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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Lisbon Funicular Derailment; At Least 15 Killed After Funicular Railway Derails; Epstein Survivors Plea for Transparency; Trump Ready to Deploy More U.S. Troops to Poland; Tariffs Hits Small Businesses Hard; U.S. Strike on Alleged Drug Boat; Xi, Putin and Kim Stand United at Beijing Parade; U.K. to Restrict Energy Drink Sales. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 03, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching
"The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, at least 15 people have died after an historic funicular crashed in Lisbon, Portugal. Women who survived sexual abuse by
Jeffrey Epstein are calling on President Trump and Congress to release all the files related to that case. And the British government plans to ban
shops in England from selling energy drinks to children under 16. We're going to look at the health concerns around high caffeine products. There
are lots of them. All that more coming up.
We do begin tonight though with this deadly accident in Portugal which has killed at least 15 people. A funicular railway used to carry passengers up
and down a steep slope in Lisbon derailed and then crashed. The Gloria Funicular in Lisbon is a famous landmark. Not clear yet what caused the
derailment. You are about to see some video from social media that's disturbing of the scene of that crash. It shows passengers climbing through
windows to get out of one of those cars, smoke billowing behind. Further up the hill, you can see the wreckage of another car. Good Lord.
Well, joining us now is Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, and she's been following these developments.
Mary, listen, this is a popular place in Lisbon. It's been there for years. As -- and of course we don't know yet what caused this crash. But given
your experience investigating crashes, what are the first kinds of things they look at here following an incident like this?
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST AND FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT: Well, my -- as in most transportation accidents
that we've looked at over the years together, it's more than one thing because these inclines or these funiculars have four different things that
can be a safety. The two cars are counterbalanced. One goes up and one comes down. So, one car helps offset the other one. And we noticed the
other car did not fall.
The tracks have safety measures built in. There are weights on the cars, there's a secondary cable, and there are automatic breaks. So, there are
four -- at least four different things that help these funiculars or inclines, as we call them in the states sometimes, operate safely and
literally operate for a century. They're probably 30 or 40 in North America alone. Very popular because they go where -- you know, where the trolleys
and vehicles can't get to.
So, four -- there are four different safety things. And so, more than one thing likely failed. And most funiculars have a strict inspection
requirement. I would anticipate that one did too. They certainly do in North America. They have to be inspected regularly.
SCIUTTO: Because that was going to be my next question here. This one is ex historic, means it's quite old. Should we feel confident that it was
getting inspected regularly enough?
SCHIAVO: Well, that will be something investigators look at and most likely, you know, these operators will be under scrutiny. And they do keep
records. Now, sometimes they simply -- there was a pretty famous one in Hamilton, Ontario near Niagara Falls, and it simply had to go out of
business because inspections showed they just couldn't keep it up. They could -- it couldn't continue, et cetera. There are still many others in
Canada. But the inspections will reveal if it reaches the point where it's useful life can't be extended.
However, new funiculars are being built. I mean, there are some new ones built in Switzerland, some, you know, pretty fabulously steep ones. And so,
it's not a technology or rather it's not a transportation mode that is, you know, destined to cease to exist. But the -- you know, the newer
technologies are those -- and the newer incline systems are those which probably offer the four sets of safety systems.
But even on the old ones, on some of the oldest systems, they had counterbalancing weights. Some of the weights, you know, were just heavy
metals, some used water. There were a lot of different counterbalancing systems which were designed to protect if one goes off the track or the
cable or, you know, chains or materials that hold it there going up the incline break, that it wouldn't slide, do what happened today.
[18:05:00]
So, there are lots of different safety systems. And you know, perhaps on this one it's due for an upgrade with another safety system, but we won't
know that until the investigation gets underway.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And our thoughts certainly with the families of the victims. Mary Schiavo, thanks so much.
SCHIAVO: Absolutely. Thanks.
SCIUTTO: Release the files, that is the message from victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Many of them holding a news conference today on Capitol Hill,
calling for the release of more documents on the late convicted sex offender and his connections to many of the elite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The days of sweeping this under the rug are over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We matter now. We are here today. And we are speaking and we are not going to stop speaking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please recognize how important it is for transparency relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are requesting transparency, and I am requesting every congressman and woman that goes against this bill be outed. I want to
know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: The House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of Epstein related files on Tuesday. However, critics, including many of the
victims, say most of that is an old information. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers wants the Justice Department to turn over any documents to --
related to Epstein or to his crimes. This as President Trump has labeled those demands a democratic distraction. The president field of questions
about his own past friendship with Epstein at the White House today. Have a listen to how he answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: But it's really a Democrat hoax, because they're trying to get people to talk about something that's totally
irrelevant to the success that we've had as a nation since I've been president. Nobody's going to talk about -- because they're going to talk
about the Epstein whatever. I understand that we were subpoenaed to give files and I understand we've given thousands of pages of files. And I know
that no matter what you do, it's going to keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Mano Raju joins us now from the Hill. And, Manu, I mean, given you do have at least one bipartisan effort here, not clear, it has the
votes to release more information. Do you sense the political wind shifting on Capitol Hill towards a joint resolution to get more released?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's unclear if they have the votes at this moment, Jim, because we do the -- in order for them
to succeed in this effort, they would need six Republicans to join with all 212 Democrats. And right now, they don't have six Republicans. In fact,
there are about four who have signed on to this measure. There are a number of other Republicans, roughly a dozen or so who did sign on to actually
support this effort by this bill by Congressman Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna to compel the release of all the Epstein files.
But in order to get that bill on the floor, they need to sign on to a separate procedural maneuver to force it into a vote, that requires --
that's the signatures of a majority of the House, and that's where they're still short.
And those -- even those Republican supporters of this plan are not -- they told me that -- they tell me they're not quite ready to sign on to this
effort yet because they say information is being released and some of them are frankly feeling the pressure from the White House not to break ranks.
One Republican congresswoman I did catch up with though, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, has signed on to this effort. And I asked her about the -- how
she viewed these victims coming up to Capitol Hill, talking about their stories, and she said she had a rather emotional response given that she
herself is a survivor of sexual assault.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): It hit very close to home for me yesterday. And the least we can do is disclose information. These women have been fighting
for justice for 30 years. And they still don't have any. And there are people here who don't want to give them that justice.
And their stories are compelling. They're terrible. The thing that really hit me yesterday is when the third victim spoke, she relayed some of the
same emotions I am currently feeling. And it was too difficult for me to watch that. It was very painful. And I kept asking myself, in 30 years from
now, am I going to be that girl at the table who didn't get justice? And no one wants to feel that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But the White House has put out word that signing onto this effort would be a, quote, "hostile act." That is what an anonymous White House
official told a number of reporters just last night, and that is something that is certainly been heard on Capitol Hill. The congresswoman, Nancy
Mace, are brushing off that concern as well as Marjorie Taylor Greene, someone who has signed onto this effort as well, saying that it is not a
hostile act, that they're signing these victims here who are demanding more.
But the question here, Jim, is ultimately, will there be more Republicans signing onto the effort? At the moment it's unclear if that that will
happen. Jim.
[18:10:00]
SCIUTTO: Manu Raju on the Hill, thanks so much. Well, joining me now is one of those Republicans. U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions from the State of
Texas, Republican member of the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time.
REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX), U.S. HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Jim, thank you.
SCIUTTO: Powerful words there from Nancy Mace, a victim herself of sexual assault. And you have said to me that when you speak to women in your
community and elsewhere, that there is a genuine drive and a desire for transparency here. You now have a bipartisan effort on the Hill. You
yourself have pushed for a bipartisan effort. Why not vote for this one?
SESSIONS: The procedure is something that's used by the minority and that's OK. The essence behind this is simply releasing information. I
believe that what James Comer and myself and my Democrat colleagues are engaged in is finding not data but answers. And I believe that it will come
forth through a process that we're very capable of. This is a Republican and Democrat issue. This is a men and women issue.
And I think almost every single member of Congress is feeling some heat. And you have seen that, and that's why this push is moving rapidly. But
what happened today is certainly a call to each of us that we have to get answers too.
So, we are starting back. We are knowing that each of these young women should detail who they think their -- the people were who were involved
with them.
SCIUTTO: Right.
SESSIONS: There should be an accounting of this. We should come through this with an agreement that all the information's got to come back,
including why was it hidden and who were those powerful people.
SCIUTTO: Sure.
SESSIONS: I'm not happy until we get to the bottom of this. So, there's a process and it's being done by the committee on a bipartisan basis.
SCIUTTO: So, you're suggesting that the House Oversight Committee would do its own investigation?
SESSIONS: We are. We are doing that, and I'm a part of that as chairman of government operations. We are looking for our signals where we will do
additional inquiry.
SCIUTTO: OK.
SESSIONS: James Comer is doing a fine job. But make no mistake about it, we intend to be able to answer questions, not just say, well, we released
the data, you go analyze it. You make -- I should be required, within a matter of time., I don't know whether it's weeks or months, to be able to
answer the questions. Look people right in the eye. I told you earlier, I'm an Eagle Scout. I am bound by having to tell the truth. Well, I want to
know the truth too.
SCIUTTO: So, when you hear President Trump there say today, and he said this before, that this is just a democratic hoax. All these demands are a
democratic hoax. What's your response to that?
SESSIONS: Well, I think he's in reference to the Ro Khanna and Tom Massie bill. This is a -- well, it's still something that some could say push us
to where we are, but it is entirely different than our investigation. It's a releasing of data and information. We are doing the actual information
where we will be able to call witnesses. We've already called a number of witnesses, as you are aware. These witnesses have come forward and will
come forward and we will ask them and give them a chance to answer the question. That's not what Tom's bill does.
SCIUTTO: The thing is, when you hear the president say that and dismiss this as a hoax, it seems that he's dismissing the accounts of the women who
were victims of this.
SESSIONS: Few people actually have studied and see the information that we as congressmen have, especially when we work together, the abilities that
we have, the talk shows that we're on, the ability to subpoena, the ability to understand things. This is a serious matter. We are talking about the
lives of maybe a thousand women. We are talking about, for 30 years, tapes, at least three different jurisdictional entities off our coast, in Florida
and in New York.
We need to know who's hidden those for 30 years. And that is why we have the witnesses that we do lined up, including going back to President Obama,
including going back to Trump 1 and including going to Biden.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
[18:15:00]
SESSIONS: There have been people who have been -- this just has not been important to them. It is now important. And I do respect Congressman Ro
Khanna and I do understand what is going on here. We simply think we've got a better answer.
SCIUTTO: In the midst of this, to have senior Justice Department officials meeting with Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Is that
proper? Do you have any -- should they be talking to her?
SESSIONS: I think that who talked to her was the head of the Department of Justice, the criminal division of the United States Department of Justice.
And I think it was -- maybe I might have done it differently. But when you put someone that now puts themself as a witness, which he did, he now has
become firsthand knowledge to this, and he placed himself to where we can subpoena or ask him to come.
So, there's a couple questions that I would imply there. Number one, not -- is not, is he the appropriate person, but does he realize he placed himself
right in line with, and we will probably ask him questions too. And typically, you send a frontline prosecutor, not the head of the department.
SCIUTTO: Right. I want to, since I have you here, ask about another question that you've been quite public on, and that is the president's
deployment of National Guard to cities, not just in D.C. but discussion now of Chicago also New Orleans as well.
You have said -- you were asked about whether, for instance, if the president were to deploy National Guard troops to a city in the State of
Texas, he said, well, that's up to the governor. We now have a situation in Illinois where you have an elected governor of the state, Democratic
governor's saying, we don't need this now. We want federal cooperation with other agencies, but we don't need uniformed National Guard troops.
Should a president be able to deploy National Guard troops over the objection of a sitting governor in your view?
SESSIONS: So, what I think I have responded is that it would be fine with me if National Guards troops came in my hometown of Waco, Texas or the
State of Texas. But what I have said is, is that I believe the experiences that Washington, D.C. is now going through, there was controversy about
that, but that controversy has lent itself to some 11, 12, 13 days without a murder in Washington, D.C.
There have been some 500 criminals that tormented police and made things more difficult for them. The laws of the District of Columbia allow a
child, 13, 14, 15 years old, to commit a crime, steal a car and not serve any time. So, what's happening --
SCIUTTO: D.C. is different as you know, because it's a federally administrative, right?
SESSIONS: Well, we -- and that I agree with. So, the question then came Chicago. And I said, look, I believe that the president, if he does gain
that OK from the governor or from the mayor, I think it's great. But I hope --
SCIUTTO: If he doesn't, what if he doesn't?
SESSIONS: Well, and I'll go to that. But I think that the results of this are to back up your officers, to let your officers do the frontline work,
and they are constantly looking around because of criminal behavior at them. So, I think that the instances soon will be to the advantage.
And lastly, if I lived in Chicago, I would want to know that I lived in a safe territory. So, I would hope that he would go in only if invited.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Pete Sessions, we appreciate you joining the program.
SESSIONS: You bet, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Hope to have you back. Still ahead this hour, President Trump says that U.S. tariffs are critical for the nation's economy. Many small
business owners, they're thinking differently. Their costs are going up. We're going to hear from the co-founder of a firm being whipsawed by U.S.
tariff policy. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
SCIUTTO: President Trump says that U.S. troops will remain in Poland and might even add more if necessary. His comments came as he welcomed his
Polish counterpart to the White House today. Karol Nawrocki, a Trump supporter, we should note, narrowly won the presidential election back in
June. With approximately 10,000 U.S. troops in place today, the U.S. military presence in Poland is one of its largest in Europe. With an eye on
Russia, they work alongside other NATO troops, and they take part in frequent joint exercises, including not just Poland, but other NATO allies.
Poland's place in the alliance however is intertwined with NATO's Ukraine policy and strategy. And in April, the U.S. announced it was pulling out of
a key logistics based in Poland, which was used to supply arms to Kyiv. Ukraine is right next door. At the White House today, President Trump said
boots will remain on the ground in Poland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will American soldiers remain in Poland?
TRUMP: Yes, I think so. I mean, do you know something? I don't know. Yes, we're very happy. If anything, we have -- we'll put more there if they
want, but they've long wanted to have a larger presence. We have some countries that have more, not too many. But no, they'll be staying in
Poland. We're very much aligned with Poland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That's news. Kristen Holmes knows that. She's at the White House. I mean, listen, there's a lot of concern, particularly in Eastern Europe
that in a second Trump administration that he might pull -- I mean it might wholesale pull all U.S. troops out of Europe, but here you have him making
a commitment to Poland. And I wonder what White House officials are telling you moved him that way. I mean, is it part of the personal relationship
with the new Polish president perhaps?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, look, I don't think that hurts. Anything with President Trump, there's a lot of
contingencies. And one of the things that he looks for is loyalty, and we know that the president of Poland has been loyal to him. As you noted, he
was a Trump supporter.
The interesting part of that was that in addition to talking about troops on the ground and keeping troops there, he also mentioned that Poland was
spending a lot in defense funding. We know that's something that matters deeply to President Trump. He praised the country for how much they spent
in defense funding. It's something that he has talked about at length, particularly when he was talking to NATO countries, threatening to pull out
at various points, saying that no one was spending enough in defense spending. So, that's something that matters deeply to him.
And there's also another part of this, which of course is what we're seeing on another part of the globe, which is Vladimir Putin and China's president
Xi having their meeting with Kim Jong Un at a military parade. All of this happening, while we know that last night, Poland had to scramble because
there were bombs being dropped on Ukraine, they had to put up their own surveillance planes to make sure everything was safe given what we're
seeing between Russia and Ukraine.
So, there's a lot of different geopolitics at play here, and it's coming at a time, this meeting with the Polish president, that President Trump is
kind of confronted with this new world order and also confronted by the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin, continues to not really engage
and stall peace talks as he's over in China, who is our number one, you know, adversary really when it comes to the economy.
[18:25:00]
And these tariffs are still -- Trump is trying to work through all of that. And he's over there visiting a military parade with him. So, there's a lot
of geopolitics at play here as this meeting happened.
SCIUTTO: Yes. It's a good point making that connection between the Chinese military parade too and events in Europe because, well, China certainly
made clear who it's friends with in terms of Russia and North Korea. Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much.
Well, U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday with tech posting some of the strongest gains. All this despite concerns about the U.S. jobs
market. The number of job openings fell in July to a 10-month low. For the first time in more than four years, there are more U.S. job seekers than
there are job openings. One economist calls the latest numbers a turning point for the labor market in this country.
On the stock market, Alphabet was a big winner Wednesday. Shares of Google's parent rose 9 percent, this following Google avoiding the worst in
an antitrust ruling. A U.S. judge stopped short of ordering a breakup of Google. The ruling did call for other measures that could impact the
company's future growth, including data sharing.
Apple rose almost 4 percent after that ruling too. The judge said Google can continue to be the default search engine in Apple's Safari web browser,
a deal worth billion for Apple. So, investors happy there too.
Small business owners will be watching very carefully when the question of President Trump's tariffs go before the Supreme Court. Nearly half of them
told a recent survey that those tariffs have led them to raise prices. The survey questioned 2,500 businesses in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and
Australia, 62 percent of them reported that tariffs have affected their operations with many firms forced to switch suppliers and delay planned
launches.
Ben Knepler is the co-founder of True Places. It's a small business that makes outdoor furniture. Ben, thanks so much for joining.
BEN KNEPLER, CO-FOUNDER, TRUE PLACES: Thanks for having me, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So, I don't want to reveal any business secrets, but can you characterize how much the tariffs have raised your input costs?
KNEPLER: It's just been complete chaos. To give you a sense of it, we manufacture our products in Cambodia. There's no possibility of us doing
that in the U.S., even though that's where we're based. In the last four to five months, the tariff rate has gone from 0 percent to 49 percent to 10
percent, to 36 percent to 19 percent with additional threats of other tariffs that stack on top of those. So, we don't even know what it's going
to be tomorrow.
And at those levels we cannot even afford to bring our own product. So, we -- you know, we make outdoor products. Our first product is a portable
chair that we invented and created from scratch. It took us a couple of years to design, engineer. We did everything in the U.S., but the actual
manufacturing and engineering -- the manufacturing assembly of the products only really exist in Asia, primarily in China. So, we had to be there.
It took us a few years to find an alternative outside of China. We spend the past 12 months moving our manufacturing out of China to Cambodia. So,
that's not something that is quick or easy to do, especially if you're a startup. And the tariffs over the past four or five months have just meant
that we've just had to stop production because we cannot even afford to import our own product into the U.S. We are the ones who actually have to
pay the tariff when it comes into the country. And as a startup, we cannot afford to do that.
So, there's kind of two levels of it. One is the actual tariff rates, which we can't afford, so we've stopped production. The other is the uncertainty
about what they'll be. It takes three to four months to do a production run. So, we don't even know what it's going to be tomorrow, let alone in
three or four months' time.
SCIUTTO: So, when President Trump says, when you hear him say this publicly that, well, the importers, they should pay the tariffs, and he's
pressured some big companies to do just that. I mean, it sounds like you certainly can't do that and still maintain your business.
KNEPLER: Yes. I mean, we're a startup. We're a small business. I know this is the case for many, many thousands of other businesses like us. We
literally cannot afford to make the payments. If you can, then you certainly have to pass on a lot of those costs in terms of your own prices
to consumers. No one really wants to do that, but that's the reality that we're going to be facing in the next few months.
[18:30:00]
SCIUTTO: If you had the president's ear for a moment on tariffs, what would you tell him? I mean, he's a businessman. Imagine he might listen to
a businessman like yourself.
KNEPLER: Well, he's been telling the country for the past few years that the foreign countries are paying the tariffs. So, I'd start by telling him
the fact that we're the ones actually paying the tariff. Secondly, it's just killing small businesses. We've already had to stop production, like I
said, we've been cutting payroll, so it's affecting employment and jobs, and then it's going to be feeding through into consumer prices as well.
No one wants to do that before they have to. Everyone's been trying to sell through the existing inventory that they have. In our case, we scrambled to
bring in new product while the tariff was 10 percent, which was still very difficult for us. But we're selling through that inventory. And once we're
done with that, then that's it. So, there's going to be a reduction in variety for U.S. consumers as well, for cases like ours. And then also
rising prices. I don't know if he'll listen, but that's what I would say.
SCIUTTO: Well, Ben Knepler, we appreciate you coming on. We wish you and your business the best of luck.
KNEPLER: Thanks so much, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Coming up on "The Brief," the White House defending a deadly military strike, you see it right there, on a suspected drug smuggling boat
tied, the administration says, to a Venezuelan criminal organization.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are the international headlines we're watching today.
[18:35:00]
At least 15 people were killed after a funicular railway derailed in Lisbon, Portugal. Rescuers have been trying to reach people trapped in the
wreckage. You could see there. Not clear yet what caused this. Officials have declared three days of mourning there.
On the steps of the U.S. capital, women who survived sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein have been speaking out publicly. Some of them for the first
time in their lives. Several described the anguish they felt over being ensnared by Epstein when many of them were barely in their teens. They're
urging the U.S. president and the Republican-led Congress now to release all the files related to the case.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Macron says security guarantees for
Ukraine are now ready. On Thursday, they expect the move to be endorsed by what's now been called the Coalition of the Willing to back Kyiv.
President Trump defended a deadly U.S. military strike on a boat traveling from Venezuela, saying that that boat was carrying, quote, ""massive
amounts of drugs." The White House said earlier, the strike killed 11 people, you see the strike there, in international waters. Secretary of
State Marco Rubio says similar operations will continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If you're on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl or whatever headed to the United States, you're an immediate
threat to the United States. And the president, under his authority as commander in chief, has a right under exigent circumstances to eliminate
imminent threats to the United States. And that's what he did yesterday in international waters, and that's what he intends to do. We're not going to
sit back anymore and watch these people sail up and down the Caribbean like a cruise ship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Trump administration accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world. The
Caracas government denies that accusation.
Joining me now is Jason Marczak, senior director of the Atlanta Council's Latin America Center. Jason, thanks so much for joining.
JASON MARCZAK, SENIOR DIRECTOR, ATLANTIC COUNCIL'S LATIN AMERICAN CENTER: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: This is the first publicized direct military action against a drug cartel. Trump now framing this as part of a broader war on cartels
here, and you saw Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying this is going to continue. What are we looking at here? Is this going to become, in effect,
a military anti-drug operation?
MARCZAK: Well, it's important to note that, you know, last week the White House authorized the deployment of assets to the Southern Caribbean,
specifically to counter the drug threat post by Nicolas Maduro. And I think it's important, Jim, to contextualize this, right. Nicolas Maduro actually
lost the presidential election preside last year in Venezuela. He never showed actually any vote tally to show that he had actually won, but did
not hand over power to the opposition (INAUDIBLE). So, Nicolas Maduro has remained in power despite the voting of the Venezuelan people.
And one of the things that has perpetuated his ability and power is the way in which he takes advantage of drugs, of illegal activities, to be able to
thrive in his ability to make life miserable for Venezuelans. And look, you know, political repression is prevalent in Venezuela. There's nearly 8
million Venezuelans that have been forced to flee under Maduro's regime. And so, what you have is you have armed groups, you have criminal
structures, drug trafficking groups, and they all benefit from this very close relationship with Maduro and other authorities.
And thereby, that is the part of the broader threat that Nicolas Maduro remaining in power in Caracas poses, not just for the country, as people,
but for the broader region for the United States. And why President Trump has been so focused on eliminating the drugs coming out of Venezuela.
SCIUTTO: So, let me ask you this, do you believe the administration actually has a larger ambition here of at least weakening the Maduro regime
but possibly even removing it? Are we talking about regime change?
MARCZAK: Well, look, the U.S. already has placed a $50 million bounty on Nicolas Maduro. This is a doubling of the reward for information leading to
his arrest for being one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world. Now, that comes at the same time that there's been extensive collaboration
between the U.S. and Caracas, specifically with regard to flights of deportees.
You have flights over -- nearly dozen flights in just the last month that have been direct connection between the U.S. and Caracas to bring
Venezuelans back. So, while the same time, the U.S. is acknowledging Maduro's role and leading drug operations and firing on boats that are
coming out of Venezuela, at the same time, we're also coordinating with the Venezuelan authorities, such as -- such to be able to accept deportees from
the United States.
[18:40:00]
SCIUTTO: When you look at the U.S. history of involvement in Latin America, including as it relates to drug wars, right, going back decades,
right, to the '80s under Reagan, et cetera, not a great track record, right, in terms of success. So, I just wonder what mistakes have been made
in the past? Are we learning from those mistakes? What are the chances that this effort works whereas previous efforts have not?
MARCZAK: Well, I think when we look at the stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, that's not -- that's Venezuela, it's the
actions this week, of course, the focus on fentanyl. But it's also -- there's also a demand reduction side as well. We have to be clear about
that. There's -- any equation of supply and a demand. And we need to tackle both aspects.
So, we have, in the past, different iterations. The United States have focused on demand reduction as well. But there's a need to not only be able
-- not only stop the drugs coming out of countries, not only Venezuela, it's Columbia, it's countries around the hemisphere, that are not just
coming to the United States, but also coming to Europe and other parts of the world, that also involves having, you know, strong U.S. presence in
country and strong coordination with local militaries to be able to have -- use the U.S. intelligence -- maximize U.S. intelligence to be able to go
after these drug kingdoms (ph).
I think notably, especially with Secretary Rubio in Mexico right now, it's notable the number of extraditions that President Sheinbaum has approved to
the United States. Two different rounds of nearly 60 people have been extradited to the United States this year. People who have long been wanted
by U.S. authorities for their involvement in the drug trade. And I think that the threat of extradition to the United States is one that is a very
real one for drug lawyers across the hemisphere.
SCIUTTO: Jason Marczak, thanks so much for walking us through it.
MARCZAK: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, President Trump reacting to China's massive military show of force in its parade and the show of unity with Russia and North
Korea as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:45:00]
SCIUTTO: President Trump says he believes that China's massive military parade was intended, in part, for him to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I thought it was a beautiful ceremony. I thought it was very, very impressive. But I understood the reason they were doing it, and they were
hoping I was watching, and I was watching. My relationship with all of them is very good. We're going to find out how good it is over the next week or
two.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, the relationship clearly close between Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korea's Kim Jong Un as
they walked side by side in a show of authoritarian strength. President Xi and Putin were also caught on a hot mic talking, if you can believe it,
about organ transplants and the possibility of living to 150. Ivan Watson is in Beijing with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chinese soldiers on the march, and then an arsenal of Chinese-made weapon systems.
Part of a mammoth parade held in Beijing on Wednesday to commemorate 80 years since the surrender of Japan in World War II.
WATSON: This has been an enormous display of Chinese military strength and discipline, but perhaps the most powerful images of the day will be of the
Chinese leader, Xi Jining, and his choice of foreign guests.
WATSON (voice-over): President Xi kicked off the event leading Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un up a red
carpet up to Tiananmen Gate. On this day of Chinese victory, these two strongmen received top honors.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Having this group of other leaders, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, the president of Iran
all there reinforced China's role as the centerpiece of a new coalition that is basically there to challenge the west. And his message was, this is
what we challenge it with.
WATSON (voice-over): Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has been sending mixed messages, claiming he's not worried about China.
TRUMP: Not at all. China needs U.S. I have a very good relationship with President Xi, as you know.
WATSON (voice-over): And then hours later, writing this to his Chinese counterpart. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong
Un as you conspire against the United States of America.
At the event, China displayed conventional armaments, tanks, missiles, helicopters, and fighter jets flying in close formation. Also paraded, air
and undersea drones, types of weapons that have transformed modern warfare on battlefields around Ukraine. And Beijing showed off a new
intercontinental ballistic missile as well as air defense lasers.
Amid these weapons of war, Xi expressed some hope for peace.
XI JINPING, CHINESE LEADER (through translator): Today, humanity once again faces the choice between peace or war, dialogue or confrontation,
win-win cooperation over a zero-sum game.
WATSON (voice-over): China's leadership wants to reshape the world order, so it put on this elaborate show of force to back up this demand.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, the British government is moving to ban the sale of energy drinks to children under 16. A legitimate health concern, or is it
government overreach? We're going to discuss coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
SCIUTTO: Some health experts are warning about the rising popularity of energy drinks among young people. They say the drinks, high level of
caffeine, can disrupt sleep, reduced concentration in school, even increase the risk potentially of suicide.
On Wednesday, the U.K. government announced plans to ban the sale of such energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster to children under 16 years of
age in England. The measure still needs to be approved by parliament. Some supermarkets in England say they are already restricting sales.
CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner joins me. He's a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University. Jonathan, good to
have you. I mean, a very basic question I have is like, I mean, are any of these energy drinks actually good for you? I mean, particularly for kids,
there's so much caffeine in some of them, and a lot of sugar too.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Right. So, Jim, if I offered your
kids a pill that was flavored, maybe had some sugar in it, had a lot of caffeine in it, and amino acid called taurine, and we're not really sure
how that works necessarily with the caffeine and maybe other some assorted things in it, and it was a pill, would you be good with your kid, you know,
maybe your 14-year-old having a couple of these every day? I think most parents would say, well, that sounds like a drug.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
DR. REINER: And in essence, that's what an energy drink is. An energy drink is a drug. And it's got a lot of caffeine in it. So, much -- well,
I'll tell you how much caffeine. A can of Coke, a 12-ounce can of Coke has about 34 milligrams of caffeine. A similarly -- you know, the same size can
of Red Bull, for instance, has about 114 milligrams of caffeine. And kids will drink more than one can of Red Bull typically, you know, or, you know,
not rarely in a day, and it's a lot of caffeine.
And the concern is for children who are -- have smaller body masses and have developing brains, that mix of stimulant can increase blood pressure,
disrupt sleep patterns, cause anxiety, particularly in kids who may have maybe a bit of a predilection for anxiety or depression. And it seems like
an unnecessary additive for children.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, listen, Celsius is another one, I think Celsius even has like 200 milligrams, which is a lot of cups of coffee. I mean, is a
straight up age limit, in your view, a good approach? I mean, I know you're not a policymaker, but you're a doctor. You're concerned about your
patients.
DR. REINER: Yes. Yes. I think it makes sense in kids, you know, less than 16 who are really, you know, smaller and maybe more vulnerable to really
limit the amount of caffeine they get. You know, for adults, the recommended daily -- maximum daily amount of caffeine is about 400
milligrams. And I know that's abused all over -- all of this country and particularly in Washington where I live, and I think you live.
But you know, more than 400 milligrams of caffeine, you know, can do the same for adults. It can increase blood pressure, make your tremulous cause
agitation. And for younger kids, caffeine can potentially just, you know, disrupt, you know, learning environment and create, you know, other
problems. So, I think it's just unnecessary.
The American Academy of Pediatrics actually states that no caffeine for kids under the age of 12 and really limits caffeine to about 100 milligrams
for kids between 12 and 17. So, I think if your child wants to have, you know, a rare soft drink that has caffeine in it. I don't think that's
harmful. But these really chemically enhanced energy drinks may be a problem.
[18:55:00]
And one of one final point, let's not confuse these energy drinks to sports drink. Sports drinks like Gatorade, which are basically sugar and
electrolytes, are great after a hard workout or a game. But let's not confuse that with energy drinks.
SCIUTTO: And they do. And kids do confuse it. Well, I'll tell you, I'm armed with this. I'm going to go back and talk to my kids. Dr. Jonathan
Reiner, thanks so much for joining.
DR. REINER: My pleasure.
SCIUTTO: In today's Good Brief, a $2 ticket could cause a life-changing event for whoever scoops the Powerball lottery here in the U.S. The winner
would choose between the prize of $1.4 billion, you heard that right, that's if you take it every year for a number of years, or you take it all
in one go. Just $634 million, that's before tax of course. According to the organizers, tonight's prize is the fourth largest in Powerball history.
With the pre-tax one-time payment option, you could fully book some of the most expensive suites at City Field to see the New York Mets. My favorite
team. About 30,000 times, catering extra. If you bought a ticket, the best of luck. It's a lot of money.
Thanks so much for your company. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
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