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Mangione Set To Appear In Federal Court; American's Sourcing On Trump's Foreign Policy; Final Day of Public Viewing For Pope Francis. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 25, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

ROBERT BIANCHI, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Prosecutor becomes, in which cases do you apply it, in which cases don't you apply it. And the prosecutors here are saying, and not surprisingly to me, that if there's not a case for a death penalty, this certainly is the one that screams outward. It's planned, it's premeditated, it's an attack on an industry. It's there to make a message.

This wasn't a spur of the moment thing. And essentially prosecutors are going to argue that the ultimate penalty, the death penalty, is appropriate in a case like this to deter people from trying to advance their political causes and their political issues at the end of a gun, as opposed to the voting booth or the legislature. So this kind of is the kind of case that prosecutors will pursue for that reason.

But now they've got to make sure when you have two jurisdictions prosecuting that they're playing well in the sandbox, that they're not -- their egos are not getting in the way of doing anything that could jeopardize the case. Because when it's the death penalty, appellate courts are going to be extra special attentive that it was done correctly again, because if you execute somebody, you can't reverse that.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And this has become so high profile, including the morbid fascination that he has sparked amongst, you know, "fans" showing up to support him when every time he goes to court. You probably expect more of it today.

You've been both prosecutor and defense attorney, how does the high profile nature in this dynamic around this accused killer, how does that impact the approach, if at all of both sides in the courtroom?

BIANCHI: It's a huge issue. And prosecutors made, in my opinion, an extremely bad tactical decision by doing their perp walk scenario with all that extra firepower. You may remember the images, and all the law enforcement officers that created a spectacle and now they created an individual who is not being lionized by a significant section of society.

Why does that bother me as a prosecutor? I got to worry about somebody on my jury pool being like that. It only takes one person on the jury of 12 to say, you know what, out of whatever political reason or becoming famous, or because of the fanfare that he has, I am not going to say guilty. And the prosecutors can't get all 12, then they're not going to get a conviction. So that purple backfired on them.

As a prosecutor prosecuting this case, I'm going to be extremely attentive. I'm going to talk to experts, jury consultants, and I'm going to make sure my voir dire, which is where you can eliminate jurors with prejudices really squared away because I got to worry about that one single juror.

It's a strong case otherwise, but that's what I'm concerned about. And alternatively, the defense is going to work on that image with regard to his popularity in order to get that one juror not to convict him. Do I think 12 people are going to say not guilty? Not based on the evidence in this case, unless the evidence was illegally secured.

BOLDUAN: Well, this was. It's all really important dynamics you're laying out there, Bob. Thank you very much for coming in. It's good to see you. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning, Houthi rebels has successfully shot down $200 million worth of US military equipment. What that means for the US operation in the Middle East? And happening now, tens of thousands of people making their way to St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis. The Vatican releasing a new plea to visitors to not take selfies with the late Pope.

[08:33:29]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, tens of thousands of people are making their way to St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis. Today is the third and final day for mourners to see the Pope lying in state before his funeral tomorrow. The public viewing is expected to end in less than four hours from now at noon Eastern Time.

President Trump and dozens of world leaders will attend the Pope's funeral. This morning, we've also learned former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden will also be there tomorrow. Joining us now, CNN Vatican analyst Elisabetta Pique is joining us.

I think we are, you know, sort of going into this, watching the many thousands and thousands of people who have gathered there. What are you seeing this morning and what can we expect tomorrow?

ELISABETTA PIQUE, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Hello. What we are seeing now, it's really impressive. Today in Italy, it's a non-working day. So there are a lot of people coming to pay their last respect to Pope Francis. Then today it's also the Jubilee of the Adolescent. So you see a lot of boy scout, a lot of young people that is here and want to pay respect to Pope Francis.

They will close here, the St. Peter's Basilica at 7:00 local time. But you know, we got in our -- in all the mobile phone an alert from Italian defense, Seville, like half an hour ago saying at 5:00 o'clock the square, St. Peter's Square will be closed just to alert all people. This was something general not to come here because really there are kind of rivers of people wanting to say the last goodbye to Pope Francis.

Then tomorrow will be something an historic day because it will be, you know, a very different funeral because Pope Francis wanted a simple funeral. So it will be quite different of what we saw, I saw 20 years ago with John Paul II.

[08:40:05]

He will have, as you know, kind of very normal coffin, is not any more this triple coffin that used to be. And then he said he wanted a ceremony of a pastor, not as a king. And then another big difference and, yes, we will have all the powerful people from the world, the kings, queens, but we will also have what were really the aim to put on attention of Pope Francis that are the poor people. Poor people I know that will be here as it was in his opening ceremony in 2013.

Sergio Sanchez, that is a (foreign language), a garbage picker, that will be also here in the square in the first line. So this is the message of really and a lot of poor people will also be and this is another historical change because the funeral won't end here in St. Peter's, but then there will be this big procession to Santa Maria Maggiore where the Pope wanted to be buried, as you know, also in a very, very simple. And also there will be poor people waiting for him in the outside of Santa Maria Maggiore.

SIDNER: Yes. This is very much Pope Francis making clear that he believed in service. We've seen him washing the feet of the poor. And he really, truly believed that his role was not this pomp and circumstance that you're seeing, but the service that he can provide to his many believers.

I do want to ask you after the funeral, what happens at that point?

PIQUE: At that point there will be -- they will there will be a rosary in the outside of Santa Maria Maggiore tomorrow afternoon. And then on Sunday, all the cardinals will be allowed to go there. They will pray in Pope Francis thumb and they will also go to pray in front of the Salus Populi Romani, that is this virgin where Pope Francis was devoted.

Jorge Bergoglio this icon, the very old icon that is in Santa Maria Maggiore that he would visit always before and after all his international trips. And he visited also his last Saturday before entering his last Holy Week.

SIDNER: Wow. The pictures are stunning, although I know he didn't want the pomp and circumstance. Just inside the basilica, it is a stunning view of thousands and thousands of mourners showing up. Elizabetta Pique, thank you so much.

And join CNN for special live coverage from Rome. The funeral of Pope Francis begins Saturday morning at 3:00. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Sara. This morning, sources are telling CNN that President Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated, that he's failed to lock in a peace deal to end Russia's war on Ukraine. Americans also are becoming more frustrated themselves with President Trump's recent foreign policy decisions. CNN's Harry Enten looking into that for you today.

So, Harry, what are you seeing on this front? How Americans feel about Trump's foreign policy, specifically foreign policy decisions in the first 100 days?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. It's not good, Kate Bolduan, it's not good. I mean, the trend line here is pretty gosh darn clear. Trump's net approval rating on foreign policy. You go back to January, the start of Trump's term. He was above water, plus two points.

Down he goes, down into the body of water underwater, minus 13 points at this particular point. That is a drop of 15 points on the net approval rating since January during Trump's first 100 days. If this is an audition, he is failing that audition in the minds of the American public. Way underwater at minus 13 points.

BOLDUAN: Talk to me about this in like other presidents in the first 100 days. How is this looking?

ENTEN: Let's put it in a historical context, OK. Foreign policy, net approval, at this point of presidency, the average president plus 17. Trump in his first term, he was at minus 12, not particularly good.

BOLDUAN: And this is a good important reference. This isn't, you know, this isn't like a back to back terms. This is non-consecutive terms or first term, which I think is obviously very important.

ENTEN: Correct. Minus 12 points there, that was the -- that was the all time record for a presidency, the 45th presidency of Donald Trump. You go to 47, he has broken his own record. He is the worst on record at this particular point.

He was already the worst. Now he's even more the worst right now. And get that some quick math, minus 13, plus 17. He is 30 points below where the average president is on net approval when it comes to foreign policy. The American people think he's doing an awful, awful, awful job.

And they have rewarded him with the record of being the worst. I don't know if a medal comes with that, but if it did, he would get it.

[08:45:05]

BOLDUAN: So this is broad foreign policy. What about what we're focused -- Have rewarded him with the record of being the worst. I don't know if

a medal comes with that, but if it did, he would get it.

So this is broad foreign policy. What about what we're focused, what obviously -- today especially we're focused most on which is Russia's war in Ukraine.

ENTEN: Yes OK. So when it comes to Russia and Ukraine, the recent Fox News poll asked about his net approval rating on these different countries and where on Russia dealings with Russia, minus 18 points, dealings with Ukraine minus 13 points. No doubt feelings towards Russia and Ukraine are impacting Trump's overall net approval rating on foreign policy, which at this point is the worst on record.

BOLDUAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John?

BERMAN: All right. I expect we'll see more polls on the hundred days coming soon, all right. New CNN reporting. CNN has learned that Houthi rebels in Yemen have taken down a number of multimillion dollar US drones, and this is hurting US efforts against the Iranian-backed militia.

Let's get right to CNN's Zach Cohen for the latest on this reporting. What are you learning on this?

ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, John. The Trump administration has publicly insisted that its military operation targeting the Houthis in Yemen has been wildly successful. But we're learning about recent intelligence assessments that raise real questions about just how effective this military campaign has really been to date.

Look, multiple sources pointing to the fact that the Houthis have shot down at least seven American drones in the last month. And that is hindering the Trump administration and the US military's ability to move into what our sources characterize as phase two of this campaign. That phase really focused on gathering intelligence and targeting senior leadership of the Houthi militant group.

Look, that's something that the US military has not been able to successfully do so far. We know that they have carried out successful strikes on various air defense systems on what were characterized as mid level players in the Houthi system sort of structure. But to date, and Donald Trump has insisted that their goal is to decimate and to really decapitate the Houthi leadership.

And that's something that we will continue to see the Trump administration push forward on despite the fact that they appear to have had little success so far. A recent intelligence assessment that we've learned about from our sources says that despite over 700 targets being struck by US aircraft and 300 airstrikes being carried out, there's really little change in the Houthis command and control structure. And there's been little change in their intent and ability to continue to lob missiles at US commercial vessels in the Red Sea and also towards Israel.

So really a big challenge still facing the Trump administration despite their insistence that this is a successful operation so far.

BERMAN: All right, important new information coming in. Zach Cohen, great reporting, thank you very much, Sara? SIDNER: Coming up, the million dollar American dream. Why in more and more places, seven figures may simply not be enough to buy a stock starter home anymore. Plus, Tina Knowles opens up about motherhood and the moment she worried she'd lose her daughter to the lure of stardom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA KNOWLES, BEYONCE'S MOTHER: She found her home. She found her confidence, her, you know, it just made -- it was what she lived and breathed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Ahead, Beyonce Knowles' mom chronicles what it's like being the matriarch of that family. That story and more ahead.

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[08:52:24]

BOLDUAN: New this morning, the dream of owning a home is getting more out of reach for many first time home buyers. Prices have soared in the last few years and now a new report is out showing even starter home prices are hitting seven figures. CNN's Matt Egan is here with what is no doubt not going to be the news you want to hear today, but the news you need to know, perhaps. What do you -- what do you say?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, look, this report really puts an exclamation point on the housing affordability crisis. Zillow finds that even a starter home costs $1 million or more in 233 US cities.

BOLDUAN: Oh, wow.

EGAN: This is a starter home, which is defined as those in the bottom third of home values in a given region. So this is a crazy stat. It really underscores how out of reach the American dream is right now for far too many people. And just for context, before COVID, there were only about 85 cities where the typical starter home was $1 million or more. So where is this happening?

As you would imagine, a lot of the states along the coast have this issue where you have a million dollar typical starter home, but also some states in the heart of the country, including Texas and Colorado. Look at this, South Carolina as well.

And why is this happening? Obviously, this is a problem that's being caused by the fact that home prices have skyrocketed. There's just not enough homes for sale. There's too many people looking for homes right now.

But just the kind of explain how unattainable $1 million starter home is. Let's say you put down 20 percent at current mortgage rates, that means that your typical monthly payment would be above $6,500. For the typical household, this would swallow up almost their entire take home pay, leaving basically nothing left over for groceries and car payments, let alone daycare. So obviously this is just out of reach for so many people. We've also learned that home prices in March they topped $400,000 for the first time ever. We saw the pace of sales has slowed to basically a crawl. Home sales dropped by 6 percent in March.

BOLDUAN: And, Matt, this is obviously data coming from the look behind. This makes me scared of what the look ahead suggests then when you're talking about the impact and the ripple effects of Trump's trade war.

EGAN: Well, right. One of the issues with the trade war is, it's going to increase the cost of building, right?

BOLDUAN: Right, exactly.

EGAN: So homes could get even more expensive. Of course, the other issue is there's all this uncertainty. So some people may decide not to buy a home and that could actually depress sales further. Plus there's been this hit to wealth, right?

[08:55:03]

People's 401(k)s or investment portfolios has got -- they've all gone down. So they might not have as much money to put down a down payment that they knew to you right now. So look, obviously the housing market is just in this very frustrating place for people who are trying to be a first time buyer or those who need to buy, or relocate right now. It's just -- it's a really challenging time.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Seems impossible for small many right now and it's going to be a while before it becomes possible given the uncertainty. The uncertainty, I mean this is fallout as a ripple effect from the uncertainty of the trade war is a very real thing so.

EGAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: John?

BERMAN: All right. We learned this morning that Michigan authorities have raided five homes as part of a year long investigation into vandalism involving pro-Palestinian graffiti. The Michigan attorney General's office says there were at least a dozen "coordinated and related incidents that resulted in about $100,000 in damage."

Some of the targeted homes belonged to University of Michigan officials. So far, no one has been arrested.

Shannon Sharp says he is temporarily stepping away from ESPN. The announcement comes just days after anonymous woman filed a lawsuit suing him for $50 million. She is accusing the pro football hall of Famer and commentator of sexual assault and battery. Court documents say the consensual relationship started two years ago, and then became manipulative and controlling.

Sharpe is denying the allegations. He says he plans to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason.

And police in Florida say they were shocked when a suspect reached out his window and offered them a Vodka Spritzer. In the middle of a vehicle pursuit, the suspect robbed a market, stole multiple alcoholic beverages and then drove in circles around the store until police arrived.

That's when he offered them the drink, just being polite. You can see how it all ended right there. It ended when police hit him with the stun gun, which does not mix well with alcohol beverages. The suspect now faces several charges. Sara?

SIDNER: what are we going to do with Florida? I'm so mad at my state sometimes. Why do you guys keep having to highlight that?

BERMAN: Florida man.

SIDNER: Florida man, all the time. Thank you, John. All right. Now for this week's game changer, Tina Knowles. Yes, the mother of the most successful female recording artist in the world. Knowles is now chronicling a deeply personal story about her family's history, which very much reflects the history of African American families, from slavery to segregation to the continued fight to rise above racism. And the lessons she has learned and taught as the current matriarch of the family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: You know her daughter by her first name, Beyonce. But Tina Knowles has an incredible story of her own, and she's sharing it with the world.

A lot of people will look at you and say she looks like she would be one of them dance moms pushing their kid, you know, theater moms, like just pushing and pushing.

KNOWLES: Yes, I'm thinking of it all the time.

SIDNER: Was the case with Beyonce?

KNOWLES: Absolutely not. You know, I was in a singing group when I was a teenager, so people -- and people just found out about that because I never talked about it. I mean, I don't care what my kids would have wanted to do in life.

I knew Beyonce didn't have a choice. This is what she was born to do.

SIDNER: You said she found her home on stage.

KNOWLES: She found a home, she found her confidence, her, you know, it just made -- it was what she lived and breathed. Solange, on the other hand, had the choice to do whatever she wanted to do. And so, absolutely I didn't want her to be in this business. And I still hope, like, at some point. I love the fact that they've been so successful, but I cannot wait till the day that they don't have the pressures of this, and they can just live their lives and not under a microscope. You know, Solange takes big breaks when she needs them, and her health and her mental health is so important to her that she knows how to step away.

But, you know, Beyonce still lives and breathes that she's gotta have music to survive, I think, to breathe.

SIDNER: Knowles says that is precisely why she did what she had to do to help her daughters, while at the same time running her own salon.

So I read something in this book that made me go like, oh, my God. And it was when Beyonce was about to perform and you were doing her hair.

KNOWLES: Yes.

SIDNER: As you did. And she didn't have enough --

KNOWLES: Highlights.

SIDNER: -- highlight in her hair.

KNOWLES: Yes.

SIDNER: And you cut the highlights out of your own hair and put them into Beyonce's hair.

KNOWLES: Yes, I did. Because I promised her that she could have them. And I only brought a little piece of hair because in my mind, a highlight would be one or two. But she was like, no, I need more. Put more over here, and I ran out.

And she -- it was like -- I had committed the worst crime. She was like, mom, you promised. And so I was like, oh, my God, what am I going to do? And they were calling for them. So I just took little pieces out and, you know, glued them in her hair. And so, she talks about that story and how much love that took for me to do it.