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What We Know with Max Foster

"National Shutdown" March Due To Start In Minneapolis; U.S. Justice Department Says It Has Finished Releasing Epstein Files; Former CNN Anchor Don Lemon Taken Into Custody; Deal To Avert U.S. Government; Shutdown Hits A Snag; Iran: Ready To Participate In Nuclear Talks With U.S.; Comedy Icon Catherine O'Hara Dead At 71. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 30, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:24]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: It was said to be the final batch of Epstein files is out.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

It's a day of enormous legal drama on multiple fronts. In fact, we're also keeping a close eye on Minneapolis, where we're expecting a large scale

march as part of a national protest against the federal immigration crackdown.

We'll begin, though, in Washington. CNN sifting through millions of pages of documents just released by the Justice Department on the late sex

offender Jeffrey Epstein. The DOJ says its obligations are over after a law passed by Congress compelled it to release all the files. It says some

information remains under seal because of redactions and ongoing investigations.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was asked today whether the public will learn the identities of the men who abused the girls. Here's how he

responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: If we had information, we meaning the Department of Justice, about men who abused women, we would -- we would

-- we would prosecute them, right? We talked about the work that we're doing. That's why I said that -- I said this earlier. There's this built in

assumption that somehow there's this hidden tranche of information of men that we know about, that we're covering up or that we're not -- we're

choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case.

I don't know whether there are men out there that abuse these women. If we learn about information and evidence that that allows us to prosecute them,

you better believe we will. But I don't think that that the public or you all are going to uncover men within the Epstein files that abused women,

unfortunately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: What is part of the new files released today? A list of sexual assault allegations related to U.S. President Donald Trump. The list was

compiled by officials at the FBI just this past August, although it's not clear exactly why many of the allegations appear to have come from

unverified tips.

Let's go straight to Evan Perez.

If you got to the bottom of this, Evan, because this is obviously during, his administration.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's right. Look, I mean, we're still sifting through these documents. There are about 3-1/2

million in total if you consider the ones that were released in earlier tranches.

And what, you know, there's a number of things that stick out, including, of course, the fact that there's just this huge volume, thousands of videos

that that the Justice Department has released, these are pornographic videos, mostly not created by Epstein himself. But, you know, that's sort

of some of the, the material that hundreds of lawyers have spent months going through to, to try to satisfy the aspects of this law.

One of the interesting things that sticks out is a reference here, a document or a list, rather, that the FBI compiled last year of allegations

of sexual abuse by President Trump. These come from various reports that the FBI collected over the decades mostly things that are salacious that

have not been verified by the FBI. And, of course, the president has repeatedly said that while he was obviously an associate of Jeffrey

Epstein, they were friends for many years that they had a falling out and that he never saw any of the abuse take place, and he never participated.

But the fact that the FBI compiled this list, and you can read some of these documents, a couple of them were removed earlier this afternoon from

the website. Perhaps they're going to be replaced again, because that's one of the things that we've seen. And I should make clear, you know, the a lot

of the tips or these allegations, are things that were second or third hand that related to the president of the United States. And the FBI clearly was

not able to corroborate them.

One of the other things that we've noticed here, Max, from going through some of these files, is Elon Musk makes an appearance here where he's

emailing Jeffrey Epstein, saying essentially, I, you know, when's a good time to head to your island? This is a 2013 email where Elon Musk says that

he is in the BVI, the British Virgin Islands, nearby, and wanted to make time to come visit Epstein's island.

Now, the interesting part of that is that Elon Musk previously has claimed that he rebuffed many instances where Epstein was trying to get him to come

visit his islands that he owned in the -- in the Virgin Islands. And these were islands where a lot of the abuse of underage, of young women, of

underage girls and young women took place, according to the investigations against Jeffrey Epstein.

So, it's notable that Epstein that at least according to these emails that have been released, Musk is the one trying to get a time to come visit

Epstein's islands.

[15:05:07]

And also, we should note that Epstein really -- sorry -- Elon Musk set off a huge furor you'll remember after his falling out with President Trump

last year, where he made the allegations that, that one of the reasons why Epstein files were not being released was because there were credible

allegations of -- against President Trump. And so that's part of the context here of what we're reading in these millions of documents that

we're still going through, Max.

FOSTER: Obviously, front of mind are the survivors here --

PEREZ: Yeah.

FOSTER: They wanted this set of documents released. But they're not satisfied. As I understand it. With certain documents that have been

redacted so heavily, and they were actually key ones that they wanted to see.

PEREZ: Right. There's two complaints that we've heard, including from some of the lawmakers who wrote the law that required this extraordinary

release. We've also heard from some of the survivors who say that some of the documents have been too redacted. In other words, they've shielded the

names and some of the aspects of the crimes that were committed against these survivors, against some of the victims.

And there's also another complaint in that some documents are lightly redacted, meaning that you can tell which victim they're talking about,

which survivor they're talking about. And so, in some ways, they're exposing those people to further public scrutiny, which, of course, is

against federal law. It's against U.S. law.

I will say, you know, I think the attorney -- the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, when he did his press conference last earlier today one of

the things he said is that he understood they were going to be mistakes made, and they're going to try to fix them as soon as they could, because

they know that obviously, this was a work that took hundreds of lawyers a lot of time to do. And he expected that there would be some mistakes.

And of course, we will hear more from Congress about whether they believe what the Justice Department has done here really does satisfy the law.

Max, one of the last things I should point out is that the law really said that they should release as much as possible, including, of course, making

sure that victims were protected. One of the things that the Justice Department has done here is that they have shielded what they call work

product insert, which is essentially the internal -- some of the internal discussions inside the government. Why is that? Why can't we see those?

That's going to be one of the questions that I think members of congress will be asking the Justice Department.

FOSTER: Yeah, because there were something like six million documents in total, weren't there?

PEREZ: Right.

FOSTER: We've had about half of those. Evan, thanks so much.

PEREZ: Just so much.

FOSTER: Right. Yeah.

PEREZ: Thank you.

FOSTER: There are huge amounts of redactions, as Evan was saying, withheld files as well to deal with here. All of the images of women are going to be

redacted, except for Epstein's fixer, Ghislaine Maxwell. Men's faces will be included.

Any files with information that could potentially identify victims will be withheld. So will files that would jeopardize an active federal

investigation. Or files that depict images of death, abuse or injury.

On the other hand, some survivors have told CNN they've seen several cases of victims' names appearing unredacted in the files.

Haley Robson is an Epstein survivor. She tells CNN she's unhappy with the level of transparency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY ROBSON, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: We're worried because we want our own files, we want our own 302s, and we have yet to discover those. We have yet

to receive, those, you know? And so, there are things that they are not being transparent with or that they're not prioritizing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Civil rights attorney Areva Martin is with me. Obviously, Areva is going to come out over the next few days as we go through these documents,

but it seems a bit of a mess that they are saying, the Justice Department saying they want to protect identities, clearly not doing a good job of it

because people are seeing their identities in these documents. Huge amount of redactions, which is also dissatisfying to survivors here.

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yeah, Max, I love the word "mess" because this is a hot mess. I'd even go a little further.

Victims, very frustrated -- victims like the one that just gave that sound bite, whose names, people's names are showing up, but yet they're not

getting their files, which they've been asking the Department of Justice to release for months now. Yet we're hearing from the attorney general.

This is it, he says, look, we've fulfilled our obligation. Yet many victims feel like to the contrary, that they've not received transparent and

accurate information from the Department of Justice. You heard the A.G. says, look, there's no file with any men's names on it.

But we heard Pam Bondi, we heard Donald Trump leading up to the, you know, 2024 presidential election saying there was going to be a release of names

of men who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein. Now, the A.G. is acting as if, you know, that was never said, never promised, and that it doesn't

exist.

[15:10:04]

So you can understand the frustration because of the inconsistent comments and statements that have been made by the administration and the attorney

general's office.

FOSTER: What do the survivors do now? Keep pushing for the other 3 million files. Push for the redactions to be taken out. I mean, what can they do?

Because, you know, as the Justice Department was saying, they haven't found any evidence of abuse.

MARTIN: Well, again, that's not what we were told. The American citizens, voters were told leading up to the 2024 election. Remember, there was

supposed to be a list on Pam Bondi's desk that she was going to release. It was going to be a list of these perpetrators. And now, we're being told

there's no such list. I think what the victims can do and should do is to continue to press Congress.

We got here today because victims stood up, because they told their stories, because they put pressure on the U.S. Congress to pass this law

that even required the Department of Justice to release the documents. So, I think those kinds of pressure points, those kinds of narrative

storytelling that we've heard from the victims have to continue because this is, again, as you started a mess. No one satisfied, the victims

completely are unsatisfied with what they're seeing from this Department of Justice.

FOSTER: Areva, stay with us, because it's been a big day for you. So many big stories and a lot of them are justice stories. So, we're going to come

back to you on another one, if we may.

It's about the former CNN anchor, Don Lemon. He's expected in federal court next hour following his shocking arrest linked to a protest in Minnesota.

Now, Lemon was taken into custody over this live stream with a demonstration during a church service earlier this month. He says he was

there only to cover the anti-ICE protests. As a reporter, you can hear him saying it, in fact.

His attorney tells CNN that Lemon is being charged with two federal crimes -- conspiring to violate someone's constitutional rights and intentionally

interfering with someone expressing their right to practice religion.

Georgia Fort was another independent journalist taken into custody, and her family is now demanding her release. She live streamed the moment of the

arrest on Facebook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGIA FORT, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: Agents are at my door right now. They're saying that they were able to go before a grand jury, sometime, I

guess in the last 24 hours. And that they have a warrant for my arrest. I've talked to my attorney, and I'm being advised to, go with them, I guess

down to a Whipple and my children are here. They're impacted by this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, media organizations, including CNN have expressed their outrage at Don Lemon's arrest, CNN saying in a statement, "The FBI's arrest

of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment."

Ultimately, this case pits the First Amendment rights of the free press against the laws protecting people's right to worship on private property.

Civil rights attorney Areva Martin is still with me.

You know, I guess it depends what point of view you're coming in on. If you go to church, you may feel your constitutional right to worship has been

compromised with this protest that went into the church, the protesters would feel they had a constitutional right to protest. And then we have

journalists saying they have a right to cover a protest.

So they've all got protections. What are you make of it

MARTIN: Outraged, just like the statement from CNN, just like all journalists that I've seen weigh in on this issue, this is absolutely

absurd.

Don Lemon makes a very clear statement in the videotape that he's not there as a part of the protest. He's not there obstructing anyone's rights to

exercise their religious freedom. He's there simply to interview the pastors, protesters and parishioners at that church.

And if parishioners didn't want to be interviewed, they had an absolute right to say (AUDIO GAP) want to be interviewed. And in addition, we see

Don Lemon stating very clearly that he is there as a part of a journalistic activity which is clearly protected by the First Amendment. And we're being

told by this arrest that we shouldn't believe our eyes, we shouldn't believe our ears. When a journalist says, I'm here reporting, I'm here

gathering information, I'm here to exercise the First Amendment rights and then to be arrested for doing so is just outrageous.

FOSTER: One issue they're pointing out that it was private property. And that is something that journalists often have to consider, but it's also a

very public space, isn't it? It's an open church where people are allowed to go in. And there is a case that in the public interest, I guess Don

could argue that there was a big news event going on and in the public interest he needed to be there to reflect it.

[15:15:02]

MARTIN: Oh, absolutely. And no expectation of privacy when you enter a public space. And it's important to note, Max, that these federal statutes

that he's being charged under, there's not precedent for charging journalists in similar situations where there are no acts of violence,

there's no obstruction of anyone's rights.

Again, this is the kind of chilling practices that we've seen from the Trump administration. And we should also note that a magistrate judge just

previously, a couple of days ago, refused to issue an indictment for Don Lemon, saying there wasn't probable cause.

So, again, what we've seen throughout these ICE raids is this aggressive tactics by ICE agents, by the U.S. Department of Justice, all having a very

negative and chilling effect on citizen's rights, and particularly journalists, to exercise the freedom to share information that is clearly

in the public domain. And there's clearly high public interest in.

FOSTER: Yeah. Areva, really appreciate you weighing in on those two huge stories today.

Well, amid all of that legal drama, the U.S. government appears to be heading for another shutdown. Congress faces a midnight deadline to approve

a funding deal with lawmakers attempting to avoid a prolonged shutdown. It appears a bipartisan funding deal approved by President Trump had been

reached last night before hitting a snag.

Annie Grayer is on Capitol Hill. I mean, there's going to be a shutdown either way. I guess we're talking about how long it's going to last.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: That's right, Max. We're waiting to see how long this could last. Right now, we're waiting to see if the Senate can

get a consensus to hold a vote this afternoon on a deal that was agreed to by Senate Republican leadership, Senate Democratic leadership and the White

House. And all signs are pointing to a vote last night until Republican Senator Lindsey Graham put a hold on this vote for a variety of objections

that he had.

But we're told that a number of those issues have been worked out. And when Senate Republicans met for lunch today, a lot of those senators came out of

that meeting and told me that things were looking optimistic, that they were likely to be able to hold a vote this afternoon.

But this would only be the first step. As you mentioned, the government partially runs out of funding tonight at midnight, and the House is not

expected to return until Monday. So, we are at least looking at a partial shutdown over the weekend. Now how -- and we'll see what happens when the

House returns on Monday.

Now, how did we get here? There were six bills that needed to be funded by this Friday deadline, and one of those bills was for the Department of

Homeland Security. And following the two fatal shootings in Minnesota by ICE officers, Democrats said that they would not support further funding

for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, without further restrictions. And that is where they came, where leaders and the

white house came to this emerging deal, where the Senate would vote on five of the appropriations bills to fund the remaining agencies of the

government, including defense and department of labor, and then have just a two week extension on the department of homeland security. And in that

time, Senate Democrats and Republicans would work on reforms that they could make to the Department of Homeland security to oversee the process

that ICE is carrying out across the country.

More effectively, they want -- they want ICE officers to be wearing to take off their masks, to put on body cameras, to have more restrictions around

how ICE officers carry out their enforcement efforts. So that would be the larger negotiation that happened in those two weeks.

Right now, we're just trying to see if the Senate can agree to this short term deal. Again. The two weeks for the Department of Homeland Security and

then funding the rest of the five remaining agencies, were hoping that vote is going to happen in the next few hours. Then the next major test will be

on Monday, when the House returns. Can they agree to this new deal? And then we avoid and end this partial shutdown that will go into effect

tonight.

FOSTER: Okay. We'll see what happens. Annie Grayer, thank you.

Iran's foreign minister says his country is ready to participate in fair and just nuclear talks with the U.S., though they will not accept, quote,

dictation or imposition.

Abbas Araghchi says no meeting with the U.S. has been arranged and cautioned that such negotiations can't be conducted under threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Past experiences have shown the lack of honesty and goodwill of the United

States in the negotiations. Nevertheless, Iran is ready to participate in any diplomatic process that is meaningful, logical and fair, and in which

our legitimate and lawful interests and concerns are taken into account. The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to reenter the nuclear negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Fred Pleitgen, reporting from Tehran, with the Internet speed has been severely restricted. The CNN team had to try several

different methods to send this report, which has glitches throughout, but we still want to play it to you. A note CNN is reporting from Iran only

with the permission of the government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Today, there's not much traffic here in Tehran. That's because it is a Friday. It's not a

working day. This is sort of the main day off in the week for folks here.

[15:20:04]

But of course, it's also pretty tense. Security situation after those protests that happened where thousands of people were killed, even the

government here acknowledging that thousands of people were killed. And you can tell there are a lot of people here who have lost loved ones who are

extremely angry at that situation. And of course, that was what first prompted President Trump to make those threats against Iran and then to

also send that carrier strike group to this region.

He since then has sort of changed that message a little bit. He's now talking about Iran not wanting to have a nuclear program, no nuclear

weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Fred Pleitgen there in Tehran.

Still to come, we're just learning about the death of a beloved actress, Catherine O'Hara. We'll have a look back at her incredible life and career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:55]

FOSTER: Breaking news this evening, a beloved Hollywood actress, Catherine O'Hara, has died at the age of 71. The Emmy winner was known for her iconic

roles in the movies "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone". Most recently, she gained a new generation of fans for her turn as Moira Rose in the TV show

"Schitt's Creek".

Born in Canada, she got her start at the famed Second City improv theater.

Lisa France joins me now.

When the news came in, it really did seem to shock people of all different generations. She seemed to have made herself relevant to every age group.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: She really did, Max. And just before coming on, I saw where Justin Trudeau put out a statement in which he said

just that, that she made people laugh all across generations. And she introduced the world to Canadian storytelling, you know, from SCTV, as you

mentioned, to "Home Alone", "Beetlejuice", "Best in Show", "Schitt's Creek", and most recently on the studio where she played Seth Rogen's

mentor.

And she was just hilarious. And interestingly enough, I actually interviewed her a year ago for a Super Bowl commercial she did with Willem

Dafoe for Michelob.

[15:20:04]

And she was as gracious and as funny as you could imagine. She told me a little bit of a naughty story about being recognized by someone who kept

saying to her, don't you recognize me? Don't you remember me? And it turned out the person thought she was someone that they had met in a -- in a Los

Angeles sex club.

And we just, like, roared about that because I said, you of all people. And she was like, yeah, I assure you, that was not me in the sex club. She just

was so funny, so incredibly talented, Max. And as you point out, so beloved because of the various characters that she played.

And Macaulay Culkin, of course, played her son in "Home Alone", and he just put out a heartbreaking message about her and referring to her as mama. And

that's the way a lot of people, Max, of a certain age, think of her. They think of her as the beloved mother figure.

And then when it comes to "Schitt's Creek", of course, just the way she would pronounce words as Moira Rose is legendary. And we throw that word

legendary around a lot, Max. But it really, really is who she was. And she is going to be deeply missed in Hollywood.

FOSTER: Yeah, those reactions in home alone were, you know, absolutely brilliant actress.

Just 71, are we any idea what happened here because her career was still flying wasn't it. Hadn't even peaked yet.

FRANCE: No, it had not peaked because it felt like she was going to go on forever. Right? I mean, and people were wondering why she wasn't at the

Golden Globes most recently, the last time people remember really seeing her out and about was back in September for the Emmys.

And, you know, when she was there to celebrate the success of "The Studio", which is a great Apple TV show, Apple TV Plus show, very funny. And they

made excellent use of her talents. And, you know, it's just -- it's so shocking. She was so young.

And no, unfortunately, we do not know what happened. We just know that she is deeply grieved. So many celebrities are coming forward to post on social

media to just say that they are in complete and utter shock, just like the rest of the world is today, Max.

FOSTER: Lisa France, thank you for joining us.

FRANCE: Thank you.

FOSTER: With that tribute.

We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:34]

FOSTER: This hour, protesters are gathering in Minneapolis for a march against ICE. It is part of a nationwide day of protests, with organizers

encouraging people not to shop in stores and asking students to walk out of classrooms across the country. Many businesses across the U.S. also

shutting down in solidarity with those protesters. You can see they're gathering in Minneapolis at the beginning of the march.

Now, one special guest appearing at a benefit concert there in Minneapolis is Bruce Springsteen. He recently released a song condemning ICE and

appeared on stage a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, SINGER (singing): King Trump's private army from the DHS guns belted to their coats, came to Minneapolis to enforce the law or

so their story goes. Against smoking river bullets in the dome of the --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, even by the Trump administrations standards, it's been an extraordinary 48 hours for the Justice Department. We've had the release of

3 million pages of the Epstein files. Well, after the original deadline set by Congress. Just minutes later, the deputy attorney general confirmed that

a civil rights investigation had been opened into the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a turnaround there.

And this just hours after news that several journalists, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, had been arrested by federal agents over a protest at

a Minnesota church.

And don't forget the search at an election office in Georgia on Wednesday, which included Donald Trump's intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, which was

extraordinary in itself.

John Miller, our chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, friend of the show, is here with us to try to understand or get our head around all

of these different events, whether there's a thread and actually which event you're looking at most closely.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, Max, the one I'm looking at most closely is the appearance of the director

of national intelligence, which is walled off from the law enforcement community. The DNI, as the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard

is known, has no investigative authorities under the law, controls no investigative entities under the law, doesn't oversee investigations under

the Intelligence Reform Act that created her office.

So, what is she doing? As someone who has been one of the loudest voices in pushing election conspiracy theories, what is she doing leading an FBI raid

on an election location to take ballots from five years ago? It's raised a lot of questions about why is she there and what's really going on.

FOSTER: Because there's a statute of limitations. Five years, I believe, where a case can't be held. Is that right? And so there must be something

else going on here.

MILLER: Well, and when we put this question to the office of the director of national intelligence, they said Director Gabbard is responsible for

ensuring that elections are not interfered with in the United States by foreign powers, that computers make this more vulnerable, and so on.

But it's been five years and no one has made an allegation that a foreign entity or a foreign hostile foreign power hacked into the Georgia election

process somehow and affected the outcome of that election. And if that is what brought them in there, and we don't know, because the sealed warrant,

the search warrant is sealed. That hasn't been anything that they've notified. The two intelligence committees in congress about.

So, it's just raising a lot of questions. And as, Max, as you framed it in the larger picture of the arrest of Don Lemon by the FBI, the announcement

today, a week after the shooting of Alex Pretti, that the FBI would be conducting a civil rights investigation into that case. It really is

causing people who know the agency watch the agency have been a part of the agency like myself, to wonder how far the agency is being pulled into the

political rapids rather than the FBI's normal job.

[15:35:10]

FOSTER: I think tonight will be telling, wont it, this march that starting in Minneapolis, we've got similar marches happening, I believe, in New York

and Atlanta and many other cities. And a lot of those people out there, you know, it starts around those two deaths in Minneapolis, but it expands to

the power of federal government as well, doesn't it?

We're going to get a real sense of how the whole nation feels, depending on the numbers that appear today, there's going to be a message going to the

government today, which may be something it reacts to, but it's an important moment as well, isn't it, this in terms of measurement of

sentiment?

MILLER: Yes, it is. And I mean national protests where you see large crowds in multiple cities, if that's in fact, what we see is going to send

a message. And the real arbiter here for the White House, after getting a bad reaction from the National Rifle Association this week and the chiefs

of police association.

Usually, these are -- these are constituencies that they count on for support, is in a country where people tend to measure their opinion about

critical issues based on how much they love or hate Donald Trump. If you see crossover between those two camps in these marches where moderates and

conservatives may be joining progressives and liberals then, you know, that's the kind of tipping point that the White House alerts on.

FOSTER: Obviously, you work for a news network, John. I just wanted to ask you about the Don Lemon situation and just your view on it as a legal

expert as well. I mean, there are, you know, there are three different groups here, right? There's the -- there's churchgoers who feel that their

service was interrupted. There are the protesters who felt that they had a right to protest.

But there's the journalist who had a right to report on that event and has got special protections as well. Is there any case here, from what you can

tell against Don Lemon and the other independent journalists? And are you concerned that it could set a precedent?

MILLER: Well, Don Lemon is you know, there's hours of this video broadcast where don lemon is confronted at various times and he says, I'm here as a

journalist, not as a protester. That's an important marker, as far as his rights as a journalist to be covering the event, how it came to pass that

he has been cast in with those who were there as protesters is going to be a real test for the rights of journalists and the status, the current

status of the First Amendment, which is if you're in the middle of covering a riot, this wasn't a riot. I'm using it as an example.

And the police round everybody up and you have a camera and a press card and a job that says that's what you do. Does that suddenly make you a

rioter or an observer? That's a line that this case is going to examine very closely, probably from the outset.

FOSTER: Yeah. Okay. John Miller, thank you. Had to cover a lot there, but what a day. Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are

lower. This comes as Donald Trump has named the former Federal Reserve governor, Kevin Warsh, as his replacement for Jerome Powell as fed chair.

This is our business breakout.

Donald Trump's pick for the next Fed chair has won praise from Canada's prime minister. Mark Carney, who previously ran the Bank of Canada and the

Bank of England called Kevin Marsh a -- Warsh, rather -- a fantastic choice.

A trade tensions between Canada and the United States continue, however. Donald Trump has threatened to decertify all aircraft made in Canada, as

well as slap a 50 percent tariff on them unless Canada certifies Gulfstream jets made in the United States. The Canadian minister of industry says the

country will listen and won't panic.

Also, facing Donald Trump's wrath, his own Treasury Department. The president is suing the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury for at

least $10 billion, accusing them of leaking his tax returns during his first administration. Mr. Trump is filing the lawsuit in a personal

capacity, along with his sons, Eric and Don, Jr.

Melania Trump says her new film, released in theaters today, is not really a documentary. The first lady calls it a creative experience that offers

perspectives, insights and moments. It documents the 20 days around Donald Trump's return to the White House.

A source says. Trump inked a $40 million deal with Amazon MGM Studios for the film, plus, another $35 million went into marketing. Typical

documentaries cost a few million dollars to make.

Let's bring in Mary Jordan, associate editor of "The Washington Post". She's also the author of "The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania

Trump".

I'm glad she's making this distinction, actually, Melania Trump, because for me, a documentary is made by independent producers.

[15:40:02]

And she's the producer of a of a film, let's call it about her. So, actually, it's quite useful, isn't it? You go into the context of watching

this film as a creative exercise, not a documentary.

MARY JORDAN, AUTHOR, "THE ART OF HER DEAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF MELANIA TRUMP": Well, yes, I just saw it. And you know, there's no big surprises

here. But I guess when you see frame after frame of her in five-inch heels, you go into her closet and she opens the drawer with an entire drawer full

of designer sunglasses. And you see that sometimes she's wearing outfits. Never -- she's never in jeans or nothing low key. It's always outfits,

dresses, coats that cost more than many people earn.

And so, I guess the main takeaway when I walked out of that film was, wow, bad timing. I mean, it just seems out of touch with the winter when people

are talking about not being able to afford health care, groceries -- affordability is a hot word in politics. I'm not sure how this is really

going to help the Trump's at this difficult time.

FOSTER: Well, as you say that, I mean, I just thought of Imelda Marcos and her shoe collection. Is there a risk she could have a bit of a backlash? I

mean, not in the same extent, obviously.

JORDAN: Well, I think that there will always be Melania fans who, like, say, she's so beautiful, she's so elegant. But I've also already heard

today people screaming, it's Marie Antoinette, you know? I mean, really when people -- just seems very out of tune. And when you watch this film,

you know, Melania is always in full makeup, always wearing something. She's in Trump Tower in her mansions. She's -- she's like in this gold bubble.

And when, you know, it's going to be interesting for sure to see some people, but I think other people will say, you know, we always thought

maybe she didn't like the guy, but clearly, she's holding his hand in those photos and they're a team.

FOSTER: Just quickly it hasn't been a sell out here in the U.K. I don't know about the U.S., but do you think there's an issue here that she

doesn't. She hasn't built up a following like a Hollywood star. She's deliberately been enigmatic. And that might be an issue because people

won't necessarily want to find out about her.

JORDAN: She has a great real story to tell about coming from a former communist country, living with, you know, in a one bedroom apartment that

she shared and becoming the first lady. She is not telling that story. She is -- just refuses to look back. She is just this very rich lady who she

says in this film, she wants to help people, but she doesn't give too many specifics. And I think that's a huge missed opportunity.

You know, it's just -- it's a tone deaf, tone deaf moment. But her people close to her say that the movie helps her brand.

FOSTER: Okay. Mary Jordan, appreciate it. That's your first review of the Melania film. You can choose whether or not you're going to go and see it.

Still to come, a federal judge has decided if accused killer Luigi Mangione will face the death penalty. We're live in New York with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:33]

FOSTER: Luigi Mangione will no longer face the death penalty. A federal judge dismissed the murder charge that would have made the 27-year-old

eligible for the death penalty. Mangione is accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan street in 2024.

This news comes just a day after a Minnesota man was arrested for trying to break Mangione out of jail. Mark Anderson claimed to be an FBI agent with

an order for his release. Law enforcement searched his bag and found a barbecue fork and a circular blade on him.

Kara Scannell is in New York.

So, this is bad for the prosecution. But the prosecution also had a bit of a win today in terms of the evidence that they could include in the case

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Max. The prosecution is allowed to use certain evidence that it obtained when it

searched Mangione's backpack in Altoona, Pennsylvania, when he was arrested in the McDonald's.

And in that backpack, they found a firearm that authorities have matched to the crime scene in Manhattan, as well as a diary. And in that diary,

Mangione writes about his distaste for the health care industry and how he was sort of watching UnitedHealthcare and was aware that there was an

investor conference, and it was just outside of that that the CEO was gunned down.

But he did get a huge courtroom victory. Now, the judge taking the death penalty off of the table. And the reasoning is because of how this case was

charged. Normally, murder in America is charged as a state crime, but when you charge as a federal crime, there are only a few ways they can do it.

And it means murder.

But also, when there was another violent crime that also took place and the prosecution had hinged that on these two charges of stalking, that Mangione

is also facing. The question here was, is stalking a crime of violence? The judge siding with the defense and saying that it isn't. So that knocked out

a murder charge, as well as a related firearms offense.

So, Mangione will continue to move forward in these federal charges. He will be charged with two counts of stalking. Now, if convicted, those both

carry a maximum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. So certainly, a serious charge, but his life is no longer on the line in

the -- in this case.

Now, interestingly, he's also still facing state murder charges. They -- that case is alive and moving forward. But we do now have kind of a sense

of when this is going to end up before a jury. The judge overseeing the case has said that this will go to trial in September, with opening

statements slated for October.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors on the state side are trying to get ahead of that, but that has not been fully vetted yet and gone before a judge. But

certainly, a major decision for Mangione now to have the threat of the death penalty off of the table. In a court hearing today, one of the

prosecutors said they weren't quite sure yet if they were going to try to appeal that. But as it stands for now, he will not face the death penalty -

- Max.

FOSTER: Kara Scannell, big development there. Thank you very much indeed.

And still to come on the program, an epic day of tennis in Melbourne. The men's Australian Open Final is set after two marathon semifinals. The

details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:19]

FOSTER: Tennis lovers were treated to not one but two epic five set clashes at the Australian open today, setting up an enthralling a men's

final.

Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Alexander Zverev after almost 5-1/2 hours on court to secure a place in Sunday's final. Not to be upstaged, though, the 10-

time Australian winner, open winner Novak Djokovic, then upset the odds to beat reigning champion Jannik Sinner. The match finished close to two in

the morning in Melbourne.

"WORLD SPORT's" Patrick Snell is with us.

I mean, at least they're going to be equally exhausted.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: As am I, Max. I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. Atlanta Time. I was so captivated by the first match between Alcaraz and

Zverev. I just -- just couldn't go to bed. It was so captivating.

But wow, what an immense final. We now have to look forward to. Alcaraz will face Djokovic. And remember, Max, Djokovic seeking a standalone and

record 25th grand slam crown on Friday to absolutely belt a semifinals in the first.

Alcaraz, battling injury from the third set onwards, powering his way past Zverev 5-1/2 hours it lasted that one. The Spanish youngster was two sets

to love up and apparently cruising. But then he starts cramping late in the third, serving at four apiece. He has to get the medical time out as they

work on his right leg there, the trainers, the medical team. It looked like he couldn't continue.

But of course, Alcaraz being Alcaraz, he did. Carlitos, though struggling, Zverev won the third and the fourth sets on the tiebreakers to force a

fifth and deciding set, and then in the fifth, the big German serving for the match up a break point at five-four, but Alcaraz, digging deep, turns

it around, breaks back, wins the decider seven games to five, collapses on the floor, totally exhausted.

It took just under 5-1/2 hours. It was an epic. And of course, Alcaraz doing Alcaraz things. It's the longest semifinal in Aussie Open history.

What a match. Feel a bit Zverev, but that's tennis. That's the brutal reality of professional tennis.

In Sunday's final, Alcaraz will meet the king of Melbourne Park, 10-time Aussie Open champ Novak Djokovic, as the 38-year-old rolled back the years

to defeat the world number two from Italy, Jannik Sinner, who was looking to win this tournament for a third straight year. This was another five set

thriller.

The Italian won the first and the third, Djokovic taking the second and the fourth. In the fifth, Djokovic broke Sinner, making the crowd go absolutely

wild. At one point in the fifth, Djokovic saved ten straight break points.

He is a magnificent champion. This was vintage Djokovic as he takes it six- four.

[15:55:03]

Divine inspiration maybe at times. But Djokovic overcome with emotions afterwards. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, 24-TIME MAJOR WINNER: I think you guys got your value for the ticket today, that's for sure. That's for sure.

I want 10 percent of tonight's ticket sold. I saw Carlos after the match and he told me, I'm sorry to delay the start of your match. And I told him,

I'm an old man. I need to go earlier to sleep. So. I'm looking forward to see him in a few days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: It should be a great final. I will say I don't know what time he got to bed. Eventually, Max, but I suspect it wasn't before 4:00 or 5:00

a.m. Melbourne time. Just incredible.

Looking forward to the women's final on Saturday, Rybakina and Sabalenka.

Back to you.

FOSTER: I know. They've got a lot to sort of live up to now, haven't they, in terms --

SNELL: No pressure on them

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

END

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