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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Suspect in Shooting of Israeli Embassy Staffer Charged With Murder; Trump's Plan Squeaks Through House, Heads to Senate; White House Bars Harvard from Enrolling International Students. Diddy On Trial: Multiple Witnesses Take Stand Before Court Wraps For Week; U.S. Treasury Unveils Plan To Wind Down Penny Production. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour breaking news out of D.C., where investigators are revealing new details about the man accused of killing two Israeli embassy staffers last night, and what the FBI is calling an act of anti- Semitic terrorism. We're live on the scene as family members and friends mourn the loss of two young people taken way too soon.

Plus, a famous rapper who also dated Cassie Ventura testifying in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs today, what he heard and saw behind the scenes and why he thinks Combs was somehow responsible for a fire that destroyed his car.

Also, the Trump administration deals Harvard another major blow, banning Harvard from enrolling any international students and forcing the thousands of international students already there to transfer to another school or lose their legal status. What might this mean for other universities across the United States.

And President Trump getting ready to go to an exclusive dinner with his top crypto buyers. The mystery surrounding the guest list and just how much money President Trump is making off this.

Our Lead Tonight, a senseless tragedy outside an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., Last night, two young Israeli embassy staffers, a couple gunned down by a suspect who later told police, he, quote, did it for Gaza. The victims are Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Sarah is from Overland Park, Kansas. They were set to be engaged during the trip to Israel next week, where Sarah was going to meet Yaron's extended family for the very first time, according to the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.

CNN's Brian Todd is outside the Capitol Jewish Museum for us. Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the suspect just made his initial appearance in court. He did not enter a plea. We have new details on this case just coming in tonight. We do have to warn viewers that some might find the details of information in this story disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): Eyewitness Yoni Kalin says he was inside the Capitol Jewish Museum the moment shots were fired just outside.

YONI KALIN, EYEWITNESS TO SHOOTING: Inside, we could hear about 10, 15 shots.

TODD: Kalin says, just seconds later in the chaos, a man entered the museum and appeared to be a witness. He sat down, Kalin says, and appeared pale and unwell. Bystanders offered him water, and another witness says she spoke to the man who she believes was the alleged shooter, not realizing then who he was.

KATIE KALISHER, EYEWITNESS TO SHOOTING: Then I'm talking to him and I'm like, so, do you like the museum, just kind of trying to relax him, and he's like, oh, what kind of museum is this? So, I told him, it's a Jewish museum. And he asked me, do you think that's why they did it?

TODD: Then Kalin says, police entered the museum and there was a bizarre chilling encounter.

KALIN: And as soon as the cops came in, he walked right up to them, said, I'm unarmed. I did this. He pulls out a red keffiyeh and he says, free, free Palestine.

TODD: A chant the suspect repeated as he was handcuffed by police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Free, free Palestine.

TODD: The two victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two staffers at the Israeli embassy in Washington, who the Israeli ambassador says were about to become engaged, and Israeli official tells CNN, at the moment, Lischinsky and Milgrim were shot, there were two young women right next to them, also staffers at the Israeli embassy who were uninjured.

The suspect identified as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago. Multiple law enforcement sources tell CNN a lengthy letter that authorities are investigating as potentially being authored by the suspect was posted to social media advocating violent retaliation over the war in Gaza, calling it quote, the only sane thing to do. The letter was posted shortly after the shooting. It's not clear who posted it or if the post was pre-scheduled set before the incident.

Today, the suspect was charged with multiple federal murder counts, firearms charges, and murder of foreign officials. Court documents detail the horrific acts of violence allegedly perpetrated by the suspect. According to the documents, officers on scene viewed surveillance footage showing the suspect walked past both victims before shooting them. Then as the victims lay on the ground, the suspect was seen, quote, leaning over them with his arms extended and firing several more times. According to the documents, as Sarah Milgrim tried to crawl away, he followed behind her and fired again. TODD: The documents say the suspect traveled to D.C. from Chicago two days ago with a nine millimeter handgun in his check baggage, which he purchased on March 6th, 2020.

[18:05:06]

People briefed on the investigation tell CNN it's expected that the suspect will face more federal charges, including hate crimes.

JEANINE PIRRO, INTERIM U.S. ATTORNEY FOR WASHINGTON, D.C.: This is a horrific crime, and these crimes are not going to be tolerated by.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the reinforcement of security at Israeli missions around the world in the wake of this shooting, which Netanyahu says was committed by a, quote, vile, anti-Semitic murderer. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Netanyahu that President Trump is, quote, personally involved in managing the response to this attack. Jake?

TAPPER: Brian Todd outside the Capitol Jewish Museum, thanks so much.

Joining us now, CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller. And, John, in the last hour, the FBI revealed that the suspect was in Washington for a work conference. He clearly had planned ahead, though. I mean, he got a ticket to this museum event, which was not advertised broadly for security reasons. What do you make of that?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think that all of this was planned and it was planned together in Washington for a work conference. We're still drilling down into, is that what he said he was going to Washington for, or does the company that he worked for, at least according to his LinkedIn page, which is a healthcare concern involved in getting information out about osteoporosis. Did they have a conference?

But the key here is the event he targeted at the Jewish museum was an event where you had to apply online in order to find out the time and the location of where it was going to be. So, he had registered for the event and then the location was revealed to him. And as Brian reported, that's when he showed up and started stalking with this really unusual approach of, I'm going on a trip, I'm going to declare my firearm to the airline and TSA as I'm putting in my check baggage, not my carry-on, I'm going to pick it up in Washington and then go forward with this crime.

TAPPER: Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States rose for the fourth straight year in 2024, according to data from the Anti- Defamation League. How are local law enforcement agencies in big cities, like D.C., addressing this?

MILLER: Well, the big cities all have within their detective bureau, either small or, in New York's case, large, bias investigation units that specialize in these hate crimes. And since October 7th, as you pointed out, you've had a lot of -- a real spike in anti-Semitic crimes, but you have also had a number of plots similar to the one we saw last night involving terrorist activities, plots against embassies, plots against Jewish targets, people traveling towards New York and other cities that have been stopped by the Joint Terrorism Task Force by the NYPD with help from the Canadians. It's been a global effort. The fact that it took this long for one of this nature to carry on has been really a testimony to the number of those that have been prevented.

TAPPER: Yes. John Miller, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Joining us now in studio is Ran Goldstein. He's a humanitarian representative for a group called IsraAID. He was a keynote speaker at the Capitol Jewish Museum last night. Thank you for joining us on what must be one of the worst days of your life.

You say you spoke with the victims right before this horrible incident. Tell us about the conversation.

RAN GOLDSTEIN, D.C. HUMANITARIAN REPRESENTATIVE, ISRAAID: Yes. So, I met this beautiful couple few minutes before they left the event, after I finished my speech, just ordinary discussion in this kind of a cocktail event, you know who they are, we introduce ourselves. I know people they know. So, it looked like two people in the beginning of their career really looking for the future. And they came to -- I work for IsraAID.

TAPPER: What is IsraAID?

GOLDSTEIN: IsraAID is an Israeli humanitarian organization, global organization. We've work in 12 countries and we have operated humanitarian operations in Ukraine, in South Sudan, in Guatemala, we've been in Afghanistan, here in the U.S. And since October 7th, we also operate inside Israel.

And actually the event, it's ironic because it was an event about how, in turn, corporation can actually help to build bridges and mitigate those gaps between, you know, different cultures. And I was together with a colleague from Multi-Faith Alliance, it's American organization, and actually we also, you know, delivering aid to Gaza as Israelis. And it's very important for us as well. So --

TAPPER: Yes. I mean, Sarah Milgrim was a volunteer for a group called Tech2Peace. It provides entrepreneurial training to young Palestinians and Israelis alongside conflict dialogue. The CEO of Tech2Peace says Sarah, quote, came here to promote peace. Yarone Lischinsky, one of his friends, says he was passionate about diplomacy.

This reminds me of the fact that so many of the victims on October 7th, 2023, so many of the innocent Jews killed by the terrorists of Hamas were peaceniks, were people who lived in the kibbutzim right near Gaza, who employed Palestinians, who protested the Netanyahu government, who wanted peace, and they were slaughtered.

[18:10:20] GOLDSTEIN: Yes. It's -- unfortunately, it's the nature of such a conflict, you know, for so many years. And I also have friends. I've been in Israel in October 7th with my family and texting to people in the shelters in the south in kibbutzim, people who -- you know, friends of mine. So, you can imagine they also somehow related to human rights or humanitarian aid issues and it's devastating.

However, I think as humanitarian organization, we are -- you know, we're neutral. We're apolitical. We try to help people wherever they are, whoever they are. So, we will continue to do that. You know, and, hopefully, we will be able to help international organization to work with us together with Israeli authorities to find gaps, to keep the humanitarian principles.

And, you know, people should not, not in D.C, not in Israel, not in (INAUDIBLE), be afraid to walk around and do such events. You know, this kind of event happening in D.C. probably almost every night, you know? And the fact that it was targeted as an anti-Semitism, it's terrible.

TAPPER: IsraAID, your organization, wrote about the tragedy last night. They said, the attendees, quote, gathered in the interest of finding practical solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and showing that working together is the only way forward for all the people in the region. That brutal and tragic irony that such an event motivated by humanitarian principles was targeted for more violence is heartbreaking.

Before last night, did you ever feel unsafe spreading the word of IsraAID?

GOLDSTEIN: Not really. We do walk sometimes in some places under the radar because we know that our Israeli identity can be a disadvantage. But sometimes, you know, when the operation is finished, we do reveal our identity as Israel. As, you know, Israeli who lives here, I never felt any of this kind of problem. I must say, I'm also a student in campus here in Georgetown, and I never felt any problem with that. Obviously, there are protests, you know, but, you know, I do kind of add one time when I saw an anti-Semitism incident, but, personally, no.

TAPPER: Ran Goldstein, thank you so much. I'm so sorry about what happened. May Yaron and Sarah's memories be a blessing.

GOLDSTEIN: I just want to, you know, send their families all the condolences.

TAPPER: Yes, so horrible. Thank you so much for being here.

Despite some serious roadblocks, President Trump's massive policy bill, tax cuts and spending cuts, finally passed the house early, early, early this morning. Some Republican senators, however, are already warning it's going to be an uphill battle to get through the Senate.

Plus, the new move today that could force thousands of international students to have to transfer out of Harvard to other schools or lose their legal status in the United States.

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, President Trump's big, beautiful bill, that's what he calls it anyway, passed after all, despite all the back and forth. Early, early this morning, House Republicans pushed their huge package of tax cuts and spending cuts and immigration reforms and much more through the final vote was 215 to 214. That is a squeaker.

The bill now heads to the Senate where Republicans already are rejecting warnings from House hardliners to not make any changes to the bill.

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SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Well, it's rich coming from the Freedom Caucus that's supposed to be fiscal conservatives and end up with not that conservative a bill, isn't it, to lecture us. What we're going to do is we're going to pass a bill that can get 50 votes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now is Republican Representative Mike Flood of Nebraska. First of all, Congressman have you gotten any sleep? How long were you up last night?

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): We were up all night, literally up all night. I finally got back to Nebraska and I got some sleep and literally just got up. But it was a long, long night. And if the Senate thinks that they're going to make big changes and expect that to pass in the House, they're not paying attention.

TAPPER: Yes, because folks need to understand, if anything changes to the bill, then there has to be a reconciliation of the two bills, whether through committee or whatever, before it goes to the president, just to do a little I'm just a bill schoolhouse rock moment there.

You voted yes on the bill. Tell us why you voted yes.

FLOOD: Well, it's a huge tax increase at the end of the year if we don't deal with it, 23 percent. Farmers and ranchers in my home state would see the federal estate tax exemption cut in half. So many good things in this bill, things that I don't even think Americans are even aware of how many good things in this bill, one of them being an increase in the low income affordable housing tax credits, something that every blue and red city mayor across America has been begging for and asking for. All of that's in this bill.

TAPPER: If the Senate makes major changes, and you just heard Senator Mike Rounds of North Dakota, I believe, suggesting that the bill was not as conservative as it should have been, what happens? FLOOD: Well, honestly, if the Senate wants to send us something that's even more conservative, I don't think there'd be any problem passing it. That's not our worry. Our worry is that we sent something over that cuts taxes, something that saves money, cuts mandatory spending, addresses waste, fraud, and abuse. I'm actually -- until you said that, until I heard what the senator said there from South Dakota, I'd never thought for once that they were going to send us something back that was more conservative.

[18:20:05]

I was expecting to see something that was far less conservative. That would be a gift if the Senate could even produce it.

But I'm hopeful that they'll see what we send over there and they'll say, this is the right thing for America. They'll adopt it. We'll get it done and move on.

Just for the record, it was Senator Kevin Cramer that said that. I apologize.

FLOOD: Oh, okay.

TAPPER: This is a huge bill. It deals with more than tax cuts. Let me play for you in exchange from the committee debate regarding a provision of the bill that eliminates the requirement to register gun silencers, which has been the law for decades, but that's going to be gone. You're no longer going to have to register a gun silencer with the ATF when you buy one. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO): This provision very clearly states that you no longer have to register silencers with the ATF. Is that wrong? Is that incorrect?

REP. AUSTIN SCOTT (R-GA): That does not mean that you will go through -- will not go through a background check. It will be sold the same way a rifle is.

NEGUSE: That's not the question I asked, Mr. Scott. I asked --

SCOTT: Don't yell at me. I gave you an answer. You don't like it, it's over with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Are you aware of that change or any other parts of the bill that might emerge, that will come as a surprise to even folks who voted for it?

FLOOD: Listen, that's not a surprise to me. You know, we have a Second Amendment right to bear arms in this country and I have a lot of friends who are always calling me, being like, oh, the ATFs not approved my silencer request. And it's like, what the heck? I mean, for god's sake, like people own guns in America. We need to get over it. People own guns. They have guns, will always have guns. That's how America works. That's the way it's been since we were founded. And, yes, some have silencers. It helps when you're hunting to not spook all the other wildlife.

Like at the end of the day, this is the small stuff that we get drawn into as Americans. The big stuff is how are we going to deal with our debt? How are we going to make good on our promises? How are we going to tax our people? That's what we did overnight last night. And silencers, yes, might have been in the bill, but it's not going to be anything that changes the course of our country.

TAPPER: Well, you're talking about the debt, I mean, several independent analysts, not just the Congressional Budget Office, which I know a lot of folks like to beat up on, but there are a lot of analyses that suggest that this will add somewhere between $3 and $4 trillion to the de debt over the next ten years.

FLOOD: Well, there's some short-term issues, but there's long-term savings. When was the last time in this country we saw mandatory spending ever get cut anything anywhere near what we did here? Like I am -- I will sleep just fine at the end of the day knowing that we got 217 votes to be able to land this plane the way we did last night to cut $880 billion out of the committee jurisdiction of our energy and commerce and what we did with ways and means, like America's poised for even more growth with what we did with taxes. America's spending is getting cut. In the short-term, you won't see it, but in the long- term, this is going to be a gift to the citizens of America.

TAPPER: Well, of course, you're going to sleep just fine. You didn't get any sleep last night.

Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska, thanks so much. Good to see you, sir. I appreciate your being with us.

In our Politics Lead, CNN's Kaitlan Collins just sat down for a wide ranging interview with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Kaitlan joins me now.

Kaitlan tell us about the discussion. What did you talk about?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. Well this interview is happening because here at the White House today, they released what is known as the MAHA Commission report. It is essentially the study that President Trump signed an executive order and tasked his HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with doing, along with a lot of other administration officials and members of his cabinet, to essentially try to figure out what is responsible for causing chronic illness in children across the United States and the chronic disease. And, essentially, he laid out several of what they believe is leading to that. And they say now the next step is to talk about what those solutions are that they can offer as part of this. And we definitely got into that. You'll see all of that in the interview tonight.

But, Jake, we also talked about a comment that Secretary Kennedy made just a few weeks ago at a cabinet meeting here at the White House when he said that he wanted to commission a study to find what is the cause of autism by September. I asked him about that deadline.

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COLLINS: looking at your April 10th comments when you were inside the cabinet meeting, you said, by September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: Well, we'll have some of the information to get the most solid information. It will probably take us another six months.

COLLINS: Okay. So, parents should not expect to know what causes autism by September 4th?

KENNEDY: Well, we'll see. We're going to -- as I said, we're going to replicate some of the studies that have already been done that look like sound studies, and we'll know a lot from those and then we'll know a lot more afterwards.

[18:25:02]

COLLINS: But not the definitive answer by September? Just to be clear, it matters.

KENNEDY: It depends what those replicable studies show.

COLLINS: Okay. And then what do you expect to happen six months after that? You mentioned something in six months.

KENNEDY: I expect we'll know the answers of the ideology of autism.

COLLINS: Okay. So, that timeline is moving from September to six months after --

KENNEDY: As I said, we're going to begin to have a lot of information by September. We're not going to stop the studies in September. We're going to be definitive, and the more definitive you are, the more it drives public policy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now, Jake, this is obviously a notable change given what he said on April 10th here at the White House, saying that they would have that cause, he believed, by September. He is now saying that they will begin those studies. He says that they will have some information by September. But now he is pushing that six months more down the road, saying essentially next March, March of 2026, is when he believes they'll know more definitive information.

Obviously, Jake, when scientists heard RFK Jr. say that number, that deadline of September, they had raised some questions about that, how they would figure that out in such a short time span. And so that was the question here going forward. But it does now sound like he is pushing that to now saying in March they believe they will have more answers, not this September.

TAPPER: All right. Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

And don't forget to catch Kaitlan's full interview with RFK Jr. on The Source. That's tonight, every night of the week at 9:00 P.M. Eastern only here on CNN.

In less than an hour, President Trump is set to attend an exclusive dinner for top purchasers of his crypto meme coin. The guest list, however, is shrouded in secrecy. Doesn't the public deserve to know with whom the president is rubbing elbows? That story's next.

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[18:30:00]

TAPPER: Turning to our National Lead, the Trump administration attacked Harvard University again today, this time with a decision that will directly affect some current and would be students.

Let's go to CNN's Jeff Zeleny at the White House. Jeff, so Harvard can't enroll any international students anymore?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, that is the word and the hope of the Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, sent a letter to Harvard today saying that they were revoking the certification of the student and exchange visitor program. That is the auspices under which international students study in the United States.

So, this dramatically escalates this really ongoing fight between the Trump administration and Harvard. Of course, it began by revoking some $2 billion in federal funding. Harvard, of course, has pushed back on that, and they say they will again.

But the White House is explaining the decision like this the White House's statement just a short time ago said this. It said, Harvard has turned their once great institution into a hotbed of anti- American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators. Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right, a White House spokesperson told us.

Harvard, of course, is pushing back on this a dramatically and vowing legal action as well. Harvard saying in his statement, the government's action is unlawful. The retaliatory action threatens harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission.

So, Jake, the bottom line to all of this, DHS is saying that students must transfer to another university or lose their status to be in the United States, another university here in the U.S. but we're talking about 27 percent or so of Harvard's entire student body, about to 6,700 people.

A big hit to the bottom line as well, of course, international students pay the entire freight of their tuition. So, unless a court stops this, which, of course, it could, it seems that no international students will be studying at Harvard, never mind the actual long-term risk for research and other matters, but the most dramatic escalation so far in this ongoing fight with Harvard, Jake.

TAPPER: Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much.

In our Money Lead, tonight is the exclusive dinner for top purchasers of President Trump's crypto meme coin. But Americans do not know who exactly will be dining alongside the commander-in-chief, something White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner. It's not taking place here at the White House. But, certainly, I can raise that question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: CNN's Allison Morrow joins me now. Alison what do we know about this evening?

ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Yes, Jake, what we know for sure is that 100 percent of the guests in attendance tonight and there's going to be about 200 or so crypto investors. They all paid a lot of money to get there, and they paid a lot of money through a functionally worthless meme coin that is basically its only function is to make money for the Trump family crypto empire. So, that's what we know.

And what we don't know is kind of the real story here. We don't know their identities, and that's partly because crypto is anonymous by design. You can't quite track crypto wallets all the way back to the individual or to the entity that gave them money. So, there's just a lot of mystery about who it is and really what they want. Who are these people and what do they hope to get out of the evening?

The optics of that are, you know, angering people on the left and the right. Even The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial page had a statement out yesterday saying that, you know, he'd help himself by calling this off, but he won't do that. He could at least disclose the crypto contest winners, so Americans may know who's trying to buy access to the president. And that makes a lot of sense. And a lot of Republicans and Democrats are asking why they won't release a list.

[18:35:02]

TAPPER: Allison, at least one name of an attendee is public. It's a Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur named Justin Sun. Tell us about him.

MORROW: Yes, Justin Sun is known as a bit of a showman in crypto. He is a huge investor. He's a young 34-year-old billionaire, and he's a big supporter of the Trump crypto projects.

World Liberty Financial is one of the main ones. It's a crypto trading platform set up by the Trump family. And Justin Sun was kind of the first major crypto investor to pour millions of dollars into it and really kind of put it on the map. He's now put over $75 million into that project. And that at the same time, the SEC had been charging Justin Sun with civil fraud charges for potential currency manipulation. And once Trump got back into office in February, those charges all but disappeared.

So that case is on hold and Justin Sun is shaking the President's hand almost certainly tonight.

TAPPER: Allison Morrow, thanks so much.

Our small business series takes us to California tonight to accompany that manufactures shoes and handbags here in the U.S. How have tariffs impacted their business? That story next.

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[18:40:00]

TAPPER: We are back with our Business Leaders series. We talk to business, small business owners from coast to coast about President Trump's tariffs, the impact they're having on their businesses and their customers. Many of these small business leaders feel overwhelmed, many are uncertain about what's going to happen. Several are seeing some short-term benefits to their businesses.

My guest today is Alex Zar. He's the CEO of Lalaland Production and Design. It's a premium leather goods and footwear manufacturer in Los Angeles. Alex, thanks for joining The Lead.

So, often we speak to business owners who are struggling to find folks to make their products in the United States. You make products here in the U.S. for very well known brands. So, what's business been like for you since the tariffs began on April 2nd?

ALEXANDER ZAR, CEO, LALALAND PRODUCTION AND DESIGN INC.: Look, on- shoring, it has not been something that is new. In pandemic, during the pandemic, we really realized that we are too much concentrated in the Southeast Asia for production. And when this tariff came, it gave a jolt to the market to think about their supply chain and de-risk themselves a little bit from what it is happening over there.

But we have anticipated this already. We diversified our supply chain. We looked into how we're going to be able to produce domestically in United States without a lot of the labor-intensive projects. So, we partnered with one of the most advanced 3D printing company and we brought them right here behind this black wall. We are building the next generation of 3D printer that we can print entire shoe or otherwise 95 percent of the shoe and take all the labor facts out of it.

So, we are preparing for the future with the 3D printing, 3D knitting, 3D bonding. All of this, it needs a lot of the technology investments. And what we ask if they want to put the tariffs, no problem, but you have to help the local manufacturer to be able to upgrade their system for the future technology, not for what it was in the past. And so that's what I like to hear -- go ahead. TAPPER: No, keep going.

ZAR: Yes. I was just saying that if we don't have a industrial policy and we just only slap a tariff on the import, that doesn't create the industry in here. We need to do same thing that China did. In early 90s when they asked me to go over to China to set up my factory over there, they were giving me free land, free location, free electricity, no payment for if I train the people for the several years. And at what happened? I couldn't even go to the bathroom in China in 30 years ago. Now, when I go over there, everything is robotic, everything is automated.

TAPPER: Yes.

ZAR: And we realize that innovation happens because you do make something.

TAPPER: How are you keeping up with increased demand?

ZAR: Well, I have been bombarded, to be honest with you, with every single major brand in United States that have reached out to me this last week. I'm more on the phone talking about the future of how we going to do onshore, bring 2.1 billion pairs of the shoes that we produce globally. Even 1 percent of it is only produced in America. Our goal, it is within the three years we will be able to onshore between 3 to 5 percent of the total footwear imports in America. And that is the very lofty goal. That is 150 million pairs of the shoes to be produced here.

In the last the war study that we found out that if you go to the war in Southeast Asia, all of our troops, unfortunately, they have to walk to the field in barefoot because every single footwear, it is produced overseas and not many local production is happening for the advancement of the technology and the future soldiers.

TAPPER: All right, Lalaland Production and Design is based in Los Angeles, California. Alex Zar, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate hearing from you.

An award-winning rapper took the stand in the Sean Diddy Combs crowd today. Why Kid Cudi says he thinks Diddy was somehow responsible for a fire that destroyed his car.

Stay with us.

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[18:48:09]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our law and justice lead, a busy day for the jury in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial. They heard from a former assistant to Combs, a makeup artist, a hotel employee, a computer forensics agent, and Grammy-winning rapper Kid Cudi. Cudi testified about his brief relationship with plaintiff Cassie Ventura and his subsequent interactions with Mr. Combs. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Let's discuss with CNN's Kara Scannell. She's live outside the

courthouse, as well as CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

And, Kara, you were inside court today listening to a lot of testimony. Let's start with Kid Cudi. He told the jury about a break into his home and a time when his Porsche was set on fire. How do those events connect to this case?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, prosecutors have charged Combs with a racketeering conspiracy charge. And as part of an element in that is one element of arson. And that is why this testimony is so key to fit into that allegation, because Kid Cudi testified that he was dating Cassie Ventura, Combs's girlfriend. He thought they were broken up.

He said when Combs found out that he was dating Ventura, that Combs then showed up at his home, broke into his home, he said security cameras removed. His dog was placed in the bathroom with the door closed, and he said that he was trying to get in touch with Combs. Then he thought better of it because he believed Combs could potentially be violent.

He testified that he called the police, and then he refused to pick up. When Combs wanted to talk to him. The next thing that happened, he said, was that Combs, he believes, had set fire to his car. He said he was notified by his dog sitter that the car was on fire in his driveway. He said he received photos from his friends, which were shown to the jury today, showing that the roof of the car had a slash in it and that the inside had smoke damage in the driver's seat. And Cudi said when he arrived, he learned that the Molotov cocktail was thrown into the driver's seat.

He called the police then, as well as the fire department, and he said that he believed that Combs was responsible for that.

The next day, he said he wanted to bring the temperature down, so he sought a meeting with Combs. He met up with Combs at the Soho -- at the Soho House in Beverly Hills. He said when he walked into the rooms, Combs was standing by the window with his arms behind his back. He said he looked like a marvel supervillain. He said they discussed the issue with Cassie and that when they were leaving, they shook hands and Cudi said to him, what about my car? And Combs said he didn't know anything about it.

And Cudi testified, and he told the jury he thought Combs was lying. But all of this to set the scene that prosecutors are trying to show the jury that Combs was involved with the arson attack on Cudi's car. And, of course, Combs team pushed back at that on cross-examination.

TAPPER: Joey, defense attorneys were able to cast doubt on the claims that Combs or the suggestions that Combs was involved in setting Kid Cudi's Porsche on fire.

Do you think his testimony was more effective for the defense or the prosecution, ultimately? JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, it will be a jury

question, obviously, but I think the defense has a lot of nuggets here. And what is that? I think the first nugget is the issue of jealousy.

Yes, we've learned about a very vengeful and very out of control Combs. But was that because he was forcing her, that his Cassie Ventura to engage in these escapades, these freak offs, or was because he was just a jealous guy? Was he grabbing and saying hey and beating her because he wanted to compel her to do that? Or because she was dating him? That is Kid Cudi.

And so, I think it gives them the jealousy element. The second thing it gives them is, unbeknownst to Mr. Combs, she was dating him. And in fact, you heard Kid Cudi say I felt played. I think you're going to hear in closing arguments, ladies and gentlemen, Kid Cudi felt played.

Why did he feel played? Because of the fact that she was concealing and manipulating him, just like she's manipulating you. She was consenting to everything here.

That's going to be the defense argument. And so, at the end of the day, they're also going to argue the defense. Hey, you know what? She was all compelled into this relationship. She couldn't go anywhere. Why was she dating him. Was she as bad off? Is she really was saying to you?

And so, to your question with respect to who she helps, if you believe he's an arsonist, Mr. Combs, you believe he's a burglar. You believe he's a bad guy. You believe he's the kingpin of an enterprise, then, of course, yours is going to say yes, it helps the prosecution. If you believe the other way, then of course it helps the --

TAPPER: Joey, we've heard from 16 witnesses over two weeks. I know you're a criminal defense attorney. Tell us what you think. Take off your defense attorney hat for a second.

What do you think about the prosecution's case so far?

JACKSON: I think the prosecutors are laying a foundation with respect to the charges that they have. This RICO, we're getting into this now, and in in terms of the RICO, they're talking about right now, right? You need this enterprise.

They're laying it in terms of saying he was absolutely in control. That is very clear. They're laying it in terms of showing that there were a lot of things happening in terms of drugs, money, guns, bad behavior. That's very essential to the case.

They're laying the foundation, prosecutors are, with respect to all this assaultive behavior and the fact that there were these sexcapades, does that lead to compelling Ventura and others? And so, I think the prosecutors are laying and doing what they need to do. The issue is whether or not its a federal domestic violence case, or whether or not the jury will equate it with a RICO case and whether he was this kingpin. If they do that, then I think prosecutors can be very successful. In the event that jurors feel it's an overreach, then, of course, it will cut the other way.

TAPPER: All right. Joey Jackson, Kara Scannell, thanks to both of you.

A dime for your thoughts doesn't really have the same ring to it, but the U.S. treasury just rolled out its plans to kill the penny. That story is next.

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[18:57:45]

TAPPER: And we're back with our money lead. And we're getting ready to say a fond farewell to the American penny. The U.S. Treasury announced today a plan to begin phasing out the little copper coins.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now.

Vanessa, what does this mean for all the pennies that many of us might still have rattling around in our pockets and glove compartments, or sitting in enormous jars in our grandparent's garages?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, after 230 years, Jake, we are saying goodbye to the penny. The penny has actually been around since 1793. There was actually a woman with flowing hair signifying Liberty, who first appeared on the penny. The first real person to be on the penny, Abraham Lincoln, since 1909, he has been on the penny.

So, what happened? The Treasury said that they placed their final order of penny blanks this month. And printing of pennies is going to end when those blanks run out. But you can still pay with pennies. But businesses are going to have to decide. Do they round up or do they round down to the nearest nickel when they're setting their prices?

So, the major reason why pennies are going out of style is because it costs so much to produce them. In 2024, it cost less than a cent to produce a penny. But look at this green line all the way up to 3.7 cents to produce one penny in 2024.

That is more than the value of the penny itself. And we produce a lot of pennies, billions of pennies. In 2024, we produced 3.2 billion pennies.

And, Jake, as you said, people are stashing pennies in jars. They're dropping them on the ground. They're leaving them there. They're even leaving them at those take a penny, leave a penny jars at retailers.

That means a lot of pennies going out of circulation. Thats why we have produced so many.

All right. Who supports the penny? Getting rid of the penny. The National Association of Convenience Stores. They say that by getting rid of the penny, that speeds up transaction times by 1 to 2 minutes. Time is money.

Also, President Donald Trump, he is the one who directed the treasury to stop making pennies.

And what about you, Jake Tapper? I love your two cents on this. Does the penny stay or does the penny go?

TAPPER: I think we can say goodbye to the penny. I just like I don't really have much use for it. I am old enough, unlike you, Vanessa, to remember when you could actually buy something with a penny.

But I don't even know how many -- I don't even know what's the cheapest thing you could get at a store. So, like, probably, like, at least 50, 55 cents. So., bye-bye, penny.

YURKEVICH: Bye-bye, penny.

TAPPER: Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.

YURKEVICH: Bye-bye, Jake.

TAPPER: "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now. I'll see you soon.