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Top Intelligence Office Informs Congressional Committees It Will No Longer Brief On Election Security; Kenosha Police Union Defends Officers In Jacob Blake Shooting; NBA Playoffs Set To Resume Today After Players Protest Games; Seventeen-Year-Old Gunman Faces Murder Charges In Kenosha Shootings; Sociology Professor Cynthia Miller-Idris Discusses Politicization Of Rittenhouse Case; Man Claims Jerry Falwell Jr. Encouraged Him To Have Affair With His Wife. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 29, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:26]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, thanks so much for joining me this afternoon. I'm Bianna Golodryga in for Fredricka Whitfield. And we have breaking news to bring you right now on election security. I want to go to our senior Washington Correspondent and Anchor of "THE LEAD," Jake Tapper who has breaking news on election security. Jake is joining us by phone.

Jake, what are you learning?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): A senior administration official told me that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that's John Radcliffe has informed the two committees in Congress that are responsible for oversight of the intelligence community. That is the House Select Committee on Intelligence chaired by Congressman Adam Schiff of California.

And the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which has been in helmed by Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina that Senator Marco Rubio has assumed those responsibilities as of recently that those two committees will no longer be receiving in person briefings from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the issue of election security. Instead, they will be provided with written updates, I am told.

Now, obviously this is going to come as alarming news for a lot of people who care about election security, Democrats and Republicans. But right now, the story is breaking so we have not gotten any official on the record responses. We should note that Republicans and Democrats on those committees prefer in-person briefings so that they can ask questions, challenge assumptions, conduct their oversight role, properly.

Written updates, in the view of many of these people. I'm sure having covered this for years now, will not be sufficient. We should also note that the senior administration official says that other agencies, other cabinets, departments that cover that have responsibility for election security and other ways. In other words, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, those organizations, those departments will continue to provide in-person briefings.

But the intelligence community as helmed by the Trump administration, John Radcliffe and the opposite. The director of national intelligence will no longer do so. And this is going to come as relatively shocking news and I am quite certain it will alarm a lot of people who already are convinced that President Trump does not take Issues of election security seriously, especially when it has to do with the Russians.

There's a long trail of individuals who worked for President Trump in one capacity or another whether former National Security Adviser John Bolton or former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security, Miles Taylor, who have said publicly that when it came to issues having to do with election security in the Russians, President Trump did not want to hear about it.

So the idea that the bipartisan committees, bipartisan and bicameral committees House and Senate will no longer get to ask questions is going to be seen as in that vein of the Trump administration not taking this issue seriously, even though obviously, there are a number of people in the administration who do take it seriously more in the -- in the worker bee level.

GOLODRYGA: Right. No doubt, Jake. And let's talk about the timing because it comes just a few weeks after the ODNI report, stating that foreign actors are trying to influence the U.S. election and lumped in with Russia was China and Iran. You had Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on last weekend specifically asked him whether he brought up Russia alone.

He would not answer that question for you other than say that there were many nations that were mentioned. Can you piece together the timing of this and why now?

TAPPER: I can't say as to why now. I've reached out to the Department of National Intelligence, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence rather and have not heard back. We're also waiting for a response from the two committees, House and Senate. It is notable that in that report, as you note, they noted that Russia, China and Iran are all intervening in the election. They noted that China seemed to have a preference for Joe Biden, and that Russia seemed to have a preference for Donald Trump.

We should also note that this is to a degree, kind of chumming the waters because even though China and Iran are trying to get involved in the election.

[13:05:09]

What they are doing according to intelligence and other administration officials dealing with national security, what the Chinese and Iranians are doing is nothing compared to what the Russians are doing. The Russians have obviously been trying to muck around in elections in the Western world for years and years and years and are much more expertise -- and have much more expertise and are much better at doing this nefarious thing.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, they're much more sophisticated. Last question, Jake. How unusual is this statement from the ODNI?

TAPPER: I think the action itself is rather unusual given the fact that the Director of National Intelligence is not supposed to be a partisan for whomever is in the White House. He is supposed to be there for the American people. He is not supposed to have a thumb on the scale or even to risk the appearance of having a thumb on the scale for one party or another and there is going to be ugly blowback to this. I would be surprised if Republicans didn't express some concern about this.

Although it might not be more than just some concern expressed. Because this is an office that even though obviously, it has been thoroughly tainted in partisan ways, by the former Acting Director of National Intelligence, Rick Grenell who just spoke at the Republican National Convention even. The -- that office is supposed to be there to protect all the American people, not just the red states.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Jake. Well, thank you for calling in on this breaking news. I know you're going to stay on it and bring us all of the developments as you get them. Thank you so much.

TAPPER: Thanks. Bye.

GOLODRYGA: Bye. Well, now to the new details in the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a conflicting account of what happened that evening. The Kenosha Police Association has now released its own version of events that led up to Blake being shot in the back seven times. In this video taken by a witness Blake can be seen walking back to his car and police guns are drawn. The police union says Blake had a knife in his possession and was combative with officers.

But that account is being disputed by Blake's family. The shooting set off a new round of nationwide protests, some turning violent, demonstrators are demanding justice and police reforms. And that message is extending into the world of sports. Today many sports leagues including the NBA are returning to play after staging walkouts in response to the shooting. And now President Donald Trump is also weighing in for the first time.

But let's start with the investigation. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Shimon, what is the police union saying about all this new development?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're saying that they want to set the facts straight. They want to tell us as far as what they know, happened, of course they are defending this officers' actions and what they say was that Mr. Blake had a knife that officers told him at some point to drop the knife. They don't say where in the interaction. He was told to drop the knife. But what they say is they had initially seen the knife when they were on the passenger side of the vehicle. They then followed him around. And of course, we all have seen that

horrific video of where the officer is pulling on the shirt -- on Mr. Blake's shirt and then fires seven rounds. There is no explanation yet from either authorities or from the police union as to why at that moment, officers decided to fire their weapon. The other thing is that Mr. Blake was shackled. He remains -- he's paralyzed. As of right now he's paralyzed, and the police had shackled him.

And the reason is they say it was protocol because he has a warrant because he didn't come to court when he was supposed to. There was a warrant for his arrest and as a result, that is why he was shackled. Well, since news of that surface in the last two days that has changed. Police have removed the shackles. Obviously, the family very upset over all this, over what the police union, has put out the information. They have put out, and obviously the fact that their son was shackled.

Here's Mr. Blake senior, the father of Jacob Blake, talking to Anderson Cooper about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB BLAKE SR., JACOB BLAKE'S FATHER: The minute they set a bond for my son, we paid the bond and they squash the warrant. So, what was the point in the moralizing my son?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I heard you talk at the March on Washington today. And one of the things you said you talked about two systems of justice in this country. Can you just talk a little bit -- can you talk a little bit more about that?

COOPER: Well, you don't talk about it if you have your TV show, you saw the white boy at 17 that killed two people. Shout out third -- shot the man's arm off and turned back, walk past the police, they gave him some water and a high-five, well, they gave my son seven bullets to the back for a so-called knife that nobody ever saw who had actually (INAUDIBLE) saw a knife in the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And so, Bianna, the thing is this knife, have many questions around and get police -- the investigator say that they found it on the driver's side of the vehicle. They say that Mr. Blake admitted to have the knife. We have yet to see a photo of this knife. We'll see if investigators at some point, release it. Now back here in Kenosha, today there are planned rallies and marches with the family. That will happen later this afternoon.

GOLODRYGA: The town and the community trying to put the pieces back together. Shimon Prokupecz, thank you so much.

Well, for the first time President Trump is addressing the shooting of Jacob Blake, the President did not talk about the shooting during the Republican National Convention. But he was asked about it following a rally in New Hampshire last night. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm looking into it very strongly. I'll be getting reports and I'll certainly let you know pretty soon but I'll be -- it was -- it was not a good side. I didn't like the side of it certainly and I think most people would agree with that. But we'll be getting reports in very soon and we'll report back then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: After that statement, Kenosha's mayor told our Don Lemon that the president should stay out of any issues dealing with this and let Wisconsin investigators do their jobs. Also, today President Trump is preparing to tour the Lake Charles Louisiana area after it was slammed by Hurricane Laura this week. The storm claimed at least 15 lives according to officials and there are still half a million customers without power in the area.

CNNs Gary Tuchman is in Lake Charles. Gary, I just see that debris behind you and it is stunning. It shows you the power and the force of that storm. What do we expect to see once the president arrives for a tour today?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, two days after the end of the Republican National Convention and one day after that festival in New Hampshire. President Trump will be arriving anytime now to a traumatized part of the country, the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the Texas Gulf Coast, people that need comfort and aid. Destruction here is immense when you go in the city of Lake Charles and drive around population 78,000.

You see very few streets that are unscathed. And even now as we speak, people are calling police frantic because they still can't contact their loved ones. We spent part of the afternoon and evening with sheriff's deputies looking for those people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Calls keep coming in to the sheriff's office from people in the Lake Charles area who can't get in touch with their family members or friends. ,So, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, deputies, Ryan Tarver and Cameron Hicks, are responding to as many calls as they can.

We go to this house, heavily damaged from the hurricane.

They are looking for a 72-year-old man who did not evacuate. There was great concern the man could be found dead or seriously hurt. Paramedics and a worried neighbor were there when the sheriff's deputies arrived. They found the man, Gerald Frush, a Vietnam veteran, who had indeed been hurt.

GERALD FRUSH, CALCASIEU PARISH RESIDENT: I slipped and fell in the hallway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you feeling OK now?

FRUSH: Yeah.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're worried about you.

FRUSH: Yeah. I'm all right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sheriff's deputies are worried about you and the emergency workers are worried about you.

TUCHMAN: Frush says he believes he hurt his ribs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walking into this way. (INAUDIBLE).

TUCHMAN: Everyone here relieved that Gerald Frush is not seriously hurt. Sadly, different deputies earlier found a man who had died from what is believed to be carbon monoxide poisoning. And that is always a major concern.

As the deputies go to this door --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff's office.

TUCHMAN: -- there is no answer. That happens quite a bit.

There's also no answer here. But then they go around to the side of this damaged house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dottie Richard?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got (INAUDIBLE) do a welfare check on you. I guess the family was trying to contact you and they hadn't been able to --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know, my son just called me.

TUCHMAN: Dottie Richard said she and her family did evacuate just before the storm hit. But like many here, she has no cell service, no power, no water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have everything that you need here?

DOTTIE RICHARD, LAKE CHARLES RESIDENT: (INAUDIBLE). My house is a total (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tracked you down here --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a camper. I didn't even recognize it.

RICHARD: Thirty-five foot and we have busted that -- getting that thing from top to bottom to sell it. TUCHMAN: Fifteen years ago, Dottie Richard says she lost her house when Hurricane Rita hit. Now they're grateful the deputies came to make sure they're OK.

RICHARD: I appreciate it. I really do. Because -- we're still here kind of basically by ourselves. So, most of our neighbors haven't come back.

TUCHMAN: There are still many searches for these sheriff's deputies to do and relief that, on this particular shift, nobody was found seriously hurt or dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:15:10]

TUCHMAN: We, of course, hope the death toll doesn't go higher than 15 that with these searches, there's no guarantee. And President Trump lands, he will tour the damage here in Lake Charles with the governor of Louisiana. He will then travel about 35 miles to the west to also tour damage in Orange, Texas. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Gary Tuchman live in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Thank you so much. Well, up next. Imagine battling coronavirus twice. Doctors find a possible case of reinfection in the United States. Plus, Hollywood is mourning the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman who died of colon cancer, how early screenings can save lives and why cases are rising among young adults.

Then later, a former pool attendant describes his intimate relationship with the Jerry Falwell's wife.

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[13:20:02]

GOLODRYGA: A 25-year-old man in Nevada may be the first person in the United States documented to have been infected with coronavirus twice. The study from a Nevada research team has not yet been peer reviewed by a journal but the researchers say the findings suggest people can catch COVID-19 more than once.

Joining me now is Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, a professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Services. Doctor, thanks so much for joining us this afternoon. This is quite alarming and something that needs to be studied and verified, obviously. But if it turns out that people can catch coronavirus more than once, what does that mean for a vaccine?

DR. GIGI EL-BAYOUMI, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, good afternoon, first of all. And yes, it is concerning but I just want to sort of put the brakes on, given the millions of cases that we've now seen and this is the first report we have to kind of be cautious in making big conclusions. The reality is if you look at other viruses, there are different strains. We're learning a lot about strains of COVID mutations, what's going to happen.

Obviously, this is cause for concern. But if it was a widespread problem, just given the sheer numbers, I think that we would see more cases. Now this speaks, though, to the importance of having good tracing, good. databases, CDC reporting, sharing of information, both nationally and internationally.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and again, it needs to be peer reviewed and further investigated. But what is alarming is that it does appear that this man was severely ill, both times. And from what I've read, it was two separate strains of COVID. So, it wasn't as if he had the same virus that just came back a few weeks later, but it's good to get that perspective from you as well. Let me shift gears to the tragic death of actor Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther star who died from colon cancer at the age of just 43.

Should this be a wakeup call for others about the importance of getting screened regardless of age?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, we know that the recommendations for colon cancer screening had actually changed several years ago to screen everybody beginning at the age of 45, number one. Number two, I'm so sorry for the loss of such an incredible actor, such a talented actor who really packed in in his short lifetime, a lifetime and a body of work. That's just incredible. We don't know the specifics of his family history, what risk factors he may have.

I think, though, that in Washington, D.C., we have the number one per capita cancer death in the country. And there are myriad of reasons for that, there's a huge disparity among African-American and Latino communities versus whites communities, social determinants of health that include the water you drink, the air that you breathe, the food that you eat, but certainly screening for breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer, which are the leading causes of death in men and women.

Obviously, breast and prostate respectively for women and men, as well as black, brown, white communities. So, I think that this also brings up the point that there has been a plummeting of cancer diagnoses in the last six months. I can tell you that this is extremely concerning because that's going to only get people to show up late, to get late diagnosis, late treatments, and unfortunately, worse outcomes.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, I believe he was diagnosed in 2016 with stage three cancer at that point, but you're right bringing up COVID and coronavirus has delayed a lot of people from seeing their doctors. Statistics show that African-Americans are in fact at a higher risk of getting colon cancer. Do we know why that is? And what can we done about preventing this type of cancer?

EL-BAYOUMI: Great question. We know some things but not all things. We know that there are delays between the time that a person, let's say, woman discovers a breast lump and her -- getting the testing and then the treatments compared to her white counterparts that may be three or four months, which is of course, inexcusable. We know that for the same stage of breast cancer, for example, there is a higher level of aggressiveness of the tumor.

There have been different postulates, you know, some relating to genetics, others to the social determinants of health, but I think that we really missed the boat and medical community of not looking at stress. We are now understanding that stress shortens telomeres, which are those parts of one's genetic makeup that can when they're shortened, increased dementia, increased cancer, shortened life expectancy.

[13:00:12]

GOLODRYGA: There's a lot to learn but we can begin implementing what we know now and that is screening makes a difference. And even in COVID, colon cancer screening can happen, yes and colonoscopy, and certainly for high-risk groups, they should get colonoscopy, but for others, they can get non-invasive Colorguard and other things but I just want to implore people to not ignore their screening.

And certainly, if they are having symptoms, blood in the stools, change in bowel habits, weight loss, please seek out medical attention now. This is (INAUDIBLE) life and death.

GOLODRYGA: That is for sure. And that is some great advice. Even in the midst of COVID. Go to your screenings and see your doctor. Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, thank you so much.

Well, coming up. New information on the man accused of killing two people and wounding a third at a protest and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Why political battle lines are now being drawn.

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[13:30:39]

GOLODRYGA: An attorney for the 17-year-old charged with killing two protesters in Wisconsin is predicting he will be acquitted.

This, as a judge in Illinois postpones a decision on whether or not Kyle Rittenhouse will be extradited to Wisconsin to stand trial.

The Illinois native is facing two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and several other charges.

CNN's Drew Griffin has more on how the events unfolded and how the case is quickly becoming political.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was chaos. Protesters, heavily armed vigilantes. Kenosha, Wisconsin, on fire.

And in the midst of it all, an out-of-state 17-year-old illegally possessing a loaded A.R.-15-style rifle being chased.

(GUNSHOTS) GRIFFIN: Police call it a double homicide. Conservative commentators are calling it self-defense, and the 17-year-old shooter, a hero.

(GUNSHOTS)

MICHELLE MALKIN, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Well, I've been very vocal about my support for this young man, as have many others who are sick and tired of the anarchy that has gripped our country over the last 75, 80 days.

GRIFFIN: Michelle Malkin and others have led a social media groundswell of support for accused gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse that has now led to a pop-up nonprofit defense fund asking for donations and one of the most prominent conservative attorneys coordinating Rittenhouse's defense.

LIN WOOD, ATTORNEY FOR KYLE RITTENHOUSE: Sorry to keep you all waiting.

GRIFFIN: Attorney Lin Wood, tweeting from his Twitter account with a QAnon conspiracy theory hash tag on his profile, states, "Thanks to all freedom-loving Americans who responded to requests for contact information on Kyle Rittenhouse. Help is on the way."

The 17-year-old vigilante is accused of murdering two protesters and wounding a third.

Attorney John pierce, part of the Rittenhouse defense team, tells NBC News, "This was classic self-defense and we are going to prove it."

The criminal complaint filed against Rittenhouse details a confusing series of events that indicates the two men Rittenhouse shot and killed in separate incidents may have been trying to grab his gun.

The first victim, 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum, shot in a car lot. In the complaint, a witness says a first round was fired into the ground and Rosenbaum made a motion that he was trying to grab the barrel of the gun. Shots are fired and Rosenbaum is hit.

As Rosenbaum laid dying, Rittenhouse makes a phone call saying, "I just killed somebody."

Rittenhouse runs away as people chase him. He falls and fires two shots.

And the second shooting victim, 26-year-old Anthony Huber, hits him with a skateboard while appearing to reach for Rittenhouse's gun. Huber is shot and killed.

New video to CNN then shows moments after Rittenhouse shoots and injures a third protester who, according to police, appears to be holding a handgun.

RICHIE MCGINNISS, REPORTER, DAILY CALLER & WITNESS: I basically saw him start to run, and I heard the shots. GRIFFIN: The witness to how the incidents began is Richie McGinniss, a

journalist with the right-wing "Daily Caller," who appeared on FOX News and supported the conservative belief that the 17-year-old, illegally carrying a semiautomatic rifle, was actually there to keep the peace in a town police left out of control.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT": There's a big mob. People have guns. Shots are going off. Where were the cops?

MCGINNISS: Definitely, they're there, but they're obviously not responding in any quick fashion.

So the 17-year-old, who I interviewed earlier in the night, he actually mentioned that he was there to maintain peace in the absence of police.

GRIFFIN: Video footage throughout the night show police were everywhere around Kenosha and responded to the shooting within minutes, only to ignore the actual shooter, who walked right past responding police with his hands up and the now-alleged murder weapon slung across his chest.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Drew Griffin.

Joining me to discuss is Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a sociology professor at American University and the director of the school's Polarization and Extreme Research and Innovation Lab.

Thank you so much for joining us.

She's also the author of the book, "Hate in the Homeland, The New Global Far Right."

So you see Kyle Rittenhouse's attorney says the 17-year-old suspect will become a symbol of American heroism. What do you make of the politization of the Rittenhouse case?

CYNTHIA MILLER-IDRISS, SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR & DIRECTOR, POLARIZATION AND EXTREME RESEARCH AND INNOVATION LAB, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY & AUTHOR: I think this kind of politization and polarization is very dangerous.

[13:35:04]

What we need right now is, you know, for de-escalation to happen, not for further legitimation of vigilante violence and people taking, as militia members, or as individual vigilantes, this sort of violence into their own hands.

GOLODRYGA: And you say that white supremacists and extremism has been rising over the years, noting that Charlottesville was a wake-up call to the mainstream and normalization of such extremism, even back in 2017. Why do you believe this ideology inspires the sense of, I guess,

responsibility and a call to action among extremists?

MILLER-IDRISS: Well, I think one of the things that's really important to note is what we saw in Kenosha and what we're seeing across the country, especially this summer, is a toxic mix of a variety of militia groups and extremist groups who do not agree and come at it from different angles.

So we have white supremacist groups in the mix. We also groups who believe in the use of violence for civil -- to spark a civil war. We have militia groups at the border trying to stop immigration.

We have a whole bunch of different vigilante and militia groups that share a sense of threat.

What they believe is there's a sense of threat, that it's existential and it's their duty, their obligation to engage heroically to save it or save their people or whatever the object of the threat is.

That's what we saw in Kenosha, regardless of whether that had intersections with white supremacism and extremism that is motivated but what unites this group, which is a sense of threat.

GOLODRYGA: Right. And you note that what happened in Kenosha was predictable due to a toxic mix of extremists and militia mobilization and inaction, frankly, on behalf of lawmakers.

Where do we go from here? I mean, you have a 17-year-old kid -- I mean, he's 17 years old -- who is now in the midst of what's become not a legal issue alone but now even a political debate.

MILLER-IDRISS: It was a completely predictable outcome and, unfortunately, I think not the only predictable outcome with violence that we're likely to see in the coming months of spontaneous violence.

We've moved from a situation in the pandemic where we have less planned violence from extremists with fewer gatherings, fewer risks of that kind of thing.

But the risk of spontaneous violence is incredibly high. And the first thing we need is de-escalation. We cannot legitimize these groups to take vigilante violence into their own hands and to empower them to feel that they're doing the right heroic thing. They have to be redirected and de-escalated.

GOLODRYGA: I can't get over those last images from Drew's piece where you see Rittenhouse walking with his hands up and his rifle there, and his rifle there, and illegally, and walking towards the police officials who just ignored him.

What message does that send to other potential extremists across the country?

MILLER-IDRISS: There's a real reckoning here for law enforcement, watching those images and watching the images of law enforcement thanking the vigilantes before the incidents took place.

It's that legitimation. Not just normalization, but legitimation and empowering people to take these matters into their own hands instead of relying on authorities or even reform of those authorities to move things forward.

And I think that is a very dangerous situation. And I hope that law enforcement starts to recognize that and call for those changes to take place.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it really is an important discussion to be had.

Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, thank you for all the work you do. It's vital --

(CROSSTALK)

MILLER-IDRISS: Thank you for having me.

GOLODRYGA: All right, thank you.

Just ahead, this week, the NBA took a stand against police brutality and racism. But athlete activism has been around for decades. We'll take a look back just ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:43:07]

GOLODRYGA: We want to bring you live images of the president just landing in Lake Charles, Louisiana, surveying damage following Hurricane Laura.

The powerful storm that hit earlier this week causing 15 fatalities. There had been predictions that possibly it could have been higher. So 15 is a tragic number, but many lives were spared. People heeded the warnings there.

The president will be on the ground in Lake Charles. There you see him greeted by local officials. I believe that Senator Kennedy. He'll be traveling later to Orange, Texas, as well. We'll bring you all the latest.

The NBA playoffs resume today. And players say they are returning to the basketball court with a new action to promote social justice, which includes plans to turn arenas into voting sites.

Earlier this week, players took a stand following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

Throughout U.S. history, sports and race relations have often intertwined, turning some athletes into activists.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd with a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Lebron James put it in a tweet, "Change doesn't happen with just talk."

The Los Angeles Lakers star and members of the Milwaukee Bucks take the lead in refusing to participate in the NBA's playoff games, making a powerful statement about the shooting of Jacob Blake.

STERLING BROWN, MILWAUKEE BUCKS PLAYER: Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action. So our focus today cannot be on basketball.

GEORGE HILL, MILWAUKEE BUCKS PLAYER: We are calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable.

TODD: This comes four years after 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, first took a knee to protest against the oppression of African- Americans.

But for many decades, black athletes in America have taken some of the most powerful and the riskiest measures to call attention to racial injustice.

MIKE FREEMAN, AUTHOR: They come from an insincerity that people can look at it and say they get it.

[13:45:00]

TODD: In the 1960s, as the Vietnam War raged, boxing's electrifying heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, refused to be inducted into the U.S. military.

His impassioned arguments became legendary, like when he spoke of why he didn't want to kill Vietcong soldiers.

MUHAMMAD ALI, FORMER BOXING CHAMPION: Shoot them for what? They never called me nigger. They never lynched me.

TODD: In the 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico City, American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won Gold and Bronze Medals, wore black gloves and socks and raised their fists on the medal stand to call attention to injustice and poverty.

Arthur Ashe, the first African-American man to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon tennis titles, was arrested protesting against apartheid.

In all those cases, those athletes paid a steep price for taking a stand.

JERRY BREWER, SPORTS COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": The costs were tremendous. John Carlos and Tommie Smith come home and their lives and their family's lives, in a lot of ways, were ruined. Irreparable damage.

Muhammad Ali, his career and his freedom, in some ways, damaged. Colin Kaepernick loses his NFL career because of it. The stakes in going all in are tremendous. TODD: One columnist believes this latest protest by NBA players could

end up being the most powerful statement of them all.

MIKE FREEMAN, COLUMNIST, SPORTCO.COM: They sat out postseason games, which no NFL player, NBA player, athlete of any kind, ever wants to do. They work their whole lives to get to the postseason, to get to the playoffs.

TODD (voice-over): The analysts we spoke to say this is just the beginning of protests like this. That this protest, led by the NBA players, reflects the fact that athletes now realize the power they have.

They have more control over the money, the TV viewership, the public images of their respective leagues than they've ever had before.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: This was no doubt an historic week in the world of sports. Our thanks to Brian.

We'll have more news in a moment.

But first, this programming note. Disinformation, lies. CNN Films presents "AFTER TRUTH," a film that looks at how fake news is used as a weapon against democracy. "AFTER TRUTH" airs tonight at 10:00 on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:51:44]

GOLODRYGA: New audio obtained by CNN shows the close relationship between evangelist power couple, the Falwells, and their pool boy. Giancarlo Granda claims he had an intimate affair with Jerry Falwell Jr's wife that went on for years and that Falwell actually encouraged it.

Last night, Granda spoke with Anderson Cooper about the controversy. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIANCARLO GRANDA, CLAIMS HE HAD AFFAIR WITH WIFE OF JERRY FALWELL JR: She invites me back to her hotel, but before she invites me back to the hotel, she's like, by the way, my husband, he likes to watch. He likes to watch.

And immediately I kind of -- I pulled back. And I thought it was a little bit odd. I don't like to shame anyone for anything, it's OK, but I did find it odd at the moment.

And she's like, don't worry, he's not going to intervene. He's just going to watch in the corner of the room. He's going to watch from the corner of the room.

And I'm like, I'm a 20-year-old single guy, I'm like, why not.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Did you know who they were at that time?

GRANDA: I had no idea who they were.

And Jerry --

COOPER: You were 20 years old?

GRANDA: I was 20 years old, the age of a Liberty University student.

And I was like, what am I getting myself into. Then I said, at any point, if you get jealous or upset, just let me know and I'll walk out of here, no problem.

COOPER: You said that to Jerry Falwell?

GRANDA: I said that to Jerry Falwell. He's like, no just go for it. And he encouraged me. He's like just go for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: In a statement to CNN, Falwell acknowledged the affair, but denied that he was involved in it.

And we are following breaking news on Capitol Hill. CNN has learned the director of National Intelligence will no longer brief congressional committees on election security. We'll go live to the White House for this developing story coming up.

But first, "THE GREATEST GENERATION, 75 YEARS LATER." Today, we introduce you to a Mennonite who fought in World War II.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother's brother was always a mystery. He had died as a soldier or as a participant in World War II.

ANNOUNCER: World War II has begun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was a shocking thing for someone from an Amish family to do because Amish and Mennonites, since the Reformation, have been passivists.

My mother very rarely talked about Uncle Jonas. She said his employer led him astray and talked him into joining the Merchant Marines and his ship was blown up in the south seas. I would just love to know more about him.

(CROSSTALK)

LISA ELZEY, SENIOR FAMILY HISTORIAN, ANCESTRY.COM: Hi, Linda. I'm Lisa Elzey, a senior family historian from Ancestry. And I have information about your uncle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am really happy to hear that.

ELZEY: Go ahead and look at that document that you've been given. This record tells us that he was actually part of the Navy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not the Merchant Marines? He went full hog.

ELZEY: So Jonas was involved in a lot of different actions in the Pacific. But in December of 1944, something happened.

So what you're looking at is a photo of what was called Typhoon Cobra, and it attacked the entire Pacific fleet. Over 700 lives were lost in one night.

[13:55:02]

So Jonas' name is engraved upon the stones of what they call the Wall of the Missing at the Manilla American Cemetery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

The loss of Jonas, my mother's kid brother, was intensely painful for her.

I just feel grateful for the opportunity to catch a glimpse into this mysterious presence that was almost never spoken of in my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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