nse thrills and incredible offers on any of five mercedes-benz electric vehicles. including two years complimentary charging and pre-paid maintenance. the vehicles are all electric. the feeling is all mercedes. the choice is all yours. but hurry, these dream days are only here until june 5th. millions in mexico are on eng as the country's most dangerous active volcano has been hitting several nearby towns since last week. the country's president says there is less activity now and that is certainly a welcome sign. authorities are still urging residents to stay on alert and wear mask. the news continues. "cnn primetime" with abby phillip starts now.

♪ anderson, thank you very much. and good evening, everyone. tonight, the nation is facing a situation that has never been contemplated in its history before. a former president will sit trial as a defendant in the middle of his campaign for another term, which means that jurors and voters will be deciding his fate at exactly the same time. donald trump appearing virtually in court today as a judge sets his trial date for march 25th of next year. and in case you're wondering, that is 20 days after super tuesday, six days after florida, ohio and arizona and one month before pennsylvania voters go to the ballot boxes. the trial, of course, involving the 34 felony counts related to the stormy daniels' hush money case. trump has pleaded not guilty in that case. and also tonight, florida governor ron desantis will announce his candidacy tomorrow. in a rather unconventional way,

appearing in a live conversation on twitter with elon musk. we're already getting word that donald trump and his allies are making plans to upend that announcement and maggie haberman will join us in a moment. and just a reminder of how wide open and unpredictable these races are, just take a look at the republican primary polls from this month back in 2015. marco rubio and jeb bush both led the pack. donald trump, he started just 3% tied with george pataki and speaking of polls, fast forward to right now. new cnn numbers show that republicans, they smell blood. president biden's approval rating just hit 40%, the lowest number since last summer. it is also lower than trump's approval rating at the same point in his term. and joining me tonight is senior media reporter for axios sara fisher, "new york times" senior political correspondent maggie haberman, reena shaw and

democratic strategist basel smikel. sara, we knew desantis's announcement was coming. we didn't know it was coming this way. an announcement on twitter says a lot about twitter and where that platform has gone after all these months. >> yep. twitter has become the center of gravity for the republican party that used to be fox news. ever since it fired tucker carlson, you're seeing a slew of conservative personalities, now candidates flocking to the platform. you think of ron desantis, he has always been someone who shied away from the mainstream media. a very strong signal of what his campaign is going to focus on. platforms that bypass traditional outlets including fox news to speak to voters directly. and one thing i want to note, elon musk hasn't come out endorsing a specific candidate, of course, he is the ceo of twitter. but, in the past he said that he would endorse desantis especially because desantis from his perspective is a younger,

livelier candidate compared to joe biden. now obviously donald trump is not necessarily a young, agile candidate compared to ron desantis either. but i thought that that was notable. the other person that we're watching in terms of elon musk, of course, is tim scott, elon musk endorsed tim scott's -- one of his campaign ads earlier this week. it's an interesting time to see what republicans are going to do with twitter and how twitter ceo is going to handle republicans. >> and trump is allowed back on twitter but hasn't really been back on the platform. i mean, this seems to be also just desantis' way of perhaps differentiating himself and maybe not being compared to trump on the platform. >> i think a couple of things about this moment. it's going to be pretty interesting. it's not risk free for desantis for a couple of reasons. number one, the technology. you know, the twitter space is often have and you would know better than i have, they're often glitchy. things go wrong. that's at the outset. >> especially recently that's been a major factor. >> you're dealing with two

people, elon musk and ron desantis, not known as charismatic interviewees or talkers. i don't know what that will look like. i do think -- i understand the logic of it. if you are ron desantis and you have lost all this ground in the last couple of months, you have to do something to get attention. and this is a way that you can raise small dollar donations from people. what trump does to respond is anyone's guess. it's not only that he hasn't been much on twitter. he hasn't been at all on twitter, focussed on his own social media platform. his aides signaled for a while he's coming back to twitter sooner rather than later. seems like there's a nonzero chance tomorrow might be that day. we'll see. >> that would be interesting if trump is firing back in realtime. this is a statement from a pro-trump super pac, the spokesperson for that super pac says this is one of the most outof touch campaign launches in modern history. the only thing less relatable than a nearby campaign launch on twitter is desantis's afterparty at the uber elite four season's

party in miami. it's a reasonable point. twitter is very much not real life. only a small sliver of the american public or even the voting public is on this platform. >> yeah. meet voters where they are. twitter is not doing that. it's a unique strategy. i quite like it. i think it's different. he's not getting out there like tim scott on stage. not doing this video like biden or haley. and it's one of those moments i'm thinking to myself, could this be the moment people stop saying this campaign is dead in the water. i don't think it is. it's not dead on arrival either because this signals a real changing point where candidates can be unique. they can be different. and he doesn't have to put his face out there. he puts his voice out there and tells people what he's standing for. he had a lot of problems. this could be a turning point. >> yeah. well, i think all of that is true. a lot of people on the left don't like elon musk right now because of what he's done to twitter. so if you're ron desantis, you

say, hey, i'm all about being anti-woke. let me pair with someone who is also sort of enemy of the left right now. get on this platform, try to stand out from trump and others, even because trump has gone to it -- an alternative platform. everybody is going to these alternative means. let me stay on this one platform where there's still a lot of folks that are engaged and paying attention and let me see if i can find a way to stand out. >> general election, right. this is a primary. and people aren't acting like this is a primary. i'm one for primaries. i like primaries to tease out what you get from a candidate later on down the road. >> what happens in a primary doesn't disappear in the general election. the elon musk of it all, i think is very significant. this is someone who has been spreading non-stop conspiracy theories, whether it's about paul pelosi's attack or the neo-nazi guy who carried out a mass shooting in texas. i mean, he -- in and of himself is kind of a controversial, some would say toxic figure to tie yourself to at this stage. >> yeah.

but others don't think he's toxic. that's the whole point. the republican party is moving into this world where elon musk stands for what they stand for culturally. so it makes perfect sense that ron desantis would go there. but the thing that i'm thinking about is when we say voters aren't on twitter, voters aren't anywhere. this media landscape is so different. it's not the old days where everyone was watching the same three broadcast news networks at night. now, everyone is on gaming platforms or social media platforms. all that matters is can you plan a message that can go viral and break out? that's going to be the standing test of time for tomorrow. >> what also matters is actually appealing to real voters in the first four states specially in iowa where of the first four states there's the biggest non-trump opening and where a lot of desantis' allies and advisers believe he has to win that state. so i think this is -- we're very focussed on twitter, as we should be because this is interesting and where it will be tomorrow. he is going on fox news right after supposedly he does twitter. he is supposed to make visits to the early states. he is doing all of these things and will do a conventional

rollout after tomorrow. >> winning iowa isn't everything. ted cruz won iowa. >> yeah, but you're nowhere -- if he doesn't win iowa -- it has to start somewhere. >> as people pointed out the republican nominee has not won iowa since george w. bush back in 2001. so it's been a long time. i do want to play this new video from -- that was tweeted out by casey desantis, ron desantis's wife teasing the announcement tomorrow. >> they call it faith because in the face of darkness you can see that brighter future. a faith that our best days lay ahead of us. but is it worth the fight? do i have the courage? is it worth the sacrifice? america has been worth it. every single time. >> your reaction in. >> i love it. >> yeah? >> i think desantis is somebody

to watch because he's going -- he's gone far right when he knows that most presidents come to the center. this is the strategy here. he's going other to the right to see what he can pull off from maga universe this abortion ban, this fight with disney. he doesn't think it's going to hurt him because he knows we have short attention span. so he's acting strong. he's trump-like. i didn't like trump but i like this. >> that's interesting. it is kind of -- the polar opposite of the sunny, positive future. that's pretty dark. i do want to point out, nikki haley today basically kind of put out this memo saying desantis is trump but without the charisma, without the personality skills. i mean, how does that play? >> look, if you're nikki haley and a lot of people who are in this now burgeoning field who see ron desantis in front of them and then donald trump much further out, they have to find a way to try to gain ground. she can't get to trump until she can get to desantis. and i think that you're going to see a lot of that from people

who are polling at a lower number. what i'm struck by the visuals in the video, more than really the message, which i'm not surprised by, i don't understand why we're seeing his back going to a stage. that's honestly the only thing i was confused by. >> it's incredibly dark. you're right. he doesn't have the charisma of donald trump. i do believe that presidential campaigns are about creating a social and political movement, which i don't think that ron desantis can do. what he has done is try to say that where you get chaos from donald trump, i can codify everything you like about donald trump's policies but he hasn't been able to implement, like all of the sort of anti-wokeness, going after the college board. he's actually gotten involved in school board elections. so he's been able to say i know the levers of political bureaucratic power to implement all the things that you care about. i just don't know that that's a winning general election message. >> that's exactly right. i think it's clearly moved the republican party in a certain direction, but what is going to

happen when we get to the broader electorate. everyone stay with us. smack in the middle of next year's presidential primary season, the former president will have a court date. will his hush money case and other legal woes sabotage his bid to retake the white house? and the nation is quickly approaching default with neither the white house nor republicans blinking. we'll talk about it with a congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. stay with us. ♪

the chase ink business premier card is made for people like sam who make...? ...everyday products... ...designed smarter. like a smart coffee grinder - that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that... ...i need a breakthrough card... like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more... plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases! and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas... ...a brilliant reality! the ink business premier card from chase for business. make more of what's yours.

♪ at morgan stanley, old school hard work meets bold new thinking. ♪ at 87 years old, we still see the world with the wonder of new eyes, helping you discover untapped possibilities and relentlessly working with you to make them real. old school grit. new world ideas. morgan stanley.

how can you sleep on such a firm setting? gab, mine is almost the same as yours. almost... just another word for not as good as mine. save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed. plus, special financing and free home delivery when you add any base. only at sleep number. ♪ allergies don't have to be scary. (screaming) defeat allergy headaches fast with new flonase headache and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good!

a trial date is set for donald trump. march 25th, 2024. in other words, right the middle of a presidential primary season. trump will trade the campaign trail for a new york courtroom to stand trial in the stormy daniels hush-money case. in court today, the judge made sure that the former president knew the rules about what he can and cannot say. whether he's standing on a campaign trail stage or sitting in front of a tv camera, a decision trump is already saying violates his free speech and calling election interference. and joining the table is one of trump's attorneys and the first impeachment trial, robert ray, the former head of the office of independent counsel. maggie, i want to start with the timing here because this is very significant. we knew that this could land smack dab the middle of the next presidential campaign.

now we know it is right after super tuesday happens. very significant time for trump. >> yeah. look, this is not the timing the trump team wanted to see. now, remember, there will be a lot of pretrial motions and effort to get these trials dismissed. assuming they go ahead, this is when the trial is. i have no idea how this plays politically. we certainly know let alone the bigger issue is a criminal trial and the former president does not want to be convicted. we know that it has helped him this indictment in the primary so far. we don't know how further legal issues will play out for him, although there seemed to be a galvanizing effect with his base. i don't know that this will be helpful to him the middle of, you know, let's say that he is ahead in the republican primary at that point. this is not going to be helpful for him as it's turning to a general election if this is still an on going sluggish primary fight. this will galvanize his base

further. it will not bring a lot of people undecided, i suspect, to his side. but mostly what it is an element of chaos that we can't tell how this plays out. >> the other element of chaos is donald trump himself. the judge basically informed him of what the expectations were in terms of what he was supposed to -- what he is able to say and what he is not. how do you think that that's going to play out in terms of trump following those rules? i mean, you know him well as a former defense attorney for him. >> look, i think the judge made clear that he's taking great pains to not interfere with the former president's ability to campaign actively and fully. the protective order is narrow information shared as part of discovery from the government to mr. trump's lawyers. and the client, in this case the former president, has access to those materials but is instructed under pain of penalty for contempt not to share that

with the public. you know, it's hard to answer your questions in a vacuum. i don't know what will be turned over. i know what the intention is. the government doesn't want there to be any adverse impact on any of its witnesses before trial. i would think there's probably enough room to maneuver that the president will not run afoul of the protective order, but who knows. and there's also, of course, always recourse to go back to the judge and say there's something i do want to talk about and it's arguably covered by the protective order and the lawyers will seek some relief whether the prosecution chooses to do that or whether mr. trump intends to do that. >> trump is just not the type of person to -- he doesn't read like the fine print on some of this stuff. i think that's part of the problem if you're someone representing him. when we're talking about podium, in front of a rally, tens of thousands of people cheering him on and egging him on. you're talking about tv

interviews, debate stage, town hall stage, can he stay in line? >> absolutely not. he's proven that. he'll open his mouth and say whatever he wants to say and think that he is above the law. and those words can't come back to hurt him. and that's what actually people love about him, the ones who still support, i must add. so look, playing the victim card has really worked for mr. trump. all this time you see people coming out from republican side saying we're not victims. yesterday senator tim scott saying we choose victory over vick tim hood yet trump plays the victim card and gets sympathy boost. he will get the sympathy boost politically speaking. people will say, look, the system is coming after him. and they're mistreating him. he was a person in power. they're going after him. if that i can go after him, they can go after me. >> maggie raised the possibility, robert, this could end even before a trial could end in a dismissal of the charges. what do you think are the prospects? >> well, there will be full set of motions that will be filed in

the -- before the state court and of course in june there is the first substantive appearance in federal court with regard to removal. i know some have characterized that as a long shot. i have to say that i've looked at the federal removal statute for criminal cases. it's broad enough to encompass things like what the former president is arguing that he has federal defenses in connection with the state prosecution. it will be interesting to see how a federal judge handles that. and no matter who wins or loses on that decision, it is going to be appealed. and on something this significant you can expect, like everything else that's involved, the former president, it's not going to be a single trip to the district court. it will go to the court of appeals and likely will be something that the supreme court may take a look at. so, we say trial date in march of 2024. that suggests like it's one day. it won't be one day. it will be a several-week trial. the notion that the former president will be on trial the

middle of campaign, i'll believe it when i see it. the great likelihood in my view is that that's never going to happen. but we'll see. >> he was just on trial in a civil case. so i just want to make the point that we have some precedent for it. >> just to put a final touch on this, one thing donald trump is very good at is making lemonade out of lemons. any time he is in a criminal situation, in a court situation, the fbi raid, he will find a way to make this a fundraising opportunity, a merchandise opportunity. so don't expect donald trump to hide away from this. he will absolutely leverage this as part of his campaign. the media will follow it. we saw this when he had his indictment a few weeks ago. there will be wall to wall coverage of this thing and that will drown out the other candidates. >> it will. we are seeing real world consequences with him legally that we haven't seen before. he was found liable in the civil trial. the judge's ruling today i think is not insignificant. he does fear, i think, certain legal consequences more than others.

>> so we just got word that trump's lawyers have requested a meeting with attorney general garland in that classified documents case. this is the special counsel case that maggie, you have said is one of the ones that he is the most concerned about. what do you make of that? >> i make they assume there will be a charging decision near because all signs are that these cases both the january 6th investigations and the documents investigation case are wrapping up or coming close to wrapping p up and want to get in their say before anything might happen. i don't know how this will be received or taken. yes, it speaks to the fact that they are taking this incredibly seriously and want to deal with it. >> it also means it's decision ultimately not with standing the special counsel regulations that is one that the attorney general himself has to make, which raises in the context of an active political campaign with two announced candidates that you are having the attorney general appointed by one presidential candidate making a charging decision in connection with a criminal case as to a

political candidate for the other party. it raises the question therefore which i think the lawyers are teeing up one of the questions i think will be out there eventually before too long is the question of recusal. >> they want to present this meeting -- our understanding is that they want to present arguments for why he should not be indicted. how successful do you think that can be? >> well, you know, it often can be successful. but you know, understand this is an unusual situation. in the ordinary course you would expect the attorney general -- unless there's some extraordinary reason not to, to endorse the charging decision of the special counsel. it suggests to me that i think they think the special counsel's decision is a fore gone conclusion which means the only avenue left to pursue is whether or not the attorney general will authorize the prosecution. that is a significant moment in american history. i mean, i guess maybe there's lots of significant moments, but it is a significant moment and as i have confronted in my own

past, the decision about whether or not to charge a sitting or former president of the united states is not a little deal. there are only two people in the united states who are subject to election by all the people. the president and the vice president. and he's a candidate now for office. again that raises some substantial questions. >> yeah. we could be, as a country, on the cusp of a very significant series of decisions being made by this justice department as it relates to former president donald trump. sara, maggie, robert and reena, thank you very much for all of that. coming up next for us, debt deadlock. just nine days until a possible default and still no deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling. progressives like congress woman alexandria ocasio-cortez are warning the president not to budge. and she joins me live next. ♪ helping them achieve financial freedom.m. we're investiting for our cliens in the projects that power our economy.

from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive. with new scope squeez mouthwash concentrate, just add water. squeez to control the strength of your mouthwash. and find a zone all your own. ♪ ♪ scope squeez. ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ( ♪ ) with the push of a button, constant contact's ai tools help you know what to say, even when you don't. hi! constant contact. helping the small stand tall. ♪ pets are raw. raw curiosity. raw love. raw energy. no dog ever thought, “what if someone sees me like this?” no cat ever asked permission

before taking up residence on your keyboard. raw is all pets are, and raw is all they need. raw attention. raw affection. and raw food. like what we make here at stella & chewy's.

let's race! put your foot on the pedal for speed. yeah! reliability. it's showtime. here we go. and power. introducing the xfinity 10g network. that was awesome. super-fast internet today. with even faster speeds tomorrow. you might wanna buckle up. only from xfinity. the future starts now.

house speaker kevin mccarthy telling republicans he's, quote, nowhere near a deal with the white house. and each day that we go without one, america gets closer to not being able to pay its bills. a catastrophic possibility for the world economy. and it would be devastating for countless americans. now negotiators, they are meeting like they did today at the capitol, but there are no talks scheduled between mccarthy and president biden directly. but joining me now to discuss all of this is representative alexandria ocasio-cortez a democrat from new york. congress woman, welcome to the program. thanks for joining us. i want to get straight to the specifics because we are getting close to a decision point here. our reporting is that republicans have essentially ruled out tax increases.

they've also ruled out defense cuts. are you comfortable with the biden administration coming to an agreement if those are part of the terms? >> you know, i think one of the things that is indicated by the information that you just shared is that for all this talk about negotiations, republicans are not negotiating at all. they, in fact, republican matt gaetz expressed in a party meeting today that this is, in fact, a hostage situation. and i want to be clear about what the republican party is taking hostage. it is not democrats. it is the entire u.s. economy. and for them to have this situation and try to use it in unprecedented move of taking the entire u.s. economy hostage in order to secure cuts to veteran's health care, to medicare, medicaid potentially or just threaten all of those

services in the event of a default is unprecedented. it is extreme. and it is not acceptable. >> but what you're saying, mine, there is a negotiation happening. the white house is at the table. and in order to get an agreement that will pass the house and the senate, it sounds like there are going to have to be cuts. i'm wondering what are you and other democrats willing to accept in terms of cuts that you think the white house can put on the table? >> well, i think what's important to add context to the situation is that while the white house is at the table, what does seem to be a big question mark in the frame of negotiation is that there have been offers on how to reduce the debt ratio, offers on how to address the deficit and the white house has offered revenue raisers. that is not too unlike what we saw happen during the obama

administration. okay. if we're serious about addressing this debt issue or serious about addressing a deficit issue, we have to address the primary drivers of the u.s. debt ratio, which are the 2017 trump tax cuts, including tax cuts on things like yachts and private jets. and in order for there to be any sort of claim to a negotiation, there has to be a give and take. and right now what kevin mccarthy and the republican party are doing is only going further and further to the right and more and more extreme in their proposals. and that -- it is actually their refusal to negotiate despite there being conversations that is contributing to this situation. >> so am i hearing you -- >> i think right now the focus needs to -- >> am i hearing you say that you believe that tax increases, rolling back perhaps the tax cuts from 2017, needs to be part of the deal? >> if there is not a clean debt

limit raise, then that should absolutely be part of a negotiation. a deal -- the basic function of any deal is that one party may get one thing and another party may get another. and if revenue raisers are not a part of that conversation, the question that we need to ask is what actual deal is even being proposed. and it is precisely because the republican caucus refuses to concede any single point to the white house that we are in the situation that we are. and that -- it goes beyond the point that even president trump said during his administration that using the debt limit as a leverage point or negotiating tool is absolutely ludicrous and unacceptable because the stakes are simply too high. to hold the u.s. economy hostage, particularly if the republican evaluation is a cynical one saying if we tank

the economy, we'll expect people to blame the president is reckless. it's irresponsible. it will hurt rural communities. it will hurt urban communities. it will hurt seniors. it will hurt kids enrolling in head start. all of these things could grind to a halt. and it could also include essential infrastructure issues like air traffic controllers. the stakes of a deficit -- the stakes of a default cannot be understated. the chaos that would ensue and the impact on people's everyday lives would likely be immediate. it is one of the reasons why we need to take default off the table and have republicans agree to raise the debt limit because frankly this is a very serious situation that nobody wants. this is not a partisan issue at all. >> i hear what you're saying about the damage that can be done from a default, but again, the white house, they are at the table now. they are discussing a deal that

would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for a budget agreement that probably will rely on cuts. do you think that that is a negotiation that the white house should be engaged in right now? and if not, how are we going to avoid a default in less than nine days now? >> personally i do not believe that cuts are acceptable to wide parts of much of the democratic party. and we also need to look at the stake of -- stake holders at the table. there is the white house and their responsibility, but also kevin mccarthy does not have the votes necessary to pass such a draconian deal in the house. and that is essentially one of the key dynamics here that we have to highlight. mccarthy deal and what kevin mccarthy is proposing cannot

presently pass the house nor are we -- and we are also seeing indications from many in the senate which has a senate democratic majority that by and large a deal may not be able to pass there. and so instead of cuts, you know, i think we really need to focus on the stakes and this being a negotiation to begin with. the stakes are simply far too high for us to be playing with the fates of so many people in this country. >> so do you think president biden should walk away from the table right now? >> i think what we're seeing here is if we get down to the basic math is that democrats filed a discharge petition on friday to raise the debt limit that received north of 200 votes. you need 218 in order for us to really be able to solve this situation. >> the moderate republicans who could join in with you rejected that proposal.

so that is also going nowhere as well. >> uh-huh. i believe that right now if we are at an impasse in both of these -- in both of these a arenas, our responsibility is to breakthrough that impasse. so we are either going to have to breakthrough an impasse of kevin mccarthy being short of 50 votes or democrats being short of 5 or 6 votes. and i believe it's very important that we try to pursue the path of least resistance. right now we are -- the path of least resistance is the path of least votes. i understand that there may be some moderate republicans that would balk at that. but there are 18 republicans in the house that are in biden districts, that the president carried by multiple points. and their constituents do not want to see them associate or amplify in the most extreme elements of their party and

their districts and constituencies do want to see them really promote and contribute to the country descending into default. and so right now i think the focus is on those 18. >> was ate mistake for democrats not to eliminate the debt ceiling when your partied that majority in the house in 2011 or in 2012? >> i mean, i was very supportive of us addressing this issue prior to january during the lame duck period. there are other perspectives that day we may not have had the votes. i believe that we could have at least attempted to pass that -- pass similar measures in the house and at least put it at the senate's feet so that they could make that decision. but right now we are in the moment that we are in right now. and we have to focus on solving the issue before us. >> and real quick before you go, june 1st. do you believe that that is the drop-dead deadline here? we heard some republicans call

that into question. >> you know, i see republicans calling it into question. they have not really provided evidence for that. i am very concerned that house republicans and republicans in general are not taking seriously the guidance from the treasury and from other places. we do not have evidence that a june 1st deadline is not -- does not have integrity. we are hearing from experts across the country, from the treasury secretary on down that june 1st is the date. and my question would be to any folks that would question that is are you really willing to risk the entire economy on a hunch that experts in this field might be somehow wrong? i think the stakes are far too high and that the republican party is dramatically underestimating the chaos and

the damage. we are talking about social security checks potentially being interrupted, medicare payments potentially being interrupted, head start and so on. >> yeah. that's all very much at risk as we go forward, critical few days ahead. congress woman alexandria ocasio-cortez, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> thank you. profound risk of harm for kids. that is how the u.s. surgeon general is labeling social media. what he's learned that prompted him to issue the stark warning is coming up next. plus, more on the news just in. donald trump's lawyers requesting a meeting with the attorney general in the documents case on why they believe that he should not be indicted. that's next.

sam was 8 when we got him. giving him fresh food where you know the ingredients and you know what's in it has absotely helped him. taking care of him really important... because even if sam lives to 20, it won't be long enough. i will be a travel influencer... hey, i thought you were on vacation? it's too expensive. use priceline, they've got deals no one else has. what about work? i got you. looking great you guys! ♪ go to your happy price ♪ ♪ priceline ♪ i was born on the south side of chicago. it has been a long road, but now i'm working for schwab. i love to help people understand the world through their lens and invest accordingly. you can call us christmas eve at four o'clock in the morning.

we're gonna always make sure that you have all of the financial tools and support to secure your financial future. that means a lot for my community and for every community. ♪

a sobering new advisory from the surgeon general about the impact of social media on children's health. dr. vivek murthy said that social media use presents a profound use of harm for kids and his new advisory calls for more research on the impact which is widespread, considering that up to 95% of kids ages 13 through 17 report using social media. a third say that they use it almost constantly. and the advisory says that

nearly 40% of kids age 8 to 12 are on social media platforms. the surgeon general says that he is concerned that social media is contributing to the harms that these kids are experiencing the middle of this current mental health crisis. dr. murthy says that social media companies should be required to operate by the safety standards to protect children. >> it is urgent that we take action to protect our kids and to make sure that their experience on social media is safe. we've done that for other products that kids use, for medications, for cars and we haven't asked parents to go inspect the car themselves and make sure it's safe. we have set safety standards and required manufacturers to implement and abide by those standards. we have to do the same thing here. >> joining me now to discuss is francis hogan, advocate for accountability and transparency in social media and also the whistleblower who revealed facebook's practices that she says the company knew were

harmful to kids and to adult users. frances, thank you for joining us. you just heard what the surgeon general just said there. he's likening this to regulation on medications, regulation on cars that are designed to protect users. so, what accountability and liability even do these social media companies have for the actual harm that they might be causing to children and families? >> today social media companies operate under something called section 230, which gives them basically blanket immunity for the content they deliver to users. right now we need to have a conversation around how we can hold them accountable for the larger product context, the experiences that they introduce and not just the content. i'll give you an example. one of the things that the surgeon general flagged was that one third of adolescents say they're using social media until midnight or later most weeknights. right now we have no accountability for these companies to say, hey, this is a

real practical way you could be making these products safer. give kids real tools that help them unplug at night. help give parents real ways of setting boundaries in ways can help make sure their kids are safe online. >> these are some issues that have been raised for a long time. you have been so public in many of them. is there any evidence out there that social media companies are taking them seriously, acting on what is already out there, what we already know and fixing their platforms? >> right now the social media companies are locked in a real challenge because of any of them are first movers on safety, they risk the other social media platforms won't follow and lose the next generation of customers. companies know that they can be making these products safer in real ways, but instead of shipping real controls for parents, real tools for kids to manage their own use, they ship a lot of half measures and refuse to give us any data on

whether or not these interventions are effective or whether or not they're used. we need to have mandated transparency so we can work together with these companies to ensure that they're creating experiences that are safe for our children. >> any evidence that lawmakers are going to take up that challenge or are they asleep at the wheel here as this is unfolding? >> it's really scary right now. there's -- even the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of platform accountability, something called plata is struggling to get through congress. they're having trouble getting enough sponsors or make movement to actually passing this bill. when we struggle to pass laws that are basic as should researchers be safe from being sued by platforms when they uncover the dirty laundry of the platforms, i think we really need to ask questions to our representatives. i encourage people to call representatives and say what are you doing to demand the public gets to ask questions about these platforms and get answers.

because today we can't even get very basic bills through congress. >> all right, frances hogan, thank you very much for all of that. coming up next, south carolina takes a major step tonight towards a statewide ban on most abortions. my next guest is a republican who filibustered that bill and she'll explain why and we'll get her reaction to its passage next. ♪ with new scope squeez mouthwash concentrate, just add water. squeez to control the strength of your mouthwash. and find a zone all your own. ♪ ♪ scope squeez. (water splashing) hey, dad... hum... what's the ocean like? ♪ are there animals living underwater?

♪ is the ocean warm? yeah, it can be very warm. ♪ you were made to remember some days forever. we were made to help you find the best way there. ♪ we know patients are more than their disease. that's why, at novo nordisk, we've spent a hundred years developing treatments to help unlock humanity's full potential. these are the greats: people living with, thriving with — not held back by — disease. they motivate us to fight diabetes and obesity, rare diseases and cardiovascular conditions, for generations to come. so, everyone can meet their moment.

because your disease doesn't define you. so, what will? novo nordisk. driving change. martial arts is my passion. i work out whenever i can. but with my moderate- to-severe eczema, it can be tough. my skin was so uncomfortable. the itching was so bad. now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within.

it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so adults can have long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a powerful thing. ask your eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal your skin from within.

-- along the procedure with a very limited exceptions. now keep in mind, many women are not even aware that they are pregnant, by six weeks. and the bill, known as the fetal heartbeat and protection from abortion act, passed by a vote of 27 to 19, it now heads to the governor, who has already promised to sign it into law. the states five women, known as the sister senators, adamantly approached the final version of this legislation. that group includes my next guest, republican -- voted for the bill back in february, but she now says that the house made dramatic changes

that she does not support. state senator, thank you for joining me here tonight. just a few hours after this has passed. can you tell us, why did you go from once supporting a six-week ban, to not supporting it in this iteration? >> well, i think a better question is why did the south carolina house decided to completely change it? i didn't change, they did it. they struck the bill, it sort of their own language, their own definition. extra. whereas fact-finding clauses, led to be problematic for the south carolina supreme court. it is simply not the same bill. i did not support it. >> can you tell us, do you support banning abortion at six weeks? >> no, ma'am. i don't. >> one? >> i've come to realize in the

process of all of this, women really don't know. they just don't know. in most cases. that they're even pregnant. that seems to be a sticking point for a lot of people. attorney why. it's a biological fact. it's absolutely true. >> it sounds like you've had a bit of a change of heart in this process, is that fair to say? >> not exactly. the south carolina, i don't think anyone is happy about the number of people coming into our state to have abortions. i'm against abortion, however, of a pragmatic politician. and i understand that there are gray areas in the world. i'm trying to best represent most of south carolinians, and the fact is, south carolina does not won an all abortion ban. >> do you think that these

efforts to strongly restrict abortion, like this one, will hurt your republican party in the future? >> this is the question that has been posed to me a number of times. i think this is the opportunity, please, let's learn from this. and work together, understand each other more, respect each other more. that's been my mantra, this whole process is to not burn bridges. and be able to come out the other side of all this as colleagues who can still work together. that goes across the republican party as well. >> all right, the senator, thank you very much for joining us tonight. just ahead on cnn tonight, lebron james fueling speculation about his future after los angeles lakers got swept by the denver nuggets. is the nba star heading toward retirement? alison camerota will take that up, next.

the chase ink business premier card is made for people like sam who make...? ...everyday products... ...designed smarter. like a smartoffee grinder - that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that... ...i need a breakthr. like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more... plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases! and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas... ...a brilliant reality! the ink business premier card from chase for business. make more of what's yours. i'm christine mahon. i'm retired from public health nursing and from the army reserve.

my retirement funds allow me to enjoy what i love to do. as long as you can make an impact, why stop?

my cholesterol is borderline. so i take garlique to help maintain healthy cholesterol safely and naturally. and it's odor free. i'm taking charge of my cholesterol with garlique.

the u.s. territory of guam is bracing for what could be a direct hit from a monster typhoon. the strongest storm to hit in more than 60 years. right now, typhoon -- has winds of 140 miles per hour. that's the equivalent of a category four hurricane. it is expected to make landfall sometime around 2 am eastern time tomorrow. the worst conditions will begin around midnight. forecasters warn, the storm is bringing a triple threat of devastation of torrential rainfall, catastrophic winds, and storm surge. helping everyone stay safe, there thank you for joining us tonight. cnn tonight with alison camerota starts right now. alison? hi. hi abby, thank you very much, i'm alison camerota, welcome to cnn tonight. the legal issues are piling up for donald trump. here's the current status.