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What We Know with Max Foster
Trump Blasts U.S. Supreme Court Over Mail Ballot Ruling; Blanche: We're Going To Comply With Decision On Mail Voting; Lawmakers Question Bessent Amid High Energy Prices; Controversy Over Trump Jr. Wedding Celebration; Moscow & Kyiv Trade Strikes On Energy Infrastructure. Aired 3- 4p ET
Aired September 15, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:27]
ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: U.S. President Donald Trump furious at the Supreme Court after suffering key loss ahead of November's midterm election.
I'm Isa Soares, in for Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.
With just 49 days until November's midterm election, U.S. President Donald Trump is lashing out at the Supreme Court for blocking his attempt to
change how U.S. elections are conducted. Late Monday, the High Court blocked his effort to dramatically change mail-in voting across the nation,
a move that would have given the U.S. Postal Service unprecedented power to potentially withhold millions of ballots.
Mr. Trump appointed several of the justices who declined to let his executive order take effect. He blasted them, saying, "These are not the
people I interviewed for the Supreme Court."
Just minutes ago, his attorney general said the Trump administration will continue to push for changes in voting rules while admitting those changes
probably won't impact November's election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD BLANCHE, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Part of the decision was the timing and that we ran out of time because of the litigation in part. And so, our
efforts and President Trump's efforts to make sure that we have free and fair elections are not going to stop just in November or thereafter. So, I
expect you're going to see that work continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more straight to the White House, CNN's Kristen Holmes is there, and Kristen Holmes was at the Rose Garden.
She also peppered with him questions, and it seems the majority of questions, Kristen, was about the Supreme Court ruling. Clearly, as we
heard from Todd Blanche, the president is furious, but it did seem that while they are going to comply with the Supreme Court decision, it would
not dissuade the administration, it seems, from pursuing investigations of voter fraud.
Talk to us about what he said relating to that specifically.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the biggest questions was whether or not they were going to comply. As you
noted, we are just weeks away from that midterm election. And the idea that they could potentially not comply or try a workaround was causing a lot of
anxiety among election officials and U.S. officials across the board, just given how much chaos that that could sow into the election cycle.
So, there you saw him saying they were going to comply with this ruling, so answering that question, but also essentially saying they weren't giving up
on this idea of bringing more up about this voting mail-in voting reform. That is something that they are still focused on. He said a lot of it was
because of the timing.
Now, he was specifically asked about President Trump's attacks on the Supreme Court justices, and it's important to note what his role is. He is
the nation's top law enforcement official. He is the attorney general. He is being asked about Supreme Court justices, and there is likely no one who
knows more about the judicial system and is in charge of the system outside of the Supreme Court within the administration than Todd Blanche.
And he just kept saying, well, the President Trump is very frustrated. He's very frustrated with these justices. I wasn't there for the interview
process, but he's just very frustrated at the way that they have ruled. That's not really the question. The question is, given what you know about
the judicial system, is this harmful to the Supreme Court? Is this harmful to these justices or the process overall?
And he said a lot about how there were threats under the Biden administration to these justices. Well, we should also note that there have
been increased threats during the Trump administration as he has lashed out at these various justices, particularly the justices he himself put in
place.
SOARES: And look, he was also asked whether these concerns and this decision you know, whether this may cause confusion with voters. He was
asked whether the DOJ will be educating people on this. And he didn't see anything suggest this is an issue. How much confusion has it caused?
It's really not going to be clear until we actually hear from voters themselves. You have to remember that mail-in ballots have not gone out in
every state. We do know they have gone out in North Carolina. There was a big upset about that because this was going to the Supreme Court and it was
back and forth whether or not these ballots would have to be recalled, et cetera.
Right now, it's unclear who getting mail-in ballots is going to actually be impacted and what questions they might have. And to Todd Blanche's point,
he said he doesn't believe that people are following this as closely as people inside the Beltway, inside Washington, D.C. are following.
I think there's a middle ground there. We do know that, particularly in states where you see robust voter turnout during primaries, they are paying
attention.
[15:05:01]
They understand that this is in the works. election officials are paying attention to this. But there is something to be said about the fact that
it's not clear, you know, just how much your everyday American is paying attention to the back and forth over mail-in ballots, particularly given
the timing. I think we'd be in a very different situation if multiple states had sent out those mail-in ballots already.
SOARES: Yeah, just seven weeks before the midterms. Kristen, we appreciate it. Thank you very much indeed.
Let's stay with this. Joining me now is Pooja Chaudhuri. She's a deputy legal director and senior counsel at the Democracy Defenders Fund.
Pooja, welcome to the show.
I'm hoping that you were able to hear Todd Blanche as he was addressing the press, the attorney general at the Rose Garden. And he said, as you heard
from there, Kristen Holmes, that they're going to comply with the Supreme Court decisions, but it basically wouldn't dissuade the administration from
actually pursuing any voter fraud.
I mean, does that to you seem like is the end of the road as the administration tries to pursue this? Maybe not in the midterms, but maybe
2028. How did you interpret it?
POOJA CHAUDHURI, SENIOR COUNSEL, DEMOCRACY DEFENDERS FUND: Yeah, I actually was not able to watch the remarks live, but I read the reporting
on it. And, you know, I think that it's a harbinger of what's to come and the policies that the administration will pursue ahead of 2028. Blanche has
said that he will abide by the court order, the Supreme Court's order, which is all well and good, but there are several other initiatives that
the administration is undertaking, including using ICE and DHS and other parts of the administration to investigate individual voters and to put
together massive amounts of information on hundreds of thousands of voters across the country with a specific focus on whether they're eligible to
vote, whether they're citizens or not.
And so, all of this data that's being aggregated, one of the questions is, well, why is it being aggregated? And I think that Blanche essentially
affirmed that the administration is pursuing a more long-term goal of pursuing voter fraud. And I think we'll see more of that ahead of 2028.
SOARES: And look, I know the justices did not explain the decision before the conservative justice indicated they believed the proposal, the
administration proposal, was probably unconstitutional. But let me just give a sense to our viewers what Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was appointed
important to say by President Trump, what he said because he basically suggested that USPS may have the authority to make the change but that the
state and local election officials do not have enough time to reasonably implement it before election.
I mean, that almost speaks to exactly the point you're making and hints at perhaps what we heard from Todd Blanche, that the administration is leaving
itself a path to try something similar again if it gives them more time, right?
CHAUDHURI: Absolutely. Justice Kavanaugh, essentially, Justice Kavanaugh hints at the fact that, you know, what they're doing is they're kicking the
can down the road. And so they've kicked the can down the road on the merits. You know, as you saw, five of the justices seem to say that, okay,
there's no viable path as to the merits because the U.S. Postal Service does not have the authority here.
Justice Kavanaugh says that the government at least has a fair prospect of final rule does actually fall within the statutory powers of USPS. And we
already know what Justice Alito and Justice Thomas thought, because their dissent was quite fulsome.
SOARES: Yeah. What did you make, Pooja, of really the split in their decision? Were you surprised?
CHAUDHURI: No, no, I was actually not surprised. I was not to be candid surprised with the decision because I would think that it would be a
departure from the Supreme Court's jurisprudence that they've said before that changes so close to the election cause massive voter confusion and
burden election officials. So, I -- we were waiting with bated breath to see how the court would rule.
The ultimate decision did not surprise me. And the split actually didn't surprise me either. I expected that Justice Kavanaugh would have a sort of,
I agree, but not totally reaction.
SOARES: Yeah. In the meantime, they're all being attacked by the president saying they're not the people I interviewed. Really fears, as I spoke to a
former justice in the last hour, that it undermines the independence of the Supreme Court.
[15:10:08]
Really appreciate it, Pooja. Thank you very much, Pooja Chaudhary, there in Washington, D.C.
Well, another top member of the Trump administration in the spotlight and the hot seat today was U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He testified
before the House Financial Services Committee amid rising energy costs and defended his controversial strategy for the bond market. Bessent's clashed
with Democrats on a number of occasions, including this exchange over high gas prices in the United States. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): Since the war started, gas prices are up 52 percent. Yes or no? Are you aware of that?
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: Gas prices are up --
PRESSLEY: Gas prices are up 52 percent since the war started. Are you aware of this issue? Yes or no?
BESSENT: From what to what? I think that's not a good number.
PRESSLEY: Okay, I'm going to take that as a yes. You're playing like you don't know, but you know, okay? Secretary Bessent, working people --
(CROSSTALK)
PRESSLEY: Reclaiming my time. Secretary Bessent --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, it did get heated.
Straight out to our CNN economics reporter -- economics reporter Elisabeth Buchwald.
Elisabeth, I mean, this hearing, I think it's important to place this hearing in context for our viewers, because tomorrow, you know, we would
have had, by this time tomorrow, we'll have the decision from the Fed, right, when it comes to interest rates. This, as we see higher oil prices,
as we heard, they're pressing on that, and those concerns over inflation.
Did he address that?
ELISABETH BUCHWALD, CNN ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yeah, it is an important hearing that happened. And yes, it's incredibly interesting that this is
coming right ahead of the Fed's decision on interest rates. They're very likely to hike rates because of what's been happening on the inflation
front, and that's being driven by oil prices.
Now, Bessent didn't quite directly answer lawmakers' questions around these topics. He did get at oil prices at large, but when he was pressed, like
the exchange that we just saw, he doesn't quite answer it.
SOARES: Do we have sound? No, we do not have sound.
So how did he -- I mean, what did he say about the trajectory of oil prices and what is causing those oil prices? Because the president, as we've heard
in the last 24 hours, has kind of been blaming Ukraine and President Zelenskyy for going after Russian oil depots, right? So, speak to that. How
did he -- how did he address that?
BUCHWALD: There wasn't a lot of color for him on what's coming from oil prices. He wanted to get up there and share how successful the Trump
administration's efforts have been in this war with Iran. He's been touting his efforts himself, leading the operation to economically squeeze
different partners and businesses that allegedly have ties to Iran. And he says that that's been going really well. He said his bond market
intervention as well has been a success.
Now it's been the subject of a lot of controversy as well.
SOARES: Sorry, I'm chuckling. I'm chuckling because if we're talking about bond market, you know, and he has faced some criticism for this, I mean, I
think yesterday, was it yesterday? Yes, I was talking about the fact that the 10-year yield hit, what, 5 percent for the first time in three years.
How -- how is he possibly defending these actions and this intervention?
BUCHWALD: Yeah, it sounds like it's a funny thing to be doing right now. And you know, the read on how to defend these actions is difficult. But
what he is saying is that actually rates would be a lot higher if I didn't do this intervention. And he's saying that demand for U.S. treasuries and
other assets on that ground is still really high. There was an auction last week and there was still good demand. But you could also make the case that
the demand is there because investors like to have higher returns on those types of investments. So, it's kind of a double-edged sword on what's going
on here.
SOARES: Elisabeth, thank you very much for talking us through all of those as he was peppered, of course, by so many questions. We'll wait to see the
decision, of course, from the Fed tomorrow. Thank you, Elisabeth.
Well, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the war will add about half a percent increase in U.S. inflation. Most of that is due to the high
energy costs that Elizabeth was talking about that's caused by the conflict with Iran. The price tag of the war is staggering.
According to the CBO, the war effort costs up to $3 billion per month. That puts the total expense so far at about $37 billion through mid-July.
While the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet at the State Department today, the meeting comes one day
after deadly Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon.
[15:15:02]
The country's health ministry says at least 13 people, and that includes six children, were killed. The Israeli military said it was targeting a
Hezbollah militant trying to transport weapons. Formal peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are expected to take place next month.
And coming up right here on the show, the president's son and the price tag for his wedding. Outrage over a report that a Russian oligarch held
bankroll Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebrations. Why would he do it, you ask? We pop that question to one of the authors of that report. That is
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Russia and Ukraine are trading new strikes on energy infrastructure despite the U.S. president's claims that each side had
agreed to pause such attacks. Kyiv says Moscow hit two gas stations in the early hours of Tuesday. Ukraine, in turn, says it struck a Russian
refinery, among other targets.
The strikes came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to pause attacks on energy targets. Both sides
denied such a truce had been agreed. And there are new concerns the war could spill beyond Ukraine's borders. Earlier today, a NATO fighter shot
down a drone over Lithuania. after it entered the country's airspace. Ukraine blamed the incident on Russia.
Speaking to CNN, the Lithuanian foreign minister said that regardless of intent, the conflict could easily spiral. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KESTUTIS BUDRYS, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We cannot say that it is intentional that the drone was launched intentional to any target in NATO
territory. But any other way, the Russians are not taking care of the political risks that are involved with their targeting within the Ukraine.
What I mean is that targeting the train, for example, or gas station that was next to the NATO border is dangerous.
[15:20:00]
You can do the harm and cause the casualties on the NATO territory, and this is how we can get into the escalation spiral.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, let's stick with Russia because Democrats on Capitol Hill are demanding answers over a report that part of Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding
festivities were paid for by a Russian oligarch. Trump Jr. married Bettina Anderson in May. "ProPublica" reported that Uma Kremlev spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars to help fund the lavish celebrations held on a pair of private islands. Kremlev is a close Putin ally, and the report is raising
major ethical concerns about Moscow's influence on the family of a sitting U.S. president.
The U.S. Attorney General, Todd Blanche, is done playing those concerns. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLANCHE: The president doesn't know who this person is. I think other members of the family don't know who this person is. The president's son
has said that he's a very close friend and that he accepted a gift in the weekend of his wedding. I'm not -- so, I don't -- I'm not sure what when
you say am I investigating, am I investigating what? And when you say this person is a friend of Putin, I don't even know if that's true or not.
So, I like that it's fun to talk about this issue and the rhetoric around it. But I think all the relevant people involved, the president and his
kids have already addressed it. I don't have any information. I don't know this person either. So I don't have any information about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more on this. So, what we want to know is why did a Russian oligarch help fund a Trump wedding?
Joining me now is one of the authors of the "ProPublica" story, Justin Elliott.
Justin, really appreciate you being on the show. I'm hoping that you heard that Todd Blanche questioned about whether he was being -- he was going to
investigate this. He said the president doesn't know who the person is, other members of the family don't know who this person is.
The president's son said he's a very close friend. I don't know who this person is either. So, I'm not quite clear who knows and who doesn't know.
But what did you make of what Todd Blanche said there?
JUSTIN ELLIOTT, REPORTER, PROPUBLICA: Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, as part of the reporting for this piece, we spoke to a number of former FBI
counterintelligence folks, both Republicans and Democrats. And their reaction was, if you have a Russian oligarch close to Putin who is paying
many, many hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, for the wedding of a family member of the president, then that is a major
counterintelligence alarm. They would be intervening. They'd be warning the member of the president's family about what could be going on here.
I mean, as one of these people put it to us, if somebody is paying for your wedding, at some point, you're going to owe them something.
SOARES: Right. And we're not talking peanuts here. We're talking a significant amount of money.
So, Justin, take a step back for us and tell us, first of all, who exactly this Russian businessman is and -- you know, and what we know about him.
ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, one of the interesting things here is that he and Donald Trump Jr. only met recently by their own account. They met a couple
of years ago. As part of the reporting, we talked to a lot of people that have worked with Umar Kremlev over the years.
Everyone says he doesn't really speak English or speaks very limited English, which also I think raises some questions about the exact nature of
this friendship. But in terms of who he is, I mean, he's somebody that was actually unknown in Russia until about 10 or 15 years ago. He's become very
wealthy largely through the Putin government giving him control of companies.
He now is a dominant figure in sports gambling in Russia. He owns the largest car dealership in Russia. That was a company that had been
nationalized and then was given to him. You know, I think relevant here, Umar Kremlev is actually sanctioned by the government of Ukraine because he
is, by their account, so close to Putin and seen as essentially an extension of the government.
So, the former FBI folks that we spoke to, that was the frame they were looking at this with, not just some random businessman who's showing quite
unusual generosity to the son of the president, but somebody who actually has very close and, frankly, public ties to the government of Russia.
And when you say, Justin, they met recently, I mean, how recent is it? Because Trump Jr.'s spokesperson, you'd have seen this, you know, describes
Kremlev as a dear friend, right, but not someone he's not someone Trump Jr. has a business relationship with.
So, what do we know about that relationship? Because that can help us understand, you know, why he's paying large sums of money for a wedding.
ELLIOTT: Yeah. So, Kremlev's press office told us in an official statement that the two men met, I believe the phrase they used was a couple of years
ago.
[15:25:03]
Donald Trump Jr.'s people said they met through a mutual hunting buddy. That's pretty much all we know. Donald Trump Jr. did participate in a panel
discussion about boxing. in Istanbul with Umar Kremlev last year. Kremlev also runs the International Boxing Association, which is a group that's
roughly akin to FIFA, but for boxing.
So, in terms of the public footprint of this relationship, it basically doesn't exist until fast forward to the wedding in May and Kremlev paid by
their own account now confirmed, Kremlev paid for the two days and nights of the three-day affair.
SOARES: I suppose the question that viewers will be asking, just no doubt, OK, so he paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses at Donald
Trump Jr.'s wedding. The question is why, right? What have you been able to establish about why Kremlin was willing to spend so much money on someone
he only met, what, a couple of years ago?
ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, the experts we spoke to, again, these are former counterintelligence officials in the U.S. government, said the kind of best
case scenario here is that perhaps this is somebody trying to get his name associated with somebody named Donald Trump Jr. and that this is a kind of
ethical lapse by the son of the president. And the worst-case scenario from their point of view is that this could be part of some kind of Russian
government influence operation.
I mean, there were Jared Kushner, who is co-leading the U.S. government's negotiations with Russia over Ukraine, was also on this private island as
part of this very intimate wedding with Kremlev and a bunch of other Russians that he brought along as part of his entourage. So, I think it's
pretty clear any government, not just the Russian government, would find it valuable to be getting that kind of intimate access to very powerful and
influential members of the president's family, both Don Jr., Jared Kushner, Ivanka, Eric Trump, and they were all there.
SOARES: Justin, look, it's a great read. Really appreciate it. Thank you very much. Justin Elliott there from ProPublica.
And coming up, the Trump administration says it will lower your bills. Environmental group says a massive step back for public health and climate
change. We will explain after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:01]
SOARES: And returning now to our top story, the Trump administration's plans to continue pushing for voting reforms in the United States. That
word came such a short time ago from U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who admitted it was likely too late to impact the 2026 midterm election.
His comments came in the wake of a Supreme Court decision rejecting an executive order that sought to change how mail ballots are handled across
the country. The attorney general said the U.S. president is angry the court blocked his plans. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLANCHE: He is very frustrated. And I wasn't at the interviews that he participated in during the last administration when he selected these folks
to be on the Supreme Court. He has every right. And indeed, he should communicate his concerns with the Supreme Court whenever he has them. This
isn't the first time that he's done it, and it won't be the last. I am also upset about the Supreme Court decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Meantime, the governor of California addresses a potential run at the 2028 U.S. presidential election in an interview with our Jake Tapper.
Gavin Newsom was asked about his future presidential ambitions as well as potential opponents. When former Vice President Kamala Harris was
mentioned, Newsom said he would not run if his fellow Californian decided to run again.
Here's more from Jake Tapper's interview with Newsom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": How does one even make a decision to, like, run for president?
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: I have no experience in this process, so I'm going through it.
TAPPER: I remember people thinking, "Oh, he should have run in 2024."
NEWSOM: I wasn't ready.
TAPPER: You weren't ready?
NEWSOM: No. God, no.
TAPPER: Do you think you'd taken on Biden?
NEWSOM: I would never -- First of all, I wouldn't do that, and second, if I did, I would have gotten crushed because I didn't have a why. You don't
have a big enough why, then you don't belong there.
I'm not screwing anything up anymore, man. I mean, I know what matters in life. Yeah, I got four kids. It's the only thing that matters to me. They
got to be on board, and if that's -- forget it. If they're not on board, that's a non-starter.
And then you just have to meet the moment. You got to be honest with yourself. Do you represent the zeitgeist in the moment or are you wasting
everybody's time? And you just have to, honestly, you have to feel like you can stand on there on stage with, what, 30?
TAPPER; It's going to be a lot of people.
NEWSOM: Yeah.
TAPPER: It's a lot of Democrats.
NEWSOM: Thirty-one flavors.
TAPPER: And you're not even the only Californian.
NEWSOM: No, right, yeah.
TAPPER: You got Ro Khanna, Kamala.
NEWSOM: Yeah, I don't know if she runs, but we'll see.
TAPPER: I know she's called around.
NEWSOM: Yeah, but I wouldn't run if she ran.
TAPPER: If she runs, you will not?
NEWSOM: Of course not. Why would I? I wouldn't do that to her. I wouldn't do it to me. Why would -- I wouldn't do that to you. I wouldn't waste
everyone's time. Who needs that?
TAPPER: What do you mean? That doesn't even make sense to me.
NEWSOM: I just -- I wouldn't. No, I wouldn't. First of all, electorally, it's a gift from God for everybody else. They enjoy the hell out of it.
Mutual assured destruction. It services no greater good.
TAPPER: I mean, you do whatever you want. I don't care. But like counterargument would be like, you know, she had a shot and you've never
run and she's run twice.
NEWSOM: Yeah. I mean, that would be the approach to the campaign, certainly. That would be the case you'd make. Pretty good one, actually.
You know, that's objectively true.
But I know what that means. I know her base of supporters, I know her friends. The Venn diagram on that is just pure crossover. It's not, I
wouldn't do that to, I wouldn't do that to people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Really enjoyed that discussion there, Gavin Newsom with our Jake Tapper.
Well, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks, pardon me, are down across the board, especially the down more than half a percent at 354.
The losses have been driven by surging energy prices and rising bond yields, as we were telling you earlier in the show, really a lethal
combination.
This is our Business Breakout.
[15:35:00]
Barack Obama is back in the political spotlight, calling on Washington to step up and regulate artificial intelligence. The former president warned
that we can't just sit back and let A.I. happen to us while pushing leaders to tackle big concerns like job losses and online safety.
Syria is seeing its largest protests in two years after the government announced deep fuel price hikes over the weekend. Diesel prices jumped 40
percent as the country struggles with global supply shortages. Demonstrators are demanding immediate price relief.
A massive farmers protest in Romania's capital turned violent on Tuesday, marking the country's worst civil unrest in years. Thousands took to the
streets of a temporary livestock export ban, throwing objects at police before officers responded with tear gas.
Well, the Trump administration officially scrapped Biden era carbon pollution limits on coal and gas power plants, part of a huge push to roll
back clean air rules. EPA officials say ditching these regulations will cut costs as power demand soar. Environmental groups argue it gives fossil fuel
companies a free pass to pollute. Power plants cause nearly a quarter of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Our chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, joins us now to discuss really the implications.
So, Bill, just talk us through, first of all, what this reversal means for climate protections right across the United States.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, just consider that if the power plants in the U.S. were our country, they would be the sixth
leading emitter globally. It's a big, big part of the problem.
And it's why Joe Biden tried to set out rules to wind those down, bend the carbon curve, incentivize oil and gas companies and even coal companies if
they want to invest to capture the pollution at the source before it goes into the atmosphere. It also prevented over 1000 premature deaths a year
starting in a few years would save over $120 billion. That was what was promised.
But, obviously, Donald Trump has declared war on all of those ideas. All environmental regulation in his second term has come under fire. And Lee
Zeldin announcing at a G20 energy summit in Houston, they're not just going after, you know, the current regulations, which really hadn't even kicked
in yet, but preventing any future president from using the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon pollution.
And that would have obviously, devastating long-term effects on the global fight in this space, but there is a legal fight that will get in the way
before anything is done. The Sierra Club, National Resource Defense Council among these groups that have been in court, you know, hammer and tongs
since the first administration, and incessantly in many cases. But what's interesting in this one, Isa, is that big oil companies are using the Clean
Air Act as a way to get out of litigation from states and cities that are suing them over the climate damage caused by their products.
So, this is a complicated sort of ball of worms legally for what happens next, but it is the latest shot in Trump's war against climate science and
adaptation.
SOARES: And just put then, Bill, in context for our viewers in terms of the rollback, because the Trump administration, you're talking about there
really pushing for more fossil fuels, notably, as you said, coal, which is the most polluting of fossil fuels. I mean, I was looking at some of the
statistics, power plants, second largest source of planet heat evolution in the U.S., after transportation.
What else is the government doing? Speak to the turnaround we are seeing under this administration.
WEIR: Oh, it's staggering. I mean, it ranges from paying European wind producers close to three billion or actually four billion dollars now not
to create wind power because President Trump doesn't like the sight of wind turbines. It goes back to a spat he had with one of his golf courses in
Europe going back.
It goes down to the level of the only climate professor at West Point, the military academy, fired by Pete Hegseth, he's suing, changing textbooks to
eliminate climate science. So, it is an sort of -- this was all laid out in Project 2025 before the election that these real pro fossil fuel forces and
climate skeptics were just going to try to rip out any climate action root and branch through every branch of government. And so, we've seen this.
Lee Zeldin has been the most zealous, the head of the EPA, who just said, look, the mandate, despite what the name says, this is now, you know, the
corporate profit protection agency. And that's not controversial. He said it.
So, whether or not it can be undone by the next president, that's what a lot of American and really global environmentalists and people who get
this. The United States goes in this opposite direction, at least for the next couple of years, but can it be reversed? And how much will be lost in
that time is an open question.
And as I said, they are direction at least for the next couple of years, but can it be reversed and how much will be lost in that time is an open
question. And as I said, they are trying to make it so future presidents can't regulate planet cooking pollution in the United States.
[15:40:05]
SOARES: That is troubling. That is very troubling indeed.
Bill, thank you very much. Good to see you. Bill Weir for us there in New York.
And coming up right here on the show, dozens detained in Turkey in what human rights group says a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. We'll explain
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:43:29]
SOARES: Well, human rights groups are condemning Turkey for what they describe as a widening campaign targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Police
detained at least 150 people on Tuesday outside a courthouse in Istanbul.
Demonstrators were demanding the release of activists taken to custody days earlier. Authorities had also raided association offices and blocked
websites.
The government says it's all part of a campaign aimed at protecting children and family values. Human rights groups called it state-led
discrimination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've been shoving people. They were trying to trap people inside a protest square, basically. They've been closing down every
second. The cops, for example, shoved me. That was pretty funny, but they're trying to prevent a potential press statement by people. There are
a lot of organizations there, a lot of socialist organizations as well, a lot of LGBTQ organizations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The atmosphere is certainly tense, though that's how it always is. It's as if the very act of protesting on the street is itself
a crime. While the specific issues might vary, there's an extra layer of pressure when it comes to LGBTQ+ matters, ranging from rainbow flags not
being allowed to be displayed to demands that the name is not even mentioned. It's as if doing so would make people simply vanish, as if the
issue itself is not thought about or is not talked about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's take a look at this discussion. I want to bring in Yildiz Tar, the editor-in-chief of "KaosGL", which reports on LGBTQ+ issues in
Turkey.
Yildiz, really appreciate you being with us.
Just give our viewers a sense of what you and your colleagues have seen about these raids and detentions, because from what I understand, "KaosGL"
is one of the targets of this operation.
[15:45:11]
So, speak to that first.
YILDIZ TAR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, KAOSGL: Yeah, actually, I have a latest news. I just learned that eight of our colleagues have been arrested and they
will be in prison in a pretrial detention. It just happens now.
The judge gave a verdict and you know why they arrested -- just -- they have been arrested because "KaosGL" as a website, shared a scene from a
very famous American TV series, "Agatha All Along," where the actresses Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza were kissing each other.
We shared that. We had an article about that TV series and now they have been arrested due to the allegations of obscenity. They have seen Kathryn
Hahn kissing Aubrey Plaza as an obscene thing and now eight people are arrested.
And while we are talking now, they are taken to the prison. This is a horrible situation for queer community here in Turkey. The very existence
of LGBTQI people and LGBTQI people's rights is seen something as obscene, is something as against the society, which is not the truth. And I'm really
frustrated now that I learned that my colleagues are arrested.
SOARES: Can you just clarify, those eight people that have been arrested, eight colleagues of yours that have been arrested, the evidence that was
used against them was a video clip that they used on social media, I'm guessing, Yildiz. And I mean, how long will they be arrested for? What kind
of reaction have you had from them directly?
TAR: Well, they -- they didn't even share it. Just casual association shared it. And there are board members and there are like audit committee
members. That is why they will be arrested.
And we don't know how long will it take because here in Turkey, pretrial detention is a very common thing. And it can be months that they are --
they will be there. And they have been like allegedly that this is an obscene scene.
And another thing in the evidence they were using is two football players, soccer players, kissing each other in the soccer field. And we had a news
article about it, and we were discussing the homophobia in the sports, and this was the second evidence.
These are all the crimes that they have committed that cause jail as an association. And the news site shared some articles about LGBTQI rights.
SOARES: And, Yildiz, look, the raids, as we mentioned, and the detentions that we were mentioning just there, and I know 150 people were detained
just on Tuesday, are part of this government campaign called My Family is Safe, right, which authorities, they say, is aimed at protecting what they
call family values.
But the council -- I was looking at the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty. He said the references to family values
or the protection of children, he said, could in themselves justify human rights restrictions.
So, explain to us, Yildiz, what is driving this crackdown.
SOARES: Look, in Turkey, family is really under threat. Like there are huge problems regarding the family, but the problem is not queer community.
The problem is not LGBTI community.
The family is under attack of economic crisis. The family is under attack of poverty. The family is under attack of lack of social policies. The
family is under attack of femicide.
So, government tries to cover up this lack of policies, lack of initiative to solve this problem by demonizing LGBTQI people and they are doing this
because they can. They are doing this because they see LGBTQI community very vulnerable and they do it in a way to show a signal to the other parts
of the society to discipline all the society.
LGBTQI people has always been the laboratory of the government when they are exercising power over the society. They start with us and they continue
it with other groups. For example, there were bans on our events and pride marches. The next year, they banned concerts.
SOARES: And this -- I mean, really two thoughts, Yildiz, I mean, as we're running out of time. One, it must be terrifying to yourself and so many
others. But also, I mean, where is the rest of Turkey? Are they standing? Are they supporting you? Are they taking to the streets? Because I'm
guessing there are wider consequences here, right, for freedom of expression, ability of civil society to kind of organize and operate
protests in Turkey.
Speak to those concerns. where the rest of Turkey, whether they're supporting you in this.
[15:50:02]
TAR: There is a huge support in Turkey for us coming to the whole part of society, and it has always been the problem here in Turkey that there is a
state-led homophobia, not a societally rooted homophobia. We had a survey two years ago, we had a survey, and 39 percent of the society says that we
support LGBTQI people having equal rights. Thirty percent says that we don't care, 30 percent -- only 30 percent is against them.
So that is why government is trying to attack us. And there has been protests in Istanbul. There was a protest in Ankara. Tomorrow, there will
be a protest in another city. There was a protest in Izmir, and there are a lot of protests, and the opposition parties are talking about it.
And I want to add just a little thing about who was arrested. A mother was arrested today, Kaushal (ph) board member, Nedime Erdogan. She has a gay
son, and she's supporting her son's rights. And now she is arrested, and they are taking her to prison now.
So, this is also our family. We have our families here. We didn't come here from space. We are rooted here. And now they are taking a mother to prison,
a very old mother to prison while we are speaking, because she supported her son.
SOARES: Yeah. I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Do keep us posted, Yildiz. Thank you very much. Yildiz Tar there for us in Ankara, in
Turkey.
We're going to take a short break. We'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: It was a night of must-see moments at the 78th Emmy Awards. Actor Mariska Hargitay was the first woman to host the show in 15 years. Apple
TV's "Widow's Bay", which I hear is brilliant, was the night's big winner, taking home 14 trophies, the most of any show nominated.
Other notable winners include Noah Wyle, who won the second Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his role in "The Pitt", which
is brilliant, I've seen that. The show's produced in part by CNN's parent company and was the most nominated show of the night. It took home two
awards tonight, including Best Drama.
Here's Wyle talking to CNN about his win. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOAH WYLE, ACTOR, "THE PITT": It's one thing to make "The Godfather", it's another thing to make "Godfather 2" afterwards and to come back in the
sophomore attempt and have the bar that we set in the first season be what we were trying to maintain or maybe even surpass, it's incredibly
gratifying coming back and feeling like we did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:55:07]
SOARES: And in one of the night's most historic moments, Jean Smart won her fifth trophy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for
"Hacks". Smart is now the first woman to win an Emmy for every season of a series. The fifth and final season of "Hacks" debuted earlier this year.
And finally, tonight, Japan deserves an award for having more than 100,000 centenarians in the country. It's a new record for the country known for
longevity. In September, the number rose to more than 107,000, 8,000 more than last year. The population of centenarians has increased over the past
56 years.
Scientists attribute the longevity to wholesome diets and advance healthcare system. According to Japan's ministry, some of the world's
oldest people live in the country, 114-year-old woman and 112-year-old man. That's plenty to celebrate, but there's an Emmy themselves right there.
That does it for us, very busy hour. I'm Isa Soares. Please stay right here. We'll have more after this.
END
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