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Newsom Orders Removal of Homeless Encampments in California; NYT: Children to Battle in Court Over Rupert Murdoch Media Empire; Countdown to Olympics Opening Ceremony. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 25, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Agencies to clear homeless encampments after a major Supreme Court ruling. How people are responding there.

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SANCHEZ: New today, California Governor Gavin Newsom issuing an executive order calling on state agencies to remove homeless encampments. The order follows a recent Supreme Court ruling giving local authorities more power to address the issue. Let's get the latest in Los Angeles with CNN's Natasha Chen.

Natasha, what's the intent behind this order by Newsom?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, Boris, let's go over what the order actually says here.

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Newsom wrote today this executive order: ... directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It's time for everyone to do their part.

Now, if you read that, it sounds as if there are going to be huge encampment sweeps right away. But the truth is, there have already been sweeps going on before he came out with that order this morning. These sweeps have been happening, especially after the Supreme Court ruling that you mentioned related to a case out of Oregon, where it is now made OK to cite and even arrest people sleeping outside without having to offer them shelter.

And so homeless advocates are looking at this and looking at Newsom's order this morning with a lot of disappointment. They say they were caught off guard. They told us that this is a waste of money because it's expensive to do these sweeps.

Here's one of those advocates talking about where these people are going to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JENNIFER FRIEDENBACH, COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS, SAN FRANCISCO: This is really a punch in the gut. We have a situation where folks are living without sanitation, access to water, electricity, are so desperate that they're camping out by freeways, where it's very noisy and completely out of the way. And the governor is saying they want to basically crack down on folks who have no other choice. Obviously, they wouldn't be out there if they had somewhere else to be.

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CHEN: And she and other advocates tell us that they see in the numbers that there are just simply not enough beds for the people who want them. And they see proof that when there are beds offered that people very eagerly accept that. So they're talking about this issue of just simple supply and demand.

Now, big city mayors across California came out in support of Newsom today with a statement, but also emphasizing the need for housing solutions. And one of those big city mayors is Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who put out her own statement pushing back a little bit, saying that strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next and giving citations instead of housing do not work. And so she called on Governor Newsom to continue collaborating on strategies that do work -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Natasha Chen, live for us in Los Angeles. Thank you so much, Natasha.

Still ahead, a secret battle between family members over control of the Murdoch media empire now spilling out in unsealed court documents. Why Rupert Murdoch is trying to cut out three of his kids.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the day his reign ends.

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KEILAR: Secret court filings reveal a sibling rivalry that could have been pulled from the hit drama Succession. Of course, from her sister company, HBO, a drama supposedly inspired by the Murdoch's feuding. "The New York Times" reports Murdoch's four children are in court over who will eventually control News Corp, his $19 billion empire.

The family feud pits Murdoch and his eldest son, Lachlan, against the three other siblings, James, Elizabeth, and Prudence, his eldest child.

Joining me now is one of the reporters who broke this story, "New York Times" writer at large, Jim Rutenberg. All right, Jim, why are the three siblings going up against Lachlan and Rupert? JIM RUTENBERG, WRITER AT LARGE, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, thanks for having me. And I just would say it's really why is Rupert going against the three siblings, because this is Rupert Murdoch changing what's called an irrevocable family trust that when he dies would give his four children, the three you mentioned, and his son, Lachlan, who currently runs the company, shared say in its future. Rupert has made his designated heir Lachlan Murdoch, and he wants Lachlan to have full control and block out his three siblings.

KEILAR: So this, in your reporting, though the trust is irrevocable, it contains a narrow provision allowing for changes done in good faith and with the sole purpose of benefiting all of its members. How does this particular thing impact this fight?

RUTENBERG: Well, this is kind of fascinating. What part of what, according to the court records that we've obtained, we see here is that Rupert Murdoch is basically arguing what he's doing, he's allowed to do only if it benefits all the heirs, including these three siblings. And he's saying that if it were to happen, that they would move aside their brother Lachlan and take over the company, those three are more politically moderate than Lachlan is understood to be.

Perhaps they would change the political orientation of Fox and the rest of the company, and that would affect the value, potentially. So what he's saying he's doing is protecting the value of the trust for all involved, including these three, against their own instincts, which he would say were the wrong instincts.

KEILAR: Explain that the sort of political inclinations of these four children and how that could affect Rupert Murdoch's legacy.

RUTENBERG: Well, it's understood that, especially the son James, it's James Prudence and Elizabeth of the three, James is more moderate than Lachlan. When the two ran the company together a few years ago, they would sometimes clash about the direction, for instance, of Fox News in the Trump era.

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Was Fox News getting too kind of pro-Trump and over and kind of leaning into content that James wasn't comfortable with? They would clash about that. They had disagreements. Lachlan won.

James, presumably, if he were to try to take control, and that's a dispute whether he would, but if he were, would he reorient Fox? Now, I don't think James would ever turn Fox into some liberal network. I think what, as we understand it, what was talked about was just a sort of more classically journalistic, less of the opinion we see at night that strays into territory, such as, you know, they got sued by Dominion Voting Systems for some of that content.

So this is where the two don't see eye to eye, per se, and would the whole company kind of change if James and his sisters were in charge? An open question, but one that Rupert does not want to see answered.

KEILAR: And Rupert Murdoch named this Project Harmony? RUTENBERG: That's as we understand it. It was named Project Harmony, the argument being that right now, it's set up for these four to hash it out amongst themselves. And apparently, Rupert sees that as a recipe for ongoing fights between the siblings.

This is, again, they appear to be arguing these court papers potentially bad for the trust and the companies that it manages or that it oversees. So he thought maybe this would be harmonious, that it'll be answered. There's one person in charge, it's Lachlan, nothing to fight about.

Well, it didn't really work out that way as now they are locked in a court battle in Nevada over this trust.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly they're not feeling the harmony, the other three kids in this. Jim, great reporting. Thank you so much for taking us through it. We appreciate it.

RUTENBERG: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: And still ahead, security concerns at the Paris Olympics. How officials are dealing with last minute preparations as we're now just hours away from the opening ceremony.

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SANCHEZ: Let the games begin. Tomorrow, we're officially one day from the start of the Paris Olympics. A billion viewers worldwide are expected to tune in as more than 10,000 athletes sail down the Seine as part of the opening ceremony.

Let's go live to Paris now with CNN's Melissa Bell. Melissa, the countdown to the games is on. There's a big focus in Paris on security, we should know.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Because, Boris, this is a city, after all, that is used to having or has had so many terror attacks over the years, and this year's Olympics, the opening ceremony that we're now counting down to is so ambitious in its scale. The first time it's happening outside a stadium and along a river, six kilometers of the Seine that have been entirely locked down. The advantage, say Parisian authorities, is that it means that it's going to have the crowd ever watching an opening ceremony.

Some 325,000 people will line the banks of the River Seine. The disadvantage, of course, is that presents a much greater security challenge. It's taken 45,000 policemen, 18,000 soldiers to ensure that this huge perimeter is safe.

20,000 Parisians who live in the flats that overlook this river had to have their identity papers checked and their security details checked as well to ensure that this would happen safely. So huge its ambition, but huge also in the security operation that's taken place. Still, Parisian authorities say that they're ready -- Boris. SANCHEZ: Melissa, we're now in the final stretch of the torch relay. What can we expect before the opening ceremonies?

BELL: This is a torch relay that began, Boris, you'll remember, back in April in Greece. The torch has now made its way through most parts of France. It's in its final leg tomorrow to be the 68th stage of that torch relay and it should be pretty spectacular.

Going through parts of suburban Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis specifically, and it's going to be carried by people like Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg before it then makes its way to the center of Paris to join that opening ceremony.

Lots of speculation about what then happens beyond the athletes making their way down the River Seine. There's been a great deal of speculation about some of the artists that might take place in that -- might take part in that opening ceremony.

Celine Dion, Lady Gaga have been spotted in and around Paris. For now, Parisian authorities are saying very tight-lipped, Boris, just saying that they expect it to be spectacular. We spoke to the mayor of Paris earlier who said, look, Paris belongs to the world and tomorrow's opening ceremony will be a joy for the whole world to watch -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: I look forward to seeing some surprises, perhaps. Melissa Bell, reporting from Paris, thank you so much.

Still ahead, an emotional and historic speech on the House floor today, how Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, who's battling a rare neurodegenerative disease, found her voice.

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SANCHEZ: There was a powerful moment on the House floor today that we want to share with you. Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton of Virginia used a new artificial intelligence-generated model of her own voice to communicate. Wexton last year was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition that has robbed her of the ability to speak fully.

That, though, has not stopped her from having a voice in Congress. Here's that historic moment.

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REP. JENNIFER WEXTON (D-VA): I used to be one of those people who hated the sound of my voice. When my ads came on TV, I would cringe and change the channel. But you truly don't know what you've got till it's gone, because hearing the new AI of my old voice for the first time was music to my ears.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and I cried tears of joy. I'm not going to sugarcoat the difficulties that I've faced the past year. But what has brought me a renewed sense of determination is the opportunity to use this unique platform to try to help others.

The supportive messages I've received have been overwhelming, especially from those facing similar speaking or movement challenges who see someone like me, who just happens to be in the spotlight, persevere in the same ways that they are.

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KEILAR: How amazing to see that. And this actually isn't the first time that Wexton has made history for using assistive technologies on the House floor. Back in June, she used a text-to-voice app, and that sparked conversations about accessibility issues and technology in the workplace.

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Wexton announced in September that she is not seeking re-election, citing her health concerns. And this is something, you know, she's struggling with. It presents somewhat similarly to Parkinson's and some of the symptoms.

And President Biden signed into law the national plan to end Parkinson's Act which was named in in part for her. She's really making history.

SANCHEZ: Really a special moment and one that is unifying in these rare circumstances where you have a very divided Congress. It's heartwarming to see that.

KEILAR: Yes it certainly is. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.