape with Trump's name on it. The president has denied he wrote that note.

Trump has been fending off criticism from his base over Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the so-called Epstein files.

CNN senior reporter Betsy Klein is joining us now. Betsy, the Justice Department is now asking a judge to release years' old grand jury testimony related to Epstein to the public. What are they expecting to come out of this? What's been the reaction inside the White House to this filing?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it's certainly the hope in the White House that they can put all of this in the rearview. But one of the reasons that that has proven so elusive is that President Trump and some of his own top advisers and allies -- Vice President J.D. Vance, FBI director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and others were among those who were pushing long conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein saying that there was a there-there.

And it's been about two weeks since the FBI and Department of Justice released a memo that essentially concluded that Epstein's death was indeed a suicide, and that there was no so-called client list that they had been saying and pushing there was. Since then, MAGA world is really in revolt, calling for transparency and documents and more information, the same information that those officials had also been asking for and essentially setting a loyalty test between President Trump and the MAGA movement that he created.

The president announced that he would be asking Attorney General Pamela Bondi to unseal all pertinent testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein. The federal government did so in a federal court in Manhattan on Friday.

It's going to take a little bit of time for a judge to decide one way or the other, but that information, if released, will really mark a very small portion of the overall body of evidence against Jeffrey Epstein.

But it really shouldn't be a surprise, Jessica, that some of the president's most ardent and vocal supporters are really frustrated about the lack of transparency here.

The president appearing to acknowledge that in a post to social media just this morning. He said, quote, "I have asked the Justice Department to release all grand jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to court approval.

With that being said, and even if the court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more."

Now the pressure on the president and his team continued to mount this week when "The Wall Street Journal" issued a story. And in that story, there was a letter that appeared to be signed by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein on the occasion of his 50th birthday back in 2003. That letter also included a drawing, reportedly by Trump, of a naked woman.

President Trump has said that that letter is fake and vowed to sue "The Wall Street Journal". Making good on that threat just yesterday, suing the newspaper, its publisher and reporters for libel, assault and slander, and seeking at least $20 million in damages.

Dow Jones, the newspaper's owner, defending it in a statement saying to CNN, quote, "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit."

But the president, referring to a very familiar playbook here, attacking the media.

[17:04:47]

KLEIN: But this really marks an extraordinary escalation here amid growing questions about how close President Trump was with Jeffrey Epstein and what he knew about Epstein's proclivities, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Betsy Klein at the White House for us. Thank you very much for that reporting. And here to break it down even further is former U.S. attorney and

former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman. Harry, thanks for joining us on this Saturday afternoon.

Let's start first with realistically setting expectations for what could actually come from this filing, asking to release more of this testimony related to the case.

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Nothing. So we know the Justice Department has some 150 million pages of Epstein materials that they examined says "The Wall Street Journal" back in. 2006.

The grand jury materials, if the court even permits them to be disclosed because the rules don't permit it are only what the SDNY needed to prove its case against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein had he not committed suicide.

You read that indictment, Jessica, it's got nothing to do with any of this. Nothing to do with any of Epstein's pals or cavorting fellows who had sex with the underage girls completely removed.

So it's a red herring that even if they were to open everything, what they have there under file is what they might need to retry Ghislaine Maxwell if she was only convicted of 5 or 6 counts. She herself is on appeal.

Literally, almost certainly zero connection with what everyone wants to know, including and especially the notebook.

DEAN: And look, this has to go before a judge to decide exactly what parts -- all of it, some of it would be released.

Take us through what the judge will be considering, how they'll be looking at this.

LITMAN: Sure. There's a rule, it's really serious to release grand jury materials even with redactions when you want to retry a case. There are six reasons given in the rules for releasing them.

None of them has anything to do with what the department said here, which is basically, you know, to quell a political scandal or because people are really up in arms about it.

So a judge would be very much within her or his rights to say, there's no -- I have no ability to do it here.

Even if, however, it were to be done, there would be redactions and the like. But the number one point to underscore is this won't satisfy anyone that's looking for things like reported in "The Journal", because the case brought a few years ago, right, has zero to do with the 150-million-page file that the FBI examined literally back in 2006.

It's a small, very small slice of that file, and we know what it was about. It was about the indictments. We you can read the indictments. Nothing to do with any sort of customers, pals or whatever of Epstein. DEAN: And there's been a lot of talk about transparency from both

sides of the aisle. What else can be done? If you were waving a magic wand to be as transparent as possible, what else would you be doing here?

LITMAN: FBI please, let us see these 300 gigabytes. Or more importantly, I think, Jessica, anyone with any sophistication understands that notebook is real. It exists.

And indeed, I think this lawsuit is so ill-advised because it makes it so much more likely that the notebook comes out and he's made it all about saying it's fake. He hasn't tried to in any way say, I knew him. I didn't like him anymore.

He said, this is -- this is all lie. He -- the reveal at the end of this lawsuit will be he is lying. He loses. So in that sense, the number one thing to come out and I think it will come out and the lawsuit makes it more likely that it will is let's see the notebook that Trump is insisting is phony.

DEAN: And when you're saying the lawsuit, you're talking about this "Wall Street Journal" lawsuit that they filed just recently, right.

LITMAN: That's right.

DEAN: Yes.

LITMAN: The defamation lawsuit where the whole claim of it is that this very idea that there is such a notebook is fake. He says it three times in the lawsuit.

He's made it all about whether "The Wall Street Journal" has fabricated the whole story. I think anyone who understands how the news media works understands that's not possibly the case.

DEAN: And in terms of it coming to light, any additional information coming to light, including potentially this letter that was referenced in "The Wall Street Journal's" reporting, this lawsuit will open up likely discovery in which those things will come to light, right?

LITMAN: 100 percent, including a deposition of Donald Trump, who would say, I think himself he doesn't give very good depositions.

[17:09:50]

LITMAN: So you're exactly right. It makes relevant for purposes of the lawsuit. Again, 300 gigabytes, something like 150 million pages. If there's any other mentions of Trump in there, for example, he wrote on the plane ten times, et cetera, that will come out.

But the most important thing, the thing that he has made at issue and must come out in the lawsuit, is whether the letter and notebook is real. That's the actual core of the lawsuit, because if it's real, then "The Wall Street Journal" wins.

And so that must come out. And unless you think it's fabricated, that means there's a train wreck at the end of this process for President Trump.

DEAN: All right. Harry Litman, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

LITMAN: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: And still ahead, the highest rated late-night show canceled. What we're learning about the CBS decision to end "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" just after Colbert called out the network for its dealings with the Trump White House.

Plus, a chaotic scene outside a Los Angeles nightclub. What police are saying about a car that rammed a crowd early this morning. We're going to be live from Los Angeles with more on this.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:10:59]

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DEAN: President Trump's lawsuit against "The Wall Street Journal" is the first time he's filed a libel suit while in office, making him the first sitting president to sue a reporter or media outlet for alleged defamation.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more on all of this.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I told Rupert Murdoch that he shouldn't print this fake story but he did and now I'm going to sue his ass off."

President Trump is laying into "The Wall Street Journal" and its owner over the Epstein story, just weeks after ripping the paper's coverage in general.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: "The Wall Street Journal" has truly gone to hell.

FOREMAN: Throughout his second run and return to the White House, Trump has said plenty about the media.

TRUMP: Now watch these criminals back there. The press, because the news is really fake. Real scum. And it has to stop. It has to be illegal.

FOREMAN: And he's taken action. Trump sued ABC News, saying he was defamed in an interview about a past sexual abuse case. The network settled by promising $15 million to Trump's presidential foundation, but his attacks have not stopped.

TRUMP: ABC is the worst newscast of any newscast by far.

FOREMAN: Trump filed a suit against CBS' "60 Minutes", saying it unfairly edited an interview with his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris.

TRUMP: She gave an answer that was so bad that they changed it.

FOREMAN: Many media and legal analysts said his claim was unfounded. But just weeks ago, CBS parent company Paramount settled two, coughing up $16 million.

Trump filed a lawsuit against "The Des Moines Register" over an election poll that showed him doing poorly in a state he eventually won.

TRUMP: And in my opinion, it was fraud and it was election interference.

FOREMAN: The paper disputed the claim. The matter is still in court. And there is more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Donald Trump and I have more trash than all of you.

FOREMAN: Trump, who was parodied long ago on "Sesame Street", has torn funding away from public television, radio and Voice of America. Press rooms at the White House and Pentagon have been rearranged, often to the advantage of pro-Trump outlets. He's battled the Associated Press over its widely respected stylebook, still referring to the Gulf of Mexico.

TRUMP: It's called the Gulf of America now.

FOREMAN: And he's even savaged another property of media mogul Rupert Murdoch for recent polls showing public faith in Trump falling, posting, "It's why MAGA hates Fox News."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Few of these cases have produced anything like an apology, and many of these companies seem to be settling just to avoid a long, drawn-out legal case.

Nonetheless, this has proven a winning political strategy for Donald Trump, even if he doesn't necessarily win in court, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Tom Foreman, as always, our thanks to you.

We are joined now by CNN media analyst and Axios correspondent Sara Fischer. Sara, thanks so much for being here with us.

We have seen some MAGA influencers rally around Trump in the wake of this "Wall Street Journal" report. But we had really kind of seen them splitting, especially in that MAGA influencer world.

Some of those people were really outraged about how he was handling the Epstein case. How is it all settling now, now that "The Wall Street Journal" has come out with this story and he has filed this lawsuit?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, Jessica. I think it's still pretty split.

The Epstein case and just broadly speaking, concepts around pedophilia and childhood sexual abuse tend to be very big, passionate issues among the MAGA base. And so Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino and Kash Patel, the folks at the FBI not releasing those Epstein files really ignited them.

Now, if you take a look at what's happening with "The Wall Street Journal", that same base hates mainstream media. Even though "The Wall Street Journal" is owned by Rupert Murdoch, which also owns Fox News, they hate mainstream media.

So they're caught between a rock and a hard place. In one sense, they want to rally against some of these administration officials to get the justice around the issues they care about, but on the other, they want to rally around President Trump against a mainstream outlet. And so I think you're going to continue to see this divide.

And Jessica, that's not great for President Trump. He has gotten this far because of widespread influence and support of conservative media, not from bifurcated support.

[17:19:55]

DEAN: Yes, I mean, he's always been really successful at controlling the narrative around him, or at least making it work for him. This has been harder for him to turn the page on this. How does he do that?

FISCHER: It's because that issue is such a passion point for that base, Jessica. It's going to be really hard.

Look, I think going after "The Wall Street Journal" is always going to be a winning political formula. Tom Foreman made that point for the president.

The challenge becomes what happens next. You know, one of the things you were talking about previously was anything that goes to court, you become vulnerable to whatever comes up in discovery.

And so if there's anything that could implicate the president, that could be a challenge. Of course, I'd assume he's not going to wage a lawsuit if he thinks he's taking on that risk.

But what I think happens from here is that he uses this lawsuit to drum up support against mainstream media, to help hopefully draw more support from the MAGA base. And then he has to just sort of hope and pray that this other issue of not releasing the Epstein files goes away.

DEAN: I want to talk about a separate subject. You have some reporting on a meeting between the Skydance CEO and the FCC chair, just days before CBS announced -- that it abruptly announced it had canceled Stephen Colbert's late show. Walk us through that timing and what you found.

FISCHER: Yes. So it's not uncommon for people when they're going through mergers and acquisitions to meet with regulators to discuss them. I want to put that out there.

But the new owner of Paramount, which is the parent company to CBS, David Ellison, he's the CEO of a company called Skydance Media, met with the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, on July 15th, just two days before CBS announced that they were pulling the plug on this show.

And essentially, they said that they had urged the FCC to very quickly approve the transfer of broadcast licenses over to the new company, and they assured the FCC that they would be putting together programing that was in the best interests of the public.

Now, normally, that does not ring big alarm bells. That's what everybody who wants a broadcast license sale approved would say. But what's notable here is the timing. I mean, if this really was just a financial decision, as CBS claims that it was, why would you put out this news two days after that meeting? And also, they're not canceling the show, Jessica, until May 2026.

They could have put this out months after the merger was approved. I think the general feeling amongst people in the media right now was the reason why this was announced so quickly after that meeting was to try to encourage the FCC to understand that they're willing to play ball to get this deal done.

DEAN: Yes, because it is interesting. There's a couple things, a couple sides to this in the sense that, look, if they knew that this financially was not going to make sense for them, they could have rolled out -- they have something called the upfronts, which you cover very closely where you make big announcements. And you could have had a big year, you could have sold advertising off of that, maybe made more money. And the last year kind of thing at this. And you typically talk a talent like Stephen Colbert through that decision, not just lay it on them like that.

The other side of this is it is truly expensive to produce that show. And television broadcast -- television ratings have been going down. So it is that all of these things are happening at the same time. And then you add in that timing and it is quite curious, all of it together.

FISCHER: Yes. So there's no question that late night TV is super expensive to produce. It's a live show every single day. It's 200 staffers on "The Late Night with Stephen Colbert". It was losing money.

But Jessica, my take on this is even if CBS wanted to pull the plug on this show because of those financial strains, you don't have to announce that you're pulling the plug necessarily two days after the meeting. But you would do that if you wanted to frame this financial decision as one that's placating to the regulators that are making the decision on your deal.

And so I think there's an element of this that CBS may have already decided to walk from the show, but they were using that decision to help curry favor with the Trump administration. Either way, its leaving a really bad taste in the employees' mouths at

CBS and people within the journalism community.

I will give you my take, even though you may not have asked for it. If they didn't get this deal done, Jessica, they wouldn't have gotten any deal done in the Trump administration. And by the time this Trump administration was over, the value that the company would have lost would have been very, very significant.

So I can see why the new owners and the current owners felt as though they had to do this, but they are doing it for sure, no question at the cost of the reputation of the network.

DEAN: Yes, yes. I do -- quickly, before I let you go, I want to touch on the Coldplay kiss cam story. We know that now Astronomer CEO Andy Byron has resigned following that moment.

Sara, this is everywhere -- I don't have to tell anybody. I'm sure everyone watching has seen this in 17 different places. Why the media frenzy around this? Is it just because it's so human?

[17:24:44]

FISCHER: So human. Well, look, we've had a really intense news cycle. And so I think people are rallying around something that's a little bit lighter, but also a little bit more relatable.

I got to tell you, every time I leave my house, I'm like, there's a camera somewhere that's catching me doing something even just walking down the street.

And this story shows that you can just go to a concert and you think that you're having a private, private and intimate moment and you really never are. I think that's something that's very relatable to people.

And then I also just think that this went particularly viral because of the couple's reaction. You know, if there's been so many viral takes on what they should have pretended to do once they were caught on camera, but it was the awkwardness of the reaction that made this so viral.

DEAN: Yes, yes. Oh man, it is like I said, everywhere.

All right. Sara Fischer, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

FISCHER: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Coming up, things may be changing when it comes to American support for Israel's war against Hamas. The former Israeli ambassador to the United States joins us to talk about CNN's new polling on the public's view on its biggest ally in the Middle East. We'll talk more about that when we come back.

[17:25:45]

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[17:30:10]

DEAN: Palestinian health officials say more than 30 are dead after Israeli forces opened fire on people looking for food aid in Gaza. The health ministry saying 32 bodies were brought to a southern Gaza hospital, along with dozens of wounded.

The U.N. says nearly 800 people have been killed while trying to access food aid in Gaza since the end of May. We should also note, CNN cannot independently verify those numbers.

Meantime, the United Nations says Israel has decided to not renew the visa of a top U.N. humanitarian official. The U.N. says that decision came right after the official Jonathan Whittall held a press conference or press briefing rather about starving people in Gaza being killed as they were trying to reach food supplies.

Joining us now is Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.

Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us this evening. Really appreciate it. I want to talk to you about some new polling that CNN has that shows a dramatic drop, in American support for Israeli military actions in Gaza. With just 23 percent of Americans, now saying Israel's actions have been fully justified. And that represents a 27-point drop from polling that was taken shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel, October 7th.

I just want to get your thoughts on those numbers and what you think they mean.

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, first of all, good to be with you. And they are disturbing numbers, certainly. And they mean several things to me. One is that Israel has to do a much, much better job of explaining its position to Americans and to the world in general. Israel has to continue doing what it does to minimize as much as it can civilian casualties in Gaza.

But at the end of the day, we're still left with a situation where an enemy, Hamas, which seeks our destruction, which committed the atrocities of October 7th, and I see the initial polls of 50 percent in October. I wonder if those same Americans who were given this poll now were reminded of what happened on October 7th, that 1200 Israelis, that the equivalent of about 44,000 Americans would be killed in a matter of hours, and not just killed, but raped and beheaded and burnt.

And 252 Israelis, the equivalent about 50,000 -- 55 -- 50,000 Americans, would be dragged into captivity. And what would America do dealing with an enemy that is hiding behind its civilian population, under mosques, hospitals, and schools. What do you do? And at the end of the day, you know, if Hamas were to give up its hostages, our hostages, give them home, there are 20 who are left alive, 30 bodies which they hold, the war would end. Very simple.

And we have to ask ourselves a very simple question. Last night, my kids, my grandkids, were in a bomb shelter. And that's pretty much the norm here. And I'd ask those same Americans, the same, you know, whatever majority said that they think that Israel is overreacting to this, what would they do if your children, your grandchildren, were in bomb shelters every night? What would you do to protect them? And my guess is, I think, they would have a very different answer indeed.

DEAN: And we saw the largest drop in support among Democrats, but we saw drops across the board. Independents here in America, also from Republicans. Did that surprise you to see it across the board like that?

OREN: It's dismaying. And I don't care whether it's Republicans or Democrats, that there's a fall off of support for Israel among Americans generally. It's just -- it's a source of concern for us. And one of the things we have to fight against is something basically that appeared in your last report where you're quoting Hamas sources. That's the Gaza health authorities, which you don't know who they are. Nobody knows who they are. We know their Hamas, who are saying X number of Palestinians are being killed, the Israeli army says we have no idea.

This is -- this -- no one was being -- no, there is -- there was no fight, live fire, accident or incident anywhere around where Hamas is saying it happened.

But CNN is purport -- is reporting it as if it's real. And to me, ignite -- night after night of that type of information, excuse me, is certainly to have an impact on American policy.

DEAN: And -- but Mr. Ambassador, I mean, look, you're right, Hamas is still holding those hostages, and that's what Israel, in part, has been asking, if they'll just give them back, the war can come to an end. At the same time, there is very real and legitimate reporting about children that are starving to death or being killed, that can't get access to food or aid or medicine. And that's coming from, you know, aid workers we've talked to are on the ground there, and some of our colleagues reporting.

And so, what do you think Americans should make of that? Some Americans, I think, think to what end there doesn't seem like there's anything left to do there in Gaza. There is -- there seems to be so much destruction, I think is kind of the thinking of some of these Americans.

OREN: It -- and their thinking is right, the situation in Gaza is beyond tragic. Every Palestinian death, every Palestinian casualty, you know, the tragedy.

[17:35:01]

The question is, what's the alternative? All right. You say, you end the suffering of the Palestinians. Everyone wants to see the ending of this suffering of the Palestinians, but in a way that and now that Hamas to come out to declare victory, to reconquer the Gaza Strip, which won't be good for the Palestinians either, believe me. And to mount the next October 7th, which they say they'll do 10,000 times until Israel is destroyed.

So, ending the war now just means a bigger war, you know, a year or two from now, at a time when, you know, Iranian sponsored rockets are still falling on this country and our kids and grandchildren are still in bomb shelters.

So, nobody wants to be in this situation. Everyone wants to see a cease fire. Everyone wants to see the Gaza Strip demilitarized. Everyone wants to see the hostages brought home. Everybody wants this, except for one party, and that's Hamas.

Ask them, ask the same Americans, OK, get the Hamas -- get Hamas to give up the hostages. Help -- get them to give up their guns, and the war ends. The War ends literally in a second, not in a week, not in a day. In a second. But that's not being presented here.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Well, we will see if those talks can gain more momentum. But Ambassador Michael Oren, we always really do appreciate your time. Thank you.

OREN: Thank you.

DEAN: And still ahead, the U.S. government getting involved in another country's domestic issues. Why the state department is taking action against a judge in Brazil. Stay with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[17:41:01]

DEAN: The state department is accusing Brazil's legal system of taking part in a political witch hunt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing last night, the U.S. is revoking the visa of a Brazilian judge, who is overseeing the trial of the former president, as well as the visas of, "allies" on the court and their immediate family members.

President Bolsonaro is facing charges over an alleged plot to overturn the results of Brazil's 2022 presidential election. President Trump has threatened crippling tariffs on the country unless the current president, Lula moves to end the trial.

On Friday, police in Brazil raided Bolsonaro his home and political headquarters, and that judge overseeing the case ordered Bolsonaro to wear the ankle monitor and bar him from speaking to foreign officials or approaching embassies.

Now, Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the latest now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST (voice over): Early Friday, Brazil's federal police came knocking, raiding the home of former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, fitting him with an ankle tag and barring him from speaking to foreign officials and using social media. These measures ordered by Brazil's Supreme Court to prevent him from leaving the country as he faces trial for allegedly plotting a coup against his left-leaning successor.

Bolsonaro lashed out against the ankle tag.

JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER PRESIDENT, BRAZIL (through translator): Damn it, I'm a former president. I'm 70 years old. This is a supreme humiliation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --

POZZEBON (voice over): And immediately brought up his close ally, U.S. President, Donald Trump.

BOLSONARO (through translator): If I had a passport, I would request an audience to visit Donald Trump.

POZZEBON (voice over): Trump cast a long shadow over this case as he threatens tariffs of up to 50 percent on Brazilian products in retaliation for Bolsonaro's prosecution.

BRIAN WINTER, VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY, AMERICAS SOCIETY AND COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS: I think this is very personal for President Trump. I think that he believes that what is happening in Brazil right now is political persecution of former President Bolsonaro in a way that reminds Trump of what happened to him, and the parallels between the 2020 election in the United States and the 2022 election in Brazil.

POZZEBON (voice over): Bolsonaro's supporters stormed Brazil's capital on January 8th, 2023. In striking similarity to what happened on January 6th, two years before. This week, Trump wrote a letter to support Bolsonaro. But in the current Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump has found a formidable opponent.

Lula claiming the country is prepared to retaliate with similar tariffs and calling out on Trump directly in an interview with CNN.

LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): We cannot have as a President Trump forgetting that he was elected to govern the U.S. He was elected not to be the emperor of the world.

POZZEBON: Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Stefano, thank you so much for that.

And still to come on NEWSROOM, what we're learning about what happened to the suspect after a car plowed into a crowd in Los Angeles, seriously injuring dozens of people. There, we'll have a live report from L.A.

[17:44:02]

That's coming up after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: We are following the latest developments out of East Hollywood, where a car plowed into a crowd -- plowed into a crowd of people waiting outside a nightclub. That happened early this morning in front of the Vermont Hollywood music venue, and at least 30 people were injured, seven of them critically.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now from Los Angeles. What is the latest. Where do things stand now, Julia?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, we are hearing from authorities now more details of the moments as they were responding to this incident here in East Hollywood.

This is dispatch audio that we have obtained from the fire department as they are trying to coordinate and giving some details on those victims as they were encountering them on the scene. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): We have looks like one single vehicle into a crowd of people, unknown number of patients, unknown if there is a physical rescue problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A rough down here. I got, at least 15 patients in various states of injury. Some of them are looking like they are -- most of them look delayed. I have a couple of immediate, like, 15 patient injured. Start of additional 10 paramedic R.A.s, five additional engine companies.

[17:50:00]

We'll have ambulance staging at Vermont and Willowbrook. Vermont and Willowbrook.

Well, we have is approximately MCI with approximately 15 patients that are either immediate and delayed. I need a total of 10 paramedic rescues. I think we've already got three. So, add an additional seven.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And Jessica, they are talking about potentially like 15 people there. In the end, it was at least 30 people that were injured in this incident. 23 of those were taken to hospital, six of them in serious condition, seven in critical condition. That the PIO for the Los Angeles Police Department told me earlier, it was, "a miracle" that nobody died in this incident. And as we piece this together, just to walk you through, it's not just someone that the plowed into that crowd outside of this nightclub. There was then an altercation that ensues.

The man that drove into that crowd isn't taken out of his vehicle. And then, there is a fight. He is getting beaten by that crowd. Eventually, somebody pulls out a gun and shoots that driver. Now, authorities say that the shooter of that driver is still at large. He is considered both armed and dangerous, and that is their number one priority right now is to find that person.

We heard from the mayor of Los Angeles earlier today that there will be a full investigation into what exactly happened here, but we're also hearing, Jessica, that at this point, aside from the impaired state of this driver, there is no connection to terrorism or any further criminal intent in this incident. Jessica.

DEAN: OK. Julia Vargas Jones in Los Angeles. Thank you so much for that.

This weekend's new episode of the CNN Original Series "BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB" follows Joe Hunt's rise to become the leader of the Social Investment Club. But as tensions grow inside the group, some high stakes decisions push the billionaire boys club into dangerous territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel that he was a real good friend. I mean, a real good friend, in which he would do anything for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Joe Hunt wanted Jim Pittman to be his right arm to manipulate people in a harsher way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe, pretty quickly, begins to introduce Jim as the BBC's head of security. Jim only seemed to really respect Joe, but all the rest he saw as dweeby white kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, he got to drive nice cars and go out to fancy meals, and he had expensive suits paid for, and, you know, he had a pretty good life with the BBC.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The all-new episode of the CNN Original Series "BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB" airs tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific, right here on CNN.

This week, we introduce you to the first CNN Hero of 2025. An Indiana woman helping people who are incarcerated build brighter futures. Meet Deborah Devine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH DEVINE, JUSTICE ADVOCATE, INDIANA: But when Sheriff SWAT team members arrived at the home, no one was found inside.

I was a television news reporter, and I covered crime. I didn't really understand humanity as I should have as a young reporter in my early 20s. It wasn't until much later that the faces had stories and had names.

I decided to volunteer in a prison because I was always inquisitive and curious about their stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this one more in mind that -- DEVINE: I saw the raw talent, and that's what led me to create this

12-week creative writing curriculum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was convicted of dealing in a narcotic and dealing marijuana. I pretty much grew up on the streets. I lost my mother, my father, my sister and my brother, and came to a crossroads and had to make decision whether I was going to use that as fuel to do better.

DEVINE: Thank you for sharing that. Yes, I know that was heartfelt.

We never excuse what they've done. In fact, a lot of them write about their remorse. We are just giving them a sacred space where they can let their shoulders down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eventually, though, I began to confront my grief with a clear mind and an open heart, accepting the fact that no matter what I did or who I hurt, nothing was going to bring my brother back from the dead.

I look forward to my Friday afternoons more than most days, people just let their souls bleed out of their pens onto that paper, and for two hours a day, everyone can just truly be themselves, and we're like a little small-knit family here. I plan on going into college and majoring in psychology when I get out, so, I feel like this is a huge step towards them.

DEVINE: It's going to make me tear up. We'll end on that one. That was really powerful.

Some people would think it's a lock them up and throw away the key.

[17:55:03]

If a lot of these prisoners are going to be released, then why not use writing as a tool to become better in the space that you're in?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: To nominate someone you think should be CNN Hero, you can go to cnn.com/heroes.

And still ahead tonight, a look at the world of crypto. We're going to talk to an expert about how a new law just signed by President Trump could bring cryptocurrency into mainstream.

Stay with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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