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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

CENTCOM: Iranian Missile Attack On U.S. Forces Thwarted; Trump Again Threatens To Destroy Iranian Bridges, Power Plants; Uncertainty Looms Over Blanche's Nomination Ahead Of Key Vote; Trump Urges Supreme Court To Overturn E. Jean Carroll $83 Million Defamation Verdict; Trump, Zelenskyy Meet Hours After Ukraine And Russia Trade Attacks; Nearly 40 Million People Under Flood Watches Across Northeast; Search And Rescues Underway After 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Japan. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 28, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

SCOTT VANDER DUSSEN, CAPTURED VIDEO OF LIFEGUARD SAVING A 10-YEAR-OLD: Absolutely, you know, like I said, I'm out there frequently and I see interactions with lifeguards. But this was the most dramatic interaction I had ever seen, the most dramatic rescue.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Scott, thanks for joining us.

DUSSEN: My pleasure.

BURNETT: Thanks so much to all of you for being with us too. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:29]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: All right, five months today since President Trump launched the war with Iran and four days since he traded shooting. He said for the hopes of talking, Iran has answered with missiles, not words. John Berman here in for Anderson.

And we have video just in of air defense crews targeting incoming fire from Iran. A statement from Central Command says it happened a bit more than two hours ago. Multiple ballistic missiles aimed, CENTCOM says at U.S. forces in the Middle East. Now, where in the Middle East was left unsaid but Barak Ravid from "Axios" says it was a U.S. base in Jordan.

Now, this comes about ten hours after the President spoke positively about negotiations that he said were underway with Tehran, which Iran was denying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: We hear that you're talking right now with leaders on Iran, but Iran has come out publicly and said were not talking to the U.S.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, they just came out and said we are talking a little while ago because.

KILMEADE: So, could you tell me who you talking to, Mr. President?

TRUMP: For some reason, for some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion and they'll come out and say, we're not talking or we didn't discuss nuclear. Well, that's all we discussed because they'll never have a nuclear weapon, they understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, during that same interview, the President also renewed his threats against Iranian infrastructure if talks went nowhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If they don't make a deal, then I go back and I finish the job. But that's going to take them forever to rebuild. If I go back and finish up the job, as some people would like with the bridges, with the very easy, I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour, less than an hour. But, you know, it takes them ten years to build a bridge. Bridges take the longest and power plants are second. I can knock out the power plants within one day. All of their power plants would be gone. And I let them know that, you know, with negotiations, I say, look, people want me to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, tonight he has an answer from Iran. Is this their final word? That's one question. The more pressing one tonight is what will the President do about it? CNN's Kaitlan Collins, chief White House correspondent, anchor of "The Source" and award-winning journalist, joins us tonight. Kaitlan, what are you hearing from the administration on this tonight?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN'S CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND THE ANCHOR OF "THE SOURCE": You know, John, we're still waiting to see reaction from the President himself because obviously, CENTCOM has confirmed that, yes, Iran fired these missiles at Jordan. CENTCOM says they were successfully intercepted and hailed that obviously as a success. But it does speak to the broader conflict that is very much still underway here, as we've heard varying message from the President himself about whether or not talks are happening, whether he believes that they could be fruitful or whether or not there is a chance of a return to all-out war here.

And I thought it was interesting today that he was talking about hitting those desalination plants and others in in Iran and was saying that that is something that would affect the civilians there. And he did not want to take that step of doing so, even though he himself has previously threatened to do so. And the fact that this comes as the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is still here in Washington right now. He's staying just a few feet away from the White House at the at the guest residence known as the Blair House here in Washington.

And so, well see how the President responds. Sometimes he is quite angry with a move like this by Iran. Sometimes he dismisses it as action in the region while the two sides are trying to work things out and talk. But what it also speaks to is what you noted, the fact that this conflict has now been going on this war for five months now. And right now, there is no clear end in sight for the President, despite the fact that he predicted initially that this would only go on for a couple of weeks and now finds himself in this very difficult position of trying to navigate and negotiate a way out of this.

And I think one thing tonight, even though as we're sitting here in Washington in this moment, as they were paying tribute to Lindsey Graham during his funeral today, talking about his support for these wars, for action in the Middle East, particularly in terms of what the President has done here, it is still not really clear on how the how the President is going to respond to this or what he is going to do next in Iran.

BERMAN: Yes, look, this came right in the middle of the President basically saying how great and how positive talks were going. Any sense, Kaitlan, of when we might hear from the President next in terms of what response he could give here?

COLLINS: You know, John, one of the biggest things that stood out to me was two world leaders came to The White House today, and we did not hear from the President sitting next to them. I mean, obviously, we saw him at the funeral today, and he spoke and gave tribute to his longtime friend, Lindsey Graham.

But for two world leaders to come to The White House, to come to the Oval Office and for cameras not to be called into the room, as they so are often for moments like these it's pretty rare and pretty remarkable.

And yes, these two world leaders were only in town because of the funeral for Lindsey Graham. But we're seeing Zelenskyy, who was on Capitol Hill tonight working on trying to get that Russian sanctions package passed and get enough support for it. And Netanyahu obviously meeting behind closed doors the President, to talk about Iran. The fact that they did not have reporters in the room for a President who relishes having reporters come in the Oval Office ask questions. And for world leaders who certainly do the same, using those moments, it does say a lot.

[20:05:40]

BERMAN: Sure, it does. It's a great point. Kaitlan Collins, thank you very much. We are going to see you at the top of the hour for "The Source". Among Kaitlan's guests tonight, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Thanks so much, Kaitlan.

All right, with us now, retired air force Colonel Cedric Leighton and CNN global affairs analyst, Karim Sadjadpour.

Karim, let me just start with you here. So, as we said, the President has been speaking positively about these discussions with Iran at the same time as he is threatening them with destroying their bridges and power plants. If they do anything, yet they still did something. So, what does that tell you about the way Iran's thinking? KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: John, there's unfortunately no correlation between the President's positive upbeat words about the war and the state of negotiations and Iranian conduct. This is a regime which no longer is deterred by President Trump's threats or his words. They're continuing to be in attack mode. I think they want to continue to humiliate President Trump and continue to try to push the United States out of the Middle East.

I was watching an interview, rewatching an interview, John, earlier today with Ali Larijani, Senior Iranian Official in the first week of the war who was assassinated. And he said words that were quite prophetic. He said, we're not going to let the United States go. Don't think that you can start this war and end it quickly. We're not going to let go and those words indeed turned out to be prophetic.

BERMAN: Colonel Laighton, what did you make of the timing here and the target?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, very interesting timing, John, and what I saw with that is the fact that Netanyahu is in D.C. right now. And that, I think, was one of the key things what Iran was doing. You know, to piggyback off of Karim's points is that they're basically saying if Iran and the U.S., in essence, get back together again, the Iranians see Israel and the U.S. get back together again. The Iranians see this as being a major issue in terms of continuing the war. They see that as basically the potential for a hostile act against them.

And as far as the target is concerned, they went after a U.S. facility on a Jordanian air base, and they are seeing that as one of the prime areas that they can use not only to target, but also, they see that as a primary danger point for them. So, they're seeing this basically as a preemptive strike from their point of view. And that's why they attacked, probably the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which is in Northern Jordan, which was the one that was hit where the three service members were killed recently.

BERMAN: Karim, what does this tell you about Iran's appetite for risk and also their appetite to change the status quo?

SADJADPOUR: I think we've talked about this before, John. I used to say before the war that the Iranian regime was a zombie regime because it had a dying ideology with dying legitimacy and a dying leader. And I think it's been transformed for now into a gangster regime, a regime which has a huge appetite for risk.

And it's been taught the wrong lesson from this war, which is that you don't gain concessions by compromising. You actually gain concessions by attacking the United States in the region, by attacking your neighbors and continuing to close the Strait of Hormuz. And I think that is Iran's new mode. That's the new era were in right now with this Iranian regime.

BERMAN: Doesn't sound like, Karim, you think there's any appetite for them to change anything anytime soon. In other words, reach some kind of a deal? SADJADPOUR: I don't see any correlation as of now between the negotiations and Vice-President Vance and some of the U.S. negotiating team and President Trump, of course, have said those negotiations are going positively and the conduct of the regime, which remains very aggressive.

BERMAN: Cedric, what do you think the likely response is for the United States? What are the range of options here? And also, just the fact that Iran continues to strike at U.S. targets with ballistic missiles, which President Trump has more or less said have been destroyed.

LEIGHTON: Yes, well, they obviously, haven't been destroyed, John, as we can see for ourselves here. So, I think the range of options that the U.S. has include doing nothing or going after several sets of targets. The standard response so far has been to go after targets in the Southern part of Iran, along the coastline of the Persian Gulf. What they may do in this particular case, depending on how they judge this particular attempted attack, they may decide to go after some more strategic targets, such as Command-and-Control nodes. Perhaps something in the Tehran region.

I don't think they will use, the U.S. will use this as a pretext for an all-out attack, like we had at the beginning of this conflict, but it is certainly a possibility. It's an option that is on the table but it would that would certainly derail the any type of peace talks or any other negotiations that are going on, at least in the short term.

[20:10:43]

BERMAN: Yes, we'll see. We'll see if there is any response in the next few hours. Colonel Cedric Leighton, Karim Sadjadpour, thank you both so much for being with us tonight and watching this developing news.

Next, in light of all this, the President's meeting today with Israel's Prime Minister, especially given their lingering differences over the war. We're going to get Rahm Emanuel's take on that.

And more breaking news ahead with the fate of the Presidents choice for attorney general in the hands of two Republican Senators who have clashed with the man who picked him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:15:20]

BERMAN: We touched on this before the break. Just hours before Iran went into what Karim Sadjadpour just called attack mode, the President met with war time ally Benjamin Netanyahu. Their talk came five months to the day since they jointly launched the war. Afterwards, the Prime Minister had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): It was a conversation of full partnership, of mutual support, with an understanding of the shared goal to ensure that Iran will not have nuclear weapons and also other goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He and the President, as you know, have reportedly clashed at points on how to conduct the war. And the President has been publicly prickly at times about not being told what to do by anyone, even a close ally.

With us now, CNN senior political and global affairs commentator Rahm Emanuel, who was also ambassador to Japan and recently paid a high profile visit to Israel.

Ambassador, thanks so much for being with us. I want to talk about the meeting with Netanyahu in just a moment. But first, just what's your reaction from what CENTCOM called a surprise, this surprise attack from Iran?

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, I would step back and see this in a context of three things that I think are really important. The President of the United States is trying to figure out how to get leverage in this negotiation, and the Iranians are trying to figure out enough, trying to figure out are deploying revenge for having started this war, that's number one.

Number two, if you look at all their areas of where they've had proxies from Hezbollah to Syria, to Iraq, to Hamas, they have been degraded significantly, if not lost, like in the case of Syria.

Third, that's why they want the Strait of Hormuz for the other type of leverage that they can get and for holding the world economy hostage. And then finally, they want all of America's allies in the region, in the Gulf to pay a price for hosting the United States. Their long-term goal has been always, since 1979, to get America out of the Gulf.

So, when you look in that context, I'm not surprised on the day in which basically the Prime Minister of Israel is in the Oval Office, they're going to pull something like this off to remind the United States, after three days of lull in any conflict, that they're going to pay a price for meeting with the Israelis and for being a partner with the Israelis in this war. That's what's going on, but there's a larger context that's also happening between the degradation of their proxies and using, as I've said, the Strait of Hormuz went from they were trying to seek nuclear weapons. Now they have a nuclear option where they can hold the entire world economy in a hammerlock.

BERMAN: Let's talk about the meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu. We don't have many details, right, because the President did not invite cameras in as he has wanted to. It's unusual that he doesn't do that. First of all, why don't you think he wanted cameras there? And secondly, all we've heard about it is from the Israeli Prime Minister, who basically said in Hebrew it was the best meeting he ever had. Almost verbatim with President Trump.

EMANUEL: Yes, well, first on the Prime Minister, he was going to say that no matter what, because he's desperate for some kind of legitimacy, given the price he's paid at his domestic politics. Second, I thought it was more interesting than it wasn't the statements he made on Iran, where he said other topics.

Look, last week, the President of the United States had a obviously, relations and discussions with the Syrian President, the Lebanese President was there, and the Iraqi President was there. All places that have hosted proxies, et cetera. There's a massive opportunity diplomatically and security wise for a Syrian Israel security agreement. That would be a huge political breakthrough.

The second piece with the Lebanese government finally having a government that's willing to take some of the heat in dealing with Hezbollah and their attempt to overtake the country of Lebanon or hold Lebanon hostage to their terrorist aims, and then the Iraqi President came in and he is now pulling the militia in and allowing a separate independent proxies for the Iranians to operate inside Iraq.

So, to me, the what the Prime Minister said when he said other topics, that to me was kind of slightly more significant because the President and the Prime Minister, because this war, in my view, was a foolish act, is no closer to dealing with Iran's attempt to get a weapon and the capacity to deliver that weapon being a nuclear weapon to Israel and threaten the region with the potential of a nuclear weapon, no closer. So of course, he would describe it as a great meeting because he had no other choice, politically and strategically to do that, but it's not necessary.

BERMAN: As you noted, the Strait is still constricted. You know, the traffic is not flowing freely, freely through it. The talks are either happening or not happening, but we haven't heard there's any progress. So, what happens, how long can the status quo go on? What happens for both sides if things don't change soon?

[20:20:08]

EMANUEL: Yes, John, I think what you should do is, and for the audience, think of this as two clocks ticking right now. One is how long the United States and the world economy can take the pain of not a constricted, but oil not flowing. And how long the Iranian economy and the political government that has no legitimacy with society can they withstand the economic pain?

And don't forget, inside Iran there is a true division, ones that want to diplomatically try to deal with the economy because of the unrest. And the other one that doesn't care about that will kill Iranian people to stay in power and wants to deal with the great Satan, the United States.

And so, I think that the real two clocks is whose economy and pain threshold will kick off quicker. And the Iranian bet is the President of United States will have a lower threshold to pain than they are willing to absorb for the Iranian people. And I think they've shown that over since 1979 and the revolution forward, and most specifically with the stress that we put on the sanctions and other type of oil embargo,

Now, they're closer to a breaking point. We're closer to a breaking point, and so, it all depends on who can take the pain. And the threshold is higher or lower.

BERMAN: Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, thank you so much for being with us tonight.

Next, the two Republican Senators standing between the President and his wish to make his former criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, the Nation's attorney general, on a permanent basis.

And later, what more than 40 million Americans are facing tonight from falling rain, rising rivers, severe flood watches from Maryland all the way up to Massachusetts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[25:25:57]

BERMAN: The fate of the President's pick for attorney general is in question. Tonight, as we come to you, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is facing a vote on Thursday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, does not yet have the support of two Republican Members, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn.

Now, without their yes votes, the nomination theoretically dies. Each has clashed with the President and by that, I mean the President came out against them and there are various elections.

The sticking point tonight, the $1.8 billion so-called anti weaponization fund. The President essentially negotiated with himself as settlement of his lawsuit against the government agency that he himself oversees.

This is what Blanche told the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is a moot issue, meaning there is no weaponization fund. The fund is dead; it's not moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, Republican Senator John Cornyn had told CNN he had not received an update from the Justice Department on the demand from him and Republican Senator Thom Tillis that the fund be formally killed before they vote yes on Blanche's nomination. Senator Cornyn says the DOJ has been, "radio silent for the last 24 hours."

He also posted on social media, "fake news alert, there is no deal on Blanche nom. They know what they have to do."

Now, as you heard, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted that the fund, which would be open to January 6th rioters, is no longer happening. The Judiciary Committee vote is slated for Thursday in just a short time ago, Senator Thom Tillis signaled he might be inching closer to a yes. And that's not all, because Senator Cornyn may have something to taken to. Manu Raju is with us now, so, what is the latest on Senator Cornyn and all this, Manu?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I just caught up with Senator Cornyn moments ago, John. He made clear that he's having a meeting tomorrow morning with Todd Blanche, and that meeting could very well be pivotal, determining whether or not Cornyn could vote for Todd Blanche and holding that decisive vote. All eyes will be on what the Justice Department decides to say to Cornyn tomorrow. He told me that he expects a written proposal language on paper, something specifying that that $1.8 billion fund is dead once and for all.

Cornyn has raised concerns with the way the Justice Department has handled it in court and elsewhere, signals that it could still be alive. And Cornyn told me, he said, we need paper. We need it in writing. We don't need well wishes or, you know, impressions. We need concrete confirmation of what he testified to in his hearing.

And I asked, Cornyn, I said, well, what happens if this is not resolved to your satisfaction? And Cornyn said to me, well, that means I doubt we have the vote. And John, I asked the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, whether or not he would delay the Thursday vote if he does not have the support of John Cornyn or Thom Tillis, either one of them could effectively derail the nomination once and for all.

Grassley ignored the question and walked on to an elevator.

BERMAN: All right, update from Manu Raju chasing people into elevators. Thank you for your work on this.

We want to get perspective now from Democratic Strategist Paul Begala, "New York Daily News" columnist S.E. Cupp journalist and co-founder of "Lift Our Voices", Gretchen Carlson and former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin.

So, S.C., you know, is the dam breaking? Is it really in the balance or is it teetering?

S.E. CUPP, CNN COMMENTATOR: It's amazing what being primaried will do. It makes you do your job, right. This is the job of the Senate to cross the T's, dot the I's, ask all the important questions of these in these confirmation hearings and it's great that they're doing that. It's also great that they don't just take Trump at his word or Todd Blanche at his word, and that they're going for this.

Now, what I heard and what John Cornyn was saying to me was that he wants to get to a yes, it seemed like he wants to get to a yes. And we'll see if that happens tomorrow morning. But congratulations on doing the job.

BERMAN: You know, on that on that note, Gretchen, you know, people have been talking about the yolo caucus or the, as I put it, the no Trump's left to give caucus the people who had no reason to obey him yet, yet for all the talk, there seems to be a pretty good chance that Cornyn will get to, yes.

Tillis already indicates he wants to be there. So, is this all performative?

GRETCHEN CARLSON, JOURNALIST AND CO-FOUNDER OF "LIFT OUR VOICES": Maybe, I'm just really disappointed in the whole process because they do have the ability to actually have a voice on this. And you recall when they were asking the questions at the hearing of Todd Blanche, Senator Tillis said, I want you to have a meeting with the Epstein survivors.

Now, first of all, Blanche should have already had done that, but he didn't. And then he begrudgingly held that meeting later that day. And according to the survivors, it was sort of like a, yes, well, I have to do this. So, that's why I'm doing it.

[20:30:38]

So why aren't we discussing the fact that Todd Blanche should not be nominated as attorney general because of the Epstein files and the way in which he handled that. I agree the slush fund is also a problem, and it should be in writing that that is going to be dead. But why is it OK to nominate Todd Blanche when he has not been crystal clear about the handling of the Epstein files?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You know, I've covered John Cornyn on and off over the years, and there are two words that describe him -- loyal Republican. This is a guy who has devoted his life to the Republican Party. He started in Texas before the Republican Party was in ascendancy there, and he is not going to torpedo this nomination.

That is not who he is. That's not how he operates. It is a shame that this is all we're talking about in the terms of the nomination of Todd Blanche at a time when the Justice Department is in a complete shambles, when judges can't believe what prosecutors say when they come into their courtroom. That's an important issue. But these two are going to vote for it.

BERMAN: Is there a way to legally kill the slush fund, kill it dead more than just saying it's dead?

TOOBIN: I mean, this is one of these weird things where I actually think Todd Blanche was telling the truth from day one. I mean, the -- it's a process if they were to set this up. They need to establish a board. It's not just something he could snap his fingers and do. So if he says it's dead, it really is dead. I don't understand why this is such a fixation.

BERMAN: So, Paul, how will the Justice Department under Todd Blanche as attorney general look different than the Justice Department under Todd Blanche as attorney general? Because that's what he's doing right now as the acting attorney general.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: And if they don't confirm him, it doesn't matter. He can serve for the entire remainder of Trump's term as an acting. Why? Because of the Julie Su precedent. We congressional nerds love this. Julie Su was Joe Biden's temporary Acting Labor Secretary. Senate wouldn't confirm her. So she just stayed for 22 months. Trump's only got 30 months left. I don't like that. I actually think that the Senate should advise and consent.

And, by the way, this whole thing that Cornyn says should be in writing, that's just a pinky promise. You know what they can do? And this is technical, so bear with me. Pass a law. That's what Congress does. They do it all the time.

For years, we had a law called the Hyde Amendment. You cannot spend any of our money on abortions out of Medicaid. OK. They could pass a law. I know it's crazy to think that Congress could actually control the purse strings as the founders intended. But that's what they need to do is do their dadgum job.

CARLSON: They talked about potentially doing that during the hearing of Todd Blanche.

BEGALA: Please. They should do it.

CARLSON: I mean, that took up about three hours of the time when they were talking about it. I don't know what derailed that or not, but you're exactly right. He can be attorney general whether or not this process happens.

BERMAN: You think, S.E., that President Trump is regretting at all endorsing Ken Paxton in the Texas primary over John Cornyn?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Probably not yet. We'll see what happens in November. I know that James Talarico is really excited that Ken Paxton got the nomination, right, over John Cornyn. And I think Republicans regret it. It's forced the Republican Party to spend way more than they needed to if John Cornyn had been the nominee.

And Trump isn't opening his coffers. He's not spending all his money. He's forcing Republicans to spend their money. So, yes, I mean, it seems pretty unnecessary and a very risky game when the stakes are so high.

BERMAN: Paul, I understand you know a little something about Texas. I mean, how do things feel down there right now?

BEGALA: There was a poll out today. James Talarico, the Democrat, is up by five. Now, it's a long way away, 97 days.

CUPP: But that's crazy.

BEGALA: That's the thing.

CUPP: Right.

BEGALA: Never once, Beto O'Rourke, who I assume no one liked, never was up by five.

CUPP: Right. BEGALA: And he only lost by 2.5 points to Ted Cruz. It's going to happen, and we're going to have to send -- Talarico going to have send Mr. Trump a gift basket when he wins that election.

CUPP: Wait, what's going to happen? You think James Talarico's going to win?

BEGALA: Yes. I'm never in doubt. I'm often wrong.

CUPP: Wow.

BEGALA: But I'm just telling you --

CARLSON: July 28th.

BEGALA: -- it's a perfect storm because --

CUPP: Yes.

BEGALA: -- the Cornyn primary voters, Cornyn Republicans, the Normies, the loyal Republicans, as Toobin says, they're depressed. Man, they're depressed. My Democrats, they're excited. That's how you get away. Amplitude is measured by the peak and the trough.

BERMAN: Your Democrats may be excited in Texas, but they're at each other's throats in other parts of the country, right? We look at Michigan now, where there actually is a primary in just a week.

[20:35:00]

And you've got, you know, Abdul El-Sayed, who we, you know, we know here from CNN, going just head-to-head with Haley Stevens and it's getting nasty. One wonders, Gretchen, if the party in Michigan, let alone in the country, can come together after that.

CARLSON: Well, we've seen this trend happening. It started in New York with Mamdani becoming the mayor. And then we saw the trend again in other states. I think this is a huge problem for the Democratic Party. Sorry, Paul.

I mean, it's a huge problem because of this separation. You saw Governor Whitmer come out in Michigan and endorse Haley Stevens now. They weren't necessarily the best of friends.

But I think that that was sort of a last-ditch effort because they're trying to steer it to a more moderate vote. I mean, this is a purple state right now. This is a tough state for Republicans and Democrats.

BERMAN: Jeff, we do have a late-breaking legal story. The President is asking the Supreme Court again to overturn E Jean Carroll's $83 million defamation case against him. His lawyers are basically citing the 2024 decision, granting him wide immunity for actions taken while he was President. What do you think (INAUDIBLE)?

TOOBIN: This is a different case.

BERMAN: Yes.

TOOBIN: Yes. The --

BERMAN: Not the $5 million one.

TOOBIN: The $5 million, she has actually cashed that check. That check is over. This is the -- it's the same plaintiff, same defendant, but this is a vastly greater sum of money at issue. I don't think there is any constitutional issue here. This relates to private conduct before he was President.

It's a very large award, and perhaps they could, you know, address the amount of the award. But I don't see any constitutional basis because he's President now based on a tort that he committed back when he was President.

BERMAN: f the defamation took place, if the statement he made was while he was President, does that have an impact?

TOOBIN: You know, that's the argument.

BERMAN: Right.

TOOBIN: But I think even this Supreme Court doesn't necessarily -- that doesn't seem to make much of a difference when you're talking about -- the underlying conduct is private, and he's talking about a private citizen not in his official capacity.

BERMAN: Gretchen, what's the look here for the White House, where the President himself continuing to fight this case, you know, tooth and nail as long as he can?

CARLSON: I was just going to say, I mean, he just cannot let this go. The whole idea about E. Jean Carroll winning this, whether or not it's $83 million or $5 million, he just cannot let this go. I'd be shocked if the Supreme Court took up this case for all the reasons that Jeff just said.

But I do think that the big difference here is whether or not that defamation took place when he was President or not, because the Supreme Court has handed him everything, including all immunity.

BERMAN: Friends, thank you all for being here tonight. Get home safely. Hope you all have a canoe --

CUPP: Right.

BERMAN: -- to get out of here. Appreciate it.

Up next, the President's other high-profile meeting today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. President Zelenskyy has just wrapped up talks on Capitol Hill. We're going to speak with the senator who was there.

Also, tonight's huge storm system, we were just talking about it, and the potential for destruction that millions of people are now facing here in the Northeast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:15]

BERMAN: More breaking news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on Capitol Hill tonight before the first procedural vote to advance a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, renamed after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, overwhelmingly passed in the Senate just moments ago.

Zelenskyy said he spoke with President Trump today at the White House about Kyiv's access to Patriot missile interceptors and reviving diplomacy during what Zelenskyy called a good meeting. Meanwhile, a White House official told CNN, quote, "Now is the time to end the war."

With us now is Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who worked with Senator Graham on this legislation for more than a year, met with President Zelenskyy tonight ahead of the vote. Senator, thank you so much for being with us. Talk to us about the meeting with Zelenskyy. I know he spoke with a number of senators. What difference do you think that will make?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: It's been a roller coaster of a day emotionally for both President Zelenskyy and myself and others. The sadness of saying farewell to our friend, Senator Graham, but then the exhilaration of seeing this solid step toward scorching sanctions on Russia to stop its fueling Russia's war machine.

And President Zelenskyy was extremely upbeat, as enthusiastic as I have seen him in Washington. I've met with him in Kyiv, Rome, Munich, all over the world, as he said. And he has been absolutely determined in asking that we pass this sanctions bill, along with the interceptors and factories and other defensive missile systems that he needs that go with the Patriots and the drone technology that he's willing to provide the United States, in fact, is furnishing to us, along with the hardware.

BERMAN: As we mentioned, the White House says that was the time for talks. Do you have a sense from President Zelenskyy about where he thinks diplomatic negotiations might be headed?

BLUMENTHAL: He's ready for peace talks. Putin has rejected them. Putin is the obstacle because he thinks he can outlast us. And the significance of this vote, 86 to 12, an overwhelming bipartisan vote, is that it sends a message to President Putin, he's not going to outlast us. These sanctions are going to impose costs on his economy, which is already reeling.

He's losing 30,000 to 35,000 casualties every month on the battlefield. Ukraine is striking deep into Russia at its refineries and manufacturing capacities. And Ukraine is helping the United States defend our bases in the Middle East with their drone technology. So I think it's a very important signal that Ukraine is ready for peace and Putin should be ready as well. [20:45:10]

BERMAN: Where do you think the war is headed in the next couple of months?

BLUMENTHAL: There's likely to be more kinetic action in the eastern part of Ukraine, largely stalled, but Ukraine for the first time in a long time is actually net gaining territory. It's taking back territory in the east through the expert use of its aerial warfare, its advanced technology, which, by the way, is ahead of the whole world.

We should be learning from Ukraine, building manufacturing drones jointly with them, enabling them to have licensing agreements to build the anti-missile technology that they need. But I think it was also very reassuring to President Zelenskyy on a very personal level to see the system in the United States actually working.

Republicans and Democrats coming together in a powerful coalition to support his nation. And I think that gave a great boost to his morale and it's going to be good, I think he said very explicitly, for morale on the part of the Ukrainian people as well.

BERMAN: He picked a good day to visit the U.S. Congress. It's not always like that. Just lastly, we mentioned in an earlier segment that Todd Blanche, the nomination to be Attorney General, faces a vote in the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. John Cornyn, your colleague, your Republican colleague from Texas, Thom Tillis, your Republican colleague from North Carolina, they are, you know, suggesting maybe they will, maybe they won't vote against him. What do you think the likelihood is of Todd Blanche getting through to the Judiciary Committee?

BLUMENTHAL: Well, you know, let's be real. I've seen this movie before and I've seen how it ends, Republicans cave. So I am not extremely hopeful that they will do the right thing and vote against a proposed attorney general who would be the administration's henchman, Donald Trump's personal lawyer, not the people's lawyer.

In fact, his consigliere, enabling him to continue corruption, crypto corruption, building more East Room, ballroom type vanity projects. But I do think there's a chance because they are insisting that the denial of the slush fund, that is the rejection of it, be somehow memorialized in writing, that it be made permanent.

Blanche says it's dead, but the President is still saying it's a good idea. So I think they have a legitimate point that Blanche should put it into the settlement agreement if he really means that it's dead. And I hope they'll continue to insist on that condition, but reject the Blanche nomination.

I'm not holding my breath. I don't mean to sound cynical, but I've seen too often Republicans wring their hands and furrow their brows and then vote with the President.

BERMAN: Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, I know it was a long and emotional day for you, both the vote, but also saying goodbye to your friend and former colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. We do appreciate you being with us.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

BERMAN: There is more breaking news tonight in the form of a month's worth of rain in a single storm in some places. Tens of millions of people from Baltimore to New England are in the path of this storm, anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain forecast. And just for perspective, we have seen just shy of 3.5 inches here in New York all month.

Areas further west have already received a taste of it. We have a flash flood in Cumberland County outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 40 million people are under flood watches and warnings tonight. The concern in big cities being rain falling faster than storm drains can carry it away, something that caused billions of dollars in destructions in these parts during Hurricane Sandy.

Let's get right to CNN's Danny Freeman on the soggy ground in Philadelphia. What are you seeing there now, Danny?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, I know our viewers have heard about the calm before the storm. Right now it feels like the calm between the storm, because really, John, for the past hour here in Philadelphia, it's just been punishing, punishing rain, intense lightning, intense thunder as well.

And then it's just lightened up really in the past 5 or 10 minutes or so. But, again, we're expecting more rain and more storms, severe thunderstorms throughout the night. This has been really what a lot of the region has been experiencing.

You can see right now the rain steadily coming down. The wind, thankfully, also has gone down a little bit here in Philadelphia. But again, we keep seeing lightning strikes. We keep hearing thunder out there. So this storm, very, very active.

Though I will say, John, it does seem to some extent that -- oh, there you go. There's lightning right there.

BERMAN: Yes.

FREEMAN: It does seem, John, that Philadelphia may have dodged some of the brunt of this storm, at least for the moment. To the west of Philadelphia, they had tornado watches earlier in the evening. Maryland, also southern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore -- oh, and there you hear the thunder right there.

[20:50:10]

They've also gotten pummeled by rain and also some tornado watches earlier in the evening as well. But, John, the real challenge here, as you mentioned, is the amount of rain that has fallen in a short period of time, and that leads to flash flooding. Now, this right here, this is a storm drain here in Philadelphia. You see, totally clear. It's doing its job. But these are the parts of the infrastructure that a lot of officials all across this region are worried about. In Camden, John, which is just across the Delaware River, they had crews and volunteers out all throughout the day trying to remove debris from prior flooding in some of these storm drains just to make sure that more flood water did not come in.

That's why this storm has been so serious for so many in this region, again, up as far as where you are in New York, because the rain has been coming at a high pace, a high intensity, and that can really overwhelm infrastructure. But at least here in the city of Brotherly Love for now, all is calm. But again, we're expecting this storm and this rain to just keep going on into the late night hours, John.

BERMAN: Yes, just before I saw the lightning, I was going to make a joke about bad producing, the fact that the rain stopped just before you came on TV. Then I saw the lightning.

Danny Freeman, stay away. Stay away from metal poles. Be safe, you and your crew. Thank you so much for being with us.

Let's get the latest forecast now from Meteorologist Derek Van Dam of the Weather Center. Derek, what can we expect?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, nice to see the storm drains working there as intended in Philadelphia for Danny's live shot. I want to show you the radar right now. Heaviest rain moving through the Delmarva Peninsula, but there are active flash flood warnings ongoing.

This includes basically northwestern New Jersey and eastern sections of Pennsylvania. But I have seen some promising signs in the radar. We have noticed a drop in the significantly heavy rain you saw earlier this evening that pummeled through Philadelphia. Now just that steady rain with occasional lightning.

New York was spared the heaviest of rain earlier with the initial batch that came through. Now we will get heavier rain this evening, but I'm also seeing some positive trends for the five boroughs there. But at the moment, we've already accumulated, according to radar estimates, over half a foot in some locations just east of Allentown. Hence the flash flood warnings that are ongoing across that region.

But pay attention to this area here. We're talking southern New York, the southern Hudson Valley. This area has seen significant consistent rainfall over the past three to six hours. Widespread 2 to 3 inches have already fallen with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall.

There's so much moisture to work with, so the atmosphere is primed to produce heavy rainfall. And with this forecast trend, we could start to see this kind of an access or a low-pressure system start to spin right around this southern portion of New York, the lower Hudson Valley. So we're worried about some of the topography helping aid in the potential for flash flooding this evening. Again, this is north of the New York City area. I think it'll be clear by tomorrow morning. But you can see how the rain is ongoing across the border of Massachusetts, New York, and into Connecticut with a heavier bandfall moving into Rhode Island as well.

There will be leftover rain showers through the course of the afternoon on Wednesday that could add additional flash flood concerns later in the day. Forecast models here picking up an additional 2 to 4 inches of rainfall, especially into southern New England.

On top of that, John, we've got our severe weather threat that we continue to monitor, the mid-Atlantic down to the Carolinas, even into northern Georgia. We have active thunderstorm watches, tornado watches. Inclusive of the nation's capital, there have been radar- indicated tornado-worn storms throughout the course of the evening.

At the moment, nothing to speak of. That is the gradual trend that we have noticed here on the radar within the past few hours. Good news, but you still need to be very weather-aware, and the potential for flash flooding still exists. John?

BERMAN: All right, let's make it through the night.

Derek Van Dam, appreciate that forecast. Thank you very much.

Up next, an update on rescue efforts in southern Japan after a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake.

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[20:58:29]

BERMAN: Search and rescue efforts underway after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan. At least two people are dead after an explosion at a shopping mall and dozens injured across the quake zone. Authorities also say several people do remain unaccounted for.

Let's get more now from CNN's Hanako Montgomery.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A calm afternoon turned to chaos as a powerful earthquake and a series of aftershocks rattled the Japanese island of Kyushu on Tuesday. Buildings burned, this train overturned, a shrine wrecked, and a bridge collapsed. The full scale of the damage still being assessed around the epicenter in Japan's southern Kumamoto Prefecture.

Inside the mangled wreckage of this partially collapsed shopping mall, several people were reported trapped after an explosion rocked the building following the quake, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said. A wall of the historic Kumamoto Castle, a top tourist attraction, was also seen crumbling as the quake struck.

"How can I put it? I felt as if my body was hovering midair, so for a moment I didn't realize it was an earthquake," this witness said. "It was only when I saw it collapse that it dawned on me that it was an earthquake."

The castle was previously damaged in the 2016 earthquakes, which killed nearly 300 people in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures. South of Kumamoto City, buildings and homes in Uki City and Yatsushiro City were also impacted. Thousands of homes were left without power, and multiple people were unaccounted for after this chimney collapsed at a paper factory in Yatsushiro City, NHK reported.

Japan's Meteorological Agency warning residents in areas that felt the biggest tremors to be prepared for further strong quakes and landslides in the week ahead.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: We'll keep our eye on that.

Thank you so much for being with us. I'm John Berman. I'll see you back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. alongside Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan for CNN's News Central.

The news continues now. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts right now.