plus, putin calling in backup, the russian president may soon meet with north korea's kim jong-un to make a plea for more weapons. what does it mean for the war in ukraine? >>. and on the run, the convicted murderer who escaped from a pennsylvania prison is believed to have been spotted four times now. the district attorney involved in the search is my guest. let's go out front. good evening, welcome to a special edition of out front. i'm brianna keilar in for erin burnett. tonight biden's battleground pitch, in what is quickly becoming the center piece of biden's camcampaign, the presid celebrating an upbeat job market in the must win state of pennsylvania. >> job satisfaction is higher than it's been in 36 years. while unemployment is down, inflation is down as well, bidenomics is a blue collar blueprint for america. it's for you, my plan for the country is to make the economy work for people like you because when it works for people like you, it works for everybody. >> yeah, not everybody is sold on biden's plan. in fact, he is struggling to convince voters that his administration has been good for the economy. a new poll from "the wall street journal" finds 58% of voters say the economy has gotten worse over the past two years, just 28% say it's gotten better, which is why today president biden tried to hammer home the point that he is better for jobs than his predecessor and potential 2024 competitor. >> the great real estate builder, the last guy here, he didn't build a damn thing. when the last guy was here, you were shipping jobs to china. now we're bringing swjobs home from china. >> and that last guy, also known as former president trump is, according to a new poll, now neck in neck with biden. should the two face off again in 2024. 44% say they'd vote for trump, 46% say they would vote for biden. it is a dead heat, and despite trump expanding his lead in republican primary polls, his competitors are not letting that slow them down. today it was all about new hampshire with mike pence, vivek ramaswamy and asa hutchinson all trying to shore up support at a republican labor day event. kayla kayla taushe is out front at the white house. is there concern about how voters feel about the economy? >> the feeling among aides and advisers about the economy and v voters' concerns, they're mixed. on the one hand, many officials believe that continuing the slow progress of implementing the signature laws that president biden signed last year will chip away at some of that pessimism. there is also a sense that some deeply partisan views about the economy and the country overall simply are not movable, and then there's also a belief that even if some of those views are movable, there's still enough time between now and election day for the momentum in the economy to shift. that's why president biden is doing speeches like today's right now, to try to set the agenda for the 2024 campaign and sharpening the attacks on his once and most likely future opponent, of course, former president donald trump. i mean, there are more than a few echoes of 2020, whether it's the scranton verse park avenue overtones or just the audience of president biden's speech today, the focus on trying to shore up support among labor which is a critical constituency for democrats and many of those rank and file workers stuck with trump in 2020. just today the head of the united autoworkers was on cnn, and he told the network that any ento endorsement for biden would need to be earned and actions speak louder than words. and the irony there is the issue for the uaw in not endorsing biden is electric vehicle tax credits, a corner stone of of those signature laws hathat is going to be a corner stone of the campaign. >> thank you. and out front now, we have alyssa farah griffin, the former white house communications director for former president trump, and baa sil basil smiek . these poll numbers, are they probl problematic? >> there is time for the president to lean in on that economic message, and you know, there are so many people that want him to talk a little bit about the sort of trump effect and what's happening with trump in these legal battles, but the reality is for a lot of democrats that's baked in, for republicans it's baked in. who are we really talking to? a number of disaffected republicans and indmependents wo were there for democrats in the midterm elections. i think they're going to be incredibly receptive to leaning into this economic message. and also, factor in that the, you know, years ago we used to talk about all of these states that were these bellwether states, ohio and florida included. not so much anymore. as the number of states and voters shrink in terms of who can swing a general election, i do think that that economic message becomes more and more tailored to those voters, and there is time to make that hit home. >> alyssa, you heard biden taking some jabs there at former president trump who appears as well on his way to being biden's opponent again in 2024. trump has actually gone up 11 percent points since april in "the wall street journal" poll among gop voters. no one else even comes close here, and major gop donor dan everheart who has been on this show regularly just told "the washington post," quote, if someone doesn't stop trump in iowa or new hampshire, it's over. how much time do you think is left for a republican to stop trump? >> listen, it's an increasingly narrow amount of time. to put it into context, there's no example in modern history of a second tier candidate j overcoming such a large margin from the front runner. you're talking 40 points. i've talked to a number of these campaigns, whether it's nikki haley's, tim scott's and others, what they're advising their candidates is you can't put off those trump voters by coming after him too hard. the problem is now we're in this period where he's, you know, indicted four times, impeached twice in his former presidency, and they've not tried to define why that makes him unfit. they've in some cases gone on to almost defend him when indictments come down. i'm not shocked by the fact that he's doing better. betting odds are going to be that donald trump is the nominee. we're going to get the rematch that seven in ten americans don't want of trump versus biden again. >> we're also seeing that age is an issue in this election. you've got "the wall street journal" poll showing 73% of all americans say biden, who is 80, is too old to run for re-election next year. trump at 77 years old is not very far behind him, but only 47% of all americans say that trump's too old, and then if you were talking about just democrats, the journal says 66%, so two-thirds believed biden was too old to serve another four-year term. why does this seem to be a bigger problem for biden than for trump? >> you know, i'm not sure why, and i imagine it's probably a lot of the same reasons that people don't feel that he's done well for the economy, but my message to those voters is that the biden harris team did exactly what we asked them to do. they brought the country back to normalcy, and they have improved the economy. on the flip side of this is donald trump who is four times indicted and was, in my view, the de facto head of an insurrection on january 6th. so the question is what is it that you're actually looking for? do you want someone who's going to run the bureaucracy, manage government in a good way but also be able to protect voters against the disillusion of many of their rights? there's only really one choice that you have. so while i may understand to some extent people's views of who they think should be president, you know, again, when i was -- my first choice for president in 1992, my first vote was bill clinton who was, i think, 46 when he was elected. so i get that. if you're younger than a gen xor, you've seen a lot of presidents in your lifetime. if you are concerned about where this country is going, the changes in your rights and the ability to manage government i don't really see an alternative to biden/harris. >> alyssa, this age issue, though, it's a big one, and biden is dealing with it. he's sort of confronting it head on. here's what he said earlier today trying to use it to his advantage. >> someone said, you know, that biden, he's getting old, man. i tell you what. well, guess what, you know, the only thing that comes with age is a little bit of wisdom. i've beenin doing this longer tn anybody, and guess what, i'm going to continue to do it with your help. >> you think that works for him with independent voters who want someone besides trump? >> well, listen, he's taking a page out of ronald reagan's playbook. i think it's the only thing he can do is embrace his age. i think there's a broader conversation the american public needs to have about the jer tok psy that's essentially governing us whether it's dianne feinstein, mitch mcconnell, we have to be able to have a conversation about age without jumping to ageism. we have an age requirement to run for office. it may be worth thinking about if this is a person who's up for it. and i say this every time to note that donald trump is very -- is just several years younger than joe biden as well. this is an issue on both sides. i to think it is a very real one, 73% of americans care about it, and here's why, and i don't want to be morbid in saying this. the median age for a male in the u.s. is about 78 years old, so people's perception is joe biden has likely outlived their grandfather statistically speaking so it's hard for them to see why this is someone they think they can trust in office for four more years. listen, he's making the case, he's leaning into it. i think that's the only thing and the right thing he can do, but it is a legitimate issue. >> yeah, not my girlfriend, mid-90s, still going. >> good for him. >> good for him. >> alyssa, thank you so much. basil, really appreciate your time tonight. thank you. out front next, north korea's kim jong-un may soon travel to russia to meet with putin to discuss weapons, could this affect the war in ukraine. plus, the mass exodus, live pictures as some 70,000 people who have been trapped in the desert, well, they are now allowed to leave after quite the muddy mess. someone who is still at burning man will be joining us live. and a close encounter with a dangerous fugitive, an officer spots the murderer who escaped from prison and is now on the run. so how did he get away? 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[ engine revving ] ♪ ♪ made it! mom! leave running behind, behind. the new turbocharged volkswagen atlas. does life beautifully. tonight north korea coming to the aid of russia's war effort, kim jong-un now planning a trip to russia to meet with vladimir putin to discuss supplying weapons. the timing of the meeting is unclear, but "the new york times" says it could happen this month and would focus specifically on antitank missiles and artillery shells. and a new video in to out front, the explosion of russian artillery lighting up a darkened battlefield in the east, the one area where ukraine says the russian military is on the offensive. nic robertson is out front. >> as ukrainian troops inch forward into russia's defensive lines on the southern front, changes behind them in kyiv, president volodymyr zelenskyy switching defense ministers. alexi reznikov out, a crimea -- a proven track record on diplomacy, now in charge of the sharp end of the war, most p pressing for him, consolidate gains in the south, hold off russians in the east, and energize allies to give more weapons and faster. all as pressure mounts on president vladimir putin to rejoin the black sea grain deal, umarev helped negotiate, by inviting the turkish president to grain deal talks in russia, vladimir putin got a big platform to vent his grievances with ukraine's western backers. >> translator: the west, to put it mildly deceived us about humanitarian goals to assist developing countries. >> reporter: but just hours ahead of the meeting, putin's drones were destroying vie tat gr vital grain stores in ukraine, as they have done since russia pulled out of the black sea grain deal in july. ta ev erdogan went to putin to accept a new u.n. grain deal. if he had success, it might be slow coming. >> i believe we will be able to reach a solution that fulfills expectations soon. >> reporter: the deal was, in fact, two deals in parallel, one with ukraine, one with russia. inspectors checked cargo as grain ships exited the black sea and entered turkish waters. it lasted for a year before putin unilaterally pulled out. his reasons for exiting the deal apparently rooted in western sanctions, imposed as a result of his illegal and unprovoked war of choice. potentially now leveraging the grain deal to roll some sanctions back. >> translator: what we saw is that there was a refusal to renew deliveries of the agricultural spare parts, and also, there were problems with them, financial settlements and transaction fees. >> erdogan wants to be peacemaker, but in sochi seemed to scold ukraine and legitimize pu putin. >> translator: in order to be able to take common steps with russia, ukraine needs to soften its approach. putin rightfully does not approve if 44% of the grain goes to european countries. >> reporter: putin says he is willing to consider reviving the u.n. grain deal, but only if he gets what he wants, and according to him, that is a lifting of export restrictions that he claims are being placed on some of russia's agricultural exports. but also, hoe's doubling down, f you will, upping the ante, adding the pressure. he's not just standing back and waiting until that u.n. grain deal is done. he's finding another way to get his grain to market, and he's working on this with president erdogan, so adding pressure, doubling down, working on a separate work around grain deal with the turkish president. briana. >> nic robertson, thank you so much for that. and out front now, steve hall, former cia chief of russia operations and cnn national security analyst, steve, it's not just erdogan. putin expecting now to meet with kim jong-un to negotiate a weapons deal, and "the new york times" is saying that russia wants artillery shells and antitank weapons. what does that say to you about russia's war effort? >> yeah, it's really -- it's truly amazing. if you had asked me a couple of years ago whether or not it was likely that the russians and their supposedly military would have to turn to north korea of all countries to help them resupply, to help them with the shortages that they're experiencing in their war efforts in ukraine, i would have said absolutely not. it would be like the united states turning to uruguay and saying, hey, can you help us out on this war? so it's got to be horrifically embarrassing for the russian leadership, for the kremlin. they've got to know how humiliating that feels. the russian people will be told something different, it will be spun in some positive way, it will come across quite differently. it's truly amazing. they can't even get china to help because china understands how badly it would hurt them. they've got to turn to the north koreans of all people, it's just amazing. >> there's a newly surfaced image i want to ask you about, it's on telegram, it purports to show russian general sergei suro surovikin. some speculated surovikin had knowledge of before hand. the telegram post says that he is alive, healthy, at home with family in moscow. what does that say to you? >> well, i would say the jury's still out. there's a lot of different ways that the russians can do deep fakes and make it appear as though surovikin is still alive, and he may be. we simply don't know at this point. if surovikin is able to survive the debacle of prigozhin. we were kind of saying the same thing about prigozhin initially. we saw him wandering around st. petersburg, he was in moscow, and all of a sudden the inevitable happened. whether or not that's going to happen to surovikin, we'll see. he's certainly had to pay a price. there was the arrest and the house arrest information that we had about him. we'll see if he's actually out of the woods yet. i'm not sure! is your tracking president zelenskyy firing his defense minister, he's citing the need for, quote, new approaches to the war and this is something that has come amid a number of corruption scandals at the defense ministry, what's really happening here? because russian state media has claimed this is a sign of ukraine's failure on the battlefield. steve, what are you seeing? >> yeah, it's not surprising that the russians would couch it this way. of course they're looking for anything that they can get to stick to the wall in terms of propaganda. now, on the ukrainian side, ukraine has long had a problem with corruption. as a matter of fact, that was one of the motivating factors behind the maidon revolution, but even since then, the ukrainians have had a problem with corruption. they understand that they have a problem, and it's critically important that they do something about it because they understand that they're getting all of this support from the west, which takes corruption very seriously. so i think, you know, this is a difficult position for the ukrainian president to be in. he's got to do something about it. i think he's doing the right thing. he didn't say, for example, i'm fighting a war. i don't have time to deal with corruption. he understands he needs to take it seriously, and he's doing so. >> steve, thank you so much. we appreciate your time tonight. >> sure. out front next, live pictures of the line of cars. here it is, campers and trucks trying to leave burning man after being trapped for days by rain and mud. >> it was impossible to function, impossible to move around, impossible to communicate. >> it's been tough, and someone who is still there will be joining us next. plus, new sightings of the convicted murderer who escaped from prison, so do officials finally have him pinned down? 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>> actually, you know, we have a really well-organized camp, camp daydream, and half the camp is rvs, and half the camp is tents, so as soon as the tents started getting water logged or unlivable, people in rvs started taking in some of the tenters so everybody was warm. we also have shipping containers, semitrucks that we had emptied out and we made really beautiful allolounges in there for people to sleep in, blankets, you know, we are a community that comes together in hard times, so this actually could end up being one of the best burning mans for a lot of people because it used all of the principles all at once, and tested it for the full experience. >> yeah, it certainly did test you all, and you know, with that idea of self-reliance here, that is also something that was tested. but that said, do you think that there are things that could have been handled better by organizers? what are your thoughts on that? >> actually, so this is the first time this has been, you know, in 35 years that they've been doing this festival, i think this is the first time that anything like this has happened. i think they handled it to the best of their ability and put out all the proper instructions, which is not to maove. then it was up to the attendees to follow those rules. as soon as you start moving 30,000 pound vehicles, rvs, things without 4 by 4, you're going to get stuck, so if you listen to the rules, it's all drying up right now. people are starting to leave, but the people that started to leave and panic or wanted to get out ahead of time while it was still raining, they're still stuck out there. they're still stuck out on the road out, and they're causing a bottleneck situation for all of the people that actually stayed and listened. >> so you've stayed, you've listened. when are you planning to leave? >> i'm listening. i'm probably going to leave after the man buns trns tonight tomorrow morning because as you guys said, and we've been notified that the gates are now open. the problem is that this monday is the mass exodus, so this is when the traffic will be the heaviest, so people can plan on sitting in their cars from anywhere from two to 12 to 14 hours on the way out so i'm going to wait and hopefully just be this line for a couple hours before i head to reno. >> patience is a virtue for sure, caz, thank you so much for being with us, and we hope that you have a wonderful time. you're a very optimistic, even under these conditions. >> it's such a great community to be a part of, and it really is -- it's all about coming together and working as a team. that you think so much. >> thank you from burning man. out front next, officials reporting four possible -- four possible sightings of the dangerous murderer who escaped from prison as they now resort to blasting a message from someone very close to the killer whoc who is it, and is it going to work. and a rising star in the republican party about to face an impeachment trial after members of his own party turned against him. plan from unitedhealthcare. with this tytype of plan, you'll know upfront aboutt how much your care costs. which makes planning your financial future easier. so call unitedhealthcare today to learn more about the only plans of their kind with the aarp name. and set yourself and your future self up with an aarp medicare supplement plan from unitedhealthcare. i got into debt in college and, no matter how much i paid, it followed me everywhere. so i consolidated it into a low-rate personal loan from sofi. get a peonal loan with low fixed rates. borrow up to $100k. and no feerequired. sofi. get yo money right. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [baby crying] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ wherever you go. wherever you stay. all you need is one key. earn and use rewards across expedia, hotels.com, and vrbo. tonight new sightings of a convicted murderer on the run in pennsylvania as the manhunt intensifies. danilo cavalcante broke out of the chester county prison five days ago. law enforcement believe he's been pinned down inside a two-mile perimeter outside of philadelphia. that is where this home surveillance camera captured him in a backyard on early saturday about a mile and a half from the prison, and yesterday a state trooper spotted him in the woods, but he was able to get away. cavalcante was convicted of brutally stabbing his former girlfriend to death, and he is also wanted for murder in brazil. out front now, we have chester county district attorney deb ryan with us. deb, thank you so much for being with us. the state police have confirmed four credible sightings of cavalcante at this point. any more sightings today? >> as yesterday afternoon -- >> sorry? >> no, not that we're aware of at this moment. the last one we were aware of was yesterday afternoon. >> okay. so what happened after the state trooper spotted him? >> so we were told that he spotted him. he radioed back, and when he attempted to pursue him, the suspect was able to evade him. so we believe he's still somewhere on the perimeter as you indicated in a two-mile radius of some kind, and we have been actively pursuing him since his escape back on thursday. we have hundreds of law enforcement officers, choppers, dogs, and drones trying to track this man down. he will be brought to justice. we believe it's just a matter of time. >> he was carrying a backpack in this recent surveillance video that we're seeing, a backpack he, of course, didn't have when he escaped prison. do you have any idea if he got it or if someone might be helping him? >> we don't know where he got it yet. there had been some reports of burglaries in the local area -- missing from their residence, but we have no reason to think that he is being assisted on the outside by anyone else. we think he's alone, and we think he's in hiding at this time. >> you think he's responsible for those burglaries? >> it looks as though he is. we don't have a lot of credible information to definitivetyly lk him to some of these allegations of burglaries. there were a few where it appears he was the person who broke into somebody's home. >> are there any things, weapons or things that could be obviously important to know that he has on his person? >> no, i want to make sure that's very clear. the only thing that we heard that was reported missing was food. at this point it's five days in. we suspect that he's hungry. he's tired, he's dehydrated. we know that he had broken in, we believe he had broken in to someone's residence to take some fruit and vegetables. that's all the information we have about anything or any items that were taken from any residence at this time. >> deb, we learned today that cavalcante's mother had recorded a message to her son. it's being broadcast from this helicopter. we have a picture of it here that is circling the area urging him to surrender. has he attempted to make contact with his family or anyone? >> we have no evidence of that. we don't think he has a cell phone. he escaped with nothing on him as far as we could tell other than the clothes that he was wearing. at this time we know that, you know, he had contacted his mother right after he murdered deborah brandao in 2021. that was the very -- hoping this plea for a peaceful surrender by his mother will compel him to come forward in a peaceful manner, and so they've been blasting it out from the helicopter with the intention that he will surrender to law enforcement soon. >> of course a lot of people want to know how did this happen in the first place, and i know that you were focused very much on catching him. you've said the prison is very aware of vulnerabilities. it's made efforts to correct them, but let me ask you this. will someone be held to account, even as you won't share details of those vulnerabilities, obviously, will someone be held to account for a murderer being able to escape from a prison and leave an entire suburb in fear? >> of course, you know, we're conducting that investigation. our priority right now is making sure this man is captured. all of our energies are being focused on that. at some point when we are able to conduct a thorough investigation of the prison, i'm sure we will identify where the actual vulnerability was and we'll make sure that whoever is to be held accountable, will be held accountable. >> all right, district attorney deb ryan, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. have a good night. >> you as well. out front next, texas tonight bracing for a hike stakes impeachment battle as the state's disgraced attorney general vows to retaliate. >> let's clean house. and what does former president trump and his 18 co-defendants have in common with a superstar from atlanta?a? so they can stopop the spread of wildfires. now's the time to see what ameririca's largest 5g5g network can do for your business. she found it. the feeling of finding the psoriasis treatment she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding your back... is back. or finding psoriasis can't deny the splendor of these thighs. once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. ask your dermatologist about sotyktu for clearer skin. so clearly you. sotyktu. struggling with the highs and lows of bipolar 1? 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[ cheers and applause ] >> the suspended republican attorney general was impeached on 20 articles, including charges of retaliating against whistle-blowers, abuse of power, and bribery as well as misconduct involving an alleged affair. paxton used this moment to pound the theme that he's the victim of a political witch hunt. >> if you've kind of kept up, you could read that i'm responsible for the jfk assassination and for 9/11 and everything in between. >> reporter: paxton's impeachment trial begins tuesday in the texas state senate, and it features some of the highest profile and unique legal characters in the state. paxton is represented by dan cogdale and tony buzz by. they've described the impeachment of paxton as a drive-by shooting. >> this was a sham. it was a sham from the get-go. >> to say this case is not about politics has the credibility, the believability and the sincerity of the fellow who tries to convince his wife that he goes to the strip joint for the food. it's not about the faked women, swee sweetheart. it's about the food. nonsense. it's definitionally political, nonsense. >> reporter: prosecuting the case against paxton are the legendary rusty harden and dick degaren. for decades they've worked the biggest cases in the state. a few months ago when the paxton's lawyers ripped the impeachment process, cnn asked harden to comment, and he referred us to this classic scene from "my cousin vinny". >> that guy just says [ bleep ]. >> but the political stakes are sky high. in may paxton was overwhelmingly impeached by texas house republicans, 121-23. and paxton is vowing political retribution against those republicans who voted against him. >> let's clean house. >> reporter: there are 31 state senators, one of them is angela paxton, the attorney general's wife, but she will not be allowed to vote on her husband's impeachment. there are 12 democrats in the senate. the question is whether nine republicans will vote against paxton. veteran republican political strategist brendan stein houser says it's not clear how this trial will play out. >> there's a lot of political pressure coming from both sides. this is unprecedented, so they're trying the do their constitutional duty, they're trying to do the legally, morally, ethically right thing. they don't know what that is yet until they dive in and see the evidence. >> reporter: paxton has enjoyed support from donald trump and republican voters. st steinhouser says the justice system is aligned against them. >> it gives them political support among activists in the republican party of texas, and it makes it more difficult for state senators and state representatives to impeach and then convict him. >> and how is this all expected to play out when the trial begins tomorrow? >> reporter: well, it starts tomorrow morning. there is a small chance that the majority of the impeachment articles could be dismissed by a simple majority vote of the texas senate, which is overwhelmingly republican. but it's not clear if that's going to happen. then the question becomes if this case and trial continues to move on. it's expected to last several weeks. ken paxton's lawyers have said that he will not testify. but impeachment managers insist that they will call ken paxton to testify in this impeachment trial. so, it will be a very stressful few weeks here in the texas capitol. brianna? >> certainly will be. ed lavandera, thank you. "out front" next, why a popular rapper's legal troubles in fulton county could reveal a lot about what former president trump is about to face. we have a special report next. and coming up later tonight on cnn, a new cnn film explores the life of rock star little richard and his impact on music. >> just like a shot out of a cannon. >> his voice, he created the rock and roll icon. >> sorry, y'all, it wasn't elvis. >> i am the king of rock and roll. >> for first songs that you love that kbrurnts hate is the beginning of the sound track to your life. >> little richard's lyrics were too lewd to get fair play on the radio. >> it was just as clean as you were. >> he was very good at liberating other people. he was not good at liberating himself. ♪ >> james brown, i discovered him. jimi hendrix was my guitar player. >> i used to stand on the desk and do little richard. >> everyone was beholden to him. >> "little little richard: i am everything" tonight at 9:00 on cnn. you! like your workplace benefits and retirement savings. with voya, considering all your financial choices together... can help you make smarter decisions. for a more confident financial future. hey, a tandem bicycle. you can't do that by yourself. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. 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[music plays] but if this is all too real for you and your loved ones. make the call. because we care too. ♪ home instead. to us, it's personal. tonight several codefendants charged as part of the sweeping fulton county probe in donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia, facing a wednesday deadline to enter a plea or appear for their arraignment. this as another racketeering case brought by the d.a. against a major rap star could hold clues for what lies ahead. ♪ first you get that money then you get that power ♪ >> reporter: on stage, young thug is a rap superstar. on the streets of atlanta, prosecutors say he is a gang leader, indicted along with many asesh yachts and allegedly tied to a raft of crimes. >> crimes of violence, crimes of theft, crimes involving drugs. >> reporter: the & the person pushing that case is fani willis, the same district attorney who indicted donald trump. >> my number one focus is targeting gangs. >> reporter: surprisingly, the rapper's case could provide clues about how the former president's case might proceed. both were filed under racketeering laws, typically used to fight organized crime. both indictments listed a range of crimes and lots of defendants, although young thug's case, through plea deals and other developments, is now down to fewer than a dozen. and both involve well known public figure who is have pleaded not guilty and whose cases have grabbed headlines, with trump lashing out at this prosecutor, just as he has others. >> i didn't do anything wrong. i did nothing wrong. >> reporter: with claims flooding headlines, the process of selecting an impartial jury was complicated. young thug's case was filed in may 2022, and jury selection has been underway since january of this year. former u.s. attorney michael moore. >> so, if it's taken eight months to pick a jury in the young thug case, i -- i have no belief that you could do it quicker than that in the trump case. >> reporter: indeed, he says, considering all the defendants, all the lawyers, and all the legal wrangling in young thug's case, it is impossible to imagine the politically explosive case of the former president moving any smoother or quicker. >> it's a resource drain. it's a time drain. that's one reason i suggest there will be no possibility of trying that case next year. >> reporter: and of course all of that can push it ever deeper into the 2024 presidential race, where all of the political and legal questions just get worse. tom foreman, cnn, washington. and thank you so much for joining us. "ac 360" with john berman starts "ac 360" with john berman starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com tonight on "360," a working holiday for only is of the gop candidates, and new polling that's trouble for all but one of them. >>