russia's cultural diversity. >> reporter: our diversity and unity of cult you are ooze and languages and ethnic groups simply does not fit into the logic of western racist and colonialists. >> the lgbtq community has long faced violence and arrests in russia. but some lgbtq activists believe now things could get much worse. as vladimir putin gears up for a presidential election next march. >> it seems to me that this is part of the presidential election campaign. but the elections will pass and the court decision will remain. >> fred pleitgen, cnn, berlin. >> and thanks to fred pleitgen repoporting. and thank you for watching. i'm wolf blitzerlitzer in "the situation room," erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, new

bombings and rocket fire in gaza tonight, casualties mounting as questions grow over whether israel's prime minister new that hamas had an attack plan a year ago, i'll ask his senior adviser. plus, to hell with this place. the parting quote of george santos, his office already locked already changed and his name above the office gone. so now what happens to his seat? and an exclusive new reporting this hour, house speaker mike johnson promoting a book full of baseless conspiracy theories and homophobic insults some directed at pete buttigieg and he's out front to respond. let's go "outfront." and good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, hamas once again firing rocks now deep into israel. our team in sderot hearing the rocket fire from northern gaza. this is the aftermath that you are looking at now of israeli strikes in the town. both sides blaming the other.

the reality is this. more people are dying and the onslaught of war is continuing and 136 people are still being held hostage by hamas. that includes women and children, 17 of them according to the idf. and tonight we know that the october 7th attack in which these people were captured and another 1,200 almost all them civilians were killed, was known to israel for more than a year. according to t"the new york times," israel aware more than a year before at tack of hamas plans. the times had the blue print in its hands and read it and looked at it and discussed it and dismissed it as aspirational. that was shockingly close to reality and including details about paragliders who would begin the assault. now i'm going to be speaking with the senior adviser to the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and you want to hear his answer as to whether netanyahu saw the blueprint. but first to oren liebermann in

tel aviv. and now strikes further south in gaza. what is the latest there? >> reporter: erin, any hopes of extending this pause for another 24 or 48 hours were dashed this morning when the fighting between israel and hamas resumed with same intensity and the same force and the same often horrific results as we saw before the truce just eight days ago, that now feels like a lifetime ago. we have to warn you, some of the images you are about to see are quite graphic. a cruel dawn. after the seventh day of rest. [ sirens ] war once again in all its brutal intensity as the pause in fighting ending early friday morning. israel carried out punishing strikes on southern gaza after telling palestinians to evacuate there. injured children rushed to the hospital following attacks in rafah and han eunice.

and it had hamas terror targets and the results have been ge devastating. >> this is the biggest hospital at 200% capacity. this is the hospital. the hospital system is overwhelmed. this hospital cannot take more children with the wounds of war. >> reporter: trucks with humanitarian aid waited outside of the rafah crossing into gaza unable to enter now that fighting has resumed. israel dropped leaflets warning residents that this is an active war zone. a qr code led to a map of gaza split into parcels away of warning them to evacuate specific areas but they needed electricity and internet connection to view it which have been cut off at times. >> translator: they send us leaflets saying we have to go to rafah. where do we go in rafah? what is there? is it safe? >> reporter: antony blinken who

met with leaders on thursday, said israel was taking concrete steps to protect civilians in gaza. the u.s. made it clear the next phase of the war could not look like the first phase in which 15,000 palestinians were killed according to the health authorities in gaza. >> that is imperative and we saw israel take steps immediately today to start to get information to people about where safe areas are and how they could get out of harm's way. >> reporter: the war comes to israel, with sustained rocket from northern gaza. and after more than a week of quiet skies over central israel, barrages of rocket fire intercepted by iron dome. in the north, apache gun ships on move as they carry out strikes against hezbollah followed rockets launched at northern israel. after a seven-day respite in the war, it has returned in full

force. despite the restart of fighting here, negotiations are ongoing to try to get back to a truce. the resumption of humanitarian aid and a release of hostages. but that wasn't able to make enough progress quickly enough to prevent the fighting that we have now seen and in all likelihood will see again. in the meantime, "the new york times" article and other articles like that over the past several days raising serious questions about what israel knew in advance and why it didn't act. israel's chief of staff of the military said those questions will come and be answered after the war. but right now, erin, that seems a long way off. >> it certainly does. thank you very much. "outfront" now, mark regev. and i appreciate your time. according to "the new york times," israel obtained hamas's

battle plan more than a year in advance. and i'm seen some of the domes myself. the ones i saw were dated october 2022. the times pointed out that hamas documents that they saw are shockingly close to reality. they called for a barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, hamas did that. and called for breaking through the wall. hamas did that. and they called for entering via paraglider. hamas did that. they called for entering via motorcycle and they did that. do you know why this document was dismissed? >> well it is clear there was an amazing mishap, a failure. there is no excuses for it. and we have to look into this. we paid for our mistakes on october 7th in blood, and the blood of 1,200 israelis who were murdered and another 240 that were kidnapped and taken to gaza. so we have to take this very seriously.

we can't accept such a failure. we pride ourselves as israelis for having excellent intelligent services and in this case maybe the information wasn't understood and didn't go up the chain like it should have. we have to investigate that and find out exactly what happened. 50 years ago, erin, there was a -- a similar colossal intelligence failure when we were attacked in 1973 on the yom kippur war from the south by egypt and from the north by syria and then taken by surprise. and we had after that, we had a commission of inquiry and lessons we are learned. and it was an important process for israel. and we'll probably do the same thing now, i'm sure, when this war is over. we have to look very carefully at what happened and where was the information and why wasn't it understood and who is responsible. >> well, so, in july a veteran israeli intelligence analyst

said hamas had conducted a day long training. now the analysts worked for unit 8200 which is israel's signal intelligence agency and warned higher ups and according to encrypted emails, two things then happened. one that a colonel in the gaza division brushed off the concerns and two is that veteran analyst comments, and i quote, i utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary. you could almost hear the frustration in the words that that analyst chose to use. mark, i'm curious as to what you think why there was such disbelief when israel had a the battle plans and then visual proof of the plans being practiced. why was there still such disbelief? >> so all of these questions need to be looking at seriously and professionally and objectively. and he'll do that. it is our obligation. ultimately, israel will continue to live in a -- in a challenging

neighborhood, some would even say a dangerous neighborhood. and therefore it is our obligation that our intelligence services have to be good and if there are failures, we have to understand where the failures happened and why they happened. >> so was the prime minister netanyahu aware of the hamas document? >> i'm not aware that he was -- i don't know that he was aware. he -- he said like everyone else, that when the -- the investigations after this exactly what happened he'll be there to answer questions and tell exactly what he was given and what he wasn't given. >> but at this point you and he haven't had a conversation as to whether he was aware of the documents "the new york times" is reporting about. >> not this specific document. but we have -- we have had conversations on this general level. but once again, we need to discuss at the right time and the right time will be after this war at the moment. i think all of israel is focused on winning this war. we have to win this war against hamas so that october 7th could

never happen again. >> all right. mark regev, thank you very much. i appreciate your time tonight, sir. >> thank you for having me. "outfront" next, george santos expelled. the sign above his office door gone and the locks changed and now democrats have a real shot to win the seat. and plus our k file with reporting on house speaker mike johnson. he wrote the forward for a book that mocks secretary pete buttigieg for being obnoxiously gay. and we're hearing from trump's high-profile lawyer one who has represented rappers and been rapped about. ♪ >> announcer: erin burnett "outfront," brought to you by stanley steamer.

tonight, quote to hell with this place. republican congressman george santos making a dramatic exit from congress after being expelled over ethics violations. the sign in front of liz office already taken down. the locks and the door already changed. 105 republicans voted to oust santos. notably speaker mike johnson and all of the republican leadership in the house voted to save him.

so, the mass republicans defied their leadership. and miguel markez is live from his district in new york. >> reporter: ex congressman george santos leaving congress. intense to the very end. moments before his chaotic exit, cnn capitol hill reporter annie grayer spoke to santos as he watched the vote turn against him and his congressional career come to an abrupt end. >> it is over. >> yeah. >> but what reaction? >> i mean -- >> that is their vote: sure. they just set new dangerous precedent for themselves. why would i want to stay here. to hell with this place. >> reporter: mike johnson and the entire house republican leadership voted to keep him in power. but in his long island, new york, district, relief. george santos has been expelled

today. what was your reaction to that? [ clapping ] >> that was my reaction. >> reporter: the allegations snowballing since he was lekked in 2022. his resume and life story came under glaring scrutiny. claimed that he was jewish and his mother was in the twin towers during the 9/11 terror attack and where he went to school and what sports he played and that he worked in finance and that his grandparents fled the holocaust. all of it lies. >> my answer just perished in the holocaust so he did a horrible thing by lying about that. >> reporter: the house ethics committee found he spent thousands of donor dollars on personal expenses including shopping at high end designer stores farrah gammo an hermes and describing to the pornographic website only fans.

santos wearing farrah gammo shoes when he left federal court in october after pleading not guilty to new charges totaling 23 counts of fraud and money laundering. today he departed the capitol in a jaguar suv. >> i can't say i'm happy because it is sad that it is come to this. but i'm glad that i think congress made the right decision. >> reporter: robert zimmerman lost to george santos in 2022. >> this is not a time of celebration to me. it is a time of reflection. there is a lot of lessons to be learned. >> for those who voted for santos and some who didn't fear congress has gone too far. >> shocked. because to me the republicans caved. they -- they even hurt themselves. we're expelling him before he has his -- a chance to have a jury of his peers decide whether his conduct was criminal. >> reporter: so, what next for the third district of new york?

well the governor will set a date for a special election. the state parties will decide who runs in that election. and then no matter who is elected to represent this area of new york, they will do it all over again next year. in november of 2024. erin. >> miguel, thank you. and so let's go to van jones. special adviser to president obama and cnn political commentator. so van, the gop now has a three-vote margin, because they just lost santos. this is a seat that republicans flipped in 2022 and they voted for biden. so, this is a big opportunity, right. how big of an opening is this for democrats? >> well, i mean, it's a chance to pick up a seat. and the margin is so thin that it makes it -- it is a good thing -- i will say that booting somebody out of congress over being a weirdo, and stealing

money for only fans and botox, i mean, i understand where people are saying are you setting a precedent, for throwing people out for being, i don't know, weirdos and thieves, but not people who are engaged in massive corruption like some of the ab scam folks. so i do worry about the precedent being set here but it is good for democrats because we get a chance to squeeze the republicans a little bit more. >> interesting to this point about precedent. no one in republican leadership voted to oust santos. and mike johnson didn't vote to expel him and there was talk this morning that santos might survive because of the pressure from gop leadership. we heard elise stefanik was going to vote flot to expel. maybe the gop rank and file would get behind their leadership and they didn't. and not only that, santos was expelled by a wider margin than anybody expected. so what does that tell you, van?

105 republicans voting against their leadership on this? >> well, it means the leadership doesn't get to lead very much these days. and there is a reason for that. santos was sucking up a lot of oxygen. it wasn't the money that he stole, it was the time and the attention he was stealing from the other republicans that made it necessary for him to go from point of the view of the rank and filers. in the old days, the leadership could control you because they have money and they could control the purse strings. leadership can't do anything but keep the bunnies in the barn an that is about it. but what the real currency now is time and attention and santos is sucking up the time and attention and so from that point in view it is rational to throw him out. but like i said, when they throw somebody else out, you might look back. >> and you take it over on the senate side. what about senator menendez. someone accused of taking money from a foreign government and then doing -- and getting classified briefings about that government. that is a -- that is an extreme level of seriousness but that

is -- you have to look at this and say if this, then that. >> this is botox and only fans and meanwhile we have mass ifr amounts of obvious corruption. i like it when the courts get a chance to say somebody is guilty or innocent and then congress moves. i don't like it when congress moves ahead of the courts because then who gets to decide. if somebody has been found guilty in a court of law, that is a very firm basis for congress to act. this other stuff, i think it people just are tired for the circus of santos. but just being a circus master or a clown is not basis to get thrown out of congress. 11,000 people served in congress. ome six have been thrown out. i can't imagine that this rises to the level of the ab scam. >> van, thank you very much. >> thank you. and next, exclusive new reporting from k file on the house speaker mike johnson and how he proploeted an wrote a forward for a book that includes numerous homophobic slurs and insults with several directed at

pete buttigieg, the transportation secretary joins me next to respond. and another mega company pulls ads from x after elon musk dares companies to do that, telling them to go f themselves.

new tonight, baseless conspiracy theories homophobicin salts and those are some of the things in a book that our k file scored mike johnson wrote the forward to last year. the book is called "the revivalist manifesto" and written by a man name scott mckay who is a blogger in the home state of louisiana and one of the top targets in the book is transportation secretary pete buttigieg writing, buttigieg is a rather queer choice for transportation secretary. not just because he's a member of the lgbtq community and obnoxiously so. and speaker johnson embraced the content of the book in his forward. writing in part, quote, scott mckay presented a valuable and timely contribution with the manifesto because he's managed to articulate what americans are

sensing. now secretary buttigieg will be my guest but first we are "outfront." andrew, this is far from the only time in this book that you see mckay disparage secretary buttigieg and in fact he'll be saying something and the sexual orientation comes in there, using the word queer and obnoxiously so and even then that is just a small part of the book. >> and mike johnson not only wrote the introduction to this book, he championed it on his podcast. he said i wouldn't have written that introduction if i didn't agree with it and he wholeheartedly endorsed it and that is far from the only homophobic section of the book. i want to people to look at this section in which he writes about buttigieg again and he said that buttigieg ran on the fact that he is openly and obnoxiously gay. it said that he had, quote, an

interesting brew of sank timony that attracted democratic voters. and outside of these -- >> queer sank timony. >> i don't know what that means. >> i don't know what that means. but i don't know what ownly obnoxiously gay is either. but either way, the book also promoted some pretty farfetched conspiracy theories like the pizza gate that claims that democrats were running a child sex trafficking ring because john podesta, who is the clinton campaign chairman's hacked emails had the word pizza and hot dog in them and they claim that this was code for child sex trafficking of some time. but even the author said these were debunked but the code wasn't. and then there is this part about john roberts, where he basically shared a hoax that he's connected to jeffrey

epstein and said that he could be being blackmailed over it. so those are just a few things that were endorsed by the person who is second in line for the presidency. >> second in line for the presidency. and as you say, it wasn't jut a blurb on the back saying any friend wrote this book. it was the introduction to the book. it was interviews afterward and a lot of detail. >> on social media he told people to buy it as well. >> so he really promoted it. what did he have to say about all of this and about the introduction that he wrote when you reached out to him and said you have all of this? >> when we reached out, we didn't hear back before we published our story, but a few hours afterwards his office said they would comment and they said to us, quote, the speaker had never read the passaging highlights in the cnn story which he strongly disagrees with. he wrote the forward as a favor to a friend. he's supportive of the general theme of the book but not as endorsement of all of the themes expressed. this is what they told us yesterday -- or today.

listen to what he said in 2022 when he was promoting the book on his podcast. >> i obviously believe in the product or i wouldn't have written the forward. s so i endorse the work. i think it is important, because this is a very important conversation we need to be having now and i think it could make some waves and it is beginning to do that. >> well that part is true. >> right. >> now. >> he endorsed it and then told people to buy it. now said he didn't read it. >> it is incredible. all right. >> thank you so much for sharing all of that, andrew. and "outfront" now, the secretary of transportation pete buttigieg. the author of this book, scott mckay, who speaker johnson has called a dear friend, writes something else i wanted to read to you. in part he said nobody in the administration knows anything about how transportation and logistic works. something else that was made unmistakably obviously when the

supply chain disingrated on gay mayor pete buttigieg's watch. okay. what do you think this obsession is over you and your sexual orientation? >> it seems like they just can't think of anything else. there is no discussion of what we actually did. i'd be happy to spend all day talking about how in the very same season when they said christmas was going to be canceled because of supply chain problems we wound up having an all-time record high in terms of goods moving through our ports. but in the membertime, you have somebody who has been taken seriously by the speaker of the house of the united states suggesting that the reason that we had supply chain problems in the rebound from covid wasn't because of the factories this china shutting down and sending their ships here all at once, it was because the secretary of transportation is married to a guy and not to a woman. they just can't seem to let go of this. >> so the speaker, mike johnson, wrote the forward for the book.

as you know. and in the forward, he said buttigieg is a rather queer choice for transportation sect. not just because he's a member of the lgbtq community, and on noxiously so. he said that. then he writes about your 2020 campaign, buttigieg ran on the fact that he's openly and obnoxiously gay. the central precept of his campaign being that christians objecting to his lifestyle were bad at religion while he is not. that is -- that is in the book. and in his forward to this, mike johnson called the book and i quote, a valuable and timely contribution. what is your reaction even to that? >> where do you even -- where do you even start with this, right? it is 2023. i guess 2022 when the book came out. and we're still talking about people this way. based on who they are and who they love. america, most of america, at least, has moved on from this kind of thing. and what is obnoxious is the

idea that you can be coming back to race or sexuality as this author does constantly. not just the way he talks about me, but cabinet colleagues of mine an all kinds of things that mostly seem to come back to an obsession with identity, with either who your married to or what your race is. and very little, certainly very little of use about how to make this country a better place. >> so andrew kosinski, you just heard him play what speaker johnson said about the book, glowing praise and including that he said that he wrote the forward because he believed in the product and he endorsed the work. he said, quote, i love the book. all right. today, though, in light of all of the these things and these things that we are reading to you, k file calls a spokesperson for the speaker johnson, and that person said, quote, the speaker had never read the passages highlighted in the cnn story which he strongly disagrees with. he wrote the forward as a favor

to a friend supportive of the general theme of the book but not as an endorsement of all of the opinions expressed. what do you say to that? you say you never saw these from from -- these phrases i just read to you. >> pretty hard to believe. i've been often been called to write a blurb for a book. he didn't just put a blurb on the back and then he had the guy on his podcast and went out of his way associated with both the author and with book. so is that just didn't pass the smell test. >> and also what is in here is not inconsistent that he's promoted anti-lgbtq views and he's done it as k files discovered. listen to this. >> it is final for an honest conversation about homo

homosexuality. it is something that you do, it is not something that you are. >> one in four high school students identify as something other than straight. we're losing the country. >> so those are all things he said. he wrote, as you know, 2004, multiple editorials against same-sex marriage and it could doom even the strongest republic. he talks about it a lot. >> he seems fixated on it. and it is really troubling for millions of americans. including me and my husband. and this is, again, not just some fringe radical member of congress. although i would argue these positions are certainly radical. >> yeah. >> it is the speaker of house. and he's second in line for the american presidency. >> well, i mean, it is pretty incredible to see this and the editorials, while i think it is important that you come out and speak about it.

i of course share what you didn't say but perhaps you feel, that it is frustrating that you have to be doing so at this time. thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me on. and next, a major court ruling against trump cutting at the heart of his defense. why he's about to face a slew of new lawsuits and the palestinian student shot in the spine in vermont as he was walking down the street and now in the hospital and will he be able to walk again. hihis uncle just back fromom spendingng the day f from him ie hospspital is "o"outfront" t to.

we just have some breaking news in. a federal judge in washington, just a moment ago, denying trump's atem to dismiss his federal election interference case doing so on basis of presidential immunity. it is a major defeat for trump. this is the criminal case in washington, with judge chutkin and including civil lawsuits and much more on this. it comes as in georgia trump's newest lawyer, steve sadoff, that you see right there, speaking today for the first time at trump's georgia election subversion hearing and arguing there should be no trial until 2029 in that case. he has a reputation for being a secret weapon of the elite

representing usher and rappers like t.i. and rick ross. ross rapping about the lawyer. ♪ ♪ for my lawyer because he undefeated ♪ >> tom foreman is "outfront." >> reporter: former president trump should not even be facing charges for questioning his election loss in georgia. that is trump lawyer steve sad ow's case in court. >> we find that it violated free speech and freedom of petitioning all of the compressions of the first amendment is described to protect and the indictment needs to be dismissed. >> others accused of trying to overturn the event, echoed that argument and said no one has been prosecuted like this before. >> the prosecution's rely. this is the first time a criminal enterprise has gotten together and tried to overturn

the results of an election. ♪ >> reporter: so who is trump's attorney mentioned in this rap video. he's an atlanta lawyer with a national reputation for arranging plea bargons on some big racketeering cases and helping high end clients on other matters including rappers rick ross and tip t.i. harris. >> probably the best criminal defense attorney of his time. >> reporter: on harris's podcast, sadoff talked about his skepticism when it comes to police and prosecutors. >> we know a lot about abuse of authority. i mean, it is always walways continue. it is a question of what technique was used. >> my impression was something big is about to happen. >> in 2017 when james comey testified about being fired by trump in the heat of the russia probe, sadoff tweeted, i'm not a trump supporter, but he called comey self-right and a cya show boat. now he's representing the former president in georgia where some

trump allies -- like kenneth chesebro has taken a plea deal. his lawyer knows sadoff and said he's right attorney to juggle the unique demands of this case. >> what we always want to tell our clients is don't say anything, be quiet. let me do all of the talking. that is advice any criminal defense lawyer would give their client. you couldn't do this in a case like this. the man is running for president. >> so in court sadoff is plowing ahead, suggesting that the whole case if it proceeds next year, will interfere with the election. >> you could imagine a motion of the republican nominee for president not being able to campaign for the presidency because he is in some form or fashion in a courtroom defending himself. >> reporter: he alluded to it earlier, and perhaps no surprise, when the judge said that what happened if donald trump wins the next election?

sadoff's response, well i'm sure the law won't let mim to be tried until he's done with the presidency. erin. >> and that would be 2029. all right. thank you very much. tom foreman. "outfront" now, tom ryan our legal analyst. they called sadoff a genius and he's well-known in georgia. and he knows rico and that is what this is about. this is, i guess, now is the largest rico claim unless that -- so any indication in court today of his strategy in that case? >> so, i thought he equipped himself very well. and he was formidable. and a strategy i think is delay, delay, delay. it is trump's strongest card and what he had to do was make a procedural argument that would allow the judge to reconsider the prior rulings to allow them to entertain a first amendment claim before the trial even begins. that is what he wanted. which would create a huge delay. and that is a uphill battle to

get the judge to reverse himself from his prior rulings. he may have managed to do that. the judge seriously took into account his arguments and might result in delay. >> but you thought that he -- he's basically saying if he he's successful here, 2029 is when this would come and that is significant because the georgia case is where you can't pardon a sitting president. even if he could pardon himself, it wouldn't work there, right. the georgia one is very crucial. >> that is right. can't pardon himself or his co-defendants and he can't quash the case as he could have as it were the justice department running the prosecution. but there is a supremacy clause and you don't get to prosecute a sitting president. once again, that is a strong argument. there is a very strong argument that the u.s. supreme court will side with imhad and say the president is immune in the office. >> and moments ago, the judge

rules against trump's motion to dismiss using the argument of presidential immunity for january 6. that obviously happening right now. can you put it in context even in just a minute since it happened? >> yeah. so it is really interesting in the sense that it dove tails the argument today. after he's president he could be prosecuted. well that is this case. so can jack smith prosecute president trump or does he have immunity, the answer is you could prosecute somebody. and there is one important line. she said defendants trumps four year service as commander-in-chief did not bestow on him the divine rht of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens. it means that jack smith could go forward unless she's overturned by the court of appeals but that shouldn't be happening. >> all right. thank you very much. ryan, and i might have a development from judge chutkin happening a few moments ago.

next an update on the palestinian student shot in the spine while walking down the street with his friends. hi uncle who gistjust came out hospital saw him next. and walmart the lastest to pull money from x just days after elon musk had this message. >> go [ bleep ] yourself. is that clear?

tonight, one of the palestinian students who was shot alongside two of his friends in vermont is speaking out for the first time to cnn. he said in a statement, quote, the attacker who targeted us didn't see us as human beings. tahseen was shot in the chest and is still in the hospital. so is his life long friend, shawn -- they were out for a walk when this horrific, horrific shooting

happened. rich, i know you had a chance to spend your day in the hospital. how is he? >> thank you for the chance to talk about hisham. he's incredible. every single day i am just blown away by what kind of young man he is. his concern right from the start has been for his friends, first of all, his two friends, who were injured, his parents, who are so far away, and for, you know -- now that he's learned that bombing has resumed in gaza, his concern is for those who are suffering under that siege. >> look, i know it's incredible that he's able to have that focus and do that. i mean, i know he hasn't, at least we understand, been able to move his legs. i know doctors had raised real concerns about walking in the future. look, you haven't had a lot of time. this is going to be a long

process, i know, rich, of recovery. has that prognosis changed or improved at all at this point? >> no. it's still very much the same. he's currently paralyzed from the chest down. next week, he'll be moved to a rehabilitation center, where he'll begin the work that is to come. and we know that part of it is a medical, a therapy component. but there's also really important mindset and spirit component. and you know, from what i know hisham and from what he's demonstrated this week, he's meeting this challenge head-on. and i spoke to a doctor today who said he's seen a lot of people suffer really devastating injuries like this. and it's rare to see someone who's as engaged, who's asking the doctors questions, who is, sort of, already put himself in

the frame of mind to overcome this ordeal. >> he just sounds extraordinary. you know, rich, we've learned that there was an ex-girlfriend of the shooting suspect, that at one point she called police to remove a shotgun that he had left in her home. she told police she was too afraid to return the weapon herself, to go give it to him. what is your reaction to this new information and what it may say about the man, the suspect, who did this? >> well, with all due respect, there's not much more that i need to know about this guy to know that he's not a good guy. and it's my hope and my expectation that the full weight of the law is going to come down upon him. >> and are you frustrated at this point there hasn't been an update on whether this is a hate

crime or not? >> not really, erin. you know, we understand that there's a legal threshold, certain specific evidence that they need to attain to transition to that designation. and you know whether that comes or not, we're confident that we're going to carry on. as i said, we want the full weight of the law to come down on him, however that is. >> well, rich, i appreciate your time. our thoughts are with hisham. and as i said, an extraordinary young man. he clearly is. thank you. >> thank you, erin. next, elon musk told x advertisers to go f themselves. he said it loud and clear and repeatedly. and tonight walmart delivering a similar memessage, in n differe words, t to musk.

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and finally tonight, walmart is checking out of x, america's largest retailer, largest private employer, is announcing it's no longer advertising on the social media platform formerly known as twitter. the latest company to do so, in fact, after x's owner, elon musk, publicly embraced an anti-semitic conspiracy theory. disney, paramount, warner brothers discovery, which of course is the parent company of this network, and a principle analyst at insider intelligence offering a warning about the future of twitter, well, now, x, saying, quote, if anyone's killing x, it's elon musk, not advertisers. of course we should keep in mind, elon musk's net worth has gone up this year, not down, despite the tremeavails of twit. earlier in my interview with pete buttigieg, i -- speaker johnson endorsed and wrote the foreword too. thanks so much for joinings.