billion. i think that he leaves a legacy of entrepreneurialism in mee me have tried to replicate. to oliver's point, the biggest thing he leaves as he steps down as executive chairman of both companies is a sense of partisan divide across america. fox news was embroiled in the defamation suit after a divisive election in which fox news was a central part. that's something that can't be forgotten about his legacy. >> thank you very much. to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." mccarthy looks the other way. the speaker avoiding public appearances with the ukrainian president zelenskyy.

we have the photo that he didn't want you to see. mccarthy in his own words, not long ago, singing a very different tune about ukraine. what's changed? breaking news. officials just holding a presser on the overturned bus carrying high school students on the way to band camp. a second person has died. dozens are injured. five in critical condition. what happened? the border surge tonight. one texas city so overwhelmed by the thousands of migrants, the mayor declared a state of emergency. traffic at one point halted because of the chaos. that mayor is my guest. good evening. pleading for aid. president zelenskyy in washington, d.c. tonight, making the case for more help to win putin's war. he got a warm welcome from president biden at the white house. >> mr. president, it's an honor to welcome you back to the white house and the oval office.

earlier this week at the u.n. general assembly, i made it clear that no nation can be truly secure in the world if, in fact, we don't stand up and defend the freedom of ukraine from the face of the russian brutality and aggression. >> zelenskyy was not given the same welcome in congress. the house speaker, kevin mccarthy, actually tried to avoid being seen with zelenskyy today. he did, actually, though pose for these photos in a closed door meeting. the only reason we know about it, the only reason this picture even is out here for you to see, is because a source inside that room shared the photos with cnn reporter annie grayer. she's why you know about this. mccarthy, he actually denied official photographers access to the room. asked repeatedly, he refused to bringing a ukraine aid package to the floor. mccarthy denied zelenskyy's request to address a joint

session of congress, something nancy pelosi allowed when she was the house speaker. today, mccarthy gave this excuse. >> what i was asking for was a joint session. given a week before. we don't have the time for a joint session. >> i mean, of course, he could have had the time if he didn't choose to send his members home for a long weekend today. in fact, mccarthy seems to have time what he wants to do. he found time to move ahead on impeachment proceeding but not to fund the government days ahead of a shutdown deadline. his lack of time for ukraine is surprising. speaker mccarthy was once highly critical of what he said was president biden's lack of support for ukraine. >> stronger and rougher and what really needs to help is, ukraine is not asking for american men and women to fight. all they are asking for is the weapons to defend themselves. if we would have taken those -- >> he said it again and again. if biden had given the weapons

sooner. mccarthy was clear, he was very clear that this was a moral imperative. why did he think, so passionately at the time, that ukraine needed to fight russia? >> i do not think anything genius about putin. i think putin is evil, a dictator. i think he is murdering people right now. >> he said it. on the facts, nothing has changed since mccarthy said that. at least 14 prominent russians have died under mysterious circumstances since putin invaded ukraine. putin's list of dead mounts daily. new video shows the sheer brutality continues unabated on the front lines. so far, an estimated 500,000, half a million human beings, both ukrainian and russians, have been killed for one reason. because vladimir putin decided to invade ukraine. why does mccarthy no longer seem

to worry about a murdering dictator? the answer appears to be this. >> the u.s. congress should refuse to authorize payment of our depleted stockpiles. >> i believe the united states position should be for peace in ukraine, not continuing to fund and provide weapons killing people every day. >> i think we need to stop what we're doing. we need to pull back. th >> those are a few of the people that hold mccarthy's career path in their hands. that appears to be what changed. i want to go to fred pleitgen on the ground in ukraine. what's the latest there? >> reporter: as zelenskyy is there in d.c. for the important talks, the russians here unleashing a massive barrage of air strikes.

the russians are using strategic bombers to fire at ukraine. here is what happened. vladimir putin unleashing attacks across ukraine as ukraine's president visits capitol hill and the white house. firefighters rushing the wounded out of the burning ruins of this hotel. the sound i heard was boom, and i saw all the windows were gone in the kitchen and bedroom, this woman said. at around 6:00 in the morning, there was an explosion. we came here, saw the windows that shattered in the shop. kyiv says the russians launched 43 cruise missiles in the early morning hours. while ukraine's air defenses

were able to shoot down most of them, some did come through. hitting energy infrastructure. kyiv saying the power grid hasn't been attacked on this scale in half a year. ukrainians are certain it will continue. we can make assumption the fuel and energy sector facility wills be targeted by the enemy, the air force spokesman says. zelenskyy urging the u.s. and its allies to provide more modern air defense systems, but ukraine also fighting back. the satellite company planet labs releasing these images after the ukrainians say they struck russian targets in occupied crimea, including a military air field. on the front liones, the ukrainians say they are making gains. this video released by a unit operating on the eastern front.

in the south, kyiv says its counteroffensive is gaining steam, un teven though the goin remains tough. despite mining and engineering equipment, as well as strong resistance from the occupiers, our units had a partial success, advanced into the depths of the enemy's defense and along the front, he says. the russians may already be gearing up for yet another large-scale campaign against ukraine's critical infrastructure. a lot going on today. a lot going on on the battlefield. we went close to the southern front line. we asked some of those fighting in this counteroffensive what they need as zelenskyy is there in washington, d.c. the answer was, ammunition. artillery ammunition. they say even as they try to advance, the russians can fire more than the ukrainians can. >> fred, thank you very much. the lead russia investigator

is on russia's wanted list. you heard mccarthy say very clearly over a year ago, putin is a dictator, murderer. he called him evil. while mccarthy's views appear to have changed, putin has not. >> if anything changed, putin has increased his obsession with eliminating anybody who crosses his way through execution, through what they call neutralization. the chief of security for the russian regime said that they managed to neutralize more than 100 foreign spies. mind you, they think of people that are part of the opposition as foreign spies. what they found out in the last year, since that change of opinion, is that there's no reputation prevents putin from going after opposition leaders, activists, journalists. only in the last six months we have investigated the suspicious poisoning of three women

journalists. there's nobody else who is interested in the demise than putin's regime. we found out that at least two other female journalists who work for important stories have been threatened and surveilled over the last several months. they have been given personal details about their movement. one had a threat message against their dog. this is all the functioning of a regime murderous. i cannot imagine how something could change their opinion in the opposite direction in the last year. >> in fact, with all the reporting that you have done -- and the extensive reporting onp list. >> indeed. there's been a long-term surveillance on me as i found out recently from law enforcement agencies in europe. there's an ongoing investigation

that probably very soon will become public. i'm not allowed to talk about that. let's not talk about me. let's talk about the hundreds of young russian journalists who are surveilled and attacked. we found is that the russian regime has infiltrated a lot of the organizations. they are embedding their killers. >> since prigozhin's death -- that one was -- there was no attempt to cover that up. that's just -- this is what we're going to do. there's been a lot of questions about putin's inare circinner c. whether that will shut up dissent or not. what's the latest you understand? >> my understanding is that it's a prisoner's dilemma. a mexican shootout. the people around him are scared that they will be purged. they are waiting for the moment to take control of their own

safety. there's a lot of anxiety around him, who will be the next to taken to house arrest and interrogated to prove their loyalty. this happened with the general. we discussed him months ago. what we see is that, he has a lot of political capital, admiration from the rank and file military, he cannot be just thrown out of a plane. he had to be taken into a position that makes him innocuous. he was sent to africa. that will not be everybody's way out. that's why i think that there's a lot of tension that may result in people just trying to prevent or pre-empt their own purging by going after putin. >> if they don't --

>> if they wait -- >> they will get killed. >> you think this could accelerate? >> it's a matter of who will have the courage to act first. >> is putin -- what is he doing with the war? you hear ukrainians talk about they want more ammunition. they say that even with the aid they received, russia simply still has more. is putin still accelerating the war? >> putin is exaccelerating the war. he has an interest in showing that even without prigozhin, he can still show progress or hold the ukrainiancounter-advanced. he has too few people to take advantage and make use of the ammunition they have in abundance. i cannot imagine him continuing through the new year without a

new moblizilization. >> he said something recently, 300,000 people he will call up. it's not a problem. do you buy it? >> it's not a problem for him. it's a problem for these people. russia lost a couple of million or maybe more young people who left the country. you are left with few people who haven't taken the offer to get high well-paid contracts with the army and will have to be reluctantly drawn into a position. an interesting report by colleagues just a couple of days showed a new called up recruit lasts four months without being -- before being killed. i don't think this is -- >> four months until death. thank you very much. next, witness list. we are just learning the list of people that one trump co-defendant wants in the georgia election interference case. the rnc chair is on there, and

cnn's van jones. van jones? two people dead, dozens of children hurt, five critically. that bus flying off a new york highway. it's terrifying and terrific. police are giving a press conference. we will share with you the latest as to what caused this. ron desantis taking on the latest covid vaccine. questioning whether the cdc can be trusted. local vaccine advocate dr. peter hotez responds. (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. (jen) so we partner with vn to take r operations to the next level. (marqu) with a custom private 5g network.

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[it's the final game, folks. this one wins the series.] struck out with the cheap seats? important things aren't worth compromising. at farmers, we offer both quality insurance and great savings. (crowd cheers) here, take mine. (farmers mnemonic) new tonight, one of trump's co-defendants showing his cards. lawyers for kenneth chesebro in a new court filing revealing a list of more than 50 potential witnesses. that's a lot of people. it includes trump allies, the rnc head, as well as trump campaign attorney matt morgan. and also others. van jones is on there. in fact, that's so unexpected it was news to van when we called him to ask him about it. chesebro is the alleged architect of the fake elector plot to help donald trump overturn the 2020 election. joining me now is ryan goodman,

our legal expert. when you looked through this witness list, you said you were surprised that chesebro would call mark morgan and it could backfire. that's the campaign attorney. right? >> right. i think he is playing with fire and that it could backfire. in morgan's testimony to the january 6 committee, it is very damaging to chesebro. he is locked into that testimony now. it's not like he will give different testimony in a trial. his testimony is that he and other trump campaign lawyers backed totally out of the slate -- the false elector scheme when they realized litigation had been exhausted. they said, give it to chesebro. if he wants to pursue it, let him do it. what he is doing is not the original plan. the plan was to make a cont contingent. they said chesebro was not into that. he went for a second plan to submit these false slate

regardless of winning litigation. that's what chesebro is in legal trouble for. ma morgan is not good for him. >> it's interesting why he would do that. does anything about the number -- fani willis said she wants 150 witnesses. i would presume there's quite an overlap between his list and her list. were you surprised to see 50 witnesses? >> yeah. it's a strange list. i wonder if it's all real. it doesn't necessarily have to end up calling them. it's a long list. some of the names, it's hard to compute what they are thinking. especially like these. they are self-destructive. >> what it is? chesebro's lawyers filed a motion trying to keep a lot of emails out of evidence. these emails that he -- emails that he wrote on behalf of trump campaign efforts to overturn the election. giuliani, eastman. chesebro is claiming this is attorney/client privilege.

this should be protected. do you think that's a statement how crucial the emails are? >> the emails are crucial. if they were to get them out of the trial, then chesebro is in a different situation. they are core. he is the legal architect of the entire plan to try to overturn the election through the false slate of electors. it wrote it all down. >> whether he is successful or not, that's crucial. will he be successful in keeping the emails out? >> i can't imagine it. even to the point of, why did they file this? part of the reason that it's hard to imagine is, one, these are part of the public record. we have access to them. they are not just part of the public record, they are part of the official record. the january 6 committee published them. it's been used in other places. the other places include the

eastman disciplinary hearing. if they are in there, why wouldn't they be entered into the trial? it's another -- this could backfire. he is almost inviting the judge to say, beyond that, will give you another reason. there's an exception to attorney/client privilege when you are involved in a crime. here as a judge, i will say there's a good likelihood you are involved in a crime. they will have that. >> none of that seems to add up. it's printed everywhere. thank you. next, new drone video of a large group of migrants detained. they are in eagle pass, texas, where there's a state of emergency because the city is so overwhelmed. the mayor is my guest. officials just holding a press conference after a bus carrying high school students flies off a new york highway. a second person has died. five are in critical condition. we will be live near the scene tonight.

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tonight, new drone video showing a large group of migrants detained by border patrol. the images are in eagle pass,

texas, along the banks of the rio grande. nearly 100 migrants today seen in the river. this is more images we have. they said they would not leave until they were let into the united states. they are a small fraction of the 6,000 who have come through eagle pass in a few days. the mayor declaring a state of emergency. the mayor of eagle pass, i appreciate your time. you have thousands of migrants in eagle pass. more coming every day. how serious is the situation tonight? >> thank you for having me. this is definitely a very serious situation for the city of eagle pass. we are a city of 28 to 30,000 people. the last couple days, we have had in excess of 5,000 people cross from mexico into eagle pass, texas. it has become a big concern for

the community. a lot of people are frustrated. a lot of these people are being let loose in the community, walking around. it's just a big concern for the city of eagle pass. not only safety-wise, but our local economy is taking a hit because we had to shut down bridge number one, our international bridge, which millions of dollars flow through this bridge. we depend on the tolls of the people that pay the bridge tolls. it's just an emergency situation. that is why as mayor for the city of eagle pass, i decided to declare a state of emergency for our city. we have never seen this before. this is not normal. we shouldn't have to be going through a situation like this in the united states or here in eagle pass, texas. >> you shouldn't. i want to emphasize what you said. this hits home. i grew up in a town about the size of yours. you are saying you got 5,000 people in a couple days coming into a city of 28 to 30,000

people. that's 15% of your population. how do you even manage such a thing? my understanding -- tell me if i'm wrong -- there's more coming where they came from. >> right. fortunately, we have the help of our state partners, dps, the governor, our federal agencies, border patrol. they are helping, and they are controlling the situation as best as they can. what's disappointing is that you have all these thousands of people just walking in without any consequence whatsoever. the word is getting out. it's kind of a come one, come all type of approach. you have all these people coming. there is no consequence. i just want to say that i think that this is unacceptable. it's a shame that we don't have immigration reform and a solution to prevent situations like this. i don't know why things have come to this. >> i don't think anybody could disagree with you when you say it's unacceptable. they come with no consequence.

that's why more come. the sheriff in your county -- he is a democrat. you are an independent. he told my colleague who has been in eagle pass in the past days that president biden is to blame for the surge. he specifically said because he created the perception that the border is open because he is more accepting the migrants than republicans. that's why you are seeing this surge. how do you feel about it? when you say that there are no consequences and that's causing more of this, does the president bear some of the responsibility for the crisis in your city? >> i will be honest with you. i believe 100% he does bear some responsibility for this crisis. i haven't heard from anybody in the administration. the president hasn't put out a statement, the vice president, i haven't heard from anybody. nobody bothered to call me, anyone in the staff saying this is the federal government, we

know what you are going through, this is our plan of action. nothing. we are on the border asking for help. this is unacceptable. just enforce the laws that are on the books. we are a nation of laws. that's all i ask for is that it shouldn't be like this. we should be able to enforce laws. if you want to come here, good, come legally. a lot of people have. it takes a lot of money and years to do it the right way. it's not fair for those people that now you have thousands of people coming in without one single consequence. it's just not fair. >> mayor, thank you very much. i appreciate your time tonight. >> absolutely. >> telling us what you are going through there. his frustration -- >> yeah. >> it's not hidden. think about what he is going through. democrats have traditionally been seen as the pro-immigration party. that's the traditional view.

it's more nuanced than that. is the crisis at the southern border -- i mentioned the democratic sheriff who said president biden bears some responsibility, the mayor an independent, biden bears some responsibility. >> do you believe immigration levels should be increased, decreased or stay the same? take the margin of increase versus decrease. you can see democrats are more pro-immigration than not. but that is down significantly, nearly in half from where we were in 2021 when it was a 38-point margin. we are seeing this across the polling nationally. democrats are becoming at least a little bit more skeptical of the immigration levels in the united states. >> one place that you are seeing that, generally, is some of the big cities, traditionally democratic cities where you have had migrants being bussed in. new york city, epicenter, where

we are sitting tonight. 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in this city since the spring. there are 19,000 children now in new york city public schools, 19,000 children, overcrowded classrooms in many cases and children who don't speak english, don't have the support that they need. there's been growing animosity over this issue between biden and the democratic mayor, eric adams. biden was here this week. they did not meet. new york is a liberal stronghold, democratic stronghold. what's happened to public opinion there? >> take a look. serious problem, the flow of migrants into new york. look statewide, 80% -- 82%. even among democrats, 72% say it's a serious problem. you can't help but turn on the local news and see that the fact that this is a story that's taken over the city of new york, taken over the state of new york. it's something that has gotten a lot of -- a lot of traditionally democratic voters very, very upset.

>> 77% of democrats. it's pretty stunning to think about it. how much is this issue hurting president biden and democrats? >> who do you trust more? who do you agree with more on immigration? go back to the beginning of last year, democrats held a one-point margin. look at it now, republicans hold a ten-point margin. as immigration levels -- people become more hawkish on immigration, i expect this is an issue that will play in the 2024 campaign. >> the numbers and the shift that you are seeing, at least at this moment in time, is stunning. thank you. next, the breaking news. two people now confirmed dead. dozens of students injured. some in critical condition after a bus going to a high school band camp overturned. we are live near the scene next. ron desantis saying he would cut funding for covid vaccines if he is elected and questioning

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tonight, breaking news. police holding a press conference about the overturned bus filled with high school students on their way to camp. this is the charter bus after it rolled down an embankment in

upstate new york. two adults are dead. dozens are injured. five students are in critical condition. this is one of six buses carrying students. students on the other buses are safe. omar, horrifying for anyone watching this. what do you know so far about what caused this bus crash? >> reporter: the most is still under investigation right now. we got some clues from state police who said preliminarily, they believe it was an issue with the front tire of the bus that may have been a contributing factor to the crash. that's part of why they have their collision reconstruction unit on the scene as we understand from state police to try and figure out more of what could have caused this. i want to give you an idea where we are. behind me is the entrance to i-84 west. that's where the bus crash actually happened, not where that truck is, but essentially

on that interstate going westbound. that's been closed for hours now as crews have been trying to figure out what happened and, of course, piece together any clues that may have been on the scene. we know that there were 44 people on this bus. 40 students, four adults. two people have been killed, both of them adults, as we understand. five in total in critical condition here. the only good news from this is that the vast majority of people on this bus, while they were injured, do appear to just be bumps and bruises. of course, as we know, two people killed and many in the community are trying to figure out how they will move forward. >> omar, what do you know about the students, the people killed, the people in critical condition? >> reporter: as we understand right now, the two that were killed, adults. the first woman, she was 43 years old. as we understand, she was a

music director at farmingdale high school, where the students were coming to go towards a band camp across the border in pennsylvania. the other adult, as we understand, she was 77 years old. they were going to band camp in pennsylvania. it was only 35 miles from where i'm standing right now. they were very close to where they were going to be. this bus was one of six that was going from farmingdale to that particular band camp. those other buses and those students were on their way back to new york as they try to process what happened here this afternoon in a matter of moments. >> omar, thank you very much. next, a man who has become a lightning rod for vaccine skeptics attacked by aaron rodgers and tucker carlson is not backing down. rupert murdoch is out. one of his sons taking the reigns. why is he stepping down now?

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wherever you go. wherever you stay. all you need is one key. earn and use rewards across expedia, hotels.com, and vrbo. tonight, ron desantis taking on covid vaccines, promising to pull government funding for the vaccines if he is elected president.

>> certainly, we will not fund them. i think that the biden spending of bills of dollars on these, they have done studies, they have not demonstrated the benefit of the boosters. >> desantis questioning if the cdc should be trusted. vowing to hold the agency accountable if he is elected. it comes after the surgeon general told floridians not to worry about getting infected and advised residents to forego a shot . anyone watching the show, they know you. you have spoken out passionately for vaccines, now dealing with personal threats, stalking and harassment because of your science.

desantis questioned whether the cdc can be trusted. the boosters haven't been proven. the surgeon general says if you are under 65, skip it. >> it's outrageous at different levels. imagine the governor of florida and his staff, including the surgeon general, who has no training in vaccines or vaccinations, knows more than the national center for immunization and respiratory disease of the centers of disease control or the centers for biological research at the fda. it's awrong. we need boosters to ensure people stay out of the hospital and perhaps worse. remember, there's another important part. long covid. we know that vaccinations and immunizations do a great job at reducing the likelihood of getting long covid. it's actually weaponizing health communication, putting florida residents at risk. >> the thing is, more people it seems are buying what desantis

is selling. not just deesantis. he is not alone. if you look at a poll asking americans, have you received an updated booster, this is the one that has been available since last september. not even the new -- this is since last september. 44% for democrats. only 44% of democrats. this has unfortunately been overly politicized in terms of who takes up the vaccines. that was 91% for first vaccine. lock at independents. then 76%, now 26 %. the skepticism has spread. >> skepticism has spread and that sharp partisan political divide continues. a lot of that is because elected leaders are choosing to weaponize health information and mislead the american people about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines. this started around 2021, from the cpac conference.

first they will vaccinate you and then they will take away your guns and bibles. people believed it. then we saw the pile on from the house freedom caucus. >> i know it's in the numbers. as a practitioner, texas children's hospital, are you seeing this with other vaccines? >> that's the worry. the attacks on >> that's the worry. the attacks that accelerated with covid vaccines. by the way, 200,000 americans needlessly lost their lives because they were victims of these partisan attacks will now spill over to other childhood immig immunizations. not only in the u.s. as well, but the u.s. is exporting this. >> you had a discussion with john f. kennedy jr. about the safety of vaccines. joe rogan challenged you to debate. you declined and said it would not be worthwhile. but since then you have had a target on your back, and here is

how it's played out. >> if anybody is discrediting vaccines, making people afraid of them, he is such an obvious lunatic and politicizing medicine, it's peter. >> rogers calls you a bum. this has had an impact on your real life. you've had stalkers. you've had threats. are the attacks against you worse than ever? has there been any change? >> well, it comes in waves. it began -- well, it's been going on for decades since i have a daughter with autism, and i wrote the book "vaccines did not cause rachel's autism." so that gave me a front seat to this. i became public enemy one were to for two decades and really accelerated during covid, particularly when the fox news anchors go after me. so laura ingraham did this with governor desanctis, after i predicted that the delta wave was going to hit florida very hard, they went after me. and sure enough it did.

tucker carlson did this in 2022, the day i was conominated for the nobel peace prize for low cost covid vaccines reaching 100 million people, bypassing the pharma countries. he decided to go after me on that day. and it comes in these peaks and waves. the way it manifests is a waive wave of online attacks. the army of patriots is coming to hunt me down. >> well, dr. hotez, thank you very much. and the deadly wave scientists warning, his latest book out now. next, rupert murdoch stepping down as the chairman of fox, facing multiple lawsuits and a damning new book about him. does that have anything to do with the announcement today? or what if i can do diabetes differently? (vo) now you can with once-weweekly mounjaro. mounjaro helps your body... ...regulate blood sugar... ...and mounjaro... ...can help decrease how much food you eat. 3 out of 4 people reached an a1c of less than 7%.

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tonight, rupert murdoch's 70-year career after his media empire is over. but why now? the 92-year-old just announcing today that he is stepping down from fox and news corp. after insisting he would never retire. his son lachlan is taking over, and there are questions tonight about the timing of this announcement. it comes after michael wolff in his new book "the fall: the end of fox news and the murdoch dynasty" predicted murdoch's

eminent exit. jason carroll is "outfront." >> rupert murdoch created all of this. >> reporter: love him or hate him, may depend on which side of the political aisle you sit on, but there is no denying rupert murdoch is one of the most influential media moguls in history, and one of the most powerful forces in right-wing politics. now at 92 years of age, the long-time chairman of fox and news corporations is stepping down, starting in november, he'll hold the honorary title of chairman emeritus. in a statement, saying, "our companies are in robust health, as am i. we have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years. i certainly am and plan to be here to participate in them." the question in media circles, age aside, why step down now? >> i wonder if rupert has said, you know, i need to help my son get settled as the leader, de facto person in charge. and to do that i need to step back in terms of outward facing

responsibilities. >> reporter: his elder son lachlan murdoch will take over as chairman and will continue as executive chair and chief executive officer of fox corp. murdoch's right wing media empire began about 70 years ago in australia, where he turned a small newspaper chain he inherited from his father into the global multibillion media empire of today. >> delighted i am that we've now reached this moment when we can firmly announce the starting of a fox news channel. >> reporter: that was murdoch when he launched fox news in 1996. the conservative 24-hour news channel has grown into a cable ratings juggernaut, but not one without challenges as of late. >> moments ago, we learned there is a settlement. >> reporter: this year fox news settled with dominion voting systems for more than $787 million in the largest publicly known defamation settlement in u.s. history involving a media company over its airing of 2020

election lies. fox news also severed ties with right-wing extremist and popular "prime time" host tucker carlson this year. >> fox has continually hunted for any reason. >> reporter: and faces new competition from pro-trump cable news outlet newsmax. >> we have a major problem. see erratic. he is making bad decisions. >> reporter: the series "succession" airs on hbo. it is believed to be loosely based on the murdochs and their media empire. >> i think i'm the best option. >> reporter: unlike the series' satirical world, it's clear who the new leader is now that lachlan murdoch has been named sole chairman. in a statement, he thanked his father for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination and enduring legacy. media insiders say after so many years of building an empire, it's unlikely stepping down means the elder murdoch will completely step away from exerting his influence. >> from the letter that he sent

to -- that rupert sent to employees, it sounds like he is still going to be incredibly valved. maybe not in the logistics, but at least in the idealogically it sounds like. >> reporter: and erin, in that letter, i have a copy of it here that murdoch wrote to his employees. he said several things. he said one, that he will continue to reach out with his thoughts, ideas, and advice. he also said that some can still expect him to show up at the office late on friday afternoons. erin? >> all right. thank you very much, jason carroll outside those fox headquarters in new york. and thanks very much to all of you for joining us tonight. "ac 360" begins right now. burned the whole place down. the words of a frustrated house speaker kevin mccarthy, describing members of his own party as government funding and his own job are on the line. also, a cnn exclusive, more evidence of the coast guar