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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

U.S. To Roll Out "Economic Isolation" Plan For Iran Next Week; Concerns Grow Over USS Abraham Lincoln Crew Conditions; World War II Memorial Vandalized With Graffiti, Soap Bubbles; Kennedy Center Board Votes To Put Trump's Name On Building; Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By- Election That Major Parties Boycotted; U.N. Warns West Bank Situation At Critical Juncture; Flock Cameras, Police and Privacy Issues; ICE Arrests 46k in July, New Record for Trump Administration; Federal Judge Demands Answers from Trump's Justice Department; Entries from Clancy's Phone Were Read to the Jury Thursday. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 14, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: By marine photographers who capture shots below and above the ocean surface. The competition is divided into categories including wildlife, fine art and conservation. There is also a new category this year titled Ocean Unseen Hidden Worlds, which organizers say focuses on the ocean's smallest creatures. The winners will be announced next month. Incredible.

Thank you for watching. Stay with us. The next hour of The Story Is begins right now.

Coming up on The Story Is, a new warning for Iran. Washington is threatening more sanctions and military action as the war drags on.

The story is Nigel Farage versus Count Binface vote counting underway in Clacton, England's special election.

And the story is flock cameras. There's growing backlash against the AI surveillance system. How the company and CEO are responding to misuse of their tech.

Welcome to The Story Is. I'm Brian Abel in for Elex Michaelson. The top story is pressure on Iran. The U.S. is threatening to apply economic measures never seen before as Tehran refuses to budge after more than five months of war. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Washington will announce what he described as an unprecedented economic isolation next week combined with a naval blockade of Iran.

He spoke after a U.S. official told CNN that the USS George Washington carrier group is headed to the region to replace another carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln. That follows concerns about deteriorating living conditions and worsening mental health among its crew. Lincoln has spent more than 250 days and counting on its current deployment.

One Democratic senator says the vessel set a modern day record for sailing without a port call. During that time there were reports of crew members trying to jump overboard and about horrid living conditions on the vessel.

CNN's Pamela Brown, who visited the USS Abraham Lincoln last month has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: What have been some of the challenges, you know, being out here at sea for so many consecutive days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, the only thing challenging has been mental challenges like trying to manage my sleep, stuff like that.

BROWN: So this was just part of one of many conversations I had with sailors last month when I was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. And it appears it just scratched the surface of the psychological toll of this deployment on this ship. U.S. officials told me that earlier this month a sailor went overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln. That sailor was rescued in about an hour and was medically evaluated and then was brought off the ship.

But this incident is now added to a growing list of concerns about the crew during this extended deployment for the Iran war. The sailor jumped off wearing a life vest, I'm told, and the Navy is viewing this as a mental health incident, but it also emphasizes that man overboard incidents like that are not unique to this carrier.

The carrier has been out at sea on this deployment since last November, months before the war began in February. The deployment was expected to end in May. Their return date is still unknown. And many sailors are missing those big life events back home.

What kind of toll does that take on you personally?

LT. COMNDR. JOE CAPSTAFF, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: It's tough. I said I had my first kid born in February, so very excited to get home, meet her.

BROWN: You've never met your daughter?

CAPSTAFF: No.

BROWN: She was born right around when this conflict started.

CAPSTAFF: Luckily, she was born February 6th, so I was able to get on FaceTime, watch the birth, talk to my wife before everything went down.

BROWN: One sailor's wife told the Navy Times her husband had been overextended for months before he tried to jump overboard. And the Times reports that he's now in medical hold. And she says he's terrified it'll cost him his 13-year career. In a separate incident, a sailor pulled a shipmate back from the rail before the sailor could go overboard.

CAPT. ARMEN KURDIAN (RET.) U.S. NAVY: The fact that it's happening during this deployment is not surprising, but you know, I hate to say this, it's something that you might expect. You always try to lead, turn these kinds of things.

BROWN: A U.S. official told me that the Navy's acting secretary met with sailors families last week to hear their concerns directly. In a statement to CNN, the Navy said, quote, we have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member's well being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise.

The Navy says the carrier has access to counselors, chaplains, medical professionals, and even a therapy dog I met named Captain Fathom. About 5,000 sailors and marines on board, the USS Lincoln has set a record at sea with the most consecutive days without regular port visits. The experience is very different, different for the enlisted sailors versus the officers on board. And nearly 50 percent of those on board are mid-20s and younger.

[01:05:04]

Senator Richard Blumenthal is one of several lawmakers demanding answers about conditions aboard this aircraft carrier. An official told me that the USS George Washington is on its way to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, though couldn't provide specific timelines for when the rotation happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Pamela Brown reporting there. Joining me now, retired US Air Force Colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton. Colonel, a pleasure having you join us to talk about, because I have a suspicion you may have exactly the kind of experience and perspective to help us understand this. So we have these reports not just of the overboard sailor, but of the conditions on the Lincoln that sailors are dealing with.

Shortages of items like soap, not the most hearty of meals, mold in the showers, et cetera. Et cetera. That I think would make even a short stint at sea unpleasant. Right. Much less 250 plus days. And that's not to mention the actual job that these service members are tasked with focusing on.

Give us an idea of the impacts of these conditions and if there is such a thing as a deployment being too long.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Brian, it's great to be with you. Well, there are so many aspects to this. I had the honor of serving with the Navy for a deployment at sea during my career, and I spent just 30 days. So if you could imagine 250 days versus 30 days, you know, I definitely feel for the sailors.

But during that time we also had plumbing issues. We had, you know, water that, you know, flooded out the toilets and there was also an issue with the showers. So the conditions were not pleasant. They were definitely not what is being reported, you know, for the USS Abraham Lincoln.

But, you know, it definitely was something that impacted the quality of the deployment and really the ability to carry out your job in very confined quarters and, you know, with, you know, limited access to communications capabilities and, you know, the types of things we kind of take for granted in everyday life. But, you know, it was definitely an experience of a lifetime. But it was also an experience where there were certain, you know, hardships that you may not take into account if you're not used to deployments at sea.

ABEL: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Colonel, addressing some of these reports while taking talking to reporters in Panama. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Completely misrepresented. Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: All right, so a couple of things to unpack there. One, him saying everything that can be provided is provided. That's not the same as saying we give them everything they need. And two, it's well documented at this point that Secretary Hegseth has been pushing for this warrior culture.

Is that a culture that allows for service members to actually admit when they've reached a breaking point where it doesn't have to get filtered through family members?

LEIGHTON: Yes. So that, you know, taking the second part first, I would say that the warrior culture ethos that Secretary Hegseth is trying to impart on the Department of Defense, that may conflict with the idea that the services that the Navy provides or that other services, military services provide to their members, are really there to protect them, both psychologically as well as physically.

So, one of the key things to remember in any type of deployment, whether it's with the Navy or the army, with the Air Force or the Marine Corps or the Space Force, it really is based on the ability of the people to protect each other. You fight for your buddy, basically.

You fight for the guy next to you in the foxhole, is the old adage here. And the ability of teams to work together becomes a paramount thing when it comes to these kinds of deployments, because you really have to depend on each other when you're out at sea or when you're in a remote location. And that's basically what you're dealing with here.

The Navy has a unique culture. It has unique traditions. The warrior ethos that Secretary Hegseth talks about, you know, there's a certain tough guy image associated with that. The issue, though, is this, even tough guys need help. And the ability of people to get help, no matter what their gender, no matter what their situation, is really something that the modern military has gotten much better at.

You know, you saw, like, the service or therapy dog that Pamela Brown had in her report on the Lincoln. That's the kind of thing that's a more modern, more innovative approach, and that is really more in keeping with the kind of warrior culture that you want to instill.

[01:10:04]

You want to instill a culture of teamwork. And frankly, the wars of the present and the wars of the future are going to be ones in which the mental ability and the mental and psychological health of the people involved is going to be much more important than almost any other factor in the ability of the unit to become a cohesive whole. And that's what you want. You want a cohesive whole that can carry out the mission.

ABEL: And Colonel, we have just about a minute left. So this other carrier group, the USS George Washington, is on its way to the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln. A U.S. official has said this was preplanned before these reports, but the length of the time the Lincoln's been at sea without a port call, setting that modern day record. According to Senator Blumenthal, one of the lawmakers wanting some answers.

What could those lawmakers actually accomplish here in this moment, if anything, by asking questions about this deployment, especially knowing that change is already on the way with this new carrier?

LEIGHTON: Yes. So what they really should be looking at is the kinds of lessons learned that we can take from this. You know, for example, you don't want food to run out. You don't want sailors on board a ship like the Lincoln to have issues getting fruits and vegetables.

You know, back in the age of exploration, you had the issue of scurvy and that kind of vitamin deficiency disease is something that really had an impact on sailors at that time in history. And you don't want to repeat those kinds of things. We are supposed to be much more forward thinking when it comes to deployments and the ability of us to maintain our health in remote environments. And that is really something that they should look at, the supply efforts, the ability of, you know, ships like this to actually make port calls, to kind of normalize the routine. All of those things become important. And those are the types of questions that the senators and congressmen should be asking about.

ABEL: Colonel Cedric Leighton, grateful as always for your time and expertise, sir. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Brian. Anytime.

ABEL: The Trump administration is investigating yet another case of vandalism on the National Mall. You are looking at pictures of graffiti on the World War II memorial reading clean hands, dirty money. You'll see it here in just a moment. There's also some bubbles that we'll tell you about. This was first spotted Thursday afternoon. The vandals apparently poured soap into the fountain, creating an overflowing bubbly mess. And there is some of that graffiti. The Interior Department tells CNN the vandalism is an utter disgrace.

After a federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center to take Donald Trump's name off the building, the board of the institution, handpicked by the U.S. President has voted to put his name right back on it. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Certainly an escalation in the legal battle over the future of the Kennedy Center and some real defiance coming from the Kennedy Center board on Thursday, a board that is, of course, chaired by President Trump. The board on Thursday voted to close for two years to make way for those renovations that they have planned. But they will keep one small area of this complex, one separate building called the Reach nearby, open for some smaller performances.

But the real striking thing that came out of this board meeting on Thursday was the fact that they also voted to add in President Donald Trump's name back to the side of the building. Now it will be different, slightly modified. They plan to put Donald Trump's name under President Kennedy's name, unlike how it was before it came down. And it will say, quote, that this was restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump.

Now, the co-counsel of the plaintiffs I spoke to, they say that they believe that this is too cute by half, an act of defiance, and that they plan to challenge it.

NATHANIEL ZELINSKY, WASHINGTON LITIGATION GROUP: This is very much an act of defiance. The court was very clear. The court said that the name had to come down and that it had to revert to the status quo. This is a kind of cute attempt. It's too cute by half to try to find a workaround to the court's order. And even if it's not a direct defiance of the order, it certainly is an effort to evade the court's justice.

SERFATY: Now, we likely will get more information next week when both sides are required to turn over a status report to the judge. We likely will hear more about the Kennedy Center's plans from the board. We also will hear from the plaintiffs. They intend to bring a fierce challenge to this particular move by the Kennedy Center on Thursday. And we will go from there and see what the judge says.

Now, back in May, he just essentially wanted this center to fulfill its congressionally mandated obligations to keep some programming going. He also said he wants the board to show in good faith that they actively deliberated on the future of the Kennedy Center. If they were to go and close, the question will be, is that enough for the judge?

[01:15:02] What happens next? Very clear that this is one more chapter in the very long story book of President Trump's takeover of the Kennedy center and his quest to really imprint and change Washington. Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, the Kennedy Center.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: All right, this is the view here from a vote county center in the English town of Clacton where just moments ago came word that fireflies reform leader Nigel Farage has won. He called this by election after abruptly resigning from parliament in July. Farage had been accused of not properly declaring a multimillion dollar donation. He was running against a bunch of fringe and oddball candidates, including several from the quote, official monster raving loony party.

Farage's most prominent challenger was who you see here on screen next to him, a comedian who rebranded himself as Count Binface, who we're told got more than 9,000 votes. Farage upward of 22,000.

Western Europe is being scorched by another heat wave as the first two months of summer have been the hottest on record. That's according to the EU's climate monitor. Londoners are facing high temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius, 104 Fahrenheit. Southern and eastern England are scorching as well. North, most of Britain is going through a flash drought due to very low rainfall and constant heat and health authorities estimate close to 3,000 deaths in Britain are linked to health related causes this year. The successive heat the waves across Europe have strained water supplies and sparked wildfires in France, Spain and Greece.

Residents and tourists had to flee villages in northern Greece. The blaze in a forest area triggered a series of emergency evacuations and images like 140 firefighters were deployed to battle the flames.

And in the states, Indiana is bracing for more severe weather only a day after catastrophic flooding hit the state. Video from Connersville shows the scale of the devastation as water rages over roads submerging homes and cars. The storm that caused the deluge is being labeled as a once in a thousand year rainfall event. Indiana's governor declaring a statewide disaster emergency on Thursday and mobilizing the state's National Guard to help with rescues and cleanup as more rain moves into the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE BRAUN (R), INDIANA: Hopefully we'll miss 2 to 4 inches of rain, but all the resources are already on guard to be able to react to it mentioned earlier. We're going to keep a Black Hawk helicopter here in case we need it for any search or retrieval or rescue. So it's about as highly alerted as you can be for something that might occur on the back of a bad episode.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, other parts of the Midwest are bracing for severe weather as well, with at least 17 million people under flood watches from Iowa to West Virginia. The region is expected to get a break from the rain this weekend.

The cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce has now spread to 17 U.S. states. That's according to federal officials, who also say nearly 10,000 infections have been confirmed. So far two people have died and nearly 400 have been hospitalized.

The parasite can cause people to be sick for weeks if left untreated. Health officials have linked the outbreak to iceberg lettuce imported from Mexico, and officials believe all recalled lettuce has been taken off the market onw.

Palestinian families trapped in their West Bank homes as Israeli settlers block nearby roads and cut off power and water. CNN is on the scene, next.

Plus, the company behind Flock surveillance cameras is making some changes. We talked to an expert about the string privacy concerns across the US.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:23:20]

ABEL: The U.N. Human Rights Office says the situation in the occupied West Bank is, quote, beyond a boiling point as Palestinian communities increasingly come under attack.

In the town of Qusra, authorities say some 15 Palestinians, some of them children, were trapped in their homes in a, quote, state of terror after settlers cut off electricity and water and blocked nearby roads. CNN's Jeremy Diamond visited the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The view from this Palestinian home is the same from every angle. Israeli settlers, everywhere you look. For days now, they've set up camp and surrounded three homes on this hilltop in the occupied West Bank in a bid to force the residents and take over.

They've cut water and power lines and have tried to stop anyone from approaching. All of this is illegal, and yet this is what happened when Palestinian residents first called the Israeli military. Soldiers joined the settlers in prayer.

LOUI RIDI, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN, OWNS HOME BESIEGED BY SETTLERS: They start hugging the settlers and they start praying with the settlers and absolutely did nothing to protect my brother and his son.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Loui Redi owns one of those houses. A Palestinian-American, he's watched all of this unfold from Ohio, and this is what he saw on Wednesday. The Israeli military trying and ultimately failing to remove the settlers from the area. Hours later, we drive up the hill to see if anything has changed.

DIAMOND: So these are actually the three homes that have been besieged by these settlers for four days now. We're going to try and climb up this hill and see if we can get past the settlers who are blocking the area.

[01:25:07]

DIAMOND (voice-over): The settlers are still there, and so are two Israeli soldiers who order us to stop and turn off our vehicle. The soldier tells me this is now a closed military area and that we're interfering with military activity.

DIAMOND: Why are we interfering and not them? I don't understand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can contact the military spokesperson. This is closed military area.

DIAMOND (voice-over): An IDF spokesperson said the order does apply to the settlers, but it's clearly not being enforced.

DIAMOND: They're telling us that it's a closed military zone, that we're not allowed to be here. But at the same time, we're seeing multiple Israeli settlers who are here, who are not being made to leave and who are continuing to block the access to these homes.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Down the hill, we call Loui's brother Kusai, who's been staying in his home.

DIAMOND: Kusai, this is the closest we're able to get to your home, unfortunately. How are you doing? Do you still have supplies?

DIAMOND (voice-over): The food I have is going to run out in two to three days. Beyond that, I have no food, nothing, he says. But at the same time, even if I run out of food, I will not leave the house.

DIAMOND: So do you have any hope that these settlers are actually going to be kicked out of this area?

DIAMOND (voice-over): Honestly, from what I saw today, the settlers were monstrous. He explains. They even attacked the Israeli army, forcing them to fire sound grenades and tear gas. They have their eyes set on the house and this hilltop. They want to take it.

The Israeli military says it is stepping up its efforts to rout the settlers, deploying an infantry battalion to the area to protect the residents and maintain security. But Kusai's fears aren't abstract. In recent weeks, settlers in this area have set fire to a mosque and besieged this home.

DIAMOND: This right here is why those families are afraid to leave their home. You can see Israeli settlers on the rooftop of this house here. Three weeks ago, Palestinians were living in that house, but it's been taken over by Israeli settlers.

DIAMOND (voice-over): With a messianic flag now flying above it, these settlers want their presence known from one hilltop to the next. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Qusra, the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: A number of police officers in the U.S. have been forced to resign for alleged abuse of a national surveillance system. Just ahead, Flock cameras are supposed to help solve crimes, but they've increased mistrust in law enforcement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:44]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Law enforcement tech company Flock is rolling out new safety controls. The goal is to curb growing scrutiny and fears around surveillance and police misuse of its tools.

If you're unfamiliar, Flock has a nationwide network of cameras that record images of vehicles' license plates on public roadways. But a string of recent arrests and police officer resignations have been linked to abuse of Flock's system, and it's sparking privacy concerns about stalking from ex-partners or romantic interest.

Joining me now to dive into this issue is technology journalist and CNN contributor Jacob Ward. He's also the founder of the ripcurrent.com. Jacob, thank you for your time.

Let's get into this because the kinds of abuse of this system is precisely some of the Big Brother concerns that many critics of systems like this have. And I want to quickly play for you some video of Flock's CEO somewhat responding to the criticism by saying A.I. is the solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT LANGLEY, FOUNDER AND CEO, FLOCK: We helped solve north of a million crimes last year, so we know what normal criminal investigations look like. And now with this tool, anytime we detect abnormal behavior, that police officer will be proactively locked out of the system.

Historically, it is the victim that has to report the abuse. But now with this tool, we can detect the abnormal behavior. We can alert an administrator. And we can do that in real time and not 30 days or even, God forbid, a year later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So Langley's argument seems to be the system overwhelmingly does more good than harm. Is that a winning argument? And is A.I. the solution?

JACOB WARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's a great question, Brian. I mean, we have very little independent research to understand just how effective Flock is. The numbers that we do have tend to come from Flock itself.

As Langley says, they're -- they credit themselves with north of a million crimes solved per year. Now, the evidence is pretty good that crimes are solved by this and that you can identify who did what. But crimes being prevented, that is not at all clear that its part of the deal here.

And so the very power that these rogue officers are using to quote, unquote, right, "investigate a thing", in this case it looks as if many of them are investigating romantic partners, you know, some people doing some stalking here, right.

This is the kind of technology that makes it possible to do that, in theory, to prevent crime. But there's no real evidence that that is what's going on here. Not yet anyway.

And so this question, though, that you ask about whether A.I. could be the solution to this. I mean, it might be, right. There is certainly some very common-sense features that A.I. makes possible.

And but honestly, it could have happened before, right? It could have been that you couldn't access the system as a police officer unless you could enter a case number as opposed to just being allowed to rummage around in the footage the way you did, right.

[01:34:45]

WARD: And if someone makes repeated requests in the middle of the night, that's the kind of pattern that even a human could have picked up. So it may very well be that A.I. will make that kind of enforcement easier.

But, you know, this company was founded in 2017, we're, you know, nine years into its tenure, these are some pretty common-sense measures that critics are saying probably should have been put into place before this.

ABEL: Yes. Jacob, meanwhile, we are seeing people in communities where Flock is being implemented rebelling, whether it be at city council meetings or in some more rare cases, people going out and physically blocking the cameras. We've seen data center backlash be successful in these settings.

Can Flock protests influence community leaders too? Has it?

WARD: I mean, certainly we've seen, you know, a big pushback against this technology, right? 23 states have seen local councils, you know, push back and ban the technology.

But what it really is doing here is bringing out this sort of tension that I think we are in the midst of right now, just in the modern world when it comes to whether this actual -- whether this technology is something we want to be comfortable with considering that it really can, in theory, pinpoint who did what at a certain time.

I spent a few months ago -- I did a reporting trip to Rio de Janeiro, and Brazil has bought, as have many, many countries around the world, a Chinese version of this technology that is even more invasive, a piece of surveillance. And in Brazil it is in fact credited with a lessening of violent crime there. But at the same time, you had police officers there putting a lot of the most sort of sensational footage onto YouTube and monetizing it, actually trying to make money off it themselves.

So the thing to just remember is that this technology is, whether it's being misused by these officers or is being used legitimately is being used in the same way the technology makes the same stuff possible.

And so, you know, I think that all of us are coming to grips with this question of safety versus privacy in a country like the United States that doesn't have any federal data privacy laws.

And so I think this kind of, you know, groundswell, this grassroots movement that you're seeing is the democratic response in a country that hasn't imposed any rules from on high on this industry.

ABEL: Yes, seemingly a little bit behind where the U.K. and other places are. And now we're having to answer these questions as well.

Jacob Ward, thank you very much for joining us and lending us your expertise.

WARD: Thanks, Brian.

ABEL: According to data reviewed by CNN, U.S. immigration agents detained more than 46,000 people in July, setting a new high under the second Trump administration. Videos showing agents' use of aggressive tactics are raising even more questions, along with scrutiny of the agency.

CNN's Jason Carroll has the details. And a warning, this report does contain disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to stop following me.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A tense exchange between ICE agents and a woman in Virginia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You almost ran us over.

CAROLINA MOLINA, ACCUSED OF BEING ANTI-ICE AGITATOR: I didn't almost run you over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You almost ran us over. Stop playing.

MOLINA: (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop playing.

MOLINA: You are full of (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

CARROLL: The Department of Homeland Security now describes her as an anti-ICE agitator. They accused of trying to weaponize her car against their agents.

But the woman in question, Carolina Molina, says her dash cam video shows what really happened.

The incident took place on Monday. That's when Molina says she saw agents handcuffed two Latino men and escort them to an unmarked car. She rolled down her window and shouted insults at the officers.

MOLINA: You're a ho. You're a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

CARROLL: Molina says she turned around and tried to drive away. And that's when she says ICE agents blocked her in with their cars, and an agent drew his weapon. Part of that confrontation, captured on her dash cam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't arrest you. Keep it up.

MOLINA: I'm a legal citizen.

CARROLL: The Department of Homeland Security giving a much different account of what happened, saying in part, "While ICE was conducting targeted immigration enforcement in Falls Church, Virginia, an anti- ICE agitator began to drive her car in circles around our ICE officers and then attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle against them. All in an attempt to help illegal aliens get away. Fearing for their safety, ICE officers conducted a vehicle stop of the driver."

RYAN SCHWANK, FORMER ASSISTANT CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ICE: When I hear THE STORY IS that this is exactly one of the scenarios that we train the officers to address at the academy.

CARROLL: Ryan Schwank spent four years working at ICE as an assistant chief counsel.

SCHWANK: We trained them in what we call roving vehicle stops on how to deal with agitators or individuals who show up and yell insults or slurs at the officers.

What we taught them when I was there is those people have every right to do that. These officers were agitated and upset and they took it out on this individual.

CARROLL: This latest incident, coming in the wake of other controversial ICE encounters, some of them deadly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car now.

CARROLL: Last month, ICE agents accused a man of weaponizing his vehicle during a targeted traffic stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Surveillance video obtained by WGAL showed officers had boxed in the SUV. An agent fired a shot as the vehicle drove away.

[01:39:50]

CARROLL: Law enforcement experts criticized how ICE responded. The incident occurred just days before an ICE agent fatally shot a 52- year-old man during a car stop in Houston. Less than a week later, another ICE agent killed a 25-year-old man during a vehicle stop in Maine.

Neither of those victims was the intended target of ICE operations.

In a report released last month, the ACLU reviewed more than 1,200 incidents of immigration enforcement in 2025 across eight states, identifying 432 incidents involving misconduct by agents.

418 incidents were people who were pushed, shoved, tackled or pinned. 128 involved threatened force, including brandishing weapons. 82 involved agents using their cars, such as boxing-in or hitting other people's cars.

Adding to concerns over ICE tactics comes word ICE has approved a plan to spend millions on electric shock gloves.

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: It's another device, you know, to help someone be compliant, whether or not, you know, you just can't go from 0 to 100, right. And first thing you go for is lethal force.

CARROLL: Critics worry the devices will be misused.

Jason Carroll, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Astronomers say they've made a discovery that could reveal more about one of our universe's greatest mysteries. It's a barely visible trail of stars, located in a galaxy roughly 115 million light years from earth.

Now, scientists say as the cluster loses stars, the remnants form a long, narrow stream. Astronomers have found dozens of stellar streams within the Milky Way, but this is the first stream detected outside of our galaxy.

I'm Brian Abel.

For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be right back.

[01:41:48]

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ABEL: The U.S. Federal judge overseeing the Jeffrey Epstein document case is demanding answers from the Justice Department and threatening serious consequences if he doesn't get them.

On Thursday, the judge said he wants to know why the DOJ hasn't released some records from investigations into Epstein. Judge Emmet Sullivan told DOJ lawyers he'd hold contempt proceedings and refer them to the bar for discipline, a move that could ruin their careers.

This is all part of a lawsuit filed by journalist, Katie Phang, against now-Attorney General Todd Blanche. And it aims to force the release of some documents and to lift some redactions.

Fang discussed the suit with CNN's Jake Tapper.

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KATIE PHANG, LAWYER SUING JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OVER EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS: I don't want people to be improperly exposed. That is not what the DOJ -- well, that's what the DOJ said today, but that's not the case. What I want is the DOJ to follow the law.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Right.

PHANG: Nothing more, nothing less.

And what we have seen time and time again is this act of concealment and cover up by this DOJ to not release this information.

I also want the files that Todd Blanche continues to sit on.

TAPPER: Like 3 million of them, right?

PHANG: Yes. He claims that they're duplicative. He claims that they're not responsive.

And yet what we heard today, even from Judge Sullivan, is I don't believe you, DOJ. You have to show your work. And once again today, there was no actual proof provided by Todd Blanche.

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ABEL: New evidence in the trial for Massachusetts mother, Lindsay Clancy, who's accused of killing her three young children. On Thursday, jurors saw images taken from inside the home hours after the killings. They were also shown entries from Clancy's phone detailing her state of mind.

CNN's Jean Casarez has more. There might be some disturbing images here.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thursday's testimony in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial involved on the stand Massachusetts state police officers who were forensic examiners.

One testifying about Patrick Clancy's computer, the other testifying about Lindsay Clancy's cell phone.

On Lindsay Clancy's cell phone in the notes area, she had written firsthand about her life, about her children, about her dreams and about her fears.

Listen to some of the words that came from Lindsay Clancy at the end of October 2022 -- a change was made. Not sure it was beginning of November, but close in time to when she killed her children.

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TIMOTHY CHIAPPINI, FORENSIC EXAMINER, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE: I'm sad and depressed because I am not able to parent my third child like my first. I want to treat any one of my babies like my first, but I know that's not a feasible possibility.

I'm sad that I stopped breastfeeding. I feel not as connected with Cal now. I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby. And I know that's not fair to them. I know that.

I was feeling so depressed last evening when Cora and Dawson came home from school. I know her runs off on them, so we had a pretty rough evening. I want to feel love and connection with all my kids.

I'm also probably having a bit of an internal conflict because my whole life I've wanted to have a lot of kids. I still don't want Cal to be our last, but I have a lot of figuring out to do before I have another.

I'm on the fence about starting a new medication for anxiety/depression. I just want to feel happy. I want to be able to relax and take care of my kids. And when they go to bed at night, I want to deeply relax and hang out with Pat and then fall into a deep sleep for eight hours, get up and pour hard into myself for an hour and a half.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Following that, the case officer from the Massachusetts State Police for this prosecution took the stand and showed some video from the upstairs bedroom.

And we want you to be able to watch some of that, because this is the upstairs bedroom where Lindsay Clancy had gone after she killed her children, and she jumped out of the window after cutting herself with a kitchen knife in her wrist and her neck.

Prosecution witnesses said it was superficial wounds, but the blood is on the floor. There is the knife that's on the knife stand.

But one point that the officer made was that there was no blood spatter at all on the walls.

[01:49:48]

CASAREZ: One last thing that was part of the testimony on Thursday. We don't know what it means. We don't know who wrote it, but it was a search that was done on the computer four days before Lindsay Clancy killed her children. And that search was, "can you treat a sociopath?"

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

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ABEL: Sources tell CNN plea negotiations are underway between accused killer Luigi Mangione and federal prosecutors. Mangione is expected in court Friday morning. He's accused of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In the Southern District of New York, Mangione faces federal stalking charges connected to Thompson's killing. In the state case, Mangione faces second degree murder and weapons charges.

A critical deadline passes as rescue teams in Colombia search for earthquake victims, an update on that and our other top headlines, next.

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ABEL: Welcome back to THE STORY IS.

I'm Brian Abel.

Let's take a look at today's top stories.

A U.S. official tells CNN the Pentagon is replacing an aircraft carrier deployed for operations against Iran. The official says the USS George Washington is headed to the Middle East to take over from the USS Abraham Lincoln. That follows reports of horrific living conditions and worsening mental health among the Lincoln crew.

Emergency rescue teams in Colombia are still searching for survivors of Monday's earthquake. At least 281 people have died. The president says 379 people are still missing. But experts say the chance of finding anybody alive in the rubble significantly dropped after the 72-hour mark.

Todd Blanche gave his first address to Justice Department employees since taking over as U.S. Attorney General and vowed to lead with integrity. The former personal lawyer of President Trump also promised to carry out his duties without fear or favor. But there are concerns he'll continue to carry out more of the president's retribution campaign.

Thank you for joining me. I'm Brian Abel.

Much more coming up next on CNN.

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