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At Least 30 Injured In L.A. After Vehicle Plows Into Crowd; Trump Sues Wall Street Journal For $20 Billion Over Epstein Report; Trump Asks DOJ To Unseal Some Epstein Grand Jury Testimony; Palestinian Health Officials Claim At Least 32 Killed Near Gaza Aid Site; Inside Academy Training Air Traffic Controllers; PBS And NPR Stripped Of Federal Funding; Trump Continues Push To Reopen Notorious Prison Alcatraz For Undocumented Migrants; "Superman" Surges Past $300 Million Globally. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 19, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: And that is going to be very, very difficult for anyone to, like reel him back in. And it's going to be very, very tough.

McIlroy, though, has got the support of thousands out on the course, so we shall see what happens on Sunday.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Yes. And he's quite the phenom.

SNELL: Yes, he really is. If he gets the crowd behind him and Scheffler gives one or two strokes back it could, it could get interesting. But we'll see.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching through you.

SNELL: OK.

WHITFIELD: I'll be working. I won't have time to watch tomorrow but --

SNELL: I'll keep us all updated.

WHITFIELD: Do keep us posted. All right, Patrick Snell, thank you.

SNELL: Thanks, Fred. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we're following the latest on our breaking story out of East Hollywood. At least 30 people injured after a driver plowed his vehicle into a crowd early this morning. The L.A. Fire Department says seven of those injured outside the music venue are in critical condition. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is outside the venue.

Julia, what more are officials saying about the driver? Why all of this happened? Any new information?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, they're still looking for that motive, Fred. But they are piecing together a bit of a timeline of what happened here between this individual being in the car and dragged out and then eventually shot.

I want to play for you just a soundbite from the police explaining what they know so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF LEE, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: The driver of that vehicle was pulled out and a physical altercation ensued where the bystanders were physically assaulting him. During that altercation, somebody produced a firearm and shot that driver of the vehicle. The driver was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition. The shooter in this situation is still outstanding and we consider him armed and dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And Fred, this is their priority right now is to find that shooter. They said they are still investigating, finding -- trying to find that man. But I want to just bring this home to you that this is a neighborhood, East Hollywood, in, you know, just east of Hollywood and between Los Feliz and Silver Lake. It's a part of town that is generally deemed safe, that you wouldn't necessarily expect this kind of an altercation or a criminal activity to be happening. for someone to pull out a gun outside of a nightclub.

It is a part of Los Angeles that has a vibrant nightlife, and that is part of the shock of this story this morning. Mayor Karen Bass has been saying, you know, earlier today that her heart goes out to Angelenos and all the victims impacted by this and saying that there will be a full investigation into what happened.

But we do have reporting at this point, Fred, that has basically discarded any connection to terrorism of this incident and also any further criminal intent, aside from the fact that this driver, authorities believe, was intoxicated at the time of this incident -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.

All right. Joining me right now for more is Erik Scott, public information officer with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Great to see you. So let's begin with the scene itself. You know, walk us through what those first responders encountered when they got there.

ERIK SCOTT, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, as you can imagine, it was a very chaotic scene. So first off, we want to say that our hearts go out to everybody that was impacted by this traumatic event. Fortunately, we responded very quickly. It was rather distressing scene. As you can imagine, at 2:00 a.m. it's dark outside in east Hollywood. We just had early reports of a vehicle into a crowd, so we didn't know if it was legitimate or how significant.

So very busy sidewalk outside of a nightclub. Numerous individuals were present throughout that area because you had a taco hot dog stand that people were lined up in front of. You had a valet podium that people were lined in front. Also, people coming out of a nightclub. Therefore, there was a lot of people when that vehicle went up on that curb. It struck a total of 30 different individuals.

Fortunately, there was no structural damage to the building or extrication that we had to pull people out from rubble or anything. But the scale of the response was significant. We had 100 -- and find out those that were most significant and in immediate need and treat them and then transport them to the appropriate different hospitals based upon what their injuries were.

WHITFIELD: Seven of the 30 that were injured were transported in critical condition, six were considered serious. Do you have an update at all on the conditions of people?

SCOTT: So that is accurate. We don't have an update because once they leave our care as paramedics that are the highest level of medical authority outside of hospital setting.

[15:05:05]

We don't follow up necessarily. We give them to the emergency rooms. But yes, we did encounter 30 people total, 23. We had to transport, like you said, seven were critical. So when you think of just a massive blunt objects hitting people from contusions, abrasions, some significant injuries to those seven individuals, six were serious, 10 were transported in fair condition, and then seven of those 30 actually said, we're OK. They're declining transport after we evaluated them.

But we had to work real close with LAPD as well to secure the scene. They were a big help in maintaining public safety throughout.

WHITFIELD: So in all the frenzy, you know, from this morning, paramedics, you know, realized that they actually had a gunshot victim in the mix as well from a secondary assessment, you know, of the driver. Talk to us about that. You know, do -- are you able to tell us, you know, where he was shot, whether he was conscious or any details about that?

SCOTT: I will say they were conscious, but we don't go into, you know, patient privacy medical reports. That would be inappropriate. But you are correct. We did treat and transport the driver of that vehicle who had sustained injuries. You had reported what police officers had stated that that individual was pulled out of the vehicle, assaulted, and somebody pulled out a gun and that individual was shot. And that part of LAPD's ongoing investigation. They're combing through

all the debris and talking to witnesses, and they're doing an outstanding job. But I want to end by saying we're very fortunate there was no deaths, if you think about it, when you have 30 individuals that were injured and seven critical. So we're very appreciative of the coordinated effort of our public safety partners, and we remain committed to supporting the victims and the community.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Erik Scott with the L.A. Fire Department, thank you so much for your time.

SCOTT: Our pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right. And now to new developments in the expanding saga surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump has now filed a stunning new lawsuit against the "Wall Street Journal." Trump is seeking as much as $20 billion from the newspaper and the company's media mogul owner, Rupert Murdoch.

The libel lawsuit is in response to the "Journal" story saying President Trump gave a birthday letter and a lewd drawing of a woman to Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003. The president denies he wrote it. His filing for legal action comes within hours of the Department of Justice making or asking a judge, rather, to release grand jury testimony in the Epstein case.

The Trump administration has faced growing blowback from supporters after releasing a memo stating there was no evidence Epstein kept a client list.

CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us right now from the White House.

Betsy, bring us up to speed on all these developments.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND WRITER: Well, President Trump clearly trying to go on the offense here as he is making good on a threat to sue the "Wall Street Journal" after the "Journal" and its publishers and reporters published a story last week that detailed a note bearing President Trump's name that was sent to Jeffrey Epstein on the occasion of his 50th birthday back in 2003.

The president says that note, which includes a drawing of a naked woman, is fake. He is suing the "Journal," its publishers and reporters for libel, assault and slander. Now, a spokesperson for Dow Jones defending the newspaper, telling CNN in a statement, quote, "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit."

Now, it's been two weeks since the Department of Justice and the FBI issued that memo that concluded that Epstein died by suicide and that there was no so-called client list. Since then, MAGA world in revolt, calling for more documents, information and transparency from the Trump administration. Really setting up a loyalty test between the president and some of his most ardent and vocal and public facing supporters. The president's preference here has been to move on. He says that this

is sorted, but not interesting, and his frustration really has mounted as he hasn't been able to change the narrative. That of course intensifying after that "Wall Street Journal" story. And the president announced that he was calling on his attorney general, Pamela Bondi, to unseal any pertinent testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein. So the Justice Department filing that in court in Manhattan on Friday. It's going to take some time.

And what's interesting here is that even if the request is granted by a judge, it's still not going to be the whole of the body of testimony and evidence gathered against Jeffrey Epstein. It accounts for really a small fraction here.

But one of the reasons that this really isn't going away for the president is because he himself, as well as his vice president, JD Vance, the FBI director, Kash Patel, his deputy, Dan Bongino, and other top officials spent so much time propagating these conspiracy theories around Jeffrey Epstein.

[15:10:16]

So it really shouldn't come as a surprise that his supporters are frustrated that this memo released by the Trump administration hasn't shown more information that they promised for years. President Trump, alluding to acknowledge that frustration in a post to social media earlier today, he said, quote, "I've asked the Justice Department to release all grand jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein subject only to court approval. With that being said, and even if the court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more and more and more."

Of course, that comes after the president and his own top officials set expectations that they were unable to meet, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, at the White House, thank you.

All right. The decision to move forward with releasing the grand jury testimony on Jeffrey Epstein now lies with a federal judge.

CNN's Evan Perez brings us the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to make public years old grand jury testimony in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein, attempting to end weeks of political turmoil that the Trump administration really has brought on itself.

The filing was signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and by Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, and it relates to really only a fraction of the volumes of evidence that the Justice Department gathered in the 2019 sex trafficking case against Epstein. The filing says in part, "Given this longstanding and legitimate interest, the government now moves to unseal grand jury transcripts associated with Epstein."

It notes that the department will file a similar motion in the case against Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The filing came hours before President Trump filed a lawsuit against the "Wall Street Journal" and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over a news story that said a lewd letter signed by Trump was included in a book of birthday greetings for Epstein back in the early 2000s. Now Trump denies that he wrote such a letter. The lawsuit is filed in Miami.

The decision on whether to release the Epstein grand jury information now lies with a judge in Manhattan who oversaw the criminal case against Epstein before Epstein's suicide in 2019. Before making a ruling on this the judge is likely to consult with the victims and any uncharged people discussed in the testimony since that information is protected by federal law. That could take months. Certainly not as fast as President Trump wants this Epstein matter to go away.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, more than 30 people killed by Israeli troops while searching for food in Gaza. That's what Palestinian health officials are saying. What we're learning about the incident. Plus 10 Americans freed after a large scale prisoner swap with Venezuela. More details when the CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:52]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, at least 32 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on people trying to reach a food aid distribution site in Gaza. That's according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. One man who carried his dead child from the scene said he couldn't understand why it happened.

A warning for some of you who might find the following video distressing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What was his fault? What was his fault? What was his fault? This is my son. He just wanted to eat. What could I do? He wanted to eat. Those targeted were children. He returned, carried in someone's arms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is covering this story for us.

What more are we learning about this?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I mean, some of the details are a little bit sketchy because Western journalists just simply aren't allowed into the Gaza Strip to do independent reporting. But we do have access to people, journalists in Gaza, who have interviewed hospital officials and who have interviewed witnesses. And what we understand is that this took place near one of these aid distribution centers. This was very early morning, Saturday morning, and distribution is run in the Gaza Strip by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is a U.S.-Israeli backed operation.

They weren't open at the time, but we've heard from witnesses who said that they have to get in line many, many hours in advance if they have any hope at all to try to get some food, especially for their children. So oftentimes you do have children in those lines in the early morning hours and even in the middle of the night. But, you know, because the distribution centers weren't open, everyone is kind of tossing blame to others.

The Israeli military says that they were approached by a group of subjects and that they fired warning shots. But then there are witnesses who said that they heard, you know, persistent gunshots from tanks and Israeli military for half an hour in this incident. So it's a -- it's a disturbing incident. And you hear that father with his dead child in his arms, you know, that child has really only known war in his short life -- Fredricka.

[15:20:03]

WHITFIELD: And so what does this incident say about, you know, the level of desperation among Palestinians in Gaza?

LATZA NADEAU: Yes. You know, I mean, one of the emerging threats against the population, of course, is starvation. And you've seen -- we've all seen these images of starving children in the hospitals and in homes in the Gaza Strip. And so you've got, when there is the possibility of food aid, parents will take any risk they can really to get their kids some food and taking the kids with them may often be the way to do that, to make sure that they do get that aid that they so desperately need.

But, you know, when you're weighing starvation against the risk that you might get caught in the crossfire getting to the distribution center, you know, for those parents and so many of those young children, there's -- the only choice is to try to save them, Fredricka.

QUEST: Yes. Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you so much.

Still to come, the Trump administration is crunching the numbers and floating the idea of reopening the infamous Alcatraz prison for inmates. So what is the goal to putting "The Rock" back in business?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:34]

WHITFIELD: All right. Today, 10 Americans are back home after being jailed in Venezuela. That's according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who announced the news Friday on social media. In exchange for the 10 wrongfully detained Americans, U.S. officials said they completed a large scale prisoner swap with Venezuela. Two planes carrying more than 250 Venezuelans who were deported from the U.S. to a notorious prison in El Salvador were sent back to their native Venezuela.

And we've got new video of a pretty scary moment on a Delta flight this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at that. Whoa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: An engine fire forcing the Boeing 767 to return to the Los Angeles airport shortly after takeoff on Thursday. The FAA says it was headed to Atlanta. The plane landed safely back at LAX. No word yet on the cause of the fire.

Still to come, we've got the latest on the moment caught on camera at a concert that went viral and left a tech company CEO now out of a job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:22]

WHITFIELD: All right. The FAA is boosting its efforts to confront their dire shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S. after the tragic collision between a Blackhawk helicopter and a commercial aircraft in D.C. in January killed 67 people. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced an effort to supercharge hiring to address the shortage.

CNN's Pete Muntean went inside the academy preparing air traffic controllers to manage the high stress and high stakes job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a rare inside look at the epicenter of ending a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers that's burning out workers and delaying flights nationwide.

Here at the Federal Aviation Administration's Controller Academy in Oklahoma City, students spend months in classrooms and simulators before moving to on-the-job training at towers and radar facilities that are struggling to retain talent.

How bad is the shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S. right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's had a full-blown staffing crisis.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The latest estimates say the FAA is short 3,000 air traffic controllers. The newest moves by the Trump administration include slashing the time candidates wait to be accepted here and giving them pay bonuses when they reach key training milestones.

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We're thinking creatively on how we can supercharge air traffic control.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Changes are working with the FAA just announcing enrollment here is now the highest it has ever been. The FAA says it rejects 90 percent of applicants and of the students who do get in, 35 percent wash out. Even still, instructors put me to the test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel confident you can do this.

MUNTEAN: Thanks for the pep talk.

(Voice-over): This high fidelity control tower simulator is the same one used by academy students. First, I start out by reading from a script in front of me.

Twin Cessna 310, Mike, November, Academy Tower, and are left down one runway, two-eight left. I already feel my heart rate going up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, get ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Commander to 27 Golf, Kilo, ready for departure from runway.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Then the program throws more airplanes into the mix, to the point where I have to tell a flight to abort its landing.

Citation three pop in November, go around. Wow, my first go around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How's it feel?

MUNTEAN: Fine. Did I mess something up?

(Voice-over): Finally, we are fully off-script.

Challenger 6585 Juliet, Academy Tower, Runway 2-8, right, line up and wait. How did I do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did really good.

MUNTEAN: Do you think I could pull this off if I came to the academy and --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll give you six more weeks and you'll be fantastic.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): We kept this demonstration fun, though the FAA insists this is serious work in hopes of ending its major staffing problem.

CHRISTOPHER WILBANKS, VICE PRESIDENT OF MISSION SUPPORT AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I don't want to, you know, persuade people to think that's next year. We still have our work cut in front of us, but we are absolutely moving in the right direction. MUNTEAN (voice-over): Pete Muntean, CNN, Oklahoma City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. This week, congressional Republicans realized a long sought after goal of the political right. They stripped more than $1 billion in federal funding from NPR and PBS. It's a move that could force public radio and television stations across the country to drastically cut services. Some may be forced to close even.

Jennifer Ferro is the president of the NPR member radio station KCRW in Los Angeles.

Jennifer, great to see you.

JENNIFER FERRO, KCRW PRESIDENT: Great to see you, too. Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: So the bill is now on President Trump's desk and goes into effect as soon as he signs it. So what would this mean to KCRW and your listeners?

[15:35:05]

FERRO: Yes, I mean, I think, you know, first of all, just getting this news, is it just like we're gutted. You know, 57 years of support for public broadcasting. And the way we look at it is like public parks, public libraries and public broadcasting. They're sources that are here designed for your community. And the idea that that investment, which was very little pennies on the dollar in the budget is gone, is amazing.

So for us, it's $1.3 million annually, which for us it's about 5 percent of our budget. But, you know, it's our system as a network that's all connected. There's lots of other expenses and infrastructure that's held up by those resources. So it's going to be radically different in the next few years. And in fact, what we think is October 1st, there may be as many as 78 public radio stations that just stop operating. There are, you know, close to 100 television stations that may just go dark. So it's pretty -- it's pretty sad.

WHITFIELD: Whether it's here in Atlanta, I listen to WABE Radio or whether there are other, you know, cities, you know, that we travel and listen to public radio, we're always encouraged and listeners are always told that it's public supported. There might be, you know, fundraising drives, et cetera.

So do you think the fundraising drives that you traditionally enjoy will be enough to help you stay afloat if there is indeed this federal budget deficit?

FERRO: I mean, I think we're going to have to -- we're going to have to make it work. I mean, at KCRW, we're going to make it work. And I think, you know, I've never been shy and a lot of my colleagues were not shy about asking for support, because, again, it's like a critical part of civic life. And it's really feels good to participate. So of course we're going to hit that hard and then we'll operate within our means because our mission is to serve. So that mission did not die when that funding ended.

WHITFIELD: So you're there in Los Angeles. Obviously, you have a lot of, you know, big donors out there who will be able to, you know, cough up that kind of support. But how much do you worry about, you know, the smaller, you know, stations in more rural areas where perhaps the donor drives, you know, are not the same as what you experienced in some of the bigger cities.

FERRO: Oh, yes, I mean that -- that's exactly what's going to happen. And it's almost like the middle class stations and the smaller stations are the ones that are going to suffer because they don't have the economic diversity to rely on. And what they offer to their community is just unbelievable. I mean, we've seen it, whether it's in Asheville, whether it's in other places that have suffered, you know, parts of Texas, these incredible tragedies.

Public radio is the thing that stays on the air when power goes out. There are still going to be radio. It's a one click technology. And those places are really going to be struggling where they're already struggling with news deserts. So it's like, you know, we're not just doing journalism here. We're also just embedded in our community. And we're sharing with people what makes, you know, kind of life worth living in our communities.

So they are going to struggle. I mean, I have faith in these crazy mission based people like myself who have been in this industry for 30 years. We believe in this so much that we're going to serve. We're going to work hard to serve as many people in the U.S. as we can.

WHITFIELD: So besides news, help people who are not regular listeners, you know, to public radio understand the kind of programing that is available and why, you know, in your view, and a lot of your public radio, you know, fans believe it's crucial. What are some of the, you know, what are some of the programing that, you know, that you all are able to convey?

FERRO: Well, I mean, the range in our system is huge. Like at KCRW, we're a hybrid. We're one of the few that we play a lot of music. We feature a lot of up and coming artists that then go on to become really big artists that everybody enjoys. We really believe we're in the creative capital of the country. So we, you know, we talk to screenwriters and authors and musicians and we really share that.

And we have a lot of listeners. In fact, I've heard from them who are devoted to our music programing but don't want the government to fund us because they don't care about that other stuff. And across, you know, it goes from classical music. Again, a form, an art form that has carried on for hundreds of years, that public radio is the place that holds that tradition and keeps it going.

There's folk music. But I -- the thing that I love the most is the community work. And, you know, right now, right downstairs, I have 25 high school students who are burned out of their homes in both the Eaton Fires and the Palisades Fires, and they're doing this project interviewing other community members about that loss.

That just happened this year. It's a tragedy in our -- in our city, and it's just something that we can do because we're a community institution.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's an incredible training ground. I, too, as a high schooler, my first internship was public radio station in Washington, D.C., WPFW, so, I mean, it's an incredible, a place of a variety for a variety of interests.

[15:40:10]

Jennifer Ferro, thank you so much. All the best to you and all of your colleagues there at your station.

FERRO: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, the new "Superman" conquers the silver screen. And movie fans love the new stars taking on the iconic roles and some that have never made it to film before, like the villainous, the Engineer. Up next, we'll speak with Maria Gabriela de Faria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:19]

WHITFIELD: All right, this just in to CNN, the tech company CEO whose moment on a kiss cam went viral has resigned his position. Andy Byron was spotted earlier this weekend on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert embracing a company employee. The company, Astronomer, issued a statement a short time ago on LinkedIn, saying in part, "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. And recently that standard was not met.

"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next chief executive as co-founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO," end quote.

All right. This week, President Trump is continuing his push to reopen San Francisco's notorious Alcatraz as a prison for detaining undocumented migrants. His border czar, however, says no decision has been made yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: I think they're looking at it. I don't think any decision has been made yet. They looked at the cost of it. But I'm not -- I'm not in the loop on that. But, again, we're looking for any available bed space. We can get that meet the detention standards that we're accustomed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. Let's discuss more now with "San Francisco Chronicle's" senior political writer, Joe Garofoli.

Why are you shaking your head? So you disagree --

JOE GAROFOLI, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Because it's all a crock. It's all BS. It's -- there's no plan. Even Homan says that I'm not looped in on this because there's nothing to be looped in on. How much is this going to cost? He said, I don't know. And what's the plan? Because it would cost tens of millions of dollars, perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars, to bring up to speed the electricity, to bring up -- you have to -- there's no water, wastewater treatment program there.

You have -- Alcatraz, even back in the day, you have to bring everything from San Francisco, from the mainland to the island. It's very expensive. This doesn't even pass the DOGE test. It's the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So when we saw Pam Bondi touring the site, you don't think that was a legitimate -- OK, I see your quotation marks. You don't think that was a legitimate cause?

GAROFOLI: Fred, I was in a boat at 6:00 in the morning with my photographer colleague, and the guy we rented the boat from. At 6:00 in the morning we watched them go in and out. They were in and out for an hour and 20 minutes. If you're going to make a major infrastructure decision based on a quick tour and most of that, if you've ever been to Alcatraz is walking up the hill into the prison.

And you know, there's no -- what do you learn in an hour and 20 minutes? You learn that this place looks like crap is what you look like -- you learn because anyone who's been, anyone around the country who's visited the San Francisco Alcatraz as a major tour, and it's a fantastic tour, but the place is -- has been shuttered since 1963. And let's put it this way. They're not painting the walls there every year.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GAROFOLI: Stuff off the walls. It's a mess. It's a disaster, to use the president's favorite word.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I've seen the exterior of it, but I've certainly seen those choppy waters around it in person. Meantime, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, attacked Trump's idea, calling it -- calling the reopening of it, in a word, stupid. Her word. So let's listen to what else she told our Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): This notion of turning Alcatraz back into a prison was the stupidest initiative coming from this administration. With stiff competition for that honor. This is brutal, cruel and stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. And so what does San Franciscans say? Are they in agreement there?

GAROFOLI: Yes. The speaker emerita and I have our differences on certain things, but we're in 100 percent agreement on that one. And so are the officials in San Francisco. They see this for what it is, which is a distraction. Look over here. Don't look at -- let's not talk about Epstein. Look over here. Let's not talk about the big, beautiful act that will cut Medicaid to tens of millions of Americans and cut food benefits to 22 million American families.

That's what this is, it's distraction from the rest. This is just, you know, show business. This is a -- this is a segment on FOX News is what it is.

WHITFIELD: Except today, this segment is on CNN.

GAROFOLI: Yes.

[15:50:02]

Joe Garofoli, thank you so much for joining me. Appreciate it. Enjoy your (INAUDIBLE).

GAROFOLI: Thanks, Fred.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, "Superman" summer is here and in full swing. In just its first week, James Gunn's blockbuster blew past $300 million at the worldwide box office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CORENSWET, ACTOR: I will not accept that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Krypto among those stealing the show. That was the dog.

[15:55:03]

With a new actor taking on the role of Superman, much of the conversation has centered around David Corenswet, but the movie not only heralds new actors, it introduces new characters as well. And fans across the globe are loving the villainous engineer, Lex Luthor's is deadly right hand woman, and guess what? She is here with us today. More va-va-voom, less villainous today.

Maria Gabriela de Faria, welcome. Good to see you.

MARIA GABRIELA DE FARIA, PLAYS ENGINEER IN "SUPERMAN": Thank you so much. By the way, you say my name perfectly. WHITFIELD: Really?

DE FARIA: And that's hard for some people. So I appreciate it. Yes.

WHITFIELD: I had fun so much fun. I had saying it. It's such a beautiful name, but I hear I can also call you Gabby.

DE FARIA: Yes, yes, that's how my friends call me. Yes. Thank you. We're already friends. See?

WHITFIELD: OK. We're already friends. My friends call me Fred. So there we go. OK, so, Gabby. so tell me about this. How exciting is it to be a part of this epic movie?

DE FARIA: It's insane. For the longest time before filming, I had to prep for eight months for the role. Working out, martial arts training, and I kept calling my trainer, asking, is this -- is this real? So it is me. The role is mine because the script was so fantastic. I've been a fan of James for the longest time, and to be able to be part of the genesis of the DCU, it's still mind-blowing.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, and you're a killer. And I have to apologize. I have not seen the movie yet, but it's on my list. I'm going to see it, but I'm looking at the clips. I've seen the clips and you are killing it all the way. I mean, so the movie is called "Superman," but so much of the movie really does center, you know, around the role of strong female characters such as yours. Apart from Lois Lane, you know there's Eve, Hawkgirl, of course, you, the engineer.

So, you know, what has enabled, you know, this movie to move beyond the stereotypical kind of male-dominated perspective of superhero films?

DE FARIA: I feel like this is all about the filmmaker, and I feel like James has such a rich, diverse life and he easily shows it in his projects, and I feel like he has amazing, strong females in his life. And so he writes them really, really well. I'm really grateful for filmmakers like James to be able to give us that power in a film like this.

You're right. I mean, our Lois Lane, she's such an incredible, strong character. And then the rest of us, you know, are there to support the story. And I feel like you can even see, feel our personalities a little bit through the screen even though this is the story of "Superman" and I dare to say Krypto, who absolutely steals the show.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I hear. And I mean no surprise there because, you know, you put a pet into the mix, a dog into the mix, and it's going to be, you know, paws down. Really something special. So another thing that I can't wait to see.

DE FARIA: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: So the engineer --

(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: Oh, go ahead.

DE FARIA: No. Did you know the Warner Brothers partner with Best Friends Animal Society to promote adoptions? And they were waiving all of the adoption fees. And I adopted a dog during a "Superman" screening. So this is insane. I adopted my own Krypto. It's a puppy, and it's five months old and I have cats and I don't know (INAUDIBLE), but she's here and I'm obsessed.

WHITFIELD: So is your five-month-old pup going to get or did get a "Superman" kind of related name? You want to call her the engineer? I mean, what, what, what?

DE FARIA: My cats are Eleanor, Rigby and Sergeant Pepper, so she had to be Jude. Like, "Hey, Jude."

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK.

DE FARIA: It's a Beatles family.

WHITFIELD: I love that. All right. Cool. Beatles mania going on there. OK, so, you know, the engineer. Tell me more. I mean, I know that, you know, former special ops, tough military woman even before she gets her powers. But then after that, you know, she has the strength to fight "Superman." Tell me more.

DE FARIA: Well, she is originally from the authority, which is a superhero league that believe that the world is broken and they need to fix it no matter, you know, the consequences of what they do. So they dance in that gray area of morality, which is really, really fun. And then James, you know, he's introducing all of these characters that hopefully will be part of the DCU in this movie, the first movie of the DCU.

And you can get to see how incredibly strong she is and how incredibly capable she is. But inside of her, there's the human. You know, she is part machine, and every time she uses her powers, the machine comes -- becomes more powerful. But the human inside is still giving the fight. And she has a conscience, she has a heart. And she has been really broken by the world and the path the world is taking. So she teams up with Lex to sacrifice her life, her own humanity, to protect the world and humans.