tonight, just a day after postponing his remaining tour dates this year, bruce springsteen says he's got a new song. the boss releasing this snippet of his new song called addicted to romance. ♪ neon lights on the corner, the rumble of a tired rock 'n roll band ♪ ♪ the oldest neighborhood's broke and gone ♪ >> and the song comes out tomorrow as part of a movie in which anne hathaway appears. it comes after springsteen pulled the plug on his concerts as he is recovering from peptic ulcer disease, he says. he did say he'll announce new tour dates for 2024 next week. we wish him a very speedy recovery and look forward to the full new song, as i'm sure so many of his fans do, still

putting out new songs at 74 that the whole world wants to hear. thanks so much for joining us. "ac 360" starts right now. tonight on "360," two breaking developments. an appeals court tells donald trump the trial that already threatens his company will not be delayed, and the former president decides not to fight to make his georgia trial a federal case. also tonight, president biden's warning that democracy is in danger, and he says not just from trump and his supporters. later, a "360" exclusive. my conversation with the family of "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich six months into his captivity in russia. good evening. thanks for joining us. we begin tonight with breaking news in two fronts in the former president's multifront legal battle to stay out of prison and keep the company his father began. cnn's jessica schneider starts us off on the stay out of prison part on the move not to move to federal court. why did they decide to make that decision? >> the official reasoning

tonight is they trust the judge in state court to give the former president a fair trial. so this is what they're saying in their notice to the court tonight. they're saying president trump now notifies the court that he will not be seeking to remove his case to federal court. this decision is based on his well-founded confidence that this honorable court intends to fully and completely protect his constitutional right to a fair trial and guarantee him due process of law throughout the prosecution of his case in the superior court of fulton county, georgia. but really, what's more likely here, anderson, is that trump's lawyers really could see that they would face a significant uphill battle if they tried to get this case moved to federal court. they had a deadline to decide which was tomorrow, to decide if they wanted to try to move it. but of course, mark meadows, we saw his bid to move his case to federal court. it was rejected. trump lawyers closely watched those proceedings. plus, in addition to those uphill battles, it's really possible, anderson, that if trump had asked for removal to federal court, and if he was

successful, his case might have actually gone before a federal judge that was appointed by president obama. his name is judge steven jones, and he has actually been handling some of the offshoot cases from the fulton county indictment. so there really was a bit of a gamble here if trump's team went the removal route, which obviously tonight they've decided not to and they're sticking to state court. >> what's the latest on when the former president's trial in fulton county will begin and how many co-defendants he would be tried with. >> we don't know when it will be begin. we know when it won't begin. it will not begin with the first trial that is saided for october 23rd. that's the trial with sidney powell and kenneth chesebro. donald trump and the other co-defendants will not with part of that trial. so it's likely we'll see maybe a trial with donald trump and some of those other 19 co-defendants some time in 2024. but it won't be any time soon. but we do one thing, that because this case won't be removed now to federal court, we'll be seeing those proceedings play out on camera. you know, there is no recording

allowed in federal court. but as we've seen in state court, those proceedings will be broadcast. so we will be seeing, presumably, a trial of the former president on our tv screens. >> jessica schneider, thanks. more mao now on the appeals court decision paving the way for the trial to proceed this sunday what did the appellate court rule today? >> it's a quick two-page decision. they said they're denying trump's motion to stay the start of this trial. this comes on the heels of this ruling earlier this week, which you said that trump committed fraud and that held him liable for ten years of the fraudulent financial statement, also canceling the business certificates, which we still don't know how that's going the shake out. now the trial is expected to start on monday. the ag's office has other claims than just the fraudulent financial statement claim. the trial will focus on whether the individuals of the trump family committed insurance fraud and whether they falsified business records and some other

claims. there is still a lot at stake at this trial. >> and will donny jr. and eric trump and the former president be testifying? >> so they are -- all three of them are on the witness list for the attorney general and for the former president's team. so it's possible that the attorney general's office, they've got 28 people on their list. they have listed donald trump, donald trump jr., eric trump, ivanka trump, and michael cohen, among many of their witnesses. and trump's side, they saying trump wants to testify, that he is going to testify many this case. of course, that always is a trial decision so, we won't really know until we get there. but the ag's office indicates they want to call them. so we might see them walk through the doors and take the witness stand. >> cara, stay with us. i want to bring in two attorneys. two former federal prosecutors from the southern district of new york, jessica roth and elie honig. first of all, are you surprised the former president is not going to try to get this georgia case moved to federal court? >> i was surprised initially. but then when i thought it true, i thought it made sense as a strategic decision on his

lawyers' part. they probably saw the writing on the wall that they were unlikely to prevail to move the case to federal court. they were following the meadows case. meadows obviously lost and trump had a weaker claim than meadows did. they clearly decided it was better to conserve their time and resources and focus that on other matters where it could perhaps be a better payoff. plus, he likely would have had to testify to have a chance to prevail, and carried significant risks for him first him not being a credible witness, but his statements being potentially used against him in the case in georgia if it proceeded. and also in the federal case involving january 6th. >> elie, it was fascinating to hear in his lawyers' statement to the court them saying he has full confidence in the judge in the georgia case. that's not usually something you hear coming out of the trump camp. do you agree that's the reason why he looked at what happened to meadows and thought way nguyen do that? >> i was genuinely stunned.

i did a double take. >> you thought they would go for it? >> i thought they would move to federal court. there is a lot of reasons to do that. starting with a jury pool. like jessica, on reflection, i the see reasons to stay in state court. this is young judge, judge mcphee. he is 34 years eld o, but he has been very calm, in control. he has been giving rulings that both sides like. they laid it on a little thick. your honorable, we have full faith in you. but i do think that's one motivating factor. i think the other one is they're in a good position tactically in georgia in the state court because they're going to get to sit back and watch the chesebro and powell trial, and their trial is way down the line. they're going to get to see the entire d.a.'s case laid out. and that's a good position. if they move into federal court, they might compromise that. they might be forced to trial much quicker. i understand the reasoning. >> how much of an advantage it is to see what the evidence is in the chesebro and sidney powell case? >> i think it's a great

advantage. the state has said they're going to call all the same witnesses, essentially, in that sort of mini version of the trial. but it's not going to be that mini because the state is going to be calling all the same witnesses to establish the rico conspiracy. and chesebro and powell were actually part of different components of the rico conspiracy. so the witnesses who are necessary to address both defendants are pretty comprehensive. so really, trump is going to get quite a comprehensive preview of the case against him. and i also just want to add, he can raise the same defense that ultimately he wanted to raise in federal court of immunity under the supremacy clause. he can raise that in state court as well. so he is not losing out on any of the substantive defenses he wanted to assert potentially in federal court. >> and cara, in the fraud case in new york, does the former president have any options in terms of delaying things? >> i mean, there is a possibility he could file some kind of emergency appeal to appeal this appellate court's ruling. i reached out to his lawyers

today to see if they're any indication of what they're going to do because the clock is ticking here. but we haven't heard back yet. it's not really clear if they're going have that much time to do something if they don't act immediately. >> and that is a bench trial. what does that mean? >> it means the judge is going to make the ultimate decision on the verdict whether it's the plaintiff or the defendant. and on the amount of damages, it's interesting. that's another surprise, by the way. cara and i were talking about it. both partied opted for the judge, not a jury. if i'm trump's team, i want a jury. juries are more dynamic, they're more unpredictable. this judge, we just saw his ruling two days ago. it is very heavily against donald trump. i would be very nervous if i was trump's team leaving it all up to this judge. >> trump's lawyer said in court today he's not even sure while we're still going to trial since the main decision has been made. the ag's office said they want to hold individuals accountable. that's part of the reason they want to push forward. >> but holding individuals accountable, that doesn't mean -- that's obviously not criminally. this is financial penalties. >> it actually bears noting part

of what remains to be decided are the counts in the complaint brought by the ag that incorporate by reference new york criminal statutes. it may be what the attorney general wants is a judicial finding at the end of the case that actually crimes were committed by these individuals and the entities, even though that doesn't have criminal consequences because the counts essentially incorporate by reference these statutes there would be symbolic power and impact on ultimate remedies if the judge made those determine faces. >> jessica roth, thank you. >> kara scannell, thank you. coming up, more live news reporting within the last few minutes with the race to head off the government shutdown and president biden warning about the threat he sees to democracy. and a former cnn contributor is waging a bipartisan fight against.

breaking news now on the possible government shutdown. tensions as high as we've seen them between kevin mccarthy and hard-liners in his caucus. now the embattled republican leader is leaving open the door to a deal that would certainly anger them even further. manu raju joins us from capitol hill with the latest. i know you just spoke to speaker mccarthy. what did he tell you about what's going on? >> i asked him what will happen next. the expectation is on the floor

of the house, he will bring up a bill tomorrow to keep the government open for a short period of time. but that bill will collapse under opposition from not just democrats who oppose the spending cuts in there, but conservative hard liners who oppose his spending plans as well. and then the question is what will kevin mccarthy do? will he cut a deal with democrats? which seems to be the only way out of this jam that he is in right now, with very little room for maneuver. mccarthy simply would not say, would not rule it out, would not rule it in. he said i have time to figure this out. well, what is plan b here? he said there are plans. i'm always gaming out my different plans. i've got plan a, b, c, d, and e for everything here. he would not detail exactly what that is. but the real threat for speaker mccarthy is that if he were to cut a deal with democrats, that can open him up to a challenge from the right. members threatening to call for a vote, seeking his ouster as speaker of the house, and would

only require five republicans to essentially vote to kick him out along with all democrats. if that were to happen, the house would be in chaos in an unprecedented event, and they're warning, the hard-liners will actually go that route if he cuts a deal. perhaps one reason why mccarthy is still holding out some hope that he can pass a bill along party lines tomorrow to keep the government open. but there is a problem, anderson. even if he were to have the votes in the house on his republican plan, it would not pass the democratic-led senate or get signed into law by the white house, which is why there are real concerns about a shutdown at this point as mccarthy is not indicating if he is willing to cut a deal with democrats to get out of this mess, but also not ruling it out, anderson. >> i understand there was aette hood exchange between speaker mccarthy and matt gaetz today. >> yeah, that happened behind closed doors this morning. matt gaetz has been the ringleader of the effort to potentially oust mccarthy, threatening for weeks that he could actually be the one call for that vote to kick mccarthy out of the speakership.

gaetz contends that mccarthy's allies have been bashing him on social media, paying for conservative influencers to post negative posts about gaetz. gaetz confronted mccarthy about this behind closed doors at a republican meeting. mccarthy dismissed it, said he had nothing to do with it, said he wouldn't waste his time or money on gaetz, and says he is raising money to help preserve the house republican majority. that led to some members in the room essentially cursing about gaetz as well. he has caused a lot of tension among mccarthy allies at this point. gaetz has also said it is mccarthy's fault if there is a government shutdown. gaetz opposed short-term spending plans but says he could have kept the government open for some time if he acted earlier. i asked mccarthy about that. he said matt gaetz is blaming me

even though he opposed a short-term resolution? okay. the first public impeachment hearing to president biden. in the days leading up to it, republicans promised they had a mountain of evidence connecting the president to his son hunter's business dealings. then the evidence the senior biden abused his public office for financial gain was, quote, overwhelm, so said some republicans. instead, none of the witnesses they called were witnesses to any of these allegation, and two of those witnesses undercut this alleged overwhelming evidence. one senior republican aide told cnn, quote, this is an unmitigated disaster, unquote. the white house called the whole thing a flop. oversight committee chairman james comer said the hearing wasn't supposed to be about fireworks. sara murray has more. >> reporter: house republicans putting forth plenty of bombast. >> if we had a box of all the foreign money the bidens took, it would have reached to the ceiling. >> reporter: but as democrats noted, no new evidence. >> what's missing, despite years of investigation is the smoking gun that connects joe biden to

his never do well son's corruption. >> reporter: as the gop convened its first hearing in the impeachment inquiry into president joe biden. even as republicans tried to drive home claims of biden family corruption -- >> hunter biden referred to access to his father as the keys to his family's only asset. those words are going to come back and haunt hunter biden. and his family forever. >> reporter: their own witnesses failed to back them up. noting that republicans are currently operating on allegations rather than hard facts. >> i do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment. that is something that an inquiry has to establish. >> i'm not here today to even suggest there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing. in my opinion, more information needs to be gathered and assessed before i would make such an assessment. >> reporter: republicans kicking off an impeachment inquiry that is set to explore whether joe biden performed any official acts, traded access, or offered the perception of access in exchange for money from foreign

interests to either him or his family. also on the gop agenda, whether joe biden meddled in investigations into hunter biden. >> whether it was lunches, phone calls, white house meetings, or official foreign trips, hunter biden cashed in by arranging access to joe biden, the family brand. >> reporter: but the gop has not uncovered any proof joe biden benefitted from his son hunter biden's overseas business deals or intervened in hunter biden's criminal prosecution. >> you will acknowledge, will you not, that in order to have a criminal act of public corruption or bribery, there must be under mcdonnell an official act in connection to some sort of personal benefit. isn't that right? >> gentlemen, time is expired. but mr. attorney, please answer the question. >> i can point you to my question. i talk about -- >> just answer the question. >> it's a little more complicated. >> no, it's not. an official act for a personal benefit. >> reporter: in a hearing that at times grew testy. >> you keep speaking about no evidence.

why don't you all listen -- >> i'm trying to introduce evidence. >> you've had your -- >> is it in? >> democrats ultimately slammed their colleagues for pressing ahead with an impeachment inquiry amid a looming government shutdown. >> it is incredible that we're holding this sham hearing two days before the government will shut down. >> reporter: sara murray, cnn, washington. >> i'm joined now by republican congressman ken buck of colorado. he is a member of the conservative house freedom caucus. he recently wrote in an op-ed, quote, there is not a strong connection at this point between hunter biden and any evidence connecting the president. congressman, did you hear anything today that changed your mind? >> no, i did not hear anything today. i did not sit through those hearings. i had other hearing the attend. but i certainly read the summaries of the testimony. i think professor turley is someone who carries great credibility in the house and in the judiciary committee. and when he says there is not enough evidence to warrant an impeachment, i think it's pretty clear that the evidence, while

the investigation is ongoing just isn't there at this point in time. >> a republican aide described today's impeachment hearing to cnn as an unmitigated disaster. did chairman comer's witnesses undermine his own narrative trying to link president biden financially to his son? >> yeah. and here's the real problem, as i see it, anderson. once you start using the word "impeachment," you have set expectations with a large percentage of the american public. and those expectations aren't being met at this point. it would have been much wiser to have continue the investigations, and if you get information that links president biden with hunter biden's activities, then you start talking about impeachment. they came out of the box way too early. i don't know if it was intended as a distraction for the upcoming shutdown or certainly continuing resolution that we have to pass, or whether it was just a bad play. but it is not a good idea to have these two things coming together at the same time, in my opinion. >> is unmitigated disaster, which was an unnamed republican

aide told cnn, is that a term you would use? >> no. i think it can be mitigated by further evidence. but i don't think it was a wise move to do at this point in time. >> when you look at -- let's talk about the impeachment inquiry and the shutdown that you mentioned. when you look at it juxtaposed with the government shutdown, does it concern you about house republicans' priorities here? >> it concerns me about house republicans' priorities. it also concerns me about the public perception of our party being able to run the u.s. house. i think that there is nothing worse than a shutdown. i think this is an embarrassment. we knew that september 30th was coming for a long time. we should have been talking in july about a continuing resolution. it doesn't have to be done on the eve of a shutdown. >> in terms of the optics, if there is a shutdown, should the impeachment inquiry pause while military isn't paid?

it's been said that impeachment inquiry will be deemed essential work. >> i don't know. i am keeping about half of my staff as essential and the other half will get paid when the shutdown's over. i don't know exactly how they're going to parse out who is essential and who is not. but i do think that it should go on the back burner until we finish with the continuing resolution and start funding the government. >> so members of the house caucus, have sent a letter to speaker mccarthy demanding he provide a clear plan on spending as the house grapples with the stopgap measure to fund the government, be also long-term appropriation bills. you did not sign the letter. you talk about why? >> one, i think it's really inappropriate to start publicizing things. if we're going to have meetings in the republican family, we should do it behind closed doors, number one. and number two, i think it is -- when they start adding ukraine in as one of their demands, that we shouldn't fund ukraine any more, i'm just not in with that. i think we've got to make sure

that putin does not win this war. and i think we have to make sure that we support ukraine to the point that we can and be realistic about it. but i really think that there they're conflating some issues that don't need to be conflated at this point. >> the speaker refused to say tonight whether he cut a deal with democrats to keep the government funded. understand he wouldn't say that at this stage that would ensure -- i would assume that would ensure, or you can weigh in an effort to oust him from the speaker's office. have you decided how you would vote in that scenario? >> i don't know the scenario yet. let's see what happens. if the senate bill comes over, does the speaker choose a clean cr as opposed to the senate bill? there are a lot of moving parts at this point. i'm just not willing to at this point make any commitment on a motion to vacate. >> congressman buck, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. coming up next, president biden's warning today about the former president, the threat he says that he and his followers pose to democracy and what people across the political

spectrum can do about it.

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today at the pentagon, general mark milley did his last day with the traditional clapout ceremony from colleagues and friends. [ applause ] he officially turns over his command to general cq brown tomorrow morning. this ordinarily would barely merit a mention. but it's news because unlike his predecessor, his retirement will include security precautions because his former boss, the 45th president of the united states accused him of treason and said, quote, in times gone

by, the punishment would have been death. that social media message ending with a thinly veiled threat, quote, to be continued. so be clear, the former president is referring to a highly decorated 44-year combat veteran who now has to spend his retirement looking over his shoulder. today in arizona, in a speech honoring another decorated hero, the late republican senator john mccain, president biden addressed that online threat and others like it. he made it a centerpiece of his case against the trump wing of the republican party, and those who are silent in the face of what he says is a larger threat to democracy. >> this is the united states of america. and although i dent believe even a majority of republicans think that, the silence is deafening. the silence is deafening. we should all remember, democracies don't have to die at the end of a rifle. they can die when people are silent. when they fail to stand up or condemn threats to democracy.

>> the president also singled out a recent post by a former president promising if he is reelected, he would launch investigations into the parent company nbc, and msnbc for, quote, country-threatening treason. joining us now amanda carpenter, former communications director for ted cruz and writer and editor at protect democracy, dedicated to fighting authoritarianism and strengthening institutions. also with jeff duncan. amanda, it is great to see you. it's been forever. i'm really happy you're on. so if democracy in peril is a message that president biden is going to be campaigning on, do you think it's an effective one, or is there an element of trump fatigue at play and people just tune out a lot of these warnings at this stage? >> there could be some fatigue. but let me tell you what i really liked about this speech. and it doesn't really have a lot to do with exactly what biden said. i think you look at the place and the people that were there. he was there not just to give a

good speech about democracy, which i think it was, but he was there to open up a mccain library in honor of john mccain. cindy mccain, his beloved wife, spoke at the opening of it. and when she did, she talked about how grateful she was for joe biden's friendship. she talked about how they could work together to preserve the flame of democracy. president biden acknowledged many republicans that were there in the audience. that is what it takes to uphold democracy. republicans have to be part of the equation. and so i thought that was a really beautiful moment. and we could use a lot more of that, especially in arizona, which was such a hotbed of dangerous election conspiracies in the aftermath of the 2020 election. it blew back on a lot of election officials there, just like it did in georgia, which can certainly speak to. because the damage that has been caused by president trump and

all this election just dangerous, dangerous rhetoric and activity has blown back on republicans. >> yeah. >> so it is smart for biden to appeal to them and keep reminding that we can disagree on policy. he had a great line. "we should not let disagreement and debate lead to disunion" that is the right message and this is the right time." >> lieutenant governor duncan, the president went out of his way, which he has done before to say the majority republicans are not maga extremists. the speech in honor of the late senator john mccain. as a republican, was that meaningful to you? do you think it's effective? >> well, i think we saw an early look at what his campaign is going to be about. and there is certainly going to be a lot of material there, right? 91 indictments and a long list of stuff that just continues to come out. but from my point as a republican that really wants to get our party back on the tracks, i think this entire 2024 election cycle feels like a threat to democracy. certainly there is an endless list of issues on the republican side. but knew now you've got a

democratic president with absolutely terrible polling numbers, probably record-breaking low. you've got growing concerns around family corruption. you've got inflation that is unexplainable. you've got a southern board they're he has totally gwynn up on, and you've got an 80-year-old that isn't aging very well, to put it mildly. all of that put together feels like if america had a chance to hit the reset button, democrats and republicans, they would do it in a heartbeat. but for whatever reason, we're both stuck in stall speed. and we have our 50 or sixth or 50th or 60th best candidates running in this election in maybe the most crucial time in our country's history. >> amanda, you said upholding democracy can't be a partisan issue. isn't the reality it is a partisan issue? if the former president has a huge support among voters and on capitol hill, that says something, no? >> it's -- i think it will be a choice in the coming presidential election. but i also remember there were many republicans after january 6th, after 2020 that came

forward and provided their testimony about the damage that these things can do. we need republicans to be a part of that equation. so i can agree with jeff that there are serious policy issues that we should debate. but when you have -- say we're going to have a choice in this election between somebody who says that general mark milley should be executed because he was insufficiently loyal to the former president and another who at least knows enough to honor veterans and can extend that olive branch and say can't we come together on this? i don't see that as a partisan issue. >> lieutenant governor duncan, do you think the country's democratic institutions are strong enough to withstand being tested again in 2024? >> i certainly hope so. i mean, we watched our country rise up after january 6th and do the things that we needed to do to get back on track. but still, there is a completely huge group of misguided individuals. look, republicans aren't going to turn the corner until we hold trump accountable. we hold him account form the fact that he lost the joe biden

in 2020. that was his fault. he campaigned terribly. he ran on the wrong message, and he was self-centered throughout the entire time. we have to hold him accountable for all the things he didn't do right, and we've got to turn the page. but until we're willing to take our own medicine and call out donald trump for what he is, and that's a large lump of fool's gold. that's all. that's all he is. and that's all he's ever been his entire career. his entire life span has been about being fools gold. we watched it play out in the business world. we watched it play out in the political world. the issues today are too important. i personally think joe biden is not the right person to lead our country for next four years. i think we have to have a conservative-minded individual that can work with the middle. but we have to find a candidate that is willing to ignore the right, the far right, the 35% that's going to visit donald trump in jail one day. >> jeff duncan, amanda carpenter, thank you so much. coming up, migrants on the move. adults and children heading north under difficult conditions, dangerous, on foot, facing steep climbs in the jungle, also on rafts and in packed vans, trying to make to

it the u.s. border. david culver joins them on part of the journey. his report ahead.

now another in our series about the dangerous and desperate journey that migrants are taking from south america into central america and then into mexico with the hopes of reaching the united states. it's happening even as mexico has pledged to help combat the recent surge with more de

depor deportations, actions that have slowed the flow but not stopped it despite the danger. cnn's david culver has more. >> reporter: they stick together throughout. no one left behind. from falls to steep climbs. a lot of young children. some of them are basically being carried up. to dead ends. they started to go the wrong way for the moment, and now they're backtracking a little bit. setback after setback. he is saying that they paid, were promised another pickup on the other side. but it seems like that driver just took off with their money. this just part of a day's journey for these migrants, a day that started not here in southern mexico, but across the river in guatemala. with passports stamped, we take the official land crossing.

stepping into a vibrant tekunaman. in the town square we meet two families from venezuela, traveling as one. they're saying they're ready to cross. they welcome up to join. 7 years old? a 15-minute stroll to the river. after 18 grueling days on the road. he tells me it's been costly. she says going lew the jungle is like dealing with the mafia. she says you have to pay in order to leave. and they had to pay $250 a person. as they rife at the river, another expense, the crossing. meanwhile, we go back to the mexico side, using the official entry entry and hop on to a raft. we're waiting for the two families that we met to make their way across. and they're about to board a raft and meet us in the middle as they cross illegally to mexico.

their raft drifts over the border, and we meet again in mexico. they're saying they're headed to the land of opportunity. migrant children scramble to help tug them to shore. they step off and into ciudad hidalgo, a small border town. it allows for just a moment of joy, if only for the kids. their goal tonight, tapachula, to get mexican transit documents. they learned it's not as close as they hoped, normally an hour's drive. but there is a catch. is that your van? oh, okay. they're getting on right now. because they never entered mexico legally, they need to avoid the multiple migration checkpoints. otherwise the mexican drivers could be accused of smuggling. every crevice of the van filled. then they're off. on the road for only about ten minutes. we watch as they pull over just before the first checkpoint. everyone out. they walk the direction they think they're supposed to head.

you can tell they're basically trying to figure out their way as they go. they have no real guide. they were told some general instructions, and now they're just trying to figure it out. weeding through brush and high grass, up and down hills, they skirt around the first migration checkpoint. but on the other side, the same driver who they paid to wait for them has taken off. >> so they're trying to figure out if they can get another van, or they keep walking. it looks like for mao they're going to keep walking. a few minutes pass. another van pulls up. 15 minutes later, another stop, another checkpoint walk-around. 30 minutes after that, yet another. this one takes them on a bridge directly over the migration checkpoint. back on the van they go. before sunset, they make it to tapachula. relieved? sure. also overwhelmed thinking about the unknowns ahead, but determined to keep moving north,

smiling and waving. we'll see you later, they tell us. i think one thing that really stood out in all of this, anderson, going along with them for that part of the journey, really just one day for them is that the enforcement from migration officials, be it on the guatemala side or here in mexico is really lax. i mean, you see them going back and forth very casually as officials are just standing there. i think that speaks to how overwhelmed officials on both sides are and really feel no need to try to enforce anything beyond keeping people as safe physically as possible. by the way, i did check in with that family a short time ago. just in the past 24 hours, they have made it another 90 miles from where we are north closer to the u.s. border. >> david culver, appreciate it. thank you. coming up, a "360" exclusive interview. six months ago tomorrow russia detained "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich on charges he and the journal say are false. his parents and sister join me next.

we're fortunate tonight to have an exclusive interview with parents and sister of "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich. tomorrow will mark six month since russia's detained him on accusations of trying to obtain state secrets. he and the journal denied the allegations. i'm joined by his sister, danielle gershkovich and parents ellen milman and mikhail gershkovich. first of all, how you all day ual holding up? >> well, after the initial shock, we came together, and we're holding hope for ourselves and for evan with the help of our friends, his friends, and "the wall street journal," and support from the journalists around the world. we are holding up and doing very well to show evan that we are

strong. >> you were both able to see him. you've gone over twice to russia. you saw him in june. you were actually able to talk to him. >> yes. >> did you know in advance that you were going to be able to talk to him? >> no. it was a possibility. >> what was that like for you, mikhail? >> it was great to see him, and talking to him was super. being there, it was, like, having him back, just the presence and his voice just made me very happy. of course it also made us very sad leaving because we couldn't take -- >> how did he look to you in june? >> he looked well. and he's, kind of, defiant. he hasn't done anything wrong. he's smiling. he understands what's going on.

and i have to say under all the circumstances, he's doing really well. >> now, look, you're able to write to him, right? >> yes. >> how often do you do that? how do you get letters to him? how often can you correspond? >> we send each other letters about once a week. and it's just so nice, i hear his voice in my head when i read them. it just feels like we get to talk. >> i read that in a letter you had told him that he never wanted to listen to your stories when he was little, but now he has to listen to your stories and letters. >> he's my prisoner. >> what did he say back to you about it? >> well, he loves my stories. >> he says he loves your stories. >> keep writing. >> yeah. >> you know, we didn't speak to him that often when he travelled, and now we speak to him once a week, which is very

nice. it's like i'm having conversation. >> can you write any length of letters, or do you have to keep it -- >> well, i wrote ten pages handwritten. and we include pictures that we print on the paper. and that's how we communicate. i believe a lot of his friends do the same. he's a busy guy. to read other people's letters, to answer them. >> he has support and friends all around the world. >> yes, yes. >> it's got to keep his spirits up to hear from all of you. >> definitely. his friends also keep our spirits up as well because he has a lot of friends, college friends, high school friends, his colleagues, other people he met around the world. >> you're in communication with the u.s. government. you believe that they are working hard on this. >> of course we have to be. we're getting a lot of strength and hope from the fact that

they're involved. >> was he always interested in being a reporter from a young age? did it surprise you when this is what he went into? >> not really because he was very curious from a young age. >> oh, really? >> and he's -- to people easily, has a lot of interest in people, and loves to have a conversation. and when he went to college, basically he found this love. he started writing in college. >> it is the mark of a great journalist that he's genuinely interested in other people and even if it's not for a story, he's just interested in people. was he always that way? is that how you remember? >> yeah, i remember evan as being observant as a kid. >> you can't be an annoying younger brother, i would imagine. >> yes. >> was he reporting on your business? >> no, thankfully.

but especially as we grew older, i just realized this quality has made him a really good listener. and just amazed by how well he knows people. >> what can people do who are interested in helping in whatever way they can? >> i can answer that. we need to keep the focus on evan. so, we really appreciate everyone who's been taking to social media and reading his reporting, which is available to read. and we just want to keep the focus on him. >> evan is an american boy, who loves baseball, american food. he would always come home after his fancy trips and wanted to have a hamburger and buffalo wings and watch baseball and

watch american football. he's an american boy, who has roots in russian culture. >> you both left the soviet union to come to america. when he was reporting from russia, did it worry you? >> well, not at the time. things changed a lot since he started. he came to russia in 2017. things were a lot different at the time. >> i'm sorry we're here six months later and talking about evan, that he's not here talking about his experiences. but i wish you continued strength and peace in the days ahead. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> it's hard to believe. coming up next, what authorities are now saying about the murder of a young tech ceo now that the man accused of killer her is in custody.

an update now in the murder of a 26-year-old tech ceo in baltimore now that the suspect is in custody. according to court documents, the victim, pava plapere died o strangulation. documents also reveal detectives show the suspect, jaso