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What We Know with Max Foster

Volunteers Dig To Rescue Quake Survivors In Colombia; Trump Declines To Rule Out National Emergency On Elections; Progressives Hoping For Wins In Wisconsin, Minnesota Today; Trump Signs Executive Order Aimed At Altering Childhood Vaccines; U.S. Official: Trump Changed Planes Amid Iran Threat. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 11, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:32]

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: Desperately digging to cling on to life in Colombia.

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

More than 30 hours after a major earthquake. It's all hands on deck right now in Colombia. Scenes like these playing out in some of the hardest hit

areas, people forming human chains to clear the rubble and really crew -- give crews, the rescue crews the best opportunity to reach survivors.

This man pulled alive from the debris. Amazingly, he suffered only minor injuries. More than 200 people have been killed and hundreds of others

injured in the 7.4 magnitude quake. Colombia's geological survey has recorded more than 70 aftershocks.

CNN's Oliver Culver has been on the scene while this rescue is underway. The signal is patchy and the workers are mostly volunteers, but there's

clearly hope in the air.

Here's what David saw just in the last hour. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All of these folks are volunteers. And when we got here a couple of hours ago, this didn't

exist at all. They started to mobilize people, realizing that they were hearing a response to the calls from within the concrete slab.

So, all of these people just started rushing up. And you can see now this line continues all the way past the intersection. And they were struggling

to even get people to move that car. So they decided to just dump the buckets of concrete and metal on the other side onto the sidewalk, just to

continue to extend it away from the source, from what was an apartment building.

Four stories high on the ground level, you had a drugstore, you had a restaurant, and we're told, at least by a couple of the locals here, that

they believe that there's a young girl that's still trapped inside, an older woman that was described by one business owner just at the corner

here. Others have said, there's more people in there.

We know in the past 24 hours or so that they've pulled out seven individuals. Three of them did not make it. The other four are being

treated and seem to be survivors in this as of now. Now here in Pereira, I mean, this is a city that, just to put it in context, it's about a half

million population. So think of Minneapolis or Raleigh, North Carolina. It's sizable.

And this is one plaza that we've been focused on, but we've driven to several different parts of the city center. And damage is on almost every

street. And if you're able to even actually pass through a street, you'll see the facade. Let me just try to turn around here, just to give you a

sense.

We're still keeping tabs on the rescue efforts, but this kind of gives you a sense looking at the facade up there, you can see that's a totally

exposed apartment. You can see bedding and a family's kitchen and all of that, of course, has crumbled down onto the street. A lot of that has

landed on vehicles, so it's quite widespread within this city.

And as you can see now, I mean, I just want to point your attention to what's been kind of going on and off. There are moments where they will

mobilize like this, and you can hear the glass and the rubble being dumped onto the pavement, and then in their hands, in the air, and they will call

for silence. And that happens every few minutes because they're once again trying to see if they can get a response from within.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thanks to David there on the ground.

Well, Spencer Taylor is the field mission lead for the Global Empowerment Mission. He joins me now live from Pereira. Same city, of course, where we

saw David Culver in Colombia.

Great to see you.

Give us a sense, Spencer, of what you have been seeing on the ground, just the level of devastation that we heard there from David Culver. It's just

heartbreaking. Talk to us about what you've seen on the ground and the most important urgent needs right now

DAVID CULVER, FIELD MISSION LEAD, GLOBAL EMPOWERMENT MISSION: Yeah, we're seeing the same thing. Every street go down, there's multiple buildings

that are completely collapsed. Some of those are hotels like David saw. Some of those are businesses on the first floor, residences on the second

floor.

So, we spoke to a gentleman who unfortunately lost his mother in the second story. And she's in critical care right now, but then he lost his entire

business, which sold bicycles underneath it. And you see that all throughout Pereira here.

So, the devastation is at a scale that's really kind of hard to comprehend unless you're here on the ground and the needs were hearing, a lot of the

basic essentials, the food, the water.

[15:05:01]

There's certain areas that are okay with supplies. And then there's certain areas that are, there's a more critical need.

So that's what I'm doing here with GEM. We're assessing those needs. We're finding where are the areas where there's gaps and how can we fill those

gaps

SOARES: And where are people staying, Spencer? Those, of course, who have lost their homes, lost loved ones, of course. And our thoughts for all

those families love the lost -- the loved ones. More than 200 killed.

But where are people being put? Are they are there homes for them? Give us a sense of how that is being managed.

TAYLOR: Thankfully, we're in Venezuela. I was there for about a month after the earthquakes last month. And you know, you don't see entire city

blocks destroyed. So thankfully, you know, families are taking people in, friends are taking people in.

But right now, this is still 24 hours. It's fresh. So, actually, you see the majority of people just standing outside these buildings, there's large

crowds waiting. You know, we've passed multiple buildings where there's dozens of people still missing or, you know, a few people missing. So,

people are waiting there. They're praying. They're hoping that they can find their loved ones right now.

SOARES: They're praying. They're hoping. And very much like Venezuela because you were on the ground. I was on the ground as well.

That golden window is so important. And as you're speaking now, as you were speaking, Spencer, we're looking at live images coming to us from Pereira,

where you are. We see in kind of a human chain of people trying to remove the rubble from this building that has collapsed. This is Pereira, one of

the hardest hits, but also Choco, which is a bit more rural.

What do you know? What does your team know about the situation in Choco?

TAYLOR: Yeah, we have teams that are going there as well. We know it's hit quite hard. Within the next couple of days, we're going to have teams that

are going to be on the ground.

Right now, we have teams in Cali, we have teams here in Pereira obviously. So, we're still assessing. We're still figuring that out.

SOARES: Right. And then in terms of the health care aspect of it, you know, I was listening to a doctor yesterday who was in a hospital in Cali.

Part of that hospitals damaged and he took to social media and he asked people to come and help and move patients.

How are hospitals being coping, of course, to the surge of patients?

TAYLOR: I think one thing that you see here that's fundamentally different from Venezuela is the Colombian people and the government is very strong.

The response is actually very impressive. So, you see a lot more first responders. You see people flooding in from areas that weren't affected.

When I was -- when the earthquake struck, I was in Bucaramanga and we had shaking for over a minute, but we didn't have damage. So Colombia from all

the regions that weren't affected, people are coming here. So, there's -- there's a lot of help. And it's actually really inspiring to see. It's

fundamentally a lot different than Venezuela.

SOARES: Yeah, that is for sure. And we've got, of course, a new president in Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, who has been -- well, was his first

Monday on the job when this horrific earthquake happened. So, moving very fast on this.

But just very quickly in terms of as you as you assess the damage, you and the team, of course, assessing the damage, try to get to people the next

kind of 24 hours. What are the most urgent needs right now? What will you be working towards in the next 24 to 48 hours?

TAYLOR: Actually, our teams right now are packing boxes or are packing family kits, their bags. And those are going to be (AUDIO GAP). And Cali as

well.

So, our teams are already working on getting those basic needs. The food, the hygiene, right? I mean, think again, if you lost your home and you had

like this morning or yesterday morning when the earthquake struck, my family had to run out. I didn't even have shoes on.

So, people that lost their buildings, that's what they're dealing with right now. They might not even have another change of clothes. So it's

really those basic necessities. And we're doing our best to source those here in Colombia. But right now, I would say to the Colombian diaspora. It

is very helpful with cash donations.

And then if you visit gem.org, you can see our needs list. And we're updating that every day. We're going to put that on our Instagram. So, we

try to keep, you know, a pulse on the ground here and relay that back to you back at home so you can support and you know exactly what's needed

here.

SOARES: Spencer, really appreciate you coming on the show. Live for us in Pereira in Colombia. Thank you very much. Spencer Taylor there.

TAYLOR: Thank you so much.

SOARES: Well, we're going to keep an eye, of course, on developments out of Colombia and bringing bring those to your attention -- you're very

welcome -- as news obviously warrants.

I do want to turn, though, to the United States because President Donald Trump has declined to rule out declaring a national emergency in order to

put voting restrictions in place ahead of the midterms. The U.S. president was being interviewed on a conservative radio program about new limits on

voting, and this was his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE ALLYN ROOT, HOST, "AMERICA SPEAKS": You have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections, and the Supreme Court ruled in

1983, under Reagan that INS versus Chadha, that if you declare a national security emergency as the president of the United States, they can't

challenge it. It can only be overturned by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.

So, if you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship and a limit to mail in ballots. And you don't even need the

Senate.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me just say the stranger things have happened. Okay? I'll leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more on this from Alayna Treene at the White House.

So, Alayna, just put some meat on the bones here. I mean, are you surprised at this at all?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not necessarily. And look, I'm not sure this is actually something that could happen or that the White

House is actually making formal plans to try and do. But I don't think it's surprising that this is how the president feels about it, because despite I

should argue this is very controversial, that he is saying that he could try to do something like this. But there's been no secret, Isa, that a core

frustration of President Donald Trump is that he cannot get the votes for this restrictive voting legislation that he has been pushing, the SAVE

America Act, as it is called.

And we also know that one of the key goals, and he started doing this pretty immediately after coming into office for his second term, was this

focus he calls on election security, but really on wanting to ensure what him and many of his supporters among his base argue is this idea that

Democrats could cheat in these elections and that they won't be able to. So that's what he's arguing here.

I will say, though, again, from the conversations I'm having with people inside the White House, there aren't really any plans to do this for him to

declare a national emergency, to try and get some of these new legislative items passed. But it's definitely something the president has been kind of

fixated on for recent weeks now, Isa.

SOARES: And that is -- that is true.

Alayna, thank you very much indeed.

What is again, primary day in the U.S. and among the races we'll be watching are several that could highlight the rise of progressives inside

the Democratic Party. Both the Minnesota Senate race and Wisconsin's primary for governor fit progressives against establishment candidates.

The Wisconsin race is particularly noteworthy as the leading candidate, there is a member of the far left Democratic Socialists of America party.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Wisconsin tracking this race for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Voting has been underway all day long here in Madison, at polling places like this

across the state, where voters have been coming in to cast their ballots on a variety of races. But it is that governor's race that is drawing so much

attention, of course, between Democratic socialists, Francesca Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, they are the leading contenders

here.

But as we've been talking with voters, of course, the question of electability is weighing heavy on their minds as well as this demand for

change. It is that balance that many Democratic voters here are weighing as they're making their choices.

Are you glad you voted in person on election day as opposed to mailing in your ballot like a month or so ago, since the race has changed so much?

PETER GUNDER, WISCONSIN VOTER: I am. Ad as I observed just a few minutes ago when I voted, there are names on there of candidates that withdrew from

the race. So I am glad I voted in person.

My view is a centrist or more centrist candidate can reach out more broadly. I don't think polarity at its extreme is good for our country.

ZELENY: There's no question that the momentum heading into election day was with Francesca Hong, the Democratic socialist candidate, really

responding to loud calls for major change. But there also is a question of the undecided voters, a sliver of voters, perhaps, who had not yet made up

their minds up until election day.

This has been a wild Wisconsin race. Two of the other leading contenders have dropped out in the last few weeks, so that also has injected some

uncertainty into all of this.

On the Republican side, Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents northern Wisconsin, has been watching all of this. He is expected to win his primary

this evening. And the Republican Governors Association has been investing heavily into this, trying to elevate the candidacy of Hong. They believe

that she would be the easier candidate to beat in the fall.

So, the national implications of Wisconsin always so important. It's a 50/50 state. There's no doubt about it. But the question is, will this

summertime surge of progressive support really linger in here into the governor's race, or are voters going to decide a more centrist approach is

the right way to go? Polls are open until 8:00 p.m. here in Wisconsin, another defining night in this ongoing fight between the establishment and

the progressive insurgents.

[15:15:07]

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you very much to our Jeff Zeleny there.

And coming up, President Trump rolls out a new timeline for childhood vaccines. What experts have to say about the changes just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Well, a new batch of messages have been released from Anthony Fauci's government phone, this time about discussions of COVID vaccines and

pregnancy. In early 2021, Dr. Fauci was asked if there was a risk to pregnant women and if it's better to vaccinate earlier or later in

pregnancy. Dr. Fauci said there was no data showing a timing preference. However, in a follow up message, he said that some illnesses after the

second dose could, in theory, be associated with miscarriage in the first trimester.

A representative for Fauci declined to comment. The CDC now does recommend the COVID vaccine for pregnant women.

President Trump, meantime, is moving to overhaul how childhood vaccines are recommended in the U.S. We brought you that sound, if you remember roughly

this time yesterday when new executive order calling for fewer routine immunizations in the early years, leaving some to only consider those high

risk.

The order also calls for an altered timeline to receive those vaccines, splitting up basically, MMR, measles, mumps and rubella shots. During the

signing in the Oval Office, the president overstated the size of the vaccine doses children in the U.S. received.

This is what he said. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: At one year, you should have five separate visits for vaccines rather than getting them all in the same day. And I saw this early on, and

I've seen proof of it where they have a vaccination, it looks like the size of a bottle of soda poured into a little child's body, and bad things

happen in many cases, too many cases, because this is an explosion.

[15:20:03]

This is an epidemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, President Trump went on again to float the idea that vaccines cause autism, though that notion, as I told you yesterday, has

been debunked.

So, what we want to know is how should parents react to President Trump's anti-vaccine rhetoric?

Joining me now is Paul Offit. He's director of Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Paul, great to have you on the show. First of all, before we talk about how parents may respond and how pediatricians may respond, what did you make of

the president's executive order recommending just that those fewer vaccines? Is that potentially dangerous or reckless, in your view, to

children?

PAUL OFFIT, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Completely reckless. I mean, he's making recommendations that are not science based. He asks us to

separate the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine into three separate shots, which means children would get six shots instead of two for no reason.

I mean, we know that the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine isn't associated with autism. From 24 studies that have been done in seven countries on

three different continents, involving hundreds of thousands of children. So why make that recommendation?

Now, this thing about going down from like 17 that routinely recommended vaccines to do that, unilaterally back in January, and then a court in

March, March 16th basically struck that down and said he can't do that. We don't think this is going to have any impact. I don't think parents are

paying attention to what Donald Trump is recommending in terms of vaccines. I don't think states will pay attention.

This does not have the rule of law behind it. He's basically asking states to consider something that is not science-based and would only hurt

children.

SOARES: Right. Yeah. But look, let me -- let me put it to you. I mean, you're mentioning MMR, Paul, about breaking them up over multiple visits.

What would that look like in a hospital? What would be the risks to that to children by delaying these vaccines like MMR, measles, mumps, rubella, over

multiple visits? Speaks to -- speak to the risks there for children.

OFFIT: Right. So, what you do is you introduce chaos and confusion into the system. Now you're trying to get six doses of a vaccine where two is

perfectly fine because it's a combined vaccine. You're in the midst of a major measles epidemic. We've had more cases of measles over the last year

and a half than we've had in more than 30 years. We've had three people die, including two healthy little children last year.

That's the first child death in this country since 2003. It's an incredibly irresponsible thing to do. What he should be doing and what Robert F.

Kennedy should be doing is they should use their considerable platform and say, please vaccinate your children, your child. We're becoming a country

rife with measles, and we're going to be right back to where we were before there ever was a measles vaccine when 48,000 children would be hospitalized

every year and 500 would die.

It's unconscionable to watch the way these two men are acting.

SOARES: And, Paul, obviously, you know, by breaking them out into -- into spacing them out, you're basically leaving children unprotected. That

that's the problem, isn't it? Will there be a pediatricians that do not follow these guidelines? I mean, go ahead, go ahead, Paul.

OFFIT: No, I don't think any pediatrician is going to follow these guidelines. I think what at least the guidelines laid out by President

Trump, I think pediatricians will look at the science-based childhood vaccine schedule that is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

To delay a vaccine is only to increase the period of time during which children are susceptible to these diseases, with no benefit.

SOARES: Right. But I wonder then, you know, as a mother, you're listening to your government telling you this. They then show up to see the

pediatrician and the pediatrician, and you say, I, the governor is saying one thing. I'm so confused, you're saying something else, Doctor so and so,

who do I -- who do you trust? I think that's the problem.

OFFIT: I think at this point, most parents look to their doctors for information. They're not looking to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. They're not

looking to President Trump for information.

And the American Academy of Pediatrics has been great standing up for the science of vaccines. They have their committee of infectious diseases,

which is an advisory committee that is replete with experts who give good advice.

So I think I think people are largely ignoring the CDC. I think they're largely ignoring what was the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices,

but doesn't -- doesn't exist anymore. And they're trusting their physician and trusting who the physician is looking to.

SOARES: So, Paul, does this make your job more -- does this make pediatricians' jobs more, more difficult? And if really no one's going to

abide by these rules, why did the president go ahead with this?

OFFIT: He has for 20 years believed that vaccines are a problem.

[15:25:01]

I mean, he makes the outlandish statement that people get, you know, the equivalent -- children get the equivalent of like, you know, a bottle of

soda. I mean, a dose of vaccines is roughly 0.5 milliliter. That's one tenth of a teaspoon. I mean, a multi-dose vial, you know, it contains one

teaspoon.

What's he talking about? He doesn't know anything about this. I think he makes that pretty clear. And so, I think anybody who really watches that

press conference, and I don't think most parents are watching that press conference would not believe him.

I do think it has, as you said, I think it has made life more difficult for the pediatrician who has to now try and explain again the value of vaccines

and how you don't need to listen to the secretary of health and human services or the president of the United States, because you're right, they

have a considerable platform, but they're wrong.

And I think ultimately, science does win out at the end. And science is a powerful thing to have on your side. And they don't have that on their

side.

SOARES: Yeah. I agree, look, I heard that press conference. It was happening during this hour. In fact, yesterday, there was a lot of note

taking and also a lot of head scratching on my part, Paul. But look, you hinted there, well, I wouldn't say a hint. You made it very clearly, going

against what we heard from the self, the health secretary making the connection that he made between autism and vaccines. He actually said this

is what gold standard science mean.

I want you to just clarify this for our viewers right around the world. Make it very clear. Have you seen any studies, any new studies, any

science, Paul, that suggest there is a link.

OFFIT: No. And I think the tragedy in this is there are a lot of children who have autism or autism spectrum disorder. And there's a lot of promising

leads, you know, that from twin studies. I mean, fraternal or identical twin studies, that 80 percent of autism is genetic. You know that.

You know that there are certain drugs the mother can take during pregnancy, one of which is not Tylenol that increases the risk of autism. You know

that there are certain infections the mother can have during pregnancy that increases the risk of autism. You know that that the age -- at the age of

conception, the age of the parents matters. A paternal age, a high paternal age is -- as an increased risk factor.

You know, that the microbiome, meaning those intestinal bacteria that colonize the intestine soon after birth is a risk factor for autism. So,

you know all that. I mean, of all the environmental factors now that we know are associated with autism, vaccines is not one of them.

So, stop pursuing this fruitless dead-end hypothesis that's only wasting money. And I think in the end, hurting children with autism.

SOARES: Paul, very clear there. Thank you very much for laying it all out for us. Paul Offit there. Appreciate it coming on the show, Paul.

And still to come right here on the show, how much would you pay to see Donald Trump's social media posts before everyone else? Up next, why Wall

Street companies are paying thousands of dollars to do just that. We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:17]

SOARES: And some incredible video just in to us. I want to show you this from Colombia. Have a look and have a listen to this.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

SOARES: Just absolutely remarkable. You can see the man, maybe the father. I don't know who it is, but clearly shielding that little baby being

rescued there from a collapsed building in Cali. It's just amazing. Remarkable.

They're calling. As you can hear, paramedics, paramedics, calling for the paramedics, as this infant being pulled from the wreckage looks so small. I

would say probably about, what, six months or so of this building, month old baby at least. And this is just me guessing, by the way.

A man who works close by said he ran towards the scene after the building collapsed and heard the faint voice of a survivor saying he was trapped

with a baby, together with other group of bystanders. As you can see there, the work there to rescue the child. Eventually, a group of first responders

arrived to take over and bring that baby to safety. I can only assume that is a member of the family there, shielding that little baby.

Hope everyone is well, but just incredible. Just remarkable to see these images coming out of Cali. Of course, it's more than, what, 30 hours since

the earthquake hit. And as we've seen from Cali to Pereira, it's very much all hands on deck.

We'll keep an eye on any breaking news story, any new developments. We'll bring that to you throughout the hour.

Now to a story in the United States that is raising many ethical questions this hour about the security of the us president. Last month, Donald Trump

secretly switched from Air Force One to a different military plane when he flew home from Turkey.

He boarded Air Force One but then used a catering truck to get the second plane. The switch happened because officials were worried that Iran may be

targeting the president's plane. However, reporters and staffers who flew on Air Force One were not told about the danger.

What we don't know is what's President Trump right to change planes in secret?

Joining me now is Cory Allen, a former Secret Service agent who worked on Michelle Obama's security detail.

Great to have you on the show, Cory.

When you heard then of this truly remarkable and elaborate bait and switch decoy trick to protect the president, did you did it surprise you at all? I

mean, how common is it? How unprecedented is something like this?

CORY ALLEN, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I didn't -- what didn't catch me off guard? Because Iran has successfully fired ballistic missiles into

Turkey multiple times in 2026. And so therefore, Air Force One was in -- particularly in range. And as the information comes out from the PIOC,

that's a protective intelligence center in D.C., the Secret Service combined with the intel community, that information is passed down out to

the president's detail, and therefore it's weighed against, you know, do they have the means, the ability, the capability to carry out these

threats?

Obviously, Iran has had very direct threats against President Trump. So, the Secret Service has got to weigh in real time how they're going to react

and respond and how to mitigate those threats. And it was clever to go about it the way they did, a little bit different than other times in the

past with President Obama, President Clinton or Bush have all taken different flights than what was advertised.

[15:35:05]

But it sounded like there was no press involved with this, which I think was a little bit (AUDIO GAP) previous times.

SOARES: From just from what you're learning about the story, CNN need to confirm, "Washington Post", I believe, broke this story. I mean, what kind

of -- can you guess on the intelligence front, what level of threat would require this to happen? I mean, this is just hypotheticals at this point,

but just from your years of experience?

ALLEN: Right, it would have to be a very viable, credible threat. And again, I do not speak for the Secret Service. I no longer work for them.

But based on my knowledge and experience, it would have to be credible to go to this level to put the president in a catering truck, which of course,

surely no president wants to be in a catering truck, to secrete him in such a manner that people on the ground had no idea. And arguably, the advanced

staff, the Secret Service probably didn't even know that it was kept at the level like the detail leader for the detail, just because the fewer people

that knew, the better.

SOARES: Right. You're a former Secret Service agent. I know you don't speak for them at all, but I'm guessing that the president's security would

be prepared, right, and game planned for something like this or for almost any possibility. Speak to that, the preparations that you're normally

planned for or prepared for

ALLEN: It is -- you've got to take a holistic, 360 view to security when you're traveling. And I did it for Obama in Finland, lead advanced there

for him and on the ground. And ultimately everything falls on your shoulders, lead advance. You've got teams of people to help you, but you've

got to think about every avenue, every motorcade route, every aircraft route of having a backup plan for a backup plan, to make sure that there's

continuity in government.

Regardless of your political views or opinions, that's got to remain, and the Secret Service excels at that. So, it wasn't surprising. And they have

layers upon layers. Think of it like an onion, to protect the center.

SOARES: And so, Cory, how many people then do you think would have been aware of this ruse as the president traveled to England? How small? I'm

guessing it would be quite small, right?

ALLEN: Yeah, I would argue it's really small, the detail leader, maybe the assistant detail leader. And that's the person who is ultimately in charge

of the president's detail, who's traveling with him on that day, to, of course, personnel in Washington, D.C. would be aware that the director,

arguably, and a few others, but it would be a very, very small footprint that was in the PIOC, who had a need to know only, and so, regular lines,

special agents probably didn't know unless they were with him.

SOARES: Look, before we came to you, you heard me talk about the ethical questions that are being asked. Because, of course, the deception did

include the president's staffers and media, because they remained aboard the decoy Air Force One. They were used as decoys. Do you think that they

had the right to know they were in a potentially dangerous situation?

ALLEN: I don't -- I can't speak to that because I wasn't there and privy to the information, but based on historical precedents where Pete Souza

actually was chimed in earlier, uh, online about it of in the past, at least there was a White House photographer that went along to document

these things, but I'm not sure the level of if there was any press at all or any White House photographer present. So, I'm not entirely sure.

SOARES: Cory, really appreciate you coming on the show and talking us through to your expertise. I mean, it is pretty incredible story that we

are gleaming now from "The Washington Post". Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Well, it's the final moment of trade on Wall Street. And stocks are lower. I understand the Dow bring it to you. Yes, it is. They are well about a

quarter of a percent, down 145 points.

This is our Business Breakout.

Three people have been killed after a commercial ship owned by Saudi Arabia was hit by a missile in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait. That is according to

sources and Yemeni officials. The ship's identity hasn't been confirmed. Houthis have warned recently they would target any Saudi ships trying to

transit that waterway.

Nvidia is looking to raise more than half a trillion dollars to spend on A.I. infrastructure. The chipmaker says it's reached a deal with a host of

investment companies to raise funds that can be spent by Nvidia's customers on A.I. projects. Blackrock and Goldman Sachs are just two of the Wall

Street firms who have signed up.

Several high frequency trading companies have been have signed deals with Donald Trump's social media company to get early access to the presidents

posts. Trump Media says it's signed more than 10 customer agreements worth up to $100,000 a month, that will let some users see the presidents Truth

Social posts about -- before the public. Well, what a story.

David Goldman joins me now from New York for more on this.

[15:40:01]

So, David, just explain it. Where did this come -- where did this come from?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah. I mean, certainly President Trump's social media posts are unlike any other social media

account that's out there because from where else are you going to get policy and announcements about war? And, you know, maybe even hirings and

firings in the government, all of which are really important to Wall Street, especially if he's going to be talking about tariffs or economic

policy.

And so, imagine if you had a split second jump on the other public that are going to be trading on these kind of announcements. Well, if you're a high

frequency trading company that lives in milliseconds, well, that is worth a lot of money to you. I mean, you know, if you had a split second to learn

about a particular tariff announcement or maybe even a potential ceasefire in Iran, well, you could predict, well, that might be really good or bad

for oil prices or stocks or bonds and make an appropriate trade based on that announcement ahead of everyone else. And that is exactly what they're

buying access to.

What's unique about this, obviously, is that the money goes to the president of the United States who is making those announcements, because

he owns the company that owns truth social. And so, all of this is bizarre. Its unique. And, you know, certainly captured a lot of interest. And I'm

sure that's why were talking about it today.

SOARES: Indeed. So, I mean, how much earlier would you get access to these posts and what kind of companies are we looking at? Because I'm guessing

some of the top business companies, if were talking about trading, they would have their own intelligence. So, who potentially could be talking --

could be looking at here?

GOLDMAN: Well, so the answer to the first question of how much of a jump - - I mean, we're talking about a split second, right? Because when President Trump types it or when whether an aide types it and then hit send, well,

that goes through a couple of processes and then it lands online.

I mean, think about how long it takes for a Facebook post or a tweet or an Instagram post to hit the general public when you post it. It's a -- it's a

moment in time. It's not a really even a couple seconds. It's a second, maybe.

But instantaneously, the companies that pay for it will get it. So we're talking about a split second, but that's enough for, and to answer your

second question, Wall Street companies that own high frequency trading equipment. And so, these are Wall Street banks and these are trading firms

that own these supercomputers. And, you know, and they're computers that have very high-capacity algorithms to interpret faster than you or I could,

whether a piece of news is good or bad for, say, stocks, and then they might sell or buy a group of stocks or specific stocks based on that

algorithm.

And so, getting that split second jump on retail traders who are just average joes like you or me, well, that can make them a ton of money.

SOARES: So. So, David, we're running out of time. So very briefly, how are politicians on both sides of the aisle responding to this? Because I was

just looking at Mark Warner, the U.S. senator from Virginia, who's the vice chairman of the Senate Intel Committee, and he said he's introduced a bill

that's going to crack down on this Truth Social post.

How has this been received, then, politically?

GOLDMAN: Yeah, I mean, exactly how you would expect the Democrats hate it. The Republicans are pretty quiet about it. The Democrats, including Mark

Warner and Elizabeth Warren, both of whom have said, you know, this could constitute insider trading and the SEC should investigate.

Now, the SEC is controlled by the Trump administration. So, we'll see if that actually happens. But, you know, could there be violations of the

rules here? Yeah, maybe if -- I mean, like, like I started with this is unprecedented territory.

The same person who owns the platform is making money on selling early access to the big policy pronouncements that influence trades on the

platform. It is mind boggling. And I think that's why Democrats don't like it.

SOARES: Yeah, absolutely. It is mind boggling.

David Goldman, thank you very much indeed.

And coming up next right here on the show -- after years in Russian detention, a U.S. marine veteran is on his way back home to the United

States. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:447:51]

SOARES: And happening just a short time ago, Russia has freed U.S. Marine veteran Robert Gilman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared this photo of

Gilman, pictured here on the left, on a flight back to the United States, detained since 2022. His release comes amid serious concerns about his

health.

Jennifer Hansler joins me now from Washington with more.

And, Jen, really, really good news. Of course, I understand he was released on humanitarian grounds. What more can you learn?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Isa, that's right. We're hearing from both U.S. and Russian officials that he was

released on humanitarian grounds. This was not some sort of prisoner exchange. Russia was not given anything for this release, but it came after

growing calls for him to be given back to U.S. custody amid mounting concerns for his deteriorating health.

Now, you could see in that photo he looks incredibly gaunt. It looks like he is laying in a bed. A source told me that he is non ambulatory, which

means he cannot necessarily stand up or walk on his own.

But the good news is he is verbal. We are learning from a post from President Donald Trump that he actually was able to speak with Gilman

shortly earlier today, and that Gilman joked with him that all he wanted was, quote, "a great cheeseburger" when he lands in the United States.

Now, we expect him to touch down on U.S. soil later tonight, somewhere in the D.C. area. And then from there, he is expected to go on to Texas for

some intensive medical treatment. This is a place that a number of former detainees have traveled to, to help them readjust to their normal life.

Of course, Isa, this is -- it's promising to see him alive and speaking, especially because advocates were saying he may have been close to death.

His advocate, Eric Leibson (ph), told me just last week that he had been subjected to psychological and physical torture in the more than four years

that he was detained in Russia, that he had been given mind altering drugs, and that he had slipped into a dissociative stupor. And his family was very

concerned that they might never see him again.

Now, today, his sister, Lexi Hudson, coming out with a new statement. I'm just going to read you a little bit more. She thanked Senator Ed Markey and

President Donald Trump and said, quote, "There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case

and took action".

[15:50:09]

Most of his family will meet him there in Texas. However, his mother had actually flown to Russia to try to see him while he was in the hospital,

and she is flying back with him now to the United States -- Isa.

SOARES: Really, really good news. I hope he gets a huge cheeseburger.

Thank you very much indeed, Jen. Appreciate it.

U.S. President Donald Trump says Gianni Infantino should remain FIFA president. Well, more on Mr. Trump's announcement and the football

association speaking out against Infantino, that's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back.

U.S. President Donald Trump is back in FIFA president Gianni Infantino, as some groups are calling for him to resign. Infantino proposed selling some

of the commercial and operational rights for the world cup to private investors, scrapping the plan. While it did not end the controversy.

Andy Scholes has the latest for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is now defending FIFA president Gianni Infantino as calls for him to resign continue to get

stronger. President Trump has got a very good relationship with Infantino, posting on Truth Social Monday night saying, "FIFA would be making a

terrible mistake if for any reason they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino. He is fantastic, having just presided over the most

successful World Cup by four times ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again. Thank you for your attention to

this matter, President DJT."

Now, that post comes right after the soccer governing bodies from Europe, North America and Asia jointly said that Infantino's failed commercial

proposal for the World Cup was a fundamental breach of trust. Now they released a letter which read, in part, "Leadership in football is not a

possession. It is not about holding or demanding power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrust it."

Now, it went on to add, "When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with the

authority that duty has been abandoned."

Infantino has apologized for his proposal to create the FIFA Forward Enterprise. Along with President Trump, Infantino does have some support.

The Confederation of African Football has backed the president in recent days alongside the Argentine and Mexican Soccer Associations.

[15:55:01]

Infantino, he is up for reelection in March.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you very much, Andy.

Finally, tonight, a very special sky show will soon take place. The Perseid meteor shower will coincide with a total eclipse. Maximum meteor activity

will be Wednesday night into Thursday morning and in rare celestial alignment, a total solar eclipse will pass over parts of the northern

hemisphere on Wednesday. The best views will be in parts of Iceland, northern Spain and Portugal.

And CNN's extensive coverage of the total solar eclipse gets underway Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. if you're watching in London, do

join me for that.

I'm Isa Soares. This is WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay right here. We have much more news after a very short break.

END

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