The Takeout with Major Garrett, 5/07/26

President Trump says the war will be over quickly. Iran says he'll get back to us. Who has the upper hand? An apparent suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein is made public. What it tells us. 13-minute security gap, a CBS News investigation finds a laps and surveillance video in the key moments leading up to the shooting.

Hello, I'm Caitlin Huey Burns in for Major Garrett Tonight. Welcome to the takeout and thank you for joining us.

We just hit a new high of the stock market. The stock market's the highest it's ever been. And I expected that the market would be down twenty, twenty five percent. I was willing to do that to get rid of a crazy country. Crazy the people look, you know, you talk about regime change. Their first level leaders are dead, their second level leaders are dead, some of their third level leaders are dead, I call that regime change.

But

Uh I thought we'd be down maybe twenty percent and we're up.

Now the Dow is back near 50,000 close to its all-time high. Brent crude oil is just over$100 down from its high of$126, but still well above its Pre-war levels of around$70 a barrel, and gas prices continue to rise, now at$4.55 per gallon, up from roughly 50%. Since the start of the war. Now, President Trump is no doubt feeling the pressure to get all of these numbers moving in the right direction and ending a war that polling tells us most Americans don't support.

are in a waiting game. Uh Caitlin. They uh have sent a proposal over to the Iranians, a one page proposal. basically an outline for uh the future of talks just enough to kind of uh button up this war, try to get the straight reopened and move forward with talks because as you point out Uh the pressure is really building when it comes to gas prices, fertilizer prices, jet fuel prices and all the rest.

And Nancy, speaking of the Iranian side, Iranian state media is trying to take credit as the sole controller of the Strait of Hormuz. I'm wondering how the White House is responding to that.

Well, um, you know, the the White House has been insisting for weeks that the US is actually in constr in control of the strait, despite the fact that um, you know, i I think it's indisputable that Um that Iran has a stranglehold on oil traffic right now. All traffic going in and out of the street. There are some sixteen hundred container ships, other vessels.

Um he wanted to create space for these negotiations to play out with the Iranians. Um but there is also reporting that um other nations in the region uh weren't happy with Project Freedom because they basically weren't informed ahead of time. So Um hard to make the case that the US controls the strait, but that is the case that the White House and the Pentagon have been making.

All right, we will stay tuned. Thank you very much, Nancy, for your reporting. We appreciate it.

Well, we certainly want to curtail Iran's ability to ever have a nuclear weapon, but in my experience, the devil's in the details on this. When we talk about Iran agreeing not to have a nuclear weapon. We have to think about the different components of that. Certainly Iran has a stockpile of what we call highly enrich uranium, material that could be used to create a nuclear weapon.

And that's I I do want to ask a little bit about that because I think, you know, that was my first question was how does this and again we don't know exactly the details of what this deal is or would be or what it will end up like. But how is this, at least from what we know so far, different from the nuclear agreement that the US pulled out of?

We really just don't know yet. What we know about the first nuclear agreement was that it put limitations on the level at which the regime could enrich uranium. It put levels uh on the stockpile of that uranium that Iran could have. It put restrictions on the amount of centrifuges Iran could have. It transferred certain facilities away from nuclear research and development. Um and it had a very significant inspections regime. We just don't have details on this proposal that's on the table.

And as we're talking about these negotiations, what do we know about the state of Iranian leadership right now? I mean, who are they dealing with here?

What we know just from past history, Caitlin, is that the Iranian regime is not monolithic. During the first Iran nuclear deal, it took eighteen months to negotiate the technical details, but at the same time the negotiators also had to sell this internally. They had to get the Supreme Leader on board and they had to

Still a long way to go, um, is is what we're taking away from this. And we'll have you back to discuss as we move forward. Sam Vingra, thank you so much for your time.

Right.

What's in this note? And the question I had and I think a lot of people have is why is it coming out now?

It's a great question. Uh so what is in the note? I think the most notable line here, and I have it right here, is he writes. It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye. And this is what Nicolas Tartaglion, his former cellmate, homed in on. In fact, he spoke about this note in a podcast last year, so he's the one who referred to this as a suicide note. But you know, it's interesting, Caitlin. I I don't think we can definitively call it anything except

And and uh that goes to my next question, Anna, and I know you've done so much reporting on this and the Justice Department told CBS News that they've never seen this note before. How is that possible?

Well, that is possibly the biggest question, and we got an answer from them today. This afternoon, the Department of Justice uh spokesperson wrote to us and said the note has not yet been authenticated, and this is the first time the DOJ is seeing it. Reported note was submitted by Tartaglione to the court ex parte as part of a s a part of sealed proceedings in which DOJ was not involved. So that's what the Department of Justice is saying.

All right, a lot of questions out there. Anna Schechter, you're doing an amazing job trying to get answers for us. Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

Yeah, Democrats in the state legislature, all they could essentially do today, Caitlin, was protest and protest they did. Noisemakers standing on desks, marching out of the chambers, some of them getting arrested by state police. for their actions and ultimately Republicans in the House and the State Senate approved a new map that, as you said, draws Memphis out of a Democratic majority black district into three new Republican districts that stretch over there to the western corner of the state.

We've not talked to the White House.

So you've not gotten any call from the president?

I have not talked to the president nor have I talked to anybody from the White House.

What is the biggest misperception of all of this in your view? Either here in the state or from the outside looking in.

That somehow or another Alabama should be treated differently. And again, if you look at our numbers and you see the progress that's been made in our state. We are viewed from a lens of black and white, as opposed to most states being viewed from a red or a blue.

We ask about whether he sought White House permission because remember the seven other states that started this last year Texas, California, Missouri, Virginia, Utah, North Carolina. All in essence did it for partisan reasons, sparked by the president's calls to have Texas redraw their map and come up with five more Republican seats. Now, the one guy here in Alabama who would probably get drawn off the congressional map.

uh to put us in a place where they want to go back to the maps that they that they drew back in twenty twenty one. uh I think is them attempting to rewrite history. And that's it's an attempt to uh act like they weren't caught with their hand in the old cookie jar um of of how Alabama uh was, you know, in terms of the actions that it would take.

I mean the irony isn't lost on us that this is the place where people march. fought, many gave their lives, or uh certainly shed blood, for more representation. Mm-hmm. And here decades later, having gotten a second district in this state, mm more representation for that community, it may not get taken back. I mean that has to sit really badly with a lot of people.

Yeah, no look people are not uh not excited about it, right? Not excited about that possibility. Uh but I do want to be clear, look we are we're very confident in Alabama's uh congressional maps and that they will turn out the exact way they are now. Uh

Again, the Congressman says he's confident the Supreme Court won't explicitly allow Alabama to do what Louisiana and these other southern states are doing. We wait and see. Decisions could come today, could come tomorrow, may not come for a few more days after that. Louisiana will act. in the coming days. Mississippi and South Carolina are also making plans to eventually redraw their maps, if not in time for this year, Caitlin, than for the 2028 election.

Yeah, Ed, I was just gonna say, I mean, the ripple effect across the country is stunning, but also the midterms are just months away and all of this coming to a head. Um speaking of the midterms, I know you're in Alabama now, but our viewers should know earlier in the week you were out in Iowa doing some reporting on one of those big matchups up there. Um what did you find? What did you hear?

Well we we were there because the Vice President was there in essence kicking off his midterm campaigning for fellow Republicans. And this is a state that in the past has been controlled by Democrats. Right now for the last decade by Republicans. There are open governors races.

Yeah.

You're running in a state that Democrats would like to win back, but you're not North Carolina, you're not Maine, you're not Ohio, you're not Alaska. Right now you'd be considered a reach state for your party. You're gonna need a lot of money though to make this happen, right?

Yeah.

You're not wrong on these. However, I'll disagree on the reach. I think I was absolutely in play. I think the polling indicates that as well. Rob Sandley.

Why is it taking everyone so long to realize that though?

Iowa flies under the radar. You look at a state that Republicans have won for the last decade. Last time we were able to have somebody in the Senate was my hero, Senator Tom Harkin. And people look at us as a red state, but I say we're not a red state. We are a common sense state that has masqueraded more red than what we are.

I've heard you talk about being a prairie populace.

Yeah.

What does that mean?

Oh, I thought they were both gonna go in.

Yeah, well.

Uh prairie populism, to me, you know, Senator Harkin, my hero, was a was also considered himself a prairie populist. It's somebody that is fighting for the middle class, fighting for the workers, fighting for small businesses, fighting for rural communities, for small family farms.

So again state State Representative uh Josh Turric in a June second primary with Iowa State Senator Zach Walls. Good example of what it means to be a Democrat in twenty six twenty twenty-six, how to win a race. We'll be tracking this one, Caitlin. Uh but as you know well, observers believe Iowa could very well become one of the more competitive Senate races and help determine the balance of power in the Senate.

Alright, Edo Keefe, thank you for your reporting. Uh it was notable you didn't have the camera right on your shot there. So had you not had he not outed you for not making it, we would never have known. Good job, my friend.

A few were made. Not all

Okay. Okay. I'll take your word for it, but uh we'll have to roll the tape on that one. All right, don't give up your day job. We'll see you soon.

And welcome back to the takeout. CBS New News Homeland Security Correspondent Nicole Skanga went back to the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. To try to get a better understanding of the security surrounding the White House Correspondence Dinner. And what she found was a 13 minute gap of security camera coverage in the moments leading up to the shooting. Here's more of her reporting.

This is the hallway that the gunmen used to travel toward the security checkpoint on the night of the attack. For thirteen minutes his movements went undetected by cameras, apparently. In fact, we found a significant portion of the terrace level had no CCTV camera coverage at all. Would there have been Secret Service agents outside of the security perimeter around the Hilton, say in this hallway?

Potentially, uh, but definitely there are there are Secret Service agents as well as law enforcement outside the perimeter just doing that, looking and making sure and observing to see if anything suspicious does occur.

If there were, none of them apparently stopped him. Around 8.30 p.m., Secret Service agents are dismantling the security checkpoint equipment. Alan finally appears on camera and he walks through a set of doors to a lobby area with a bank of elevators that leads to the event's red carpet and a hotel entrance.

All right, and CBS News Homeland Security Correspondent Ns Nicole Skanga joins me now. Nicole, great work with that. It's just stunning to see it visually and you walking through that same hallway.

And it's interesting, Caitlin, because in the lead up to the shooting, there were about thirteen minutes where as you can see the gunman goes undetected. And yet this all plays out in the course of seven seconds. And so overwhelmingly what we have heard from former Secret Service agents and security professionals is that while the response was adequate,

Well, Nicole, it was just stunning to see you walk through where he had been, uh, and amazing to see in that visualization how close. Uh, he was able to make it. Um, thank you so much for all your reporting on this for the past couple of weeks. It's extraordinary and we appreciate it. Thank you, Nicole. And Marco Rubio today tried to mend ties with the Vatican. Following President Trump's continued criticisms of Pope Leo, we'll discuss that.

And welcome back to the takeout. Candidates for Los Angeles mayor had their first debate last night. Progressive City Council member Knighthe. Rahman and Republican and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt are the two leading candidates looking to unseat incumbent Karen Bass. Some of the most contentious moments in the debate came over LA's approach to homelessness.

Homelessness was going up year after year. And under my watch, it is the first time we've had a decrease in street homelessness.

The way you address the way you address people living on the street is by bringing them off the streets and indoors.

Councilwoman Robins plan for treatment first. I will go below the Harbor Freeway tomorrow with her and we can find some of these people she's gonna offer treatment for. She's gonna get stabbed in the neck.

And CBS News correspondent Adam Yamaguchi joins us now. Adam, great to see you. So you spoke to Spencer Pratt, and I can tell you I'm dating myself, but I watched every episode of The Hills when I was in high school. I am just shocked to see this race developed into what it is. Tell me a little bit about your conversation. You talked about his experience or lack thereof running for office.

Yeah, that's right. Um good to join you. Yeah, I think that uh, you know, your experience watching him on the hills is is, you know, what a lot of people sort of associate with Spencer Pratt, and that is coming into this race. that only makes not only makes him an unlikely candidate, but also even more unlikely as a person who could potentially um you know mount a serious bid

I mean look at Obama. He was a community organizer. I've won two community advocate awards from my nobody thought why can Obama become a senator? And then the president he had no experience running the whole entire country, which is way bigger than LA. So When people have passion and they care and they have common sense and they have humility to know, I don't know everything, but what I do know is all these very smart, successful people in Los Angeles wanna get around me, get behind me.

And I think a lot of LA voters are surprised to see that Pratt has made it to where he is. You know, he's tapping into widespread angst over homelessness, the cost of living, crime, and drug use, and of course that wildfire response. The June primary is coming up less than three weeks away. The top two vote getters, if no one hits the fifty one percent mark, then goes on to the November election.

And Adam, it appears that you were talking to him in the trailer that he says he and his family are living in after their house burned down in the fires. Um Adam Yamaguchi, fascinating interview. We'll stay tuned for more. Thank you for being here.

Whoa.

Guys, great to see you. Thanks so much uh for being here. Um I wanna talk about Uh Rubio this week. Um he is at the Vatican today, as we saw. But Sofia earlier this week he was at the White House at the podium in the the the uh press briefing room. I know you were there. Tell us a little bit about what you made of that performance and what it might tell us.

That was kind of his moment, although he didn't ask for it. We know it was an impromptu thing. The White House sort of called him up and said, Can you do this? And he showed up for about fifty minutes. He engaged with us on some important issues around the war around China, around Venezuela and Cuba. But he also kept a light. He made several jokes with with reporters, made some hip-hop references.

Yeah, I mean Trump is certainly the wild card here, but it was interesting to see Rubio put out clips of that performance uh and kind of um you know, not monetize it but get it out there in the public. I mean, Nicholas, we were talking also earlier this week about

We're seeing the very early stages of the shadow twenty twenty eight primary. Very, very subtle, right? Like you know. J.D. Vance was in Iowa to campaign with a Purple District congressman, Zach Nunn, who faces a very tight race, and to meet voters there, people who also conveniently could vote for him in a couple years. Now, at the same time, the struggle for people like Vance and Rubio is to try to make their own profile while at the same time not overshadowing the president himself.

That's always the biggest challenge here. Um, speaking of other people in the administration, Howard Lutnick was on the hill this week to um give a deposition to the House Oversight Committee. I know you've been covering this a lot. I mean, this was the highest profile member of the administration that we've seen come before the committee.

This apparently was the very first sitting cabinet secretary to go for a deposition or an interview with any congressional committee in U.S. history. And so, you know, it's it's not clear exactly how far the ball was advanced.

Yeah, something we could see more of um as this goes on. Um, Sophia, I wanna talk a little bit about some new reporting today that um Kamala Harris, the former Democratic nominee, says that she wants the DNC to release their autopsy of her own law. I mean it's really stunning to me that they haven't done it. What's what's going on there? Um i i it it you know, you you see these calls among members of the base asking for this autopsy to come out. There's been a resistance to releasing it.

For one.

Closure. You know, for months after the 2024 election, there was a sense of just being in a daze. You know, and we kind of heard that from democratic operatives across the country now as the Democratic Party is trying to figure out. What's next and what does the next two years, the next six years look like for them? There is this sense of like, well, let's figure out what went wrong.

More questions about not releasing it than actually just moving ahead. Well, a lot of twenty twenty eight on the R Horizon, we gotta get through the midterms first, but glad to have you both covering this for us. Sophia Nicholas, thank you very much. your time. And still to come, Democratic donors are hoping influencers can help them win big in the midterms. I'll speak with the president of the Democracy Alliance about their shift in media strategy. You're watching the takeout.

And welcome back. The Progressive Donor Network Democracy Alliance is planning to invest tens of millions of dollars into new media and content creators. It's a shift away from traditional mediums like broadcast television, hello, and paid advertisements. Democracy Alliance president Pamela Schiffman joins me now. Pamela, great to see you. Thanks for being here. Um so I say this as someone coming from very traditional media.

Thank you so much, Caitlin. It's so good to be with you. You know, what I will say is that the media landscape has shifted dramatically. It has changed dramatically over time, and that's particularly true for young people. What we know is three out of four millennials or Gen Zers get their news from social media. That's where they're getting their news. So

I mean it's interesting because it's it's not a new concept. In fact, Republicans did this very well in the last election. You know this. They were able to really tap into podcasts, new media, influencers. We saw that time and again. How did Democrats kind of fall behind there? What what happened?

You know, that's right. I think the media has the right wing has spent decades uh investing in media and We need to do the same. It's really important. And that has started. I think we're um we're seeing it happening now. I think there's really incredible work out there in terms of in increased local journalism, increased podcasts. Really making sure that we're on all the time, not just some of the time, because

And how are you kind of finding these areas of investment? Are you looking at, you know, particular content creators or influencers? And uh of course you know I'm going to have to plug, you should still get your news from reputable sources. Uh but but how are you going about making these investments?

Thank you so much. I'm so glad you you made that point about reputable sources because I think really the thing that we're up against. Is that there's a lot of miss and disinformation out there. And that's what we need to combat because that is what so many people are getting every day. And that cannot be that cannot exist if we want to have a true democracy where we're getting the same information and the same facts. It's wildly, wildly important.

And just quickly, because you've been talking to your members, I know you just had a retreat with them, what's the top issue that they are telling you they're concerned about heading into this midterm?

Winning. We're convinced we're gonna win, but we need to we need to win big because the reality is also we are seeing um signs that election security is going to be a real issue. Right. This is not a normal election. We need to make sure that we are taking every step to make sure that we have free and fair elections. Everyone gets to vote. You know, we just saw a devastating Supreme Court decision, the Calais decision, which decimates voting rights in the South.

We'll be covering all of this in the next several months. Pamela Schiffman, thank you very much for your time. And coming up our CBS News Radio Flashback today brings us back to nineteen sixty-two and the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 13th. The war the world stood on high alert, awaiting for another potential war.

Welcome back to the takeout and to our latest tribute to CBS News Radio. For thirteen days in October nineteen sixty-two, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war as the US and the Soviet Union feuded over Soviet missiles stored in Cuba, just off the coast of Florida. CBS News radio program was interrupted with a special bulletin.

We interrupt this program.

We have interrupted this program for a CBS radio net alert bulletin. We take you now to the White House in Washington, George Herman reporting. The White House has indicated that the Cuban missile sites under surveillance by the United States are continuing to grow in size and in strength. An official White House statement says this. The development of ballistic missile sites in Cuba continues at a rapid pace.

The Soviet Union was looking to deter any other attempts from the US to overthrow Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro. The US argued it couldn't engage in talks under the Soviet's nuclear threat. Here's how the negotiations were described.

Several inconsistent and conflicting proposals have been made by the USSR within the last twenty-four hours, including the one just made public in Moscow. The proposal broadcast this morning involves the security of nations outside of the Western Hemisphere. But it is the Western Hemisphere countries and they alone that are subject to the threat that has been produced by this the current crisis.

And finally, the eventual deal between the US and the Soviet Union saw the missiles removed from Cuba under United Nations supervision and a pledge from the US not to attack Cuba. Here's CBS News correspondent Robert Pierpoint before the eventual treaty.

We take you now to the White House, CBS News correspondent Robert Pierpoint reporting.

The White House has just issued the text of a formal letter from President Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev, in which the president repeats. Much of the same message that he issued in a statement earlier today accepting the Soviet proposal.

Yeah.

For a relief of the Cuban crisis. He says, in part to Chairman Khrushchev, I think that you and I, with our heavy responsibilities for the maintenance of peace, were aware that developments were approaching a point where events could have become unmanageable.

And that does it for the takeout today. For Major Garrett, I'm Caitlin Huey Byrne.

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