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The Situation Room

NFL Asks Supreme Court to Allow States to Regulate Prediction Markets Like Gambling; NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 Splashes Down; Now: Judge Hears Arguments in Trump Press Ban Case. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 08, 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]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, the NFL is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let states regulate prediction apps as if they were gambling. The league notes that more than half of all trading volume on prediction markets on the first Sunday of this season was related to the NFL. A whopping, get this, $1.8 billion.

CNN's senior reporter Marshall Cohen is here with us in the Situation Room. So, what did the NFL say in its filing?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Wolf, this is a really big deal for a few reasons. Before we get into the legal arguments, I just want to tell you why these matters. Number one, like you said, most of the trading activity on these sites comes from sports and football is the biggest by far. So, when the NFL speaks, people listen.

Number two, this pits the NFL against the Trump administration, which has been all in on prediction markets. And also, number three, the NFL is now breaking from some other leagues like MLB and NHL, hockey and baseball that have partnerships with prediction markets. So, this is all about who gets to regulate prediction markets. Currently, they're regulated by the federal government as if they are financial exchanges or financial markets. But states say that they think this is gambling and they want to apply their much more aggressive gambling laws. And now, the NFL has taken a side and they are siding with the states and they want the Supreme Court to decide quickly.

Let me read for you a quote from their filing that came in overnight. They said billions of dollars will be bet on NFL games through prediction markets each season. And any delay from the court will result in increasing consumer harm and risks to game integrity. They went on to say that despite the NFL's urging, the commission, that's the Trump administration, and operators like Kalshi have thus far failed to implement appropriate safeguards.

Obviously, the companies like Kalshi and Polymarket strongly disagree with that. They say that they take market integrity very seriously. But they've got a real fight on their hands now, too, Wolf, because it's not just the NFL. Look at this map. Forty states filed their arguments last night. That's a lot of yellow on that map. All those states agree that they believe this is gambling and it should be regulated as such. Wolf, one last note, of course, for full disclosure, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use their data to cover major events, but they don't influence our coverage and we don't trade on prediction markets.

BLITZER: Good point. Thank you very much. Marshall Cohen reporting for us. And just ahead, we're going to take you back to the USS Abraham Lincoln as the strike group is now just hours from port out in California. My co-anchor, Pamela Brown, is there. Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Wolf. I'm back on the USS Abraham Lincoln. A very different vibe here from when I was here in July. That's because in just hours from now, these crew members are going to be reunited with their family after a historically demanding deployment. We'll have that for you coming up.

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[11:35:00]

BLITZER: Splashdown for NASA's SpaceX Crew-12. The Dragon capsule just dropped into the ocean off the coast of California. The mission included two NASA astronauts, a European Space Agency astronaut, and a Roscosmos cosmonaut. Crew-12 headed to the International Space Station back on February 13th. Welcome back to Earth, Crew-12.

And happening now, nearly a year of worry and uncertainty is about to come to an end for thousands of U.S. sailors. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group have been deployed since November, but today they're arriving back in California, ending one of the longest carrier deployments of our lifetime. My co-anchor and friend Pamela Brown is live from the deck of the Abraham Lincoln. You've been talking to these sailors and Marines about the impending return. What are they saying?

BROWN: I've been talking to so many of them, Wolf, and the excitement is palpable, but also there's some mixed emotions. A lot of these crew members made bonds of a lifetime. They have been on this historically demanding deployment for ten and a half months. They've gotten through many obstacles, and it's surreal to them that this day has arrived that they're going to be reunited with their families.

Some of them didn't think they'd be going home this year because of the extensions in the deployment and the fact that this ship, the Abraham Lincoln, was such a central ship on the war with Iran, with the blockades as well as all of the missions. There were thousands of flight missions off this ship, but today is a day about the homecoming.

And right now, I am here with Taj Riddle. He is an enlisted sailor, and he has been doing a lot of work here on the flight deck throughout deployment, and he came up to me. We were chatting, and you were telling me you can't wait to see your family today.

TAJ RIDDLE, ENLISTED SAILOR: I can't wait to see my family. Yes, ma'am, that's correct. And I appreciate it -- I just want to say I appreciate you all for the coverage and the awareness bringing it to our deployment so we can get home a little bit speedily. It seemed like we were just kind of left out there and whatnot, and we didn't know when we was getting home, but when you all showed up, you all kind of made it happen. That's what it feels like, so I just want to give a big thanks to you all.

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BROWN: Well, thank you for saying that. I know the uncertainty was one of the hardest parts of this deployment because when you started, you thought it would be a regular deployment. You'd have lots of port calls. Suddenly, you find yourself in the center of the action. What has this deployment been like for you?

RIDDLE: Well, it's been a range of emotion. It's kind of been like one of those trials where you learn yourself, and you kind of go through a lot of things like core principles as far as patience, acceptance, having faith too and whatnot, and just having strength, inner strength. It's like you're finding your inner self and whatnot.

But it was a disappointment, but it wasn't nothing I wasn't used to. Last deployment, you know, it was like a four- or five-month deployment, and we were supposed to do a 7th Fleet then, but we got called into action 5th Fleet. So, I was kind of like already used to it, but the level of uncertainty has been unmatched compared to anything. I can't even compare it to anything. I don't know.

BROWN: How did you get through it? Talk us through how you were able to keep that resilience and that mental strength through all of that uncertainty and all of the obstacles you all had to face here on board.

RIDDLE: Well, now that I'm here today, or now that we're here today, and we're about to pull in, it seems like a blink of an eye. And I really don't know how I got through it, but the things I used to help me was like, you know, I'm a spiritual guy, so I read scripture a little bit, and then I just worked out. Yes, I kept myself physically active and whatnot, and I set workout goals and whatnot. And then I have friends, you know, and whatnot.

So, it kind of just made the thing go by. I created a little bit of a distraction and whatnot. And, yes, that's kind of what I did, just read scripture, worked out, just set workout goals and enjoyed time with my friends. That's all.

BROWN: Well, you all are all amazing. You've had so much courage and sacrifice. I know there have been some bright moments and also some darker moments. There was a man overboard as well. I mean, that must have been a tough day.

RIDDLE: Yes, ma'am. That was a tough day. I mean, I really don't want to say it, but, you know, a lot of people have just kind of been, you know, they're on edge a little bit, and the more uncertainty increased. And for him to actually do, you know, what a lot of sailors could have been contemplating, it's just, you know, it's one of those things that hit different and just show you like, OK, you're not the only one that's feeling like this, you know. But he may be the only one that took action. So, yes, you know, my heart goes out to him and his family and whatnot, and I hope he's well now.

BROWN: Fortunately, everyone who started -- OK. What does that mean?

RIDDLE: That means we're turning.

BROWN: All right. We're turning. A few hours away from port. Just as we wrap up, just tell us, Taj, what you were most looking forward to coming home after this deployment.

RIDDLE: Well, what I'm most looking forward to is kind of reuniting with family. Over the time of this deployment, I realized how important family is, and I ain't doing nothing but getting older, and it seems like I'm growing more disconnect. So, I want to appreciate land because I've been away from land for like 11 months. So, I just want to -- I look forward to showing gratitude to the things that's back on land. You know, that's it.

BROWN: You feel like a changed person in a way?

RIDDLE: Hopefully. I feel like a changed person, but when I get back on land, everything just might retract to me, my old ways and whatnot, you know, old habits, not being appreciative, overlooking things. So, I feel like I'm a changed man, but, you know, land will test you always.

BROWN: Land will test you always, and so will deployment. And you all have done an incredible job. We all thank you. I speak on behalf of all of our viewers. We thank you for your service, all of the sacrifice and courage you had during this deployment, and all of your shipmates here as well. Thank you, Taj.

RIDDLE: Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your support.

BROWN: Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Excellent work out there on the aircraft carrier. Pamela Brown, thank you very much for bringing us these very, very personal and emotional stories from these sailors, these Marines who have been gone for almost a year. Now, they're about to come back here to the United States. That aircraft carrier strike group is about to arrive in San Diego, and we'll hear more from your reporting. Thank you very much for doing it.

Also happening now, a splashdown for NASA's SpaceX Crew-12. The Dragon capsule just dropped into the ocean off the coast of California. This mission included two NASA astronauts, a European Space Agency astronaut, and a Roscosmos cosmonaut. Crew-12 headed to the International Space Station back on February 13th. Welcome back to Earth, Crew-12.

There you see the arrival. It's coming back, and we're very happy that they're back and they're safe. The boats are picking up the astronauts, as we can see right there. Welcome home. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

BLITZER: There's breaking news. We're following a hearing is now underway as CNN, MS NOW, and Politico ask a judge to extend his order that restored White House access after President Trump banned the news outlets. CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, is following all of this for us. So, what's the latest, Brian?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right. Well, the current court order that stops Trump's ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico was a temporary measure. It was put in place for two weeks. And that period ends today. So, the lawyers for the news outlets are seeking a longer- term order. Something known as a preliminary injunction that will preserve access to the White House and ensure that journalists can keep doing their jobs.

I've been listening in to the hearing in Judge Timothy Kelly's courtroom. And our colleagues are there taking notes. We're going to have a full report once the hearing ends. But so far, I can tell you the judge does seem to be skeptical of Trump and the government's arguments. Right now, a lawyer for the Justice Department is trying to defend Trump's ban, saying the president has discretion to kick reporters out, that he can look around that room in the Oval Office, he can choose who's there, and he can exclude certain journalists based on perceived point of view.

[11:50:00]

But the judge is indicating that he is bound by precedent dating back to the 1970s. That's a case that protects news gathering. And the judge basically has to uphold that case. The DOJ might want to challenge it, but for now it seems the judge is probably going to go ahead and reaffirm the order that he put in place two weeks ago.

Minutes ago, Judge -- excuse me, Attorney Ted Boutros, representing the three banned news outlets, he called this textbook retaliation by the president. He said it's essential to have news outlets covering national security issues and holding the government accountable, and essentially Boutros rejecting the arguments made by Trump that somehow these news outlets have threatened national security.

The judge does seem open to those arguments, especially to Boutros' due process arguments. Boutros said at one point, this is a unique situation. Quote, "The president has said he wants to chill speech." Boutros also pointed out this ban could be extended to other news outlets in the future. Trump has already threatened to ban the New York Times, for example.

So, this is an important case that involves a lot more than just the three news outlets that were temporarily blocked from accessing the White House. This is about the ability of journalists to ask the leader of the free world questions and hold him accountable. And so, far, Wolf, it seems the judge is inclined to preserve access to the White House. BLITZER: At issue, freedom of the press, which is so, so important. Brian Stelter, thank you very, very much.

This month, by the way, marks 80 years since the Nuremberg verdicts were handed down holding Nazi officials accountable for their crimes during World War II and the Holocaust. But before they could face justice, they had to be caught. That's the subject of the new nonfiction thriller "They Shall Not See the Dawn: The Manhunt for the Third Reich's Most Wanted."

Here in the Situation Room is the author, Charles Lachman. He's also the executive producer of Inside Edition. Charles, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks very much for writing this important book. A lot of people are aware of the significance of the Nuremberg trials. But what made you want to research and write about the Manhunt to track down those war criminals?

CHARLES LACHMAN, AUTHOR, "THEY SHALL NOT SEE THE DAWN": Well, thanks so much for having me, Wolf. The story really is about the greatest manhunt in history. And it really has been an untold story. It starts in April, May 1945, a time of great victory for the Allied forces. The U.S. and Red Army and the Brits had occupied or were about to occupy Germany. But there were concerns that the hard-core remnants of Hitler, meaning the SS, the Gestapo, were still at large and were organizing a resistance movement that they called the werewolves.

And it became a matter of national priority for the U.S. to track down the leaders of the werewolves, who also happened to be the top leadership of Hitler's government and the Nazi Party. And it was organized, led by an elite, now long-forgotten unit of the U.S. Army called the Counterintelligence Corps.

BLITZER: What did you uncover that surprised you the most?

LACHMAN: Well, it turned out to be an amazing nonfiction historical thriller. One of my favorite books is The Day of the Jackal. And I always wanted to write a book that had that sort of dramatic chase across the country. And it turned out that this was the nonfiction version of "The Day of the Jackal," if you will. All these awful, perhaps the most awful human beings ever to walk the face of the Earth, were at large. And it became the goal of the Counterintelligence Corps to capture them before they could turn into a fighting force of resistance that they called the werewolves.

BLITZER: It's been now, what, 80 years since the verdict of the Nuremberg trials. What should viewers remember about that moment as we mark this historic milestone?

LACHMAN: Right. Well, there were 24 defendants at Nuremberg. Twelve were sentenced to be hung. One in absentia, Martin Bormann. And the Nuremberg trials were historically important because it was unprecedented that the government leaders of a nation defeated in war would be brought to trial.

Bear in mind that World War II was perhaps the most calamitous event in world history. Seventy million people were slaughtered, killed during the war, both civilians and noncombatants and combatants. And the Nuremberg trials laid the foundation for what we now know to be crimes against humanity and the waging of aggressive war. But before they could be put into the dock at Nuremberg, they had to be captured. And that's the story that I tell in the book.

[11:55:00]

BLITZER: Were all of them captured or were some war criminals, do you believe, still freed?

LACHMAN: Well, certainly we know the stories of Josef Mengele, Adolf Eichmann. But keep in mind, and you perhaps probably know this already, that those were really Nazi functionaries. Back in 1945, they were unknown to the wider world. But the key people that were captured, that were sought after by the counterintelligence corps, consisted of the top leaders who stood with Hitler at the podium at the Nuremberg political trials.

And that was the -- they were trying to hide out. They were all over the map in Germany. One of them was found, captured in a small snow hut in the Austrian Alps. Von Ribbentrop, who was Hitler's notorious foreign minister, was captured hiding out on the fifth floor of a boarding house in Hamburg with his mistress. The worst -- the man said to be the worst mass killer in history, the commandant of Auschwitz, was hiding out in a farm near the Danish border. So, they were all over the place.

Other than Hitler, Goebbels, and Goering, the most identifiable figure of the Nazi government was probably Heinrich Himmler. And he was -- his face was known around the world. So, what he did was he shaved off his ridiculous Hitler toothbrush mustache, as it was called, and he put an eye patch over his right eye to pose as a maimed soldier of the German army. And he tried to cross a bridge and to escape. And a clever soldier realized his identity papers were kind of questionable. They brought him in for questioning, and they realized it was Heinrich Himmler.

BLITZER: Charles Lachman, thank you so much for writing this important new book, "They Shall Not See the Dawn: the Manhunt for the Third Reich's Most Wanted." Really important book, indeed. Appreciate it very much.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a very quick break.

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