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Nashville City Council Could Reinstate One Ousted Representative Tomorrow; Interview With Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN); Pope Francis Leads Easter Mass Despite Health Issues; New Jersey In Stable Condition After Being Stabbed During Service; Liberal Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Centered On Abortion; Interview With Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ); Jury Selection To Start In $1.6 Billion Lawsuit Against FOX News; Taking A Deep Dive On U.S. Nuclear Submarine. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 09, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:50]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Less than 24 hours from now, the Metro Nashville City Council will hold a critical special meeting, and its focus will be on these so- called Tennessee Three. Council members could send Justin Jones right back to his seat in the state legislature. He is one of three state lawmakers, all Democrats, targeted by the GOP supermajority in the statehouse in Tennessee for breaking decorum and demanding gun reform on the House floor.

We saw it all play out last week. We remember that. Today we heard from Justin Pearson, the other expelled black lawmaker. He spoke at his father's church in Memphis earlier today and referred to the city's struggle for civil rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN PEARSON (D), EXPELLED TENNESSEE STATE LAWMAKER: Fifty-five years ago this week, Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by gun violence. And I'll tell you what his words from what he spoke just days before he was assassinated are still true. The movement lives or dies in Memphis movement. The movement lives or dies in Memphis.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

PEARSON: The movement lives or dies in Memphis. The movement lives or dies in Memphis. The movement lives or dies in Memphis. The movement for justice lives or dies in Memphis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Nashville for us.

Isabel, the Metro City Council there in that capital city would have to suspend its rules to vote tomorrow on Justin Jones. What do we think? Are there enough votes to make this happen and reinstate him?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, it's certainly going to be a busy and tense day tomorrow. The Metro Council right behind me in this building will decide tomorrow in the evening the fate of that ousted lawmaker, former representative Justin Jones.

Now I spoke with Jeff Syracuse, a council member, just a couple of hours ago, and he told me that he feels confident that when it comes to the vote to appoint Jones back to his seat that they've got the numbers there. It'll take a supermajority so 27 council members out of 40 to go ahead and appoint Jones back to his seat.

The tricky part is that right before that appointment vote happens, they will actually have to first vote on whether to suspend a rule within the council that prohibits both nominating and appointing somebody within that same meeting. It only takes two council members to object to that, and for that to go forward. And if they fail, if they fail to suspend that rule it will take at the minimum four weeks for them to be able to nominate Jones again.

All of this causing political tensions within the state of Tennessee. We spoke with the chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, who says that there have been political threats made against Memphis also and Shelby County. That's the district of Justin Pearson. Threats made against state funding for key projects happening there within the city of Memphis if they choose to reinstate Pearson.

Now I spoke with again Jeff Syracuse here in Nashville, asked him whether there were any threats made against the Metro Council here. He told me he is not aware of any. Still he is concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF SYRACUSE, NASHVILLE METROPOLITAN COUNCILMAN: I do worry a bit that these kinds of threats as it relates to Memphis and their FedExForum. Right now we're going through very detailed conversations about a new Titan Stadium and it's part of the state's actions to take over some control of Nashville, including our sports authority.

It's very troubling when we're going through a $760 million revenue bond resolution for our stadium that their suggestions that the state is going to threaten our local municipalities if we do put them back into their seats. This kind of rhetoric and threat needs to stop and we need to have continued good substantive policy and constructive discussions, not threats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And I want you to take a look at this Twitter picture put up by current Representative Gloria Johnson who survived that expulsion vote. You can see her and Jones in the airport on their way to New York City, perhaps to be on a morning show. We'll be on the lookout for that.

[18:05:02] But she also said that they ran into at the airport by chance legendary folk singer Joan Baez there in the airport in Nashville. Jones of course is expected to be back here at City Council tomorrow.

ACOSTA: You never know who you're going to run into at the international airport. That's for sure. All right. Isabel Rosales, thanks very much.

Let's continue this discussion with Congressman Steve Cohen, a Democrat who represents the Memphis area.

Congressman, thanks for being with us. The three lawmakers who took part in the protest, two young black men, were expelled but the other lawmaker, a white woman, is the one who survived all of that by a single vote last week. You know all that. But you've been in Tennessee politics for a long time. What do you think played into these expulsions? It is one of the most extraordinary things I've seen take place in Tennessee politics. What do you think?

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Well, I think the speaker of the House is a very important figure in the Tennessee legislative process, government process. And when they came to the well, he was very much offended by that because he basically controls the well. And I don't think he's had a fondness for either of these two young African-American legislators who've only been up there a couple of months. Probably not for Miss Johnson, either.

They are outspoken and they do their job of representing their constituents. The process with one where I think it got to get beyond the speaker. He had no concept or no imagination to think that this would go nationally and they have the poor image you would put Tennessee in. Tennessee has been -- really it's a shame what's happened because Tennessee is a very poor light.

The governor should have gotten involved himself and the governor certainly should get involved now to make sure that there's not a second error and there's an opportunity for Justin J. Pearson and for Justin Jones to return to the general assembly by votes of their local legislative bodies that there's no problems when they get to Nashville and that they're able to be seated and to work and do their jobs.

Otherwise -- and there certainly shouldn't be any repercussions on the city of Memphis or the city of Nashville for budgets that have been submitted that include projects for stadium improvements in both of our cities and possibly a hospital in Memphis that needs some funding. So it would be just doubling down.

ACOSTA: Right.

COHEN: And making another mistake at that. So I hope the governor will get involved. We don't have Lamar Alexanders and Jim Haslams surrounding more -- Bill Haslams to deal with these issues. Bob Corkers. We've had some great leaders who've been Republicans as well as Democrats over the years. But the Republican moderates, the Bob Corkers, the Alexanders, the Haslams, they're gone.

ACOSTA: Right. And I guess simply put, Congressman, was this an embarrassment for your state?

COHEN: Definitely an embarrassment for our state. Many people contact me through e-mails and phone calls saying how they never thought Tennessee was this type of state, that we were different. Now they put us in the bottom rank of states and they just find this to be objectionable, it certainly has a racist appearance. I think it was more of a control issue than racist but it was just too heavy handed.

I wrote the speaker in his suggestion that they had committed a wrong and that they had violated the rules but that it should be dealt with by a censure or by committee assignment restrictions or something to that effect, but no way should it have been an expulsion vote. And when they did that without a hearing -- I mean they had a hearing on the floor but they didn't have a committee meet earlier to listen to the facts and give them an opportunity to speak at that time, and have an opportunity for negotiations.

ACOSTA: Yes.

COHEN: They rushed into it, and they rushed into us into a sinkhole.

ACOSTA: And Congressman, let me shift gears over to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He is pushing back against criticism that he never disclosed these luxury trips given to him by a GOP mega-donor. One of your colleagues, Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, says she's willing to file articles of impeachment against Clarence Thomas.

Do you want to see Justice Thomas impeached? What do you think needs to be done about this? You serve on the House Judiciary Committee.

COHEN: I am one of the I believe it's 10 House members and 10 senators which have joined Senator Whitehouse and Representative Johnson in asking Chief Justice Roberts to do an investigation. I think that's the first step we ought to take and the odds of getting an impeachment are -- they're not even slim. They're none. Because it would have to go through the House and Republican leadership would not entertain it. And folks wouldn't be there and there certainly would be a hearing in Judiciary Committee.

[18:10:00]

I know I appreciate the Congressperson Ocasio-Cortez for her passion, and I thought about it for a second. But after I thought about it, I think after she thought about it, it's just not going to happen. And she said, well, that's where the investigation should take place. The Supreme Court didn't do a very good job on investigating the leak that they had some months ago, but the Judiciary Committee wouldn't look at it.

ACOSTA: Yes. What about --

COHEN: They would have to decide they were going to take it up and they are not going to happen in the Judiciary Committee. It will have to happen in the Supreme Court and I think the letter was a good idea and I trust Senator Whitehouse's judgment. ACOSTA: And what about Justice Thomas' response to all of this that he

should be able to go on vacations with close friends, and if they pick up the tab, so be it? What's your response to that?

COHEN: Well, that absurd. He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He said those weren't cookies, those were offerings I was making into the plate, the church. I mean, it's just not true. He shouldn't have taken those trips. And of course you should have reported him. But he shouldn't have ever taken. The idea you take a cruise through the Southeast Asia, I think he did a trip to Indonesia, the many cruise, New Zealand and some other particular Bohemia club in California.

I mean, this is the lifestyle of the rich and famous. We had other situations like this where Supreme Court justices, one who died, was on a hunting journey paid for by someone else. The Supreme Court needs to get its act together. I have respect, great respect for John Roberts, but he needs to see that the court has the public support. And it won't have the public support unless they get ethical, strong ethical guidelines of disclosure and have sanctions if the disclosures are not fulfilled. And if they take trips that are not in the best interests of justice.

ACOSTA: All right, Congressman Steve Cohen, we really appreciate your time tonight. Thanks so much.

COHEN: You're welcome. Happy Easter to you.

ACOSTA: And Happy Easter to you as well.

This morning, Pope Francis presided over Easter mass at St. Peter's Basilica despite recent health setbacks. He's still recovering from bronchitis and arrived in a wheelchair. Still, the Pope has managed to participate in nearly every Holy Week events.

CNN's Delia Gallagher reports.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, it was a beautiful Easter morning at the Vatican. Pope Francis sounded good. His voice was strong, suggesting that he has managed to recover from his bout with bronchitis.

In addition to praying for Ukraine during his Urbi et Orbi address that he gives from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after mass, the Pope mentioned conflicts in a number of places around the world. He expressed he said his deep concern for the attacks in recent days in Jerusalem, and he called for renewed dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians. He mentioned Syria, Lebanon, the Rohingya in Myanmar, and several countries in Africa, including South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

So the Pope looking good. Obviously still using a wheelchair. He cannot stand for long periods of time, which is why he doesn't celebrate mass behind the altar. But as the Pope likes to joke, you don't need two legs to be Pope. Just one head -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you, Delia.

Now to a developing story we are following out of New Jersey where an imam was stabbed during a Sunday morning prayer service. The religious leader has a punctured lung but is in stable condition at the hospital, according to local officials.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now from New Jersey.

Gloria, this happened during Ramadan. What more can you tell us?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, Jim, we are learning that police are still investigating and looking exactly into the motive and the identity of a man who police tell us had joined early morning prayers at the Omar Mosque here behind me this morning when congregants kneel down to pray. That's when this man allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Imam Sayed Elnakib who was leading prayers here this morning.

He stabbed him in the back, injuring him, causing that collapsed and punctured lung, and that's when other congregants that were inside the mosque at that moment rushed over to try and apprehend this man. They said that that was the reason this attack was not much worse. That person is in custody and that there is an investigation underway. The imam recovering at a local hospital.

Now we heard from the mayor of Paterson earlier today. Now this community here is one of the largest Muslim communities in New Jersey. And as you mentioned, we are very much in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan. A time when this community comes together to celebrate their most important holiday. So this community has been shaken.

[18:15:01]

They were shocked by what happened here this morning, but they are not deterred. They have still been joining the mosque here behind me for the day's prayers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANDRE SAYEGH, PATERSON, NEW JERSEY: This is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar year, and we want to make sure that the safety of those that are just coming to pray is a priority for us, and then we take this situation very seriously and want to let anyone who's coming to worship know that they can do this in peace without any fear of being attacked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Imam Elnakib is at the hospital recovering. We are told that he is in good spirits despite his injuries. And a spokesperson for the mosque who I spoke to earlier today told me he believes that he will come back from this and he will want to forgive his attacker. Again a reminder of the time that we are in not just for Muslims, but for others as well, who are celebrating Easter and Passover.

This community trying to come together. Despite the violence of this morning, prayers here have been ongoing and will continue to do so for the remainder of the holiday. And I should mention that police here in Paterson have increased their presence, not just at the mosque here behind me, but other mosques here in the area -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Gloria Pazmino, we wish the imam a speedy recovery. Thanks so much.

A state election in Wisconsin could have a big impact on abortion laws around the country. We'll explain why next here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Later, the highly classified Pentagon documents that could put people's lives in danger and ruin relationships, potentially between countries, the U.S. and its allies.

Plus, will Rupert Murdoch take the stand in the $1.6 billion lawsuit against FOX News? That case is about to get underway. It's coming very soon. We'll talk about that, coming up.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:00]

ACOSTA: Huge developments this week in the nation's ongoing battle over abortion. On Friday, a federal judge in Texas suspended the FDA's more than two-decade-old approval of the widely used abortion medication mifepristone. Just minutes later, a judge in Washington state ordered the FDA to keep the drug available,

The conflicting rulings are likely headed to the Supreme Court and they come just days after the latest in a string of election victories on the abortion issue for Democrats. For example, giving liberals and progressives their first majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 15 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE-ELECT JANET PROTASIEWICZ, WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT: Our state is taking a step forward to a better and brighter future, where our rights and freedoms will be protected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Ben Wikler is the chair of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin.

Ben, great to see you. Congrats on a big week last week. Why are so many political watchers taking note of what happened in your state? I know you've been busy doing a lot of these kinds of interviews. People want to talk to you and find out what happened. What happened in Wisconsin?

BEN WIKLER, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF WISCONSIN: Well, Wisconsin is both a microcosm for the whole country because what happens here is likely to happen everywhere else, and it's also the tipping point in the electoral college. It's the state that tipped the White House to Trump and four years later to Joe Biden, and what happened this week was a voter uprising, fighting back against attacks on reproductive freedom and attacks on democracy.

So if you are wondering what the political impact will be of taking away abortion access from people across the country, look no further than the 11-point landslide in 50-50 Wisconsin in the Supreme Court race on April 4th.

ACOSTA: Well, and that leads me to this next question, and that is President Biden barely won Wisconsin in 2020. You know that all too well. I'm sure you were all sweating it out on election night there and throughout the rest of that week, but your candidate in the state's Supreme Court race won by an impressive 11 points.

Do you put that all on the issue of abortion? I know that there has been a lot of discussion about what's been happening in your statehouse as well.

WIKLER: Well, the abortion issue, I think, made everything bigger, more intense, more personal for so many people. It helped drive up record turnout including record turnout of young people. The attacks on democracy did a similar thing, and frankly, they were connected because when you rip away basic freedoms from half the population, you need to constrain democracy as well or you're going to face consequences.

In this case they couldn't break our democracy enough to prevent the public's outrage from turning into election results. I think you can see the same thing across the country. You know, in 2020, it was hypothetical that Donald Trump might try to dismantle our democracy. Then January 6th happened and people know that there's been a running kind of slow motion coup attempt in operation across the country by the MAGA faction of the GOP.

In Wisconsin, we saw all these things come to a head. The attempt by the Wisconsin state Supreme Court's conservative majority to overturn the 2020 election results, continued conspiracy theories and threats about rigging our election system, and an abortion ban that in Wisconsin dates back to 1849 and has almost no exceptions.

Those two things collided with the public that wants its voice to be heard and wants control over its own bodies, and you can see the result. A historic enormous victory in a state where elections routinely come down to less than 1 percentage point. This was more than 10 times the margin for the last presidential elections out of the last six. That's a huge result and I think it should be a warning sign for the GOP that they need to de-radicalize on these issues.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you about what took place in Tennessee, where two black Democratic lawmakers were expelled from their seats for taking part in that protest in the statehouse. One of the things that we've been hearing from Democrats in that state is that they are essentially at the mercy of this Republican supermajority in the Tennessee statehouse.

[18:25:01]

If they're turning to you for advice, and maybe some of them have turned to you for advice over the last several days, how would you advise Tennessee to turn things around? And I know you don't want to offend the Tennessee Democratic leaders down there telling them what to do with their jobs, but I mean, what lessons have you learned in Wisconsin that could be applied in places like Tennessee? Not so much of a swing state, very different dynamic there, but maybe some lessons that can be learned?

WIKLER: Well, I've been in touch with the Tennessee Democratic chair who I know has been on this program. He's thinking about it exactly the right way, which is they need to use the fury of this moment to fight back against supermajorities that Republicans have not earned, that the results of illegal gerrymandering. They have legal cases in court right now.

If they're maps are thrown out they'll have an opportunity to flip 10, maybe a dozen statehouse seats in Tennessee, end Republican supermajority, and stop Republicans from having this power to really thwart democracy by expelling members, elected members of their legislative chambers for expressing the views that their constituents share.

When people stand up and fight for gun safety, for reproductive freedom, for democracy itself, that is part of the democratic process and it's the violation of the democratic process when you strip away their voice, especially targeting people along racial lines. So I think the Tennessee Democrats are on exactly the right track in terms of fighting back.

And the country's focus on this I hope will show Republicans and other states that now have supermajorities, like in North Carolina and other places. And how in the Wisconsin state Senate, also because of gerrymandering, that they can't abuse that power or they will face a whirlwind.

ACOSTA: All right, Ben Wikler, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

WIKLER: Thanks so much.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you.

A massive leak online. Classified Pentagon documents that could put lives and international relationships in jeopardy. How bad is it? We'll talk about it with Congressman Ruben Gallego. There he is right there. We'll talk to him next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:26]

ACOSTA: U.S. officials fear classified intelligence documents leaked online could now jeopardize sources and relationships that the U.S. has with its allies. The documents which provide a rare window into how the U.S. spied on allies and foes alike exposed eavesdropping on key allies like South Korea, Israel and Ukraine. It goes into how deep the U.S. has penetrated the Russian Ministry of Defense apparently and the mercenary organization Wagner Group. Ukraine is now altering some military plans because of the leak.

And joining us now to talk about this, Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona. He serves on the Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, how worried are you about this?

REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): Look, I think we have to be worried. Number one, the most important thing we have, something that we learned when I was chairman of Intel Special Operations are sources. And number two, our allies. And when those are both put in jeopardy that makes us less secure and it makes our enemies more emboldened.

ACOSTA: And according to some of the screenshots reviewed by CNN, some of the document images were posted back in March. One document seen by CNN reveals that the U.S. has been spying on Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, one of the few allies caught up in this alongside some adversaries.

I know some of this has happened in the past, these sort of spying scandals and revelations come forward from time to time. How damaging is it?

GALLEGO: Look, we don't know the extent of the damage, and first off, we actually have to figure out the extent of how much is actual verifiable information that we've collected, how much is it -- something has been repurposed by our foreign enemies, specifically Russia for their end goal. And let's be clear the reason this is coming out right now it's because its goal is to weaken our resolve, weaken our alliance, and help their end goal, which is to take all of Ukraine.

So we first have to really figure out how deep the hole is before we actually can figure out how to fill that hole, but let's be clear. It is very dangerous when we don't know who is handling our information, how it's being handled or why it has been mishandled when it comes to this situation.

ACOSTA: And China has been conducting military drills in response to the president of Taiwan meeting with the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That includes some simulated precision attacks. Your colleague on the Republican side, Michael McCaul, on the Foreign Affairs Committee, says Taiwan needs more weapons and training.

You've been to Taiwan. You've met with the leaders there. What do you think? Do they need these weapons?

GALLEGO: Look, I have visited Taiwan. I've spoken with the president in the past, have actually authored language in the defense budget to help Taiwan defend itself. I do think that it's more helpful to Taiwan if we give them better weapons, not for them to conduct a war, but for us to actually deter China.

China right now does not actually have the capability to fully take Taiwan in a traditional invasion situation. They're trying to build to that. Now we can actually arm Taiwan to the point where China will have to think twice about doing it, and maybe we can avoid a situation where, you know, China tries to invade Taiwan, but it is in our best interests, obviously, for Taiwan to be able to defend itself. It's in the interest of the world.

It's in the interest of Arizona, for example. We have the largest Taiwanese -- largest chipmaker in the world, that is TSMC, which the Taiwanese chip making plant that's moving here to Arizona. And if Taiwan is shut down, much of the world's commerce will also be shut down, so making sure that they could defend themselves and stand on their own with, of course, alliance help is going to be really, really important, and making sure China knows that it's even more important.

[18:35:05]

ACOSTA: And let me ask you, I mean, this is very timely with so many folks traveling around Easter. I know you've been talking about this Junk Fees Prevention Act, a proposal, a bill that you say would eliminate $9 billion in late fees, $7.6 billion in airline fees. I hope I have all of this right. $2.9 billion in resort fees annually.

This is something that President Biden called out in February and it got a lot of people scratching their heads, saying, well, why is this in the State of the Union speech, but it is actually something that drives everybody crazy. Is there something that you think could be tackled?

GALLEGO: Look, I do think it's (INAUDIBLE). This is a hidden tax on working class people. When you're just trying to take a vacation, and people have very few dollars nowadays to take vacations, to see what you thought was an affordable, you know, hotel now being more expensive is awful. Trying to get airline tickets and then having to get charged extra so your child sits next to you does not allow you to really plan a vacation.

Hoping to go see a Taylor Swift concert or anyone else's concert and then going to the final page and realizing that 26 percent more than you originally planned is not the way that consumers should be treated. So this bill all it really is asking for transparency so people know what they're getting, and that they could actually plan for it.

And I think at the end of the day, this is something that's very bipartisan whether it's Democrat or Republican. We want the consumer to have as much information as possible so they could actually make logical choices instead of trying to be essentially conned into paying these fees.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you a political question. The "Wall Street Journal" reports that Senator Kyrsten Sinema who is now an independent is getting ready to launch her reelection campaign. I know you plan to run as a Democrat against her. What about -- have you dissected this, looked at this, with your political advisers about how a three-way matchup, could it potentially help Republicans win that seat? How do you prevent that from happening?

GALLEGO: And it doesn't really matter. Kyrsten Sinema is always going to end up in third place, and it's not because of the Republicans or because of Democrats, because no one in Arizona trust her. She basically violated the values of Arizona in siding with Wall Street, siding with pharma, and she's not going to get that back and no matter what she does and how often she does it, she won't get it back because she doesn't need to do -- she can't do the bare minimum.

She refuses to have a town hall to talk to her constituents. She hasn't met with constituents in four years. And until she actually tries to really repair that bond it doesn't matter how much her Wall Street buddies are going to give her she's going to end up in third place.

We're not worried. We will win this ratio. There's a two-way race or a three-way race. Senator Sinema just needs to figure out whether she wants to end up in third place or find another alternative career.

ACOSTA: All right, Congressman Ruben Gallego, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it. Happy Easter.

GALLEGO: Thank you. Happy Easter.

ACOSTA: All right. Appreciate it.

We could soon see Rupert Murdoch of FOX take the witness stand as the $1.6 billion lawsuit against his company is about to begin. The latest in all of that is next here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:11]

ACOSTA: Jury selection in the Dominion lawsuit against FOX News is scheduled to start this week. The voting machine company is suing FOX News for $1.6 billion and we could see Rupert Murdoch take the stand.

CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy joins us live.

Oliver, this is coming up fast. I'm -- again every time we talk about this, I'm still surprised they have not settled this. But Rupert Murdoch is not the only big name that might take the stand. This could be sort of a marquee moment all through this trial.

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, this is set it up to be a high wattage trial that's really about to begin. You could see people like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Brett Baier, Maria Bartiromo, a lot of A list FOX News stars are set to take the stand if this does go to trial, and it's looking like it's going to go to trial, and this will be very uncomfortable, Jim, I think for FOX News.

I mean, it will be agonizing for them. They'll have their top talents on the stand, and they'll be forced to talk about how they didn't believe Trump's election lies but allowed those lies to be -- to take hold on the network's air.

Now, like you said, it is possible that a settlement could happen, but jury selection starts Thursday and this will go to trial on April 17th if both sides can't hammer out a deal before then. ACOSTA: And Oliver, I wanted to ask you about something else that has

come up in your beat. Earlier this past week, Twitter changed the verification labels on some media accounts, and they labeled National Public Radio as, quote, "U.S. state affiliated media." Of course, they're not state affiliated and NPR actually protested the designation.

Have you heard anything on Twitter's side as to what was going on there? I mean, it makes it sound like they're Chinese state media or something which is just insulting.

DARCY: And that's what the label used to be reserved for, Jim.

ACOSTA: Right.

DARCY: It used to be for propaganda outlets like Russia Today or some of these Chinese state media accounts. Not for an account like NPR. It actually didn't even fit into Twitter's old guidelines labeling NPR's account with this label. NPR, for its part, they're not going to even tweet anymore until this label is removed.

Twitter has changed the label. It now says government funded account. Ironically or strangely, Tesla and SpaceX, two of Elon Musk's companies that have taken a lot of government money don't have that label at the moment.

ACOSTA: Right.

DARCY: But this is another example, Jim, I think of Elon Musk's hatred for the press. I mean, he has, since coming in at Twitter, he has smeared the press, he has attacked the press, and this is really just the latest example.

[18:45:02]

ACOSTA: It might cut eventually at some point to the credibility of what's on Twitter. If they're goofing around with this kind of stuff. They had the Dogecoin logo on. I mean, it just sort of, I don't know. It just -- it's not exactly a masterpiece theater over there.

DARCY: It's chaotic over there.

ACOSTA: Yes.

DARCY: And nothing really seems to be like, you know, there doesn't seem to be one standard. For instance, the BBC, which I think most people would affiliate with taking some government money, they're not labeled. There are a lot of other accounts that are not labeled. It just seems like Elon Musk is making things up as he goes along at Twitter. And it's really to the detriment of the overall experience for users outside the policies that don't even, you know, don't add up.

The actual product itself seems to be breaking lately. I mean, I've noticed features that don't work, and there has been some reports that more site interruptions have taken hold since Elon Musk started laying off people and messing around with the platform. So it's really just a shame, Jim, because it is a very hugely important communications platform that a lot of people do rely on to get their news and information.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, Oliver Darcy, great stuff as always. Thanks so much.

DARCY: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:43]

ACOSTA: In one city sits half of the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarines. Pearl Harbor is home to some of the most advanced naval technology and it's prepared to compete with the growing Chinese Navy.

CNN's Will Ripley went underwater on the USS Mississippi for an exclusive look inside one state-of-the-art submarine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Our journey begins in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the bustling hub of the U.S. Pacific fleet, covering almost half the world, 100 million square miles, 1500 aircraft, and around 200 ships, including more than half of the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines.

Today, we're getting an exclusive look inside the USS Mississippi, one of the most powerful warships on the planet, with a crew of around 140 people.

Rear Admiral Jeff Jablon is commander of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, facing new powerful threats in the hotly contested Indo- Pacific.

(On-camera): Are you concerned about what China's Navy is doing, particularly in the South China Sea and around Taiwan?

REAR ADMIRAL JEFF JABLON, COMMANDER, U.S. PACIFIC FLEET SUBMARINE FORCE: I am concerned. You know, in today's world, we are facing two nuclear peer adversaries where we've never had that before. The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Union Russia was our peer adversary. We're now facing China, which has expanded and modernized their nuclear capabilities.

RIPLEY: The Mississippi is one of 49 fast attack submarines in the U.S. naval fleet. The fleet also has 14 larger submarines carrying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. The U.S., U.K. and Australia's newly announced AUKUS partnership will send nuclear-powered submarines to Perth, potentially challenging China's ambitions for the region.

Beijing now has the world's largest navy, but U.S. submarines have the world's most advanced technology, a key advantage in underwater warfare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mississippi is ready to dive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALES: Dive. Dive. Dive.

RIPLEY: The sub is capable of diving deep and fast, descending hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three hundred feet.

RIPLEY: At angles of up to 25 degrees. Even standing up can be a challenge.

Traveling underwater makes the submarine almost impossible to detect. The nuclear reactor is so quiet the submarine makes less noise than a whale. In the dark depths of the ocean, there`s no light to navigate. The team relies on highly sensitive sonar.

JABLON: Well, the ocean environment is very unforgiving. So there are a lot of challenges that prevent a submarine from hearing another submarine, or another surface ship, and you've got to be able to understand those different challenges.

RIPLEY (on-camera): The USS Mississippi, like all of America's nuclear submarines, can essentially sustain itself under the water for weeks or even months at a time because of the nuclear reactor that powers them. They breathe recirculated air and purified water. The only thing that they need to actually get, resupplied with is food for the crew members, and that means that they get used to spending a very long time not only without sunshine and blue skies but also without regular communication or conversations with their families.

(Voice-over): The food on submarines is surprisingly good, but spending months under water can be tough. No mobile phones allowed. Outside communication only possible on e-mails. Sailors have to look after each other.

(On-camera): What most surprised you about life working on a submarine?

STEVEN WONG, CREW MEMBER, USS MISSISSIPPI: Honestly, what surprised me the most was like the people. How close we get with each other. These kind of -- the shared hardships we share with each other. You're going to end up with a really strong bond.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The crew relies on that bond, carrying out complicated, dangerous tasks. Inside the torpedo room, technicians practice loading high precision weapons capable of taking out other submarines and ships.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And warning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Understand warning.

RIPLEY: At the back of the sub, Jack O`Brien works with a team of technical engineers. (On-camera): Do you ever get bored on a sub?

JACK O`BRIEN, CREW MEMBER, USS MISSISSIPPI: No, no, absolutely not. Every day I come in, thinking I know what I`m -- thinking I know exactly what`s going to happen, what I got to do.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Rear Admiral Jablon says deterrence is the key objective.

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Even winning a war against an increasingly powerful China will likely result in devastating losses for both sides.

JABLON: I'm confident that should we be called upon to fight and hopefully that will never happen, that we would win.

RIPLEY: Submarines like the USS Mississippi are constantly preparing for war. Ready at a moment's notice for whatever the future holds.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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ACOSTA: A Tennessee lawmaker expelled over a gun reform protest could get back in his seat as soon as tomorrow. We'll explain how in a live report from Nashville coming up next in the CNN NEWSROOM. And a programming note, tonight, Eva Longoria continues her culinary adventure in Oaxaca, a region where indigenous traditions and modern innovations create some of Mexico's most incredible food.

Don't miss the new episode of "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR MEXICO." That's later on tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.

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