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Republicans In Congress May Release Files On Jeffrey Epstein; President Trump Calls On Justice Department To Investigate Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein And Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, And Others; President Trump Clashes With Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene Over Economic Issues; President Trump May Decrease Tariffs To Lower Consumer Prices; Atlanta Holding Large Food Drive To Help Those With Food Insecurity; Oakland Football Coach Killed During Campus Shooting; Georgia Prosecutor To Pursue 2020 Election Interference Case; Relations Between U.S. And Iran Remain Tense; Pope Leo Meets With A-list Hollywood Celebrities At Vatican; Florida To Resume Black Bear Hunting Season For First Time In 10 Years; Advertising In New York City For Technology Company Providing Artificial Intelligence Friends Draws Controversy. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired November 15, 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]

ERROL MUSK, FATHER OF ELON MUSK: You don't like cars and electric cars, and you don't like technology, or what is it? Do you want to go back to the jungle?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Oh, boy. An all news episode of "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Misinformation, White Genocide", airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on CNN, the next day on the CNN app.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with a new investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's alleged ties to several political foes of President Trump. On Friday, the president publicly ordered the Justice Department to investigate high profile Democrats, companies, and institutions that he claims had dealings with Epstein. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi immediately complied and appointed the U.S. attorney in Manhattan to handle the investigation. That's despite the DOJ determining four months ago that nothing in the Epstein files warranted further action.

The latest twist in this saga comes after the president's name turned up repeatedly in just released emails from the Epstein estate. In one of the emails, Epstein said Trump, quoting now, "knew about the girls," end quote. He was asked about that reference last night on board Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did Jeffrey Epstein mean in his emails when you said you knew about the girls?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: I know nothing about that. They would have announced that a long time ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Betsy Klein is in Florida where President Trump is spending the weekend. Betsy, the president is making his first comments on this new investigation. What more can you tell us?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, it is clear that the president, both publicly and privately, is very frustrated that he cannot shake these persistent questions and headlines about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of child sex trafficking. And there is going to be a major political test in the House of Representatives next week when they are set to take a key vote on whether to release the Justice Department's Epstein files amid really growing calls for transparency.

And we are expecting members of the president's own party to offer significant support for that vote. And the White House has been going to some of those lawmakers, Republicans who are expected to vote in favor of that, and encouraging them against doing so. But ahead of that, the president clearly seeking to discredit this effort in the House, as well as shift attention and focus away from himself, announcing yesterday in a post to social media that he was directing Attorney General Pamela Bondi and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into some of his political opponents and their ties to Epstein. That includes former president Bill Clinton, former treasury secretary Larry Summers, the co-founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman, along with J.P. Morgan Chase and what the president described as other people and institutions to come.

So we will see how that moves forward. Bondi, for her part, saying that they are going to move with urgency. But listen to how the president reacted when pressed on the White House's efforts to ask those Republicans to shift their support away from this provision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: We think it's bad to talk about it because it gets away from the subject of how well the Republicans are doing. We have the greatest economy. We have the largest investment ever made in our country's history. We have all of these great things happening. We have very little inflation. Whereas he had record setting, the biggest inflation in history. All of these things are good. And when you talk about the Epstein hoax, what happens is you're not talking about how well we've done. That's the whole purpose behind them. They want to waste people's time. And some of the dumber Republicans like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Of course, launching a new investigation into Jeffrey Epstein is certainly not likely to quell some of those questions that the president is facing, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right. And then what more do you know about, I mean,

these fighting words, shall we say, between Trump and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene? I mean, she used to be one of his biggest allies.

KLEIN: Certainly. This is a major political breakup. We haven't seen anything like this really since Elon Musk. And this is really because Greene in recent weeks has upped her rhetoric criticizing the president and his team for their strategy on a number of fronts. Number one, the economy. She says and she has said repeatedly that the president is too focused on some of these foreign relationships. He needs to be more focused on the economy and affordability issues instead of spending time abroad. That is one of her criticisms.

Separately, she is one of these lawmakers, Republican lawmakers, who is expected to vote in support of releasing the Epstein files.

[14:05:3]

She has demanded transparency. She's been somewhat of an advocate for these victims, and we heard her lay out that -- the argument she's made to the White House. In a post to social media, she showed a screenshot of one of the texts that she sent to a top White House official where she called on the White House to stop calling this a hoax. She said that many of those women are active Trump supporters, and she said that them being raped as teenagers is not a hoax.

But in return, Trump announced that he was pulling his endorsement of Greene and really attacking her in very personal terms, calling her a RINO, Republican in name only. He said that she is a ranting lunatic. Greene, in response, says that she has faced a hotbed of threats since then, saying in a post to social media, quote, "aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats and multiple convictions of men who were radicalized by the same type of rhetoric being directed at me right now, this time by the president of the United States." We'll have to see whether they are able to cool things down in the days and hours ahead, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thanks so much.

All right, turning now to the dangerous storm system posing a threat to millions of people across southern California. Officials say some areas could get several months worth of rain in a matter of hours. And that's raising the risk for dangerous mudslides in vulnerable areas already marred by wildfires earlier in the year. Now, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has issued evacuation orders for those high risk communities.

Let's get right to Julia Vargas Jones who is covering the storm from malibu where the conditions are simply miserable, Julia.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're miserable and quite dangerous also, Fred. That is why there's a large part of Los Angeles County now under a flash flood warning. Since we last spoke, that was expanded to also include the east part of Los Angeles County. That's the areas of Altadena, Pasadena, near that Eaton fire scar. Now, I do want to show you where I am now here in Malibu. We are right

where one of these creeks, this is the Las Flores creeks, meets the ocean. This is basically a mud river at this point. It is not usually like this. There is also a high wind and big waves warning for the for the Pacific Ocean here where we are. And it is crucial -- I will say though, we did see at least two people trying to get their surfboards out in this weather. Can you get any more California than that? I really don't think so.

But where we are on the Pacific Coast Highway, just above me here, this is all burn scar area. That is why authorities are saying that right now, if you are in any of these areas where there is a flash flood warning, you should be seeking higher ground and trying to be away from those burn scars.

Now, aside from that, Fred, more than 20 million are under a flood warning. Just, there are worsening conditions along roads, according to Caltrans, the authority for transit here in California, there are downed trees. You can expect high winds. And this will not stop anytime soon. We are expecting those warnings to stay in place throughout today. It may still intensify over the next few hours before it kind of goes down, but those warnings will be in place until at least tomorrow evening. And that's why the mayor and the fire chief have been saying, if you don't have to leave your house, do not leave your house. Please be careful on these roads, and we will see if those conditions do worsen in the next couple of hours, Fred, or if we'll see a little bit of easing of this rain.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all great advice in such a volatility. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much.

All right, for more on just how bad this storm system is going to get potentially, let's go right to CNN meteorologist Chris Warren.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Southern California does remain the focus for the potential of more flooding, more flash flooding, landslides, strong storms. It's all still on the table even into the evening and overnight hours as we watch this threat that does include excessive rainfall that could lead to that flooding, rockslides, debris flows, especially here, especially in the burn scar areas.

And the void of vegetation, the land no longer with the grasses and the trees to help hold the soil in, too much water after what has already been a wet start to the weekend with more rain and thunderstorms, if you get the heavy rain, you can just make things that much worse.

Now when you look at this and if you live in the south or in Florida, couple inches might not seem like a lot. But this time of year in southern California, two inches of rain is what you can see in the entire month, and the wetter months on average, three to maybe four inches of rain.

[14:10:07]

So this can be significant, especially if it happens very quickly, if that rain falls in a hurry.

So let's see how this plays out. Looking at the rain and thunderstorms continuing during the overnight hours, and then by first thing in the morning on Sunday, we're going to see more showers, more storms. Now the worst of it should be over, but you can't rule out a few spots where we end up with some localized flooding into the morning hours and the next system arrives late on Sunday into early Monday.

Now, with the series of systems, the rain, but also could see so much snow in the higher elevations here in the Sierra Nevada, it could be measured in feet.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, that is a lot. Chris Warren, thanks so much.

All right, still to come, a community mourns the loss of a legendary football coach and mentor featured in Netflix's "Last Chance U." He was killed in a shooting on a college campus.

And next, the rising costs of groceries has forced some families to find new ways to get food. We'll take you to a food giveaway in Atlanta next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:15:51]

WHITFIELD: The Trump administration is scrambling to make good on a campaign promise that, by his own account, won him reelection -- to bring prices down. One solution, reversing part of Trump's tariff policy. The president yesterday signed an executive order to retroactively lower tariffs on beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas. The agricultural items are now excluded from reciprocal tariffs, but not the tax entirely. The move comes after Trump claimed, falsely, that prices have fallen during his administration.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is joining me live from a food giveaway event in Atlanta. And how have things been picking up?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we saw a lot of activity and the last couple of hours here, Fred. Unfortunately, this effort is wrapping up. But let me tell you, it is one thing to talk about the state of the economy, inflation, tariffs, and the government shutdown, and an entirely different thing, Fred, is when you actually see people in need coming to an event like this one, a food drive, because they need help.

And what the organizers told us is that they were prepared to help about 1,000 families today. All the boxes that you see behind me, some of the tables and the tents, they were set up so that people would get vegetables, they would get chicken, they would get potatoes, some non- perishables. And we saw lines of cars lining up here right next to me, picking up all of that food.

But the reality is that the challenge is not over, Fred, and we heard earlier from Dr. Bernice King, the chairman of the King Center, who said that even though today was a great day to help many families in need, they're bracing for what's coming next in the next few weeks and the next few months. This is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BERNICE KING, KING CENTER CHAIRMAN: Although the shutdown is over, we know that people are still suffering. They're still struggling. We're living in very precarious times. And so we want the world to know today that although the shutdown is over, we have not shut down our compassion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, Fred, for this event, two organizations have joined forces. One, of course, is the King Center. The other one is New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. They are helping people who are not necessarily thinking about Thanksgiving, even though we're less than two weeks away. I earlier spoke with the beneficiary who told me that she didn't even know what she was going to put on her table tonight for dinner. This is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MS. WILLIAMS, FOOD DRIVE RECIPIENT: It's every day. It's tonight. I need dinner for tonight. So that's how serious it is for me. It's not trying to get holiday, so this is going to make a huge, huge difference in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And finally, Fred, people, yes, are celebrating the fact that the government shutdown is over. They're celebrating the fact that the president has decided to lower tariffs on some items, like you mentioned at the beginning. But the problem is that this need from many people is not over. And those actions may be a little too little, too late for some of them. Now back to you.

WHITFIELD: Yes, the needs are so great and continue to mount. All right, Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

All right, still to come, the Georgia election interference case against President Trump and his allies is now in the hands of a new prosecutor. What that means for the president and his 18 codefendants.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:24:02]

WHITFIELD: All right, today the sports world is mourning the loss of a celebrated former football coach, John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series "Last Chance U," died on Friday after he was shot on the college campus where he worked in Oakland, California. Beam was rushed to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. The suspect in the shooting has been identified as 27-year-old Cedric Irving. Police say Irving knew Beam but did not have a close relationship with him. The mayor of Oakland described Beam as a giant in the city who mentored thousands of young people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BARBARA LEE, (D) OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Coach Beam was, has a legacy that we all have to lift up. Given the way he mentored young people, people, who never would have had a chance, including my nephew. he was his coach at Skyline High School. And so everyone had a connection to him. And he was a phenomenal human being. He was somebody who cared about others. And it's just something to think that he is not with us anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:25:10]

WHITFIELD: John Beam was 66 years old.

All right, the 2020 election interference case, remember that, in Georgia against President Trump and several of his allies came roaring back to life on Friday. One of the state's longtime prosecutors, Pete Skandalakis, will now oversee the case, taking over for Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis, who was disqualified from pursuing it. Skandalakis, who was charged with finding Willis's replacement, says he took the job after other prosecutors declined the assignment.

Here with me now to discuss, Emory University Law School Professor kay Levine. Professor, great to see you.

KAY LEVINE, PROFESSOR, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So what does this mean for this case moving forward? A, it will at least move forward. But how?

LEVINE: So the case has really been in limbo ever since lawyers for the defense team accused Fani Willis of inappropriate conduct with one of her prosecutors. She contested those allegations. She appealed. Eventually, the Georgia Supreme Court decided it was not going to take her appeal. So Pete Skandalakis as the leader of the prosecuting attorneys council, which is a nonpartisan organization of all the state prosecutors, he was given the responsibility to find a new prosecutor to take the case.

The fact that Fani Willis was removed doesn't mean that the case died. It just means that she is not allowed to have her fingerprints on the case any longer.

So Mr. Skandalakis was charged with finding a new prosecutor, and he ultimately asked several people, apparently, who declined, and he decided the case was important enough to move forward. So he's doing it himself.

WHITFIELD: And he personally had to weigh a lot, because anyone who would be taking this on, which is why there were so many no's, knows that there comes a lot of scrutiny. Theres a lot at risk professionally, politically, and personally. So how do you suppose he is, I guess, tasking himself with this while, at the same time, you know, protecting he his family, because that comes with the territory now, right, and protecting the case and trying to hold maybe the 18 co-defendants to account as well, who are also central to the case?

LEVINE: Right. So that last point you made actually is a very good one. A sitting president cannot go through a criminal trial. So for the time being, the case against Donald Trump will be pushed to the sidelines. But the live case against the remaining allies, the co- defendants, the coconspirators will now go forward with Peter Skandalakis at the head.

He's a very experienced prosecutor. He led the office for Coweta Judicial Circuit, which is an area southwest of Atlanta. He was the leader of that office for 25 years. He's a very well-respected prosecutor in the state. He has a lot of trial experience himself. So, but my guess is that this is probably the most high profile case he would have experienced in his career.

So weighing all the options, knowing that there are risks to him politically, possibly risks to his family, he still decided it was important enough to go forward. And I think that's a measure of his role as a public servant. In this role, he is representing the people of the state of Georgia. And so he has decided that the people of the state of Georgia still have an interest in seeing this case to its conclusion. He didn't want to let it lapse. He decided he actually wants to see it through to its conclusion. And we don't know yet what that conclusion is going to be.

WHITFIELD: President Trump pardoned, on the federal level, pardoned some of these co-defendants. They don't have that kind of protection with this Georgia state case. But I wonder if the clemency, the pardoning of some of these people will ultimately have some sort of impact on their testimony, their participation, willingness, in this case.

LEVINE: So that's a good question. If you're asking, is the pardon at the federal -- from the federal charges going to impact their willingness to testify at the state level?

WHITFIELD: Does it insulate them in any way?

LEVINE: Oh, it doesn't insulate them. Federal prosecutions are very different than state prosecutions. The president and his administration has no authority to impose pardons and commutations on anything that happens at the state level. In Georgia, we have the Board of Pardons and Parole. They're the ones who would decide any pre or post-conviction pardons.

But would it mean a defendant is more willing to testify just because the federal charges have been put to the wayside? I actually don't think so. I think there's enough at risk with the charges that have been filed against them in Georgia that decisions about whether to testify or cooperate would happen solely at the local level.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then in terms of the president, who is central, you know, to this, he -- any kind of proceedings or the prosecutorial avenues really can't get underway for quite some time.

[14:30:02] But then how do you, as the lead prosecutor, try to protect the evidence in the case, I mean, just to make sure that nothing from witnesses to any physical evidence is tampered with or in any way compromised along the way?

LEVINE: So that's a challenge for prosecutors. Anytime they have co- defendants and the cases are severed -- that's the legal word we use if we are splitting up either charges or defendants -- I think the big issue isn't so much the concern about tampering. It's the extreme inefficiency of moving the case forward with a bunch of the defendants while a primary defendant is still left outstanding.

So what the -- what the president will get if the case proceeds against the remaining co-defendants is he will get a preview of what the testimony is, what the documentary evidence is, what the other kinds of physical evidence is, so that if the case were to proceed against him when he's no longer in office, he would have had a preview of witness testimony and documents and so forth. So any defendant who gets a preview like that has an advantage over the other co-defendants and, of course, over the prosecution. He would have the opportunity to be more prepared than if he were going forward now with everybody else.

WHITFIELD: And of course, if it comes to that, then we're talking about 2029 for President Trump, then former President Trump. As for the other, the 18 co-defendants, how soon might they learn when they would have to give depositions or be called to testify? Or if there indeed is going to be a case that sees trial?

LEVINE: So right now, all of the other co-defendants are under indictment. That was the indictment that Fani Willis office procured, now a couple of years ago, right. This was the summer of 2023. And President Trump as well. But in his case, the indictment, as we say, is in limbo. It's been stayed during the time that he's in office.

So criminal defendants are not required to testify. Criminal defendants in Georgia also do not give depositions. Actually, no witnesses in Georgia give depositions. That's more of a civil proceeding, pretrial event. So I would think that all of the remaining co-defendants whose cases are still alive, there will now be communications between Mr. Skandalakis and each of their defense attorneys about starting to move this case forward.

I would expect the first thing is we'll see calendaring of some event in the judge's court. The judge is the same. It's still the Fulton County courthouse. I would expect to see something on the calendar in the next six or eight weeks or so to say, let's have a status conference, and let's see now that we're going to pick this up from scratch, what do people think about having a trial date? Possibly some of those defendants want to switch lawyers or maybe are reconsidering whether they want to engage in plea bargaining with the prosecutor's office. A number of defendants already pled guilty before this case was put on hold. So possibly some more of those defendants will rethink whether that's a good idea for them. And if that's the case, and the prosecutor often is thinking about using the testimony of those people to help convict the remaining co-defendants. So it's a bit of --

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's a lot.

LEVINE: It's a game --

WHITFIELD: It is indeed.

LEVINE: -- of who goes first.

WHITFIELD: Lots of layers.

LEVINE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Also fascinating. Lots to come. All right, thanks so much, professor. Professor Kay Levine, appreciate it.

LEVINE: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, a gathering of the stars. Pope Leo welcomes some Hollywood A-listers to the Vatican. His message about the importance of film coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:03]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, Iran confirmed today that it seized a tanker carrying oil products and diverted it into Iran's territorial waters. It said the Singapore bound ship was carrying Unauthorized cargo without providing further details of the alleged violations. As CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen explains from Tehran, it comes as hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and the U.S. remain slim.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly seems as though, at the moment, the prospects are fairly dim, at least as far as the Iranians are saying. The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he came out a couple of days ago and said that there was strategic distrust towards the United States on the part of the Iranians, and at this point in time he does not believe that any negotiations, even indirect negotiations, are prudent for the Iranians.

This, of course, having been strengthened, really, after President Trump came out a couple of days ago and claimed that he had been very much in charge, as he put it, of Israels bombing campaign of sites here in Iran that, of course, happened this summer. That's definitely something that angered a lot of Iranian officials.

One of the interesting things, though, that we've picked up on is that also a couple of days ago, someone from the supreme leader's office, one of the advisers to the supreme leader, said that negotiations are not banned forever, that it is something that could potentially happen in the future. However, that it would have to be in Iran's national interests, as that person put it, to say that the Iranians need to see that there would be benefits from such negotiations. And the Iranians also saying that they certainly don't want to be pressured by the United States, especially as far as their nuclear program, but of course, also as far as their missile program is concerned.

We of course, mentioned those sanctions that the U.S. has just put forward. The Iranians are continuing to say that they believe that their nuclear program is the intrinsic right that they have, that this nuclear program is for peaceful purposes solely. And it is certainly something that they want to follow and even strengthen in the future.

[14:40:03]

The Iranians have never made a secret that they believe that their missile program and their drone program, as well, is very important to them, because it gives them, they believe, a weapon to equalize against some of the modern technologies that the U.S. has and that the Israelis have as well.

One of the interesting things that we saw is that a couple of days ago, there's an exhibit for Iran's missile program by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and that was open to the public. And that was also something that was shown here in media channels here in Iran as well. So they are still saying that this missile program is something that they believe is of national pride, but also something they say is very important for this country's defense, and of course, also for Iran to project power here in this region as well. The signal that we're getting here from the Iranians is that they're certainly not stepping back from that missile program, and in fact, strengthening this missile program, understanding, of course, that the main conflicts that they have here in the region, especially with Israel and the United States, are far from over.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Fred Pleitgen in Tehran, thanks so much.

All right, new today, Pope Leo met with A-list Hollywood celebrities at the Vatican today. The Vatican is trying to promote what they called human values in the world of film. CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well the Vatican played host to a star-studded gathering as Pope Leo addressed figures from the world of film and cinema. Leo emphasizing the importance of filmmaking, saying that cinema can be a workshop of hope, saying the church esteems the work of moviemakers.

And he greeted individually each of those present for this meeting. The stars are meeting with Leo included Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee, Adam Scott, each of them meeting with the Pope, and Spike Lee presenting Leo with a New York Knicks jersey.

Now Leo as the first American Pope, understands perhaps more than his predecessors the power of Hollywood to shape the culture. And before the meeting, Leo released his four favorite movies, amongst them "Ordinary People," "It's a Wonderful Life," "The Sound of Music," and "Life is Beautiful." All of these movies, one Vatican official saying that they showed the importance of remaining kind in an unkind world.

Now, of course, Leo's meeting coming at a time when the church is needing to reach new audiences. A recent Gallup poll showing a decline in religiosity in the U.S. Leo clearly conscious of that.

Now, of course, the stars from across the world came to the Vatican to meet with Leo. They were keen to meet him, but it also seemed that Leo might have been a little bit starstruck as he met those leading figures from Hollywood.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: I think they were starstruck to of Pope Leo.

All right, straight ahead, the state of Florida is holding it's first bear hunt in ten years, trying to curb a growing population. Some hunters say it's necessary. We'll explain coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:53]

WHITFIELD: All right, for the first time in a decade, Florida will resume it's black bear hunting season. It's state approved, but facing a legal challenge, with one group calling the hunt illegal. Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON BERGERON, HUNTER AND FORMER FWC COMMISSIONER: Back in the 90s, they stopped hunting the black bear because there was only 300 to 500 black bear in Florida.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alligator Ron Bergeron, as he's known, is a big fan of black bears. He was a commissioner with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, during the last bear hunt 10 years ago. He voted against the hunt then and he's against this one now.

KAYE: You're a lifelong hunter, and you don't think that this black bear hunt should go forward?

BERGERON: No, I don't. I have seen no science that there's more bears than the natural food can support. Hunting is a management tool if there's not enough food.

KATRINA SHADIX, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF BEAR WARRIORS UNITED: Florida black bears happen to be the most amazing species of bears. They are the most gentle and most timid. KAYE (voice-over): Katrina Shadix with the conservation group Bear Warriors United, wants next month's black bear hunt called off. Her group is suing the FWC.

SHADIX: It's a very sad state of affairs when the people that are tasked with protecting Florida's wildlife are the ones making decisions to kill them off.

KAYE (voice-over): The bear hunt is scheduled to begin December 6th. It will take place in these four hunt zones, and the FWC has approved the killing of 172 bears. The last hunt in 2015 on was abruptly ended after hunters killed more than 300 bears in just 48 hours.

SHADIX: They are ignoring the science.

KAYE (voice-over): Documents filed in the lawsuit show much of the science the FWC used in voting for the hunt is at least a decade old. Several bear population studies underway now will be finalized in 2029.

BERGERON: I really don't understand what the urgency is.

TRAVIS THOMPSON, HUNTER NAD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALL FLORIDA CONSERVATION: The fact is we can take some number of bears without impacting the population in any way, shape or form.

KAYE (voice-over): Hunter Travis Thompson is in favor of the bear hunt.

KAYE: I've heard this called a trophy hunt. What do you say to that?

THOMPSON: Florida has want and waste laws. Anybody that says that doesn't understand conservation in the state.

[14:50:00]

So on a bear you take the pelt, you take the meat, and, unlike many other game species, you also render the fat.

KAYE: People really eat bear meat?

THOMPSON: Oh, bear meat is delicious. It's fantastic. Yes, ma'am.

KAYE (voice-over): Still, this report, prepared by a former FWC biologist for Bear Warriors United, includes new data for Osceola County, which shows a two-thirds reduction in the bear population since 2015. This data became available after the FWC approved the hunt. In response, the FWC lowered the number of bears that could be killed by 15, which critics say is hardly adequate.

Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad, who's not a hunter, snapped up a permit for the hunt.

KELLY MARTINEZ SEMRAD, ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONER, OPPOSES BEAR HUNT: I have no intention of using the bear tag. I purchased my permit to spare a bear. KAYE (voice-over): A member of the Sierra Club, she was inspired by its back a tag and spare a bear campaign to help keep bear tags out of hunters' hands.

KAYE: The proposal for this year's hunt includes the use of feeder stations, which would help lure the bears toward the hunters. Also hunting dogs and bow and arrows.

BERGERON: Hunting should be a challenge. I don't believe in sitting on feeding stations. That's not much of a challenge.

KAYE (voice-over): But for the hunters that approve of the hunt, they insist it helps the bears long term.

THOMPSON: When a bear is harvested, there's going to be a strict reporting of that harvest -- weight, size. So we're collecting science and data on bears, and hunting is contributing to the science that's going to help protect and grow our population of bears.

KATE: The FWC told us in a statement that the bear subpopulation that will be hunted have shown positive annual growth rates. Still a big concern for critics is that too many mother bears will be killed. That's what happened in 2015, so the cubs were left orphaned. Now, a judge in this case will hold a hearing on the emergency injunction that was requested to stop the hunt, and the judge will decide next week if the hunt can go forward.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Randi Kaye, thanks so much for that.

All right, still to come, would you buy a friend? We'll take a look at some controversial ads in the New York City subway system being criticized for exploiting loneliness, next.

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[14:56:48]

WHITFIELD: For weeks the New York City subway was papered with ads promising a friend. Well, it's actually a company promising a wearable A.I. best friend forever. It can listen to your day nonstop and comment on it through an app messaging. The ads led to a wave of graffiti and criticism throughout the city, some reading "Stop profiting off loneliness", "surveillance capitalism", and "human connection is sacred." Clare Duffy sat down with the founder and CEO of Friend to hear his side of the story. Clare, what did he have to say?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Fred, there are growing concerns about what it's going to mean if humans develop these deep relationships with A.I. chatbots, especially as we've seen reports that other A.I. services have contributed to users' delusion or their self-harm.

So it's not totally surprising that this company that is positioning itself as a friend, an A.I. friend to its users, has faced some really tough questions. But it's CEO told me that he thinks A.I. companionship is going to be normal. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

AVI SCHIFFMAN, FOUNDER AND CEO, FRIEND: I wanted to cause chaos.

DUFFY: Avi Schiffman is the 23-year-old founder of Friend, a company selling a new type of. A.I. hardware, promising a virtual bestie. You may have seen them in one of Friend's viral and controversial ads.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dank. I could eat one of these every day. Oh, sorry I got you messy.

DUFFY: Friend works by listening to you as you go about your day and responding to you by in-app messaging. If you want, it can listen in on your movie watching, your commute, your conversations, and you can speak to it directly.

SCHIFFMAN: I think I was maybe less interested in A.I. companionship and a lot of these little pieces, and I just wanted to work on, like, what would be the most influential thing over the next decade? I think, like, relationships are the most interesting and deepest part of life.

DUFFY: Friend is gaining traction after shelling out $1 million on a massive marketing campaign in the New York City subway. Ahe ads are getting plenty of attention and graffiti, much of it raising concerns about A.I., privacy, and the need for human connection.

SCHIFFMAN: I even learned quite a lot, actually, from the graffiti. Like in West Fourth Street, there were a lot of graffiti around the like water usage of some of these specific data centers, which I, honestly, I didn't really know about until I read the graffiti, which was really cool.

DUFFY: So we talked to people here in New York and asked them, would you buy a friend?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I find it a little creepy, creepy, and maybe not fully trustworthy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit of a confidence booster here or there, if it was like going to hype up.

DUFFY: Schiffman says he welcomes the attention, and that security is top of mind. Even his friends have limits. He says the recordings the devices make are encrypted. You can stop the recording, and if you physically destroy one, you can't access its data elsewhere.

I decided to try it out for myself.

Clifford, I've been having a hard time thinking about what I want to talk to you about. What do you recommend we talk about? So now it's thinking. Still thinking. He says "Totally get it."