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Rubio Meeting with National Security Council Staff Today; Brazilian Police Foil Alleged Plot to Attack Lady Gaga Concert; Study: Immunotherapy Helps Certain Cancer Patients Avoid Surgery. Aired 2:30- 3p ET

Aired May 05, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Today, America's top diplomat is expected to meet with his team not at the State Department but at the National Security Council. A source says Secretary of State Marco Rubio is doing so under his new additional role as the President's Interim National Security Advisor. President Trump gave Rubio that job last week after reassigning Mike Waltz to be U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Waltz, of course, was embroiled in the Signal Chat scandal. Over the weekend, the President said he planned to name a permanent National Security Advisor within six months and offered one of his current staffers as a possibility.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is covering this for us. So before we discuss Rubio's potential replacement, what more do we know about this meeting today between Secretary Rubio and staff over with National Security?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: So you talk to folks who have been working with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the last few months, and they say this isn't all that new. He goes over to the NSC quite frequently. We have reported that.

Marco Rubio is someone who knows that the center of gravity of this White House is at the White House, and therefore he spends a lot of time there.

[14:35:00]

However, today he's going to be meeting with NSC staffers for the first time in this capacity as Acting National Security Advisor. And that's significant, right? Because he is effectively their boss.

He is now going to be running this interagency process that the NSC runs to really drive the foreign policy, to dictate the foreign policy, to make sure that the whole interagency is working towards the foreign policy objectives. He's also the Secretary of State. So he's going to have some challenges coming forth in terms of balancing both of those roles.

Now, when President Trump was speaking about this yesterday, he did say, as you said in the open there, that he's looking to find someone to be in this role in a permanent basis within six months. Just listen to what he told reporters about that.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I have a lot of people that want the job, I can tell you. I mean, a lot of people say it really works in with what Marco is doing.

Stephen Miller is at the top of the totem pole. I mean, I think he sort of indirectly already has that job. You understand, because he has a lot to say about a lot of things. He's a very valued person in the administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: So you could see there a very valued person when he is speaking about Stephen Miller, who we know has an incredibly large role when it comes to the domestic policy of this administration. Of course, that includes immigration, which has clear overlap with foreign policy. But if Stephen Miller were to shift to be the actual national security advisor for President Trump, that would be a hard pivot to foreign policy. That would be a dramatic shift for him.

So this, of course, is a space we continue to watch. But we should also consider the fact that even though Trump says he wants someone else in there permanently within six months, things can always change.

If Rubio seems to be having a good relationship with the president, folks think that he is doing a good job. Maybe he does maintain both of these roles for the foreseeable future.

HILL: We will see.

KEILAR: Very interesting.

HILL: Kylie, thanks.

Coming up here, new details on the thwarted bomb plot at a Lady Gaga concert. We'll take a closer look at who was targeted and why they allegedly wanted to carry out the attack. Stay with us.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: We're getting a closer look inside the operation that helped authorities foil an alleged bomb plot at Lady Gaga's concert in Rio over the weekend. Police released video from Saturday when more than 2 million people had gathered to see her show on Copacabana Beach. Two suspects are in custody accused of planning an attack against members of the LGBTQ plus community.

They're also accused of attempting to recruit others, including teenagers, to help them by using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails. Police say the goal of the attack was, quote, gaining notoriety on social media.

A spokesperson for the pop star tells CNN, in part, Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks.

With us now is CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe. Andy, thanks so much for being with us. First off, let's just talk about the big picture of an event like this, how difficult it is to secure an event of this size, and any questions that this operation raises for you.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Sure. So, Brianna, you hit the nail on the head there. This is like, you know, for a security special event, this is, like, beyond anything that most law enforcement entities will have to deal with.

Two million people on the beach, no tickets required, which means there's no controlled access to the areas in front of the stage. Like, that means you can't really adequately screen or check those people attending the event for possession of weapons or other dangerous devices.

So this is very, very hard to control a space like this, which only makes it even more important to collect intelligence in every way that you can about planning that might be going on targeting the event ahead of time.

That's clearly what they did here with some forward-leaning cyber work to find out exactly what people were talking about or potentially planning on doing.

KEILAR: So, you heard it, concertgoers saying, the performer, Lady Gaga's folks saying, they weren't given no indication before or during the show about potential risks. We, of course, think back to the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austria, that was cancelled last summer as they foiled a plot but still ultimately out of an abundance of caution they cancelled that. What do you think about the fact that this wasn't cancelled, that this was going on as there were some concerns even if the authorities felt they'd mitigated them?

MCCABE: Yes, it's a really questionable decision on the part of Brazilian police. And I say that because it's basically entirely predicated on their confidence level that they had mitigated the threat they'd uncovered and any other related threats, which is a really hard thing to be sure of with such a minimal amount of time to work with. So, we know that they operated, they were clearly in those places on the web and potentially even the dark web where they thought people might be organizing and planning some sort of nefarious activity.

They may have also benefited from tips from allies and law enforcement partners like the United States. We know they got some information from the U.S. consulate.

[14:45:00] But to be able to say on the eve of the event that you knew you were 100 percent confident that nothing bad was going to happen there, that's a very bold and somewhat risky move.

Now, of course, to be fair, we have to consider that their alternative would have been to cancel something that they knew 2 million people were probably already in the process of arriving for or potentially even already there.

So that side of the equation creates some potential problems as well. But to not share this information with the artist before the event I think was really a very bold and potentially risky move.

KEILAR: Yes, there were concerns about reducing panic, but as you said, questions about not sharing it with the artist.

So police say the suspects were part of an online hate group that was working to radicalize young people against the LGBTQ community. How dangerous is this kind of thing, this online radicalization? Why has it been so effective?

MCCABE: Well, it's incredibly effective because it's a way to deliver these sorts of messages and propaganda to vulnerable communities, to vulnerable individuals entirely anonymously. So that's the fuel that fires the grievance and the other things that motivates extremists. And then you can conduct entirely private encrypted communications with these people you're trying to recruit or with these people you seek to join.

So it's a toxic combination that's led to problems that we've all experienced, quite frankly. And everything from Islamic extremist terrorist activity to domestic extremist activity here in the United States. So it's a tough environment in which to work.

Now, it's also hard to say particularly with this situation how much of this was simply puffing kind of hate speech that might not have engaged you know, led to an actual attack or how much of it was serious attack planning. Clearly, the Brazilian police felt like they needed to err on the side of caution and really get proactive with the search warrants and arrest warrants of these folks which is always the preferred course if you can do it.

KEILAR: Andrew McCabe, thank you so much for your expertise on this. We appreciate it.

MCCABE: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: And coming up, the new medicine that could potentially help treat cancer patients without invasive surgery or chemotherapy. We'll have that story and more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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HILL: A possible game changer in the fight against cancer. A new study shows IV infusions of an immunotherapy drug can help some cancer patients avoid invasive surgeries, chemotherapy, or radiation. Most of the patients involved in the study remain in remission.

CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more.

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JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Immunotherapy is changing the landscape of cancer care and a new trial specifically on the immunotherapy drug dostarlimab is continuing some previous research where 100 percent of certain advanced rectal cancer patients saw their tumors disappear. This was after receiving IV infusions of dostarlimab.

Now, this new study took that research further by including patients with other types of cancer, like colon, gastric, and prostate cancers. In this new study, 80 percent of those patients were completely treated without needing to undergo surgery. Their tumors did not progress during or after treatment. But it's important to mention that these patients all had what are called mismatch repair deficient tumors.

This type of tumor is incredibly responsive to immunotherapies, and that's what the new study showed. But this is a limited group of patients. If you have cancer, you need to have your tumor genetically sequenced to confirm whether it's mismatch repair deficient and therefore could respond to this type of less invasive treatment approach.

Some patients can access this now. The FDA gave it a breakthrough designation last year for certain rectal cancer patients. Dostarlimab is already FDA approved to treat certain endometrial cancers after patients already had chemotherapy.

But overall, this idea of using less invasive treatments is where the future is heading. Less invasive means patients could avoid radiation therapies. We know those can impact their fertility, or they could avoid having organs removed in surgery.

This could especially benefit younger adults who are being diagnosed with cancer. Here's one of the study's authors, Dr. Luis Diaz, talking about that.

DR. LUIS DIAZ, ONCOLOGIST, MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER: Imagine going your life without a major organ in your body, your bladder, your rectum, your esophagus, and your stomach. This will allow not only individuals to keep those organs, but for them to proceed with their life almost as if they didn't have cancer. And a couple of examples of that is that patients who would have not been able to conceive or carry a child have actually become pregnant and been able to start their families.

HOWARD: So this new research is a big deal, and it could shape the future of cancer treatment, especially as we see a trend emerge of cancers being diagnosed at younger and younger ages.

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KEILAR: Really amazing, good news. Jacqueline Howard, thank you for that.

And now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

We now know that all 133 voting members of the College of Cardinals have arrived in Rome, with just two days to go before their conclave to elect Pope Francis's successor. Workers have now installed the red curtains on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. You see them there where the new pope will be presented.

And for the first time in the church's history, 15 new nations will be represented by cardinals at the conclave. That includes Tonga and South Sudan.

[14:55:00]

And 32 people were safely rescued from a sinking yacht near Miami Beach over the weekend. Coast Guard officials say the 63-foot vessel began sinking and at one point was actually seen sticking straight up out of the water. No injuries here even reported.

The Coast Guard thanked nearby Good Samaritan boaters who assisted with the rescue.

And an emotional moment for Olympic swimming great Gary Hall Jr. He was awarded 10 medals after all of his original medals were destroyed in the Los Angeles fires four months ago. Hall fled his home in the Pacific Palisades during the fires, grabbing only his dog and insulin medication. He earned five gold, three silver and two bronze medals at three summer games from 1996 to 2004. Good for him.

And coming up, the Education Department resumes collecting payments from student loans in default. It's a move that is affecting millions of borrowers. If you're one of them, we'll tell you what you need to know.

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