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Trump To Meet With South Korea President Lee Tomorrow; South Korea President Meets Japan's PM Ahead Of Summit With Trump; Jeffries: Republicans Trying To Rig The Midterm Elections; Survivors Of NY Bus Crash Recount Traumatic Ordeal; Israel Launches New Strikes On Houthi Rebels In Yemen; U.S., Venezuela Escalate Military Tensions; Police Close Down Facebook Page Sharing Intimate Photos Of Women; Union: At Least 600 CDC Employees Getting Final Termination Notices; $10 Million Up For Grabs In Tight PGA Tour Leadership Race. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 24, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:34]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Hello and thank you for joining me. I'm Isabel Rosales, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin in Washington where President Trump is set to meet with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung tomorrow. This will be their first face-to-face meeting since the two reached a trade agreement just last month.

Goods from South Korea briefly faced a 25 percent tariff in April, before the two countries agreed to a 15 percent rate.

Let's get right to CNN's Betsy Klein outside of the White House. Betsy, what can we expect out of tomorrow's meeting?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: Well Isabel, South Korea is such a critical ally to the U.S., both for national security, economic and geographic reasons. So this will be a very closely watched meeting as President Trump hosts President Lee here at the White House on Monday.

And you may recall that President Lee came to office just a couple of months ago in June after his predecessor, President Yoon, was removed from office for declaring martial law.

Now, this is going to mark a key opportunity for Lee to cultivate ties with President Trump amid some questions about the future of the U.S.- South Korea relationship in the Trump era.

And as you mentioned, one of the key topics of conversation tomorrow is going to be the topic of trade after these two countries reached a deal right before the president's August 1st deadline, the U.S. placing 15 percent tariffs on South Korean goods.

And when he announced that deal, President Trump also said in a post to social media, quote, "South Korea will give to the United States $350 billion for investments owned and controlled by the United States and selected by myself." Now that is going to include $150 billion for the shipbuilding industry.

There are a few other major topics of discussion that are expected, including the threat of nuclear -- a nuclear North Korea, South Korea's northern neighbor. We've seen North Korea just this weekend fire test missiles in preparation for this key summit, as well as the possibility of a conflict over Taiwan. China has been escalating its military activity in recent months.

And there was a critical moment across the globe in the lead up to this summit as South Korean President Lee went to Japan for a key summit with Japan's prime minister just this weekend.

Now, Japan is a country that once colonized South Korea. So the fact that these two leaders are meeting and enjoying warm relations is a very important signal of how they plan to work together in these times, Isabel.

ROSALES: Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

And as Betsy was mentioning there, South Korean President Lee broke with tradition on Saturday by making his first international visit since taking office not to the U.S., but rather to Japan, the country's former colonizer.

Though President Trump was not part of this bilateral summit, his presence certainly loomed large as both countries navigate volatile ties with Washington.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was a historic summit. For the first time since the normalization of relations, a South Korean president visited Japan before heading to the U.S. for bilateral talks.

It also ended with the first joint statement in 17 years. The two countries pledged deeper cooperation on A.I., trade, and denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

They announced plans to launch a joint task force to tackle shared challenges like aging populations and falling birth rates. They also underscored the importance of trilateral coordination with Washington amid global uncertainty.

Hear the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at a joint press conference earlier on Saturday.

SHIGERU ISHIBA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I also believe that strengthening cooperation between Japan, South Korea and the United States is extremely important. I am very happy to be able to share this view with the president. MONTGOMERY: Now, that message matters more than ever. Both countries have come under pressure from a U.S. president who's upended longstanding foreign policy. Trump imposed tariffs, demanded higher defense spending, and has pushed both Japan and South Korea to pay more for hosting U.S. troops.

[14:04:47]

MONTGOMERY: With their most powerful ally growing more unpredictable, Japan and South Korea appeared to be leaning on each other more than ever, despite a long and often tense history. Japan's colonization of Korea, which lasted over three decades, left deep scars that have strained bilateral ties for years.

But with growing concerns over North Korea's expanding nuclear arsenal, its coordination with Russia and its war in Ukraine, and China's increasing military aggression, analysts say both nations are prioritizing pragmatism.

In a region marked by rising uncertainty, both countries are finding common ground in shared threats.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN -- Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Hanako, thank you so much.

The Texas Senate has now approved a new congressional map drawn to help Republicans win more seats in next year's midterm elections. The bill now heads to Governor Greg Abbotts desk for his signature.

California meanwhile, is retaliating with a plan of its own, led by Governor Gavin Newsom. That measure will have to go before voters in November.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying today that no amount of gerrymandering will save the Republican House in next year's midterms. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: In Texas, this is a racial, partisan gerrymander ordered by Donald Trump as part of an effort to rig the midterm elections. And we're not going to let it happen.

And at the end of the day, we were 24 seats down during Donald Trump's first midterm election in 2018. We won 40 seats in 2018.

There's no way that Republicans can mathematically gerrymander their way to an artificial victory next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And with us now is Kaivan Shroff. He is a Democratic strategist and a senior adviser for the Institute for Education. He also worked on Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign.

Kaivan, thank you so much for joining us and for being on the show. Really appreciate your insight on all of this.

I want to start with Newsom's fighting fire with fire approach on social media. That's just certainly caught so much attention from dinosaur names -- I think we might have some graphics of these -- to writing in caps lock, trolling Trump, and really his own style to pushing a Trump-like nickname for the president "Taco", or Trump always chickens out.

My question to you is, are these sorts of tactics working? Is there excitement for a candidate to do this sort of MAGA like clap-backs, especially for the younger generation?

KAIVAN SHROFF, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, I think it is working in one sense in that it is incredibly cathartic to Democratic voters that have been looking for somebody to fight back against Donald Trump, who seems like a bully that has yet to be held accountable.

So it's effective in that sense. And I think it also exposes some of the absurdity of Donald Trump's approach when you see somebody like Newsom, you know, putting out those all-caps tweets.

At the same time, I would caution Democrats that catharsis is not a plan to win back the White House. And so it has to be coupled with policy proposals and strategy. And I do think Newsom has also shown he's been strategic, particularly in this redistricting battle.

You know, I'm an attorney by training. And I think what California has done here aligns very closely with the concept of self-defense in this country, which of course, is that you don't get to go around beating people up. But if somebody starts punching on you, you get to fight back.

And there's three elements I'd say that are present in Newsom's response that justify a self-defense response. And that's, you know, proportionality. You have to respond proportionally. And that's what they're doing here, right?

Texas stole five seats, he's taking five back. There has to be an imminent threat, right? Trump and Republicans are trying to rig the 2026 outcomes.

And lastly, you have to retreat when the threat subsides. And so this measure expires in 2030 when hopefully the country has moved on from these unprecedented MAGA attacks.

ROSALES: Former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has for decades railed against rigged maps, and it was under his governorship that voters first banned gerrymandering and adopted this independent redistricting commission that has really been seen as a gold standard, right?

It's outside of the hands of the politicians. It's this independent commission drawing these maps every ten years, not mid-decade like we're seeing now.

Schwarzenegger is certainly not a fan of this move by Newsom. He told the "Houston Chronicle" that gerrymandering isn't a battle between Democrats and Republicans. It's a battle between politicians and the people. Do Democrats risk proving his point by pursuing partisan maps in California?

SHROFF: I don't think so. You know, it's a not surprising yet still disappointing response from Schwarzenegger, but really something that we've seen from so many of this older generation of leaders that just are missing this moment.

We are not in 2010 right now. It comes across very out of touch. He's a 78-year-old, very rich celebrity who's not impacted by the threats of Trumpism.

[14:09:49]

SHROFF: And I will say it's disappointing because of all the issues of all the threats on democracy, particularly in California, to choose this to sort of play the "I was the governor, and I want to stand up on this issue" card falls a little tone deaf when he didn't do that when Trump sent troops to invade Los Angeles. He's not doing it when Trump seizes 10 percent control of Intel, a California-based company.

So I think, you know, you have to ask why this? Why now? And it seems to be about him and his legacy, and it just misses the moment completely.

ROSALES: Yes. But to be clear, there are five Republican lawmakers who were freely-elected by the people of California who -- their seats may now be at risk. I mean, is this a betrayal to the spirit of what Californians voted for when they set this independent commission? And should California voters trust Newsom when he says that this is going to be temporary?

SHROFF: Well, you know, it's in the hands of California voters. Unlike Texas, California voters will get to cast their votes in November and decide whether they want to take this path.

I will say, though, you know, major groups, for example, like Common Cause, which are dedicated to fighting against these sorts of gerrymandering efforts, have taken a different position in this moment because it is such a rare, unprecedented moment where they're actually not even coming out against what Newsom is doing here, because its temporary, because it is responsive.

So I think we have to take the moment for what it is. And of course, I'd rather we be in that situation where we respect our nonpartisan institutions. That's not the game Republicans are playing right now.

ROSALES: If we can circle back again to the governor's social media playbook here, I want to know, is there any other prospective 2028 candidate breaking into the attention economy like Newsom? And bottom line, is Newsom giving Democrats here a 2028 playbook for how to survive in Trump's digital sandbox? Or is he feeding into this very culture of spectacle that helped put Trump where he is in the first place?

SHROFF: Yes. You know, I think part of what works for Trump is that his base sees his sort of attacks on folks and these outrageous tweets as part of the end of what they want. They want that vitriol.

I don't know that Democratic voters have that same appetite. So while there is sort of a novelty in what Newsom is doing, I don't think it's a strategy that can endure for him. And I do think, you know, folks calling on, you know, leaders like Hochul to do the same. It wouldn't ring as authentic.

I don't think certain types of leaders, you know, the more moderate, more sort of put-together folks like that can pull it off in the same way. And so they have to find their own authentic path.

I think what matters at the end of the day is who actually gets real points on the board, not who drives necessarily a short news cycle with some of these tactics, though, it's been working for him for now.

ROSALES: I think the midterms and beyond will be very telling. Kaivan Shroff, thank you so much for your time.

SHROFF: Great to join.

ROSALES: Thanks.

Well, still to come, new details on the first response to that deadly tour bus crash in western New York.

Plus safety concerns at the CDC following the deadly shooting there earlier this month, and more layoffs of agency staff.

[14:13:06]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSALES: Welcome back.

State police have released the names of the five passengers who were killed in that upstate New York bus crash. The youngest was a 22-year- old student from China studying at Columbia University.

Survivors from the bus crash described that wreck for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAO GAO YU, SURVIVOR OF BUS CRASH: We were lucky we survived. But it's just awful feeling.

ZIHAN LNFU, SURVIVOR OF BUS CRASH: I saw when the car is crashed, so many people was hurt. And I see the car was crashed and so many people very hurt.

And somebody is smaller than me, maybe 4 or 5 years old and is -- and her arm is broken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Terrible. The youngest of the passengers only a year old. The oldest, 70 years old.

CNN's Leigh Waldman joins us now from New York with the latest updates. Leigh, what have you learned?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isabel, we're speaking with people who actually witnessed this crash for themselves including a driver, Robert Glinski. He told me he was right behind the bus.

Saw it starting to lose control. The driver swerving from one lane to the other. He said he thought the driver of that bus got things under control and ultimately he saw the whole thing, that bus rolling.

He told me that he saw bodies flying out of that bus itself. He saw people trapped, but him and so many other drivers who saw this happen, they got out of their vehicles and they ran in to help for themselves.

He told me all about helping a young woman he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GLINSKI, WITNESS: I looked at her arm. Her arm was just a mess. So I had a shirt on -- an Under Armor shirt. I took that off and I tied a tourniquet up under her armpit as tight as I could.

And I had her sit down, and I just started talking to her as far as, like, take deep breaths, encouraging her that everything's going to be ok.

Once I could call the hospital and see if she can have visitors, I'd like to go up and show my face and say, I told you so.

[14:19:51]

GLINSKI: I mean, it's -- they need they need hope at this point right now because it was pretty tragic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: You can hear Robert getting a little emotional there. He says he keeps replaying what happened over and over again in his head.

Now we know that a few things have been ruled out here that might have caused this crash, including driver impairment and mechanical issues with the bus itself. The NTSB is helping the state police and the state Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Compliance Bureau with its investigation.

And they have a team who specializes in human performance. They're going to look at the driver specifically, a 55-year-old man from Flushing, New York, to see if he was fatigued or distracted when this crash happened, Isabel. ROSALES: And what can you tell us about the people who died in this

crash?

WALDMAN: So we heard from the state police, and they were releasing more information about the people who died in this crash on Friday. Includes two people in their 60s, two in their 50s, and also, like you had mentioned, a 22-year-old student who was attending Columbia University. The university putting out a statement saying that their heart is breaking for the loss across their entire university and they're in close contact with the family of that victim, and they're offering them their full support.

47 other people were taken to area hospitals, including the Erie County Medical Center. Now we have some good news from them. They said at this point, 11 patients of the 21 that they had received in light of this crash have been released. Another person expected to be released today. So obviously we're thinking of those people in the recovery.

ROSALES: Yes, that is a really great update, but certainly a horrible scenario for these families. And like we saw with Robert, for the people who witnessed this terrible incident.

Leigh Waldman, thank you.

Evacuation orders are in place right now as a dangerous wildfire burns in Napa County, California. As of this morning, the fast-moving Pickett Fire that has burned more than 6,800 acres and is only 11 percent contained.

CalFire says crews are working around the clock to hold the fire within the control lines, but the weather conditions certainly are not helping. In fact, they are challenging all of these efforts. Red flag alerts are posted again today as a major heat wave bakes the entirety of the West Coast.

Still to come, a Facebook page with thousands of followers gets shut down. A police investigation sparked over what some men were posting about their wives and other women without their consent.

[14:22:22]

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ROSALES: New today, Israel striking Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen today. This video shows smoke rising in parts of the capital of Sanaa. The Israeli military says strikes targeted a military site where the presidential palace is located, as well as power plants and a fuel storage depot.

A short time ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed those attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The Houthi terror regime is learning the hard way that it will pay, and is paying a very heavy price for its aggression against the state of Israel.

Those who attack us, we attack them. Those who plan to attack us, we strike them first. I believe the entire region is learning the strength and determination of the state of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Israel says it launched the attack after Houthi rebels fired a new kind of missile toward Israel on Friday.

We are also following rising tensions between the U.S. and a powerful South American country, Venezuela. A huge show of force is happening right now as the U.S. Navy deploys three guided-missile destroyers to Venezuela in what the Trump administration calls an effort to thwart drug cartels.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A major show of force in South America. At least three U.S. Navy destroyers, attack aircraft, amphibious landing vehicles, and more than 4,000 Marines.

The Trump administration says it's meant to crack down on drug smuggling from the region to the U.S. and intimidate Venezuela's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, who has responded by calling up more than 4 million militiamen to defend against any possible U.S. aggression.

The White House alleges Maduro is the head of a shadowy cocaine trafficking empire known as El Cartel De Los Soles, a criminal organization secretly operated by Venezuela's military. This month, the administration doubled the reward for Maduro's capture to $50 million.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco terror cartel. And Maduro, it is the view of this administration, is not a legitimate president. He is the fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the United States for trafficking drugs into the country.

OPPMANN: Now, U.S. Navy ships approaching Venezuela are putting Maduro on notice. The deployment may just be a show of force, but one that Venezuela's leader vows to resist. Maduro denies the drug smuggling accusations and says his government will fight until the last bullet.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We must defend Venezuela because they want to turn us into slaves of supremacists due to the racist contempt they have for us.

OPPMANN: Maduro, who counts Russia and Iran as allies, say he's mobilizing his military and militia across the country to ensure any U.S. action would be drawn out and bloody.

[14:29:48]

MADURO: No empire is going to set foot on the sacred soil of Venezuela.

OPPMANN: Despite the saber rattling on both sides, it's clear the U.S. forces deployed would not be sufficient for regime change, says a former U.S. official who has studied what an invasion of Venezuela would look like.

[14:30:05]

FRANK MORA, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES: We're talking about 200,000, 250,000 troops because it's not just a question of bringing the regime down. That would not be that difficult. The invasion becomes an occupation. And that gets very complicated because how do you maintain social order in a country where the government has collapsed?

OPPMANN: This is not the first time the U.S. has vowed to oust Maduro. In 2019, during the first Trump administration, a U.S.-backed uprising of dissident Venezuelan soldiers led to fighting in the streets of the capital, Caracas, between pro and anti-government forces. But that would be coup failed. Maduro emerged with a tighter grip on power and even more defiant of U.S. attempts to end his rule.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: And a disturbing story now out of Italy, where a Facebook page named My Wife, in French has been -- in Italian rather -- has been closed down after a police investigation. Men used it to share intimate images of their female partners, sisters and unknown women, often without their consent.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau joins us now from -- with more from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Facebook page in Italy named "Mia Moglie" or My Wife, has been shut down after police investigation. The page, which had nearly 32,000 members was used to share intimate photos of men's wives, girlfriends, and even sisters and sisters in law, many without their consent, according to the Italian police.

Thousands of complaints were logged, with both Facebook and the local authorities after a popular feminist activist started posting screengrabs of some of the content on her social media. Some of the posts had disturbing comments, including vulgar requests in some cases. Many of the victims have spoken out in local media, and it will be largely up to them to file complaints if criminal charges will ever be laid. The police, who manage cyber and digital crimes, say they will

investigate all of the information they collected before the site was shut down by Meta, which says it shut down the site because it did not adhere to its standards.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Barbie, thank you.

Well, still to come, following the deadly shooting at the CDC headquarters, there are questions about recent layoffs that may have added to safety concerns. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:54]

ROSALES: Welcome back.

At least 600 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received, or are about to receive final termination notices. The firings come in the wake of a recent court decision that protected some CDC workers from layoffs. The permanent cuts include about 100 people who worked in violence prevention, and they come less than two weeks after a man fired at least 180 rounds into the CDC's campus and killed a police officer.

I'm joined now by Tom Simon, a former CDC scientist.

Tom, thank you so much for your -- for your time. And it is my understanding that you've retired recently, but that's not something that you wanted to do.

TOM SIMON, FORMER CDC SCIENTIST IN THE DIVISION OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION: That's correct, Isabel. Yeah.

Working at CDC in the Division of Violence Prevention was my dream job. And I retired after it was clear that most of the staff in the Division of Violence Prevention, where I worked, were going to be fired.

And this week, it's just been a cruel irony that just days after this gunman sprayed -- you said 180. Those are the ones that hit the buildings. They hit six buildings, but there were 500 shots just sprayed across the CDC campus. It's a cruel irony that just days after that, over 150 staff in the division of violence prevention injury center would be fired this week.

ROSALES: Yeah, these are the very same people who were trained who are experts at preventing this sort of violence. What is the significance of this sort of a loss?

SIMON: You're exactly right. These are our researchers and practitioners with decades of expertise in preventing violence and injury. They're the world's experts in this topic. The work that they do really focuses on enhancing programs. Making sure that taxpayer dollars to prevent violence are being used effectively, and making sure that we're doing the best that we can to translate science and data into action. These are skill sets that don't exist elsewhere in the federal government.

ROSALES: What was your immediate reaction when you heard about these termination notices going out?

SIMON: Well, I'll tell you, myself and my colleagues were just -- were heartbroken across CDC. You said 600, that's right. It's 600 of the world's experts in their topic. they were talking about chronic disease, statistics. We're talking about folks working in global health and the office of communications.

These are people who've dedicated their careers to making the lives of families and communities healthier and safer. They're angry because what's happened is, is unjust. And they know what we stand to lose. They know the work that they were doing, and they know how important it is. And they're angry that it's being stopped.

ROSALES: We've seen other agencies when we talked about the DOGE effect here change their minds and then scramble to hire back laid off employees or replace them. When it comes to these industry-known experts, how easy or challenging of a task is that?

SIMON: Well, I think the issue right now is we need to reinstate them.

[14:40:02]

I don't think it's too late. I think they need to be called back. I think this work is critical. I'm seeing partners around the country through Safe States Alliance and the Keep America Safe Coalition. They're organizing.

Folks can go to their website KeepAmericaSafe.info. And there's an action center, and people are taking action to raise awareness about how important this work is.

And, Isabel, if I could, I would share a couple specific examples of the types of violence prevention efforts that we stand to lose as a country. Can I do that?

ROSALES: Yeah, absolutely. And if I could add a little bit to that, because I'm interested in the sort of work that we would lose, we do have CNN reporting that effective projects also include beyond violence prevention, which we'll get into, work to prevent child abuse, rape and teen dating violence. So, talk to me about the impacts and what that would mean, like on the ground.

SIMON: Yeah, exactly. All the -- all the topics across violence -- across the lifespan. You just did the Facebook story about intimate partner violence and sexual violence, preventing that type of abuse and that type of violence is exactly what our division was about.

And this -- this incident that happened on CDC grounds, it stands out because of the magnitude of the attack and it was a federal facility. But shootings are occurring every day in our communities, and it doesn't have to be that way. We can move upstream in terms of prevention. So just to give you an idea like families right now can take action if they know that somebody in their household is in crisis, is experiencing suicidal ideation, if they've got an older adult with dementia and they're worried about them coming into the home with their firearm, they can voluntarily and temporarily place that firearm outside the home.

This young man who committed this crime was in crisis is -- and actions can be taken to prevent the shootings so that people can go to gunstoragemap.com right now, online. They can put in their zip code and they can see where in their area they can temporarily store their firearms voluntarily. If somebody in the home is in crisis and they need to get that firearm out of the home.

This is something that's supported by the firearm industry. These are gun shops and gun stores that are volunteering, volunteering to store these firearms.

The other thing I would say is that anonymous reporting systems like the Say Something reporting system work. CDC-funded work at the University of Michigan that showed the effects over a thousand mental health crises -- mental health interventions were completed as a result of the reports. There were over 100 saves in terms of people in suicide crisis, 38 acts of school violence and six planned school attacks were averted in just one state. These are the types of programs that we need to support and expand, and we need creative solutions, and we need to be able to evaluate them.

And that's what folks in the injury center and the division of violence prevention were all about.

ROSALES: And, Tom, I'm out of -- I'm out of time here. But in five seconds, if you can, if you were to say a direct message to HHS or the administration, what would you tell them? Five seconds.

SIMON: Yeah. Theres an open letter to Secretary Kennedy that's out there right now online. We need to stop the spread of inaccurate health information that results in type of violence we just experienced. We need to acknowledge CDC scientific integrity, and we need to guarantee the safety of the Health and Human Services workforce. Actions need to happen right now. Thank you so much.

ROSALES: Thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

[14:48:29]

ROSALES: The song that has TikTok in a chokehold. Parents may recognize that song called "Golden" from Netflix big hit "K-Pop Demon Hunters" as their children simply cannot get enough of this animated film, which is on track to become Netflix's most watched movie of all time.

CNN spoke with some superfans to hear what they love most about it, and why they can't stop watching it. Warning, there are spoilers ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I think I probably watched it over 50 times.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I've seen it a hundred times.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Countless. I love the movie so much.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It's not really similar to anything else I've ever seen in my ten years lifetime.

REPORTER: The animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" is on track to be Netflix's most watched movie of all time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world will know you as pop stars but you will be much more than that.

REPORTER: So CNN talked to some of the film's superfans to hear what the movie is actually about and why it's dominating cafeteria chatter across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I would describe that there are these three girls. Their names are Rumi, Mira and Zoey.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: The entire world sees them as pop stars. But behind the screen, they're actually fighting demons.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: But then there was like this demon boy band.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: And at the end, they defeated the demon boys. It's kind of sad, but still, it's really good movie.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I think what's different about it is that it's a demon movie and like a K-Pop movie mixed together and usually it's like just K-Pop or just demons.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It's like a kid movie but it has a tiny bit of violence.

[14:50:01]

Kids normally don't like watching violence. Some kids do like it.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Before K-Pop Hunters came out, we were doing like a mile one run during PE and we were singing defying gravity. But like this year, we were like running in recess and we just started playing, singing "Golden" to them. So that was fun.

(MUSIC)

REPORTER: One of the reasons the movie is so popular is the music. Three songs from the soundtrack cracked the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, including "Golden", which peaked at number one.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: There's like a little spark of it that like set off my heart whenever I watched it. And it was just, like, different than what I've seen.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: If you go to, like, Coney Island or something, you're happy. And that's like how I feel. I just feel like I'm on a joy ride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: I just love that.

Okay, 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 VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA 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 in 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. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Sunscreen on a dog. Okay, news to me.

Still to come, the top golfers in the world compete for an astronomical prize. Up next, a live report on who is making a run to win $10 million.

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[14:57:09]

ROSALES: Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley are neck and neck in the PGA Tours final round, with the FedEx Cup title and certainly big bucks, all of it on the line. Thirty players are competing for the $40 million purse and, you know, a measly $10 million going to the winner.

CNN's Don Riddell joining in the excitement from the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Don, you look like you're having a lot of fun.

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Everybody's getting paid except me today, Isabel. But no, we're all having -- we're all having a lot of fun here today.

And we have a number of really, really compelling story lines playing out here this afternoon.

Tommy Fleetwood of England currently holds the lead. He's one stroke clear. He's a very popular guy on tour, but he's never, ever won on the PGA tour. So, he is chasing his first ever win stateside and of all the tournaments you could win to be your first, what a win this would be with $10 million on the line.

He's got a lot of guys breathing down his neck. And the most fascinating is America's Keegan Bradley. This guy is 39 years old. He's very successful. He's had a great year. But he's also the U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

Now, when they named him the captain a year or so ago, I guess they thought his best playing days were behind him. But right now, he's playing better than every single guy on his Ryder Cup team, bar one Russell Henley.

And he's in this ridiculous situation where next week he's going to decide if, as a captain, he's going to pick himself for his own team. And so he's kind of weighing all of that up whilst at the same time trying to go out and win a tournament.

And it's incredible because he's got all these plates spinning and he's doing pretty well. These are his thoughts on the situation he's in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEEGAN BRADLEY, USA RYDER CUP CAPTAIN: It's a really strange thing to kind of ponder, you know, making the picks and then thinking about picking yourself. It's like ridiculous. Like it seems -- doesn't seem like reality sometimes. But, we're going to do the best we can to make the right decision.

And it's going to be controversial to a certain people either way. Like, I'm prepared for that. I don't -- I am confident with -- whichever decision I make is for the betterment of the team. And we'll see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: No question. Bradley is playing phenomenal. On Saturday, he had the round of the day. And it's really interesting that this is all playing out here in Atlanta at the East Lake Golf Club, because the last time a Ryder Cup captain also played on his own team was 1963, Arnold Palmer was that captain and player. And that Ryder Cup happened at this very golf course.

So, it feels as though all these worlds are colliding. And Keegan Bradley's right in the middle of it, Isabel.

ROSALES: Don, all you had to do was tell me that $10 million were on the line for me to practice my swing. That's it.

RIDDELL: All right. Twelve months, we'll work on it. We'll get you here next year.

ROSALES: Deal. Don Riddell, thank you.