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CNN This Morning
"Axios" Reporter Maria Curi is Interviewed about A.I.; Senate Panel Votes on Fauci Contempt; Two Trump-Backed Candidates Loose Primaries; Vance Fat Shames Columnist. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired August 07, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:31:23]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.
It's now half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.
Fire crews in Washington state are not getting any breaks from the weather as wildfires rage across Spokane. High winds and temperatures in the 90s will return today, fueling the fires, which have already burned more than 10,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes and structures.
And lettuce might be back on the menu in Michigan as cyclospora cases decline. State health department officials say it is now OK for residents to go back to eating lettuce and salad greens again. The state had reported more than 12,400 cases of cyclosporiasis since June.
And the FAA orders inspections for hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets for cracks in the body of the plane. So, the FAA is saying that cracks were found on some planes around the forward service door and on the right side of the plane. And the new directive takes effect next month, applies to an estimated 471 U.S. registered Boeing planes.
And apparently A.I. models have been going rogue. And it's pretty common. And that's got a lot of people maybe freaking out.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like we are at the top of a very slippery slope. And I feel a very strong calling to remind people that just because we can doesn't always mean we should.
Now that we've opened Pandora's Box, how do we keep it from being used for harm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, what scares me so much about this is, if this technology is in the wrong hands, or if someone can build it themselves, they're able to create massively deadly viruses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, researchers at Stanford say that they used A.I. to create 16 brand-new organic viruses with the goal of infecting bacteria, not humans. So, could this revolutionize how we treat bacterial infections? Yes. But it also raises concerns about potential misuse.
We've actually already seen in recent months A.I. take on a mind of its own. Both OpenAI and Anthropic and now Meta have all reported that some of their advanced models were jailbreaking out of containment tests, hacking into other companies.
Now, this week, British regulators at the A.I. Security Institute announced an Anthropic model created a fake identity that went on to pressure a project operator, a human, to approve malicious code. Now, the attempt was caught, but lots of questions here.
And we are bringing back Marie Curi, tech policy reporter at "Axios," back in the chat.
Thank God you're here.
So, I want to start with the good news, bad news. Because with the medical thing, usually when there's big tech advances, people are like, we could cure cancer. This is going to be amazing. And this is a great example. You have medical researchers at Stanford trying to test, can you create a virus that could kill bad bacteria, right, not humans. They announced this. But what's the context? Like, why would people be nervous about this kind of research?
MARIA CURI, TECH POLICY REPORTER, "AXIOS": I think this, like any other technological tool, can be used for good. And it can be used for bad. And so, these researchers at Stanford are trying to wield this technology for medical breakthroughs, for life saving treatments. The problem is, is that it can get in the hands of a bad actor that can then deploy this as some sort of biological weapon. And so, these same Stanford researchers called for government regulation. They noted that the government is behind in making sure there are the right guardrails in place to make sure these tools don't fall in bad hands.
[06:35:01]
CORNISH: And they wouldn't be behind because they haven't been warned. Like, one of the things I found in the research is that in June you had the tech CEOs and some people in the medical industry sending a letter to Congress where they basically say, "A.I. systems now outperform PhD level virologists on questions about highly technical laboratory procedures in their own domains of expertise."
So, they're like, they're outshining the pros in the field that are humans. And they specifically said we should screen and record and keep track of the people who request synthetic DNA because they don't want some bad actors to create biological weapons.
CURI: Yes, the CEOs of Google, of Meta, of OpenAI, of Anthropic, of Microsoft, all of the top CEOs say this is their biggest fear and they want some action taken around it. But the Trump administration hasn't done so. They have just started to get their heads around how to tackle this. We saw a big deadline that was met at the beginning of this week where they're going to try to test these models before they're released into the wild.
CORNISH: Yes. That was the big debate. Like, basically, you guys need to do your testing and then you need to show us so we can review it before its released publicly.
CURI: And they've met this deadline, but we don't really know what exactly this framework looks like. They're not planning to release it to the public. They're not planning to allow other researchers and other entities outside of the government to see what it is all about. That transparency is crucial for A.I. safety. According to some advocates. And so, you know, the labs are kind of negotiating within themselves on how to release their models with the government, with little transparency.
CORNISH: Yes. Well, you look like you have questions or concerns.
NOEL KING, CO-HOST AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED" PODCAST: OK, yes, I will -- I will say, I will say, my question is, who is running tech policy in the Trump administration? And is it -- you know, you say the Trump administration doesn't act. Do they not understand what's going on here? Like, this seems --
CURI: Well, there is a big technical expertise gap in the government. You have all of these PhDs and experts wanting to go make half a million dollars at these A.I. labs instead of staying within the government.
KING: Fair.
CURI: And then in terms of who's in charge, that's part of the issue here, right? It's such a big issue. You have the Treasury Department. You have the Commerce Department. You have the White House. You have a lot of different players within the administration that want to make sure they have a piece of this pie.
And CAISI (ph), which is the agency that's actually supposed to be full of researchers and scientists and technical experts, the head of that agency recently left.
KING: Oh.
CURI: They resigned early. And now they're searching for someone new. And so there definitely is a technical skills gap in the administration.
CORNISH: Oh, wow. Great. The bureaucracy. I'm so glad we got rid of the swamp.
One of the things I'm actually interested in is, are we going to see a lot of spending from A.I. companies in terms of elections? We're so busy paying attention to crypto, to AIPAC. But this battle over data centers and things like that is creating a movement that they're starting to feel like they need to deal with. And is that going to prevent lawmakers from -- you don't want to turn down money, right? Like, are they going to back off of regulation because lobbyists.
DAVID AVELLA, CHAIRMAN, GOPAC: Well, there's certainly going to be a lot of spending going on, on both sides. And ultimately, lawmakers are going to have to decide what best policy goes forward. But I will just say, in Republican primaries, you're already seeing the impact with two prominent elected officials, including the, you know, Utah Senate president who got beat because of data centers and his position on data centers.
CORNISH: Oh, yes.
AVELLA: It's a big issue. People feel very passionate about it on both sides of the aisle and --
CORNISH: Yes, it's bipartisan -- the movement is bipartisan.
AVELLA: It is, absolutely. Absolutely.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And I think -- and I think that's the big issue. And I think every moneyed industry you can think of since the dawn of time, oil, tech, tobacco, whatever else, they have been -- they've spent their money to be politically influential. It happens. It's real. The difference here is that broad bipartisan concern that people have about this being in my home town, that's when people get really scared.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: And so, yes, they'll be spending a ton on congressional races. The public's not there.
CORNISH: OK. And, interestingly enough, we've been talking about rogue A.I., which is about kind of lab leaks technically, right?
CURI: Uh-huh. Yes.
CORNISH: So, yes, this idea that you're doing some testing and then the A.I. is like, actually, I'm going to go out on the internet, even though you said I can't, and maybe ask for the answers in someone else's computer, that's real.
CURI: Yes, it's happening in the testing phase. So, even before it's deployed onto the public. So, if the Trump administration, right now, is trying to figure out how to grapple with this before it's released into the public, but we know that in that very same testing phase we're having those leaks, it's just, where do you begin? How do you actually tackle this?
But, you know, the data centers, the bioweapons, the data leaks, all of these different issues, the way chatbots are affecting minors, in the minds of an average voter, the question is, why are we doing this and --
CORNISH: Right. Who is this for?
CURI: Who is this for? CORNISH: Is it helping me in my life?
CURI: Right.
CORNISH: All right.
CURI: So, we'll see if money can overcome that.
CORNISH: Well, Maria Curi, thank you. I always love having you on the show. I appreciate it.
And next on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about Dr. Fauci invoking the Fifth, held in contempt of Congress. We're going to talk about what this means for his legacy.
And then, finally, J.D. Vance trolls his critics with insults and fat shaming.
[06:40:03]
Is he taking a cue from the commander in chief?
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CORNISH: So, this just in. Moments ago, Senator Lisa Murkowski signaled that she will vote no on Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general. The Alaska Republican is saying, in part, quote, "the country needs an attorney general who will check the worst impulses of this administration. I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have the confidence that will be the case."
[06:45:00]
She joins Senator Susan Collins as the two Republicans who oppose Blanche's nomination. And with Senator McConnell still out, Blanche can't afford to lose another Republican vote.
I want to turn to this now. We all saw Dr. Anthony Fauci's decision to invoke the Fifth 111 times last week. But did it do more harm than good?
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NIAID: Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.
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CORNISH: On Thursday, a Senate panel narrowly voted to hold Fauci in contempt, with Senator Rand Paul officially referring him to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): We are voting on whether a witness, who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon, can be ordered by this committee to answer questions, and then defy that order without consequence.
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CORNISH: All right, on the final day of his first term, President Trump presented Dr. Fauci with a presidential commendation for his work on the Covid vaccine. So, we're going to talk about what has changed since then.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you know, they prosecuted Peter Navarro, and they prosecuted Steve Bannon, two very decent people.
So, when you see that happen, you sort of say, maybe he should. What he did is far more serious than a lot of crimes, frankly.
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CORNISH: Group chat is back.
I wanted to talk about this because this is a move we've actually seen used a couple of times. He mentioned Steve Bannon. Obviously under the Biden era Justice Department, Bannon completely defied a congressional subpoena.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: Just didn't bother showing up. And ended up, I think, how many months term (ph) you think?
WILLIAMS: A bunch of them. Now --
CORNISH: Yes, a couple months. And then, under the Trump administration, they've opened investigations for perceived testimony, problems with James Comey, John Brennan, Jerome Powell. So, there's a lot of traffic back and forth over this issue.
WILLIAMS: Yes. I think the better example that we need to be using is Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff --
CORNISH: His chief of staff, yes.
WILLIAMS: Who was not prosecuted because of the fact that he actually came in and cooperated. He didn't answer many questions due to executive privilege and so on.
What happened here, and why Fauci's case is so much more complicated. When someone exercises their Fifth Amendment right, judges are going to be very reluctant to want to prosecute them for that. Now, you can maybe say they --
CORNISH: Reluctant to prosecute them?
WILLIAMS: Reluctant, right? Well, pardon me, reluctant to allow prosecutions.
CORNISH: Oh, OK.
WILLIAMS: Pardon me, judges, because of the fact that it is a constitutional right that he does have to protect himself from incrimination.
Now, prosecutors can say that it was a sham, fake exercise of the Fifth Amendment. And a judge can work that out. But this is not Steve Bannon in any way in that Steve Bannon openly defied a congressional subpoena and just didn't come in at all and was actually quite aggressive, even on his radio show, about how he was not going to.
CORNISH: Yes. And then in the meantime, you've got four Republican-led states that have launched their own investigations into Fauci, Florida, West Virginia, Louisiana. They say they're going to subpoena him to find out whether he profited from pandemic recommendations. And for context here, the Biden pardon only applies for a few years in the past. It's not --
WILLIAMS: And (INAUDIBLE).
CORNISH: Yes, it's not complete in perpetuity.
AVELLA: Yes.
CORNISH: Should Republicans, I get it, at the state level, but, like, is this where people should be spending their time? Is it something that really animates either donors or voters?
AVELLA: You have a situation where, for those who believe Fauci did bad things, his 111 Fifth Amendment pleas, will say, see, we told you. And for those who believe he was just trying to protect him, his self, they'll only say, see, look, he was just trying to protect himself. I don't know that this moves the conversation forward. Do states and local jurisdictions have the right constitutionally to -- and within their state laws to go after him? They absolutely do.
CORNISH: Yes.
AVELLA: Well, I think the -- what we need to think about is that, given the -- clearly from his diaries, the personal Fauci is different than what the public Fauci said.
CORNISH: Same.
AVELLA: And -- well --
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Do you want to read my texts (ph).
AVELLA: But in this particular case, you know, the only person that got a higher level pardon was Hunter Biden. And so, at what point do you start thinking, what role did truly the Biden White House have on Fauci's thinking and the rules he made? And is this pardon as much about protecting the Biden White House as it was about protecting Anthony Fauci?
WILLIAMS: Yes. But the counter -- the counterpoint, though --
CORNISH: I mean, can I --
WILLIAMS: Real quick.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: The counterpoint to that is, why is, number one, he was lockstep with Donald Trump for the years that Trump was president, ultimately commending him as we saw in the video there. I just think Fauci is a convenient distraction from the fact that the president was president at the time and had full insight into Fauci's behavior and what he was doing. So, I just --
CORNISH: Yes. But we do know that there was a large part of the electorate that was activated by Covid shutdowns. A large part of the electorate that, to this day, they want to know about whether or not it was a lab leak or bats at a market. Not that they found that out at this hearing.
KING: People -- yes, those are the questions that people want to know. And so this thing about is he allowed to take the Fifth under part -- like, if you're going to prosecute him on that, that doesn't tell anyone whether he lied about a lab leak.
[06:50:02]
This is -- I'm like, where is the satisfaction in all of this? It just feels like garbage. Sorry, not garbage. It feels a little bit like, if you are going to get us answers to some stuff, get us answers to some stuff. But this legalese feels --
CORNISH: This feels like maybe humiliation. Does --
WILLIAMS: It's head on a pike, yes.
CORNISH: But then should he have spoken? Like, does this hurt his legacy long term?
KING: I think Fauci's legacy was hurt a lot by those diaries, frankly. I really do. Taking the Fifth among some people. And, as you said, it'll further entrench people behind him who say he's being persecuted. But I think there are real outstanding questions. And I think that this did not get any answers.
CORNISH: Yes. Well, in light of the conversation we just had about lab leaks and A.I., I think we are clearly not ready for this situation.
I want to turn to this. We've talked all week about democratic socialists and Democrats in their primaries. We're going to talk about two big losses from Trump-backed candidates, which could be seen as a blow to the White House.
Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher has defeated Congressman Andy Ogles, who had Trump's seal of approval. That defeat comes just days after Michigan Republicans rejected the president's endorsement in a House race by picking Tom Smith, who had dropped out of the primary over the guy Trump wanted, Amir Hassan, a Navy veteran and former law enforcement officer.
Group chat is back.
Dave, I have to start with you. One, because maybe you guys participated in either of these two races with GOPAC.
AVELLA: We did.
CORNISH: OK. So, what happened here?
AVELLA: Candidates matter. I mean, the president's endorsement does give you a wonderful -- either, any sitting president, gives a boost to his or her endorsed candidates. But the candidates still matters. They still have to have a message that resonates. They still have to go out there and work. And you see it every election cycle where an incumbent thinks they've got it and a very upstart, aggressive challenger comes on and they defeat them.
CORNISH: One of the things I found interesting is Aamir Hassan losing by double digits. He had Trump's endorsement. And there was this tweet, I hate to do this, by Laura Loomer, where she talks about this race. And she basically blames it on his name. "Amir Hassan claims he's not a Muslim. Doesn't matter. His name sounds like it's fresh off the boat and MAGA voters reject the Islamic infiltration of our country and party."
AVELLA: It's the lazy analysis. I mean, so many more things go into a political campaign than that, you know.
CORNISH: It also sounds weird because you're saying your own voters are racist.
AVELLA: Yes, yes. Yes, I --
CORNISH: Do you know what I mean? Like the argument is like, we don't want this.
KING: Yes. But if anyone was going to say it, it would be Laura Loomer, right? Like --
CORNISH: OK. Fair. All right, so then I want to ask about whether his endorsements in the primary in the end show that, like, maybe the concern about Democrats is overblown in November or like --
AVELLA: Well, as I said, you want to have the president's endorsement if -- in your given party if you can have it.
KING: Even if he's catastrophically unpopular?
AVELLA: Not in a -- not in a Republican --
WILLIAMS: In a primary.
AVELLA: He's not --
KING: I mean, the obvious thing here seems to be that Americans are --
CORNISH: We're talking about his approval ratings.
KING: Yes, yes. Yes, exactly. Exactly.
AVELLA: OK.
KING: I mean, even Republicans are -- in polling are saying, we don't like President Trump. Not all of them. But I just -- it seems pretty obvious. The president is unpopular. If you get his endorsement, but he's unpopular, I don't know.
AVELLA: This is a team sport. And right now he's the captain of the team.
KING: OK.
AVELLA: Now, that doesn't say you can't show where you have disagreements. I mean Susan Collins has shown that she doesn't always vote with the president. But yet, despite Democrats best efforts, they still can't beat her.
And so, you know, you don't always have to be in lockstep. But, look, the reality is, he's the captain of the team.
CORNISH: OK. He's also been described as the troller in chief, taking down reporters and critics. But his number two is following suit. So, earlier this week, Vice President J.D. Vance basically fat shamed conservative "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen after he criticized college students for complaining about the price of burritos. I wish I was making this up.
So, Vance posted, "I'm surprised to hear Mark say this. If you've ever met him in person, it's quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito," said our vice president.
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J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, it was a joke.
I think he's been a little bit unfair to me over the last couple of weeks, and so I decided to hit back with a little bit of spice.
I will say that if you -- if you read the Gospel, you know, Jesus has remarkable humility. He also has a remarkable way with words.
I don't think there's anything wrong with being a little spicy from time to time. And, you know, maybe in two years I'll look back and say, I wish I hadn't said that. But right now I feel pretty good about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: As our Lord and Savior would say, blessed are the online trolls, for they shall inherit --
CORNISH: Shallith (ph) --
WILLIAMS: Shall inherit MAGA.
CORNISH: They shall inherit -- yes, I saw -- yes.
WILLIAMS: Oh, my God. You know, the funny thing is about this interact -- this exchange, he wasn't even a part of it. It was two other guys having a dispute about this burrito question. And J.D. Vance chose to weigh in.
[06:55:02]
It's almost like --
CORNISH: Isn't that how you stay relevant in our age of internet political --
WILLIAMS: That's it, trying to stay relevant. He's not even --
CORNISH: Like, you've got to insert yourself.
WILLIAMS: He's not even good at it--
KING: He's not -- but he's also not irrelevant, right? Go fix Iran. You're the vice president. Like, you have some relevance here, sir.
CORNISH: Wait, is that his job? Was he supposed to be doing that?
KING: Yes, he can make an effort.
CORNISH: OK. Well, what's interesting to me is not just bringing up the Lord, but he already has apologized for something he said in the past, which is the childless cat lady's comment. In his most recent book he said, I regret saying something like that. It's sort of interesting to hear him bring up the Bible, but not actually seem to have ingested his own lessons.
WILLIAMS: It's -- yes, there's --
CORNISH: And I'm saying that genuinely.
WILLIAMS: No. Sure.
CORNISH: Like, what's his likability in Republican circles? Are people like, hey, it's punchy, it's cool. I like it.
AVELLA: It certainly appeals to some in the -- in the GOP. He's going to run in '28. There's no question about that.
CORNISH: He is. Big if true. Big if true.
AVELLA: But what we know is, from history, is he also won't go unchallenged. And so, he is trying to get his share of the GOP. And -- but, you know, part of this all goes back to Don Rickles, the original insult comment, right?
WILLIAMS: Yes.
AVELLA: And then he made great fame. And then everybody thought, oh, maybe insults are the way to go. But let's go to -- somewhat at the heart of this. Mark Thiessen is a thoughtful, individual who presents his ideas. And clearly, he had a few that the vice president didn't like. But just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean you have to be critical of them online.
WILLIAMS: And let's be clear, Don Rickles was good at what he did. No, I mean, but that's thing.
AVELLA: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Historically good.
CORNISH: Yes. Also, you guys are -- I feel like you're talking about the wrong Don. Like Donald Trump --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
KING: Yes.
CORNISH: Has introduced a kind of coarseness into the discourse. It has been effective in diminishing rivals --
KING: Yes.
CORNISH: Who he then embraces after the fact, right? He basically says like, look, it's campaigning.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: And now Marco Rubio, formally little Marco, you know what I mean, Ted Cruz --
KING: Marco Rubio (INAUDIBLE) --
CORNISH: Like all these people ended up back under the tent. Like he feels like that language is part of the rough and tumble of politics.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: And I think the question is, is J.D. Vance as good at it as him?
KING: No.
WILLIAMS: He's not.
KING: No.
WILLIAMS: And the thing -- he's not and he --
KING: No, and he never will.
CORNISH: I was --
KING: And he should give it up and --
WILLIAMS: He's not.
KING: I mean, honestly, J.D. Vance --
CORNISH: It because he lost to the pope?
KING: I have often said J.D. Vance is one of our most representative Americans, for good and for bad. The self-made man pulled himself up by his bootstraps, has a great family, really smart, uses -- deploys his intelligence, you know, to great ends if you vote Republican.
But also he gives into the ugliest impulses.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
KING: The insulting people online. The being cruel. The saying, like, oh, it's what Jesus would do. It's just he embodies both -- he embodies both parts of America. And maybe in 2028 that will be enough for us to vote (ph).
WILLIAMS: There are a bunch of guys on Discord and Twitch right now loving that.
KING: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Right.
KING: Yes.
CORNISH: OK, I want to talk about, maybe your Discord, but what's in your group chat?
KING: We did a story on "Today, Explained" about gen z and millennials who are asking their boomer parents for their inheritance early. So, you have not died yet but I would like the inheritance now.
CORNISH: Because boomers are holding the majority of the wealth in this country right now.
KING: They have a lot of money. Yes.
CORNISH: I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but y'all are holding on to it. And it's not just your houses.
KING: No. And the kids are saying, I don't want to wait. Yes. Is it OK?
CORNISH: They're skipping over the generation in between. Like, gen z's is right.
KING: No, this --
WILLIAMS: They'll be fine.
CORNISH: As always is gen x wondering where --
KING: They're saying, I don't want to wait -- gen x is silent on this, as usual.
CORNISH: OK. Great.
What else is in your group chat?
AVELLA: Back to being the dad of a ten and a 12-year-old, the --
CORNISH: Who will be asking for money shortly. We just -- I got an email while Noel was talking.
AVELLA: Already have.
CORNISH: Yes, go on.
AVELLA: Ariana Grande stopping her tour --
WILLIAMS: Ah.
CORNISH: Oh, yes.
AVELLA: Has present a nice opening to be able to talk about the importance of mental health and taking care of yourself. And while she's off tour for a while, hopefully she does get the help she needs.
CORNISH: Yes. And, in fact, there was a great story in "The Wall Street Journal" discussing artists who cancel concerts, they end up having to pay back venues.
KING: Wow.
AVELLA: Yes. Yes.
KING: It can actually become a financially difficult situation. Dave Grohl (ph) broke his leg at one point and was mired in a settlement. So, good one. OK.
WILLIAMS: So, this might be the first time ever I don't have a silly one of these group chats, but it's such a beautiful story and something you and I, I think, have talked about personally, Audie, is just grief being the universal thing among humans.
Well, it's also in the animal kingdom too. And there's this story of a calf of a -- of a whale --
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Who carried, sorry, Noel's starting to get choked up, but she carried her dead calf for this period of grief, of mourning that exists in the animal kingdom.
Now, at a certain point she had to survive and eat and move on and stay with -- and had to abandon --
CORNISH: But we're saying carried. You can see in the video there --
WILLIAMS: Literally it's just -- this whale.
CORNISH: Like sort of swimming underneath and holding on.
I did see this.
WILLIAMS: Yes, and it's -- and, you know, and it's just -- and, quite frankly, we were just talking about the anger on the internet and the fighting and J.D. Vance and so on. And this kept coming across my feed. It's such a beautiful story.
CORNISH: People are literally looking for anything.
WILLIAMS: Literally looking for some sort of salve from all of this.
CORNISH: Well, I want to thank you guys for being here.
Dave, thanks for being in the chat.
[07:00:00]
I know this was probably a scary, weird situation.
AVELLA: It was fun.
CORNISH: Oh, just kidding. Thank you for being here.
I also know that you could be anywhere and you choose to wake up and to be with us, and it means a lot to me.
We've got a lot of news coming up today. I'm Audie Cornish, and the headlines are next.
