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One World with Zain Asher
Former FBI Chief Comey Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges; Day Three Of Gaza Ceasefire Talks Underway In Egypt; Study: Tramadol Not That Effective For Treating Chronic Pain; Study: plastics Pose "Grave, Growing" Danger To Humans; A Look At The Trump Presidency Nearly Nine Months On; Trump Makes Wild, False Claim About Autism In Cuba; Japan's Biggest Brewer Is Reeling From A Cyber-attack. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired October 08, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:31]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Outrageous government conduct, that claim from James Comey's attorney as the former FBI director pleads not guilty to
federal charges. The second hour of "One World" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): This is a very dangerous time for America. This is a time we all must stand up and speak out against this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: What happened in court? And where the case goes from here?
Also, Gaza peace plan talks are ongoing. How the arrival of Donald Trump's son-in-law is raising the stakes?
And later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're such a good boy. You're so good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: A made-for-TV moment. How Eeyore saved the day.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
From FBI director to federal defendant, the long and twisting tale of James Comey's relationship with Donald Trump took another dramatic turn today as
the former FBI chief was arraigned in the federal courtroom.
Comey pleaded not guilty to two charges lying to Congress an obstruction of a congressional proceeding. His trial has been set for January 5th.
Critics say the charges against Comey are little more than political retribution from Donald Trump.
In recent weeks, he has openly pressured the Department of Justice to indict Comey, even replacing a U.S. attorney who refused to bring charges
with another who would do his bidding.
Democrats say using the DOJ to enact political revenge is dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOOKER: It is what Donald Trump has said it is. I've never seen anything like this where he is literally going on Twitter to try to command his
attorney general to do his bidding and go after his political enemies. Donald Trump is saying these things. We should believe him that this is
what he's doing right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us from outside the U.S. district courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. Just an extraordinary chain of events
here, a former FBI director now indicted. A court date set for January 5th.
Just walk us through what happened in that courtroom behind you earlier today and also explain to our viewers why you are in Virginia and not
Washington, D.C.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, James Comey lives in the state of Virginia and thus when he testified to Congress
five years ago, and now is facing charges related to that testimony that would have occurred here because it was during COVID. He was at his home.
And so this case, it is being brought here in the Eastern District of Virginia. What's happening now is Comey, he has appeared before the judge
for the first time. He's been released only on a signature hill return for a couple more hearings.
But we do have a trial date, January 5th. This case though, much of it, it's not going to be fought at trial. There's going to be many, many very,
very tense moments before then because the defense team in Comey's world led by Pat Fitzgerald, they're going to be challenging this case on every
front that they can. And they're going to try and get it dismissed before trial.
So we're going to have two hearings, one in November, one in December in the lead up to trial. Those will be crucial hearings. And we're going to
start hearing arguments too about why James Comey's defense team thinks the case should be tossed.
Namely, they say, and this is a quote from Pat Fitzgerald to the judge in court today, our view is the prosecution brought this at the direction of
President Trump. And everything that they are doing seems to be falling around that idea.
They say that they're going to want to challenge the case as being unfairly vindictive against Comey, something that the Justice Department selected
him to face a charge and it was not a fair prosecution in that decision making.
Also, they're going to challenge the lawfulness of the appointment of U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan. She was in court today, very unusual for that.
And she's the only person who signed the indictment against James Comey when she herself presented it to a grand jury about two weeks ago.
Halligan, there is some discussion in legal circles. Is she allowed to be acting as a prosecutor right now? Or has too much time passed before
someone has been confirmed by the Senate into that post? She's just someone in that position because she was named by Donald Trump.
[12:05:04]
And then also James Comey's defense team. They're going to allege that there was the abuse of the grand jury, that there has been outrageous
government conduct. And those are all things we're going to hear about before trial that judges will have to look at and decide should this case
survive and even go before a jury in January with that January 5th trial date.
GOLODRYGA: All right. There will be two more hearings, January 5th trial date, extremely fast. We know that Comey and his attorney, Pat Fitzgerald,
were pushing for January 12th as a start to the trial.
The judge saying no, I'm going to make it even sooner, January 5th.
Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much. I know you've been reporting all this all morning for us.
I want to bring in former U.S. attorney Michael Moore, who joins us now from Macon, Georgia with more on this.
It was notable to see Pat Fitzgerald, who was a well-known prosecutor for many years at the DOJ, worked for many years and quite close with James
Comey as well. Say to the judge it is an honor of his life to represent Comey in this case.
And as you heard from Katelyn, his account is that this case was brought squarely by President Trump himself. Just walk us through the -- the two-
page indictment here. Much has been made, and a lot of focus has been on just how weak this case in and of itself is.
The fact that you had the sitting prosecutor there refuse to bring this case forward and then left the president then bringing in his own appointed
attorney, who is very green, having to now bring in two of her own prosecutors from North Carolina out of state, all of this so unusual.
Talk us -- talk to us about the merits of these charges, first and foremost.
MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Sure. Well, it's a pleasure to be with you.
This case is, there's nothing normal or usual about what's going on in this case. And I think what you're going to find at the end of the day is that
sort of this convoluted web that the Department of Justice and this United States attorney, if she is, in fact, appropriately appointed, you know,
they're going to get caught up in their own maneuvering here.
And I think the judge probably knows that. And that's why you're seeing sort of an expedited trial time as well as these motion hearings that will
come up.
But the case is really broad about whether or not Comey authorized some leak about FBI information. And, you know, it's really not even to do with
Donald Trump. It's back in the -- the Hillary Clinton time. And so they've really gone at a great stretch to see whether or not they can try to catch
him by some statement he made to Congress.
The problem that they have is that you've had career prosecutors and special prosecutors look at this and decline to prosecute it. But then
suddenly out of the blue, the president brings in somebody who, by all accounts, has no experience at all as a prosecutor and a grand jury or
otherwise, and brings them in and suddenly within a couple of days, she alone has appeared in the grand jury and -- and secured an indictment for
Mr. Comey.
And -- and that -- that will raise questions on his face. At the same time, you've got a president who can't keep his hands off his Twitter account and
his various social media accounts and he's directing by all appearances at the Department of Justice to, in fact, move forward on this indictment.
And that's going to give a great basis for Mr. Fitzgerald's motion to dismiss the case based upon vindictive prosecution. You can't get much more
vindictive than to have the CEO of the United States directing one of his minions to do something, and then within a matter of days, have an
otherwise unqualified person do it.
And so that's going to come in, I'm sure, in -- in -- in sort of a robust argument from the defense as -- as we go forward.
So the -- the -- I guess maybe the final oddity, or at least one of the final oddities, is the fact that you don't have Eastern District of
Virginia prosecutors doing this. But in fact, the -- Ms. Halligan has brought in people from outside the district, which is not a normal
occurrence under any circumstance, to try to move forward with the case.
And, you know, we don't know at this point whether or not that she met with resistance inside the office, or she needed to bring somebody in, who she
felt like she could control. We just don't know yet at this time.
But it's -- it's not normal to have assistant United States attorneys from outside of a jurisdiction come in. The federal law says that, in fact, to
prosecute within a district, you need to live within so many miles of the district and be sworn in that district.
You can, at times, bring in a special assistant United States attorney. Sometimes you see that with military bases, military lawyers, those kinds
of things. But this -- this case is full of twists and turns.
And I -- I -- my -- my gamble and belief is at the end of the day, it's going to tie the department and this prosecutor up in knots.
GOLODRYGA: Counselor, I think you just laid out for our viewers, in a nutshell, what we can expect Pat Fitzgerald to present to the judge in the
one of two upcoming hearings before the trial date of January 5th.
[12:10:03]
Given everything that you laid out, let's, you know, put it in his own words and language, do you imagine then that there's ample evidence for
this judge to do what James Comey is asking him to do and dismiss this case in its entirety, especially given the interference of President Trump here?
MOORE: I think there's more than enough evidence and more than enough facts on the record at this point for the judge to do just that. It's pretty
clear, and I'm sure you're going to see attached. It's been said on basically every network, I think.
But it's -- you're going to see attached at some point. I'm sure the -- the -- the social media posts from Trump is an exhibit to the motion to
dismiss. And -- and you just don't get much more direct evidence of that. It's about like having a photograph of somebody breaking in a liquor store.
And so this is the kind of thing that will come up and be very compelling evidence.
One other thing that Mr. Fitzgerald said is this is a great honor for him to -- to -- to represent his friend. It is a great honor. I'm certain to
represent a friend and he, you know, he's -- he's in that position.
But it's also, I'm sure, a great honor for him to be the person now who -- who will take the mantle forward and take the fight forward as we continue
to push against the weaponization of the Trump Justice Department.
And I think that's what you're going to see is that he'll take this on with -- with a passion that we don't often see in cases. And that's because the
stakes are so high for an institution that he has so much affection and respect for.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. There have been many who've argued that the ultimate goal here for the president or those who are opponents politically of Comey and
those who've spoken out against the president is less about a conviction and more about just how tenuous, how expensive, how taxing this whole
process is, sullying --
MOORE: Sure.
GOLODRYGA: -- a reputation, dragging your family through this. I mean, most people, it's a huge burden to have to go through these links and put your
life and career really on hold as you're battling the DOJ and the president himself.
You have said that the DOJ now, under Pam Bondi, is a shelf of itself and that career lawyers feel like, I'm quoting you, money changers in the
temple.
What are you hearing from within the DOJ and some of your former colleagues there about how they're feeling about all this?
MOORE: The Department of Justice is a special place. And they're really how it hauls where the decision has been made about huge issues like civil
rights, those kinds of cases going forward, investigations into cases like that and -- and wrongdoing, protecting the constitutional rights of
Americans.
So that -- that's been a place sort of a -- of a story and reputation and the history and the reputation of the department has been protected at a
great expense. I mean, it's -- it's done in a way because we want to make sure that there's not this exerted political pressure.
So, I feel rather certain that the people who have been there for their career, and you have career prosecutors and great civil service, they've
given so much of their time and talent. I'm sure they feel a little bit like they're watching the money changers take over the temple, you know, as
we -- as we've read about it in the -- the Bible.
And that's -- you know, that's the kind of thing where you see it's sort of a sacred place turned into something else.
And -- and I think that's the story here. In fact, as the department been turned into something else and is it just now an arm of a president whose
seeking retribution that that will be told. And that's the tale that we'll find out as we move forward whether or not courts allow it, but it
certainly gives the appearance of that.
And I think that's why you can imagine that these -- these prosecutors and these civil servants who spent so much of their time making sure that the
rights of all Americans are protected and that the -- the -- the goal of the department is not to simply convict, but it's rather to seek the truth,
to seek some justice that that's been sort of thrown in the waste can right now, you know.
I'm sure you've got folks there both with tears in their eyes and wringing their hands at the same time thinking, I've given my life to this. What in
the world, you know, has happened now to the reputation of this department?
GOLODRYGA: Well, one thing's for certain just from everything we've heard and seen, thus far, both Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Comey are ready for a fight
here and challenge back. So, we'll see how all this plays out.
Michael Moore, thank you so much for the time.
Well, talks in Egypt to end the war in Gaza are shifting into high gear with the arrival of key American, Israeli and regional players. It is day
three of negotiations on President Trump's 20-point plan.
Earlier, we saw President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrive at the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh. Sources
says talks are making progress, but contentious issues still remain.
[12:15:00]
Hamas is demanding the release of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian serving five life sentences in Israel. Supporters describe him as the
Palestinian Nelson Mandela, a man who can lead them to freedom. Israel is calling him a murderer.
CNN spoke to his son a few months ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARAB BARGHOUTI, MARWAN BARGHOUTI'S SON: We are very positive that my father will be released and we --we think that it's time. I want everyone to
understand that my father represents a really positive force towards the stability of the region.
We, Palestinians, really need unity. And I could argue that unity will contribute into the security of and that stability of the region. The
second thing is that his political vision aligns perfectly with the international community, which is the two-state solution which is -- has
supported for decades now.
And also people in Palestine, we appreciate and really value the leaders that actually sacrifice for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from Cairo, Egypt.
The fate over Marwan Barghouti, just a number of the sticking points here, Nic. I would imagine at the end of the day though, it is really ultimately
up to President Trump and how far he is willing to push Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept this deal.
And then, of course, the wildcard, Hamas, Trump threatening that if Hamas doesn't agree to a deal, then all hell will once again break loose. What
are you hearing from sources there now in day three of these talks?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. What Israeli sources are saying at the moment is that the principal core issues of what
this -- what these ceasefire talks were supposed to be about, focusing on the headline issues of President Trump's 20-point plan, which is the
release of the hostages.
The Palestinian prisoners and Marwan Barghouti appears to be one of those on the list who Hamas want released and maybe a red line for Prime Minister
Netanyahu are being discussed. And as well, that key issue for Hamas were about, would the ceasefire line be the original understanding from
President Trump's 20-point plan and maps that the White House shared with both Israel and with the negotiators would have that ceasefire line be very
deep into Gaza, deeper than any previously proposed ceasefire line.
So those are what we're being told are the key issues being discussed now. But I think, you know, when we hear from sources who frame it like that,
there are clearly all those other heavy baggage issues, such as the demand in the 20-point plan that Hamas get rid of their weapons, that they cease
to have a political role in the future of Gaza, the administration by an international body that would oversee a technocratic, potentially
Palestinian entity that would -- that would run Gaza at a technical level. All of these things.
So what we're being told and the presence of Jared Kushner of -- of Steve Witkoff, that we understand from Egyptian media, Ron Dermer, the lead
negotiator for Israel, as well as Turkish head of intelligence, Egyptian head of intelligence, Qatari prime minister. All that hints that there's
progress, but it so it seems at the moment, top loaded on the -- on those key issues, ceasefire hostage release.
It does sort of, even at this stage, beg the question of what's getting pushed aside for now to deal with that. And, of course, at the moment, we
don't really have visibility on those points that may be getting discussed.
GOLODRYGA: You'll be following it all for us. Thanks so much, Nic Robertson. Appreciate it.
Well, away from the politics and diplomacy, the people of Gaza are in a day-to-day struggle to stay alive. Here at CNN, we want to bring you some
of their stories as we look at the impact the war has had on families up and down the territory.
This is -- this is Mahmoud Nabil Faraj, before the war and in July. He told CNN, quite simply, these are the hardest days we've ever lived.
Now, before the war, he owned a grocery store. Now, his family survive on one meal a day. He and his wife often going without food at all so that
their children can eat.
And this is Mohammed Matar, a graphic designer. He says he and his family always used to have enough to eat and drink. Now, he too skips meals so
that his son can eat in the morning before kindergarten.
Despite that, his children, age two and four, both suffer from malnutrition. And Mohammed has such little energy that he can no longer
carry a bucket of water up the flight of stairs.
To read their stories and about other Gazans living throughout the war, head to our website, cnn.com.
And coming up for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Who knows what kind of fume exposure I'm getting on a daily basis?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Bill Weir on the Brooklyn Bridge. I love that site. Three CNN reporters across three different continents use chemical tracking
wristbands to find out what we are exposed to on a daily basis.
[12:20:07]
In a new study, calls into question the wisdom of taking tramadol as a means of pain relief. We'll look at the evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a rumor, and I don't know if it's so or not, that Cuba, they don't have Tylenol because they
don't have the money for Tylenol and they have virtually no autism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN fact checks and visits a school in Havana to see if Trump's claims hold water.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: And breaking news into CNN just now, authorities have arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht for arson, saying he deliberately started
the Palisades Fire in Southern California.
Officials say he was an Uber driver who dropped off a passenger on New Year's Eve and went into the hills and then started the fire. Rinderknecht
is expected in court today.
The fire burned thousands of homes and killed 12 people when it tore through the Pacific Palisades' neighborhood back in January, making it one
of the deadliest ever recorded in California. Authorities have spent the last eight months collecting evidence ahead of the arrest.
Well, the authors of a new study are recommending that people who take tramadol should look for other ways of managing pain. It's widely used as a
painkiller.
But researchers in Denmark say tramadol's benefits are minimal, and the potential negative side effects are serious.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So first of all, tramadol is an opioid, but considered a less powerful opioid than hydrocodone or
oxycodone.
So understandably, a lot of people were wondering, could this potentially be a good alternative to more powerful opioids? So that's what this study
was all about.
Looking back to 1984 to 2014, so decades of research, looking at chronic pain conditions, low back pain, osteoarthritis, diabetic neuropathy, and
the headline basically after examining all this was that tramadol can be effective incrementally for chronic pain, but there are significant risks,
and overall, those risks seem to outweigh the benefits.
And the types of risks that we're talking about are not just things like nausea and fatigue, which we obviously see with all sorts of different
opioid medications, but also things like heart problems, chest pain, exacerbating congestive heart failure.
So overall, the researchers recommended not using tramadol for long periods of time, and certainly not for chronic sort of pain.
[12:25:06]
Keep in mind, when you take an outside opioid, you are suppressing your body's own opioid production. Your body's not making opioids anymore. And
that is -- as a result of that, if you stop taking the opioids, you sort of crash and your pain may actually get worse.
So for some people, these opioids can be a lifesaver, but keep in mind, again, you're suppressing your body's own opioids.
About 50 million people in the country we're talking about here suffer from chronic pain, extraordinary numbers. And for a long time, opioids, for a
quarter century, opioids were the thing that people mostly took. That is starting to change.
One thing to keep in mind is that for a significant percentage of people who have chronic pain, it comes with baggage attached. It comes with
depression attached, anxiety attached. And what pain doctors will tell you is that you have to address those things in addition to the pain itself if
you want to truly give someone relief.
Hospitals and clinics and emergency rooms around the country, they are starting to change their approach to -- to pain management as well.
Even in the E.R., I was at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn and things that would typically get an opioid were being treated in different ways, such as
nerve blocks, for example, which is a procedure, takes about 10 minutes, but could give people almost instantaneous pain relief. That could be long
lasting and obviate the need potentially for opioids, things like virtual reality, things like ketamine.
Point being that we're starting to look at chronic pain differently. There's all these different modalities, some of which are new, some of
which are old and had been ignored. And hopefully, those are providing a lot of relief for people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Thanks to Sanjay Gupta for breaking all that down for us.
Meantime, scientists are warning about the harm that plastics and chemicals cause to the climate and our bodies.
Recent report by the medical journal, "The Lancet," says plastics pose a grave and growing danger, causing disease and death at every stage of life
from infancy to old age.
And it's harder than ever to get away from them. CNN's Bill Weir shows us what kind of exposure we face every day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURA PADDISON, CNN SENIOR CLIMATE REPORTER: Just cycling to the local grocery store.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is our colleague Laura in London.
PADDISON: It's a cold Wednesday morning.
JESSIE YEUNG, CNN SENIOR NEWS DESK REPORTER: It is hot. It's humid.
WEIR (voice-over): This is Jessie in Hong Kong.
YEUNG: It is a very busy Monday morning here in Hong Kong.
WEIR (voice-over): And that's me, Bill, on my New York City commute.
Who knows what kind of fume exposure I'm getting on a daily basis?
WEIR (voice-over): Together --
PADDISON: The wristbands finally arrived.
WEIR (voice-over): We are guinea pigs on three continents.
YEUNG: Here's the wristband.
WEIR (voice-over): And with the help of these special wristbands and an international team of pollution experts --
YEUNG: I'm just heating up some food. I have a gas stove at home, which is quite common in Hong Kong.
WEIR (voice-over): -- we'll spend five days measuring our exposure to the dozens of different chemicals.
PADDISON: I'm just going to put a little bit of makeup on before work.
WEIR (voice-over): That come from living on a planet made of plastic.
BJOM BEELER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL POLLUTANTS ELIMINATION NETWORK: Studies have shown there's over 16,000 chemicals in plastics. Of
that, 20, about 25 percent are known to be hazardous chemicals, and the vast majority of other chemicals, there's been not enough scientific data
to show if it's safe or not.
WEIR: Thanks to my better half, Kelly, we really try to avoid chemicals, all natural cleaning products if we can. We filter our water. Drink out of
glass. We have an air quality monitor here as well.
And for the better part of the last five days, I've either been at home or at the office. I haven't had to get on an airplane. That's rare. So, this
is somewhat of a controlled environment to just see how clean my immediate surroundings are.
PADDISON: Every time I walked into a cafe or a restaurant or down a really busy road, a grocery store, you know, got on the train to go to work. But
perhaps the place that I've most thought about it is when it comes to what I'm actually putting on my body. So, you know, perfume or lotions, also
cleaning products, you know, what I'm using to clean the house.
YEUNG: I became quite aware when I was going through my daily life and, you know, at dinners or just walking around on the street, I'd wonder, like,
oh, I wonder what around me is potentially putting chemical pollutants in the air, whether that's my gas stove or things from a construction site. It
made me realize how many construction sites I pass through on a daily basis.
WEIR: What do we pick up?
BEELER: You got a lot of chemical exposure, unfortunately.
WEIR: Really?
BEELER: Everything that we looked for, we found.
WEIR (voice-over): All of our samples included flame retardants and U.V. stabilizers, an alphabet soup of BPA, BPF, BPS, and around two dozen
chemicals on each of our bands.
BEELER: And then the most important one I would say that everyone should know is called phthalates.
WEIR: Phthalates?
BEELER: Phthalates, yes.
WEIR: It's spelled with a P-H.
BEELER: It is the worst way to spell it. It's like an alphabetical mess. But phthalates are super important because when we first looked at them,
they're everywhere.
[12:30:59]
WEIR (voice-over): Phthalates are what makes plastic moldable and flexible. They're more regulated in Europe than Asia. And Jessie's levels are a bit
higher than Laura's. But it is so common globally, it's long been known as the everywhere chemical.
They are also endocrine disruptors, which hack human hormones and cause problems from cradle to grave, from fertility and child behavior to
depression, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
BEELER: Studies have shown about 100 percent of Americans have phthalates in their body, and it's so ubiquitous, it's everywhere. If you look around
your -- your room and your house, your clothes are made of plastics, your furniture is made of plastics. Everything's getting turned into plastics.
But by 2060, like about 35 years from now, we're going to have four times more plastic on the planet than we have today.
WEIR: Wow.
WEIR (voice-over): Bill Weir, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Wow. That is really alarming and eye-opening. Thanks to Bill Weir and our other colleagues for participating in that report.
All right. Still to come for us. Japan's biggest brewer is running low on its iconic beer Super Dry. How Asahi is working to get back on its feet
following a cyber-attack.
Plus, National Guard troops on the streets of major U.S. cities as the president calls for his political rivals to be jailed. We'll take a closer
look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Portland, and Chicago, these are all major democratic-led cities where President Trump has authorized the
deployment of National Guard troops. And now he's calling for some local leaders to be jailed.
[12:35:13]
And that's not all. Just hours ago, the nation's former FBI chief was arraigned on federal criminal charges that he claims were politically
motivated.
It comes just days after Trump publicly demanded the Department of Justice prosecute James Comey, one of his most prominent critics. And it all
happened this week alone. And it's only Wednesday.
Time now for "The Exchange," and my conversation with Larry Sabato, he's the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and
the co-author of "Campaign of Chaos: Trump, Biden, Harris, and the 2024 American Election." Larry Sabato, thanks so much for joining us.
So let's start with what we saw today, the arraignment of former FBI director James Comey on charges brought by the Trump-led Justice
Department. As we know, the president has publicly been pushing for just this and pressuring his attorney general.
How unprecedented is this moment? And what does it say about the rule of law and political retribution from the president of the United States?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Bianna, it's completely unprecedented. It is true that Richard Nixon had an
enemies list, and that some of the people on the enemies list were checked by the IRS, shall we say, audited. A few other things happened during his
administration, but for the most part, his enemies list was just a list.
With Donald Trump, it's much more than a list. Now, I'll give him this. He said repeatedly during the campaign that his second term would be a term of
revenge and retribution. Boy, did he mean it.
He is doing what other presidents would not have dreamed of doing, which is what 10 pot -- despots do all around the world. Take their political
enemies, find ways to indict them, and or jail them. Make outrageous, disturbing statements like the one he had today calling for the jailing of
the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago. They are elected by the people. The president has nothing to do with it.
This -- this is beyond belief, really. And people who have said that those of us talking about Donald Trump moving rapidly down the highway of
authoritarianism were simply wrong. That's exactly where we're moving and we're moving quickly.
GOLODRYGA: Are you surprised we're not hearing more from Republicans in the sense that -- that we did hear from Republicans when Nixon was toying with
doing as much? Obviously, he didn't take it to such lengths, but he did have some pushback from within his own party.
What's changed now? And do you expect at some point that -- that we will see some members of the president's own party stand up to these types of
actions?
SABATO: Well, I remember the Nixon years very well. And the -- the truth is that it was the Republicans who pushed Nixon out. The Democrats could never
have done it on their own. They would have impeached him, but I think conviction would have been tough.
Had some courageous Republicans not stood up, not just to President Nixon, but to their own party. They got a lot of grief, a lot of pushback for it.
But they did the right thing and they felt they were being true to their oath to the Constitution.
The group of Republicans today, let's just say they all need, or almost all of them, need a spine transplant. But I don't think they've been invented
yet. They go along with anything that Trump says or does privately.
Many of them will tell you how disturbed they are by it all. But you don't hear a peep out of them publicly because they are afraid they will be
defeated in a primary, the next time they come up for election. And that Donald Trump will make sure they're defeated.
Because remember, it's his term of revenge and retribution. And they don't want to be the targets of that.
GOLODRYGA: And in addition to being primary, because one could say how much is a job in politics really worth it if you're not going to defend the
Constitution, something that you swore to do upon entering this job.
You know, they're -- they're also, we have known and seen threats against their family members and other considerations to factor in as well, not to
defend the fact that we haven't seen more pushback. But that is the reality that so many of them are facing and have acknowledged as much.
We're also seeing the president potentially about to invoke the Insurrection Act to send more National Guard troops into democratic-led
cities, as we've mentioned, now Chicago, the president, threatening to arrest the mayor and the governor of Illinois. This is despite objections
from state and local officials and doing as much. I think that about 500 National Guard troops may soon be in Illinois, a couple of hundred coming
from -- from Texas.
[12:40:16]
How dangerous is this precedent setting in terms of the civil and military relationship here really at some point butting heads?
SABATO: It's very dangerous. The Insurrection Act was actually passed under Thomas Jefferson, the founder of my university. He signed it into law, but
he never used it.
And other presidents have not used it because they understood that this was crossing a line, crossing a big powerful red line. And they have not even
mentioned it much less done it.
Now, occasionally, it's been necessary because of widespread riots has occurred in California in the early 1990s. But on the whole, presidents
have understood that this is best left to governors using their own National Guard. It's best left to local police agencies and to the state
police and the state where this is occurring but not Donald Trump.
GOLODRYGA: But the president -- but -- but Larry --
SABATO: Not only -- go ahead.
GOLODRYGA: Larry, I'm not -- I'm just saying the president is saying he's doing this because local authorities -- these are his words, are not doing
enough to protect ICE agents there.
SABATO: Yes. Well, I don't know about every single ICE agent, but I do know that the hundreds and thousands really of local police officers and federal
agents who are already located in those cities could do that job and have been doing that job.
He is -- Trump is greatly exaggerating what is happening in Portland. You've had an excellent feature on that. It's -- it's about one block,
maybe one and a half blocks, out of a massive city. And it's well under control. It has been under control.
In Chicago, there is a lot of crime. And perhaps federal agents could have helped in some respects, but this is not designed to help them with crime
no matter what the Trump administration is saying.
They are stirring up the people there. They're tossing tear gas into places that really don't need it and doing midnight raids on -- on apartment
buildings and -- and arresting children. This is outrageous. And we're just -- we just started. Remember, he's got three and a half years to go in his
term.
GOLODRYGA: Hmm. Larry Sabato, thanks so much. Really appreciate your analysis and thoughts.
SABATO: Thank you, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Donald Trump has been making claims that autism is virtually unknown in Cuba because Tylenol isn't used there.
Now despite decades of evidence to the contrary, the U.S. president linked the condition to the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy.
As for there being no autism in Cuba, that's easy to disprove. Here's CNN's Patrick Oppmann with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Music class at the school for Cuban children is an opportunity to make some noise and have some fun.
The more than 50 children here face a unique challenge on top of all the other challenges of life in Cuba. They've all been diagnosed with autism.
Music therapy is one of the treatments the school offers to kids who range from ages six to 18. Immediately, our camera sparks their curiosity and
music class becomes dance class.
For more than 20 years, Cuba's government has operated specialized schools for children on the autism spectrum.
In addition to their lessons, kids here learn life skills. Like how to set a table before mealtime.
We teach them to eat, to bathe, she says. We help them with socialization, communication and how to behave, which is an area that's one of the most
challenging for them.
There are 10 schools like this across the island, educators here say. And that there is autism in Cuba is no secret, which is why they tell us they
were caught off guard by U.S. President Donald Trump last month.
TRUMP: There are parts of the world that don't take Tylenol. I mean, there's a rumor, and I don't know if it's so or not that Cuba, they don't
have Tylenol because they don't have the money for Tylenol, and they have virtually no autism. OK? Tell me about that one.
And there are other parts of the world where they don't have Tylenol, where they don't have autism. That tells you a lot.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Both of Trump's claims that there is next to no autism and no Tylenol in Cuba are contradicted by the facts on the ground.
OPPMANN: We've already shown you that, yes, autism exists in Cuba and as well for decades, Cubans had readily accessible to them a locally produced
version of Tylenol. But that medicine, like many others, is becoming harder and harder to find as Cuba endures the worst economic crisis in years.
[12:45:09]
And so Cubans are increasingly having to find medicines like Tylenol on the black market rather than in government pharmacies.
OPPMANN (Voice-over): Cuban psychologists studying autism say they're unaware of any link between Tylenol and the condition. The same conclusion
reached by many other scientists around the world.
There are many factors behind someone being diagnosed with autism. It's very unique. It has to do with genetics. There are some factors that are
hereditary. Others, no.
Autism is part of life in Cuba. And it's also true that people with autism face the same shortages that everyone else here does, which the Cuban
government maintains are primarily the result of increased U.S. economic sanctions.
This school has been hit hard by daily power cuts and plummeting salaries for state employees.
We do lack things, she says. To say we do not lack things, materials and tools isn't true. We need them. The human resources, we have, which is the
most important.
Despite Trump's misinformed comments, Cubans studying autism tell us they would welcome closer collaboration with the U.S. to further understand a
global health issue that transcends both borders and politics.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Let's go check on how U.S. markets are currently doing right now. A bit of a recovery. Green arrows, up slightly. Basically
flat right now for both -- for all three indices, the Dow, S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. They slipped back Tuesday from recent record highs.
The investors seem to be shrugging off a day eight now of a government shutdown. This is your "Business Breakout."
For the first time ever, the price of gold is trading above $4,000 an ounce, continuing the rally that has seen an increase more than 50 percent
so far this year. The record rise was driven by uncertainty about the economy as well as expectations of more interest rate cuts from the Federal
Reserve.
And Tesla has unveiled new cheaper versions of the company's two main cars, the Model 3 and the Model Y. A roughly $5,000 price cut aimed to create a
more affordable starting tier for buyers.
[12:50:04]
This comes after the expiration of the $7,500 vehicle -- electric vehicle tax credit for U.S. consumers.
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has become the sports first-ever billionaire player. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 40-year-
old's current stint at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr catapulted him onto that exclusive list. That deal is reportedly worth more than $400 million. Wow.
And Japan's favorite beer brand is brewing again. But beverage giant, Asahi, is still reeling from a cyber-attack that halted production last
week leading to shortages at convenience store all across Japan.
CNN's Hanukkah Montgomery brings us the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANUKKAH MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Japan's biggest beer maker, Asahi, is running low on its most popular Super Dry. Why? A cyber-attack. It's so
bad that the company had to temporarily shut down production at most of its 30 factories nationwide.
Asahi told us the factories themselves weren't hacked, but their order and shipping systems were, leaving them unable to process deliveries.
Asahi says it's first restarting production of one beer, the iconic Super Dry, and staff are literally taking orders by phone and fax and processing
them by hand. There's still no timeline for when their systems will be fully back.
The company says production has restarted at six of its facilities. Now, obviously, this is a huge concern for loyal Asahi customers who prefer the
taste of the beer to others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think I'd feel a bit upset if supply runs out. Even if there are other options, Asahi Super Dry,
especially during the summer, is something many Japanese people go for.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): And convenience stores, which are major sellers of the Super Dry, are bracing for shortages. 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart
all told CNN they've still got some Super Dry in stock, for now.
Lawson even said, it's prepping backup products just in case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Thanks to Hanukkah Montgomery for that report.
And still to come for us, this hero pup deserves all the treats in the world. How he helped save his injured grandma.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: And finally, this pup proves why dogs are called man's best friend or in this case grandma's bestie.
The dog named Eeyore led a Florida sheriff's deputy directly to a missing woman. The 86-year-old had fallen while walking her son's dog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:55:07]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. Hey, where's your mama? Where's your mommy? Come on. Hold on. Where's your mama? Tell me where your mama is.
Can you tell me what happened? Can you tell me what happened? Are you OK? 322 SO. Can you have EMS in route two, the golf course?
He ran up to my car and I said, bring me to your mommy and he ran back here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He come up to your car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mm-hmm. Good boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sweet one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good boy. Very good boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not even his owner. I'm his grandmother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you're such a good boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Oh, very good dog indeed. Rescuing grandma.
The woman's husband had reported her missing when she was late returning home from her walk. I'm sure Eeyore got lots of treats. We know he deserved
every single one of them. Another great way to end this show.
All right. That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "Amanpour" is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
