know, hey. i did my job that day. mission accomplished. >> reporter: rosa flores, cnn, houston. >> and cnn "this morning" continues right now. did donald trump privately admit that he lost the election? >> jared kushner before the grand jury. hope hicks before the grand jury. they were asked if they ever heard trump knew he lost the election. >> that's by far the hardest thing for a prosecutor to do. >> house republicans add restrictions on abortion access, but must pass a defense bill. >> if we want to show america we can come together, and we care about women, we need to stop being [ bleep ] to women. >> this does not support our troops. it's making women into political pawns so republicans can advance their extremist agenda.

>> i cannot believe it how far apart we are on so many things. hollywood essentially came to a complete halt after sag announced they were going to go on strike. >> the first major walkout in more than ho years. >> they're making it more and more difficult to just make a living. >> there's a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic. >> record-high temperatures, dangerous scorching and no sign of relief. >> there is a very dangerous heat wave. it is fatal. >> since we have been recording heat-related deaths back in 2006, this is the highest number we've seen. >> over the next week, nearly 70% of all americans will see temperatures at or above 90 degrees. the women's final at wimbledon is now set. >> congratulations. >> she's a great, great player, and i've already lost two times to her this year. so going for my revenge again i guess.

it's working. good friday morning, everybody. pamela brown back with me. >> great to be here. >> we have a number of stories including that strike of not just the writers, but the actors and directors as well. they're going for huge news for what's going to be on your tv, but we want to start this hour with the latest member of former president trump's inner circle to testify before the grand jury investigating his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. trump's very own son-in-law, jared kushner. sources say some of the questions federal prosecutors asked kushner were about whether trump was told he lost the election. several key trump white house officials from low level aides to former vice president mike pence have testified before the grand jury already. >> former trump white house aide hope hicks also testified early last month. any possible indictments from the probe will likely rely at least partly on what these individuals have said under oath and behind closed doors.

let's get to kaitlyn polantz with more. what are we learning about this testimony? >> it didn't take place that long ago which is notable because this investigation has been going on for some time, and there have been a lot of witnesses and then they bring jared kushner and hope hicks into the grand jury in june. two people who told their stories already under oath to the house select committee, and so their testimony and what they would say was already out there. now the prosecutors are replicating it, and this crucial piece of it is that the people that are very close to trump were being told by sources like kushner, like hicks, they are being asked about how trump was being told he lost the election. so that piece is something that for some reason, the prosecutors really want the grand jury to hear that. >> kaitlyn, while this is happening, we had the special counsel respond to trump's legal request to postpone the other

investigation related to the classified documents case. what did they say? >> right now in that case, there's a fight brewing over the trial date. the justice department wants one in december. that might be a little early. that's just the end of this year. trump's team wants the case to be postponed indefinitely because he's running for president and they have a couple of other reasons there thewant time to go through things, but the justice depa came back swinging pretty hard at trump's defense people saying that there's no basis in law or fact to postpone this case indefinitely. they want to get to trial very quickly here or as quickly as they can, and there's a hearing on tuesday when the judge is going to see both of the parties for the very first time. there is a possibility she could want to address this at that time, and a big question that she's going to have to determine is how do you seat a jury for a man who's running for president? trump's team says, you just can't while he's running for president. there's no way to do it. the justice department says, no. we have mechanisms in the system

to make sure that a fair jury is chosen for anyone who's on trial. >> kaitlyn to polantz, thank yoo much. joining us is the deputy attorney general under george h.w. bush, donald ayer. this lays out a path to indicting former donald trump in the 2020 election. thanks so much for coming to talk a us. kaitlyn made the point that these interviews with hope hicks and jared kushner, and the former president's son-in-law just happened in june. what does that tell you about where this investigation stands, and what jack smith might be thinking? especially when it comes to that key question of trump acknowledging he lost. >> well, i think -- i think it's hard first of all to -- you want to be careful in speculating about that, but what seems to me to be likely is that he is getting pretty near the end of

his -- of what he needs to do to feel he's got the case pulled together and ready to go, and there already is -- as y'all have said already, there are good, strong pieces of evidence that indicate that he -- that trump actually did know, and so here are people, members of his family, people very close to him, who probably have insights into that as well. so i think what jack smith is doing probably here is trying to complete the record before the grand jury with sworn testimony that can be added to the extent it's necessary, the showing that's already there that trump knew, that he had lost the election. >> can i ask you? we were talking about this last hour. it's a question we're all trying to figure out. how much does intent actually matter here? >> well, i think the memo that we've written is a memo that, you know, is trying to come forward with a fairly concise and straight forward and simple

way that the case could move quickly, and actually the charges as a formal matter, the charges that we're suggesting bringing and focusing on don't literally as a matter of legal requirement demand that he knew he had lost. i think as a practical matter, however, to bring a criminal case for january 6th against trump, the practical reality is you're going to have to be able to show that trump knew he lost. he has to fundamentally know that what he's doing is something that was completely wrong and completely improper at that fundamental level. so i think jack smith must be thinking that even though it may not be technically legally required to show trump knew he lost, practically speaking, it is necessary. >> it's interesting just reading this memo. you talk about how the statute of inciting an insurrection is implicated here, but you note the doj would do that only with

extreme caution. why is that? >> i think the reason mainly is the statute is clearly on its face what's required, but it's not been used since the civil war, and so it's a new thing, and we make the argument that it fits like a glove what trump did, and it also makes it possible to make that allegation of insurrection against him in a way that you could actually make the case without getting caught up in the first amendment issues which we think righteously the government would prevail on, related to the speech he gave on them all. you can tell in the story in terms of trump summoning, and leaving out some words that had to do with the mall, and then pence doing his job and sitting there for 187 minutes and doing nothing and really lending support. he participated in an

insurrection, and supported it, and i think that's kind of the idea that we're suggesting in the memo. >> i want to go over three pillars of the memo. this is including the fake election scheme, certifying the election, and giving aid or comfort to insurrectionists. how are you going to come up with those three? more broadly, what was the genesis of putting this together? are you trying to make sure jack smith sees this or inform the public? >> i don't think we can tell jack smith how to prosecute a case. i think this is one of a number of efforts. you've seen a number of these. barbara mcquaid did one a while ago, and some others including norm eisen and myself and others were involved in one a year or so ago, actually -- more than a year ago, back before the hearings. i think the goal mainly is focused on the public. i think there's a lot of feeling

that -- of overwhelming. the overwhelming nature of the evidence. how in the world can you bring a case like this? so this is an effort to say, you can do it. you break it into bite-sized pieces, and you sort of recognize the phases of what trump was involved in, and you prove that case, and then there are specific acts. we're focusing significantly on the phony elector schemes in seven states and people involved in those and trump's key role in all of that, and that becomes, you know, the basis for false claim allegations. >> right, and let me just ask you on that in particular, and on the question of state of mind, because, you know, his -- just trying to channel what his lawyers would argue. they would argue that, no, actually my client did believe that the election was stolen from him. now of course, there was plenty of evidence that he did acknowledge he lost, but there's also plenty of evidence that advisers were telling him that he did not lose, and that the

false certification push to have these fake electors was in case, you know, it fell through, and he actually did win, and they would need these electors to come forward if, in fact, it was proven that the election was stolen. couldn't they make that argument? >> i think trump is probably likely to make that argument, but i mean, i think when you look at the record and we've laid it out, a pretty good summary of what that evidence is, the evidence really is overwhelming, that trump knew he had lost. he said it to a bunch of people. he may have said it to his family members, and so he knew he had lost, and he went ahead and did these things, and the thing that's so -- i think significant here is he didn't just do something once. he acted repeatedly, extensively, in multiple s set settings, and part of what's involved here is he calls these people in the states, they calls raffensperger and people in arizona and calls people and

tries to get them to not do their jobs. that's part of phase one or act one as we call it of basically trying to do things to overturn the election, and, you know, the key thing is how can jack smith and the prosecutors put together a story that involves the true facts that has specific allegations that are provable and not too complicated? can't be too complicated or we're all going to be overwhelmed and maybe it never gets to trial. so that's the -- that's the challenge that jack smith has. he has, you know, it's like drinking out of a fire hose. there's -- there's just too much evidence to easily be able to streamline and simplify, and that's what needs to be done here. >> i'm thinking back to the january 6th committee, that huge report. the release of everything they collected. >> they did such a good job. he di they did such a good job of telling the story and boiling it down for the public, and i think they -- i think they are a good

guide and a lead in how to do this, and now our memo is an effort to kind of, you know, take that a step further and say, this could be done in a trial that could be done within a year. >> former deputy attorney general, thank you so much for offering your perspective. also happening this morning, tv and movie production brought to a grinding halt. the sag actor union representing actors going on strike, joining writers who walked off the job in may. things like technology, especially artificial intelligence, cnn sara fisher joins us live now, and sara, that's the thing that of all the elements here and they're all critical to the negotiations that are ongoing to the extent they are at this point, it's the ai issue, and i think the central nature of it. what exactly are actors concerned about, and how do they want it addressed? >> it's a huge issue, phil, and what the studios are trying to

say is that an actor or somebody that's working in the background, thinking about a stunt double, et cetera, could have their image be screened and any time it's used after that, the studio would maintain the name, image, and likeness meaning they could benefit and monetize that person's, you know, image, but the person who is getting actually their image scanned would only get paid for that one day. that's the big sticking point the actors are frustrated about. it's a huge issue because ai is taking over every single industry, not just hollywood, be you the news media, and all sorts of things. in hollywood itself, it's coming at a time where a lot of people feel they are not getting paid enough already. the fact they're not going to be able to make money off of their name, image, and likeness only after they do this scan is what's really this big sticking point and coming down to. >> so if nobody is working, i mean, what happens to the movies and production? what happens to our favorite shows? that's what we're all wondering. >> it's not looking pretty, pam. before when we had the writers

strike, that canceled out a lot of the faulty de-programming. a lot of people can expect their favorite shows to be off the air. it take a hit at the movie industry. you know, the big concern is that with this proposal, the actors are not going to be able to promote a lot of their new films if they're on strike. that means they can't attend red carpet events. they can't attend press tours and you have to be wondering, do i want to push my movies further out along the schedule because a&m not going to be able to do any big promotion around them? that's probably one of the big concerns right now. >> that was what i wanted to ask you because we have two movies in particular that are about to come out that are two of the highest profile movies of the summer, "oppemheimer," and "the barbie movie", and the cast of "oppemheimer" walked out of the premiere before the screening started. tell us about that. >> they had a plan that was interesting, telling "variety" they had discussed it as a cast.

they were a few hours ahe ad of time, and they were able to plan what to do if the strike was organized. they said, we will not attend the screenings and that's exactly what they did. the big thing to remember here is that "oppemheimer" and "barbie," two of the major hits have had months to promote that film. you've seen margot robbie everywhere in her barbie outfits. can you imagine a film coming up where you don't have actors to promote it? that's why this is going to be a very big deal for hollywood. >> absolutely. great reporting. thank you. >> it's not the ones like them. they have been reporting it, right? >> that was a message that was sent. they've done the work. >> it's the other ones coming out where they can't promote. new overnight, culture war fights take center stage in a house vote for a normally bipartisan defense policy bill. we'll speak to mark esper about that next. and vladimir putin speaking out about the wagner group following its rebellion inside of russia.

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welcome back. happening overnight, a critical defense bill has become the latest battleground in culture wars. house republicans narrowly passed controversial changes to the defense authorization bill which has been a pillar up to this point. it serves as the cornerstone of u.s. defense policy. the measures included eliminating the university programs, restricting abortion access in the military, and ending hormone treatments for transgender troops. there was a lot of heated debate on the floor. >> a woke military is a weak military. >> time is wasted learning whatever new woke ideology comes out of leftist universities. >> we need to spend more time making sure we can protect the homeland and less on pronoun training and the rest of this nonsense. >> democrats are furious and vowing to a oppose the bill. the house reconvenes in a few

hours to try to get it across the finish line. joining us now, former secretary of defense under donald trump, mark esper. thank you for coming on. your reaction to the house adopting these amendments to the ndaa? >> well, good morning, folks. first of all really in some ways it's not unusual. i ran the policy shop for the house of armed services committee nearly 20 years ago or so, and clearly the country is wrestling with these cult. >> caller: -- cultural issues. both parties are torn, and it tends to come out in these situations where you see policy issu initiatives as you discussed, come out. i think at the end of the day t defense policy bill will pass this year. it has to move through the house and the senate has to do the work, and the leadership of both sides get together to work it out. it's part of the process and it's the role of the congress to sort out these types of policy

issues for the military when -- when there is divisiveness within the country. >> on that point though, look. i mean, i've covered congress for 12 years. there are always amendments. most of them are germain, but a lot of them always have ideologies, whether it's left or right, but they always have a center. that's what is different about other pieces of legislation over the last decade or so, is the house of armed services committee, which you were on always had a bipartisan approach to this, and then there was always going to be 250 to 300 members across both parties that would get together and get it across the finish line. what's different now beyond the actual text of the amendments is this is a republican-only bill at this point, and even if the senate ends up jamming them kind of on the back end which i think everybody expects, that's different. it just demonstrably is different than normal. >> i actually thought the bill came out of committee with

unanimous -- near unanimous support. maybe i'm mistaken. >> that's what i'm saying. the committee process was very much in line with what has been the process for decades. it's what happened since. >> that's right. that reflects that center that you're talking about. i mean, the bill managers are very -- the chairman and ranking members of that committees are conscious of that. they strategize about what they can get out of their committee and get to the floor knowing full well there will be a fight on the floor, and we have to see how this plays out. these are important issues, right? the country is wrestling with these issues in the wake of the supreme court decision, in the wake of, you know, the biden administration policies and, you know, like i said, the house is acting now. the senate will act, and the temperature will be turned down, but we'll see what happens. these are big issues. >> i want to ask you. our wolf blitzer interviewed secretary austin and he said tommy tuberville needs to lift the holds on senior military nominations. you and six other defense

secretaries sent a letter to senate leadership over these military holds. do you agree that this is a national security issue? >> yeah. first of all, look. i think i've said this before. senator tuberville has a legitimate policy issue he's concerned about. his constituents are concerned about, but i don't believe that uniformed military officers, particularly senior ones should be held hostage and used as political pawns and as we wrote, myself being me and the former secretaries of defense, it has a readiness, and over time can affect national security. don't use the military as political pawns and it politicizes the uniform. they don't dictate this policy. it comes out of civilian leadership and the white house. find other ways to make -- to address these issues and my view is give senator tuberville a vote in committee, on the senate floor, whatever it takes. let it be debated out, but don't take hostages.

>> i want to ask you before we let you go, we've talked often about the mutiny of the wagner group mutiny in russia. we haven't heard a lot about president putin. he said y that behind that rebellion doesn't actually oup. he said, wagner does not exist. we do not have a law for private military organizations. it does not exist. what he's saying about the law is factually inaccurate despite what they say. the bigger question right now is what do you make of him saying wagner doesn't exist? it's been a critical component at least of russia's foreign policy influence for years. >> they certainly did exist during my time as secretary of defense. we were cognizant of their presence in the middle east and african countries and they are still in those places. they exist and they have been supported by putin and funded by moscow. look. i think this is -- it continues to be another evolution of how putin is trying to play this. wagner -- he needs a wagner.

maybe he changes the name. maybe this is rebranding, but he needs that foreign policy tool if you will to do what he needs to do in the middle east and africa and elsewhere. look. they have been the most effective russian unit on the battlefield in ukraine. he's still wrestling with this, and the other interesting part of it is we now know that over two dozen russian military officers, not wagner now, two dozen are either suspended, they're being detained. they're being interrogated. they have been fired. there's a lot of turmoil going on within the russian military, particularly its most senior ranks, and i think this is another interesting aspect that plays into this drama with wagner and prigozhin as well. >> really interesting to hear your perspective on this. as the former secretary of defense, mark esper, thank you. >> thank you. coming up on this friday morning, i -- >> it was completely toxic and devastating to my sense of self. >> time and time again, the academy and the institution

don't protect their people. >> our investigative team here at cnn discovered a coverup of a damning report into the coast guard's mishandling of sexual assault. now a top senator is demanding an investigation. plus -- [ speaking in a non-english language ] >> that is an all-out brawl breaking out in parliament. why it came to physical blows. n. okay. i'll work on that. save $1200 on n our most populr sleep number 360 smart bed. plus, save up to an additional $500 when you add seselect adjustable bases.

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new this morning, a brawl breaking out at kosovo's parliament. it's all caught on camera. [ speaking in a non-english language ] >> that's kosovo's prime minister who was speaking when he was interrupted by an opposition mp who threw water in his face. instantly, a fist fight ensued between the ruling party and opposition members. kos kosovo condemned the fight.

calling for an investigation into sexual assault allegations of the coast guard and it comes after cnn uncovered what the coast guard covered up, a damning report that it covered up substantiated cases of abuse and rape. lawmakers are now demanding answers. >> we failed to provide safety in an environment that every member of the coast guard deserves. >> reporter: apologizing at a hearing. >> this is disturbing and unacceptable. >> it is heartbreaking, maddening, frustrating, and untolerable. >> reporter: dozens of substantiated cases of suspected abuse and rape were found during an investigation dubbed "operation failed anchor," but they never shared that investigation even with congress.

maria cantwell saying she's asking for an investigation. >> did not notify us of this. we cannot have the media be the policeman on the beat. >> reporter: they launched their own 90-day review of what went wrong. >> full transparency and accountability in the system not just for perpetrators, but for leaders who failed to abide by the policies we have in place. >> reporter: we only looked at assault cases from the '80s to 2006, leaving a major fwap in the findings. instead of releasing the information and fostering change, coast guard officials kept it all secret until cnn called. fagan has only been commandant for a year. >> the cnn investigation started asking questions, that was when i first became aware of the totality of this. >> the coast guard has failed the victims. >> reporter: carrie is more than one of a dozen cadets who said

this happened to her. she wrote about the incident in her journal at the time saying a football player came to her room, bit my neck, and felt up my chest. >> he said he was going to come back and finish what he started and i was terrified. >> reporter: she said, had the coast guard taken action on assaults like hers decades ago, perhaps other victims would have been spared like this one, a recent graduate of the academy who says she was raped three times as a cadet. >> it was completely toxic and devastating to my sense of self. >> you have to wonder if they had released this report if they had done more to crack down on sexual assault, how your experience would have been different. >> i often find myself wondering what my future would have been like, and time and time again, the academy and the institution don't protect their people. it did nothing to save me when i was asking for help, and it's

devastating. >> reporter: many of the alleged perpetrators graduated from the academy and went on to high-ranking positions in the coast guard or other branches of the military. >> we've got a culture in areas that is per missive and allows sexual assaults, harassment, bullying, retaliation that's inconsistent with our core values. we have got work to do. >> admiral, it's very frustrating to hear that you think there is a culture of assault at the coast guard. >> we do not have a culture of assault in the coast guard, but we are not where we need to be. there are -- just like on a ship when you have rust, we've got pockets of rust that need to be eliminated from the organization to ensure that there's no silence around it, that every victim feels safe coming forward. >> and we should note that right after that hearing i was supposed to do a sitdown interview with the admiral, but the coast backwaguard backed ou

minute. what other leaders knew about the report? current leeaders as she said, se said she didn't know about the totality until cnn started asking questions and she did admit she knew some about it. the obvious follow-up question is if you knew some about it, why didn't you follow up? why didn't you at that time try to understand the totality? why didn't you at that time brief congress? it's also interesting because she kept noting that this was very much in the past, right? this is the past. we're in a new era in the coast guard academy, but we spoke to at least six cadets who say they were recently sexually assaulted and you heard the one who was in shadow. she said she felt like she was the one who was punished and the predators who sexually assaulted her went on to thrive and were essentially awarded. it's really interesting and hopefully we will get the opportunity to do that sitdown interview. >> i can say this because i'm

not on the story and what you are saying implicitly, totality is a lawyered and loaded word. >> it is. >> when you hear that, you realize there are questions that need to be answered. >> shoutout to our team. this was a whole team effort. >> a great team it is. the first republican debate, it's less than six weeks away. we're get a look at who qualified and who is coming up short. >> we'll speak with 2024 candidate asa hutchinson about his push to make the stage next. y that protects all ofof google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. ♪ what's considered normal fofor your cat is interesting. but if your cat isn't their quirky self lately, they may have pain from a common condition called osteothritis. w, there's solensia. solensia is a once-monthly injection to control your cat's oa pain. veterinary professionals administering solensia who are pregnant, trying to conceive or breast feedg should take extreme care

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with less than six weeks to go to the first republican presidential debate, the race to make the stage. these have met the donor threshold to qualify. donald trump, ron desantis, ni nikki haley, chris christie, they, of course, also have to have at least 1% in national polls or a combination of national and state polls and sign a pledge to support the

eventual nominee. governor asa hutchinson is among those who has reached 1%, did you not the donor threshold. this photo he held up in iowa has some suggesting he has a tough road ahead of him. the picture has gone viral because it appears to show just six people in attendance. joining us now is former arkansas governor asa hutchinson. thank you for coming on, governor. did that photo accurately depict how many people showed up? is that a sign your campaign isn't catching on? >> well, whenever you look at my campaign in iowa where i am today, we have had large crowds. we have had small crowds, and, you know, there's some benefit to meeting with a smoall group f people where they get to ask questions. let's not diminish the small things in a campaign. they add up and i enjoy the question and answer. i was in a restaurant where i

was shaking hands and i enjoy that kind of engagement here in iowa. our campaign is moving forward every day. i'm so delighted that we did meet the threshold for the polling requirement, and now we've got to meet the donor threshold so everybody can help by going to asa2024.com and help us to get to that threshold to be on the debate. >> well, and on that note, at last check you had told "the new york times" you had more than 5,000 donors. that is quite a ways from the 40,000 you need to make the debate stage next month. can you make up the difference in the next month? >> we can. it's really encouraging to me to see over 1,000 new donors every week coming into our campaign. you think about that nationally. that's a significant number. we want to escalate that so we'll make it. it's just a question of how quickly we can get there, but we want to be on that debate stage. the voters expect the candidates to be there. they don't like artificial restrictions to keep candidates off because this is the first

time to have an opportunity to really see the candidates in relation to each other, how they mix and match on the issues, where the differences are, and thousand they're going to contrast with joseph biden and his failed policies. >> some of your rivals have come up with creative ways to incentivize donations like a 10% commission. others are offering gift cards or a raffle for college tuition money. what do you think of those strategies? would you try something like this? >> well, sure, but it also just illustrates how silly this whole concept is. they're telling campaigns you've got to reach to these limits to make sure you get 40,000 donors. you can do that by your rhetoric and getting people fired up. you can do it by gimmicks, and so we're going to have to do what we need to do to get there, but i'm just pleased with the response that we get. people want the candidates on the debate stage, and i've never seen an issue about criteria for

the debate being so well known among the public. you can go to any restaurant, and they've heard about the 40,000 criteria, and so that's actually fun to see the response and how people want to help the candidates to get there. >> so it sounds like you're not a big fan of the policy, but in some ways, it's been fun to connect with voters in that way. so "the new york times" recently framed your campaign as selling bush-era republicanism, but adding that, quote, buyers are scarce. does the tepid support you have seen so far suggest that your brand of politics just may not have a home in today's republican party? >> well, actually there's been a good response, and i tell the story that the highest compliment i have had as a candidate that they say, you're normal. you know, and normal is not bad for somebody who wants to run a country without chaos, and with the experience that i bring as

head of the dea and homeland security, whenever you look at my balancing a budget as governor, lowering taxes, my work in congress. the last time we balanced the federal budget, these are leadership experiences that are critical to our nation. i've handled crisis. i understand law enforcement. i understand violence in our cities and what needs to be done, and so people yearn for solutions, and when you get into these small groups, large groups, they're talking about fentanyl. they're asking about our relationship with china. these are serious issues that we face, and it's an opportunity to make sure we can talk about the policies that bring our country forward, and normal is not bad in contrast to chaos. >> all right. let me ask you. you're going to be attending the family leadership summit in des moines today along with other candidates. iowa's governor kim reynolds is expected to sign a new law banning abortion after six weeks as early as today. we know you've signaled support

for a 15-week federal ban, so is iowa in your view, making a mistake? is it too restrictive? >> no. every state should make their determination on this, and while there's a debate about a national abortion policy, it's most likely going to continue at the state level, and i think governor kim reynolds has done a good job on this. the iowa legislature has passed that six-week bill twice now. it's a heartbeat bill that says if the unborn child hasa a detectible heartbeat, then an abortion is not viable in those circumstances. i support what iowa has done and today will be talking about that. also, i'll just say that governor reynolds being attacked by former president trump for being neutral is pretty ridiculous if you want to carry iowa, and all of those will be topics of conversation, but i support governor reynolds in

what she has done with the legislature, and protecting unborn life. >> so let me just ask you about that because i went back and read your op-ed on the 2021 transgender youth treatment ban. you vetoed that, and in the op-ed, you talk about how it was government overreach, that the government should not be intervening in people's personal lives, that these were sensitive and complex issues. how does that view square with your views on the iowa bill and also this federal ban on abortion with the republican principles you've touted about not allowing government intervention in personal, private affairs? >> well, i've consistently been pro-life throughout my public career, and whenever you're looking at life in the womb that deserves a protection. whenever you look at parental decision-making, there's certainly a level. for example, i think it's impermissible for a parent to say there ought to be transition surgery for a minor, but there's

a place that you can go too far in restricting parents' decision-making when it comes to the health care of the children. so you got -- these are areas that you've got to have serious debate and discussions on. >> what about a teenager, you know, a 14-year-old whose parents want that child to get an abortion? i mean, wouldn't that impose in the same way you're saying the transgender bill would have? >> well, first of all, you would have to comply with the law of that state. the parents would have to provide permission or would have to go to a judge for an independent review of that, and the life. in every issue we talk about, when you are talking about parents' role in health care or vaccinations or whether you are talking about the parents' role in consent for health care, these are areas that the

legislature and at the lowest level of government ought to make these determinations. to the extent possible, government should stay out, but certainly whenever you are looking at protection of life, whenever you are talking about inalterable decisions for the future, then there is a role for the state to come in and say that goes into far. i think the legislation? arkansas, it was unconstitutional and the federal judge found that. >> asa hutchinson, thank you for your dive. we'll be right back. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indndicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think b bigger. this thing, it's making me get an ice bath agagain. what do you mean? these straps are mind-blowing! they collect hundreds of data points like hrv and rem sleep, so you know all you need these strfor recovery.blowing! and you are? i'm an iestor...in invesco qqq, a fu that gives me access to... nasdaq 100 innovations lik.. wearable training optimization tech.

uh, how long are you... i'm done. i'm okay.

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open for business. the iconic doll was launched in 1959 by mattel now her own live-action film debuting next week. vanessa yurkevich has more. >> reporter: barbara roberts. you know her as barbie. parents, mattel. born in 1959, but doesn't look a day over 19. everyone had a barbie. and it was the thing to have a barbie. >> reporter: next week, barbie comes to life in a new movie with "a"-list director and attars. distributed by cnn's parent company warner bros. discovery. >> it's an incredibly important milestone for the brand. >> reporter: barbie beloved by girls and boys around the world has had ups and downs. >> back in 2014-15 we hit a low and it was a moment to reflect

in the context of, why did barbie lose relevance? she didn't reflect the physicality, look, if you will, of the world around us. >> reporter: now barbie, ken and friends have many different skin tones, ships and special traits that make them look more like us. but this year's first quarter sales of mattel slumped, down 22% from last year's. how is mattel and barbie viewed as a brand? >> there has been a lot of decline in that differentiation and relevance that keep a brand fresh and top of mind from a purchase perspective, and when that happens brands go into a place of fatigue. >> reporter: mattel hopes this new movie gives them the boost they are looking for. >> we also now have the opportunity to reach new ages and stages that ultimately from a business perspective provides huge merchandising and monetization opportunities. >> we are standing in front of barbie. >> reporter: she can't keep

movie barbie on the shelf. >> within a day, they were gone. >> reporter: have you always had barbie and ken and friend in store? >> it's a staple. it's the moms and dads who or nor nostalgic than the kids. >> reporter: but that nostalgia isn't for everyone. >> i don't know how she has evolved. like, does she have a college degree now? >> reporter: the movie has calculated for that. and for others, you are never too old for barbie. >> i am 90 years old. or i should say 90 years young. >> reporter: carroll spencer didn't grow up playing with barbies. >> this was my first project. >> reporter: but barbie wouldn't be, well, barbie without her. >> i was a designer for the barbie doll starting in 1963 for over 35 years. and i loved every minute of it. >> reporter: while carroll helped make barbie, barbie

helped make mattel. as other toys have come and gone, barbie is still strutting. >> barbie really carried mattel for a great many years. i thought if every child who played with a barbie doll as my child. so let me tell you, i have a big family. and i love it. >> reporter: and that is the magic and power of barbie. >> in 1959, when barbie debuted, she was a teen fashion model. they then evolved her into a fashion designer. but people started asking, could barbie are more than that? then we saw surgeon barbie, lawyer barbie, and pam, here we are, we are reporter barbie. >> wow! >> and, and, and here we are, we are camera woman barbie. >> i love it. >> so, you know, the evolution of barbie continues, and mattel says really barbie is a blank

canvas. she can be whatever you want her to be. >> by the way, i love reporter barbie's accessories, that necklace. >> that's what i was thinking. vanessa yurkevich, great piece. great props. thank you. we'll be right back.

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