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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump Says Chicago "Like A War Zone" Open To Insurrection Act; Interview With Chicago Mayor On Trump Ordering IL National Guard Troops To City; Trump Formally Orders IL National Guard Troops To Chicago For 60 Days; Hollywood Burbank Air Traffic Control Tower Closed Due To Staffing Shortages; Funding Bills From Senate Dems, Republicans Fail To Advance; Trump Formally Orders IL National Guard Troops To Chicago For 60 Days; OpenAI's New App Lets Users Create Fake Videos Of Just About Anything Almost Instantly; Fired Federal Prosecutor: DOJ Leadership More Concerned With Punishing President's Enemies Than Protecting National Security. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired October 06, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SIMON SANDOVAL-MOSHENBERG, ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: Yeah. I mean, yet again, since we filed this case in March, the governments number one strategy has been sending lawyers into court who have no information and don't know anything and they pulled out the old playbook yet again this morning.
But the judge was not having any of it, she was clearly fed up with it, and that's why she ordered them to bring a witness from the government to explain what's going on.
And if, you know, if that witness isn't able to explain what's going on, I don't think the judge is going to authorize continued detention.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Wow, all right, well that could be where this goes, Friday. Thank you so much Simon, I always appreciate talking to you and thanks to all of you for being with us. AC360 starts now.
[20:00:35]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, President Trump's battle to send the National Guard into blue states has him hinting at a new threat, invoking the Insurrection Act.
Also tonight, breaking news from California. The Burbank Airport has no air traffic controllers right now because of the shutdown. I'll talk to Senator Cory Booker about how and when the shutdown might end.
And later, it just got even harder to tell what's real and what's not. OpenAI's new video generator has some cheering and the possibilities and others bracing for a fire hose of misinformation.
Good evening, thanks for joining us. Breaking news tonight in President Trump's push to send the National Guard into multiple Democratic-led states over the objection of state governors.
Now, late today, the President suggested he could invoke the Insurrection Act, which is a federal law that allows him to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard to quell an insurrection. For context, the last time it was actually used was at the request of a governor in 1992 when California needed troops to respond to rioting in Los Angeles.
Right now, hundreds of National Guardsmen from Texas are making the thousand or so mile journey north to Chicago. This comes after the President asked they be authorized to do so. He also formally authorized 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to head to Chicago for 60 days.
We'll talk to Chicago's mayor in just a few minutes. First, though, President Trump said this late today about Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)'
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's like a war zone and then I listened to the governor and the mayor get up and say how they have it under control. They don't, it's probably worse than almost any city in the in the world. You can go to Afghanistan, you can go to a lot of different places and they probably marvel at how much crime we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Like a war zone, he said. The President, not the only one using military parlance surrounding this effort to send in the guard. Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker calling that effort and the federal law enforcement, who already in the city an invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JB PRITZKER (D-IL): Donald Trump is using our servicemembers as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation's cities.
Since the beginning of this invasion, families have been snatched up off the streets or removed from their homes, zip tied and detained for hours, including especially U.S. citizens and legal residents of our state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: This comes after a weekend that saw teargas deployed during at least one protest in Chicago. Tense moments after a woman allegedly rammed her car into a law enforcement vehicle and was then shot at by a CBP officer. She now faces federal charges.
Also, over the weekend, we learned more about a massive ICE raid last week on an apartment building in Chicago that terrified residents. Children and adults alike were woken up, forced outside at night, many of them zip tied as a Blackhawk helicopter hovered overhead.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted a video of the raid produced like an action movie trailer with a soundtrack to match. Here's a small part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(PLAYING A VIDEO OF ICE RAID IN CHICAGO.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The operation led to 37 arrests, according to DHS.
As for the National Guard, today, Illinois and the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit trying to block their deployment. The judge overseeing the case gave the Trump administration two days to respond, but didn't immediately stop the guard from coming to Chicago.
In Portland, Oregon, another case is working its way through the courts. This was the scene Sunday night outside of the ICE facility there. Protesters clashing with federal and immigration agents. Gas canisters were deployed and at least one person was handcuffed and carried off by federal agents. The President has argued the National Guard needs to be deployed here to protect this very same ICE facility.
Over the weekend, a Trump appointed judge ruled that was, "simply untethered to the facts" and issued a temporary order blocking the Guards' deployment. But the Trump administration has asked an appeals court to put a hold on that decision, and that could come at any moment.
With all of this swirling around, the President has pushed for the National Guard, the resistance from Democratic leaders, some unfavorable rulings by judges. It all led to him being asked about the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I'd do it if it was necessary. So far it hasn't been necessary -- but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I would do that. If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:19]
COOPER: We have reporters in Portland and Chicago, where over the weekend there were protests. I'm joined now by CNN senior crime and justice reporter Shimon Prokupecz, who's on the ground in Portland, Oregon.
So what are you seeing on the ground there in Portland today?
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, so, Anderson, this is the area where we've seen some of the clashes between the federal officers, and it's really the most activity we've seen out here all day. I've been out here for several hours, we just got here today.
You can see back here, Anderson, this is sort of where the federal officers -- this is where they've been staying. Back here, they stay here when those gates open, they will come out. I've already seen many of them. They have their tear gas. We're also seeing some of the federal officers now in just the last few minutes. They're now up on the roof up here. This is another location that they've been keeping watch from every night.
As this gets later into the day and into the night, this is when we would see some of the clashes between the protesters and the federal officials. But during the day and so far today, it definitely, it has been mostly peaceful. Everyone has been standing out here. You could see many of the people who have been out here. They've been out here all day, Anderson, holding signs protesting some of the activities by ICE and the administration. And that's what we've been seeing out here all day today. And we'll see as this goes, as the night gets closer, what happens here?
Usually, as we get later into the evening, that's when sometimes you'll see some of the clashes. But it's been relatively small. I mean, most of the activity, Anderson, has been centered in this area. It's half a block, not even a full block. But this is where everything's been happening. It's not like just to give you some perspective, this is not stretched out through all of Portland or downtown or any big large area. It's all been happening right here from where I'm standing, to about where that last person standing behind me, that's where everything's been happening.
COOPER: So, Shimon if troops were deployed to Portland, they would be what -- they're to protect that building.
PROKUPECZ: Yes, they would be here to protect the building. But here's the interesting thing, Anderson. I'm glad you bring this up, because the Border Patrol agents that are here and they're mostly Border Patrol agents and Homeland Security officers and federal protective services, they've been here doing that, and they've been managing to do that. So, it's not entirely clear what purpose the National Guard would even serve here.
They're not really needed here and certainly we are not seeing crime and all kinds of criminal activity all around Portland that would require even the National Guard. So, it's unclear what they would even do if they came here, because as far as this building is concerned, from everything that I could see, at least today, first of all, there's been no activity.
But there are plenty of federal law enforcement here from the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol and other, and they all have their teargas. So, it's not entirely clear even what the National Guard would do if they were to come here.
COOPER: All right, Shimon Prokupecz, thanks.
I want to go to Omar Jimenez in Broadview, Illinois, the site of the week's long protest at an ICE facility.
So, Omar, there are these two National Guard deployments to Chicago, troops from both Illinois and Texas federal courts are not blocking them for now.
How soon could either both of them be on the streets of Chicago? Do we know what they'd be doing exactly?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you just hit two of the three major questions that the judge in this case is asking at this point. In fact, when this judge ruled that they would not immediately block the deployment of National Guard troops, she said that she wanted three questions asked or answered from the federal government, including clarity on when the National Guard troops would arrive in Illinois. What municipalities they will be sent to, and what the scope of the troop activities will be once they are here?
Now, one of the clues that that we expect at this point has to do with what's behind me. Now, this has been really the focal point of a lot of protests that we have seen in recent days here in Broadview, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.
Now, as you can see, obviously empty at this point. We are in a protest curfew instituted by the mayor, though numbers here tend to fluctuate a lot. So, that's not an indication of a direct result of that curfew. But the important part is, is that that is federal property. And so, that is one of the places that that there's an expectation the National Guard troops could be sent to, to protect federal personnel and property, which is among the orders of what The White House used in the memo to deploy these National Guard troops.
And as you mentioned, it's not just those in Illinois, at least 300 is what we understand from The White House, but also up to 400 have been authorized, according to Texas governor Greg Abbott, for National Guard, coming from Texas, not just Illinois, but to other places as well.
And then within the city limits, just to give you an indication, Anderson, you actually talked about some of it before coming to me. I mean, we are on the other end of what has been a very tense week in the City of Chicago when it comes to city residents and federal immigration, law enforcement. And I think the sentiment was summed up best by Mayor Brandon Johnson when he said earlier today, and I want to quote him here to make sure I get it right that, "I am calling on this President to leave us the freak alone."
And I think that sentiment was shared by all the leading officials that got in front of cameras today, Anderson.
[20:10:37]
COOPER: Omar Jimenez, thanks.
We mentioned the Illinois filed a lawsuit along with the City of Chicago, challenging the administration's plan to send National Guard troops in. The President singled out Governor Pritzker and Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson in the Oval Office today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I believe that Pritzker and this mayor of Chicago that like to
say about we have it -- they don't have it under control not only is it not under control, it's the opposite. And I believe they're afraid, they're scared for their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joins me now. Mayor Johnson, I'm wondering what your response is to the comment from the President. Are you scared for four lives?
MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO: Well first of all -- no we're not. You know, what this President is doing is illegal. It's unconstitutional, and its dangerous. Nowhere in the country am I hearing mayors request that we occupy the cities in America with the military. The brave women and men who signed up to protect our democracy did not do it with the idea of being used against the American people.
And so, we're going to stand firm and resolute in protecting the interests of Chicagoans and quite protecting our democracy.
COOPER: How soon? I mean, the President has now formalized his deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard members. That's in addition to this deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois. Do you have a sense of how soon until those troops could actually be on or in Chicago? And do you know where they're going to be deployed?
JOHNSON: Well, look, this President has made these type of threats for several months, and the right wing in this country has constantly attempted to use the city of Chicago as a punching bag, right. And so, you know, we don't know, right, quite frankly, what's going to happen. But the only thing that I can do is to ensure that I'm using every single tool that is available to me to protect the residents of this city.
I've signed three sweeping executive orders to do just that, and what we saw in Portland, Oregon, and what the federal courts have indicated there that this President is working outside of the parameters of the Constitution. And so, it's incumbent upon all of us to stand firm to protect our democracy, and, of course, to protect our humanity.
COOPER: Why do you think the President is doing this?
JOHNSON: Well, look, I think it's pretty clear he wants to foment chaos. Right? And what we've predicted all along that he wanted to use federal agents as a pretext to the National Guard. But his ultimate goal, of course, is to occupy American cities.
Look, the City of Chicago is the global capital of the world. We have 20 percent of the worlds fresh water in our front yard, and we have two major airports. The railroads here. We have one of the most diverse economies in the world, and we're investing in working people. And as a result of that, were driving violence down and our economy is recovering to pre-pandemic numbers. This President wants to undermine the very Constitution that that we
fought and died and bled for. And it's incumbent upon all of us, and particularly the residents across this country, is to fight back. And if congress is not going to hold this administration accountable, Chicago most certainly will.
COOPER: Mayor Brandon Johnson, thanks very much.
I want to get some perspective now from former federal prosecutor and CNN senior legal analyst, Elie Honig. How do you expect these legal battles to be finished?
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So, they're all going to depend on the facts on the ground. The law that Donald Trump is using so far to deploy the National Guard, it's not the Insurrection Act yet. It's a different emergency law. And what it says is the President can deploy National Guard if there's a rebellion and invasion or if necessary, to enforce federal laws. And so, we're going to see each jurisdiction. I mean, Shimon just showed us that shot.
The argument that the President made is there is chaos in the streets. Now, a judge rejected that, I think in Shimon shot, you can see why that was a placid street if anything, separately, as you just addressed with the mayor, the federal judge in Chicago has not yet paused the deployment, but that's again going to depend on an assessment of is there really an emergency? This is going to play out like legal whack-a-mole. Each time the President deploys National Guard, we're going to see a lawsuit, and judges will have to assess, is this really an emergency?
COOPER: And if one judge rules, it's not, I mean, this could go to the Supreme Court.
HONIG: Yes. So, these are all playing out in the district courts. There's 94 federal districts geographically separated in the United States. What the judge does in Oregon is not binding on what the judge does in Chicago. They each have to make their own determination, but these could move very quickly because were in emergency posture here, which is why we're seeing decisions within hours or days. We're already going to be in the court of appeals in Oregon.
I think it's only a matter of time before one or more of these cases reaches the Supreme Court, at least in an emergency posture.
[20:15:19]
COOPER: All right, Elie Honig, thanks very much.
Coming up next, we'll dig into the politics of all this. The President calling in the National Guard to more Democratic led cities. And later, if you thought it was hard to know what's real and what's fake, it's just gotten even harder. The new app released by OpenAI that creates incredibly real looking videos unlike anything we've seen before, designed to deliver endless dopamine hits that will keep your eyeballs glued to your devices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOWING AN A.I. GENERATED VIDEO.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:12]
COOPER: More now on our breaking news. Hundreds of National Guard troops ordered to Chicago, the City and the State of Illinois sued to try and stop the federalization of Guard troops. Moments ago, I spoke with Chicago's Mayor, Brandon Johnson, who said the President's actions are illegal, unconstitutional and dangerous. This afternoon, as you saw earlier, President Trump said Chicago is like a war zone, his words -- and the troops are needed to fight crime.
He also wants to make sure that federal agents can enforce immigration laws in the city and if the courts don't agree, the President is now suggesting he can invoke the Insurrection Act.
Joining me now, Chicago resident David Axelrod, our CNN chief political analyst and former senior adviser to President Obama and also CNN senior political commentator David Urban, former Trump campaign adviser.
David, I mean, you know Chicago well, you're a resident there. What do you what do you think is going to happen there? How is this going to unfold?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it's really hard to say because we don't really know where this National Guard -- whether the National Guard is going to be allowed to come by the courts, where are they going to be sent?
But, Anderson, let's be clear. Whatever this is, it's not an effort to deport the worst of the worst or dangerous criminals, because 60 percent of the people arrested in Chicago -- I mean, who are detained by the by ICE in Chicago had no criminal convictions.
There was a story in the paper this morning about a guy who had been brought here from Guatemala when he was four. He's 49 years old, runs a painting and repair business in Evanston. He was picked up a month ago, had no arrests in 49 years or 45 here, deported. Now, his family has gone to join him, though they didn't have to legally.
I mean, this is what's going on there. So, it's not that and it's not an effort to fight crime. The National Guard has no jurisdiction to do that. That's not what they're coming to do. And what's interesting is ICE is actually running ads, recruiting, you know, recruiting agents for their efforts. And they specifically ran ads urging Chicago Police officers to quit and join ICE. How does that make Chicago safer?
So, the whole thing -- it isn't what he says it is. What it is, looks like a they're creating a pretext to send troops in to normalize the use of troops in American cities. We all heard him make a speech last week telling the military that we ought to use the cities for training. But it isn't an effort to stop crime.
COOPER: David Urban, I mean, you're a military veteran, West Point graduate, recipient of the Bronze Star. Are you concerned about potential normalization of military presence in major American cities?
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, so, listen, I don't think it's ever going to be normalized, Anderson, because of programs like this and responses by a wide range of people. What I do think is, is troubling and look, I am empathetic to Ax's points about, you know, normal citizens who are here illegally. I don't even know how to phrase that, right. People who have been in this country illegally for a long time but aren't violent criminals being caught up in this and these kind of operations.
What the President campaigned on and what he really, I think, is trying to effectuate here is getting the worst of the worst as David pointed out too, right, gang members, violent criminal offenders and cleaning up the streets from those people first. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of people are getting caught up in this dragnet who are here illegally but peacefully, and they've served their lives and they've paid taxes and they're serving jobs and working in hotels. And, you know, painting shops and doing things, trying to live a lifestyle, so --
COOPER: But David, you're portraying it as that they're being caught up in this. It's not as if they're caught up in this and then released. These are people who are being deported and separated from their families.
URBAN: Yes, well, and that's the tough part, Anderson, right. They're here illegally. They crossed the border at some point illegally in our country illegally.
And so, there are hundreds of thousands of people waiting legally across the border in many countries all over the world who can't come to our nation. And so, I'm not quite sure how we get there, right. This is -- there's going to have to be a legislative fix somewhere, because we're not going to deport 20 million people living in the United States, right?
COOPER: Why not?
URBAN: Well, because it's physically impossible.
COOPER: Well, if the U.S. military is now going to be involved in this, isn't this a force multiplier?
URBAN: No, that's hyperbole. Listen, I think that you heard Elie talk about this before -- the military. The only way the military is going to be able to be deployed legally is to help ICE enforce and do their job. So, they're not, you know, attacked by people.
And we ran some tape earlier with the ICE agents were getting tackled and they were in scuffles. And so the military could be employed there to help keep those, those encounters from happening. But that's going to be very narrow circumstances they are going to be able to be brought in.
The President said he could invoke the Insurrection Act. He hasn't to date. He didn't do it in the first term. He likely won't be able to get away with that in the second term. And so, you just won't see that happening. So again --
COOPER: David Axelrod, a lot of Trump supporters before this term said, look, he's going to go after the worst of the worst. They're not going to go after people who are, you know, crossed the border and, you know, legally and are here.
AXELROD: That's what they said.
COOPER: And the same people are now saying, well, you know, there's no way the troops are going to get involved directly in anything.
[20:25:26]
AXELROD: Well, I think the President's sort of casual acknowledgment that he might invoke the Insurrection Act because he depicts this as, you know, these are lawless communities.
Anderson, I want to read you something and we should point out that the three leading business groups in Chicago, the faith community, everyone's unified in the idea that we don't need the National Guard and it's provocative. But here's what one group wrote about Chicago with nationally acclaimed restaurants on every corner, world class shopping along the Magnificent Mile, award winning shows, renowned history and cultural museums, and even sandy beaches, Chicago has something to offer everyone.
That's from the Trump Hotel in Chicago. That's what they're advertising. And actually, if you walk down the Riverwalk by the Trump hotel, you'll see thousands of people streaming along the riverfront and enjoying Chicago. But let me just answer one question. The reason that they are snatching people who they said they weren't going to snatch is because a quota has been set by Stephen Miller, and they're trying to meet their quota.
And the reason we have any kind of unrest in the city is because of the way ICE is approaching their task there. So, this is really a problem of the Presidents invention.
COOPER: David Axelrod, David Urban, thank you.
The Supreme Court is already making headlines. There's a new term gets underway today. The court has declined to hear an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted in 2022.
As usual, the justices didn't give a reason why. Her lawyers argued she should be shielded from prosecution on sex trafficking charges because of a plea agreement that Epstein had struck with the federal government. This afternoon, Kaitlan Collins asked President Trump about the court's decision, the possibility that he would pardon Maxwell. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know, I haven't heard the name in so long. I can say this that I'd have to take a look at it. I have a lot of people have asked me for pardons. I'd call on Puff Daddy, he has asked me for a pardon.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: But she was convicted of child sex trafficking.
TRUMP: Yes, I mean, I'm going to have to take a look at it. I'd have to ask DOJ. I didn't know they rejected it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Up next, more breaking news. The government shutdown now causing air traffic controller staffing shortages at major airports, including Newark, I'll ask New Jersey Senator Cory Booker on how dangerous the situation may become.
Also, scary moments for hundreds of hikers who are on Mount Everest when a blizzard hit. We'll tell you what happened ahead.
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[20:32:31]
COOPER: We have breaking news on the real-world impacts of the ongoing government shutdown. The FAA-controlled tower at Burbank Airport is closed tonight due to staffing shortages. California's Governor Gavin Newsom writing on social media, quote, "Thanks, at real Donald Trump. Burbank Airport has zero air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. today because of your government shutdown."
Those are Pacific times. Passenger flights continue to take off and land at the airport, following rules that are often used at much smaller airports, and this could be the first of many such cases. Earlier today, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed an increase in the number of air traffic controllers calling out sick. The Senate once again failed to advance both Democratic and Republican spending deals, both sides apparently appearing to remain dug in.
I'm joined now by New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker. Senator, you obviously have Newark Airport, which is crucial to nationwide air travel. I flew in there just over the weekend in your home state. What's the latest information you have on how staffing there may or may not be impacted?
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Well, I think right now it's going smoothly. I've been checking in on it throughout the day. But this is where Donald Trump is driving us. Years, we have not had a government shutdown because Democrats and Republicans have come to the table and done things in a negotiated fashion.
The House of Representatives has been out for weeks, and Donald Trump has said time and time again that we should just capitulate to his will. He controls the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
What we really need to come to the table and do something about what Democrats are demanding, which is to deal with this health care crisis we're in, where Americans are seeing their premiums about to double were -- because of what he's done to Medicaid, millions are going to lose their health insurance.
We've got to do something to help Americans and their pain points and how they're suffering. We should not be having this shutdown. We simply need a president that's willing to work in a bipartisan fashion.
COOPER: You showed this video earlier. It was put out by Homeland Security. It's highly produced, very slick. Posted by Secretary Kristi Noem. It shows the huge ICE raid last week on a Chicago apartment building. I mean, it looks like an action film.
As you know, families, including children, were forced outside, zip- tied, a Blackhawk helicopter hovering overhead. What do you make of what is happening in Chicago and the way this administration is portraying it?
BOOKER: I mean, this should appall all Americans. When you say people were zip-tied, those were American citizens that were zip-tied, American children that were zip-tied. As he's pursuing what he thinks is an action hero movie, what's really happening is people are getting hurt, communities are being torn apart, people are afraid. And he is violating everyday our values, not to mention our public safety and our strength.
[20:35:13]
Donald Trump is reckless, chaotic, cruel, and deeply corrupt. And this is something I'm glad to see most Americans on both sides of the aisle together say that is wrong. In addition to the fact, frankly, he's just wasting tens of millions of dollars that should be invested in local law enforcement agencies who really do need the resources.
COOPER: Do you think this is an attempt to kind of normalize, you know, federal troops on the ground in major American cities?
BOOKER: You know, I remember the first time I got a chance to travel overseas and being stunned at countries that were not sharing our values, not sort of democracies, that had military people on streets with large arms and weapons and saying, thank God that's not America.
Well, now we're seeing things happen in our country that I never imagined, from masked people jumping out of unmarked cars with no insignia showing whatsoever, dragging people off from churches and from court appearances. This is one of those times where this is not left or right. It is right or wrong.
Will we speak up? Will we have the courage to say this shouldn't happen? Because the reality is, as in America, we know, as the great James Baldwin said after the false wrong arrest of Angela Davis, if they come for you in the morning, then they're going to come for me at night. When you take away other people's values anywhere, it's a threat to all of our shared precious values everywhere.
COOPER: Do you expect, I mean, these legal fights over the President deploying National Guard to Oregon, Illinois will end up going to the Supreme Court? And do you think the court would ultimately give the president wide latitude?
BOOKER: Look, I don't know. I do know that when his own appointees rule against them as they have, he suddenly questions the legitimacy of even people he put on the bench. Donald Trump doesn't respect our judicial system at all.
I don't know what the outcome is going to be with this very conservative leaning court. But I do know that what Donald Trump says in his own words is he does not respect the separation of powers. He doesn't respect checks and balances. Donald Trump is dangerous. And we more and more need to realize that.
And if you want to know an immediate danger, it's 22 million to 30 million Americans losing their health insurance. It's our hospitals closing, clinics closing. He's literally a danger to our health and safety. And we're seeing it in real time.
COOPER: What do you say to people in this country? I'm sure you hear from every day who feel demoralized, who feel like they don't recognize the, you know, some of their neighbors or are concerned with the way things are going and, yes, feel demoralized.
BOOKER: Yes, I think American history is a perpetual testimony to very dark and difficult times, us finding a way forward. American history is a celebration of us achieving impossible things against impossible odds. Suffragists were demoralized. Union organizers were demoralized. Civil rights activists were demoralized.
God, they were demoralized after what happened at Stonewall. We are a country whose story is people in the midst of despair choosing to be agents of hope by their willingness to stand up. Donald Trump is a dark force in our country, but he cannot diminish our light.
And our strength of our light is even magnified and multiplied when more of us come together. Remember what King said in a demoralizing time during the civil rights movement. He said what we're going to have to repent for is not the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people. It's the silence and inaction of the good people.
Now is the time for more people to be standing up and speaking up. And that's why I'm trying to find more and more creative ways to fight as one American citizen who has the privilege of representing New Jersey here in the Senate.
COOPER: Senator Cory Booker, I very much appreciate your time. Thank you.
BOOKER: Thank you.
COOPER: It's already Tuesday, October 7th in Israel, the second anniversary of the deadly attacks by Hamas. Indirect talks are underway in Egypt between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, along with mediators, to work out a ceasefire in Gaza to release the remaining Israeli hostages and for Israel to release some Palestinian prisoners.
President Trump expressed a lot of optimism today in the Oval Office and said that Hamas is making important concessions in the negotiations, which he -- as he expects to take a couple of days. He's urging all sides to move fast while there's momentum to reach a deal and bring the war to an end.
Meanwhile, in Israel, families of the hostages still being held by Hamas gathered today outside of the prime minister's home in Jerusalem.
Just ahead, OpenAI's new image generator making stunningly real videos like this fake security camera footage of their CEO, Sam Altman, stealing. Will this lead to a flood of misinformation? We'll have more on that ahead.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, I really need this for Sora inference. This video is too good.
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[20:44:29]
COOPER: OpenAI's new video app, Sora 2, is almost erasing the line between reality and AI-generated video. All of what you're seeing on your screen was created in Sora 2 and is 100 percent fake. Users simply type in what they want to create and the model spits out video of exactly that. It's extraordinary.
Say, for instance, you wanted to skydive to the North Pole. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a view!
North Pole, here I come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice landing, big guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks. Smooth as snow I've ever touched.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the workshop. Let's get you warmed up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This place is incredible. Look at this little engine.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
[20:45:02]
COOPER: Now, the videos are often funny and will provide endless dopamine hits that will keep you glued to your devices even more. But they're also so real looking. They'll no doubt lead to even more confusion about what is real and what is not. Like what you're seeing right now, a man stuffing a ballot box with envelopes creating -- created on Sora 2 in a matter of minutes. And of course, phony.
Joining me now is New York Times tech reporter and the man who created some of those AI videos you just saw, Mike Isaac. Mike, good to see you. I hope you enjoyed skydiving.
You've had access to this new OpenAI app now for several days. What's your experience been like and how much do you think it's going to change our collective reality? I got sucked into it for, I don't know, I think I lost 20 minutes of my life watching these videos over the weekend.
MIKE ISAAC, NEW YORK TIMES TECH REPORTER: Yes.
COOPER: And it's extraordinary.
ISAAC: It totally killed my weekend, too. And it was one of the exact things you were saying, which was within like five, 10 minutes, I was able to start spinning up the videos that you showed basically of me doing whatever, you know, skydiving or I made a dumb one of me fighting Ronald McDonald in the Matrix, you know, like there's like very fantastical things you can do.
But I posted one of them to my Instagram account and a bunch of my friends were like, wait a minute, is this you? My middle-aged, you know, friend cohort of people who are relatively digitally savvy. So if it's fooling them, I'm a little bit worried.
COOPER: I want to play something in another video that was created entirely by AI and Sora.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another day of training.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, Michael. This looks too serious. You may not be able to ski again.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: I mean, I don't know. I mean, people in Hollywood must be freaking out. You know, it's incredible how easy it is. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has allowed users to use him in videos on the site. And there's this video of him stealing from Target, which then becomes kind of a commercial for Sora 2.
Can you make users -- I mean, can users make somebody do anything? Are there guardrails on the platform right now?
ISAAC: Well, you know, I wanted to do a video with you before this segment. And -- but in order to do that, I'd have to have your permission. You'd have to be on the platform. You'd have to allow me to use your likeness. I don't think you wanted to do that, which I completely understand.
And I think that's the thing for people who sign up for this. There are some controls saying if you want to allow people to use your likeness, you can. If not, you can't.
The Hollywood point, though, that you made is really important because studios, talent agencies, all of those folks were freaking out because initially this was an opt-out thing, meaning Sora could create a video about SpongeBob or Iron Man or whatever. And the studios had to opt out of all of that content being used inside of Sora.
They changed position after they got hammered -- after OpenAI got hammered over the weekend and now it's opt-in. But it's still this sort of weird dance around copyright and how far this company can actually go with it, basically.
COOPER: It also does, I mean, in the battle for eyeballs, and this is, you know, all these videos are meant to hit, you know, they squirrel into your brain. They give you dopamine hits. It keeps, you know, especially young people's eyeballs glued to the screens even longer. I mean, this is only going to -- this just puts that on steroids.
ISAAC: Yes, I mean, one of the constant critiques I hear from folks about AI and AI-generated videos is, oh, you can, you know, you can see that, you can kind of tell it's fake. But I really don't think that people give enough credence to, you know, what's called good enough technology, right?
Like, even something that might be a little bit off, but still, you know, you're showing videos right now of a dog surfing into a news studio, or me, or a version of me delivering the news. That stuff is engaging. It keeps you sucked in.
And folks like you and I who, you know, are a little bit disturbed by it, still spend our weekends kind of looking at it. Which is why I feel like this is very different than other of the many video generators that are already out there right now.
COOPER: Well, also, I mean, the fact that I -- you know, woke up 20 minutes later and just hated myself even more for, you know, wasting part of my life. Although I did find all the videos amazing, and the skill of it is incredible. I do worry, as someone who has little kids, having access to this, it just -- it turbo charges, you know, the time suck and the, you know, the capturing of kids' minds.
But it's, again, you can't argue. And, I mean, it's incredible quality already. You know, the next generation is going to be exponentially better. I mean, the learning curve on this is extraordinary.
[20:50:05]
Mike Isaac, I appreciate your reporting on this. Thank you. Tonight, about 350 hikers who were stranded on the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet have been safely rescued. This is actually real video. Chinese state media says contact has been made with an additional 200 hikers. It's unclear tonight if they've reached safety.
A blizzard packing heavy snow and rain moved in over the weekend, making conditions dangerous for the hikers. And people familiar with weather patterns on the mountains say that such a heavy snowstorm is very unusual for this time of the year.
Ahead, in his new book, "Race Against Terror," my colleague Jake Tapper shines a light on the first case of a foreign terror suspect prosecuted in the U.S. criminal court for killing American soldiers. And it's probably a case you've never heard of. Jake joins me next.
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[20:55:28]
COOPER: Just days ago, Michael Ben'Ary was fired from his position as the top national security prosecutor in Virginia's Eastern District. Now, his dismissal came after Julie Kelly, a pro-Trump activist and writer, posted on X that, quote, "One can only assume he was a big part of the internal resistance to the Comey indictment."
Now, on Friday, Ben'Ary posted a note on his former office door saying he was troubled to be removed, especially working on the prosecution of, quote, "the only person to face justice in the United States for the bombing of the Abbey Gate in 2021 in Afghanistan." He added, quote, "While I have the utmost confidence in my co-counsel, my abrupt, apparently thoughtless removal with no period of transition will hurt this case."
Now, that case will mark just the second time ever that a foreign terrorism suspect will be prosecuted in a U.S. criminal court on charges related to killing American service members in a war zone. The suspect, known as Jafar, has been charged with aiding and abetting the Abbey Gate suicide bombing that killed 13 American service members and more than 160 Afghans.
Jake Tapper joins me now. He's written a fascinating new book about the first case of that kind called, "Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War." So, Jake, first of all, can you just talk a little bit about the dangers of firing some of these experienced career prosecutors, both at DOJ and to national security?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, I think that Michael Ben'Ary said it best in his Martin Luther-like statement that he put on his door, which is it makes the country less safe. I mean, he said the Justice Department leaders are more focused on going after the President's potential or perceived enemies than they are with the preserving the national security of the United States.
And it's -- when you look at what they are doing, the Trump leadership of the DOJ and FBI in terms of who they are purging and why, it makes the -- it does make the country less safe. I know from covering the first case, as you note, of Spin Ghul, this terrorist from Saudi Arabia that was prosecuted in a criminal court for killing service members abroad, it's incredibly difficult. It's a very challenging case, and it requires experienced prosecutors who know where the pitfalls are.
COOPER: The new book is fascinating. First of all, I don't know how you've written three incredibly fascinating books in this amount of time. But talk about this guy, Spin Ghul, because I don't think it's a name a lot of people know. Why was his trial so controversial back then?
TAPPER: Well, in 2011, 2012, people were still terrified by the notion of bringing a terrorist from abroad. He had been captured in Italy by the Italians just by happenstance, bringing him to the United States for criminal prosecution. It's weird to think of in 2025 why we were all so scared, we being the American people, but Democrats, Republicans, everybody, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Schumer, nobody wanted this to happen.
And there were a couple reasons for it. One, I think people were just afraid of terrorists. They kind of just interpreted them as having the Thanos-like powers, where they would come in and just wreak havoc in the streets of Manhattan. And the second thing is, well, it was safer just to stick them in Gitmo and have military tribunals handle it, because there was no chance of escape, no chance that they would be found not guilty.
And there was, in fact, a case in 2010 where a guy, Ghailani, who was being tried for the U.S. embassy bombings in 1998, he was acquitted of 284 -- of 285 charges. So people were very fearful that these terrorists would come to this country to be prosecuted, and then they would be freed.
COOPER: The -- this book is all fact. It reads at times like a novel. I mean, it's got an incredibly kind of exciting pace to it, which is a testament to your writing. How did you come across the story?
TAPPER: It's just totally random, and this will be your future someday. I was doing a paintball birthday party for my then-13-year- old son. And because it's out in the boonies in Virginia, I would just have pizza and drinks for the grownups just to take the afternoon while the kids are shooting each other in the woods, just to relax.
And one of the dads came up to me, and he said he knew somebody who's in "The Outpost," this book I wrote about Afghanistan --
COOPER: Yes.
TAPPER: -- back in 2012. And he -- and I said, yes, that book was really tough for me because the military keeps such crappy records, and they don't share them. And he said, tell me about it. And then he proceeds to tell me this story that starts on the deck of an Italian cruise ship where refugees are being taken to the mainland of Italy, and this random guy asks for water. The Italian Green Beret notices he has a bullet scar, asks him how he got it. I'm with al-Qaeda. I got it fighting Americans. And it just proceeded from there. But the Americans had this incredible task to prove a case against him before the Italians just let him go into a refugee camp from which he would easily escape.
COOPER: Wow. It's a really great read. "Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer the Dawn of the Forever War." It's on bookshelves tomorrow.
Jake Tapper, thank you for being with us, as always. Appreciate it.
The News Continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
