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Michigan Police Give Update on Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Fire; Congressional Leaders to Meet with Trump Tomorrow; Trump to Attend Meeting of Top Military Commanders; Trump Shares Apparent A.I. Video Ad for Medbed Conspiracy Theory. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired September 28, 2025 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:29]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

Any moment now, police in Michigan will give us an update on a deadly mass shooting and fire at the Church of Latter-day Saints in the township of Grand Blanc. The police chief identified the arsonist and gunman as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of the nearby town of Burton, a former Marine sergeant. Police say about 10:25 a.m. local time, Sanford rammed his vehicle into a church entrance, opening fire, killing two people, injuring eight others, one of whom is in critical condition tonight.

It was after the shooting the police chief says Sanford set the church on fire and that officers killed him in a shootout minutes after that first emergency call.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is there in Grand Blanc Township with the latest.

Leigh, again, we're waiting for this press conference to start in just moments. We're also learning more about the suspected gunman that he is an outdoorsman and a father. There's also still a very active investigation underway.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, a very active investigation and a very active scene. We'll get closer to the scene again for you. Not much has changed visually here, but you can see it's still a flurry of activity. We saw some firefighters leaving the scene. The Church of Latter-day Saints is down that road there. They had axes in their hands as the crews are working to dig through the debris after the shooting and subsequent fire that took place.

And if you even look across the street, just briefly, there's people waiting for their vehicles standing here on the side of the road, waiting to be taken by a small vehicle over to their cars. I spoke with a man just moments ago named Ryan. He was with his 2-year-old daughter. His older daughter as well. His wife is going to get their vehicle right now. He grew up in this area. He's grown up going to that church. He moved away briefly, just came back a month ago, Jessica, and I

asked him how they're holding up and he said, it's awful. He doesn't know who anyone is in the church. He said everyone just sprang into action to try and help one another. His 2-year-old daughter in her little yellow dress trying to keep positive right now, but just down the road, this horrific tragedy taking place.

You mentioned that extensive investigation that's happening right now at the church, but also at the suspected gunman's home. Police looking through where they think that he lived. They're hoping to get search warrants. Right now, we're moving off the street just so we can give law enforcement some room here. We're going to go this way just a little bit more. We know that they're obtaining warrants to try and dig through a digital footprint, hoping to shed some kind of light right now on the mindset and the motive behind the shooting.

Even though the gunman is dead, taken out by police less than 10 minutes after the shooting happened, we know that the motive behind this, Jessica, is very important here.

DEAN: Yes, it certainly is, Leigh. And I know you just got onto the scene there. And as you mentioned, you've been talking with a lot of people, but it just -- it's worth pausing on that the people you're talking to were at a church on Sunday when this suspect came in and started shooting, rammed his car, and then lit it on fire. And this is, you know, the third incident of this happening at a place of worship recently.

WALDMAN: Jessica, I'm glad you pointed that out because when we first started hearing about what happened --

DEAN: Hang on, Leigh. We're getting this press conference -- I'm sorry to interrupt you. Hang on. We're going to go to this press conference. We'll come back to you.

CHIEF WILLIAM RENYE, GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP POLICE: The conclusion of this press conference, with me here on the stage is Supervisor Scott Bennett, Fire Department chief of Grand Blanc Township, Jamie Gent, DNR Chief Jason Haynes, FBI acting special agent in charge, Ruben Coleman. And the ATF James Deer who is the special agent in charge for this area in Michigan.

I have a couple updates for you. There is a couple additional bodies that we've discovered in the church. So that makes our total victim count up to four victims. As I said before, there has already been the suspect who is deceased as well. So we have five deceased persons from this tragic incident.

Again, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this incident that could have been completely avoided. And it's very tragic and that's not what our community is.

[20:05:05]

I'm confident that we're going to overcome this as Grand Blanc always overcomes these type of incidents. I'd also like to acknowledge the heroism of not only the first

responders, but the people who were inside that church at the time. They were shielding the children who were also present within the church moving them to safety. Just hundreds of people just practicing their faith. Just extreme courage. Brave. And that's the type of community that we are.

Law enforcement again we were on scene within 30 seconds from that original 911 call. Within eight minutes, that suspect was neutralized in the back parking lot of the church by a DNR officer and a Grand Blanc Township officer.

So where we're at right now, we're working tirelessly. We're working all night on this particular incident. I know that you guys have questions, and it's not only this community, but it's nationwide. You know, all throughout the United States. So we're working hand in hand with our federal partners.

So I'd like to introduce FBI Agent Reuben Coleman to you, who -- he will give you an update on where he's at within the federal investigation. Sir.

REUBEN COLEMAN, ACTING SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI DETROIT FIELD OFFICE: Thank you, Chief. My name is Reuben Coleman, and I am the acting special agent in charge of FBI Detroit field office, which covers the entire state of Michigan. First, I want to sincerely express our condolences to the victims of the shooting, their families, and this entire community.

I would like to also thank Chief Renye, the Grand Blanc Township Police Department, and all of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, other first responders, and the community members for their immediate actions in this situation.

This act of violence has no place in our state or anywhere else in our country. The FBI is committed to continue finding out the facts, circumstances and motives behind this tragedy. I can confirm at this time that the FBI is now leading the investigation and is investigating this as an act of targeted violence.

FBI crisis response teams, such as our evidence response teams, SWAT, special agent, bomb technicians, victim specialists were deployed to the scene. We also have special agents who are continuing to conduct interviews and intelligence and professional staff personnel providing research and analysis. I would like to thank them for their work on this case.

We ask that members of the public share any information that would assist us in this investigation, and we encourage them to please report to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tips.FBI.gov. Any piece of information could be crucial. We ask that you keep the victims of this tragedy, their families and the entire community in your prayers. Thank you.

SPECIALIST LIEUTENANT KIM VETTER, MICHIGAN STATE POLICE: Thank you, sir. The Michigan State Police continues to respond to several locations throughout the community as we receive additional bomb threats at other locations. Please continue to stay vigilant, and if you see something suspicious, say something. Call the FBI tip line or call 911 to report suspicious activity.

This incident is an active investigation. Investigators are tirelessly combing through evidence under difficult circumstances and working to identify each victim as quickly and accurately as possible. The Family Assistance Center will be open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Genesis Conference and Banquet Center at 805 Health Park Boulevard in Grand Blanc. If you are still looking for missing family members related to this incident, you may call 248-705-7352 for assistance.

The FAC is available to everyone in the community. Victims, family members of victims and community members seeking support who just want to talk. Trained counselors and victim services will be on site. We do not need volunteer counselors at this time, and we are not accepting donations of goods at this time. Please continue to monitor the Grand Blanc Township Facebook page for the latest updates. Once verified, donation centers are made public. We will put those on the Facebook page.

[20:10:06]

Also, the next update will be provided -- update time will be provided on that Facebook page. And we'll open up the questions this time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The chief said (INAUDIBLE) clear of bodies of victims, and if you could answer, please.

RENYE: So as I said, we're working around the clock now. So we're working tirelessly to find additional bodies. So to answer your question, the entire church has not been cleared because it's a total loss due to the fire. So these first responders right now, they're in recovery mode. They're trying to fight through all the debris from the fire. So, no, we have not cleared the entire church just yet.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I have a quick follow up. The victims, the four dead. Can you say how many were shot or how many died as a result of the fire?

RENYE: I could say this. Two have been shot as a result or have been shot. Two of the deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you know how many people are unaccounted for?

RENYE: No, I don't know how many people are unaccounted for at this time. We do know that there are some that are unaccounted for.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you -- can you explain a little bit about how the fire started at church?

RENYE: I will leave that up to the ATF agent here.

JAMES DEIR, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, ATF DETROIT FIELD OFFICE: The question again?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How did the fire started?

DEIR: For this incident, the fire started basically the suspect, all indications on this investigation are the suspect used an accelerant of some sort, we believe gasoline, and lit the church on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was it an IED he may have used?

DEIR: There -- at this point, I'm not going to comment on IEDs. There were -- I will confirm that there were some suspected explosive devices that were located. But as far as using them to initiate the blaze, I can't say that. This scene is actively being investigated by ATF. Most people don't know that ATF is the federal arson police. And we have a team from across the country coming in, our national response team.

It is a cadre of expert fire investigators that are coming here from across the country to investigate this scene and get to the cause or the origin and cause of this fire.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We saw that there was possibly a bomb threat at the Meyer on Atherton and Center yesterday. Is that connected to this? And is the home that we saw being searched over there, the home of the suspect?

VETTER: Yes. That's all still part of the investigation. Sorry. That is still all part of the investigation. We're still working to determine if any of that is related.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can we speak to the motive? We're hearing speculations that it might have anything to do with the Charlie Kirk assassination in Utah.

VETTER: That's exactly what it is, a speculation. And we won't come to those types of conclusions for some time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know if there's any connection between the suspect and the church or its members? Any prior connections?

VETTER: Again, part of the investigation. We're not going to speculate at this time. Right now, we are working tirelessly to recover the victims of this incident and reunite families. Please be patient as we work through that process.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) there close to the scene and how they were able to respond so quickly within just seconds?

VETTER: Thankfully yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Were there any other additional bomb threats? Are there anywhere that the community should be aware of or (INAUDIBLE)?

VETTER: The community should remain vigilant and anytime they see something suspicious, they should report it immediately. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There's at least one other report that a local

church was searched by the bomb squad.

VETTER: We've searched multiple churches this evening for bomb threat protocol. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is that based on actual threats?

VETTER: Yes. We received 911 calls about bomb threats or other indications that there was a bomb at a different location. Some of them were churches, and we have responded and cleared those locations.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did those threats come after the suspect was killed at the church?

VETTER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was there an officer at the church already?

VETTER: I think that's part of the investigation. Do you have a comment on that?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Were those LDS churches where bomb threats were or were there other denominations?

VETTER: I can't --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That speaks for motive.

VETTER: Yes, I can't answer to that at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What else can you say about the suspect? You know, you don't -- you're not going to tell us about the motive. Yes, but what else can you say anything about him at all?

VETTER: Right now what we'd like to do is talk about the heroism that we saw today. The people who responded in such a valiant way to protect the others. Both law enforcement, fire department, EMS. Everybody did an excellent job working together to keep people as safe as they possibly could.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We stopped by Holy Family Catholic Church, and there was a heavy police presence there. Is this at all connected to one of those bomb threats that you're mentioning? Is it potentially connected to the incident today at the LDS church?

VETTER: I don't have knowledge of that exact location. I think that's going to be all for questions. I thank you for coming and appreciate the assistance.

[20:15:01]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can I get your name?

VETTER: Sure. Yes. I'm Specialist Lieutenant Kim Vetter, Michigan State Police. DEAN: All right. You are just listening to the latest update from

authorities there in Michigan. The top lines out of that is that there are two additional people who have died. They were found in the church according to authorities. Remember that church was set on fire.

We also heard from the FBI that's now leading this investigation. They are calling this an act of targeted violence. And you heard there about the investigation that is ongoing. There is still not a motive that they are able to speak about at this moment, but a very active investigation. We know that they are going through all kinds of evidence to try to put that together.

We also know that the church itself has not been cleared, that there could be additional bodies inside that church, that they have not been able to get to because of debris and again because of that fire. The ATF, speaking about their role in all of this, confirming that the suspect did use some sort of accelerant, they believe it was gasoline, to set that church on fire and that there were suspected explosive devices that were also located throughout the church.

Again, this very much continuing and we do have the outstanding question of if there will be additional victims that they find inside that church. One thing they did note as well was the heroism of the people inside the church. Again, these were all just local people going to church on a Sunday. They said that those people jumped into action shielding children who were inside when this all happened.

In their words, practicing their faith and exhibiting extreme courage and bravery in the face of something that no one should have to endure.

But that is the latest out of Michigan. We're going to have more analysis on the other side with our experts. Stay with us.

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[20:21:40]

DEAN: Back now with our breaking news, getting that update out of Michigan, where we now know that four people are dead in that shooting and fire at a church in Michigan, and that we know that church has not been cleared. There could be additional victims. That was the scene earlier today.

Let's bring in Leigh Waldman, who is on the scene in Grand Blanc, and Steve Moore, CNN law enforcement contributor.

Leigh, let's go to you first. Just make sure everyone has all of the key pieces of information of what the latest information we have.

WALDMAN: Well, Jessica, we spoke to an officer who's here. They're part of this roadblock, and we asked, how long are you expecting to be here? He said, all night. They have no idea when this is going to be wrapped up because, like you mentioned, that entire chapel that was completely destroyed by this fire has not been cleared just yet. We still can't even see where that chapel is located. It's down the road, but you can see the flurry of activity there.

Unfortunately, we know that the death toll rose from two now to four people dead. We know at least two of those people were shot. We know several other people have been taken to area hospitals with gunshot wounds as well to be treated. We spoke with media contact at a local hospital here. They said they're also treating five people for smoke inhalation in relation to this fire.

We heard from law enforcement and they said after that gunman drove into the front doors of that church, started shooting, then used an accelerant of some kind to assist in setting that church on fire with hundreds of people inside of that church. They spoke about the heroism of officers. We know from law enforcement they responded within 30 seconds of that first shooting call. Within eight minutes, they had stopped the gunman in the back parking lot of that church.

But they also spoke about the heroism of the people who were inside. The people who were on the side of the road, they've cleared out now. They've gotten their vehicles, they're heading out. You're going to see some of those vehicles going by here, and some of those law enforcement vehicles as well. But they were shielding their children with their own bodies. We'll pause here shortly. They're shielding their children with their bodies.

And Jessica, before that press conference, you said, taking in the sheer panic of what happened here. And I think we need to double down on that. Not only was this yet another shooting that happened inside of a place of worship here, but a person set that church on fire with hundreds of people who were inside. It just -- it takes your breath away. And to hear from the people who were inside of that church, how scared they were, it breaks your heart.

DEAN: Yes. You cannot take the humanity out of this, of what a tragedy -- just what a scary, awful thing this was for hundreds of people, Leigh. Thank you.

Steve, as you listen to that press conference, we got more information there about the investigation that's ongoing. And also to about just it sounds like how widespread this has been in terms of the investigation and the bomb threats that they've been getting on other houses of worship in that area. What did you take away from that?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, the bomb threat, the continuing bomb threats caught my attention. But, you know, bomb threats can be phoned in from anywhere across the country. And anybody who has some kind of mental issue or personal vendetta or grudge against other churches or any churches can use that situation. So I'm not necessarily thinking that that's an accomplice continuing the work.

[20:25:09]

The other thing that struck me was that the FBI has already taken jurisdiction over this, which is significant and quick. You know, they called it a targeted violence. Well, targeted violence isn't the title of a crime. Targeted violence is not -- is an element of the crime. And so what that tells me is beyond the targeted violence, they have determined, at least at some significant level, that this was either a hate crime or domestic terrorism, because those are the only things that would give them jurisdiction to take this case.

DEAN: Right. That's a great point. And that's what I wanted to get at, is -- so at this point, you're saying likely a hate crime or what was the other one?

MOORE: Domestic terrorism.

DEAN: Domestic yes, domestic terrorism. Yes.

MOORE: Yes, kind of the same thing. I mean, domestic terrorism can be used as a catchall for, for attacks on religious groups.

DEAN: Yes. And so, OK, in terms of also to the fact that the church hasn't been cleared, it sounds like, as they were saying, it's -- you know, they still could recover additional bodies there. How does that complicate what they're trying to do in terms of the investigation, but also, too, again, going back to the human part of this people who are still waiting to hear about their loved ones?

MOORE: I would say the main issue here is the agony of the people who are still waiting to find relatives. Beyond that -- beyond that, it is complicating the investigation and it will continue to, and it's not going to be a very quick job to find anybody still in there because, remember, the roof is collapsed. So anybody who's under there at this point are going to be under several feet of debris, burn debris, and then without getting too graphic, it's just hard to determine a body in the midst of an entire burned area.

DEAN: Yes. All right, Steve Moore, thank you for that context around this. We really appreciate it.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:31:41]

DEAN: We're just a few days out from a possible government shutdown. Tomorrow congressional leaders from both sides are set to meet with President Trump at the White House. But when pressed by CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson would not say whether he and Trump were willing to negotiate terms. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Look, I'm not going to get in front of the president and tell you what he will do. But I talked with him, you know, a couple of times, even yesterday. And I'm telling you where his head is, he wants to bring in the leaders to come in and act like leaders and do the right thing for the American people. It's fine to have partisan debates and squabbles, but you don't hold the people hostage for their services to allow yourself political cover. And that's what Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are doing right now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: We are joined now by Scott Jennings and Xochitl Hinojosa.

It's great to have both of you. Scott is a senior political commentator and former senior adviser to Mitch McConnell. And Xochitl is a CNN political commentator and former DNC communications director.

Good to see both of you on a Sunday night.

Scott, I do want to start first with you. We look to tomorrow. How do you see this meeting playing out?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, hopefully the Democrats come to their senses here and will go to the floor of the respective chambers and pass a clean continuing resolution. The Republicans put that on the floor. No tricks, no funny business, nothing up our sleeves. Just, hey, let's keep the government open for another several weeks while we work this through in a normal process.

Democrats voted against that, and so I'm hoping they come out of this meeting thinking that that's a better option than simply shutting down the government. It's just not realistic. The demands they are making.

Now, Donald Trump may get in the room and wheel and deal. He is a dealmaker. So like Speaker Johnson, I wouldn't want to predict what the president is willing to do on the fly. But I do think it's pretty reprehensible that the Democrats have taken us to the brink of a shutdown with a list of demands that, frankly, are just not even within the realm of the realistic right now.

DEAN: Xochitl, what's going to be a win for Democrats in this scenario?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think that -- I actually agree with Speaker Johnson. Like we should be doing what is best for the American people. And the biggest holdup for Democrats right now is also the fact that health care is going to go up for millions of Americans at the end of this year, and there is no plan for Republicans to deal with it.

On the shutdown specifically, I just want to point out that the Democratic Senate bill, the Democratic alternative, got more votes than Republican alternative. And it wasn't just Democrats that voted against it. There were Republicans as well. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer have both been asking for a meeting from Donald Trump. This has been going on for about a week now. And Donald Trump refused to meet with them understanding what this deadline is and understanding that the government is going to shut down.

So I'm glad that Donald Trump finally decided to meet with them. I feel like we are in the same place today as we were a week ago. We could have started having these conversations a week ago, and then now we are just a few days away. It seems like this constantly happens where we're going toward a shutdown, but our leaders need to figure out how to solve it. And I think that finally Trump is coming to the table to potentially negotiate.

And that is a good sign at the end of the day. But I just want to be clear when there is a shutdown, the president and the party in power normally own it. And so at the end of the day, regardless of what the rhetoric is on both sides, that is just the reality. Republicans are in control and they're the ones who will end up owning it.

[20:35:01]

DEAN: Scott, the Democrats do have a list of a number of things. But one key thing that -- I did talk to a Republican congressman on this show last night, this extension of the Obamacare subsidies. He seemed open to that. And he said there were some House Republicans that were also open to that. Is that something you think -- I know you don't know what the president is going to do, and you've said as much, he's going to do what he's going to do. But do you think that's a good deal for Republicans to give that to them?

JENNINGS: Well, I know some Republicans are thinking about it and there is some energy for that position in the conservative side. So I do feel like that, whether it gets solved in the next 48 hours or whether it gets solved over the next few weeks, that is something that you could see Republicans deal with.

I have some familiarity with the issue, and I do know that the president's pollsters, in some cases, have been polling for this issue and for some advocacy for this issue, you know, externally, to put pressure on Congress. And they have found some support among even President Trump's own base for extending it. So, yes, I would say that that's one issue that could see some negotiation in there.

Some of the other things they want, of course, are not realistic, but on health care, yes, I do think there's probably room for movement. But again, is holding the government hostage for the next 48 hours and taking us to the brink of a shutdown instead of having a reasonable process over the next few weeks, legitimate tactic by the Democrats? I don't know about that.

DEAN: Xochitl, is it worth it to shut the government down for Democrats, especially knowing that the president -- we've seen the memo about the mass layoffs from the federal government that could be coming down the pike. Do you think that should give Democrats pause? Should they be factoring that in?

HINOJOSA: Well, first of all, Republicans, Trump should not be playing with the jobs and doing mass layoffs of the American people. When there is a government shutdown, and I, just to be clear, I do not support a government shutdown. My hope is, as you know, Scott mentioned that there is some sort of way that they can come together and try to figure out how to move forward on health care.

But moving and threatening mass layoffs that will only weaken our economy. And I think that every piece of the economy that is sort of weakened -- our economy is fragile. Like whether it be tariffs or whether it be this issue, potential mass layoffs, that ends up hurting unemployment overall. We'll have a higher unemployment in our country. We already had a number of layoffs because of DOGE and at the beginning of this administration. And I do think trying to threaten and playing with people's lives like that is not a good one.

DEAN: All right. So we shall see what comes out of the White House tomorrow.

But Scott and Xochitl, we really do appreciate you on a Sunday night, both of you. Thanks for your time.

JENNINGS: Thanks.

DEAN: Still ahead, hundreds of American military generals and officers stationed around the world are being flown to Washington this week for an unusual gathering of top brass. Sources telling us Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will lay out the administration's new standards for the military. We're going to talk to a retired major general when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:40]

DEAN: President Trump plans to attend the highly unusual meeting of America's top military brass in Quantico this week according to two sources familiar. Generals and admirals stationed all around the globe are being ordered to the meeting with just days' notice by the secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Military sources say the meeting will likely be what they call a pep rally, with details of Hegseth's plans to restore what they call a warrior ethos.

Joining us now, CNN military analyst, retired Army Major General James "Spider" Marks.

Thank you so much for being here with us. This is very out of the ordinary. I think that's worth underscoring. And we are getting details about just what might be said, but help people understand how not normal this is.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's unprecedented. Something like this has not occurred before, Jessica. Even in preparation for World War II, with the thousands of things that need to be done, there wasn't really a call for all those senior leaders to come together, link arms and say, OK, this is the task ahead of us. So it is unprecedented.

If it is about the warrior's ethos, as Secretary Hegseth has described, or at least that's the narrative that's being put out, you have to start with what is the definition of a warrior. Now the warrior, it's all about professional values rooted in a military culture. It's all about commitment. It's dedication. It's sacrifice. It's making those kinds of decisions all about the mission, each other and the nation.

And so that's what differentiates this crowd of folks from anybody else. So the question then becomes, I think everybody in that room will say, you know, I think I'm living the warrior ethos. I got -- I got a kind of a notion of what this means. Please tell me where I'm not aligned or tell me I am aligned. And if it is a pep rally, let's move forward from there. If it's not, then we need to get our butts chewed. Tell us where we need to improve because that's what they want to do.

DEAN: And what about -- I'm curious if there are security concerns about putting all of these people in one place together. It's also expensive to do that as well.

MARKS: Oh, sure, there's going to be a cost associated with it. Look, it's at the end of the fiscal year.

[20:45:02]

This is out of budget planning. I get all that. But push that to the side. That's not what's important. What's important, you asked the question about security, again what the military does better than anything else is force protection. So I'm not concerned about that. What I am concerned about is that this is a great intelligence collection opportunity for adversaries, both acknowledged and unacknowledged.

And there will be a lot of folks looking over the fence trying to figure out what's going on. Tracking aircraft, coming in and out. So there is a security concern, but it's more an intelligence collection type opportunity for others.

DEAN: Yes. Very interesting. All right. Retired Army Major General Spider Marks, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

MARKS: OK, sure.

DEAN: Yes. Coming up, President Trump shares what is apparently an A.I. video of himself promoting fake medical technology. Brian Stelter is joining us next to talk about that.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[20:50:30]

DEAN: On Saturday, President Trump shared what was apparently an artificially created video of a FOX News segment where an A.I. version of himself promoted a cure-all medbed conspiracy. That video has now been deleted.

Let's bring in CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter.

Brian, what does this all mean? What is this?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: I was afraid you were going to ask me that, Jessica. If you've never heard of this medbed conspiracy theory, count yourself lucky. This idea has been popular in QAnon conspiracy theory circles for years, and it asserts that elites have access to secret healing technology that's been kept from the public. Now, the video that Trump shared claimed that these so-called medbeds

will soon be available for everyone. And look, we are all susceptible to falling for A.I. generated fakes. This technology, this actual A.I. technology, it's getting more sophisticated every day. And there's more and more of these A.I. slot videos all over social media.

But this one is puzzling that the president shared because it features a rendering of the president speaking. You hear a version of his voice, and it's supposed to resemble a FOX News segment featuring his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. So presumably the president knows he never actually uttered these words. He knows this medbed thing doesn't actually exist, and he knows his daughter-in-law never promoted it on TV.

So that's why this share on Truth Social gained so much attention over the weekend. It was later deleted from his account, which is also notable because that's a rare move.

I think with everything involving the president, it always comes back to his sources of information. Where is he getting information about the world? When he claims Portland is war ravaged, where is he getting that from? When he repost something about secret alien technology like this, where is he getting it from? Right? And so I always raise that question. It's always a very hard question to answer.

Where are the president's sources of information? Where is he getting this from? And sometimes, as in this A.I. generated video case, he's just seeing it from random users of Truth Social. That's the takeaway, I think, from this story.

DEAN: Yes. Another story I do want to ask you about, too, the Pentagon Press Office telling reporters they have to sign a pledge that would restrict reporting. What do you know about that?

STELTER: Yes, keep an eye on this one in the coming days. There's a Tuesday deadline for reporters to sign a pledge that's basically impossible for Pentagon beat reporters to sign, because it says they are not allowed to obtain or publish, quote, "unauthorized information." Essentially, the Pentagon wants to turn all the reporters of the Pentagon into parrots, into PR puppets, just repeating talking points.

And because the public wants to know what's going to happen at this meeting, for example, in Virginia later in the week, reporters can't sign the pledge. So I think in the coming days, we may see legal action or other steps to try to challenge this. There is a deadline on Tuesday. There is also a deadline one week later. It can be extended for a week.

But this is going to be a very interesting standoff between the Pentagon Press Corps and the Pentagon because reporters have to be able to investigate, to obtain leaks, to find out what's going on inside the U.S. Military. And this coming week with this meeting at Quantico, it's going to be a perfect example of the role of the press to figure out what the public needs to know.

DEAN: That's absolutely right. And that's how people in our business do their job.

Brian Stelter, thank you so much. Good to see you.

STELTER: Thanks.

DEAN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:58:25]

DEAN: All right. Here's a look at five stories we're tracking this week.

President Trump meets with lawmakers tomorrow ahead of a potential government shutdown later in the week. If there is no breakthrough at that meeting, a shutdown could begin just after midnight, 12:01 on Wednesday morning.

Also tomorrow, Monday, Israel's prime minister will meet with President Trump at the White House. The Trump administration trying to push a new U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza and release the remaining hostages.

The Supreme Court meets privately Monday ahead of its new term to discuss upcoming cases, including that of Ghislaine Maxwell. Her attorneys have filed a petition to overturn her sex trafficking conviction related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Federal lawmakers head to Charlotte, North Carolina, tomorrow to take a closer look at crime. A House subcommittee is planning a field hearing on victims of violent crime.

And finally, the Major League Baseball playoffs will begin Tuesday with the wild card round. On this final day of the season, the last team in was the Cincinnati Reds. The New York Mets are out.

Tonight's episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" looks at the role of government in big business and the future of the First Amendment. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think that Brendan Carr, as chair of the FCC, has weaponized the FCC?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this administration is weaponizing every agency it has under its power right now. And it has asserted that even though the FCC is an independent agency, that it has to do its will. And so we are using our leverage over private companies to do this administration's will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" is next. It is right here on CNN. Thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm

going to see you right back here again next weekend.