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The Situation Room

More Witnesses to Testify on Day Two of Tupac Murder Trial; Lindsay Clancy's Attorneys Call Witnesses in Murder Trial; Ukraine Launching Another Drone Attack Inside Moscow. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 18, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- conversation. Listen to this testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRY DALE, FORMER LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER: He was still talking, and I was trying to convince him to tell me the name of whoever his assailants were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he ever respond?

DALE: Yes, he responded, no, we'll take care of it. Something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, no, we'll take care of it?

DALE: We'll take care of it. Something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's the only thing you were able to gather from Mr. Shakur?

DALE: Yes, I couldn't get him to talk to me any further than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So, Tupac Shakur was alive, he was aware, he understood what had happened to him, he wouldn't say who shot him, and he said, we'll take care of it. That's the mentality of the streets, because this case is also about the gangs, the Southside Compton Crips, that the defendant, Duane Davis, was the head of the Southside Compton Crips, and their arch rivals were the Bloods, and that was the basis of it all, and it's part of an enhancement, because this is first-degree murder, and there's enhancement that the purpose was for gang activity, and that's why this was done.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So, what do we expect to see today?

CASAREZ: They're putting on their witnesses one by one. They've been a little bit out of order, but they started at the beginning, right, before the shooting and what happened. But I think as time goes on, we're going to start to hear a lot of recorded statements that Duane Davis made where he implicates himself. Now, the defense is saying he lied. He absolutely lied. He never told one truthful thing. But he says, basically, that he was involved in these statements, and the jury's going to hear them.

BLITZER: It'll be dramatic. We'll see what happens, and you'll be all over it. Thanks very much, Jeanne Cazares. Appreciate it. Jeanne will be back for our full coverage of the trial, which will start streaming today at noon Eastern alongside CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates. And you can watch on cnn.com/tupactrial or on the CNN app.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And happening now, defense attorneys and the Lindsay Clancy trial are calling witnesses this morning after the prosecution rested their case. Yesterday, Clancy's mother took the stand and said her daughter thought her medication was, quote, "destroying her mind."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA MUSGROVE, LINDSAY CLANCY'S MOTHER: She said that she couldn't remember anything. The medication was pretty much just destroying her mind, and it wasn't her. She said, this isn't me. I just want to feel better and enjoy my kids again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Clancy is the former nurse accused of murdering her three children in 2023. She pleaded not guilty with her defense, arguing a severe postpartum condition that affected her mental state called postpartum psychosis.

With us now to talk about all of this is criminal defense attorney Elyse Hershon. Good morning to you. So, I'm wondering from what you've heard so far, where you stand on this. Do you believe the defense is winning over this jury?

ELYSE HERSHON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, and thank you for having me back on your show. I absolutely think the defense is winning, and it's not just because I'm also a defense attorney. I do think that the prosecution has to go further than they did. I think the prosecution is weaving a narrative that Lindsay Clancy was an overwhelmed mother that she started to resent her children, that she was not really suffering from mental illness, and it was not a real attempted suicide when she jumped out the window.

Now, through cross-examination, the defense has already brought in evidence from prosecution witnesses that calls question or gives an alternate explanation. And now, as the defense starts to call its own witnesses, their position is only getting stronger.

BROWN: And help us also understand the context of the Massachusetts law that works in the defense's favor.

HERSHON: Massachusetts is unique in terms of when there's a defense. It used to be called not guilty by reason of insanity. We now say lack of criminal responsibility, meaning there's such a significant mental illness that the person is not able to appreciate that what they're doing is wrong. They can't stop it and that they can't conform their conduct to the law. So, essentially, psychosis is an example of that. That's what the defense theory is here.

Now, other states, once the defense says we have this, we're raising this defense, the defense has to prove it. Massachusetts, everything's on the prosecution. So, the prosecution not only has to prove first degree murder, all of the elements there for each of the children, in addition, disprove mental illness, disprove essentially Lindsay Clancy was not suffering through psychosis. We did not see direct and strong evidence of that from their case in chief so far.

BROWN: So, then what, if anything, has the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office presented that you think is a strong enough argument to potentially convince a jury that Lindsay was not experiencing postpartum psychosis when she strangled her children?

HERSHON: It's a fantastic question. The prosecution has called nurse practitioners and a psychiatric doctor, two of them. Only a couple of them even knew what postpartum psychosis is.

[11:35:00]

They testified as to general psychosis symptoms and they all said that they did not observe any of those in Lindsay Clancy. However, none of them, except for one, were treating her into January three or four weeks up to the day that she took her children's lives. And they've conceded that that was her. It's just about the mental intent.

So, I think they need to go further so they don't leave open the possibility that she actually was telling the truth. Her family was up testifying and they said, yes, she was declining. She was losing weight. She wasn't sleeping. She was complaining of suicidal ideations and some evidence that she was hearing voices came in. So, there's two possibilities here. And that's the definition of reasonable doubt. If it keeps going this way, prosecution won't get there.

BROWN: So, how much weight do you think the jurors will give to testimony from family members versus the expert psychiatric testimony?

HERSHON: Certainly, family members are naturally biased, and the defense attorney got up and said, look, you're Lindsay Clancy's mother. You're clearly a biased witness, but continue to tell us what you observed in your daughter. You know, the prosecution went after her a little bit. She's a victim, too. She lost her three grandchildren that she loved so much. And she's, you know, very emotional witness.

But in terms of the experts, I think the experts are going to be very strong witnesses for the defense. The defense doesn't have to put on any case. They could have just cast doubt on the case that the Commonwealth presented. But they're going that extra mile and saying not only was she suffering from postpartum psychosis, but we I anticipate they're going to start calling today experts who can talk about what postpartum psychosis is, how someone can function and appear to be normal, meaning order food, give a phone number, answer a call from her husband in the middle of psychosis, but not be able to formulate the intent for murder.

BROWN: Big picture. How much do you see this trial setting a modern president and precedent and future cases involving mothers with postpartum mental health challenges?

HERSHON: I think it's clearly shining a light and a shadowed part of our mental health care system. The whole system certainly has some disconnections in it. That was exposed when we heard doctor after doctor after nurse who are even in the same clinic and didn't read each other's notes. Most of them hadn't even met their patient. That comes certainly overburden and pressure from insurance companies to meet more people, spend less time. That's certainly exposed.

But it's also really the prosecution is saying that she's making this up and exaggerating. And I think there's so much unifying support for Lindsay Clancy because a lot of women have gone through being told the same thing. You're exaggerating. You're making this up. Take some Tylenol. Take some medication and put a smile on your face and go raise your kids.

And I think people feel slighted by that. They identify with that part of the struggle that Lindsay went through. And clearly, you know, hers ended with a very horrific result.

BROWN: Elyse Hershon, thank you so much. And we just want to note, if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, including depression or suicidal thoughts, help is always available. You can call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988 or visit them online at 988lifeline.org.

BLITZER: And, Pamela, we're learning new information now about the actress Hayden Panettiere's death. The 36-year-old actress was found unresponsive in the Greenville home in South Carolina where she was temporarily staying Sunday afternoon. According to a coroner's report, emergency workers responded to a 911 call about someone being in a reported cardiac arrest. Rescuers initiated advanced cardiac life support and CPR on Panettiere but were unsuccessful. An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma.

Hayden Panettiere's acting career, which began when she was just 11 months old, included roles in "Heroes" and "Nashville." She spoke openly about her struggles with addiction and recovery, postpartum depression and domestic abuse. She shares an 11-year-old daughter with Ukrainian former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko who shared this family photo of them in a tribute to the late actress. We'll be right back.

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[11:40:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, Ukraine launched another large drone assault inside Russia. Here's the moment one of the drones was intercepted. Hundreds of drones targeted an area just a few miles from Moscow. Russia also launched an attack of its own, hitting Ukraine's Kharkiv region and killing at least 10 people earlier today. Let's go live right now to CNN's chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh. He has a CNN exclusive. Nick, Russia's attack on Ukraine highlights what has become a major weakness in its defensive arsenal. What are you learning?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the extraordinary death toll of one instant where a strike hit a crossroads near Kharkiv draws to everyone's attention the problem with Ukraine's air defenses, specifically the U.S.-made and predominantly supplied Patriot interceptor missiles. They are for Ukraine basically the only thing that can take down Russia's ballistic missiles and which they are surging their use of.

And President Zelenskyy told me himself he basically does everything he possibly can every morning with anyone he can ring, any kind of deal he can basically make to get those interceptors. He has 1 percent, he says, of the U.S. current stockpile. Needs 5 percent to get through winter, 10 percent to stop. And Ukraine took the extraordinary move of showing us these highly secretive, highly prized defense weapons to show essentially how some of them are now sitting completely idle. Here's our report.

[11:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): Out in the quiet corn, a moment of absolute desperation. Ukraine's never shown anyone these before an American- made patriot air defense launcher. The interceptors they fire, the only thing that can take down Russian ballistic missiles that rain down on Ukraine, are under a huge global supply shortage, but these here are sitting idle, doing nothing. When in Ukraine, they could be saving lives almost nightly. Why? They're empty, out of ammo.

WALSH: This tube being empty is a sight really that would spark fear for ordinary Ukrainians. And is the product of dozens of phone calls to any ally, all sorts of deal making. President Zelenskyy told me to try and find the interceptors to fill this up. An extraordinary step they're taking by showing us the fact. This particular patriot battery is essentially out of action until interceptors arrive a sign of desperation.

WALSH (voice-over): Chief Engineer Dmytro says it is 2.5 months since this one fired, and six weeks since he saw one fire at all.

DMYTRO, CHIEF ENGINEER, UKRAINE'S PATRIOT SYSTEM: You know, factually, this is really heart-breaking sight when you have equipment, but you are not able to intercept any missile. This is very sad when you know that ballistic missiles are flying over your head and you are not able to do anything with it, and you know that behind you, there are citizens.

WALSH: And how did that make you feel, knowing that you should help but can't?

DMYTRO: Like you learn how to walk, but you're not able to walk, or you're able -- or you know how to breathe, but you're not able to breathe.

WALSH (voice-over): He knew the global supply crunch was coming.

DMYTRO: When we saw how many interceptors were launched in Middle East, we predicted that we will be in trouble.

WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine has been reluctant to admit if they have zero interceptors left. President Zelenskyy telling me every morning he begs allies for more.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Do some things which I can't even share. It's not. It doesn't mean that it's out of the law. No, but it's. I can't speak about it.

WALSH (voice-over): Kyiv is rocked by a massive ballistic attack, normally once a week, racing to the subway and shelters where before they felt

protected, they are not anymore. It is America First in the queue, and Ukraine left to anxiety in the rubble.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (on camera): Now, a reminder of this ongoing issue. Nine air alerts so far today, according to our colleagues in Kyiv. And desperate fears that as Russia is ramping up its ballistic missile production and use indeed with North Korean help for that as well, that they will exploit this now very public gap in Ukraine's air defenses.

It is simply a case of NATO and Ukraine's allies deciding to put Ukraine's defense prior to their own future possible needs. And it's a difficult thing for governments perhaps to accept, but Ukraine makes the argument its security, its ability to hold Russia back is ultimately Europe's security too. Startling desperation, frankly, for them to take that remarkable step and show us those prize launchers. Wolf.

BLITZER: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much for that report. Appreciate it very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: Incredible access he got, wow. Coming up, signs of a shift. New data details a big change in the number of children starting kindergarten without all of the recommended vaccines. We'll be back.

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[11:50:00]

BROWN: New this morning. The number of vaccine exemptions among kindergarteners hit a record high during this past school year. And this is according to new numbers from the CDC. The agency reports 4.2 percent of those are kids skipped at least one vaccine last year. That's about 157,000 new school children skipping those vaccines. That was the highest percentage on record. So, let's bring in medical correspondent Meg Tirrell in the Situation Room. Meg, you have been pouring over these new numbers. What do they tell us about childhood vaccinations right now in the United States?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, what experts tell us is it's a worrying trend. As you just pointed out. That 4.2 percent exemption rate means more than 150,000 kids started kindergarten last year. Without at least one of the required shots to start school in those states. That's up 20,000 from the year before.

And if you dig further into those data. You can see here we're separating it by medical exemptions, which is this blue line here, and non-medical exemptions, which is what is driving that trend higher. That's also known as religious or philosophical exemptions in some states. And that has been going to record levels.

Now, this varies greatly by states. But those non-medical exemptions increased in all but nine states last year. The data show. But you can see here in the darker red colors. Those are states that have at least 5 percent of the kids opting out or their parents opting their children out of at least one state mandated vaccine. And that's particularly worrisome for a disease like measles where experts say you need at least a 95 percent vaccination rate to stop this very infectious virus from spreading.

Now, you can see that MMR vaccination rates. Measles, mumps and rubella have been coming down correspondingly. And really it was before the COVID-19 pandemic that we were last above that 95 percent threshold we hope to be at. Now, we're down to 92.4 percent. The CDC putting out a statement on this saying that overall vaccination rates among kindergartners remained high. And saying that the CDC continues to encourage parents to discuss vaccination options with their doctors.

But, Pamela, of course these trends come as we are seeing record numbers of measles cases in the United States, hitting a 35-year high this year, only part way through the year so far.

[11:55:00]

BROWN: Wow. And so, these trends were in place, we want to note, before President Trump's new executive order laying out these new vaccine recommendations. How could that change this picture?

TIRRELL: Well what experts also emphasize is that even though that is a federal executive order it is really the states that put in place vaccine policy particularly for school entry. And you are seeing an increasing number of states as the Trump administration has really upended vaccine policy from the federal level who are saying they are breaking with the CDC and it's outside vaccine advisory committee.

So, the states here in red are the ones that are saying that they are following outside groups now instead of the CDC. One of the main groups they say they are looking at is the American Academy of Pediatrics which put out a statement on that executive order saying there is no new evidence to justify significant changes to childhood immunization guidance. Dozens of studies, they say, involving millions of people show there is no link between vaccines and autism. They say delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school.

And, Pamela, that's the main concern here, even if this policy doesn't actually change things for people that it may confuse folks and make them think that shots are not available when they still are. Pamela.

BROWN: Important point Meg Tirrell, thank you so much. Wolf.

BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us. On social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn.

BROWN: And we will see you back here tomorrow morning and every weekday morning. At 10:00 Eastern. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.

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