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Trump Cabinet Joins TikTok; Testimony in Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial Ends; Interview With Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser; Meta Settles Landmark Case; Remembering Dolly Parton. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 26, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A historic settlement. Meta settles a landmark child harm case for $18 billion, also promising to change its platforms. We will speak with one of the state's attorneys general who sued the tech giant.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And remembering the iconic Dolly Parton. We will speak to a professor who uses her legendary life and songs to teach her students lessons about life.

And a new study shedding light on the threat of serious brain injuries among football players as millions of American teens and young adults hit the field this fall.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We start this hour with what is being called the largest big tech settlement in history, Meta announcing it has reached a nearly $18 billion settlement that is expected to fundamentally change the way children use social media.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram has agreed to pay the money to states to help implement youth online safety initiatives. It will also adopt new restrictions for teen users, including daily time limits that only parents can turn off and default blocks of its apps at night; 29 states sued Meta in 2023, accusing it of deliberately addicting young users for profit, leading to the mental and social harm of teens.

On the first day of the trial last week, families presented a scroll they say showed the names of hundreds of young lives lost to social media.

Let's discuss with Phil Weiser. He's the attorney general of Colorado, one of the states that settled with Meta today.

Sir, thanks so much for joining us. You have described the steps that Meta agreed to take as

groundbreaking. How do you know that these features are going to protect young people in comparison to features that Meta has rolled out in the past?

PHIL WEISER (D), COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, let's start, Boris, by acknowledging their features that currently exist, they're not working. That came out in the trial.

A very, very, very small percentage of young kids on the platform face any form of speed bumps or guardrails. That's going to change. There are not going to be notifications and alerts keeping kids up at night. There are not going to be notifications and alerts distracting kids at school.

The average kid is on social media up to an hour during the school day because these companies know that they're preying on kids' fears that they're missing out. So kids are distracted. We're going to also have limits of how much time kids can be on these social media platforms.

Kids need to be connecting with one another. They need to be outside. They need to get off social media. This is a groundbreaking step. This is historic to protect their kids.

SANCHEZ: I guess the core of the question is how you are going to police Meta. I understand that part of the agreement involves a form of auditor who is going to oversee this process and make sure that it's being followed.

Can you give us more detail about who that auditor is going to be, how that is going to be determined?

WEISER: We will select an independent auditor who is working with -- and this, by the way, is basically every state in the union. It's a multistate coalition, Republicans and Democrats. We are staying on the case, literally and figuratively.

They now have a legally binding obligation. We're going to make sure that these guardrails are respected. If a parent or a child sees notifications and alerts, for example, during times when they're not allowed, we're going to hold them to account.

This is a critical step forward. We know there's more work to be done. There are other companies like TikTok and Snap and YouTube. We need to address their behavior, but we also have to make sure that Meta does what they say they're going to do.

SANCHEZ: But to that point about other companies and Meta doing what they say they're going to do, the company said it would pay out 70 percent of the settlement fund to the states in annual installments over the next decade.

That remaining 30 percent is going to be paid only if YouTube and TikTok agree to make payments to the states and similar changes to their apps. I guess the question is, do you expect those companies to comply, even though they haven't settled with you or other states? [13:05:04]

WEISER: I want to be clear why we're at this moment.

Tennessee and Tennessee state court and a multistate coalition, as you noted, 29 states, in federal court in California are in trial right now. What made this settlement possible is the pressure and the focal point of an ongoing trial.

If it takes trials against TikTok, against YouTube, against Snap, so be it. Those companies, they're on notice that we have an expectation that responsible companies will do what it takes to protect kids. We should have legislation on this as well, by the way. And if Congress can start functioning, that will happen hopefully before too long.

SANCHEZ: Do you think that Facebook should pay out the full 100 percent based on the harm that they -- that you argue that they have done, as opposed to structuring it this way, which is predicated on what other companies do?

WEISER: I want to be clear on this as well.

The amount of money that Meta is paying out right now, not even contingent on industry-wide relief, is more money than almost any state consumer protection case in U.S. history. This is historic in terms of the amount of money. This is groundbreaking in terms of the relief.

It is considerably more than a court ordered in another case, for example, after a full trial and liability. We're going to work to get all the money by getting industry-wide relief. That is part of our agenda. And whether it's because of litigated trials or because those case -- those companies are willing to settle, we will see.

SANCHEZ: Phil Weiser, the attorney general of Colorado, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your time.

WEISER: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Today, millions of people are remembering the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, which is a legacy that spanned far beyond country music.

We're now learning that the legendary entertainer and philanthropist died after a brief fight with cancer, and that a small private funeral with immediate family is being planned at her request.

CNN's Sara Sidner is live in Brentwood, Tennessee, just outside of Dolly's home near Nashville.

Sara, what more are you learning today?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, people's hearts are broken wide open, not just here in Nashville, not just outside of her home. But this is where you're seeing some of the well-wishes that people are sending to her. We have been hearing from people like Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Miley Cyrus just put out a message to Dolly with her deep grief.

But we're also hearing from regular folks, like the hotel receptionist who I spoke with today, who said: "I'm having a hard time concentrating. I am in mourning. Dolly is gone, and I can't believe it."

And now you're seeing what people are bringing to her home, just leaving all sorts of messages. But the main message is the one right there smack in the middle of the gates that lead to her house saying, "We will always love you," a reference to her perhaps most famous song, "I Will Always Love You," sung by Dolly so many times, but also sung by folks around the country, names that you, of course, know, like Whitney Houston.

Now, I do want to talk to you about something that Dolly left us, because Dolly was always giving out gifts. She wasn't just an iconic singer. She wasn't just a songwriter. She wasn't just a hit maker. She was a humanitarian as well.

She did incredible work for children with her Imagination Library, giving books to children throughout their lives. And she has left us something after her death, always giving to people, even after death. Here is what she talked about when it comes to that in 2022, when she was on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, MUSICIAN: I put all the things that had to do with the times, I put a cassette player and I put a -- all the C.D. player, I put stuff all in this box.

KELLY CLARKSON, HOST: Yes.

PARTON: But I had to write this song that nobody was going to hear until then. And I tell you, you have no idea how that has bothered me. I want to go dig that up so bad and think, well, I need to use that song, because it's like -- and it's a really good song.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The song is to be released in 2046, when she would turn 100 years old. It's called "My Place in History." It was written in 2015.

And I also want to talk to you a little bit about what we are expecting at her funeral. Very small. That is exactly what Dolly wanted. She just wanted family, close friends there for that funeral. But she talked a little bit about in interviews what song she would want to be played, and most people just assumed it would be "I Will Always Love You," which has been played at many different people's funerals. Nope, that was not what she wanted played. She wanted a song played

that was played at her daddy's funeral, a song that he and she loved. It was called "If We Never Meet Again," an old country gospel hymn with -- particularly meaningful to her and her family.

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So that is what it's expected at the funeral. But, right now, people are just grappling with the fact that she's gone, that not -- her spirit is still here, her music is still here. It has been so healing to so many people, but it is hard to wrap your mind around such a big, big personality and wonderful American is gone. She died at 80 years old. She died from cancer -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Sara, thank you so much, and for sharing that about the song. Very beautiful and meaningful.

Still to come: CNN is in the courtroom as the final witness in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial takes the stand.

Plus, a sobering new study finds more former football players than not may have a degenerative brain disease that's known as CTE.

And then, later: President Trump's Cabinet joins TikTok, to mixed reviews. See them for yourself.

And we have much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: Testimony in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is over, with closing arguments expected to begin tomorrow, a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Clancy twice earlier this year serving as the prosecution's final rebuttal witness.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to three counts of murder and claims that she was suffering postpartum psychosis when she killed her children and attempted to take her own life. She is facing life in prison if convicted.

CNN's Jean Casarez is outside of the courtroom in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Jean, I know that you have been observing some of these proceedings inside. Tell us what's happening.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just got out. And the final witness in this trial has just completed his testimony. It's a prosecution witness with the FBI behavioral analysis.

And as I'm looking at the jury, I cannot believe how dedicated they are. They were so focused through all of this testimony, and it's been hours of expert testimony. This was the prosecution's witness. So the prosecution this morning focused in on the voices, the voices

that were commanding her to kill, saying, did those voices tell her where to commit the killings? Did those voices tell her when to commit the killings? Did those voices tell her how to commit the killings? And the answer was no. Every single question, he answered no.

And then, for the first time in this trial, we have heard those exercise bands referred to by the prosecution as murder weapons, asking him that she took each child down individually to the basement, where the exercise bands were, and she used them as ligatures.

Their focus was the day of January 4, 2023. Listen to a bit more of this expert witness testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GREGORY SAATHOFF, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: She was able to conform, right, to the type of behavior that a concerned mother would engage in. She was able to drive to the pediatrician's office and then back.

And the day was really one of significant control, the activities that she engaged in that day, spending time with her children with Play- Doh, taking them outside to build a snowman, sending photographs of the children to her mother, to her husband on Instagram, fixing lunch and also fixing dinner for the children.

So the activities of that day were controlled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: The defense, on their cross-examination, focused on the big picture, September through January, of the multiple providers she went to, the many different prescriptions that were provided to her.

Of course, there were not huge doses. It was never any evidence that she was addicted or overdosed on any of them at all. But the big picture is the focus of the defense, the postpartum depression that went to bipolar, that went to psychosis.

And one last observation from that courtroom, the gallery, the public, it is predominantly women.

KEILAR: Yes, a lot of interest here.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much for that report.

Next: push-ups, disfigured raccoons, and expletive-filled music. What happens when the Trump Cabinet joins TikTok?

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SANCHEZ: President Trump's Cabinet is on TikTok now after the Justice Department said the app is safe for federal employees to use. Now, some of the posts appear to be targeting younger Americans, but

others, we're not really sure who they're targeting. Cue this empty binder walk from Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Administrator, we have some questions for you here at TikTok.

KELLY LOEFFLER, ADMINISTRATOR, SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION: What's going on, Mac?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, are you in the Cabinet?

LOEFFLER: Well, actually, I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Brian Todd was just randomly here walking through the studio too.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clunkily.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Brian, what kind of a reaction are these videos getting?

TODD: Mixed reactions, Boris. Some of them are pretty cool, some of them not so much.

The Trump administration rolled out this TikTok campaign a little over a month ago, and it's run the gamut from clever and creative videos to cringeworthy posts like Kelly Loeffler's, to some controversial videos.

Now, one that's drawn controversy was put up by the Department of Veterans Affairs. You see it right there. It star is Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. The video titled "SECVA Reporting for Duty" shows Collins doing push-ups with VA employees, practicing his golf swing and other things.

It is controversial because it's really all about Collins and because of the lyrics. It has these bawdy, sexually suggestive lyrics and some curse words. Now, we're not allowed to play it for you because of copyright laws and because of the language, but here are some of the lyrics in the video from the song "Salt Shaker" by the Ying Yang Twins.

Quote: "Roll that A round and round like a mother-effing wheel. Shake that S. This ain't no mother-effing drill."

Sounds just great coming from a middle-aged white guy.

(LAUGHTER) TODD: This video, according to three sources inside the VA who spoke to CNN, has caused some consternation within the agency. One high- level VA source told us -- quote -- "We're embarrassed by this." How could they be?

Douglas Massey, a longtime VA employee and head of the local branch of the union, which represents hundreds of thousands of VA workers, well, he sent Doug Collins an e-mail denouncing this video.

[13:25:08]

Massey and another VA source told us these new TikTok videos have gotten away from previous VA social media outreach, where the VA would give veterans guidance on how to get things like mental health and suicide prevention care. Now they say these posts are mostly focusing on promoting Doug Collins.

Massey also personally criticized Collins. Collins was a former Air Force chaplain and civilian pastor. In his e-mail to Collins, Massey said this -- quote -- "Frankly, as a conservative Southern Baptist pastor, I was surprised that an official VA video was paired with a song containing explicit sexual content."

Now, the VA responded in an e-mail to CNN, Press Secretary Quinn Slaven saying this -- quote -- "The post simply shows Secretary Collins performing two of the most important aspects of his job, listening to the concerns of veterans and VA employees. What's more, VA's use of TikTok and other emerging forms of media has helped the department recruit more than 225,000 new VA health care enrollees in 2026 alone."

Quinn also denied that the VA has scaled back at social media outreach on suicide prevention and mental health.

But the VA not the only agency that uses crude language in a TikTok video. You got to check this one out. One video put out by the Treasury Department, there you go, features rapper Nicki Minaj, who is a big Trump supporter, bopping back to back with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with the rapper singing part of her song "Beez in the Trap."

Quote: "Bitches say s and they ain't saying nothing, 100 mother-effers can't tell me nothing."

I don't quite channel Nicki there, but you get it.

(LAUGHTER)

TODD: These TikTok videos clearly targeting younger generations who frequent TikTok. One video shows HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. with lightning coming out of his eyes. Another TikTok from the Small Business Administration -- there you see RFK.

Another TikTok from the Small Business Administration features Jimothy. He is a raccoon with a spinal condition who's gone viral on social media, the video. Poor little guy doesn't even get any residuals from this. I mean, you know...

SANCHEZ: He's got to get something for that.

TODD: He's got to get some for the street cred.

SANCHEZ: Brian, I have never posted anything on TikTok. I'm going to cut you rapping that. That's going to be my first post on TikTok.

TODD: Please do, yes.

SANCHEZ: That is incredible.

TODD: I will accept any of the memes and whatever's coming my way. OK.

SANCHEZ: I feel like this has got to be your shtick now. You got to post these on social media.

Brian Todd, fantastic renditions of Nicki Minaj and the Ying Yang Twins. Thank you so much. Appreciate the reporting.

(LAUGHTER)

TODD: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: So, Democrats are hoping the president's record low approval rating is going to hurt Republican lawmakers in November, but a key election win last night could offer hope to the GOP.

We will discuss after a quick break. Stay with us.

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