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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Sources: Suspect's Father Saw Videos, Confronted His Son; Court Document: Family Member Told Investigators Suspect Had Become More Political In Recent Years; Sen. John Curtis, (R-UT), Is Interviewed Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, Political Violence; Trump: "Radical On The Left Are The Problem"; Utah Officials Urge Political Restraint After Kirk Killing; Polish PM Says Russian Drone Incident Wasn't A Mistake After Trump Suggests The Opposite; New Interim Prime Minister In Nepal After Fiery Anti-Corruption Demonstrations Led By Youth. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired September 12, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks very much, you guys for being with us today. Really appreciate it. Happy Friday to all of you at home as well.
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Don't go anywhere, "The Lead" with Jim Sciutto filling in for Jake Tapper starts right now.
[17:00:43]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Sources say the suspect in the Charlie Kirk killing is not talking. The Lead starts right now.
A 22-year-old captured and charged for the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, how a dinner conversation, a discord group chat and a dad help zero in on his arrest. Plus, Poland's pushback contradicting President Trump, who said a series of drones in Poland's airspace could have been a mistake. What the NATO ally says about the Kremlin's latest move. Music superstar Bad Bunny back home in Puerto Rico and revealing that immigration raids have him worried about doing shows on the U.S. mainland. We're going to go live to San Juan.
Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Jake Tapper. We begin with today's breaking news in our law and justice lead, the arrest of a suspect and the assassination of Turning Point USA founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Tyler James Robinson is 22 years old. He is charged with, among other crimes, aggravated murder and is now being held without bail, this according to court records obtained by CNN.
Sources tell us he currently is not speaking with investigators. Robinson was arrested overnight in Washington County, Utah, hundreds of miles from the scene of Wednesday's shooting at Utah Valley University. It came after authorities released much clearer photographs and videos of the suspected gunman. A law enforcement source tells CNN that Tyler Robinson's own father recognized his son. Another source says that Robinson confessed when confronted by his father.
We're going to have more details on that in just a minute. But in making the arrest announcement this morning, Utah's Republican governor, Spencer Cox, delivered some important and conciliatory words of caution for a state and a nation polarized and traumatized by political violence. They are worth hearing again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SPENCER COX, (R) UTAH: We can return violence with violence, we can return hate with hate, and that's the problem with political violence is it metastasizes because we can always point the finger at the other side. And at some point we have to find an off ramp or it's going to get much, much worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That is the choice facing this country now. Our coverage begins with CNN's Ed Lavandera in Utah and the story of how Robinson was tracked down and captured.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COX: We got him. ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The
information that led investigators to Tyler Robinson came just after authorities released new videos and enhanced photos of the suspect fleeing the shooting scene. The 22-year-old was arrested at 10:00 p.m. Thursday night. Robinson is now in custody in the Utah County Jail, held on several charges including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice. He could face the death penalty.
The manhunt lasted 33 hours. Investigators say video images of the suspect showed him running along the rooftop of a Utah Valley University campus building, dropping to the ground and walking away. This was seconds after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed with a single supersonic bullet 12:23 p.m. Wednesday, local time. The focused manhunt began after authorities analyzed surveillance footage from the scene. A rifle was found in a wooded area near the university with evidence that may point to the suspect's motive.
COX: Inscriptions on the three unfired casings read hate fascist, exclamation point, catch, exclamation point.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The governor said surveillance video matched the suspect identified on the roof to footage showing him arriving on campus in a Dodge Challenger.
COX: He is observed on video in a plain maroon T shirt, light colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light colored shoes.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Authorities say the suspect arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m., this video appears to match the suspect's description. At 9:48 a.m. Thursday, the FBI released the first photos from surveillance video of a person of interest showing a man in sunglasses and a dark blue cap with wearing a T shirt with an American flag. Then at 10:45 a.m. that day, a reward, a hundred thousand dollars for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individuals responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk. Later that night at 7:52 p.m. authorities released the video of the suspect running across a rooftop, climbing over the roof ledge and jumping to the ground before running away. Robinson, matching the descriptions in the video, was later located at his home in Washington County, Utah, at 10:00 p.m. Thursday, 260 miles from the scene and taken into custody.
[17:05:41]
According to Utah's governor, Robinson's father confronted him after seeing the video and the images and told his son to turn himself in. Robinson was then transported overnight and booked into jail just before 2:00 a.m. Friday morning, 12 miles from the scene of Kirk's shooting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): And Jim, two sources tell CNN that Tyler Robinson did speak briefly with investigators when he was first taken into custody, but now that he is here in the Utah County jail just nine miles from the shooting scene, he is no longer talking. And we were told by prosecutors here in Utah County that formal charges will be filed on Tuesday and that is when he will make his initial court appearance. He be in the courtroom in person, he will appeal appear virtually. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Ed Lavandera in Utah, thanks so much.
With us now, CNN John Miller who served as Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism for the NYPD, and former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. Good to have you both.
And John, I understand you have new details that he initially did not go willingly to law enforcement, the suspect here?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, when his father suggested the only thing to do right is to turn yourself in, we are told from law enforcement sources that he said, I'd rather kill myself than surrender. And then the father convinced him to talk to the pastor, a youth pastor who also the youth pastor is also a chaplain with the sheriff's department. And that became the bridge between the conversation between Tyler, the Fugitive Task force and the U.S. marshals at the sheriff's office and ultimately the FBI.
SCIUTTO: Ed, our understanding is that the father saw these pictures released by law enforcement and recognized his son or believe he recognized his son. Have you seen other cases when a parent is faced with that choice of, in effect, turning their own child in?
ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: I have. Unfortunately, it happens relatively frequently. When a parent sees that there's a real chance for a serious violent crime, they sometimes have to make this horrible decision. I had a friend who was a captain of police in the Boston Police Department who had to turn his son in on a terrorism charge because he was planning an attack. The FBI came in and arrested him and he struggled with it, but he had to do it to save people's lives.
SCIUTTO: John, as you know, there's so much disinformation swirling about this right from the moment that this crime took place. I'm not going to reference it to give it life. But one thing that this case has shown us, I imagine, is the difficulty in profiling in cases like this. You look at this suspect, both parents registered Republicans. He didn't vote in recent elections, but was not registered for either party.
Some references to conversations with family where he says -- where he said that he disagreed with Charlie Kirk. But I imagine that makes it difficult for law enforcement to get ahead of cases like this, right, profile potential actors in advance.
MILLER: Well, Jim, one of the things we're seeing, and you can go back through just, you know, recent events, whether it was the shooting in Washington, D.C. of the two Israeli embassy employees at the Jewish Museum or the attack on politicians, elected officials in -- outside Minneapolis at their homes by an individual posing as a police officer or, you know, the shooting at the -- at the church school in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago, these things are happening literally every other week. And the actors behind them, the perpetrators are selecting grievances from a salad bar where they mix and match different themes that have no more into their upbringing or family beliefs. And a lot of this is driven by people who become lost and isolated, find their way to the Internet, are already angry, depressed and looking to lash out. And at the back end of that decide, well, what they're going to lash out about.
[17:10:05]
SCIUTTO: Yes. It -- I mean, it reminds me sometimes of the path to radicalization of terror suspects going back years when --
MILLER: Very similar.
SCIUTTO: -- ISIS, lone wolves, et cetera.
Ed, looking at the case here, the evidence seems pretty strong. The video evidence, the forensic evidence collected and the fact that his, I mean, eventually he turned himself in under pressure from his father. What are the next steps here in terms of preparing for an eventual trial?
DAVIS: Well, they'll continue a methodical review of the evidence and start to branch out to other people who may have known him or had some contact with him. The reports I'm getting is he was online a lot as a gamer. They'll even go back and try to pull the identities of the people that he was playing with online and have conversations with them.
But the really troubling part here is that you got a young man who dropped out of college after one semester and ended up in his parents' cellar or a bedroom in the house and was online and kind of living, you know, based upon the comments that he put on the bullets and other things online, living a fantasy life. I think that's the real troubling part here. They're going to have to look deeply into that.
SCIUTTO: Yes, yes. Discord as well. All these messages shared on Discord precedent for that.
John Miller, Ed Davis, thanks so much to both of you.
Well, the CNN investigation team is also now digging into this 22- year-old in custody for Kirk's murder. What his background reveals about his profile. And later, the president's dinner date tonight in New York, why it could bring an awkward conversation given a major event earlier this week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:15:48]
SCIUTTO: We're back now with the breaking news. The arrest of a 22- year-old man now charged in the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah with us now. You're learning more about his background, including his education. What do you know?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Jim, we're gleaning quite a bit of that information from available public records, social media, as well as his own academic record. And what we've been able to sort is that Tyler Robinson graduated from Pine Valley High School in 2021. He had very high marks, certainly an academic high achiever. Now, his mother posted on her Facebook page this announcement of a four-year scholarship. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER ROBINSON, SUSPECT IN KILLING CHARLIE KIRK: Congratulations, you have been selected to receive the resident presidential scholarship from Utah State University. The value of this scholarship is approximately $32,000. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: Yes, but Robinson didn't end up using all of that four years of that scholarship money just after one semester. Utah State University says he took a leave of absence and enrolled at Dixie Technical College in the Electrical Apprentice program, moving back near where he grew up. But exactly what led to all of that, Jim, we simply don't know yet.
SCIUTTO: Utah's governor, he also revealed what Robinson's family shared with investigators. What did they say?
LAH: Yes, the governor was certainly saying that it appears he had recently become more political. But I want you to look at this. This is his voter registration and it doesn't reflect any political leaning. Now, Robinson registered as unaffiliated with any party, meaning he's not a Democrat or Republican and he hasn't voted in the last two general elections. The governor, however, described this dinner conversation with family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COX: The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10th. And in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: And we have learned that it did end up being his own family and a pastor who turned Robinson into the sheriff's department. Jim.
SCIUTTO: That must have been quite a remarkable conversation. Difficult one. Kyung Lah, thanks so much.
We are hearing a strong new warning about public discourse in light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Worrisome times. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:22:21]
SCIUTTO: Continuing now with our law and justice lead, the arrest of a suspect in the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. I'm joined now by the junior senator from Utah, Republican John Curtis, elected last year when Senator Mitt Romney retired.
Senator, thanks so much for taking the time.
SEN. JOHN CURTIS (R-UT): Of course, it's an important topic.
SCIUTTO: Listen, no one closer to this right now than the people of the state of Utah, what is the mood there today? What's the sense of shock?
CURTIS: I think, yes, shock is a good word. Just deep despair is a good word, you know, in many ways. Identifying the suspect and bringing him into custody was a -- was a great relief. But I will also tell you, in a way, it just layered on another burden. Now we're thinking about a father that had to turn his son in, a family in a community down in St. George area. And it just feels like a very heavy blanket right now.
SCIUTTO: I'm certain. President Trump today, asked about the problem of political violence in this country, assign blame entirely, really to the left. He said it's a left problem, not a right problem. I want to play those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll tell you something that's going to get me in trouble, but I couldn't care less. The radicals on the right, oftentimes a radical because they don't want to see crime, radicals on the left are the problem and they're vicious and they're horrible and they're politically savvy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Is that a fair description in your view?
CURTIS: Well, I tell you what, for me, that's the president's view. I would -- I would simply remove the word left or right and call it radicals. And in my opinion, they're coming from all directions and they're not healthy. And social media, you know, if you listen to our governor, one of the wisest things I think he said today is sign off of social media. It's everywhere you look.
SCIUTTO: Yes. You've been in public service for years, mayor of Provo, Utah, prior to your time in the Senate, in an op-ed in the Desert News, you warn about, quote, "The coarsening of our public discourse and the dangers of contempt." We all see it. We're talking about it. I talk about it around my family dinner table, I'm sure you do as well.
Tell us how you've seen that worsen, I wonder, over the years for someone who is in politics.
[17:25:00]
CURTIS: Well, so I was, I was blessed with being the mayor of Provo, one of the greatest things I ever did in my life. It was just about a decade ago. And by the way, Provo is almost a stone throw away from where the shooting was. We lived in a very prosperous, happy time. And I'm afraid today we live in a time when literally mothers aren't speaking with daughters, church members aren't speaking with other church members, neighbors aren't speaking with neighbors, you know.
And I don't mean to say completely, but we all know of these instances and it's just wrong. And somehow as a society we need to figure out how to turn down the dial.
SCIUTTO: To turn down the dial. Do we need our leaders, including the president, frankly, to sound more today like the governor of your state, encouraging dialogue, right, and a shared path forward? Do we need to hear more than -- more of that rather than it's one side -- one side's problem and not the others?
CURTIS: Yes. So let me tell you, and I've actually written on this a number of years ago when I feel like I saw this coming and at the time I said, look, in a perfect world this would be top down, this would be coming from our leaders. But I also have great hope in what I would call a bottom approach. And I think every one of us, every one of us every morning should wake up, look in the mirror and see what we are doing with our own personal relationships in our family and with our neighbors, what our comments are, how we're responding, I think both, Jim, are critically important. I would love it if we had both. But I actually think if we don't have both, we start with a bottom up and each of us, including myself, constantly ask ourselves what we are doing to improve the situation.
SCIUTTO: Listen, it's wise advice. I hope folks are listening. And we appreciate you sharing those words, Senator, and taking the time.
CURTIS: Thanks, Jim. Yes. SCIUTTO: Well, new today, the post online from Poland intended for an
audience of one, U.S. President Donald Trump. We're going to show you that message next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:31:41]
SCIUTTO: We're back now with our World Lead. Polish officials today contradicting President Trump who essentially gave Russia an out for violating Polish airspace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A bit of a mistake. A bit of a mistake. But regardless, I'm not happy about anything having to do with that whole situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Today the Polish Prime Minister wrote on X, "we would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn't. And we know it." Poland says Russia launched as many as 21 drones, forcing NATO countries to scramble jets and shoot them down. Others crashed in Eastern Poland.
Joining us now, Kim Dozier, a CNN Global Affairs analyst. The Poles say they know it. I mean, it sounds like this is not just conjecture or assumption on their part.
KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: A lot of the drones that were shot down were Gerbera drones. They do have an onboard guidance system. So it's possible that the Poles have technically extracted the flight plan from the drones. Even so, though, you could just look at the numbers.
SCIUTTO: Right.
DOZIER: One or two incursions, maybe that's a mistake. But when you've got more than a dozen drones flying into Polish airspace just ahead of Belarus and Russia launching these huge military exercises, it -- it looks like they're probing Polish defenses and Polish air defenses weren't so great.
SCIUTTO: And possibly probing not just the air defenses, right, but also NATO's reaction or willingness to react. And I imagine, crucially, President Trump's willingness to respond.
DOZIER: And President Trump's first reaction was, oh, they probably didn't mean it.
SCIUTTO: Right.
DOZIER: Which is the same sort of pass that Ukrainian officials feel he's given Putin time and time again when it comes to saying he'll be willing to move ahead with peace talks and then coming up with a million excuses not to while stepping up attacks against Ukraine on the ground.
SCIUTTO: So let me play what Trump said on "Fox" this morning when asked if he would consider more sanctions on Russia because of this incursion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Yes, well --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More, more sanctions. More --
TRUMP: I mean, I'm not going to defend anybody, but the Poles, they were actually knocked down and they fell into an area. But he shouldn't be close to Poland anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: He had a clear opportunity there of many over the course of weeks and months where he himself has said that sanctions were coming and broken his own deadlines repeatedly.
DOZIER: Yes.
SCIUTTO: He had another chance and he's -- he's certainly not committing himself here. How does Russia read those repeated instances of him backing off?
DOZIER: As a green light to keep doing whatever it's doing. While European and Ukrainian officials are angry over this lack of reaction, they don't want to trigger any sort of meltdown by Trump. They don't want to criticize him and have him say, I'm not going to participate at all. So instead, they're participating in these back and forth negotiations, trying to get Trump to walk up to the line to impose sanctions.
There were negotiations in Washington this week. Apparently, the latest disagreement is that Trump wants to put a bunch of tariffs against China and more tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, whereas the European Union said, no, tariffs are taxes. Let's go after, keep going after all the business enterprises that are keeping the Russian war machine going.
[17:35:08]
SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, it would be another, well, this opportunity to write to impose actual consequences on Russia itself. Another spot for a difficult, awkward perhaps dinner for him tonight in New York with the Qatari prime minister. Three days ago, of course, Israel launched strikes in Qatar. Trump seemed to express some discomfort with this. Is he going to get a talking to from the Qataris?
DOZIER: Well, Trump came out and said that he -- this will never happen again. So the Qataris will be asking him, OK, exactly how are you going to make sure it will never happen again when you weren't informed about this before it took place? When your warning to us came, the explosions had already gone off. So they want reassurance. They have said they're willing to keep mediating talks, but they say right now there isn't a lot to talk about because all the trust has been --
SCIUTTO: Right.
DOZIER: -- blown up literally. And "The Washington Post" just came out with an exclusive saying that the Mossad actually had bulked at this attack and had refused to do an on the ground attack, which is one of the reasons it apparently wasn't successful.
SCIUTTO: Well, one thing Netanyahu and Putin seem to share, right, is a willingness to test Trump --
DOZIER: Yes.
SCIUTTO: -- and his own reactions. Kim Dozier, thanks so much.
DOZIER: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: Well, after the Charlie Kirk murder, the notable tone coming from Utah's governor, different from others in the Republican Party.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:41:01]
SCIUTTO: In our Politics Lead, in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Trump continuing today to point blame at what he calls the radical left for political violence and polarization in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?
TRUMP: Well, I'll tell you something that's going to get me in trouble, but I couldn't care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don't want to see crime. The radicals on the left are the problem and they're vicious and they're horrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I want to bring my panel now. Listen, he's talking about fellow citizens of this country. He's placing the entire blame for political violence in this country, which sadly has been perpetrated by people supporting both sides of the political spectrum. What's your reaction to hearing the president say those words?
KAREN FINNEY, CNN COMMENTATOR: It's not surprising, unfortunately, because that is how he has reacted in so many moments that called for leadership. And instead he goes to sort of a partisan corner. He has sort of this tape that he runs over and over again of the us versus them, which always asks -- begs the question, well, who's the them?
It also makes you think of remember after Gabby Giffords had been shot and we had the State of the Union and members of Congress made a point. It was performative. But to sit together, to cross the aisle that, you know, it was performative but it matters because people are watching and it sends a signal that this is how we're going to behave in this moment.
And I thought Governor Cox in Nevada did, I'm sorry, in Utah did a good job today of trying to model what I wish the President had.
SCIUTTO: And he's -- he's not alone. George W. Bush's statement on Wednesday, members of other political parties are not our enemies. They are our fellow citizens. I spoke to Utah Senator John Curtis just a few minutes ago. He said that he wishes this would be a top down messaging that the President Trump would share a unifying message here. Shermichael, were you disappointed to hear those words from Trump?
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Disappointed? Disappointed? I mean, look, the President treated and saw Charlie Kirk like a son. That's from my understanding. And so I can understand the President being pretty pissed off if someone he treated like a son was just murdered.
Now, look, I certainly believe in leaders calling for calm across the board. I've been very explicit about that, but I'm not going to sit here and pretend, Jim, that I haven't spent hours looking through my own social media. Send people applaud this. Send people excited about this. Send people happy about this and -- and not conservatives, people on the other side.
SCIUTTO: -- about the President of the United States.
SINGLETON: I know what you're asking.
SCIUTTO: Who would sign blame entirely to -- to one party. When -- when you know the facts show that sadly --
SINGLETON: Sure. Sure.
SCIUTTO: -- sadly, people claiming affiliation with both left and right have committed horrible acts.
SINGLETON: Yes, yes, sure. But you know what? If the -- if the rules were reversed, Democrats rightfully so would say Republicans need to tell people on their side to calm down. I have not seen a significant number of Democratic leaders calling for people on their side to calm down. And again, I have seen a ton of social media posts of people applauding this. That's insane to me, Jim.
FINNEY: But that's -- that's actually not true.
SCIUTTO: Not from sitting lawmakers.
FINNEY: Yes. Sitting lawmakers, Democrats almost immediately, and I think they felt a pressure to make sure they were very clear not to condone this, to call it out. And again, in -- in previous times, again, I think about when Reagan was shot. I mean, leadership is about how you react in a moment of crisis.
And time and time again, this President uses crisis to further divide, to do the us versus them instead of calling to our -- our better angels. Again, I thought Governor Cox did a beautiful job of trying to model that this morning.
SCIUTTO: I guess the question is, what's going to help if we can agree with a simple proposition that political violence is bad? Whoever perpetrates it and whoever the target is, what -- what's going to help? Senator Curtis, he said he wishes it was top down. And he's referring to the President, by the way, his fellow Republican.
[17:45:06]
SINGLETON: Sure.
SCIUTTO: But he says that from his view, he -- he's -- he's going to start from the bottom with himself and members of his family. What's the best way forward?
SINGLETON: I'm sure I think everybody should just start with themselves as individuals. I mean, clearly you want the very top from the President on down to speak against this. But that's not enough. I mean, I'm not certain if our society today necessarily looks to all of our leaders for guidance.
I think you've got to have some -- some responsibility as the individual as well. I think sometimes we often say, well, if the leaders would just do this, then everybody will follow. And I'm just not -- I'm not necessarily convinced that that's the case anymore, Jim, if I'm being honest.
SCIUTTO: Well, please.
FINNEY: Sorry, but I think one of the things we know and certainly those of us who have platforms should -- should know, we have a responsibility. You never know who's watching is the point.
SINGLETON: Sure. I agree.
FINNEY: You never know who's following. Our children are watching in this moment how people react, right? They're listening. What are the signals? What are the cultural norms? How do I -- what's the right --
SCIUTTO: What's acceptable. FINNEY: What's acceptable? Where's the accountability? So I just think we have to set the table around that. And again, I think it goes back to two big pieces, our democracy. Are we going to be a constitutional democracy where free speech is protected, but where we also there is accountability, where we hold ourselves accountable and we don't let ourselves off the hook by saying, oh, this isn't who we are. It is who we are. We don't have to be this way. But we're all responsible.
SINGLETON: I agree, well, I agree with Karen on that. We are -- I agree with that.
FINNEY: But our leaders have a really important role to play.
SINGLETON: I agree.
SCIUTTO: They have enormous platforms, too. No question. Shermichael, Karen, I'm sure we'll continue this conversation.
FINNEY: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: In the World Lead, just incredible drone video from Nepal this week. Not of a wildfire. Instead, this is the aftermath of deadly protests led there by young people. And as a result of those demonstrations now today to Nepal swore in its first female prime minister as interim leader. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports on what has been a tumultuous, sometimes violent week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dramatic week in Nepal as the capital turned into an inferno. Protesters in Kathmandu torched government buildings, including the parliament and the home of the former prime minister, who was forced to step down on Tuesday. High rise buildings like the Hilton Hotel were also destroyed. Some ministers were evacuated, airlifted to safety by helicopters as demonstrators closed in.
SURAJ RAJ PANDEY, EYEWITNESS: Yesterday night was super, super, super scary. But we had I could actually see a lot of high rises burning into flames right from my balcony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is burning around Kathmandu.
PANDEY: So we could not sleep all night yesterday.
LU STOUT (voice-over): The protesters are young, defiant and demanding change.
It's very good for our country, he says. Now, I think like us, the youth will stand.
LU STOUT (voice-over): The protests were initially triggered by a social media ban. But after the government lifted it on Monday, they intensified, fueled by a wider set of grievances, including government corruption, lack of economic opportunities and the recent use of lethal force on protesters. Dozens of people were killed and more than a thousand wounded. This video was filmed by Sri Gorom (ph), another eyewitness.
SRI GOROM (ph), EYEWITNESS: This young little girl was hit by a baton on her head and she was completely bloody. And I was trying to help her out. And a lot of kids, they started falling down and they started beating. They started fighting everywhere. And then everyone ran.
LU STOUT: In all the chaos, you were wounded as well.
GOROM (ph): Yes, I'm wounded. I've got treatment on my hand and -- and at my back and legs.
LU STOUT (voice-over): The U.N. condemned the violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have received concerning reports of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by the security forces. I call for an urgent, thorough, transparent and impartial investigation.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Protest anger has extended online to videos like this, mocking so-called Nepo kids, the entitled children of officials. The protests are being led by young people known as Gen Z. And their pick for interim leader, Nepal's first female chief justice, Sushila Karki, will now step in. As the authorities try to resolve the political vacuum, a nationwide curfew is still in place. As the city smolders and tries to rebuild.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Just ahead, a jailed media tycoon facing a potential life sentence. What his son told me about his apparent treatment behind bars.
[17:50:01]
Plus, music superstar Bad Bunny, why he is keeping his music in Puerto Rico and away from the U.S. mainland.
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SCIUTTO: In the World Lead, please, for mercy, from the son of a jailed media tycoon from Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai. He's waiting on a verdict that could come down any day now. The 77-year-old firebrand founded the tabloid newspaper "Apple Daily," known for its blistering critiques of the Chinese Communist Party. A paper now shut down after Hong Kong police raided its offices.
Prosecutors accused Lai of igniting huge anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, and trying to lobby the U.S. and other nations to sanction Hong Kong and mainland China. Lai was arrested in 2010 protests in Hong Kong in 2019, and trying to lobby the U.S. and other nations to sanction Hong Kong and mainland China. Lai was arrested in 2020, spending much of the time since then in solitary confinement, which his son tells me is a form of torture.
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SCIUTTO: Do you believe this detention is putting his life at risk?
SEBASTIEN LAI, SON OF JIMMY LAI: Oh, yes. Of course. Yes, yes, yes. No, this is -- this is no condition for -- for -- for, you know, any -- anybody to be in, you know, solitary confinement is a form of torture, 15 days of solitary confinement is prolonged solitary confinement. My father has been in there for 1,700 days.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
LAI: And this is someone who's, again, almost 80.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Hong Kong disputes that, claiming solitary confinement was Lai's request. When I spoke with Lai's son earlier this week, he told me that Hong Kong is holding 1,000 political prisoners. I asked him about watching freedoms in Hong Kong fade away.
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LAI: If you look up "Apple Daily" raids, there's -- there was, you know, 500 police officers that ran into my father's newsroom and -- and -- and, you know, arrested his colleague, took materials. So this is a -- this is -- this has wide ranging consequences. It's one strong legal system was what made it unique and special. And if they choose to weaponize that and attack its citizens, attack peaceful pro- democracy supporters, you know, is that still -- is that still Hong Kong? Or is it just some, you know, island off the coast of authoritarian -- authoritarian island off the coast of China?
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SCIUTTO: Lai pleaded not guilty to a sedition charge and colluding with foreign forces. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. A note, Lai has the support of President Trump, who said just last month he would do everything he could to save Jimmy Lai.
In our Pop Lead now, Puerto Rican superstar, Bad Bunny, said aside from a two-month residency in Puerto Rico, he plans on skipping the United States entirely in his next world tour.
In a recent interview, the musician said he plans not to stop in the continental U.S. out of fear that immigration officials might raid his concert venues. CNN's Isabel Rosales is in San Juan, Puerto Rico, speaking to locals about the musical sensation.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here at Puerto Rico.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bad Bunny mania has taken over the island of enchantment. The rapper, who has previously been critical of ICE operations, said in an interview with "i-D Magazine" he didn't include the U.S. in his concert tour because of fear that ICE would raid the concert venues. In a normally slow time for tourism on the island, the Puerto Rican superstars 30 concert residency is sold out.
ROSALES: Has Puerto Rico ever seen something of this scale?
JORGE PEREZ, COLISEO DE PUERTO RICO JOSE MIGUEL AGRELOT: Never in the 20-year history of quality sale itself or the entertainment history of Puerto Rico, nothing of this magnitude. Not even close.
ROSALES (voice-over): Tourism agency, Discover Puerto Rico, estimates the island will earn at least $196 million from the residency.
ROSALES: Do you think that this stimulus will last beyond his residency at all or is this a temporary?
PEREZ: I think it's one of the most valuable lessons that that will come out of the residency.
ROSALES (voice-over): Even the merch around this historic residency has gone viral. The rapper's version of Labubu, featuring the album's toad mascot and Sapo Concho, sold out. Working from a corner of his grandparents living room in Ponce, the graphic designer Sebastian Muniz Morales is stunned by the hype.
ROSALES: Do you ever go, hey, that shirt you're wearing, I designed that.
SEBASTIAN MUNIZ MORALES, GRAPHIC DESIGNER: When I feel like very confident to do it, I do it. But I get a little shy telling people that I was the one who created.
ROSALES (voice-over): Bad Bunny's music has long reflected the struggles of life on the island.
MORALES: You see a lot of things, but once you go out, you see the different problems we fight for. (through audio translation) There are many things, and -- and you don't have to spend to much time the island to figure out there's something wrong here.
ROSALES (voice-over): A legacy of U.S. colonialism and gentrification confronted head on in his song "What Happened to Hawaii." The island facing a crushing debt crisis, crumbling infrastructure and frequent power outages spotlighted in his song "The Blackout." The reality has driven young Puerto Ricans to leave the island in search of a better opportunity. Something Muniz Morales once considered.
MORALES: Some people like don't see their future here. (through audio translation) They don't see a future if the island continues this way.
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ROSALES (on camera): And Jim, after Bad Bunny wraps up his resident here in Puerto Rico, he kicks off a world tour in the Dominican Republic. Let me just tell you that out here, three hours to the start of the concert, the energy is amazing. You have people dancing all over the place. So many Puerto Rican flags and obviously fans from all over the world here for one person, Bad Buddy. Jim?
[18:00:09]
SCIUTTO: A world tour everywhere but here. Isabel Rosales, thanks so much.
