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Markets Open After Fed Warning; Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers; South Dakota Voters Weigh Trump's Trade War; Fire Threat Across Plains. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 17, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Disease prevention, domestic HIV and AIDS prevention, programs focused on gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning and minority health.

Now, some of these things are going to move into a new Administration for a Healthy America or AHA. That is a new organization under HHS. And, of course, sounds a lot like MAHA, or Make America Healthy Again, the slogan of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And that will have a potential $20 billion budget to focus on things like primary care, environmental health and HIV and AIDS.

But from the NIH as well we might see a potential 40 percent cut in their budget. And there they are proposing a massive reorganization of taking its 27 institutes and centers and consolidating them down to eight. So, we're talking about a major change in the federal health services that we - that we receive currently. And we are hearing from people in the public health world that they're very concerned about what this is going to result in.

Doctor Brian Castrucci, from the de Beaumont Foundation, said that "this doesn't just cut fat, it severs the muscle of the public health infrastructure" in the United States. He warned that it would lead to things like fewer cancer screenings, less HIV prevention and fewer chronic disease services, which will result in, he said, more strokes and heart attacks and amputations, as well as higher costs to Medicare and Medicaid. So, a lot of concerns being put out there about seeing this proposal. And, of course, we'll have to see how it plays out.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, our thanks to Meg for that.

So, breaking just moments ago, the opening bell on Wall Street. You can see, at this point, markets are kind of mixed. The Dow down more than a point, but the S&P and Nasdaq flat or up ever so slightly. This follows what investors woke up to, which was the president attacking the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, saying his termination cannot come soon enough. This after Powell went after the president's - well, he didn't go after the president's tariffs, but said the president's tariffs would lead to higher prices and slower growth.

With us now, CNN anchor and business correspondent Zain Asher. So, what do we see? ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Down 500 points. And what's interesting is that there are a couple of things weighing on the Dow specifically. And the first of which is actually, for the first time, John, not actually tariff related. We actually got dismal earnings from UnitedHealth. And because it's a really expensive stock and the Dow is a price weighted index, it is weighing heavily on the Dow.

The other factor is, of course, Jerome Powell's comments. He did not offer markets any reassurance yesterday.

I want to play our audience some of what Jerome Powell had to say, and then we can discuss it on the back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: So, here's why that was important. That was the first time we heard from Jerome Powell since these April 2nd tariffs were announced. And one of the things I thought was really interesting, of course, yes, he laid out how dismal things could get if these tariffs go into effect. The economy is, of course, going to suffer.

But he also touched on the fact that when you're dealing with economic slowdowns and also, at the same time, price hikes, it is really difficult to navigate that. Of course, if you have an economic slowdown, it makes sense to cut interest rates. If you're dealing with inflation, John, the last thing you're going to want to do is cut interest rates. That is what makes stagflation such a potential problem because there is no monetary policy tool to effectively deal with both.

I was speaking with one analyst yesterday who said another concern for the markets is this idea of the Fed put the Powell put. And in plain English, that essentially means that he made it clear that he's not going to intervene if the markets go crazy. If the markets go nuts and there's a lot of volatility, he is not going to intervene the way he did during the pandemic. And, of course, finally, one of the key things that he touched on is the importance of the Fed's independence.

BERMAN: Yes.

ASHER: And then just, of course, a day later, the irony to have Donald Trump coming out swinging and essentially trying to bully Jerome Powell into making more rate cuts this year. Obviously, he's not going to do that. The Fed - the independence of the Fed, John, is codified into law in this country.

BERMAN: As if on cue. The president attacked him anew this morning. OK, the president's got a meeting that I think the whole world is

watching today. The president keeps on bragging about meetings and negotiations. Hasn't announced any deals yet. But today the Italian prime minister is here.

ASHER: Yes. And she is in a really unique position. The whole of Europe is watching, waiting with bated breath. One of the reasons why she's in a unique position is because, yes, she's a team player for Europe, but, of course, she really aligns with Donald Trump when it comes to the ideas and ideologically and just in terms of political viewpoints. And so, there is hope that perhaps she can maybe squeeze out some concessions from the Trump administration, but she can't negotiate on behalf of Europe as a whole. We're talking about 27 member states. So, she doesn't have the power to do this.

But this is really important. I think that one of the things that Giorgia Meloni is going to talk about is, of course, auto tariffs. That's something that Donald Trump has brought up time and time again, this idea that the EU tariffs on American cars are egregious. And yes, they are high. But there are also cultural factors at play as well.

[09:35:01]

You think about the fact that American cars, your cars, John, simply do not fit on our streets. You can't imagine a Ford F-150 on the streets of Paris. It just doesn't work. It's far too big. But I'm sure that auto tariffs are something that Maloney is going to bring up as well.

BERMAN: I rented the biggest truck the other day, and it couldn't fit on any streets, let alone European streets to be sure.

ASHER: Certainly not London and Paris, right.

BERMAN: Yes. They're hoping she's something of a Trump whisperer today. We'll see.

ASHER: Yes. We'll see. We'll see.

BERMAN: Zain Asher, great to see you. Thank you very much.

ASHER: Great to see you.

BERMAN: All right, today, a critical hearing that could determine if the Menendez brothers will walk free after decades behind bars for murdering their parents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:12]

BOLDUAN: So, today, a resentencing hearing scheduled for the Menendez brothers. A hearing that could lead them on a real path to gaining - getting parole. Erik and Lyle Menendez are currently serving life sentences for the infamous murders of their parents. They have now been behind bars for decades. And the former Los Angeles district attorney had recommended that the brothers be resentenced, saying that he believed the brothers had paid their debt to society. But his successor, the current DA, feels basically the opposite, and overnight has filed a motion to delay today's hearing.

Let's get the very latest from Nick Watt, who's in Los Angeles for us.

Nick, what is going on here?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is now nearly three hours, and that hearing is supposed to start, and we still don't know if it's going to happen. We still don't know if maybe the court will convene and the judge will say, yes, we can delay this. So, basically what is happening here is, those brothers have been in jail, as you say, for over 30 years, charged, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Now, the previous DA, he argued, they paid their debt to society, they're rehabilitated, I would like there to be a resentencing hearing so that the sentence can be changed to life with the possibility of parole, which would make Erik and Lyle Menendez, you know, available for parole any day.

But there was an election in November. The old progressive DA lost. A new, tougher on crime DA was installed. And he tried to withdraw this petition to have a resentencing. He failed in that. So, the resentencing is supposed to go ahead today. Then, the 11th hour, that new DA filed another piece of paperwork saying, listen, the parole board of California has done an assessment, a risk assessment of what risk the Menendez brothers would pose to society if they were let out, and the court should really see that before they make a decision on resentencing.

Listen, this case has never been smooth. It has captured the public attention ever since Kitty and Lyle Menendez were murdered back in 1989 by their sons. No one disputes that. But their defense team says, listen, the boys have spent over 30 years in jail. They are rehabilitated. They have paid their debt to society. By the way, all of their family members say they've paid a debt to society and they want them out.

But the district attorney is saying, listen, they are still lying. They are still the same people they were back then. They are still lying about why they killed their parents. They don't have what the DA says is insight into their crime, therefore they should remain behind bars.

As I say, Kate, this hearing is supposed to start in under three hours from now. Huge public interest. We've seen people standing in line to try and get into the courthouse. There's, of course, the question as to whether Erik and Lyle Menendez will actually appear in person in court today. Last week at a hearing they appeared by video link from the prisoner they're being held in down near San Diego. And that was really the first time they've been seen in public in 30 years. A huge interest. A lot of uncertainty.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. You put it perfectly. Thank you so much, Nick. Let's see what happens.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:03]

BERMAN: All right, you're taking a live look at the markets right now. You can see the Dow is down more than a point. S&P and Nasdaq basically flat, although off a little bit from where they were earlier.

Some of the big news overnight that investors are reacting to this morning is that President Trump went right after Fed Chair Jerome Powell, saying his termination cannot come soon enough. This came after Powell really gave his darkest assessment yet of the president's tariffs, saying they were bigger than expected and will lead to higher prices and slower growth.

Obviously, this trade war is having an impact just across the board. But despite some of the hits in his popularity and the markets, how is it happening? What's happening out there in the country?

CNN's Elie Reeve went to South Dakota to speak with supporters and opponents to find out what they're feeling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME BAYSINGER, WAITRESS, RED HOG SALOON: I wanted Trump.

ELIE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You wanted Trump?

BAYSINGER: Yes. There was no way in hell I wanted her out there. But now I don't know what would have been better.

REEVE: Yes. What were you expecting?

BAYSINGER: I was expecting the lower cost of a lot of just your everyday living things. And hoping that he would make things better for everybody in America because that's what we need. Groceries are already outrageous. And then we put the tariffs on across the seas or whatever, like, China, all that. It just makes everything more expensive for everybody.

REEVE (voice over): Jamie Basinger is the only person we met in eastern South Dakota who openly questioned her own political views.

Most people we talked to said it was risky to talk about politics here, even as the effects of Trump's tariffs loomed over the agricultural economy in an area that voted for him by about 70 percent. Generally, opinions were divided between trust Trump's plan and how can you still like this guy?

REEVE: Wait. So, Becky, let me ask one thing, are - are you in a politically mixed marriage?

[09:50:03]

BECKY HOFER, FREIGHT BROKER; Yes. Did you see the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Joe Biden sign?

REEVE: I - I did.

HOFER: Would you like to talk about that a little bit?

REEVE: Yes.

REEVE (voice over): Becky Hofer was not afraid to talk. She's a Democrat and her husband is a conservative non-voter. She's a freight broker. Basically, if a company needs to ship bricks, she'll find you a flatbed truck. If you need to ship meat, she'll get you a refrigerated truck.

HOFER: Ooh, you need the truck tomorrow? Can you guys, like, fork a pallet jack into the back of the trailer for him to pallet jack them to the front.

REEVE (voice over): This gives her a window into real-time shifts in the economy.

HOFER: Everybody's nervous. People are making different decisions for different reasons. But, you know, some of it's hesitation, some of it's actual price changes. Everybody just wants some stability right now.

REEVE (voice over): And those shifts can be complex. She says China's retaliatory tariffs on American pork and beef could lead to higher prices on fruit.

HOFER: Right now it's produce season in California. We need to get out to California. What goes out to California? Meat. We haul pork. We haul beef. Where does it go? It goes to Asia. If it doesn't go, the price produce is going to go up even that much more because they're going to have to pay more for the trucks.

REEVE: You know, as we've talked about, you're in a really conservative area, very pro-Trump area. Like, do you feel frustrated in trying to talk to your neighbors about what's going on?

HOFER: Yes. You know, it's - the biggest thing that frustrates me is that, I just feel like nobody cares right now until it affects them. And I don't understand how they don't see that. They're not dumb. These people aren't dumb. And they're not unkind people. And selfish people. And thoughtless people. So, I don't understand why they're OK with it.

REEVE (voice over): Hofer introduced us to her neighbor, Rod Olerud (ph), who was feeding cattle and who, for now, is OK with it.

ROD OLERUD (ph): Well, I just think we need to let the president do what he's doing, and we need to just see what's going to happen here and give him a little latitude so that, you know, if it doesn't work, then we're going to have to try something different. REEVE: OK. So, you're willing to let the president try some stuff to

see -

OLERUD: Yes, to see if this works. Let's give the president a chance. And we'll just have to go from there.

Looks like a little boy.

REEVE (voice over): Tommy Baruth thinks we already gave it a chance. He's a retired soybean farmer who saw what happened in 2018 when Trump put tariffs on China.

TOMMY BARUTH, RETIRED FARMER: The export market just went right down the tube because these countries could buy them from other places cheaper. Brazil and other countries were the ones that benefited from that.

REEVE: I read that it stayed that way, that now China buys a lot more from Brazil.

BARUTH: Exactly. And a lot of times those markets don't come back.

REEVE (voice over): Doug Bjorke runs a lawn mowing business. He says Trump's plan will work out in the long term, even if some crop prices fall.

DOUG BJORKE, LAWNMOWER REPAIRMAN: Yes, the price might come down. But when then people start starving, they're going to come back to the table.

REEVE: You mean in the other countries?

BJORKE: Yes. We're a gracious, gracious nation feeding the world. And we shouldn't have to without getting something for it.

REEVE (voice over): Rick Eckmann says in the three days after the tariffs, cattle futures dropped below the point of breakeven for his farm.

RICK ECKMANN, FARMER: We had him do this before.

REEVE: Yes, he really likes you.

ECKMANN: Yes.

CNN PRODUCER, Did you vote for Trump?

ECKMANN: No. No. No, I did not.

REEVE: Why not?

ECKMANN: You want me to be truthful?

REEVE: Yes.

ECKMANN: I think, to get to where he's at today, he's stepped on people, and he's got no morals, I don't think. I don't like the man. I don't like him.

REEVE: Why do you think so many of your neighbors do support him?

ECKMANN: I don't know. I guess I don't see anything good about him.

REEVE: Does it affect the way you think about America?

ECKMANN: It scares me.

REEVE (voice over): Terry Nebelsick (ph), a lifelong Republican and retired school superintendent, was very careful in how he talked about the political climate. He's concerned that Trump's push to dissolve the Department of Education will cut public school funds for needy kids, potentially at a time of economic turmoil.

TERRY NEBELSICK (ph): If poverty is happening to adults, children are hurting. And where adults sometimes just have to work through it and work through it and make sure there's food on the table, during that time we have children and adolescents who are forming who they're going to be. And I do think that the public school is a collecting point for people to be able to reach those kids and make sure that they're fed and have medical attention and - and have their basic needs met.

REEVE (voice over): Again and again our conversations in this midwestern nice town came back to character and values.

: When Sheila and I raised our children, we taught them to be honest, you know, not try to cheat anybody, to respect. Trump is -- doesn't do any of those things.

REEVE: Do you find a lot of farmers around here agree with you, or are they fans of Trump?

BARUTH: This is a very Republican state. I think it's too soon for them to say they're wrong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:55:05]

BOLDUAN: Elle Reeve, thank you so much for that report.

So today, the southwest and - the southern plains are facing a serious fire threat. Extreme fire weather conditions are setting in right now. The highest level of concern, that means millions of people across multiple states are under red flag warnings.

CNN's Allison Chinchar has this for us - is tracking this one for us.

And what are you seeing, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, seeing a lot of pink on this screen. And that's actually a red flag warning despite the name. But take a look at this, the entire state of New Mexico is covered in this red flag warning, along with portions of Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and even Colorado. And it's all thanks to those winds that are going to be whipping across many of these areas.

And it's not just today, but also tomorrow. You can see two different days here dealing with at least a critical threat. And today you're looking at an extreme threat as those winds gust upwards of 40, even 50 miles per hour. Now all kind of linked together with not only those strong winds, but on the eastern flank of it you're also looking at the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms. We've already had some thunderstorms rolling through portions of southern Missouri as we speak, but more of them are going to start to fire up later on this afternoon, especially across the northern tier, areas of Iowa, Minnesota and western portions of Illinois, as well as Wisconsin.

BOLDUAN: Allison, a lot to watch today. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

BERMAN: What can people do if they want to see us again today?

BOLDUAN: Well, I don't know, maybe watch tonight.

BERMAN: Tune in tonight. We'll be back. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)