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Thai PM: Teen Shooter Kills Five Teachers, Two Grandparents; Cassidy Says He'll Support Blanche's Attorney General Nomination; Trump Vows To Take White House Ballroom Fight To Supreme Court; Who Are The Victims Of The U.S. Boat Strikes? Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 07, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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[15:00:29]

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: Terror at a school in Thailand.

I'm Isa Soares, in for Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Thai authorities say a 14-year-old boy who may have been frustrated at the pressures of school shot and killed his two grandparents. He then took a

gun to his high school and opened fire. Thailand's prime minister says the shooter had specific targets at that school. He killed five teachers and

wounded more than 20 other people. He then turned the gun on himself and took his own life.

Officials say this terrible incident could have been much worse. They found at least. 30 additional bullets on the shooter when he died.

Ivan Watson joins me now from outside the school just on the outskirts of Bangkok.

And so, Ivan, you're there. I know you've been speaking to the local community. Give us a sense, first of all, of how you understand what you're

hearing from authorities, how it all unfolds is absolutely horrific.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, the blame has been squarely placed on this 14-year-old boy who the prime

minister of Thailand who visited the campus of the school, this is -- this is a high school with some 3,000 students normally attending boys and

girls. And the prime minister said that this was calculated. This was planned out, that there were deliberate targets that the alleged suspect

had starting apparently with his own grandparents that he lived with.

We have spoken with the boy's father who was questioned by police. The father quite understandably in a huge degree of shock who described that

the boy, since the parents had been separated, had been living with his grandparents and that the grandmother, apparently, this is according to the

Prime Minister, was a school teacher who was quite strict and demanding for academic performance. And the prime minister said it was under considerable

amount of stress related to that.

In the end, the authorities say at least five school teachers were killed by the rampage here, in addition to the two grandparents who were killed

hours earlier at boy's residence. And there's some 30 people injured, among them nine that are in very serious conditions, so perhaps fighting for

their lives overnight. The police came in large numbers. The prime minister says that the boy turned his weapon on himself. And as a result, the police

were not put in the kind of position where they might have had to use deadly force against an armed child.

But as you pointed out, he was found with a further 30 rounds of unused ammunition. The prime minister saying that that there could have been a lot

more carnage here. And not only does this shock this community and terrify them, it hits close to home.

Our own producer, Karla Cripps, her son goes to school here, a 17-year-old. She was understandably, you know, very moved and frightened by this

experience, describing how she would bring her own son, drop him off here for school every day and to have every parent's worst nightmare unfold

behind the gates of the school earlier in the morning on Friday. Just absolutely terrifying.

SOARES: Yeah, you're right. It is every parent's worst nightmare.

Ivan, appreciate you and the team being live for us there. Thank you very much, Ivan Watson.

Now, I want to leave Thailand, turn our attention to the United States, because the confirmation path for Todd Blanche to run the U.S. Justice

Department has just gotten a whole lot smoother. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy says President Trump's former personal attorney will get his vote.

This, if you remember, after his fellow Republican, Lisa Murkowski, said Blanche wouldn't get hers. Both votes were seen as crucial, Blanche can

only afford to lose the support of two Republicans if all Democrats oppose him.

Cassidy appeared to choke up while announcing his decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances.

[15:05:00]

All considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I'll be criticized for this vote, what's new. But the people of Louisiana can be assured that I worked

hard to understand the issue and to make the right decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Annie Grayer joins us now live from Washington.

And Annie, as we heard there, yes, he did back Blanche's nomination. But he clearly was very emotional, almost choking up there.

Speak to that battle, the conflict you were saying, because he even said that not everyone is going to accept. He's going to be criticized for that

decision. Like he said, what's new? Speak to that.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So, Senator Cassidy really laid out why this was such a hard decision for him, and it really -- he sounded like he

was really grappling with this up until the very end. He said he spoke with Todd Blanche at least five or six times throughout this process. They even

met on the hill in person earlier this week, and Cassidy was consulting a number of other legal experts.

It sounds like both from his state and former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Republican attorney general, to try and. piece together what made

the most sense for him here because he had a lot of concerns with Todd Blanche. He was concerned about the direction that the Department of

Justice was going, its potential politicization with the administration targeting former administration officials, current U.S. -- current U.S.

senators. He was concerned about the weaponization fund that was designed to give money to potentially January 6 rioters, and that was a sticking

point that Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis really were grappling with but they ultimately got to a yes on Blanche because they went back and

forth with Blanche for days on that language.

And Cassidy said he really wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get there himself but he ultimately decided it was sort of like a lesser of two

evils, that there was never going to be a perfect option and that he argued it would be better to have Blanche in a permanent position rather than

continuing to keep him as acting.

So, take a listen to more of how the senator was grappling with his decision earlier this morning

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIDY: Mr. Blanche is not perfect and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche

and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr.

Blanche.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: Now, Cassidy has a long history with President Trump here. Cassidy voted to convict Trump for his second impeachment and that from that point

on, Cassidy essentially had a target on his back when he was up for reelection this year. President Trump endorsed Cassidy's primary opponent.

Cassidy ended up losing that primary.

So, he is not seeking reelection. His political career is essentially over and he -- so people thought maybe he was a little more free up to vote his

conscience here but it turns out he did end up falling in line with the rest of his party delivering that key vote to clinch the nomination for

Blanche because as we know he was the deciding vote here. Senator Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski had come out against Blanche, so Republicans had

no votes left to lose here.

And now, it's just a question of when Republican leaders can schedule this vote. The Senate was supposed to be out of town starting today for a long

summer recess. Leaders are now working behind the scenes to try and figure out if they can get an agreement to put some of their key priorities on the

floor before leaving for everyone to go back to their home states.

So -- but Blanche does seem to be on a glide path after Cassidy came forward in support of him this morning.

SOARES: Annie, really appreciate you laying it all out for us. Annie Grayer there for us in Washington, D.C.

We're going to continue staying in Washington because President Trump is now vowing to take his battle to build a ballroom at the White House to the

Supreme Court. And it comes after federal appeals court ruled he is unlawfully constructing the ballroom. The National Trust for Historic

Preservation had sued to stop it.

Our senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes is at the White House.

So, Kristen, I mean, are we looking at mighty legal battle here, potentially?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Potentially, if the Supreme Court does take this up and they'd have to actually agree to take

this up. So, what we've seen now is this panel of three judges, two of them ruling in favor of another appeal that we had seen before, an order that

was written stopping the construction. And they say this is unlawful.

Now, what they've also done here is they've actually stayed their own decision, meaning that construction can continue for two weeks while

President Trump appeals to the Supreme Court.

[15:10:05]

And he did respond in a lengthy post on Truth Social, some of what we saw there though seems to be them gearing up for what this argument to the

Supreme Court will look like. He almost doesn't mention the word ballroom at all, instead focusing on the idea that this is something that needs to

be done for national security.

So just to read you a few of these lines, it says that these judges just voted against the desperately needed military center required for the

national security of Washington, D.C., and the country, goes on to say the military and the Secret Service are viewing this horrendous politically

motivated and unlawful ruling as a national security threat to our nation, and that the entire complex is being built for the protection of the

country and future presidents.

And then he goes on to ask the question that many have wondered on both sides of this issue, which is why they didn't bring legal action earlier

before the construction started. Now, of course, it's going to leave this gaping hole next to the White House that's going to have to be determined

what to do with. Now, one of the interesting factors in all of this is that what the panel was doing was actually upholding an order from the district

judge who was a Bush appointee, and I only that because there's been a lot of emphasis on who appointed these justices. President Trump saying it's

political.

And he addressed this idea of the fact that there's now if construction is halted overall going to be just this massive gaping hole next to the White

House and he says, well, I take seriously the government's concerns regarding the safety and security of the White House grounds and the

president himself the existence of a, quote, large hole besides the White House is, of course, a problem of the president's own making.

So, not a lot of sympathy there. Again, that was the original judge's order that was upheld. We'll see what happens and if the Supreme Court decides to

even take this on.

SOARES: And while I have you here, Kristen, using the last 45 minutes or so, I've been seeing that President Trump and the Trump administration is

moving ahead with its efforts to push out Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. I think I remember, was it two months ago or so, the Supreme Court

allowed her to retain her job.

So just why go for it again? Why push this again? Just add some context here.

HOLMES: Well, they certainly want their own people on the Board of Governors, and President Trump seems to have a vendetta against Lisa Cook.

What they're doing here is working with the Supreme Court's ruling. Part of why Lisa Cook was able to keep her job, and this was a blow to President

Trump and the administration, was because the Supreme Court said that the administration accused her of mortgage fraud, fired her, and she never had

a chance to respond.

So, now, what you're seeing is this letter that we have obtained. It's from August 5th and it says essentially it's to Lisa Cook saying that they

believe there is sufficient reason to believe that you have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements then it tells her that she

has 21 days to respond to the allegations. So, it's clearly here, they are trying to ramp back up these allegations trying to get her fired from the

board but they're trying to do it with these legal constraints that they currently have that were put in place by the Supreme Court. So, we'll see

how this unfolds.

SOARES: Kristen, great to see you. Thank you very much indeed.

And coming up right here on the show, almost a year after the U.S. began carrying out military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific,

a CNN report looks into who the Trump administration is targeting and why. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:54]

SOARES: Welcome back.

We are nearing the one-year mark since the Trump White House began its campaign against alleged drug boats carrying out military strikes on

vessels, both in the Caribbean and in the Pacific. Now, in a new piece, our Jake Tapper is shedding more light on who the Trump administration is

targeting and, critically, why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: They're murder victims.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONENT (voice-over): That's Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine's assessment of the Trump

administration's campaign targeting people that the administration calls narco-terrorists. In a letter to the White House this week, Kaine accused

the Pentagon of going far beyond its original goals in Operation Southern Spear and killing people who are, quote, "entirely unaware that they are

marked for execution."

Operation Southern Spear, which began nearly a year ago, has killed 221 people and destroyed at least 66 vessels. But the results do not seem to

have been effective. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data analyzed by the think-tank the Washington Office of Latin America does not show a

meaningful decrease in cocaine seizures.

During the 10 months before the boat strikes began, CBP reported seizing more than 56,000 pounds of cocaine. During the 10 months following the

beginning of the boat strikes, September 2025 through June 2026, CBP's reported seizures actually increased 2 percent. Fentanyl, which President

Trump claims this operation is targeting, is largely produced in Mexico, not Venezuela or Colombia, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

And CNN reporting shows military officials do not always know whom they're targeting, some of whom may even be innocent. Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo

were believed to have been killed in the October 14th strike last year. Their families are suing the Trump administration for wrongful death and

extrajudicial killing.

The complaint says, "Mr. Joseph and Mr. Samaroo were not members of or affiliated with drug cartels." And Trinidad's government says, there's no

evidence drugs were on board.

Chad and Rishi's families told ACLU attorney Jeffrey Stein they were fishing and doing farm work in Venezuela and boarded a boat to get home to

Trinidad.

JEFFREY STEIN, STAFF ATTORNEY, ACLU NATIONAL SECURITY PROJECT: Rishi wanted to come home to help care for his elderly mother who had fallen ill. Chad

wanted to come home to see his wife and three young children.

TAPPER (voice-over): In response to our request for comment on this lawsuit, the White House said, quote, "All of these decisive strikes have

been against designated narco-terrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores."

But they have provided absolutely no evidence to back up any of the strikes, which is not to say everyone on these boats had nothing to do with

the drug trade. Some were clearly fishermen trying to make extra money.

We sat down with two investigative journalists who have looked into who is being killed. They uncovered the stories of 19 of the dead.

JOSE LUIS PENARREDONDA, EDITOR, EL CLIP: Many of them are reporting shows, are somehow involved in drug trafficking business, in drug transportation

business, in very low levels of the chain.

TAPPER (voice-over): Journalist Lorena Melendez told us one of the stories really stuck with her.

LORENA MELENDEZ, EDITOR, REBEL ALLIANCE INVESTIGATES: In the case of Juan Carlos, he was a bus driver.

[15:20:02]

And he bought his bus damaged and he couldn't repair it. He said, I have to do bad things. So he traveled to Trinidad.

TAPPER (voice-over): Juan Carlos's wife told the journalist at consortium El Clip, she did not want him to get on the boat, but he insisted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm leaving. I can't take it anymore, what desperation. I'm leaving to live or die, but I'm leaving.

That's how he told me.

TAPPER (voice-over): She also remembered the moment she knew he'd been killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): But since I'm making empanadas here, the phone is ringing too much. When I see an international call, I

say, no, something has happened. Something happened to Juan Carlos. The mistake was seeing the video they sent me where they were blowing up boats.

TAPPER (voice-over): Juan Carlos was believed to have been killed in the October 3rd strike. He leaves behind three children and a grandchild,

according to El Clip. Does that sound to you like a narco-terrorist?

Another victim was a fixture of his community. Here's investigative journalist Jose Luis Penarredonda.

PENARREDONDA: I think about a Venezuelan guy called, I mean, his name was Pichirilo, managed to speak to people who knew him very well. One of them

told me, just tell everyone he was a super nice guy.

TAPPER (voice-over): Eduardo Jaime, or Pichirilo, was a beloved local athlete. A family member tells El Clip he was also on the boat that was

blown up on October 14th. None of these individuals seem to have even been mid-level drug traffickers. At worst, they seem like couriers.

Remember when the U.S. struck what Trump called a drug submarine? There were two survivors. The U.S. military held them, then released them to

their home countries. Again, raising questions about whether the Trump administration knew who they were targeting.

Andres Tufino Chila was one of those two men. His sister told CNN he was not a criminal. Last month, "The Los Angeles Times" followed the stories of

eight fishermen from Mexico who vanished after the February 16th U.S. strikes. Quote, "The men sometimes earned extra cash by transporting

gasoline to the high seas, where they would refill speedboats ferrying cocaine from South America." They were all killed.

A mass was held for the men at sea a few days later. This video provided by the "L.A. Times" shows mourners drinking beer and singing songs.

There are many more of these stories from Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. Maybe couriers caught in the crosshairs

of the Trump administration's so far fruitless quest to end drug trafficking, often going after the lowest on the chain, men who felt they

had no other choice and were executed by the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: We asked the Pentagon if they knew who they were targeting, exactly who they were targeting, and the Pentagon maintains, quote, "targeting

decisions are deliberate based on comprehensive assessments and reviewed through established processes. Every narco-terrorist killed in Department

of War operations was an affiliated member of a designated terrorist organization actively transporting illicit material," unquote.

But U.S. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine tells me that the Trump administration is, quote, "lying, and the ending or transitioning out of

Southern Spear will make way for an 18-country collaboration to go after drug traffickers."

SOARES: Excellent piece there from Jake Tapper, who joins me now from Washington.

Jake, good to see you.

Look, I was looking at a social media post from the president. I think it was dated back in April. And I'm going to quote to you and to our viewers

what he said. He said, "98.2 percent of drugs coming into the U.S. by ocean or sea have stopped. Your report that we've just showed our viewers and the

findings from the D.A. really undercuts that."

So just explain what you found as you and your team were going through this.

TAPPER: So let me explain where the 98.2 number comes from, because it doesn't come from nowhere. It is from one agency, and it's about one month

in one drug. So yes, it is true that there was a 98.2 percent reduction from a very anomalous month in February of this year until March. That is

true. And that is with one drug, fentanyl, one agency, and one month.

But as a general assessment of drugs coming into the United States from the ocean, this Customs and Border Patrol actually reported a slight increase

on in seizures at the borders and on coasts for cocaine in 10 months after the strikes began. So, it does not appear to have been successful even if

one gets over the questions of who they are killing and whether or not these are even legal strikes.

SOARES: Right. And our viewers will remember this because we have been reporting on it. When we saw a flurry of the strikes at the beginning of

the year, and then, Jake, there was silence.

[15:25:00]

How do you interpret that? I mean, is that a recognition that the strategy is failing, or is success being measured in a different way and simply not

being communicated here?

TAPPER: Well, the Trump administration, even more than regular administrations never admits failure. Most administrations don't admit

failure, the Trump administration even more so than most. But it is very clear, just based on the administration's own facts, that drug seizures

have not gone down. They've gone up, if anything.

And the serious questions about who they are killing, they wouldn't give us any evidence. They wouldn't give us any background proof that the people

they're killing are narco-terrorists and that nobody innocent has been killed. That seems very questionable.

And it also seems as though some of the people they're calling narco- terrorists are either low-level couriers or even people just providing gasoline to the low-level couriers. But beyond that is the fact that

Senator Tim Kaine saw the intelligence that he's not allowed to tell us what it is. And he says when the administration says that all these people

are drug dealers with drugs on their boat, it's a lie. Full stop.

SOARES: And look, this is a conversation, Jake, that I have had, certainly at the beginning of the year, with many great legal minds on the show. And

I wonder how these conversations are playing out in the United States, right? These operations raised -- and you pointed that out in your piece,

legal and diplomatic concerns, questions about international law, due process.

How does -- how is this being received in the United States? How are these questions -- are being these questions being asked?

TAPPER: Not enough, if you ask me. I mean, there are some journalists doing great reporting on this, "The Los Angeles Times" and "The Guardian", which

is obviously a British newspaper, but they also have an American office. And there are some members of Congress like Senator Tim Kaine. But living

in this administration where there is so much going on, there -- it's often difficult for journalists, for politicians, and for the public to stay

abreast of all of these things going on.

And at the end of September, we will commemorate the six-month anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, where that elementary school was

struck. The United States still hasn't acknowledged its role in killing more than 160 children, and that is, frankly, life in the Trump

administration.

SOARES: Yeah, and so many questions, and lack of strategy on Iran, like you were mentioning there.

Jake, terrific reporting, and good to see you, my friend.

TAPPER: Good to see you, Isa. Thank you.

SOARES: Thank you very much, indeed.

Jake Tapper for us in Washington. Thank you.

And still to come right here on the show, bullets in the classroom, an update on today's terrible school shooting in Thailand. Do stay with us for

that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:40]

SOARES: And returning now to our top story, that terrible school shooting in Thailand, we're telling you about the top of the show. Authorities say a

14-year-old boy shot both his grandparents at home. He then took a gun to school and carried out a targeted attack. Five teachers were shot and

killed, and dozens of people were wounded, 20 wounded all, and that is according to police. The gunman then took his own life.

Joining us now to help understand how and why these school shootings happen is Kris Mohandie. He's A forensic psychologist and the author of the book

"School Violence Threat Management".

Kris, welcome to the show. Really important and crucial that we have this discussion for our audience right around the world.

Many -- I was speaking to my colleague who was just outside Bangkok who was telling us about how this all unfolded and it sounds horrific. Many of the

children inside the school were forced to hide in classrooms while they were hearing these gunshots nearby.

Can you, from your experience, Kris, can you speak to what that kind of impact has on a child's brain and sense of safety, even if they weren't

physically injured?

KRIS MOHANDIE, AUTHOR, "SCHOOL VIOLENCE THREAT MANAGEMENT": I think that being a survivor of a school shooting is incredibly traumatic. The sense of

vulnerability, the sense of, you know, that could have been me that was harmed, the total sense of powerlessness. So, you know, there will be

longitudinal effects from this.

What's most important is that they get support, that they be provided any additional follow-up care that they might need. And first and foremost,

restoring that sense of safety by reuniting them with their parents and so forth. But make no mistake, it is extraordinarily traumatic for children to

be in what should be a safe place, which is their school.

I mean, it's the de facto parent for young people growing up. So, it's the violation of that sense of what should be a safe place, it's huge.

SOARES: Yeah, absolutely. A violation sense of security indeed. And I wonder if we can expand on that, because for the children who did witness

either their class friends or indeed teachers was this place being shot or killed in that attack.

Talk us through, Chris, kind of the first psychological priorities, both in the hours and the days after such a traumatic event.

MOHANDIE: I think the first priority is to, you know, render things safe, which apparently they are. and then reunite children with their parents and

that they see the parents see that the kids are safe and that the kids see that their parents are there to rely upon. And then over the next several

days, weeks, months, and even longer to connect them with resources as needed.

But it's most important that they be with their families. as well as for the families to receive as much information as they can so that they can

lower the uncertainty in the situation. So, it becomes very important for schools in these situations to disseminate information about what happened,

the steps that are being taken to make things safe.

[15:35:03]

And then this is the ugly part that a lot of people don't necessarily talk about, but that place is going to have to be cleaned up again. There's

going to be, you know, reminders everywhere potentially. And so, there are, the cleanup is going to be important. The rituals to bring children back to

school if they -- if and when they do, because most will have to return to that school campus. And it's going to be important for trusted adults to be

part of that gradual acclimation process.

Additionally, there's going to be, there will be memorial services. And these are teachers, these are people that most of these kids looked up to

that are, again, parent figures for them. And to the extent that they're -- that they're able to participate in those rituals of those memorial

services is going to be important. There's just going to be a lot going on in the acute phase for the next four to six weeks. It's a lot. It's a lot.

SOARES: Yeah, it's a lot. You're reminding me just the returning --

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: Go ahead. Go ahead.

MOHANDIE: Look, what's happened in other situations is, you know, what are we going to do as far as -- I'm so sorry -- what are we going to be doing

as far as --

SOARES: Put that, yeah. It's all right. Go ahead.

MOHANDIE: Yeah, sorry.

What's going to be needing to take place is that there would be a ritual of returning to the school and a lot of times that's done with -- you know,

when there is no class, where there are no classes to where kids can come in with family and trusted adults to reclaim that as their safe zone but

there's a lot more steps before that's going to happen. I've seen this happen in numerous places in the United States, unfortunately, and abroad.

SOARES: Yeah.

MOHANDIE: And that is a whole thing. It's a whole thing.

SOARES: Kris, thank you for putting your phone on silent. We appreciate it.

But look, as a parent, I've got two young kids, and for parents watching this, either in Thailand or indeed elsewhere, it's the question of how

should we talk to our children, those who may feel frightened from watching on TV, those who may feel frightened watching on social media, those in

Thailand themselves. How -- what do you advise, what advice do you give us about these conversations?

MOHANDIE: What advice I give is to understand that there are safety procedures in place at most schools and take this opportunity, you've got

two kids, to inquire about what do we have in place at our campus to keep it safe? And is there anything we need to do to increase that?

So additional information is super important, as much information about safety procedures as you can learn about. as well as being reminded about

what a "see something, say something" campaign is and how it relies upon everybody to be eyes and ears for potential problems and to report anything

that you're concerned about.

So, that become -- I would -- I would use this as an opportunity to revisit finding out information about what's going on at your particular school

district, how are we handling safety issues? And if we have a concern about somebody, even our own kids, you know who can we call to convey that

concern?

So, it's because -- it -- see something, say something campaigns work. We interrupt incidents all the time because it's other kids --

SOARES: Yeah.

MOHANDIE: Other -- we're going to be hearing about it and what we call leakage behavior and getting that information you know into the process and

your job as a parent is to you know inquire and say what is our process here and what are we doing to deal with this.

And so, that's going to be worldwide. That's going to be nationwide, and that's going to be at the specific school that was obviously affected in

the district.

SOARES: Kris, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you very much.

MOHANDIE: Thank you.

SOARES: Kris Mohandie, that's for us in Pasadena, California.

MOHANDIE: Thank you.

SOARES: And like Chris was saying -- thank you very much. If you are struggling with any of the topics that Chris and I were discussing here,

there is always help available. In the United States, you can dial 988 for the suicide and crisis lifeline, which runs 24 hours a day.

Elsewhere, we have the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide. They have contact information for crisis centers

right around the world. Just go to the website. You'll find that you are not -- of course, don't struggle with any of these topics. There is help

available.

Well, we're going to leave that story for just a moment and turn our attention to the final moments of trade on Wall Street and stocks are

struggling really for a sense of direction. If I show you the big board, the Dow has been hovering, as you can see, around 15 -- still hovering

around the 54,000 mark after some disappointing economic data.

This is our Business Breakout.

A shocker from the U.S. jobs report. The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July. Economists have been predicting a gain of almost

100,000. The job numbers for May and June were also both revised down. It's a further sign there may be underlying weakness in the labor market.

It's now a two-day rally for SpaceX shares, which have risen as much as 12 percent this Friday. And it comes after more than 900 million shares in the

company hit the market on Thursday, as the lockup period ended for various employees and early investors. Shares are still trading below the IPO

price, however.

Meta has been ordered to pay more than half a billion dollars over its role in affecting youth mental health. A judge in the state of New Mexico

ordered the company to pay the money into a fund for children's mental health. And it comes after a jury found Mehta, who is the owner of Facebook

and Instagram, liable on all counts in the trial on child safety.

And while those U.S. job numbers may have left analysts disappointed, there is one person who's still upbeat. White House economist Kevin Hassett

insists the numbers -- well, they aren't that bad. He even says we should be saying the economy added jobs in July instead.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The weakness in this number were really just two things, government workers and

a sort of rebound from all the employment we got from the World Cup because the World Cup was ending. If you throw out the World Cup and the government

workers, we actually had a number that was about plus 100,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, you do have to admire the optimism. The only problem with this claim, the men's World Cup was going on in July and the economy

actually lost hospitality and retail jobs, which were expected to increase.

It also doesn't explain why the numbers for May and June will also revise downwards.

And still to come, why is Amanda Knox's new comedy show in Edinburgh causing such a stir? We'll explain for you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:23]

SOARES: Amanda Knox, the American student convicted and later acquitted of the murder of her roommate, is back in the spotlight, this time over a new

comedy show. The show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival addresses her wrongful imprisonment. She insists she's honoring her British roommate,

Meredith Kercher, who was murdered 19 years ago.

But Kircher's sister says it trivializes violence against women.

CNN's Ivana Scatola has more now from Edinburgh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVANA SCATOLA, CNN PRODUCER: Amanda Knox is now doing stand-up comedy about the murder case that made her famous. The American woman who spent years in

prison before being acquitted of the 2007 murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, is performing here at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

AMANDA KNOX, COMEDIAN: I'm not the first person to invent using comedy to talk about traumatic and difficult material.

SCATOLA: The show, which is called Cartwheel, is sold out for all 11 days of its run. It's billed as a woman, quote, "approaching 40, juggling

motherhood and finally getting around to being furious about the whole wrongful imprisonment thing, especially when half the world is telling her

to get over it while the other half still think she's guilty".

The show sparked backlash, particularly for Meredith Kercher's sister, who told the BBC the case shouldn't be turned into a comedy.

STEPHANIE KERCHER, MEREDITH KERCHER'S SISTER: I think in this case, it's a position where it's not a generic topic. It's targeting an individual

traumatic case and an individual person and family. And I feel very strongly that Meredith wouldn't agree with that. You know, our family's

pain is immense. I can't -- I can't explain to you how much pain our family have been through, you know? And also, we're talking two decades later now.

SCATOLA: There's also a petition online to cancel the show, which has received at least 9,000 signatures. Kercher was found stabbed to death in

the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of Kercher's murder and

sexual assault and spent nearly four years in prison before being released by the appeals court in Perugia in 2011. Italy's highest court acquitted

them in 2015.

Another man, Rudy Herman Guede, was later convicted of Kercher's murder after his DNA was found at the crime scene. He was released in 2021 after

serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.

Knox has defended the show, saying it's really about motherhood and how one day she'll have to explain everything that happened to her in Italy to her

daughter. She also says the show honors Meredith Kirch's memory.

KNOX: I would hope that people will honestly engage with my work and recognize, like, the deep heart and sensitivity that I bring to it.

SCATOLA: The venue hosting the show, Gilded Balloon, told CNN that as a Fringe venue, it provides a platform for a wide range of voices, in line

with the festival's long-standing commitment to freedom of expression.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Now, thanks to Ivana for that report.

So, what we want to know is, can anything be off limits when it comes to comedy?

Joining me now is Mariah Girouard. Her new Edinburgh show called "Trauma Made Me Hot" also deals with real-life personal tragedies and murders.

Mariah, welcome to the show. I'll talk about your show in just a moment, your trauma, but what do you make then of Amanda Knox's decision to go

ahead with her comedy show?

MARIAH GIROUARD, COMEDIAN: Hi, thanks so much for having me.

Honestly, I think that she has a right to do that. I think I understand the public outcry, and I understand why people would be hesitant to support a

show like that. But I do think that she was acquitted and if we can assume that that acquittal was correct and that she didn't in fact do the crime

that she was like, you know, put in jail for. I do think that people are more upset about the subject matter, which is murder.

And I think that like she said, it's not about the murder, it's about the things surrounding that, the things that happened to her afterwards and

living life and grappling with that afterwards. So, I think that that's not off limits. I think it's about how you do it.

And when you have something as traumatic as that happened to you, comedy is a way to handle that. for some people. And for some people, they don't find

that funny. And I think that's OK, too.

SOARES: Yeah. And look, I think-- and comedy, and you pointed at this, Mariah, can come from a lot, right? Can come from the personal, come from

grief and pain or even embarrassment. And I'm not saying she feels any of this. But from your own perspective, I mean, your show, I love grief and

pain. or even embarrassment.

And I'm not saying she feels any of this, but from your own perspective, I mean, your show, I'm not going to give too much away because that's the

whole point.

[15:50:00]

You want to keep that for your show, but it does deal with trauma.

So why did you decide to use that element for comedy? And how is that received? And what does that do? Does that help you in any way?

GIROUARD: That's a great question. The reason why I did this show was because I was a survivor of someone who did try to murder me and it made

headlines, obviously, in a much smaller scale than what happened with Amanda, but it was something that people had access to and they had access

to this information about me and it was never really my story. And I wanted to do this show to tell my story as I wanted to tell it.

And I chose to do it in a comedic way because comedy is the thing that got me through the immense pain and the grief that I have endured in the last

16 years since surviving this. And it has brought up a lot for me. There are still some scars there, but I think that you never really get rid of

those things anyway.

And I'm trying to do it in the most respectful way possible. And I think, you know, it's okay if people don't like it, but it has been healing for

some people as well, even if they haven't endured something like that.

SOARES: Where do you think, though, that line is or how far you think you can take it between the processing of the trauma through humor and then the

making of a tragedy? Do you know what I mean? Do you know when you've passed that line and how was then that received by those on the other end?

GIROUARD: That's also a great question, and I think the line is different for everyone else. My rule of thumb is I'm trying to create a show which is

a work in progress now where I am honoring the person who did die and also honoring my own experience. And I think in general it begs the question in

comedy is like is -- is anything off limits?

And I think the reality is probably no I just think it depends on the perspective if you if it's what happened to you and you're not making light

of the person who was killed or the people that were in a worse off position than you then -- I mean, you can make something out of that and

you can call it comedy.

Whether or not it is subjective, people might choose to find it funny or not, and that's okay and I understand the public sentiment against that.

And in Meredith's family, too, I can't imagine what they're going through but I do also think that you know if you are -- yeah, I think -- sorry.

SOARES: Go ahead. Finish your thought. Finish your thought. Apologies.

GIROUARD: No, okay. I was just going to say that I think that you know it's all comedy is trial and error and especially when you're dealing with

something that is a little bit more like of a high risk, like something that is more raw and involves multiple people and things like this, it's

hard. And I think you do risk hurting people.

SOARES: Yeah.

GIROUARD: But I do think it's more meaningful than something that is, you know, just your average run-of-the-mill joke, you know? There's value in

that.

SOARES: Mariah, thank you so much. Thank you so much for talking to us and giving all your perspective and how it's helped you.

Mariah Girouard there from Edinburgh in Scotland. Thank you, Mariah.

We're going to take a short break. We'll see you on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: And I'm Isa Soares. This is WHAT WE KNOW, a very busy hour. Do stay right here with CNN. We'll have much more news after a short break.

END

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