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Protesters Clash With Agents Outside Illinois ICE Facility; Kirk Memorial Attendees Told To Expect "TSA-Level Screening"; "Dangerous As Hell": Ted Cruz Slams FCC Chair's Threats To ABC; Trump Calls FCC Chair "A Great American Patriot"; Luigi Mangione's Lawyers Urge Judge To Block Death Penalty; Source: U.S. Attorney Under Pressure By Trump Is Resigning; Poland Scrambles Jets After Massive Russian Attack On Ukraine; Trump: Russia Entering Estonia Airspace "Could Be Big Trouble"; Farm Aid's Founding Fathers Focus On Building Healthy Food Chains. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired September 20, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: That's all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Hello and thank you for joining me. We made it into the weekend. I am Isabel Rosales in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with 10 scenes near Chicago, where several protesters were arrested after clashing with federal agents near an ICE facility on Friday. Agents fired tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd as they rallied against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in their state.

A mayor running for Congress says he was tear gassed. A former journalist also running for Congress was seen being thrown to the ground. There it is.

An attorney with the National Lawyers Guild tells the Associated Press that some demonstrators were injured and taken to the hospital. The lieutenant governor spoke out against the federal response.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

LT. GOV. JULIANA STRATTON (D), ILLINOIS: People are here to peacefully protest. Look what we've been seeing over the last several weeks right here in Chicago, people being snatched off the streets, stuffed into unmarked vans and with no due process. We are seeing the Constitution being stomped upon.

And just this week, again, attacks on First Amendment rights. And all of us need to be speaking with moral clarity and saying this is not right.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones has more. Julia, how is ICE responding to all of this?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isabel, they are calling these protesters violent rioters. The Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, called the protesters despicable. She said that local authorities on the ground were, quote, "desperate politicians who want their 15 minutes of fame and they're willing to do it off of the backs of our law enforcement." And that ICE will continue the immigration raid in Chicago, as well as in other Democratic cities like here in Los Angeles and in New York.

Now, the mayor of Evanston, Daniel Biss, was one of those local authorities there. He said on X that during the protests outside the Broadview Immigration Center facility, agents from ICE drove a van into protesters and tear gassed them. He said that it was, quote, "impossible to breathe and really, really scary." At least 10 people were arrested in their protests, Isabel.

And that former journalist running for office, we've seen that video a couple of times now. That is Kat Abughazaleh. She said on a post on X Friday that what ICE did to her was, quote, "a violent abuse of power," but still nothing compared to what they're doing to immigrant communities there.

Earlier today, CNN spoke to a Chicago area mayor who was there at the protest and spoke more about the impact that these operations have had in his community. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BYRON SIGCHO-LOPEZ, CHICAGO ALDERMAN: We have kids right now that are walking alone to school in some of our districts, and we have schools that right now don't have enough staff. So these children are even vulnerable to not having even any kind of support for the trauma that's been inflicted on them.

So we have been seeing terror, violence, escalation that is really terrorizing many of our neighbors. We condemn and we reject these Gestapo tactics.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VARGAS JONES: Strong words there, Isabel. But for days now, ICE officers have been in the Chicago metro area picking up suspected undocumented immigrants in what they are calling "Operation Midway Blitz," which has resulted in the arrest of nearly 550 people. Isabel?

ROSALES: Certainly a tense situation there.

Julia Vargas Jones, thank you.

The Secret Service says an armed man posing as a law enforcement officer was taken into custody at the site of Charlie Kirk's memorial service in Glendale, Arizona. Officials say he was, quote, "exhibiting suspicious behavior." Now, this arrest comes as security is ramping up for this event. That's being held tomorrow at the Arizona Cardinals football stadium.

Thousands of people are expected to turn out to honor the slain Turning Point USA founder. Complicating security efforts is ensuring the safety of a who's who of political leaders speaking at that memorial, including President Trump.

CNN's Betsy Klein is taking a closer look at the preparations there. Betsy, what are you learning?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: That's right, Isabel. Officials from the highest levels of the Trump administration, the Republican Party, and other top political influencers are all set to converge in Arizona tomorrow to honor Charlie Kirk, the assassinated conservative activist. And this event is setting up a major test for law enforcement, particularly the U.S. Secret Service, that agency already under so much strain and extreme pressure.

So to help with that, we are learning that this event has been given what's known as a special event assessment rating level one designation.

[12:05:06]

Now, what that does is really unlock some key federal resources to help bolster security for this event. Other events that have had designations like this in the past include the Super Bowl as well as the Kentucky Derby. But a senior Department of Homeland Security official telling me, quote, "This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event."

And I just want to take you through some of those resources, that can include things like explosive detecting K-9 teams, as well as air support. Things like drones and helicopters around this stadium, cybersecurity risk assessments, as well as screening procedures. Attendees expected to -- expect TSA like screening when they get to the stadium tomorrow.

And I just want to note that Kirk was extremely close with the people behind me who work in this building at the White House. He was instrumental in selecting during the presidential transition so many top aides and even members of the Cabinet. He was like family to members of the Trump family, extremely close with them. So in addition to honoring this conservative activist, they are also grieving a very close friend.

And just to underscore some of that, the speakers at this event are going to include the President, the Vice President, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, as well as Stephen Miller and others. And again, just to underline how much he meant to the people at the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling Fox News just moments ago that there are going to be two planes full of staffers heading to Arizona tomorrow for this event, Isabel.

ROSALES: Betsy Klein, thank you.

And we'll certainly have special coverage of the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.

And now to the growing concerns over First Amendment protections after Jimmy Kimmel's late show was pulled from the air over comments about Charlie Kirk and President Trump. Late Friday, President Trump once again condemned the press and called the media coverage of his presidency, quote, "really illegal."

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS JOURNALIST: I just want to sell this free speech question because you've said that you restored free speech in America.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.

KARL: Is that free speech, including for people who are harshly critical of you, for your political opponents, for people who say things you don't like --

TRUMP: I'd become immune to --

KARL: -- treated you unfairly?

TRUMP: I'd become immune to it. There's never been a person that's had more unfair publicity than me. And that's why your network made me $15 million or $16 million dollars, I believe, to be exact, George Slopadopolus (ph). And that's why CBS paid me a lot of money, too.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: And reactions from lawmakers are mostly split along party lines. But now Republican Senator Ted Cruz is criticizing the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, for his threats against ABC. Cruz likening Carr's rhetoric to that of a mob boss. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Look, look, I like Brendan Carr. He's a good guy. He's the chairman of the FCC. I work closely with him. But what he said there is dangerous as hell. He says, "We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CRUZ: And I've got to say, that's right out of Goodfellas. That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, 'nice bar you have here. It'd be a shame if something happened to it.'"

ROSALES: Chief -- CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter joins me now. Brian, thanks for being on.

Let's get into it. How significant are these critical remarks from Ted Cruz, a strong Trump ally in the Senate?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, I think it is hardening -- yes, it's really hardening to see someone like Cruz speak out in this way because it shows that this is not just a boring left versus right partisan argument. This is bipartisan. There is some bipartisan understanding of the threats to free speech that are clear and visible right now.

And Cruz is not the only conservative voice in this conversation. We've seen editorials from The Wall Street Journal editorial board. We've seen articles by the Free Press and Reason Magazine and others that are pointing out that the so-called jawboning by Trump and Brendan Carr, this use of government platforms to try to coerce private companies into action, that it is a very slippery slope.

It's a slip -- it's a slope that we've actually seen abused before. This was a real concern by many -- among many Republicans during the Biden administration. And now we are seeing it with the Trump administration. And so it is notable that some Republicans, some conservative voices are speaking out.

But at the same time, let me recognize many, you know, media influencers are cheering Kimmel's suspension. They are celebrating it as a, quote, "cultural victory." That's the phrase that Benny Johnson used. He's the right wing podcaster who interviewed Brendan Carr on Wednesday and helped to set off the domino effect that we are covering now.

[12:10:16]

ROSALES: President Trump and FCC Chair Carr have been floating this idea of stripping the FCC broadcast licenses of networks that are critical to him.

STELTER: Right.

ROSALES: So my question to you is, can they do that?

STELTER: It's really important that viewers know it's not really within the realm of possibility for licenses to actually be pulled or yanked or stripped the way that President Trump would like. Yes, he has intensified his threats in that regard. He keeps talking about this in a very casual way as if it would be easy to do.

Whenever Trump talks this way, it shows a complete disregard for the First Amendment and for what the law actually states. Congress actually makes it rather difficult to strip a license away. The Federal Communications Commission has very limited power in this regard. If Brendan Carr did try to challenge a station license, it would trigger a lengthy legal battle. It would take years, and there is in no way a sense that he would actually prevail. But there is one big way the FCC can flex its regulatory muscles, and that's what we're seeing happen. I think Trump and Carr are both aware of this leverage they have.

Whenever a station is transferred, whenever it's sold, whenever it's acquired, whenever there's a big merger in the works, that's when the FCC has the opportunity to wield its power because the FCC has to approve those deals. We also know the Justice Department often reviews those under antitrust law. So that's what we've seen Trump and Carr using as an opportunity.

Remember the Paramount settlement over the summer, the Paramount merger. We are seeing these cases where when a media company has business before the government, that media company is vulnerable. And we have seen several cases of self-censorship and submission, Disney being the latest example.

ROSALES: Right. So I wanted to ask you about that. Are you worried more about a chilling effect happening in newsrooms? Because when things go over into the courtrooms, all of that is very out in public, but we may not see what's happening behind closed doors and the decision-making --

STELTER: Right.

ROSALES: -- editorial decision-making that happens in newsrooms.

STELTER: Yes. And I'm especially concerned about the local level, local newsrooms that are owned by these media companies that have business before the government. Because at that local level, it's a little bit harder to pick up on the editorial changes, the softening, the weakening of stories that might be happening.

And of course, we should always remember as viewers of the news, it's impossible to know what stories are not told as a result of self- censorship. But whenever people have asked me about a chilling effect this year, Isabel, I've always thought about it this way. I've said, you know, yes, the temperature has changed in the U.S. It's 1 or 2 degrees colder, but it's not so frigid that we need to put on a coat or a jacket.

This actually is the first week that I think the temperature has changed measurably and palpably. Like this, I know it's becoming fall in the U.S. We're putting on our jackets anyway. I don't want to ruin the metaphor, but it is a moment where it is getting colder. It is getting chillier.

It's also a moment where people are becoming more aware of the threats. There's a reason why we've seen protesters outside Disney's offices in New York and California. This moment, this situation with Kimmel has been a real wake-up call for many Americans about the state of free speech. ROSALES: Eye-opening words from you, Brian, and the state and health of the First Amendment and freedom of the press. Thank you for coming on.

Coming up, NATO scrambles fighter jets again as fears of Russian attacks hang over Europe. One government official is calling the move an unprecedentedly brazen escalation.

Plus, a top federal prosecutor is resigning after refusing President Trump's demand to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:29]

ROSALES: New today, Luigi Mangione's lawyers have urged a judge to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder case. His legal team argues that authorities, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, have prejudiced his case and have violated his constitutional rights. The defense says that Bondi's call for the death penalty is, quote, "based on politics, not merit." This new move by Mangione's lawyers comes just days after they scored a legal victory by getting the terrorism charges against their client dismissed.

A source tells CNN a U.S. attorney who's been under pressure from President Trump is resigning. Erik Siebert told his staff Friday that he'll be stepping down after facing calls from President Trump to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.

James has been a target of the President ever since she won a business fraud case against him and his company last year. But federal prosecutors don't believe they have enough evidence to indict James.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now. Julia, what more can you tell us about this apparent resignation and what the President is saying about it?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in an announcement yesterday to staff, Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said he was resigning. Siebert was formally nominated for this position back in May by President Donald Trump and had been serving as interim since January. Now, Siebert was facing an intense amount of pressure from the president to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.

[12:20:03]

But as CNN had previously reported, prosecutors in his office did not believe they had found enough evidence to bring an indictment. And some important information to add there, James had won a business fraud case against Trump and his company and had been a frequent target of his frustration since then. In fact, according to sources familiar with the conversations, Trump had privately and angrily complained about James even months into taking office. Shortly before the news about Siebert's resignation broke, Trump made it clear he wanted him out.

TRUMP: It looks to me like she's very guilty of something, but I really don't know. I know that the U.S. attorney from the Eastern District or from that district in Virginia, that he was approved by two Democrat senators who, in my opinion, are among the worst. When I saw that he got approved by those two men, I said, pull it because he can't be any good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you want him fired? You want him out?

TRUMP: Yes, I want him out, yes.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, in a post on social media early this morning on Truth Social, the President said that Siebert did not quit and instead he pulled his nomination after he received strong support from Democrats. Now, according to a source briefed with internal conversations, Siebert and his team had been preparing for this possibility for a while as the Trump administration had been ramping up political pressure in recent weeks. His office did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

ROSALES: Julia Benbrook, thank you.

Coming up, Russia violating the airspace in multiple countries as they launch another massive assault on Ukraine. Details on how NATO is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:26:15]

ROSALES: New today, Poland scrambled military aircraft this morning after Russia launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine. The strikes hit multiple locations across the country, including along Poland's border and this strike in Dnipro.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

(BOMBING)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: Just a day earlier, NATO jets intercepted three Russian fighters over Estonia's airspace. CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is following all these developments. Barbie, what is the significance of today's attacks?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, I think the most significant aspect of it is just how much it underscores how difficult it's going to be for these parties to reach a ceasefire or to negotiate an end of the war. And, you know, since the war -- the Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, European leaders have been very concerned that the longer this went on, the easier it's going to be for it to spill into Europe.

And when you look at the map and you see that, you know, Poland is scrambling jets today, on Friday, Italian fire jets and along with Swedish and Finnish assets had to scramble to -- because of this incursion into Estonia's airspace. And this is in Europe. And a lot of people are concerned that it could spread. And that's when you're going to see a big reaction from NATO, which is something nobody wants.

What's also telling is President Trump has made a comment on this. His concerns are worth listening to. Let's hear.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russian jets entered Estonia's airspace today for 12 minutes. Do you see that as a threat to NATO?

TRUMP: Well, I'm going to have to look at it. They're going to be briefing me in a short while. Well, I don't love it. I don't love it. I don't like when that happens. It could be big trouble.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

LATZA NADEAU: You know, they're saying that 12 minutes, these Russian assets were over Estonia's airspace. Russia, of course, denies this. But this trouble really is something that Europe is really, really concerned about going forward. And the intensity of these attacks that we saw all through last night and into today is troubling on many, many levels, Isabel.

ROSALES: Certainly serious business here.

Barbie, thank you so much.

Let's get more analysis on this. With us is Jill Dougherty, she is a CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Jill, thank you so much for being with us. And let's not forget, you're also the author of a new book, "My Russia."

Let me start off, Jill, by asking you, what is Putin testing here? What is he looking for with these airspace incursions?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Isabel, I have to say I was in Estonia in May and I actually went to the air base where the NATO planes go out over the Baltic and, you know, reconnaissance and where they answer any incursions. So I was thinking about that as I read these reports.

I think, you know, if you look at it from Putin's perspective, why would the Russians do this? Well, number one, they've been doing this type of, you know, tempting testing, et cetera, for years. But let's say the recent -- most recent incursions, I think what they're doing is military and political.

So on the military side, they send in, again, these three fighter jets. The NATO rustles up planes to take a look and push them out of the airspace. So Russia is looking at that. How long did it take the NATO planes to get there? What did they do? Who were the planes?

You know, how did they interdict or at least try to push them out of the space? And these kind of military reactions, which are really, you know, physical and kinetic.

[12:30:07]

Then you have the political thing. And I think the political aspect is very, very important. So Russia, essentially, especially when you look at all of the recent incursions, I mean, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, which hasn't been talked about that much, Moldova, Latvia last year. These incursions are political because what they are trying to do is make it very difficult for the NATO countries as a unit to respond. And then they're trying to sow division.

And I think also the message is, here's what we can do to you, Europe. So this is -- this is really, I think, definitely intentional. And there is a very serious purpose to this.

ROSALES: Yes, kind of jarring to hear you say that he's essentially building data here of NATO responses. And speaking of, President Trump called the Estonian airspace incursion potentially, quote, big trouble. How seriously do you think Putin takes Trump's words?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I don't think that they're taking it very seriously. And the reason I don't think that is because I just noted the comments by Dmitry Peskov, who is the spokesperson for Vladimir Putin. And you remember in the past couple of days, the President has said, Putin let me down. And I don't love this. Those are the two things that he has said.

So Peskov said, well, you know, the President of the United States is emotional. He's making an emotional response. And we Russians understand that. This is all in quotes. We understand that because he is frustrated in his desire to bring about a peace agreement. So in other words, they are downplaying these comments.

And they also know, and you hear it on Russian T.V. and in public statements by Russian officials, that they've heard this before. You know, 10-day warning, two-week warning, I'm going to do this. And it has not been followed by serious action so far. Now, there's always a possibility that President Trump will get serious because this right now is getting more and more serious. It's affecting Europe. So -- but at this point, I say the Russians are pretty much saying, we're not paying a lot of attention.

ROSALES: Well, let me ask you, if it's not the words of a -- of a disappointed president of the United States, what about sanctions? E.U. leaders, they're calling for tougher sanctions. Trump has been threatening more sanctions for months. Do they actually have any bite when it comes to Russia?

DOUGHERTY: You know, some of the sanctions, if you really were to enforce them, they could have quite a bit of influence, especially as we all know, energy is key to the Russian economy. So the new sanctions that the Europeans are thinking about, it would be banning liquid -- liquefied natural gas imports from Russia, strengthening the sanctions on countries that import Russian oil. And it would also be going after these shadow ships, the ones -- the ghost ships that carry illegally Russian oil around the world.

If those were really, really enforced, it could have an effect. But there's a lot of sanctions busting, as it's called. And sometimes these are enforced, you know, full-throatedly and other times not. So it's not -- I don't think it's one individual sanction that's going to stop everything, obviously. But it could be a combination of a lot of -- a lot of these sanctions. And they would have to, the key, one of the keys is the United States, which has not so far, we have to note, invoked any direct sanctions on Russia.

ROSALES: Jill, thank you so much. We'll keep a close eye on this and obviously the 80th U.N. General Assembly that's kicking off next week. Thank you for your time.

The killing of a conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, has exposed deep political divisions within this country. As CNN's Ben Wedeman reports, Italy's own recent past, plagued by political violence, terrorism, and social unrest, is offering a cautionary tale for the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so far, there have been anonymous telephone calls claiming responsibility by both the far-left Red Brigades and the far-right Armed Revolutionary Nuclei.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were known as the Anni di Piombo, Italy's Years of Lead. From the late 1960s until the 1980s, the country was convulsed by bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and street clashes, as extremist factions at opposite ends of the political spectrum replaced ballots with bullets.

WEDEMAN: In the aftermath of the assassination of right-wing activist, Charlie Kirk, Italy's Years of Lead offer a cautionary tale to a United States increasingly torn apart by political differences.

[12:35:13]

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Victor Simpson spent four decades covering Italy for the Associated Press.

VICTOR SIMPSON, FORMER ASSOCIATED PRESS ROME CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there was a very serious rivalry going on between leftist and rightist terrorists and who could cause the most damage. But, you know, Italians are actually a very wise people, I always thought, and they kept their heads, the politicians kept their heads.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): In 1978, the far-left Red Brigades kidnaped then murdered five-time former prime minister, Aldo Moro. Two years later, far-right extremists with the Revolutionary Armed Nuclei planted a bomb in Bologna's train station, killing more than 80 people. Yet through it all, the leaders of the mainstream parties rejected violence. The center held, says Loyola University's Claudio Lodici, speaking next to the spot where Aldo Moro's body was found in the trunk of a car.

CLAUDIO LODICI, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: The center or the parties that were in office, including the Communist Party, stood their ground. There was an across the board consensus that terrorism had to be defeated. It was across the board.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): A consensus that saved Italy from chaos. The politicians knew united we stand, divided we all fall.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Still ahead, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, and Bob Dylan all on a stage together tonight, right here on CNN. Why they're standing with U.S. farmers, that's next. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:41:36]

ROSALES: Taylor Swift is returning to the big screen. The movie "Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl" that launches in theaters on October 3rd, the same day that her new album releases. Swift made that big announcement on Friday. The movie theater event will also premiere a music video from the new album, according to Variety.

Well, Farm Aid is officially underway in Minneapolis. This year marks the 40th annual festival that raises money for farmers and agricultural initiatives in the U.S. Big names include Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Dave Matthews, all of them set to perform. CNN's Bill Weir with more on how all of this came together four decades ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a debt crisis that inspired the first Farm Aid when foreclosures and suicides inspired Willie Nelson and friends to raise money and awareness.

WILLIE NELSON, SINGER: As long as there's one family farmer out there who wants to stay on the land, we'll be here.

WEIR (voice-over): Forty years later, there is still plenty of farm debts, along with plenty of worry about immigration raids, trade wars and climate change. Earth is hotter by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since Farm Aid won, bringing more drought, flood and pestilence.

PENNY JORDAN, FARMER: Our big harvest at this point in time is tomatoes.

WEIR (voice-over): Penny Jordan recently lost tens of thousands of dollars worth of strawberries to fruit flies that now survive Maine winters. And now she's dealing with historic drought, scrambling for irrigation gear never needed before.

JORDAN: Farming has never gets easier. It always gets harder. And all of the inputs cost more. Everything is expensive. And so you're looking at a season that you always hope has promise. And every time you have more money going into your inputs, and then you want your product to be affordable for people.

WEIR (voice-over): Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Angela Dawson says she's losing her dream of a 40 acre co-op to grow hemp and train a new generation of black farmers to grow the kind of biodiversity we saw on Penny's farm in Maine, where variety helps feed the surrounding ecosystem.

ANGELA DAWSON, FARMER: It's really a simple saying, but like, if you ate today, think a farmer is like the reality hasn't hit I think most of us yet.

WEIR (voice-over): First, she says epic storms destroyed her hoop houses. And then a Biden era grant she was counting on to buy a tractor was killed amid cuts by the EPA.

DAWSON: I think when we just commoditize everything and try to put it into a stock market tick --

WEIR: Right.

DAWSON: -- it just might not -- it doesn't work that way. And so I feel like if we just had more of a holistic and comprehensive approach to agriculture, including all the diverse aspects that makes things grow --

WEIR: Yes.

DAWSON: -- you know, farming can't just be a monoculture.

WEIR (voice-over): Ironically, it is monoculture commodity crops like corn that get the most federal subsidy help. While those growing the veggies at your farm stand often struggle to stay in business.

REP. CHELLIE PINGREE (D-MN): I ended up becoming a hippie back to the lander and coming to Maine in the 1970s.

WEIR (voice-over): Chellie Pingree was one of those organic farmers before joining Congress and is now trying to pass her Agricultural Resilience Act.

[12:45:00]

PINGREE: Some of the parts of the bill talk about things like keeping farmland. Because a lot of farmers are just worried about losing their farm and what protection programs can help keep it. And then when you have your farm, how do we make it more viable? Is it a value added producer grant that allows you to turn your goat milk into cheese or your raspberries into jam? You know, what is it? WEIR (voice-over): Farm Aid is helping promote her bill, but she's up against an administration that is openly hostile to climate science.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And windmills, we're just not going to allow them. They ruin our -- they're ruining our country. They're ruining everyone.

PINGREE: I mean, one of the goals is to make agriculture net zero, but you know, today climate change isn't such a popular item with this -- with this president. But on the other hand, keeping farms viable should be. And this USDA should be all about how do we serve our farmers. So this bill is really to talk about those things that would make it more viable to be on the land, how to reduce your energy costs. What kind of research do you need to deal with the weeks and weeks we've had of drought this year? What do you need to do more irrigating? How do you do all these things?

WEIR (voice-over): Bill Weir, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Yes. If you ate today, think a farmer, very, very true. Bill Weir, thank you.

And don't forget that CNN is airing this year's farm and benefit concert live. CNN's John Berman and Laura Coates will host that is tonight at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Well, coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN JOHNSON, HOMEOWNER: It's hard. I worked hard for all this and it's gone. Simple as that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Digging up what's left of their homes after devastating floods and mudslides, buried cars and roads. We're tracking the chance for even more rain in the area. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:21]

ROSALES: New today, a two-year-old boy has been found dead following major mudslides and flash flooding in Southern California. The boy was separated from his father when their car was swept away by flood waters that began on Thursday. Officials said his body was found Friday afternoon.

The mudslides tore through homes and buried roads and cars about 80 miles northeast from Los Angeles. A few survivors described the ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) I. JOHNSON: There's nothing I could do. I got swept and pinned against the door with a log in the couch and I was stuck against the door screaming for my friend to come help me. But he was screaming because he was stuck on the side of the house getting swept away.

AMY JOHNSON, HOMEOWNER: I'm probably most thankful because my kids weren't here. Because had my kids were here, I think it would be a totally different story. Thankful that my husband made it out and I'm not planning funerals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Incredibly scary situation there. Ten people had to be rescued from their cars after getting stuck in that debris. And it turns out even more rain is on the way for Southern California as it is compounding these dangerous conditions. There's a level one risk for excessive rainfall for portions of Southern California and Arizona on Sunday and Monday. CNN's Allison Chinchar with more on these conditions.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Most areas of Southern California only picked up about one to two inches of rain at most from that period of Thursday into Friday. But it was still enough to lead to images like this. You can see tons of water just raging by. Many of these going into roadways, homes and businesses because it was the rate at which the rain fell. Many of these areas picking up that one to two inches of rain in just 15 to 20 minutes time.

Now a lot of that moisture came from what had been Tropical Storm Marco. And even though the tropical system fell apart, a lot of that moisture was still able to surge north into portions of Southern California but also neighboring states like Arizona, Nevada and even into Utah. Now for the remainder of Saturday, we expect dry conditions but that's going to change on Sunday.

You can see a lot more of that moisture surging in late morning and especially into Sunday afternoon. By the time we get to Monday, it begins to spread into some of the neighboring states as well. Most of these areas only looking at an additional one to two inches of rain at most.

But keep in mind, it's on top of what they already had a few days ago. So for that very reason, we have this risk for excessive rainfall that does cover portions of Southern California as well as neighboring Arizona throughout the day on Sunday.

ROSALES: Allison, thank you.

As the Trump administration dismantles DEI programs created to address the history of racial inequality in the United States, there's an old Southern family in South Carolina that is doing the exact opposite. Uncovering their history, sharing it, and then using it to come together as one giant multiracial family. Now one side of this family descends from enslaved people and the other from the enslavers. And they all share a name but don't spell it the same way.

CNN's Sara Sidner tells their story this week on The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My great-grandfather, he was a football star for the South Carolina Gamecocks. And you find in 1916, it's spelled with one L. And then it's spelled with two. So we think that he did this because his fiancee, his wife, her last name was -- was Curell with -- with two Ls. And this sort of aligns more, I guess, symmetrically. That was sort of the family story.

But then we also wondered if he did it to distance himself from the Black Simrills.

[12:55:02]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reason there was a difference in the Ls was because the White Simrills did not want anyone to know that they were related to the Black Simrills. So they added another L to their name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we call each other the single Ls and the double Ls.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: An all-new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, The Simrills: A Family in Black and White. That airs tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. only on CNN.

Coming up, changes are coming to how you get your COVID vaccine after CDC advisors changed their vaccine recommendations. What it means for your health. That's next.

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