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Florida Police Say, School Shooting, Teen Arrested After Anonymous Tip; Trump Won't Rule Out Recession, Warns of Period Transition; House Set to Vote Tuesday on Bill to Fund Government Through September. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, an anonymous tip helped police foil a potential school shooting plot in Florida. A teenager now in custody. What police found when they searched his home.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump not ruling out a recession after his tariffs have caused economic uncertainty. His words undoing the spin his own advisers are trying to put on it.

And new this morning, a desperate search for a college student who vanished while on spring break in the Caribbean. Authorities now interviewing a young man who was last seen with her on the beach.

John is out this morning. I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news overnight, police say a school shooting plot has been thwarted and a high school student is under arrest. This is in Sanford, Florida. This is northeast of Orlando. And this is what police say they found. The Sanford police say in a statement overnight that it received an anonymous tip on Saturday regarding a video of an unknown male threatening to shoot up Seminole High School.

And they also were tipped off to this video posted online. And in it, police say the 17-year-old had multiple guns, vests and other items of concern. When investigators then searched the boy's home, they found what they called extremely realistic airsoft replicas. Investigators say the teen threatened to, quote, shoot up the high school and is also a student at another school in the area. He was taken into custody at his home without incident.

Now, you may recall, it was just a few weeks ago that police in Indiana made a similar arrest. A teenager, they say, was plotting a Valentine's Day school shooting inspired by the 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida.

Joining us right now is CNN's Senior National Security Analyst, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem.

Juliette, there's a lot that still needs to be learned. This is just kind of the beginning of what we are learning from the police there in Sanford. But both of these appear to be threats made, plots in motion and attacks thwarted. What do you see in this?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: There's two important similarities. The first is just the performative nature of the school shootings actually ends up helping stop them. It's not -- you know, it is that these shooters want to go online. They want to say things they want to herald what they're doing. Well, that's a vulnerability that then means that we can stop these. So that's one piece that's similar.

The others, of course, the effective use of these tip lines. You know, look we could debate guns, we could debate violence in this country, but we do have one solution, which is if people believe that something bad really is going to happen, that someone is not, it's not a joke. These tip lines are working and that is important because, you know, look, these are replica guns that the teenager is making, these soft air guns.

First of all, where are the parents? But secondly, these can be harmful too, even though they're using air pressure, they're using little BB guns that can harm kids.

BOLDUAN: I actually wanted to -- that was going to be the next step I was going to ask about. When you take a look at the pictures released by the police, I mean, there is a lot that was taken from the teenager's home. We're showing it once again to viewers. Police and the way the police describe it, and you can understand it, is extremely realistic airsoft replicas, and this has become a real problem. There's been a lot of conversation around just how realistic these airsoft toy guns can, or I wouldn't even necessarily call them toy guns, but these replicas look and the danger that they pose, not clear if the same weapons that were in the video. But what do you make of it?

KAYYEM: I think it goes back to this performative aspect of violence in this country now, especially amongst a teenager, young men. They want to record it. They want people to know that it's going to happen or while it's happening. Look these airsoft guns, they can harm. They're not going to -- they won't necessarily kill. They are terrifying. They are meant to terrify. And, again, we are at a point where if he's living with his parents, honestly, what the heck, right?

I mean, this is -- we are now in an age in which criminal charges are going against parents. It is rare, but it is important. Parents are responsible for their children if they're living in the home and in public schools.

[07:05:03]

I used to be uncomfortable with this. I am now all for it, if parents are either in it. You can't miss that. It was out in the open.

So, all of this together means that these are becoming sort of more vocal, more public, but they also just to give people agency. They can be stopped if friends, family and others come forward to these hotlines. This was -- by the way, this was a Sandy Hook hotline out of Sandy Hook that the person used to alert the police. BOLDUAN: Yes, it is. And that is such an important development, sadly, coming from Sandy Hook, is this renewed emphasis on reporting, if you see anything, say anything, and then making that tip line for it.

Juliette, thanks for starting us off this morning. I really appreciate it. We're going to continue to follow this very closely as more information may be coming out of Florida today. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. This morning, President Trump refusing to rule out a recession, saying, who knows, after being asked on Fox Business if a recession is possible now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But are you expecting a recession this year?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition. Because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing. And there are always periods of -- it takes a little time. It takes a little time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right. All of the recession talk happening as Trump is also now warning tariffs against Mexico and Canada could go up.

Alayna Treene is at the White House for us. Alayna, is this the pain and disruption, as he once called it, that Trump has been warning about? Because it sounds like his advisers are not on the same page with this idea of recession.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Look what I found really striking about those comments actually is he not only made those saying that, you know, not ruling out a recession or even prices going even higher at a time when, of course, several Americans across the country are really concerned about higher prices. He couldn't say that they wouldn't go up. He also refused to rule out a recession.

But it wasn't only on Fox News that he did that. He then later was asked about this on Air Force One yesterday when he was returning to the White House from Florida and doubled down on that, saying that, you know, he doesn't like to predict these things and wouldn't rule it out.

Now, one thing that's been also very interesting to me, Sara, is how different some of this rhetoric is from what he used to have in his first term. One is that he continues to argue that his tariff policy, his broader economic agenda is really forward-looking. He's been arguing as well that you shouldn't be paying as much attention to the stock market. But what I remember during his first term, he used to dictate a lot of the decisions and policies that he made based on how the stock market was performing.

But one person I can tell you who is watching the stock market very closely is his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick. He's been commenting on it almost daily now. But he is having a different, what you mentioned, he does have a little bit of a different response to the recession question. He argued over the weekend that he does not believe a recession is going to happen. He said, no chance. I want you to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: If fentanyl ends, I think these will come off. But if fentanyl does not end, or he's uncertain about it, they will stay this way until he is comfortable. Foreign goods may get a little more expensive, but American goods are going to get cheaper, and you're going to be helping Americans by buying American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, that's really him trying to defend the tariffs, of course, and really the whiplash we've seen of them being imposed first in February. Then they're having a one month pause, then being imposed again last week before pausing tariffs on automakers for a month and then also pausing any tariffs that apply to or fall into goods that fall into the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, of course an agreement that the president himself negotiated during his first term.

And that's really what all this is about. We really have seen this kind of start and stop tariff policy creating a lot of uncertainty. I'm going to be talking about uncertainty in the market, something that many economists have warned, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, that it could lead to a recession in the next 12 months.

But, again, really, the way that the president is viewing this, and he is telling his Trump administration top secretaries and officials, is not to worry about it too much right now and really wanting to look toward that long-term agenda. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting there from the White House for us this morning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Well, right now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his way to Saudi Arabia to meet with top Ukrainian officials and also Russian officials. A critical week of talks about to kick off, what it all could mean for bringing an end to Russia's war on Ukraine.

And a key test for House Speaker Mike Johnson. This week, the country is staring down a possible government shutdown in the midst of all of the firings that are happening within the federal government.

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And Johnson just rolled out his latest pitch to avoid that shutdown. Details on the stopgap bill and if Democrats have any plans to get on board.

And a woman is now charged with arson, as officials are blaming a massive wildfire in South Carolina on a backyard fire pit.

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SIDNER: This morning, the clock is ticking down on Capitol Hill, which is four days to pass legislation to avoid a government shutdown. House Republicans unveiled a six-month stopgap bill that would fund the government through September, but Democratic leaders making it clear they are not on board with this.

[07:15:05]

A vote in the House is expected tomorrow. President Trump on Sunday warning a shutdown could happen, but expressing optimism the stopgap will pass.

Joining me now, Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent for Puck. Thank you so much for being here.

I guess the big question at this point is if Republicans will have the votes to go it alone and get this bill across the finish line, although it is just a stopgap and we'll be doing this again in a few months.

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, PUCK: Yes. So, Sara, they want to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. But remember, as you well know, that the fiscal year is already six months in. So, this is just a six-month funding bill. And yes, as you said, Speaker Mike Johnson wants to fund this just with Republican votes. And that is very unheard of, because usually Republicans need Democrats to fund the government. There's a large block of Republicans who refuse to vote for government funding bills, especially when it's these stopgap measures.

So, Speaker Johnson is trying to do that in his very, very thin majority, when he can only lose one, maybe two votes, depending on the day, depending on attendance, but he is leaning very heavily into Donald Trump to do that. Donald Trump had some of the most anti- government conservatives to the White House last week to implore them to vote for this. Donald Trump has been posting on social media to encourage all Republicans, even those Republicans who don't vote for government funding, to back this. And his reason, he says, is that they need the lights on in order for DOGE to continue to cutting government or to continue to cutting the federal government.

I'm also told by sources close to the White House that Donald Trump thinks that if the government does shut down, then it's a major distraction from all the things that he is doing that he wants the attention on. But this is a huge test, test governance test for Speaker Johnson and Donald Trump this week.

SIDNER: If they can wrangle every single Republican, it is a big test to see if that will go forward.

You wrote a piece about the crisis and the Democrats, it is their first big chance to sort of push back on Donald Trump's agenda. What are you learning that their plan is?

CALDWELL: Yes. So, in typical Democrat fashion, they've really been struggling with this. Democrats are good governance types of members, and they believe in the government. The government, the federal government, as we all know, is quite chaotic right now with these DOGE cuts. And so they've been struggling with if they should provide votes for Republicans to keep the government open because it will just create more chaos, furloughs uncertainty for federal workers, who they're trying to protect.

But speaker -- or, excuse me. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said over the weekend and that they are pushing their Democrats to vote no. They don't agree with this funding bill. It's actually a slight government funding cut from current fiscal year, and they think that this is something that they just can't get on board with. They also think that it could give Elon Musk and DOGE more leeway and ability to continue to cut the government, to cut federal workers. And so they are really trying to wrangle their Democrats to vote against this.

But this has been a very torturous discussion for them. But we'll see again if Hakeem Jeffries is able to keep his party united. Because like you said in the top, this is really the first act of resistance that Democrats are able to do. This is the first legislating that they're going to be a part of, or choose not to be a part of, Sara.

SIDNER: Leigh Ann Caldwell, thank you so much for getting up early for us this morning. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

All right, ahead, new Details this morning on the search for an American college student who disappeared during a spring break trip to the Caribbean. What authorities are saying this morning.

And prepare now for more March lion level storms. We're tracking the threat of fire fueling winds, floods, tornadoes and even some snow across the country. That story ahead.

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BOLDUAN: New this morning, authorities in the Dominican Republic are interviewing a young man now about a missing University of Pittsburgh student. It's believed this young man was with her right before she disappeared on spring break. All of this is coming from a local police source.

So we're talking about 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki. She was last seen walking on a beach with a group of people in Punta Cana near a Punta Cana hotel early Thursday, believed to have stayed behind with the young man now in question, who then later left the beach alone.

CNN's Rafael Romo is following all of this for us. It looks like a lot is happening here. What's the very latest that you're learning, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Kate. Officials in the Dominican Republic are not releasing any identities other than the one of the missing student from the University of Pittsburgh. What I was able to find out overnight through a law enforcement source in the Dominican Republic was that a young man is being interviewed by the Dominican National Police because he is believed to have been the last person she was with.

20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on surveillance camera with 7 other people entering the beach at the View Republica Hotel in Punta Cana on Thursday at 4:15 in the morning. According to my source, Kate, five young women and one young man who were with her left the beach area at 5:55 A.M., but Konanki stayed behind with one young man who was also part of the group.

[07:25:05]

That young man is seen on surveillance video leaving the beach area four hours later at 9:55 in the morning. Konanki was reported missing at 4:00 in the afternoon that very same day.

Overnight, I also spoke on the phone with her father, who has traveled to the Dominican Republic. Subbarayudu Konanke described his daughter as a very nice girl and a very ambitious young woman who wanted to pursue a career in medicine. She's a premed student at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was a junior. The family initially requested the assistance of Loudoun County authorities in Virginia, the state where they live. This is what the local sheriff had to say about the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF MIKE CHAPMAN, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA: It's possible that she never went into the water. It's possible that there's something else that could have happened to her. So, we can't just assume that's the case. So, we have to, you know, presume that at this point anything's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The Dominican National Emergency System is coordinating search efforts on the island for Konanki. In a statement released on Sunday, officials said that in coordination with the tourism police, the civil defense, the Dominican Navy, the national police and other rescue organizations, four teams of drones equipped with advanced technology have been deployed to conduct a thorough search in the coastal area of Bavaro.

Originally from India, Konanki is a permanent resident of the United States, as is her family. Her father told me they have been living in the country since 2006. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right. Rafael, thank you so much. What a nightmare for that family.

Coming up for us, Canada chooses a leader who will replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister. And in his first remarks, he's taking hockey jabs and making clear he is ready for a fight when it comes to Donald Trump.

And workers in a once booming wind industry now worried the new Trump administration could mean the end of it all.

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