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Justice Department Releases Audio and Transcript of Interview with Jeffrey Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell; Texas Senate Approves New Congressional Maps Drawn to Give Republicans Possible Five Seat Advantage Next Midterms Elections; California State House Passes Redistricting Bill; California Parole Board Denies Parole for Erik and Lyle Menendez; Russia Continues Attacks in Ukraine as Trilateral Meeting between Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and President Trump Not Materializing; Republican Governors Deploying Their States' National Guard Troops to Washington D.C. to Assist with President Trump's Crackdown on Crime; Failing Lithium Batteries Causing Increase in Fires on Planes; Golfers Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley Leading PGA Tour Championship. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 23, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: A new CNN special explores its role during Katina and the recovery that followed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Katrina hit the Superdome, it was the site of devastation. When the Saints came back into that building and we all saw each other for the first time in a long time, and we had the glorious Saints there, that's the moment where we knew we were going to survive. It was a big -- I'm still crying. It was a big moment for us. And people in New Orleans remember that very moment. And the Saints gave us that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: "New Orleans, Soul of a City, Rebirth of the Superdome," premieres tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Hello, and thank you for joining me. I'm Isabel Rosales in for Fredricka Whitfield.

New developments in the Jeffrey Epstein saga. On Friday, the Justice Department released the long-awaited recorded interview with Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. It includes 377 pages of transcripts from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's two days of talks with Maxwell. She weighed in on several outstanding questions from behind prison walls, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking underage girls with Epstein. Maxwell went out of her way to shower praise on President Trump, who was once friends with Epstein. She also said she does not believe that Epstein committed suicide in prison and maintains that Epstein did not have a client list.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: During the time that you were with Mr. Epstein, and even in the 2000s when you were around less frequently, you never observed or you never saw any sort of list or black book or a list of individuals who linked to certain masseuses or anything like that?

GHISLAINE MAXWELL: Absolutely no. Absolutely no. There is no list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Critics of Maxwell's responses, they're quick to point out that these are the words of a convicted sex trafficker who was charged with perjury.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now from the White House. Julia, this release came on the same day the DOJ turned over the first batch of Epstein files to Congress. What more can you tell us about that?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it all comes as calls for transparency continue. You may remember back in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi hyped up some soon to be released documents related to Epstein and even suggested she had the so-called client list sitting on her desk. Months later, the Department of Justice and the FBI released a memo saying that it had not found a so-called client list incriminating associates of Jeffrey Epstein.

And that inflamed these years long conspiracy theories related to this, some of which have been promoted by members of the Trump administration. So, as all of that has played out, this controversy has remained top of mind here at the White House. And there have been conversations about how they can get ahead of this story as there are calls even from within Trump's base for more information. And in an effort to do that, according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke with CNN, this release of the audio, the transcripts from the Maxwell interview, is part of it.

Now, the interview was conducted over two days by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who formerly served as Trump's personal lawyer. And during that interview, Blanche asked Maxwell some specific questions about the president. He asked about the relationship between Trump and Epstein, and she said that while they did have a friendly relationship in social settings, that she had not seen the president in an inappropriate setting. Take a listen to part of that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GHISLAINE MAXWELL: I actually never saw the president in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him he was a gentleman in all respects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: At times during the interview, Maxwell did go out of her way to compliment, flatter Trump, saying that she admired his extraordinary achievement of becoming president and that she had always liked him.

According to the transcript, the DOJ gave Maxwell limited immunity in order to speak about this case, but did not promise her other benefits. A big question in the runup to this interview was what Maxwell might be looking for from the Trump administration. She was sentenced back in 2021 to 20 years in prison, and she is appealing that conviction.

ROSALES: Julia Benbrook, thank you.

Well, breaking news early this morning, the Texas Senate approved new congressional maps drawn to give Republicans a possible five seat advantage in next year's midterms elections.

[14:05:03]

It was the final legislative hurdle for the redistricting plan. Democratic House members vow the fight is not over, saying that they will wage a legal battle over those new maps. Now, the response follows their 15 day protest when they left the state, which denied the required quorum needed to hold the vote.

CNN's Arlette Saenz walks us through the next steps in this battle.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Texas Senate gave it's final stamp of approval on a redistricting bill that could reshape the landscape for the 2026 midterm elections. The bill passed the state Senate in the early morning hours of Saturday, and now will head to Texas Governor Greg Abbott for his signature. He's expected to sign it early next week. But really, this represents a major victory for President Trump and the Republican party as they are trying to pick up an additional five U.S. House seats here in Texas. And Republicans have been very blunt about why they are pushing these redistricting plans. Take a listen to State Senator Phil King, a Republican on the Senate floor.

PHIL KING, (R) TEXAS STATE SENATE: I'm convinced that if Texas does not take this action, that there is an extreme risk that that Republican majority will be lost. And if it does, the next two years after the midterms, they will be nothing but inquisitions and impeachments and humiliation for our country.

SAENZ: Texas Democrats who had fled the state to try to block this bill for two weeks had no other legislative options left to prevent this from being passed. Now Democrats are turning their attention to the courts, hoping that the court system will step in to block these maps from going into effect.

But already this map, even before it was passed and signed into law, it's already impacting the 2026 midterms here in Texas. There's Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who represents a district right here in Austin. He announced that he would not seek reelection if the courts do not block these maps. Part of that is because a congressman from a district just south of here, Greg Casar, said that he would now run in Doggett's district after his own district is essentially eliminated to become a more GOP leaning district.

So there's a lot of big questions going forward for Democrats about how they are going to handle this, whether they will continue to seek a reelection in their districts or perhaps decide to retire. But at this moment, this really represents a major victory for President Donald Trump, who has also vowed to push other states to consider their redistricting options as well.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Austin, Texas.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROSALES: Arlette Saenz, thank you so much.

California lawmakers have responded to this move from Texas by approving their own congressional maps. But there's a big hurdle in Governor Newsom's plan. These new maps will require a statewide election come November 4th.

I'm joined now by Cynthia Dai, former rotating chair of the 2010 California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Cynthia, thank you so much for joining us. It's good to see you. I want to start with, first, this social media post from New York's governor on X reacting to the Texas house passing the redistricting maps. She wrote simply, "Game on." Is this the new normal here, Cynthia, tit for tat, maps getting redrawn any time a party sees a chance to gain ground, rather than every ten years after the census?

CYNTHIA DAI, FORMER ROTATING CHAIR, 2010 CALIFORNIA CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION: I really hope not, because in an eye for an eye fight, everyone ends up blind.

ROSALES: And you testified previously against these bills that produced these new maps. I want to show to our audience this graphic we have of the five California Republican lawmakers who could see their seats at risk if these new maps take effect. Californians voted in these lawmakers in a fair and free election. Is this redistricting warfare by California a way to prevent cheating, as some Democrats are saying, Cynthia, or a slap in the face to the will of the people? How do you see this?

DAI: Certainly the latter. Californians have voted three times to support independent redistricting. The first in 2008, the voters first act, and then in 2010, with the voters first act for congress. And then in 2012, the voters upheld the maps drawn by the independent redistricting commission.

ROSALES: And CNN hasn't done any specific polling on how California voters are feeling about these proposed maps, but what are you seeing there on the streets? What are you hearing from people?

DAI: Well, there has been polling. There was a Citrin Center poll that just came out last week that showed that Californians still support the California citizens redistricting commission two to one. Californians like the commission.

[14:10:00]

I do know that many people are torn because many Californians see us on the march toward authoritarianism. But I think people are very uncertain that this is the right way to resolve that.

ROSALES: "The Sacramento Bee" reported that the first California citizens redistricting commission is popular with voters. And since your time there, the percentage of women in the legislature doubled. Asian and pacific islander representation tripled. Black representation nearly doubled. Over in Texas, we already saw one longtime Democratic congressman in Texas announced that he will not seek reelection if these Republican maps stand. What ripple effects do you think that we could see when it comes to the recruitment of candidates for both parties?

DAI: Yes, I mean, that is really the problem. With gerrymandering, you basically set up the people in opposition to the parties and party leadership, and it essentially disenfranchises voters. And as you might expect, it disenfranchises communities of color the worst. And that's why you see those dramatic improvements since voters turned over line drawing to a panel of ordinary citizens who, you know, by the constitution, are required to uphold communities and place them first.

ROSALES: Cynthia Dai, thank you so much. I know that people have called your commission a gold standard for truly having independence there with these maps not letting it be in the hands of politicians. And thank you so much for coming on our show and talking about this.

DAI: Thank you for having me.

ROSALES: Still to come, a California parole board has denied parole for Lyle Menendez. The reason the commissioner denied the request, even after calling him a model inmate.

Plus, President Trump planning to expand his federal crackdown on crime in D.C. with some help from Republican governors.

And a new warning from the FAA about items commonly taken onto flights -- look at that -- can erupt into flames very quickly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:16:59]

ROSALES: A new lawsuit is challenging Florida's authority to detain people at a migrant detention center and the everglades of Florida that the Trump administration calls Alligator Alcatraz. The case from immigrants' rights advocates, including the ACLU, focuses on the state's use of 287-G agreements. These are the agreements that allow individual state and local officers to help with a narrow set of immigration enforcement tasks that require training and require close supervision by federal officials. It does not, however, allow them to set up independent detention operations. Now, this follows a major ruling involving that very same migrant

detention center. A federal judge ordering much of it to be dismantled before Halloween and saying that the facility can no longer take in any new detainees. The state is appealing that environmental ruling.

A California parole board has denied parole for Lyle Menendez a day after his brother's bid was also rejected. Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted for murdering their parents back in 1989, but their years- long fight for release from prison is not over. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is following this story for us. And Julia, this was their first attempt at parole.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was in more than 30 years. So this was a big and devastating blow, not just for them, for other members of the family as well, who spoke at both of their hearings, even though they are considered victims of this crime as well. Isabel, they're saying basically, look, let us put this all behind us. They served enough time.

And this entire attempt took almost as long as a year and pushed that case back into the national spotlight. So on Friday, when the parole commissioner told Lyle that even though he was in many ways a model prisoner, there were still some issues that they couldn't overlook, like his struggles with antisocial personality traits, like lying and breaking of some rules, something that also came up during Erik's hearing, especially when it comes to the use of cell phones behind bars. That became a big point of one of their violations that counted against them in this hearing. But they are eligible again for parole in three years.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JONES: Erik and Lyle Menendez pleading their case in front of a parole board for the first time in more than 30 years. The brothers, now in their 50s, were 18 and 21 years old when they brutally murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. They claimed they feared for their lives and that their father had physically and sexually abused them for years. Prosecutors maintained they were eyeing their parents' fortune instead, and they were sentenced to life without parole.

But in May, a judge resentenced the brothers with the possibility of parole. The case and its sensational trial captured the attention of the world in the 1990s, and again more recently when a Netflix series and several documentaries were made about the case.

[14:20:01]

A central point of Erik's hearing on Thursday was whether he took responsibility for his crimes. Asked by parole commissioner Robert Barton, is there any part of this which you believe was self-defense? Erik replied no. Still, Erik described their father as cruel and domineering and said the killings came after a week of escalating tensions and confrontations with their parents over the abuse.

After nearly ten hours of proceedings and testimony, Erik Menendez was denied parole by a California board that decided he still poses a risk to public safety.

Lyle, who has a slightly lower number of prison violations, faced the board on Friday. Asked whether the killings had been planned, Lyle said, quote, "There was zero planning", and that the decision to buy guns had been, quote, "somewhat impulsive and for emotional protection and also the biggest mistake."

Despite the California parole board's decisions, it is Governor Gavin Newsom who will ultimately have the final say on the brothers' fates.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JONES: And Isabel, that parole board can still review the decision internally for another 120 days. And after that, Newsom will have about 30 days to decide if he wants to intervene or not. Of course, this has been, like I said, brought back into the spotlight. There has been a lot of conversation about whether or not he should, but two things that he should be thinking about as he makes that decision is the governor will need to decide if they are still a risk to public safety, and if they have shown enough insight into their crimes. So far, he has not tipped his hand.

ROSALES: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you for breaking that down for us, appreciate it.

Well, hundreds gathered at a public memorial in Atlanta to remember David Rose, the DeKalb County police officer killed in a shooting at the CDC on August 8th. CNN affiliate WSB reports the service for the 33-year-old included a flyover, a 21-gun salute, and the playing of "Taps." Both Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the CDC director attended, as did members of Rose's police academy class, remembered their colleague for his service to his community and to his country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREY JONES, 138TH ACADEMY CLASS MEMBER: I remember that day clearly, standing in front of the room, giving my usual speech, scanning the faces of those who would soon begin one of the toughest journeys of their lives. And Rose was one who stood out. Afterwards, I remember turning to my secondary instructor at the time and whispering to him, that's my class leader.

Now, for context, we typically don't choose a class leader until about week four to six of the academy. It takes time to observe to see who naturally rises to the top under pressure. But with Rose, there wasn't a question. He carried himself with a calm presence, a quiet confidence, and a clear sense of purpose that made it undeniable he was going to lead.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROSALES: Officer rose just joined the force last September, and he leaves behind a pregnant wife and two children. His six-year-old daughter, who was at the service, wore a t-shirt that read, "My daddy is my hero."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

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[14:27:59]

ROSALES: New today, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a plan for security guarantees for his country could be ready in the coming days. The comment comes just over a week after President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska. Security guarantees were a key part of those talks. Since then, Russia has continued to attack Ukraine, and effort to create a trilateral meeting so far appeared to be going nowhere.

CNN's Stephen Collinson has a new analysis on peace efforts in Ukraine, and he joins us now. Can you tell us a week out from the Alaska talks, where do things stand right now?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, we were led to expect by the administration when the president met President Putin in Alaska, that there would be potentially a summit as soon as the end of the week that's just past between Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, perhaps with the involvement of President Trump. That didn't happen, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.

What we've been seeing is classic Russian delaying tactics. I think what President Putin is trying to do is to avoid angering President Trump and pushing him towards deploying some of those more punitive U.S. measures like secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil. But he wants to buy time for his troops to continue making progress in the east of Ukraine, at least up until the end of the fighting system, because it -- season -- because it gets very difficult to fight in Ukraine during the winter. So Russia has been throwing up all sorts of procedural roadblocks to a summit while saying they're preparing for the summit. And I think a lot of it now depends on whether President Trump's patience runs out with President Putin again, and if he's prepared to push a little bit more harshly towards trying to force him to the table.

ROSALES: Stephen, so it sounds like this has been part of Putin's playbook the entire time, just delay, delay, delay to appropriately place his troops and just continue to bombard Ukraine.

[14:30:08]

What is his strategy now? Just more delay?

COLLINSON: Yes, I think it's more delay. He has been trying to draw or to open divides between President Trump and the rest of the western alliance. And remember, he stood up in Alaska and warned Europeans not to upset the progress that he said was forged in Alaska. The Russian foreign minister, a real classic Soviet style politician from Russia, a diplomat who knows how to throw wrenches in the works, has been saying the same thing. He knows that the Europeans are much more skeptical about his willingness to make peace than President Trump is. The president still believes, it looks like, at least, that Putin is willing to do a deal.

So the Russians are trying to open those gaps and to create delays, as I said, so that they can spend more time fighting. Their forces have been doing quite well in recent months in the east of Ukraine. So perhaps they want to tilt the battlefield even more in their favor before any eventual negotiations.

ROSALES: And leading up to the Alaska talks, President Trump referred to each side potentially having to give something up. Obviously, we heard all of the backlash about this idea of swapping land, of Ukraine having to give up land. Now, you argue that President Trump may not understand the consequences of that, particularly if it's in the Donbas region. Can you explain more about that?

COLLINSON: Yes, the president talks about land swaps, and that's -- everybody realizes that Ukraine is not going to be able to win back all the land that it took. What the Russians are trying to do is to try and get more land than that in crucial areas like the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which they haven't yet even taken by military force. And they're offering Ukraine back some of its land in southern, southeastern Ukraine, which is not as critical. The Donbas is so critical because it's where Ukraine's most fortified defensive lines are. There are a number of big cities there that are critical to its defense.

So if Ukraine gives over that particular land, many analysts believe that what it will be doing is giving a real strategic boost to Russia and setting itself up for a future Russian invasion, which will give the Russians more of a chance this time to get to Kyiv. So it's going to be very hard for them to give up that land, not just because of the strategic issue, but also because it will involve Zelenskyy telling a bunch of -- thousands of Ukrainians, in fact, that they'll either have to leave their homes or effectively become Russian. And this is land over which thousands of Ukrainians have died to try to keep it in Ukrainian control. So strategically and politically, it's going to be very difficult for Zelenskyy to give up that land.

ROSALES: Right, it seems farfetched. And to my understanding, he'd also need approval from his parliament. He couldn't just do it.

COLLINSON: He can't just give away land. It would have to be, he'd have to change the constitution to do it.

ROSALES: Right. Stephen Collinson, thank you so much.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

ROSALES: Well, President Trump is getting help from other states with his D.C. police takeover. Republican governors are deploying National Guard troops to Washington to assist with Trump's crackdown, as he says, on crime. But as CNN's Marshall Cohen explains, some of those states have their own challenges with crime at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: There's a lot of talk. There's a lot of spin on this topic. But the numbers don't lie. So we took a very close look at the FBI violent crime statistics for last year. So we are coming to you from Washington, D.C., where there are 2,000 National Guard troops in this city right now. About half of them are from the D.C. Guard. The other half come from these six states that have Republican governors and are sending troops here Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

When we looked at the data, we found that there are actually ten cities in these states that have a higher crime rate than D.C. look at this. Cleveland, Toledo, Memphis, Tennessee -- they were number one in the country last year -- Nashville, Charleston, the capital of West Virginia, and then two more down in Louisiana, Shreveport, and Lafayette. By the way, Shreveport is the home district of House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican in Congress.

If this wasn't bad, it actually gets worse. Look at the murder rate. I want to compare the murder rate in Washington, D.C. to Jackson, Mississippi. Last year in D.C., 27 homicides per 100,000 residents. That's not good, but it's better than this -- 77 last year in Jackson, Mississippi, they were number one in the country.

And it's stats like these, which is why social justice groups, criminal justice reform groups, Democratic lawmakers, and Trump critics have argued that this whole deployment in D.C. is just a show.

[14:35:09]

It's a pretext. It's not based on the data. If you really want to crack down on the most violent cities, you need to be looking elsewhere. That's the criticism.

But here's the pushback. We reached out to all of the governors' offices, and they defended their actions. Ohio, they told us that, look, the president asked for our help. When the president asks, we heed the call. And they pointed out that they have sent troops from their Ohio National Guard when Democratic governors and Democratic mayors and Democratic presidents have also asked for their assistance.

And then down in Mississippi, the governor's office told us that they thought it was ridiculous to suggest that they can't do two things at the same time. They said they can help out President Trump here in D.C. while also tackling crime at home. And they would point out that they believe the stats in Jackson, Mississippi, by the way, are looking a lot better this year than last year.

Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROSALES: Still to come with a busy travel holiday that's just around the corner in the U.S., a recent uptick in fires aboard airplanes is causing concern. What is the cause and how you can prevent it, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:00]

ROSALES: Welcome back. The U.S. First Amendment is now warning that some commonplace items are causing an uptick in fires on planes. CNN's aviation correspondent Pete Muntean takes a look at what happens when a lithium battery explodes during a flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Test after test shows what happens when lithium ion batteries ignite in flight, creating a crisis thousands of feet up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United 2664 declaring an emergency, we have a laptop on fire in the aircraft and need to return.

MUNTEAN: New data says the batteries malfunction on flights twice a week. The worst case is erupting in flames and filling passenger cabins with smoke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was terrified. I didn't know what was happening.

MUNTEAN: The problem batteries are the standard source of power for phones, laptops, vapes, and external power banks used to recharge other electronics. Here at its massive research center in New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration is about to show us what happens when a lithium battery heats up uncontrollably until it burns, called a thermal runaway.

ROBERT OCHS, FAA FIRE SAFETY TEAM: It will get warmer and warmer and warmer until the battery -- the structure of the battery itself fails.

MUNTEAN: It sounds to me like you're describing an explosion.

OCHS: There can be explosions as well.

MUNTEAN: For our test, a power bank fitted with special heating tape has been placed into an airline seatback pocket. And if the safety glasses, protective window, and firefighter are any indication, the team here is ready for this to be big.

Wow, it took me by surprise.

But this is not your average fire. The FAA demonstrates using the fire extinguisher available to flight attendants, and the fire reignites. The FAA says water is key to cooling the thermal runaway and stopping the flames.

It seems kind of counterintuitive to put water on something electronic.

OCHS: It does, and most people think that. But at this point the device has failed, it's not, it's no longer an electronic device now. MUNTEAN: Now, I want you to imagine what would happen if you were sitting in this seat. They say this test on the grand scheme of tests that they do here was pretty violent when that battery exploded. You could see all the embers that really blew back, and it nearly hit the Plexiglass window, the safety window that we were standing at about 20 feet away.

Earlier this year, a suspected external battery pack fire on the ground left this Air Busan flight barely recognizable and injured 27 people. The latest federal data shows external battery packs are the top cause of incidents, And the FAA has banned them from checkED baggage where they're harder to extinguish. But safety organization U.L. Standards and Engagement says two in five passengers still check them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that this is a solvable problem and, first and foremost, it is about passenger awareness and education.

MUNTEAN: Now think about what you fly with. The latest data says the average passenger travels with four devices powered by lithium ion batteries. It's one of the big reasons numbers of incidents are going up. 2024 was the worst year on record for battery fires on planes, and this year is on pace to beat that number.

Right now, airlines are coming up with their own precautions. Southwest is now the lone U.S. carrier to tell passengers to keep their battery packs in plain sight, not in overhead bins.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROSALES: Two in five passengers still checking lithium batteries. We can see the consequences of that there. Pete Muntean, thank you.

Well, some beaches in southeastern Spain, they were forced to close earlier this week. Local authorities say two rare venomous sea slugs were found in the water. The blue dragon -- oh, look at that. That's pretty cute. As it's called, it's just over an inch long. But listen to this. It feeds on venomous animals before recycling that venom, allowing this little guy right here to paralyze prey 300 times its size. That's you and me.

[14:45:04]

By Thursday the ban on swimming had been lifted, but authorities still urge caution.

Just ahead, the world's top golfers compete for a huge prize this week. But how will the weather add to the challenge?

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ROSALES: Any moment now, the co-leaders for the PGA tour championship golf tournament will tee off for round three. English golfer Tommy Fleetwood fired a 63, that's pretty good, on Friday to share the top spot after two rounds. Fleetwood is seeking his first PGA tour win. He's led several tournaments this year but has yet to find a way to hold on to that lead through the weekend. CNN's Don Riddell joins us now from the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Don, you didn't invite me. What's up?

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Sorry, Isabel. Next time. I know that you're really, really into your sport. So we'll make it happen next year.

This is the climax to the PGA tour season. You won't find many poor golfers on the PGA tour, but this is the week where they can really make their bank manager happy because it's $10 million to whoever comes in first place.

You talk about Tommy Fleetwood. So far, he is a fantastic story this week. He is famous for what is now the chase for the elusive first PGA tour win. What a week, what a story it would be for him if he could do it, finally, here. As you say, 63 on Friday, 64 on Thursday. So he's playing fabulous golf. This guy has no problem winning on the DP world tour. Seven victories there. None yet on the PGA tour. And after his round on Friday, I asked him what he thought about the chances of his first win on the tour being, of all places, this one. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY FLEETWOOD, GOLFER: Well, it would be cool, yes. No, I Probably never, never thought about it. The change in format means, yes, I could end up winning the FedEx cup. But no, you know, every tournament we play, I would picture myself winning it. So, I'd say it's just another one of those, though obviously it's a very coveted one and a very big one. But, yes, I always sort of feel like I imagine winning every tournament. And this is this is just another one of those.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIDDELL: Tommy Fleetwood would certainly be a popular winner of this event, as would the co-leader Russell Henley. He's from Georgia. He grew up not too far away from here. The two of them will be teeing off together shortly on 13 under par. And if they're looking over their shoulders at any particular golfer, I would say be very aware of the world number one, Scottie Scheffler. This guy has had yet another phenomenal season. He's just become the first player since Tiger Woods to win at least five PGA tour events in back-to-back years. Tiger did that in 2007. Scheffler is amazing. He's five strokes back, but that's not very much when you're Scottie Scheffler, so I would expect him to be in the conversation as well this weekend, Isabel.

ROSALES: And I loved him in "Happy Gilmore 2." Don Riddell, thank you.

RIDDELL: Yes, he was great in that. Yes.

ROSALES: Well, National Dog Day is coming up, so chief data analyst and dog lover Harry Enten is here with what you need to know to keep your furry friends safe from the sun. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICS WRITER AND ANALYST: Hey, there. In the closing days of summer, you might want to enjoy a doggy day out at the beach. I remember Chuckster really enjoyed the beach, and Cody, boy, goodness gracious. We were really young over there. He really enjoyed the beach. Of course, you want to keep your dog safe and sound, so how do you do it?

Number one tip, make sure you keep your dog safe from the sun. Find the shady spots. This dog over here looks calm, cool, and collected. And believe it or not, yes, apply sunscreen to your dogs because they can in fact get sunburn. I often felt that getting behind the ears is quite an important task for myself, and it's important for dogs as well.

Of course, going to the beach is not just about being on the sand. It's about going into the water. So if in fact you get your dog into the water, make sure your dog has a life jacket. This dog looks very fashionable over here. And remember, never, ever allow your dog to be alone in the ocean.

Finally, you want that dog to be comfortable for the rest of the day and the weeks ahead. So remember, rinse your dog down after a doggy day at the beach, rinse their coat and rinse their paws. Why? Because sand and saltwater can hurt if it gets stuck in there. Follow these tips and you'll make sure that it's a great day for you and your pooch at the beach.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had left Calvin Klein, so she was at an inflection point in her own life and trying to decide what she was going to do.

It was hard for her to work. In the business that she was in, you're dealing with people who your job is to kind of put them at the front and center of every single conversation. And have an employee working for you who overshadows you no matter who you are is antithetical to the job.

After the first year, I was down at their place, and she was just giving me ten Prada suits and coats and everything. She's like, I'm never going to wear this. And I was like, I'll wear all of this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had left everything she knew up until that point in fashion, and she was just married and just not used to that level of scrutiny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carolyn was young and smart and ambitious and had a big brain, and I think really wanted to do things and to kind of have a big life. And it's tough when you go from that to suddenly being overwhelmingly known for one thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just felt sometimes unbearable.

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ROSALES: The series finale of "American Prince, JFK Jr.," airs tonight at 9:00 only on CNN.

Thanks for joining me today. I'm Isabel Rosales. "Smerconish" starts right now.