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What We Know with Max Foster
Border Czar: ICE Surge In Minneapolis Is Concluding; Guthrie Neighbors Asked To Check Home Surveillance Videos; Border Patrol Operations May Be To Blame For Temporary Texas Airport Closure; Trump Praises AG Bondi For Combative Epstein Testimony; Trump Admin Revokes Key Climate Regulation Policy; Zelenskyy Slams IOC For Disqualifying Ukrainian Athlete. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired February 12, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:29]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: A major moment for Minneapolis.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
U.S. President Donald Trump's border czar says a two-month ICE surge marked by deadly clashes between federal agents and protesters is about to come to
a close. Tom Homan says a drawdown of immigration agents in the state has begun, whilst a small footprint of personnel will remain in Minnesota.
Homan says his team achieved its goals making more than 4,000 arrests. The announcement comes after weeks of tension and protests that included the
deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both killed by federal officers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: I have proposed and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude a significant drawdown has already been
underway this week and will continue through the next week. I'm very pleased to report that this surge operation in our work here with state and
local officials to improve coordination and achieve mutual goals, as well as our efforts to address issues of concern here on the ground, have
yielded the successful results we have came -- came here for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller is now with us.
I'm just wondering where the victory is here, John, because there will be those on the ground saying they forced ICE out, but you're also seeing this
narrative from the White House that since Homan went in, it's all been resolved.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think what you're seeing is a little bit of both, which is Gregory Bovino,
the hard charging, controversial commander of the Border Patrol, who was removed from Minneapolis after the shooting of Alex Pretti, which followed
the shooting death of Renee Good, taking him out of there, lowered the temperature between border patrol ICE and local authorities, moving Tom
Homan in to take over the Minneapolis operation. Homan is a guy who is much more adept at creating relationships, both on the level of the mayor, the
police chief, and the state law enforcement officials.
So that brought the temperature down. But I think the key was appearances, which is they didn't want to pull out right away. They wanted to remain
there, get as many arrests in cooperation with other agencies as they could as a way of saving face, but also get out of Minneapolis because things
there in terms of relations with the public and protesters and even the government, were very brittle, even after this switch.
FOSTER: There was talk about this being a blueprint for how to deal with similar situations in other cities, as the White House would see it. But do
you think we're going to see this again? Do you think the White House has learned its lesson?
MILLER: Well, I think Tom Homan is probably going to have a much more active role as this goes from city to city. You know, as you know, Max, the
controversy has been that these mass deployments of large numbers of ICE agents involving confrontations and shootings have largely been focused on
Democratic cities with Democratic mayors. And that they've been accused of being politically motivated. The counter to that from the Trump
administration has been we deploy them to sanctuary cities where we know we're not going to get cooperation from local law enforcement, which is why
we send so many people, because we know were going to be on our own.
So, I don't think we're going to see an end to these surges. But I do think lessons were learned in Minneapolis about where the -- where the lines are
drawn and what too far looks like.
FOSTER: Yeah, and he should run it, I guess, as well John. Do stay with us.
We're tracking another big story this hour because Arizona neighbors of Nancy Guthrie are being asked to check their home surveillance video from
two specific days in January. Local news stations tell CNN investigators are looking for footage from January the 11th and the 31st. A suspicious
vehicle was reportedly seen in the Tucson neighborhood on those days. Now, earlier on Thursday, investigators put up a white tent in front of the door
of Nancy Guthrie's home. That's the spot where a person was captured on home surveillance around the time the 84-year-old went missing.
John, paint the picture of what's going on here.
MILLER: Well, what they're asking from the neighborhood is go back through your cameras, because specifically they've had a number of reports about
suspicious vehicles but one they've apparently become very interested in is that January 11th one.
[15:05:10]
Why? Because people reported a particular vehicle. We have heard that neighbors have been asked about a white van. Was that pre-operational
surveillance? Was that someone in the planning stages of this abduction, or was that some repair truck that had just been left by the side of the road,
or in the neighborhood?
The key about that is they want to see does somebody have a picture of it coming or going, driving by? They would like all the traffic within that
time period on that day because they also want to compare it to does somebody see the same vehicle or vehicles return on the day or the night of
the abduction? Because that would constitute the potential connection between that car pre-operational surveillance and the actual kidnapping?
FOSTER: Tell us about the gloves. I've seen a lot of talk about gloves.
MILLER: So, they did an expanded search once they obtained the video, where they see he's wearing a ski mask and these very bulky gloves and
carrying a backpack down the road where she lives in both directions and in other roadways, saying, let's say that somebody may have taken off from the
scene and discarded these items. They did find a glove, which very much looks like the same kind, at least that the kidnapper is wearing as he
approaches the house along the side of the road. That's going to be tested at the FBI lab for hair, fiber, DNA, perhaps traces of blood in that.
We know that Nancy Guthrie was bleeding as she was carried out of the house because of blood that was found on the ground there that matched her DNA.
So, it could be nothing. It could be a glove by the side of the road in the desert. Or it could be a clue that could break the whole case. If that DNA
matches to someone in their records, it's too early to tell.
FOSTER: Okay. John, appreciate it as ever.
Let's go to the scene of that investigation now. Nick Watt joins us from Tucson.
We've had another you know, heartbreaking video from the family, Nick and, you know the everyone on the ground is being asked for help at this point.
NICK WATT, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you know, it's fascinating, Max, to see how this investigation has evolved and accelerated
since that chilling video of the suspect was released a couple of days ago, of the suspect masked, armed standing on Nancy Guthrie's front porch. Now,
what we have seen here today is early this morning just before 8:00 a.m. local, a white tent like you see at some crime scenes was put up over Nancy
Guthrie's porch.
And of course, on that porch is where one of the first clues came from. They were some drops of blood that were then traced to Nancy Guthrie, that
gave investigators some kind of idea of what might have happened here, and that Nancy Guthrie was bleeding, that gives them clues going forward.
The -- also, it's been fascinating to see the evolution of the requests to the public. So this morning, first we heard this very specific request for
video specific dates and times January 11th, which is about three weeks before Nancy Guthrie disappeared between 9:30 -- 9:00 p.m. and midnight.
And also, January 31st. That was the day before Nancy disappeared anything between 9:30 and 11:00 in the morning. Apparently, there was a suspicious
vehicle seen around that time.
Then, they've now asked for pretty much everything. Anybody, they say, living within two miles of here between January 1 and February 1, they want
video of anything that anybody thinks might be suspicious. They are going through so many tips, they've had, you know, 4,000 in a day. One of the
recent ones we've heard is they're looking for perhaps a white van, but the source on that, you know, cautions.
Listen, we don't if it's going to come to anything. And it is just one of so many tips. They are going through hundreds of officers and agents still
working on this case. Yesterday, we heard they found a glove because what happened is after that video came out of the suspect they knew a little bit
more about what to look for.
You know, a ski mask, gloves so they combed this whole area again. They found a glove. Now we hear from the sheriff. They found multiple gloves and
some other pieces of evidence that they're not giving us details on.
So, it does appear that the investigation is picking up. But, Max, 12 days now since 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home here in
Arizona -- Max.
FOSTER: Have we heard anything more of these, you know, in theory, kidnappers asking for things.
WATT: Yes. I mean, there are letters that, you know, went into TMZ and to local stations. We heard the one yesterday about this message from a person
who claimed to know who the kidnapper was they said, it's not me but I know who it is, and I'll tell you who it is. For one bitcoin so that's about,
you know what, $60,000.
Those are all being handled by the FBI. And so, with that investigation going on there and then the sheriff here and also FBI agents are looking
for, you know, material evidence on the ground.
[15:10:04]
But you know, it's unclear how close they're getting. But as I say, it has been interesting to see how the investigation seems to have picked up in
the 48 hours since that video was put out. And, you know, the video this morning from Savannah Guthrie on Instagram, you know, old home movies of
her and her siblings and her mom, just with the message, our lovely mom. We will never give up on her. She's been missing 12 days now -- Max.
FOSTER: Yeah, I guess hoping to appeal to whoever's holding her.
Nick, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
WATT: Yes.
FOSTER: We're learning new details about the decision to temporarily close the airspace above the city of El Paso meanwhile. That's along the U.S.-
Mexico border in Texas. A source close to the situation tells CNN that Border Patrol was using U.S. military counter-drone laser technology.
Apparently, agents were using it without coordinating their operations with the Federal Aviation Administration.
CNN has asked the Department of Defense and Homeland Security for comment. However, the mayor of El Paso tells CNN he hasn't been informed why the
shutdown even occurred.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RENARD JOHNSON, MAYOR, EL PASO, TEXAS: What we were told was everything is grounded and there was no information, but our city was going to be shut
down for 10 days, and that's all the information we got and still today, still today, we have no information and we have no correspondence with the
FAA. Why there was a shutdown in our community.
Keep in mind that, you know, 9/11 shut down our airport for only two days, but a drone was going to shut down our community for 10 days. It just
doesn't make sense to us here. We haven't heard any good reasons of why they didn't coordinate with us. We have an emergency operations center that
should have been looped in at the very least. And I want to tell you that this, this created complete chaos and confusion in our community
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Donald Trump heaping praise on his attorney general for her combative testimony in Congress on Wednesday. The U.S. president said Pam
Bondi was fantastic as she argued with lawmakers about her handling of the Epstein files. Donald Trump also took aim at Republican Thomas Massie
saying he made a total fool of himself for joining Democrats in criticizing Bondi. And now, another aspect of Bondi's testimony has produced anger from
Congress. Images from Wednesday's hearing show the attorney general had notes on how lawmakers had searched the Epstein files.
In a rare rebuke of the Trump administration, House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was inappropriate for the DOJ to track the way members of Congress
are searching the documents. One of the Democrats on the committee says the administration is spying on lawmakers
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We have a separation of powers, which means that we need to be able to do our legislative duty and for us to go in to
review the documents and then to know that they have kept the search history of exactly what we searched for. And why was it that she brought
that in in her binder, which we call her burn book, right? Was she going to use that against me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us from the White House.
I guess Pam Bondi was looking for praise from the president with this appearance, because it was very much speaking to his strengths, talking
about interest rates and all sorts of things as well, wasn't she, in the stock market rather?
But in terms of this document, it gives an insight into the White House way of dealing with things, perhaps?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I mean, I think so. And that binder that she was flipping through at the end of the day was just
sort of a list of personalized insults that Bondi could use when she didn't want to answer what the congress people were asking her, which was
basically anything having to do with Jeffrey Epstein.
And it was, to be sure, a Trumpian appearance. It was theatric, it was bitter. And I think in a lot of ways it reflected an attorney general who
has not necessarily been handling the Epstein matter to the liking of the president or of the White House. You know, they have been less than
thrilled. And that's putting it charitably about how she has been handling all of this.
You know, Susie Wiles the chief of staff, who is ostensibly one of Pam Bondi's close friends, said publicly that she had whiffed the entire thing.
And that is, I think the view generally inside the building.
And so when she goes to Congress and she starts lashing out at these lawmakers, it does reflect, I think an attempt at least to sort of
ingratiate herself to a president who is not necessarily convinced that she's doing a great job on the Epstein matter or on all of these other
matters for which he wants her to be tougher. You know going after his perceived opponents. You know, he's basically called her out in public for
not being more aggressive on that front.
And so, you do kind of see an attorney general who is, you know, fighting to make herself known to the White House and to show herself to be a
defender of the president. But I don't know that that's necessarily going to be convincing to certainly to the Democrats in Congress, but even to the
Republicans.
[15:15:03]
And I thought it was interesting, you know, Thomas Massie was the only Republican on that committee who asked Pam Bondi about Epstein, and he
asked her why some of these names weren't redacted when the law says that they should have been.
The other Republicans did not make any attempt to defend Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein matter instead, they sort of tried to steer the
entire conversation to other topics to sort of more fertile ground for Bondi to talk about, you know street crime and other things where she could
sort of tout her record. But it was notable there was not really any defense of how she has handled the Epstein matter whatsoever and at the end
of the day, this is a problem of her own making.
You know, it was only some months ago that she came out and said that she had the Epstein files sitting on her desk. And I think that performance
yesterday was really reflective of the fact that she is now all these many months later, still sort of contending with how to answer for all of these
calls for more information.
FOSTER: And I gather the president has been talking about this racist video that he shared and playing down the impact of that.
LIPTAK: Yeah, very much so. You know this was the video that came out late, late last Thursday you know, basically in the middle of the night. It
showed a clip at the very end of the former president, Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, their faces superimposed onto apes. So, you know,
straight up racist. Video the White House later said that it was post. Well, first they defended it and tried to downplay it and said it was fake
outrage.
Then they took it down and said that a staffer had put it on online. The president also said that he hadn't watched the video to the end. He passed
it along to a staffer who then also didn't watch it to the end and posted it on his truth social account. The president was asked today whether that
person had been disciplined or fired, and he said no, that they had not. And he tried instead to emphasize what was in the beginning of the video
which was a debunked claim about fraudulent voting machines. And so, the president not really offering any conciliation whatsoever about this social
media snafu.
FOSTER: Kevin, at the White House, thank you.
President Trump has just delivered a major blow to the global fight against climate change as well. The U.S. president is revoking the authority of the
Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide and other pollutants heating the planet. The move repeals the so-called endangerment
finding, part of an Obama era rule that identified six greenhouse gases as dangerous to public health. The president spoke a short while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over the generations, fossil fuels have saved millions of lives and lifted billions of people out of
poverty and all over the world and you see it with the blackouts all over where they don't use it, where they went to wind, intermittent wind which
is weak and ineffective and very, very costly. Most costly energy there is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, environmental groups are reacting with alarm and disbelief. Former President Barack Obama posted a posted on X just a few moments ago,
saying this move would make Americans less safe, less healthy, and less able to fight climate change. Also, the fossil fuel industry can make more
money.
The former head of the EPA under President Obama told CNN last hour that this move would put millions of lives at risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINA MCCARTHY, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: The health and economic challenges that are going to arise now are directly
related to what this president is doing. We have spent decades at EPA ensuring that we could limit challenges to people's health and well-being.
That's what EPA does. We did that to the car and truck rule we continue to move forward with our endangerment finding and now what he is doing is
putting at risk millions of lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, coming up, contentious comments. Why Manchester United's co- owner had to apologize. What he said after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:22:17]
FOSTER: Manchester United's co-owner has apologized after saying the United Kingdom has been colonized by immigrants. British billionaire Jim
Ratcliffe made the comments in an interview with Sky News. He argued immigration levels are hurting the country's economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM RATCLIFFE, MANCHESTER UNITED CO-OWNER: The U.K. has been colonized by immigrants, really, isn't it? I mean, the population of the U.K. is 58
million in 2020. No, it's 70 million. That's 12 million people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Those figures quoted by Ratcliffe are incorrect. The U.K.'s population has increased by less than three million people since 2020, not
12 million.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Ratcliffe to apologize for what he called offensive and wrong comments. Ratcliffe later issued an apology,
indeed, saying, "I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the U.K. and Europe and caused concern about what is important to
raise in the issue of controlled and well managed immigration that supports economic growth."
The Winter Olympics, meanwhile, also in the middle of a political storm, this after a Ukrainian skeleton racer was disqualified because he planned
to wear a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during Russia's war on Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee says the helmet did not comply
with its guidelines on athlete expression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed the decision posting the IOC's decision is indeed morally
appalling.
So, what we want to know is can sports and politics mix without upsetting someone?
Joining me now Stefan Szymanski. He's professor of sport management at the University of Michigan.
You're the best person to answer that question, I think, Stefan.
STEFAN SZYMANSKI, PROFESSOR OF SPORT MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Well, I'm afraid sport is inevitably political and always has been because
sport is basically about organization. It's about belonging. It's about winners and losers. And that's the subject matter of politics as well. So,
trying to keep sport and politics separate is a hopeless task.
FOSTER: If we could take both cases looking at the Man United co-owner's comments, I mean, the word "colonize" was so stark, wasn't it? I mean, he's
inaccurate with so much of what he's said here. And there's the irony that many people look at the U.K. as colonizers. Also, the fact that he's a tax
exile.
I mean, what -- how did you react when you heard that?
SZYMANSKI: Completely flabbergasted. Shocking that someone can be so ignorant. As you pointed out, his figures are totally incorrect. And to be
so intolerant.
I'm the son of an immigrant myself. My father was Polish, and one of the things I always thought was great about Britain was its tolerance.
[15:25:02]
And to manifest this degree of intolerance is nothing short of breathtaking.
FOSTER: He did apologize for his choice of language in the end. But he still made the point about immigration. So, he's still talking about
politics and he's, you know, the co-owner of one of the biggest sports brands in the world. Is that appropriate?
SZYMANSKI: No, it's not appropriate. But it's also not hard to see what he\s trying to do. As a -- as a -- as the owner of a business in fossil
fuels that is losing money and wants and is demanding government subsidies, he's trying to align himself with the Reform Party which with Nigel Farage
welcomes this kind of rhetoric in the hope that he will get a payoff if Farage gets into power. It's a plain political play. Even he might not even
believe it, but it's just crude appeal to try to make money.
FOSTER: But there's a diverse crowd at these matches. Also, a huge brand in other parts of the world. Commercially, it's a bold thing to say, isn't
it?
SZYMANSKI: Well, it's not -- it's not smart. But then, I mean, frankly Manchester United have never had owners who care very much what anybody
else thinks anyway. So I'm not sure he's particularly out of character for this club.
But -- and also, you know, football fans follow the football and nobody really cares about his opinions. That's the honest truth. The only person
who cares is Nigel Farage, who hopes it might get him some votes.
FOSTER: Yeah. And if we talk about the Olympics briefly, I mean, this happens every Olympics, doesn't it? An athlete says or does something
political. Do they have that right?
SZYMANSKI: Well, it's hard to see how, because the -- because sport is inherently political, it's hard to see how you can cut it off. Here's one
thing. I mean, traditionally, the Olympics, back in ancient times invoked a truce. You could only participate in the Olympic Games if you ceased
military action.
I think that would be the basis on which the IOC should really operate if you're conducting a war as Russia is, you shouldn't be allowed into the
Olympics and everybody should be allowed to object to it because they are breaching the Olympic truce. That would be a sort of a more honest take, in
my view.
FOSTER: Okay, Stefan, I really appreciate your time today. Joining us from Michigan.
Now still to come, a bitter fight over ICE funding, a critical vote on Capitol Hill has left the U.S. government on the brink of another shutdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:05]
FOSTER: "The world is in peril," those were the words of the former head of Anthropic safeguards research team as he headed for the exit. In a
letter posted on Tuesday, Mrinank Sharma wrote, "This is not just from A.I. or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises currently
unfolding."
And he's not the only one sounding the alarm. His statement follows a wave of A.I. researchers leaving their employers with some claiming their former
companies are moving too fast and downplaying the dangers of A.I.
Our A.I. correspondent Hadas Gold has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: So, Silicon Valley is known for a lot of turnover, especially in the A.I. industry. But lately, it's been sort of
like a game of musical chairs and there's been a stream of departures recently. And along with those departures from some of the major A.I.
companies are some warnings from the staffers who worked at some of the biggest labs, like OpenAI and Anthropic. And just this week, at least two
of them have posted essays along with why they're leaving that are pointing to sort of warning signs that they say the rest of society needs to be
aware of in terms of A.I.'s quick development and what it could be capable of, and some of the negative aspects of A.I.'s capabilities.
So, one of those people is Zoe Hitzig. She is a researcher for OpenAI for the past two years. She resigned. She said on the same day that OpenAI
rolled out ads within ChatGPT. OpenAI has announced that part of their strategy for revenue is going to be putting advertisements in free --
people who use ChatGPT for free.
Now, they did say that these ads will not be, you know reading your conversations necessarily and putting it out right in there. But it's
gotten a lot of blowback. And Zoe Hitzig, this researcher, she wrote that she has deep reservations about this advertising strategy and about ChatGPT
as potential for manipulating users, especially because they have so much history and all of these conversations. And a lot of people talk with these
chatbots in a very intimate way.
She wrote, in part, the erosion of OpenAI's own principles to maximize engagement may already be underway, and that she fears a technology that
manipulates the people who use it at no cost, and one that exclusively benefits the few who can afford to use it. Another top safety researcher,
this time at Anthropic, Mrinank Sharma, posted his own resignation letter this week warning that the world is in peril and he said throughout his
time at Anthropic, he says, I've repeatedly seen how hard it is to truly let our values govern our actions and he said he's leaving to potentially
go write some poetry and completely get out of the tech space.
Now, doomsday predictions about A.I. have been around for a very long time. I mean, we've even seen the heads of some of these companies, including
Anthropic and OpenAI, talk about sort of their fears of how A.I. can go wrong. There was another essay that went viral this week from Hyperwrite
CEO Matt Shumer, who wrote about how the latest A.I. models have already made a lot of jobs obsolete.
And we need to be prepared for what's coming with A.I., thinking of it as though we are in February of 2020 and the COVID virus is about to
completely change our lives, he says, that's how we need to see A.I. as changing our lives very soon. He's writing from a tech executive
perspective, writing, we're telling you what already occurred in our own jobs, he wrote. And he's warning you that your next.
So, a lot of fears coming up this week about A.I.'s potential and what can happen and whether we're all prepared for that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Hadas Gold there.
Now it is the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are down, the Dow Jones dropping below 50,000 points after sinking almost 1 percent
today.
This is our Business Breakout. Now fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. This as the U.S. labor market remains in a low hire,
low fire environment, 227,000 new claims were filed last week, a drop of 5,000 from the week before.
[15:35:01]
The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust chief has been fired. Two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that Gail Slater was sacked by the Trump
administration after friction with the White House. In a post on X, Ms. Slater said she left the role with great sadness.
And Donald Trump met with Paramount chief David Ellison last week. That's notable because just days later, Mr. Trump said he was not involved in
Paramount's battle with Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, CNNs parent company. Paramount has launched a hostile bid after Warner Brothers agreed
to sell part of its assets to Netflix. Sources tell CNN Ellison and the president had two wide ranging conversations.
The U.S. energy secretary, Chris Wright, made an historic visit to the Venezuelan capital today. He met with acting Venezuelan President Delcy
Rodriguez in Caracas to discuss an energy agenda between the two nations. The visit comes just 40 days after the U.S. launched a military operation
which ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: We are at an oil producing facility in eastern Venezuela called PetroIndependencia, and on Thursday, the secretary
of energy, Chris Wright, is visiting this oil facility together with the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez. It's a stunning reversal.
Consider that it's been only 40 days since U.S. Delta Forces picked up Rodriguez's predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, in the middle of the night to take
him to New York City. And now, the secretary of energy is visiting together side by side, hand in hand almost. They are traveling on the same van with
the acting president.
And the company that is running this facility, Chevron has been telling us that they believe the potential here could be of up to 300,000 barrels a
day. Currently, they are producing only 40,000 barrels of crude oil a day, but both the secretary and the acting president are telling us that they
hope to overcome the obstacles that are in the way to that goal.
Telling us that they are producing around 40,000 barrels a day here, but the potential could be up to 300,000 barrels a day.
What do you think is the biggest obstacle that we need to overcome in order to reach that goal?
CHRIS WRIGHT, U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY: Oh, it's just to get the political and economic arrangements as smooth as possible between our countries. But
there is no question that Chevron can ramp this facility. Chevron can ramp this facility to this area to 300,000 barrels a day, no question about it.
DELCY RODRIGUEZ, VENEZUELAN ACTING PRESIDENT (through translator): We are working on a very fast paced agenda to consolidate binational cooperation.
It is what is important for both the United States and Venezuela that our countries, our peoples benefit from these partnerships. Chevron has been in
Venezuela for over 100 years and we are doing extraordinary work as the partners that we are, improving production, improving facilities,
infrastructure, maintenance. This is the way forward. This is the path of cooperation, and it is the agenda for a long-term productive partnership.
Its what I mean when I say that no obstacle or impediment should hinder this productive path that we are on.
POZZEBON: The reversal compared to just a couple of months ago and the full rhetorical warfare between Venezuela and the government of Nicolas
Maduro and the United States, and the idea that now the two of them are walking side by side is perhaps a symbol of how quick the transformation in
this country has been so far.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Anzoategui, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:41:59]
FOSTER: Another U.S. government shutdown appears to be all but certain. After the Senate voted down a bill that would have extended Homeland
Security funding. Democrats blocked the bill on a 52-47 vote, and unless there is a last minute deal, that funding, which includes ICE operations,
will run out and the Department of Homeland security will shut down Friday night at midnight.
As that shutdown looms, border czar Tom Homan says the ICE surge in Minnesota is coming to a close. The state has become ground zero in the
divide over the administration's immigration crackdown.
A U.S. Senate hearing on immigration today very quickly exploded into multiple clashes between Minnesota state officials and Republicans on
Capitol Hill, one of the most fiery exchanges involved Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Senator Ron Johnson, after Johnson accused
Ellison of contributing to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Yeah, sit there and smirk, smirk. Sick. It is despicable.
KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Are you asking me for comment, Senator? Because everything you said was untrue. It was a nice theatrical
performance, but it was all lies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Hassan?
JOHNSON: You disgust me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What we don't know is, will the end of the crackdown in Minneapolis ease any tensions in the city?
Joining me now, Jamison Whiting. He's a police reform attorney, member of Minneapolis City Council.
Thanks for joining us. What did you make of that exchange?
JAMISON WHITING, MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Yeah. Thank you, Max, I think what you're seeing is an example of our attorney general, the people
leading this this state for accountability into the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Call for more accountability and justice. And if we do not
see justice in this city, right, that is -- that is inexplicable for what we are seeing in the lives and the efforts that our residents have gone to,
to ensure that safety in this city is brought about.
FOSTER: What does justice look like?
WHITING: Yeah, I think one, we can't do anything to bring the lives back of our two residents that were murdered in our streets. But what we can do
is call for that justice. And I think that this is the first step while we are hopeful about Tom Homan's announcement that this will bring about an
end to Operation Metro Surge, we are not taking it for granted, right? We might be Minnesota nice, but we're not Minnesota stupid.
And so, what we are doing is waiting for actionable actions here by the federal administration to remove every single one of these ICE agents
terrorizing our streets and bringing about justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which means the conviction and trial of these agents that murdered
our individuals in the street.
FOSTER: It's interesting listening to Homan earlier saying, there's going to be this wind down. But at the same time arguing that's because the
operation has been a success. What do you think of that?
WHITING: Yeah. If success means terrorizing Americans in domestic streets across the city of Minneapolis, I think it's a good time to recognize that
the definition of success means a lot of different things, for I think the majority of people in this country.
[15:45:09]
What I think success looks like is what we see by our neighbors. This shows that the resolve of many applicants, the resolve of our neighbors, is
actually what showed up. I think this is what is patriotic, and it shows that this is actually what brought about some level of change in our
cities, our neighbors and they are heroes. And I'm so proud of every single last one of our neighbors in Minneapolis.
FOSTER: Just describe what it's been like on the streets in the last couple of weeks. Youve still got, you know these many agents, but there
hasn't been the clashes that we were used to in the period before that. What changed there, do you think? Can Homan take some credit for that?
WHITING: Yeah, I think what we are seeing is there was no disruption of arrests and detainments for our neighbors in the street, for our immigrant
neighbors. They continued to have this disruption and families torn apart. And that has continued. What I think we saw is what Minneapolis always
does. We do the things that are hard and we show up. Right?
You saw thousands of neighbors, tens of thousands of neighbors show up and ensure that our immigrant neighbors are being taken care of both with their
rent their food, their education, their laundry, every single one of our neighbors in this city are showing up for our for the people that need it
most right now. And we're continuing to do that. And we kind of do what Minneapolis always does, and we show up.
FOSTER: It's paralyzed the city in many ways, hasn't it? I know there's been this groundswell of energy as well, but it's paralyzed economically.
The city, there's been a lot of damage done by all of this. And I know your governor is calling for compensation from the government it's difficult to
see how they're going to bring that, but just explain what he's talking about in terms of the lasting damage here.
You know, just logistically, if you like, away from the emotions of what happened.
WHITING: Yeah. And I think it's exactly right. Thank you, Max. What we saw in the city of Minneapolis is not just a humanitarian destruction in
crisis, but an economic one that will be us -- with us for the next months and years to come. What we are seeing from preliminary reports is that
upwards of $20 million a week of lost revenue in business impact in the city of Minneapolis is affecting every single industry in our city, right?
And that's just Minneapolis alone. And so, over the last 70 days of this occupation, Minneapolis has lost over hundreds of millions of dollars that
go to ensure that, you know, we are taking care of our lives and that people can do work in the livelihoods that actually bring them the success
and joy that we have in America.
FOSTER: Jamison Whiting, appreciate you joining us on the program today. Thank you so much.
Still to come, you know her from the hit comedy series "Derry Girls". Now, Lisa McGee has a new show. She tells me what she thinks is the funniest
thing in the world, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:32]
FOSTER: She turned "Derry Girls" into an international sensation. Now the TV writer Lisa McGee has a new gang of women from northern Ireland for you
to meet. "Derry Girls" won several awards, including Baftas and an International Emmy. Now, her new show, "How to Get to Heaven from Belfast",
premieres on Netflix today.
I sat down with McGee here in London and asked her how she would describe this new show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One second, my friend, is dead. My friend is dead.
LISA MCGEE, CREATOR & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN FROM BELFAST": I did what exactly what I did with "Derry Girls". I wrote a
script because I thought if I tried to explain this, everybody would think I was insane. So, I think -- I would describe it as a comedy mystery and I
think the fact that I'd written "Derry Girls" before this helped because the comedy's very similar. Like I would say it shares the same DNA, but yet
this is a much bigger like road trip goes all over Ireland and beyond. It's got a kind of epic scale to it. I would say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would I and I like --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole thing is just awful. She was so young.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was talking about your outfit. Are they pajamas?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're trousers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They look like pajamas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robin.
FOSTER: You could be a fan of lots of different things and like this, can't you? Because it is so broad.
MCGEE: I hope so.
FOSTER: How would you, you know, give us an example of another show that you think it speaks to?
MCGEE: There's so many references that we use. We use -- we referenced Scooby-Doo quite a lot and the A Team. They're like a very, very bad age --
FOSTER: Which you have to watch the show to understand
MCGEE: Yeah, yeah.
FOSTER: Because it's a bit of a caper.
MCGEE: It is totally. Yeah.
But I think also stuff like "Twin Peaks", you know, like it was like that. That's a big reference for a lot of TV writers, of course. But like, I just
love that idea of something that could feel quite eerie. And quite kind of like a road trip movie, but over eight parts, you know?
I think it was a bit of wish fulfillment for me as well because I really believed that me and my group of friends could solve a mystery if we were
given a shot, but we'd probably be really terrible and make everything worse as well, like this gang.
FOSTER: Like a bad A Team.
MCGEE: Like a bad -- very bad A Team, yeah.
FOSTER: And this friendship's amazing. The dialogue is really fast moving. You totally get away with this because it's -- because they know each other
so well. So, they're just bouncing off each other.
MCGEE: Yes. And if I'm watching a group of friends arguing, one of the funniest things in the world, you know, and how they just know exactly what
buttons to press.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never want my family to find out about us. Don't look for me again. Don't contact me again. I want to move on. Please let
me. This might explain things better, Greta. What the actual hell?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they lesbian lovers, Darren?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How would I know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you're a lesbian.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, but I don't, like, keep a database.
FOSTER: And what's your advice to young writers who haven't got a "Derry Girls" behind them and can't get into the room?
MCGEE: Yeah, I mean, I think the thing that I learned that was incredibly valuable was to lean into what's really unique about me like, you could the
"Derry Girls" just basically was my friends, my family, my life. And I never in a million years dreamed that that would be the thing that would
work for me. I remember saying when I was very young I will never, ever write about the troubles. You know I'm so over it.
But I would say lean into what is -- what makes you stand out, you know, as a person and what's your story? Particularly in comedy, because the more
specific is often, you know, the thing that really lands the audience.
FOSTER: What have your friends family in Northern Ireland said about it? Because you very cleverly, you humanize, you know, for a lot of people,
they do automatically think of the troubles with Northern Ireland in particular, and you do address it but you turn it into comedy, but you show
the tensions between the two sides of the island as well.
MCGEE: Yeah, yeah, I think it was about really when I -- when I -- when I'd seen that represented, it was all the, like for want of a better word,
big stuff. You know the big political things that were happening. And what I thought was so beautiful about this story of the people that I -- where I
came from was that the people that just every day got up and got on and, you know, the kids had to go to school, you know you had to decide what you
were having for your dinner, you know?
And there's something just really kind of powerful about that, about just telling the ordinary people's story while the world was falling down around
them, you know, they just kept going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:55:00]
FOSTER: Lisa McGee, her show on Netflix from today, if you want to see it now.
A GoFundMe appeal has been started for the family of actor James Van Der Beek. The 48-year-old television and film star died on Wednesday. He'd been
suffering from stage three colorectal cancer. However, that battle with cancer drained the family's financial resources. Now, friends of the family
are raising money for his wife and six children.
The goal is to help them stay in their home and finance the children's education, too. The appeal has already raised more than a million, point
seven -- so $1.7 million. I'm sorry.
Finally, tonight, a brawl erupted in Turkey's parliament over a controversial appointment by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It's all about
the swearing in of a new justice minister. President Erdogan chose Istanbul's chief prosecutor for the job, the man behind the crackdown on
the main opposition party. He's overseen a wave of arrests and indictments, including the president's main rival, who's been jailed since his arrest
last year. Look at that.
Now, I'm Max Foster. That's what we know. Do stay with CNN.
END
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