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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Businesses Are Trying To Pass Tariff Costs Onto Customers; New Jersey Mayor Arrested For Protesting At Migrant Center; Newark Air Traffic Control Suffers Another Outage Overnight; In First Mass, Pope Leo Calls On Priesthood To Show Humility; CNN Visits Command Center On Ukraine's Front Lines; Answering Your Questions On The Health Effects Of Lead Exposure. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 09, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, Phil Mattingly is standing by filling in for Jake Tapper on The Lead. And so I will say we concluded yesterday with the Cubs tweet that Pope Leo is a Cubs fan. The White Sox have something to say about that today.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Did they really actually publicly say something? You know, the brother corrected that, frankly, I want his brother to talk on camera for like the next 15 days. This is the best -- as a practicing Catholic, the best kind of faith discourse.

Kasie, have an awesome weekend. We'll see you back in the arena next week.

The future of President Trump's trade war with China could hinge on meetings just hours away. The Lead starts right now.

Will Trump back off his steep tariff threats? That's a big question. Talks tomorrow could set the stage as the president floats a concession while the standoff already starts to impact consumer choices.

Plus, inside the conclave from the cardinals who were there hear how they came to select the new Pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But a lot of dialogue occurred at mealtime coffee break.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any device that could transmit was taken from us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does drama like the one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And breaking news, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, arrested at an immigration detention center. What we're learning about why he and several members of Congress were there in the first place.

Welcome to Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. We begin with our money leap. President Donald Trump's trade war beginning to change the way America shops. In fact, you may already see some impacts. A screen grab from one of our producers shows a $22 baby hat for sale online.

Now, if you look closely, you can see in addition to shipping and taxes, there's another line. Duties. The cost, $34.78, more expensive than the hat itself. Now, want to note, our producer did not buy the baby hat. But notes one year ago, other items from that same store did not show a duties fee.

Now, you can expect more of this in the coming weeks. Economists say you'll begin to find fewer options and limited choices in stores and online as retailers scale back imports in the face of Trump's 10 percent universal tariff on virtually every product entering the United States. Plus, of course, those 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods.

Well, on Truth Social, today, the president floated the possibility of lowering that tariff on China to 80 percent. The White House press secretary was later asked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He is not going to unilaterally bring down tariffs on China. We need to see concessions from them as well. And again, that's part of the reason that Secretary Bessent is going to talk to his Chinese counterparts this weekend to start those discussions in person. As for the 80 percent number, that was a number the President threw out there and we'll see what happens this weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, it's worth noting, 80 percent will be a huge drop from where it currently stands. And yet it's still insanely high in context and not clear it would be enough to convince China to play ball or convince U.S. businesses to import Chinese goods.

Let's dive straight in with our panel. Adrienne Elrod, Democratic strategist and former Kamala Harris campaign spokesman, and Bill Stepien, Donald Trump's 2020 campaign manager and former White House Director of Political Affairs, are here with us.

Bill, I want to start with you because I actually think this morning the truth social post, as his negotiators were basically arriving in Geneva for these very, very high stakes talks. It's an important window into the President and how he's thinking about things. I think people saw the 80 percent come out and say, oh, wow, he's backing off. This is a concession.

It struck me that he was framing what his team was about to walk into. How should people think about these meetings and that potential concession?

BILL STEPIEN, FORMER 2020 TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think it shows how high the stakes are. Right. The fact that he's pre negotiating before the meetings publicly, I'd like to think that was done in consultation with Mr. Bessent. You never know.

But I think it's expectations have been set really high and some oftentimes internally by the President's own team, which is problematic. He knows how high the stakes are. A lot of pressure on best to get the deal done. You're already starting to see some help, if you call it that, from the president.

MATTINGLY: The increased cost. You know, we cited one with a baby hat. Love hats for babies.

ADRIENNE ELROD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yeah.

MATTINGLY: Never going to spend that much money on a hat for baby.

ELROD: No, it is not.

MATTINGLY: But how for Democrats who are watching this, tariffs is kind of a complex issue for them generally. But how do you kind of utilize this moment, things like that, politically?

ELROD: Well, first of all, I don't think it's necessarily a difficult moment for us to make this contrast when, number one, President Trump inherited a pretty gosh darn good economy when he came into this job. 15.5 million jobs created, record low unemployment, record high wages.

[17:05:03]

So to sort of create this chaotic environment that he has done with these, you know, premeditated tariff wars, that's really how you frame it. And we are seeing the cost, I mean, Phil, we are seeing the cost play out right now. They're only going to go up even more so as these wars continue.

And I think at the end of the day, the question also becomes, did Donald Trump ever have a strategy here? I mean, he started off with tariffs in the 130 percentage range. Now they're down in the 80s, he's saying, he's obviously throwing out different numbers.

China, meanwhile, has made it very clear, yes, you know, maybe if you don't want to work with us, you know, United States will go off and we'll trade with another set of countries and we'll make up our deficit that way.

So I think, you know, Trump thinks the onus to an extent is on China. But I think at this point, going to these trade negotiations, the onus really is on the Trump administration to try to strike a deal.

MATTINGLY: Bill, what was interesting yesterday, the announcement of the U.K. agreement. And look, to be clear, it was not a trade deal. The president oversold what it actually contained, but it wasn't nothing either, particularly when I think every country is trying to figure out, all right, what's the roadmap here to potential deals?

Now, they on some level have one. But the president did not appreciate criticism that he got for that deal. Posting on Truth Social, it's actually. Oh, no, actually, I'm going to -- we heard or saw that he didn't appreciate that.

Part of the reason that people were upset was reflected a little bit by Erik Erickson, the conservative commentator who posted on X. It's actually a pretty blank deal with the UK. First they told us the 10 percent tariff was just a baseline for negotiations to get to free trade deals. Now we're being told the 10 percent tariff is for keeps. That's just a tax on the American people.

How much do you think the backlash, particularly Republicans, has an effect on the president's strategy?

STEPIEN: I think it depends on where you sit. Right. I saw lobbyists for the car manufacturers were unhappy. Lobbyists are paid to be unhappy, to have lobbyists keep getting paid. I saw the ag industry was quite pleased with the deal.

I think that walking into this weekend's negotiation with China, it was important to put something on the board, not to walk into those negotiations without a deal in hand. It was not a big deal, if it was even a deal at all. I think it was relatively minor.

There was some salesmanship of the deal, but I think it was important to get something done, something on the board. I'll go back to the expectation raising that's been done has not helped. It's only taken away some leverage and you kind of get what you got from the deal with the UK.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Big expectations and kind of a little glance at like there might be a transition, there might be some pain. There's always going to be some pain to get where they say they want to go. I have to ask you guys, there's been this fascinating kind of back and forth about whether Republicans are willing to raise taxes, which has been antithetical to Republicans as they've existed for the better part of several decades. I and how the president sits on that. He actually just weighed in the Oval Office. I want to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, what we're doing is we're actually, if we ever did that, it would only be and from what I hear, people would love to do it, rich people, I would love to do it, frankly. But what we'll do is that, you know, they'll go around saying, oh, this is so terrible. Would you do it? Is you're giving up something up top in order to make people in the middle income and the lower income brackets save more. So it's really a redistribution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Actually, I want to talk to both of you about this, but I listen to that and it's not unintentional. This has been kind of the populist right elements that are both within the White House, but also the outside have kind of pushed this idea. I mean, it sounds like a Democrat.

ELROD: It sounds like our talk is reiterating our talking points from the campaign trail, the Harris-Biden campaign's talking points. I mean, look, I think the question is, first of all, this does feel like it came a little bit out of left field. I mean, Bill, am I right here, that he said this? Number one.

And number two, what kind of Republican support is he going to get? I mean, Republicans have already in Congress have already put themselves on the line in many respects, especially Republicans who are in very tight reelection campaigns. The midterms are not too far away, believe it or not. So to actually be able to go out and fight for this, it's going to take a lot of capital when they are also beholden to their donors who do not want to see these kind of, you know, tax impositions.

So, it was a little bizarre to me. It sounded like a little Democratic. But, you know, there's a lot of bizarre stuff happening right now. So I think he also may have just been putting it out there to see what the reaction would be.

STEPIEN: That never happens. I remember the good old days of 2012, long ago, when Republicans got votes from rich people and Democrats got votes from poor people. The world has changed.

MATTINGLY: Coalition shifted.

ELROD: Yes.

STEPIEN: It has. Trump lost those who earned more than 100k this past election. He won those who made less than 50k. So if Trump's needing to scrape together some bucks to pay for his tax cuts, peeling money back from those who didn't vote for him to pay for tax cuts for those who did, kind of makes some sense, as different as the world may be.

MATTINGLY: Can I ask you in your former political director, former campaign manager role.

[17:10:05]

When we talked to Republicans the first time, this was floated, like, four weeks ago. It's now had, like, seven life cycles, apparently bag live. It was across the board on Capitol Hill. No, absolutely not. Maybe two or three. Not a chance in hell. If the President gets behind this, what does that do for Republicans?

STEPIEN: I think. Wasn't criminal justice reform also DOA? Like he has the ability to drag the party along with him? I think he's done it in the past. I wouldn't put it past me. You do it here, too.

MATTINGLY: We'll have to wait and see, you guys. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Now to some breaking news in the National League. The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, arrested outside an immigration detention center. Let's get straight to CNN Priscilla Alvarez. Priscilla, what actually happened here?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the New York mayor, as you said, has been arrested. He had been protesting the opening of a facility. The facility here is the Delaney Hall, is a detention facility that's run by private prison operator GEO Group.

Now, according to witnesses on the ground, federal officials had blocked the entry. There was a heated argument, and then the mayor was arrested. He had been trying to join a tour by the New Jersey delegation and their attempt tour this facility.

Now, the interim U.S. attorney has weighed in and said that the mayor had trespassed and ignored warnings from Homeland Security personnel. We have also received a statement from the Department of Homeland Security saying, quote, members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Going on to say that this is an evolving situation.

Now, Phil, Congress has passed legislation which includes language about members of Congress being able and having the authority to visit ICE facilities without having to receive special permissions or to make a request. That, however, would not apply to the Newark mayor. So all of this is still an evolving situation. We're trying to get more details here.

But what does remain true at this hour is that the Newark mayor has been arrested after a heated confrontation at this ICE detention facility. Phil.

MATTINGLY: And please let us know when you get those details. I know you've been reporting this out over the course of the last hour. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much.

Well, staying in Newark, there are problems at the Newark Liberty International Airport. Hear what an air traffic controller said during a new blackout today when the control tower lost communication with planes.

Plus, the Roman Catholic cardinals, they're dishing on what life was like inside the Conclave as they decided who should be the next pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN, NEW YORK: The food, let's just say it was a good, good, good impetus to get this over with. All right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:53]

MATTINGLY: International lead, air traffic controllers handling flights at Newark airport experiencing another communications blackout early this morning. It comes after nearly two weeks of unprecedented delays at the New Jersey airport.

CNN's Pete Muntean is here. Pete, what do we know about how this happened again?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, thankfully, controllers are telling me that this happened in the middle of the night because this could have been a whole heck of a lot worse. This new meltdown at Newark approach control is just the latest in a troubling series of incidents. The FAA is now confirming a reporting that controllers of the facility lost radar displays and radio contact for about 90 seconds just before 4 this morning. That means they could not see where planes were or communicate with them.

Very similar to the incident that happened 11 days ago. That blackout on April 28th caused five controllers to take what's called trauma leave leading to staffing shortages and rolling flight delays at Newark. More than a thousand flights canceled.

A source familiar with this latest case tells me no new controllers took trauma leave. But they're understandably very upset because this is the most dangerous thing that can happen on the job. They tell me. I want you to listen to what a controller who was working this morning was able to broadcast to a flight when the radar scopes went down.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: FedEx 1989, I going to hand you off here. Our scopes just wen black again. If you care about this, contact your airline and try to get some pressure for them to fix this stuff. New York departure now. 120.8.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 120.9. Sorry to hear about that, FedEx 1989. I'm switching, good luck guys.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Needs to be fixed yesterday, according to these controllers. Our reporting shows this has happened at least three times now.

There was also an incident on November 6 where controllers lost contact with a FedEx flight which ultimately flew into the busy airspace over LaGuardia. A controller told me it was a miracle that there wasn't a mid-air collision in that case, like with all the other incidents, the FAA says the source of this latest problem was a telecommunications outage.

And yesterday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rolled out a plan to modernize air traffic control in the U.S. notably replacing old copper wire in 4,600 facilities with fiber optic cable. He insisted to me in an interview that this will take three to four years, but only if Congress gives the Trump administration all the money up front. Duffy said incidents like this highlight the need not just in Newark, but nationwide.

MATTINGLY: Can I ask in Newark specifically, the rolling nature of this? What are we expecting next week?

MUNTEAN: Probably is not going to end really anytime soon. You know, the hope is that the FAA swoops in and fix this, and they've vowed to do some major fixes, including change the technology there and add a backup line so this doesn't happen with a lot of recency, a lot of repetition. But the big thing here is that this will probably continue through the

summer. And we know these controllers are on leave for 45 days. We're only 11 days into that. There's also runway construction at Newark. They're down to one Runway until June 15th.

The big thing now, I would say for passengers, you're not in a lot of danger, but you may want to avoid Newark just because of the convenience here. And United Airlines is letting people change their flights at least into next week within a couple days of their original departure or connection, with no big extra charges here, free of charge. And so you may want to take them up on that and avoid Newark for the time being.

[17:20:04]

MATTINGLY: Important tip. Very important reporting. Great reporting always, Pete.

MUNTEAN: Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Thanks so much. I want to bring in Billy Nolen. He was the acting FAA administrator under President Biden. He also served in the army as a helicopter pilot and flew commercial planes for American Airlines. Really appreciate your time.

Just based on the reports over the last two weeks, with this latest outage today, do you think it's safe for planes to be operating in and out of Newark?

BILLY NOLEN, FORMER ACTING FAA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, first of all, let me just say thank you for having me on. This is a crucial time. So bottom line up front, our nation, our airspace is safe, but it is at the same time fragile, as evidenced by, you know, you have this one outage on the 28th, you have another one this morning at 355, approximately.

So all of this just points to the work that the secretary has outlined. And I got to tell you, I'm a big supporter for the first time, I think, in my career that spans 45 years, you've had the secretary that brought together the five major airlines in the United States, labor, certainly the FAA members, you know, the Senate and the House, that says we're at this critical juncture, we continue to grow. This is a $1.6 trillion industry, 10 million associated jobs, right? We got to get this done.

And so I think the timing is right. You know, this is not something we want to talk about every night, you know, at 6:00 clock or 7:00 clock or early in the morning to say we've had another event. The American people expect more and they deserve more.

MATTINGLY: I think you're getting at this. But what I've been trying to figure out is who, if there's any singular entity is to blame for this not being addressed earlier. Should this have been done when you were there during the Biden administration? Why? Why now?

NOLEN: Absolutely. Well, I could say it should have been done at every previous administration. You look back, right? What the secretary articulated yesterday is that some of this go back three decades or more, right? We've got -- you've got legacy copper systems. We've got, you know, the FAA has got a lot of stuff in places, some of our very busiest airport, but there's still technology that's not there at, you know, 400 other towers, if you will, or we're still using paper strips. We got copper wiring.

We've got, you know, when we think about communication, we think about the critical aspects that makes our national airspace system safe. You know, I was of my 26 and a half years of flying, I was a captain for 16 of that. So I understand the burden of operating in the NASA. And you want to have the best equipment. Airlines have invested an awful lot of money. You got new entrants coming in.

So I go back to say, now is the time. And the secretary is on point here to say, look, we're going to exhibit strong leadership. We call Congress to get this done. I know a lot of folks may talk about, do you give them money up front? We've got no time to lose. I will tell you, when I was administrator at $24 billion budget, about 5 million there for infrastructure, about 3 of that for upgrades. But it wasn't nearly enough.

MATTINGLY: CNN's investigative team reviewed safety reports, air traffic audio, other records that revealed air traffic controllers really been raising alarms about Newark since last summer. One of the problems the report cited was that the FAA moved some air traffic controllers to a site in Philadelphia while keeping others on Long island in response to staffing shortages.

As a result, CNN found that within weeks, at least a half dozen controllers reported what they described as serious, caused by failures to collaborate between the two locations about 100 miles apart. Can you shed any light on why the FAA may not have corrected course earlier?

NOLEN: Well, this is something the FAA, you think about how the FAA sort of, you know, apportions and rationalize our national airspace. You want to get the maximum amount of efficiency. So I think from the FAA, from the leaders there, they felt like moving apart part of this airspace to Philadelphia was going to allow them to be more efficient. Right.

But I got to tell you, it takes everybody working together. You expect labor to come to the table. You expect FAA to come to the table, DoT. And so bringing this together, you know, we could point fingers all day long here within the agency. But, you know, the FAA felt they were doing the right thing, and I support them on that decision. Right,

MATTINGLY: Right.

NOLEN: But now is the time for us to really kind of move forward here.

MATTINGLY: To the point you're making. I definitely understand it. You know, there's a 2022 FAA internal report. It was obtained by CNN about the relocation plan. It concluded there was, quote, an extremely remote chance of an outage, and the overall risk of the plan was graded medium. You became the acting administrator right after that report was published.

What did you see? And are you concerned about how people trust this system when stuff like that was available internally?

[17:25:00]

NOLEN: You know, what we should continue to do now, remember, you've got, you know, what are some really, really, you know, strong professionals. Again, my 100 percent support for Secretary Duffy, my absolute support for acting administrator Chris Rochelle and that team there. Right?

You got what you got. You know, so you're -- think about it. You're the captain of the team. This is -- these are the pieces you have. You got to go make it work. And so that's what the FAA has been tasked with doing. And it's -- to be quite honest, been a -- there's sort of been this battle of incrementalism where you get a little bit of money this time. The next appropriations, like you got a little bit of. We just got to cut all of that out. And this is really what secretary called for. Let's make a mate.

This is an investment in America. The best, you know, we're the best country in the world. Should we not have the best air traffic control system in the world? So, now's the time to get the right. And you just seen this out, this overwhelming outpouring of support to go make that happen.

MATTINGLY: Billy Nolen, appreciate your time, your perspective. Thanks so much.

NOLEN: Thank you, sir.

MATTINGLY: Well, next, the first message setting the tone for the new Pope, Leo XIV. Plus, what the cardinals who picked him said today about the conclave process.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:36]

MATTINGLY: In the Faith Lead, newly elected Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first mass as pontiff today at the Sistine Chapel. In his first homily, Pope Leo urged Catholics to go beyond the superficial faith, called on clergy to show humility, and emphasized missionary outreach. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After the bells and smoke confirmed what the world had been waiting for, comes the first order of business. Less than 17 hours after he was chosen, Pope Leo XIV, as he's known, returned to this frescoed sanctuary. Dressed in white and gold vestments to celebrate his first mass as pope with the same cardinals who chose him. The first person from the U.S. elected pope notably did not speak English on Thursday's address. Friday was different. POPE LEO XIV: I will sing a new song to the Lord because he -- because he has done marvels. And indeed, not just with me, but with all of us, my brother cardinals, as we celebrate this morning, I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): In a nod to his American roots, Leo opened in English before switching to Italian, urging the church to draw its strength from the holiness of its people, not the grandeur of its buildings. He also spoke in Spanish, a language he used during his decades of work in Peru, a sign perhaps he will bring a global outlook to the papacy.

WEDEMAN: Tourists and the faithful have been flocking to the area around the Vatican since the death of Pope Francis. And Thursday, when they heard the pronouncement Habemus Papam, Latin for we have a pope, they exploded with joy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's our reputation is, you know, hit and miss with a lot of the world. And maybe this will bring people to like America more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's great. I also think that he's going to be very much like Pope Francis. And he's going to be very modern, very open to the people. And I think he's going to do the church a great deal.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Pope Leo inherits a schedule packed with commitments, many of which were organized for his predecessor, Pope Francis. This weekend, he leads his first Sunday mass in what's known as a holy year for the Catholic Church. Many will be waiting to see how he begins to shape his legacy.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Our thanks to Ben Wedeman for that report.

Joining me now is Father Mark Bosco. He's the vice president of the Mission and Ministry at Georgetown University. Father Bosco, I just I want to start by playing some sound from some of the cardinals that were in Conclave, one, because it's hilarious. But two, because they're answering questions we all wanted to know. Take a look.

REV. MARK BOSCO, S.J. VICE PRESIDENT, MISSION AND MINISTRY AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL JOSEPH TOBIN, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Any device that could transmit was taken from us.

CARDINAL WILTON GREGORY, WASHINGTON, D.C., ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS: A lot of dialogue occurred at mealtime, coffee break.

CARDINAL BLASE CUPICH, CHICAGO: This is my first conclave and I hope my last. So viva Papa.

CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN, NEW YORK: The food, let's just say it was a good, good, good impetus to get this over with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: You can always rely on Cardinal Dolan to deliver the comedic humor. Our cardinal here in D.C. was there as well. As an American, we were talking about this before you came on. What -- what did you think? Where are you now? And kind of the stunned to a wow, this is real face.

BOSCO: Yeah, I was -- I was what part of that group that said it'll never be an American. I'll never be an American. So when -- when I first -- first heard it in Latin, I'm this actually, you know, that's the American. Yeah. So very shocked, very pleased, but also kind of like, what does this mean for the -- for the church universally? What does that mean for the United States? It just really, really excited, though.

Having lived in Chicago for a while, just had a sense of his Chicago roots and really delighted. And I think there was a real sense of joy even on the campus at Georgetown because of that.

MATTINGLY: Asking is both a reporter and also a Catholic. What does it mean for America's Catholics?

[17:35:01]

BOSCO: Yeah, I think it does say that somehow America and -- and the global church has kind of arrived in some ways. What does it mean for America's Catholics? Yeah, I think it does say that somehow America and the global church has kind of arrived in some ways as not only a place as a political force in the world, but perhaps as a religious kind of place as well, a religious Catholic space.

I think it's going to be an important way in which he negotiates and kind of threads the needle between what does it mean to be an American? I mean, he's really the pope of the Americas, right. And how does he kind of bring the world together in some kind of communion? So I think it's going to be a wonderful way for the -- for the church to lead and for maybe the U.S. to lead in that regard.

MATTINGLY: It was interesting yesterday how quickly people are trying to read wardrobe or wording or language she's using --

BOSCO: Yeah, yeah.

MATTINGLY: -- to divine immediately what it means for his papacy. What -- what will you watch? What -- what will kind of tell you whether he's more like Francis, whether he's more like Benedict, whether he's a combination of the two, whether he's like neither of them?

BOSCO: Yeah, I think you'll definitely want to be his own man, right? He wants to shepherd the church in -- in terms of his own kind of upbringing and his own sensibility. What I do think is I thought it was really important that he did not speak in English when he was on the balcony. He spoke in Italian to the people of Rome. He spoke in Spanish where he had been bishop.

And it really said that he was going to be a pope for the -- for the universal church. And I thought it was really telling that the next day he did. He started his homily in English. Once again, kind of bring that part of him into it. So here's a pope of many identities. The American -- the American who's left the United States, goes to Peru, has been all over the world.

And I think that that sense of his being a very much a universal pastor is what I'm looking for. I think that, you know, he wore the -- he wore the -- the stole, the usual stuff out on the balcony. I thought that was kind of a kind of a return to a little bit to the traditions. I don't think he wants to be Pope Francis, but he's certainly a man after Pope Francis.

MATTINGLY: It is possible for someone to be their own individual in these moments and so many have demonstrated. Father Mark Bosco, really appreciate your time.

BOSCO: Thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: Well, we're getting brand new information on somewhat of an international pressure campaign on Russia to accept the ceasefire for 30 days in Ukraine not just three days. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:23]

MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, a flurry of phone calls between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European leaders, all trying to push Russian leader Vladimir Putin to accept a new 30-day ceasefire or face a fresh round of sanctions.

Putin declared his own three-day ceasefire, which conveniently coincided with Russia's Victory Day parade today. That parade, complete with tanks, thousands of soldiers, and Putin's ally, Chinese leader Xi Jinping. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh takes us to a Ukrainian command center on the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): The clock strikes zero, and nothing new comes. The Kremlin promised 72 hours of their guns falling silent.

WALSH: They have to see if President Vladimir Putin is keeping his word at all.

WALSH (voice-over): They knew the answer, but the proof isn't far behind. This National Guard unit can see most of the eastern and Southern front line from one room.

WALSH: So, it's just saying three minutes ago, and they'll be about just three minutes into the ceasefire. So, artillery shooting in the direction of Pokrovsk, one of the hottest parts of the front line now.

WALSH (voice-over): Rocket launchers, a rise in surveillance drones. But this is how it was at Easter, when Russia last declared a unilateral ceasefire.

"KIR," NATIONAL GUARD OF UKRAINE (through audio translator): That ceasefire was broken several times. The Russian Federation opened fire. They used the ceasefire to move their troops, regroup, evacuate their wounded, rotate troops, bring in fresh forces and gather along the front line for further assaults.

WALSH (voice-over): But they also share something remarkable. A window onto the future that's far from peaceful.

Outside of most drones' range, this vast Russian camp has sprung up in just the last two weeks. An endless network of dugouts, tarpaulins, vehicles, possibly thousands of Russian troops amassing to the South of their front lines, probably not for a summer of peace.

Twelve hours into the ceasefire, we joined this drone unit. Warfare in 2025 is just six men in goggles sitting in the bushes. Feather-light Styrofoam, homemade drones with 40-kilometer range, smaller attack drones slugging it out in the skies.

Nothing has changed with the ceasefire today here. But the war itself seems to change with ingenuity every week. They now intercept the feeds of Russian drones themselves. See their enemy hunting them.

WALSH: So, this is you watching them, watching you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WALSH: OK.

WALSH (voice-over): Here's a Russian mortar strike on Ukrainians this morning. And a Russian attack on Ukrainian vehicle at 5:00 a.m.

WALSH: So, when you guys hear all the talk of how the White House wants to make peace happen here, how do you react to that kind of talk or idea?

"BANKIR," SECURITY SERVICE OF UKRAINE: Maybe it will be better they give us a real American weapon. And we will show how peace looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can make the peace.

"BANKIR": Because they attack our house. Why do you need to negotiate with somebody?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from this current village. I'm born here, and my mother still live here. And I'm here to protect her.

[17:45:00]

WALSH (voice-over): Peace here something simple and vital without tricks or limits. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: We are hours away from an extraordinary moment of diplomacy here in Kyiv, potentially a defining moment of the Trump administration's efforts for peace or indeed the war itself. The leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom will stand alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and demand an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. This though clearly they believe and it's public too with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump and the likelihood that if Russia is not compliant or breaches a ceasefire, it signs up to that there could be significant sanctions against Moscow.

We've not seen this kind of cohesion diplomatically before to get a ceasefire over the line. It will be, I think, remarkable to hear the sort of timing that these four leaders put out, whether it's immediate or has a future deadline. I should point out in the last hours too, the U.S. embassy here has rarely warned of the potential for a significant air attack in the days ahead as well.

So a lot's moving here and hopes for peace. But as you saw there, a lot of mistrust of Russia's intentions.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, extraordinarily high stakes moment to come, but I would urge everyone, remember the reporting you just saw when people are using diplomatic messaging to talk about what they think might happen. Nick Paton Walsh, incredible work as always. Thanks so much.

Well, we're standing by to see how soon a Tufts University student will leave a detention center after a judge ordered her immediate release.

You'll recall the dramatic arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk, handcuffed by plainclothes officers. Ozturk's attorneys are weighing in. One will be here on The Lead. That's coming up.

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[17:51:38]

MATTINGLY: In our Health Lead, we return to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is reporting on how the city is trying to stop a lead contamination crisis inside its public schools. Today, Dr. Gupta is answering your questions about risks caused by lead exposure. Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are on the ground here in Milwaukee getting a lot of questions about lead. Something I want to clarify right off the top, because a lot of questions came in about this. There is no safe amount of lead. That is something that you hear all the time. It's important to know.

But at the same time, when they test for lead, the sensitivity of the equipment is to really around 3.5 micrograms. So that's a number that you often hear as an acceptable limit. But that really has to do more with the testing than the actual limit of the lead in the body. Let's try and get to as many of these questions as we can. Karen from California asks, does lead ever leave your body? Really important question. The short answer is yes, lead does leave the body. But important things to keep in mind. First of all, it can continue to accumulate at the same time that it is leaving your body. So it can be going sort of back and forth.

It is stored in the blood. It is stored in soft tissues. It is stored in your organs. But in adults, about 95% of the lead is actually stored in your bones and your teeth. And it can mobilize throughout your life, which is why lead can also be considered sort of a long- term toxin. That is part of the problem.

So it can cause problems throughout your life. But the half-life is around a month. And it does sort of leave your body as long as you don't continue to accumulate it. Let's get to this question from John in Roebuck, South Carolina. What kind of issues might such an exposure cause for seniors?

You know, we do talk a lot about kids. And part of the reason we talk a lot about kids is because kids are smaller. So when they get lead exposure, it can have more of an impact on their bodies. Also, kids are closer to the ground. That's often where the lead dust is. Kids like to eat paint chips because paint chips are often sweet. So for all those reasons, lead exposure can have a bigger impact on kids than adults. But it can be a problem in adults as well.

It does tend to leave your body, as we just answered in the previous question. But in adults, it can cause problems if you get significant lead toxicity, including problems with your cardiovascular system and your -- your cognitive system as well, your central nervous system.

Let's get to one final question. We got this one from Barbara Hill in Vermont, who wants to know how much of an issue lead is in some of our favorite foods, specifically in chocolate. How can I continue to enjoy it occasionally while reducing my exposure?

All right. A lot of comments about lead in chocolate. Some heavy metals do end up in -- in chocolate, lead, cadmium, even small amounts of arsenic. It has to do with the fact that -- that these foods are often grown in soil that might be contaminated with lead. So if you go and you look at chocolate, for example, arsenic is not as big a problem.

But if you look at lead, for example, in chocolate, if you look at the most strict standards, California standards, you'll find that about 43% of the chocolates out there do have levels of lead that would exceed those standards, so 43%. Now, that does sound concerning, but you got to keep in mind, again, there are a lot of heavy metals in all sorts of different foods.

[17:54:59]

What they sort -- what they sort of concluded was that if you're eating only about an ounce per day, shouldn't be eating more than an ounce per day, then you should not be getting enough lead to really be of concern. So the answer, Barbara, lead is present in chocolate. It is of concerning levels in about 43% of chocolate.

But if you're eating less than an ounce per day or -- or about an ounce per day, it should not be a problem for you. Again, guys, lots of questions on the topic. Tried to get to as many of them as we could. Hope that helps.

MATTINGLY: All right, thanks to Sanjay.

Well, up ahead, the lawyer for Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, after a judge ordered her immediate release, which could happen soon.

Plus, what the new pope's older brother told CNN about when his younger sibling was better known as Bob.

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[17:59:58]

MATTINGLY: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly, in for Jake Tapper. This hour, Pope Leo wraps up his first full day on the job with a message not just to other Catholic leaders, but to people around the world.