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Real ID Required for Air Travel; FAA on Newark Airport Problems; Rev. Patrick Mary Briscoe is Interviewed about the Voting for a New Pope; India and Pakistan on Brink of War. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 07, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "SEARCHING FOR SPAIN": Drinking in the pubs and the bars, eating.

Spain does clean eating. Very clean eating. Very minimal ingredients. And in the way they cook, and how they present things. And you don't really have to go to a farmer's market because everywhere is a farmers market.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

LONGORIA: Their produce, they don't have to transport things very far. You just have the freshest tomatoes, the freshest potatoes, the freshest meats.

Also in the Madrid episode, it's really a city welcoming of immigrants. It really has so many different neighborhoods, so many different kinds of foods, so many fusions. They are very welcoming of any walk of life, any type of person, no matter where you're from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And a new delicious episode of Eva Longoria's "Searching for Spain" airs this Sunday night at 9:00 right here on CNN.

A brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Real ID is upon us. The enhanced license now required to fly in the United States. What if you don't have one yet? Why do you need one now? Your questions asked and answered ahead.

And a domino effect at Newark airport is still unfolding. A tenth straight day of delays and cancellations at one of the busiest airports in the country. Now there's new reporting from a worker who was in the control tower when air traffic controllers lost communication. Quote, "the most dangerous situation you could have."

And we're standing by for the doors of the Sistine Chapel to close and lock. Cardinals preparing to begin the conclave today and cast their vote for a new pope.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, you are now required to

have a Real ID to travel, sort of. The act does go into effect today, requiring driver's licenses to meet certain federal requirements. The 20-year-old law enacted a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission that the federal government enhance security standards for identification. So, what does that mean for you? Bottom line, your photo ID must now be a Real ID, compliant to travel within the United States or to enter certain federal buildings. Those without one may have to undergo additional screening. And that includes TSA precheck passengers. You'll know if your ID is good to go if you have a star or a flag on the upper right-hand corner. But not everyone has an ID yet that is compliant, so delays are expected at airports across the country.

CNN's Danny Freeman is in Philadelphia at the international airport there.

Danny, what do you see so far? How are things going? We're already hearing from the points guy that, yes, you get diverted if you don't have that Real ID, which could mean you're in line a little bit longer.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right, Sara. We have seen a handful of those type of diversions here already at Philly International. But I got to be honest with you, it seems pretty smooth so far here at the airport. And that's been what a lot of airport and federal officials have been telling us as well, not just here, but across the country.

Let me tell you a little bit about what we've been seeing. So, we're here at a domestic or predominantly domestic terminal. Most people have had one of these Real ID themselves or a Real ID compliant identification. But for those who have come who haven't, the TSA is right over here and they've been handing out these pamphlets right here that say the ID you presented is not Real ID compliant. You will need a Real ID or other acceptable form of identification for your next flight, or you may expect delays, as you were saying. These have been handed out and folks have been passed along to additional screening as the TSA promised.

But I was speaking with a federal official. He said that the number of people who have come, who have actually needed that diversion was actually less than they were preparing for this particular morning. So, they take that as a good sign and a sign that folks here in this area at least were definitely paying attention to the constant barrage of messaging that folks should be prepared for this deadline to go into effect today.

But one thing I'll note, Sara, is, it was interesting, not just from what we've seen, but also from what some of the airport officials have seen. Again, this is a predominantly domestic terminal here. We've seen a lot of people carrying their passports.

Take a listen to what one TSA official noted about the passport element here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GERARDO SPERO, TSA FEDERAL SECURITY DIRECTOR FOR PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE: Yes, I don't think we've ever seen quite as many passports, certainly not for domestic flights. I think that Pennsylvania and New Jersey, unfortunately, don't have very high compliance rates for driver's licenses. But I think a lot of people knew that they had a passport. So, they just figured, well, it's a compliant ID, I'll just use my passport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: So, again, you have been seeing all those big lines in New Jersey or Pennsylvania for Real IDs on their licenses.

[09:05:00]

Part of that is because while their compliance for the licenses are low, a lot of folks in these neighboring states have passports, and we've been seeing that put into practice here today.

The one other thing ill note, Sara, is, I was also speaking with AAA today. And they made the point that, listen, it's a Wednesday at an airport. This is one of the lower flying travel days of the week. So, a smart time to roll this program out. But think in the future. We're coming up on Memorial Day, we're coming up on the summer travel season. They were saying that you should still get your Real ID, you should still go to the DMV and make that effort because some of these intense travel days are coming where these lines may be a lot more full. That's what you want to prepare for your next potential flight or vacation so you don't get caught up in what could be extra delays with extra screenings, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, I mean no shade to my fellow fliers, but we have had 20 years to try and get the Real ID. So, there has been quite a bit of time.

FREEMAN: I have mine. I have mine. I got mine.

SIDNER: I do too. I'm just saying it's been a while.

Danny Freeman, thank you so much, live for us at the Philadelphia International Airport.

John.

BERMAN: All right, and we do have breaking news. A brand-new statement from the FAA concerning Newark Airport in New Jersey following days and days of delays and cancellations there. And part of the reason is this dramatic episode where radar and radios went down.

Let's get right to CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean.

What is the FAA saying now, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, here is the latest from the FAA. They're vowing redundancy at the Newark terminal radar approach control facility, which is actually in Philadelphia, adding in three, they say, new high bandwidth telecom connections between the old facility and the new facility. Remember, last July this facility moved from Long Island to Philadelphia.

Also, they're installing a temporary backup system they say there because we've heard from controllers, and we'll talk about this in a second, that they feel like this was a single point of failure that could have been avoided. And the FAA and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are vowing to ramp up hiring. This is the latest from the FAA's operations plan today. Expect Newark delays to really hit their stride around 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Meaning, the impact of these staffing shortages have been blunted, at least for today. But it would make this the 10th straight day of delays, amplified by these staffing shortages since that Newark air traffic control meltdown last Monday led to five controllers to take trauma leave. What's called trauma leave.

And just last night I spoke with a controller who was in that facility at the time it lost radar and radio connectivity for about 90 seconds. That is huge. An eternity in the life of a controller. It means they could not see where planes were or communicate with them via voice. The controller I spoke to called it the most dangerous situation you could have in some of the busiest airspace in the country.

I want you to remember, this is a radar facility. No windows, like a control tower at an airport. Controllers really rely on what they see on their radar scopes. And the controller I spoke to says this all, he believes, started with this single point of failure after this facility moved to Philadelphia last year. He says there is one data link that runs the new facility off the old facility, and he told me this. He says, quote, "it basically doesn't have redundancy. We're under the impression that there is a single stream that's coming in that carries both radar and radio."

He also underscored, this is not the first time this has happened. And last fall, he said a similar systems meltdown caused the pilots of a FedEx flight to miss a Newark controller's instruction to turn onto the final approach at Newark. Instead, the flight simply just kept shooting off east and flying over the busy airspace at LaGuardia. He told me this, and this is the big takeaway quote here. He said, "it was just by the grace of God that there was not another plane in his way. We all expected what happened in D.C. to happen here."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy set to announce a sweeping overhaul of air traffic control tomorrow, and he told our Jake Tapper last night that for now the FAA is meeting with airlines to try and get them to reduce the number of flights into Newark. A huge hub for United Airlines. It's proactively canceling about 70 flights a day to and from Newark.

United has also put into place a travel waiver, allowing passengers to change their Newark flights or Newark connections by a couple days free of charge through May 17th. A lot of new developments here, John.

BERMAN: A lot of new developments. Pete Muntean, you are way out in front of this story. Terrific reporting on these really serious failures and the cascading effects that still linger. Excellent work. Thanks, Pete.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also happening -- also happening today, 133 cardinals from around the world will swear an oath of secrecy and cast their first secret vote in the search for a new (INAUDIBLE).

[09:10:05]

The world will be watching and wondering who it will be and just how long it could take before we see that famous white smoke billowing from the chimney. The indication there is a new leader for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. The conclave begins this afternoon, when the Sistine Chapel will go into a complete lockdown. Cell phone signals around the chapel even blocked. That's how serious it is.

Joining us right now is Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, back with us. He's also the editor of "Our Sunday Visitor."

It's good to see you again, Father. Thank you for being here.

First, just -- there was this -- while many people were -- while many people were sleeping this morning, but we were awake, and you -- and you were as well, of course, there is this beautiful, special mass that took place that we had the chance to watch. What was your takeaway from that special mass this morning that kind of set the tone for starting the conclave today?

REV. PATRICK MARY BRISCOE, EDITOR, "OUR SUNDAY VISITOR": Kate, that mass is really an extraordinary thing because, of course, this isn't just an election. The conclave to elect a pope is a great liturgical act. It's an act of prayer. And it begins with the mass at St. Peter's Basilica, which is where, of course, the church believes St. Peter is, in fact, buried. So, the mass begins, in fact, around the tomb of the apostle with all of the cardinals having in their mind this coming work that they need to elect the next successor of St. Peter. So, it's an impressive setting.

Cardinal Ray, who celebrated the mass, celebrated with, again, a remarkable energy and fervor. I mean it's striking given his age. He's too old to be a voting -- a voting cardinal. He did celebrate Pope Francis' funeral mass. And he called the cardinals to set aside their own personal predilections, their own personal preferences, and instead to contemplate which man will be best to lead the church in this historic time. It was a powerful homily that he delivered.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and I was actually going to quote part of it because I'm seeing it described as a -- kind of a Franciscan call to cherish diversity as part of the homily, saying, "the unity of the church is willed by Christ, a unity that does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity, provided that full fidelity to the gospel is maintained."

What do you hear in that?

BRISCOE: One of the other great things that the cardinal said was he called the -- he called the cardinal electors especially, but every disciple has this call, to embody the love of Jesus Christ and to be men and women that build up unity, exactly like the cardinal is drawing there. And that's a very interesting theme because, of course, it emerged during the conversations that the cardinals have been having in this lead up to the conclave. A lot of discussion about church unity was had in the reports that I've received from the general congregations, which is those daily meetings that the cardinals have been having going into the election.

BOLDUAN: That is very interesting. So, the last two conclaves lasted a couple days. Based on who you've been talking to there in Rome, is there -- do you get the sense, or do you have the guess that this is going to be a longer conclave or a shorter one?

BRISCOE: Well, the word going around the holy see right now, the word among the Vatican press is that we might see something a little longer. And that prediction is coming from a perceived -- a perceived sense that the cardinals are not going as strongly for Cardinal Parolin. Cardinal Parolin, of course, had been -- he had emerged as the early lead candidate. And there was a sense that that consensus has drifted a little bit, which might then mean we would see a longer electoral process.

BOLDUAN: Talk to me about the conclave process. What aspect of it -- you know, we can talk about the frontrunners as well, but just the process in and of itself is a -- is a fascinating one, not only because it's, you know, dated back centuries and centuries. What aspect of it most fascinates you?

BRISCOE: It really is, Kate. You know, it's such a beautiful thing because, again, ultimately it's a prayer. And it's a prayer of building consensus because as the ballots, you know, that is, as each round of electoral process occurs, you'll see votes begin to shift from the camps. And what will happen is that the cardinals will come to a figure that they believe the holy spirit is leading them to nominate, leading them to elect. And it has a grave consequence each vote. You know, it's not a thoughtless act. Each cardinal will drop his ballot in a beautiful urn, standing at the feet of Michelangelo's famous Fresco, The Last Judgment, and make a declaration that he says, standing before Christ will be my judge. I nominate the one who I believe God is asking to be the pope. I mean it's a -- it's really a powerful sense.

So, it's not mere politicking, it's about building, again, a kind of consensus, which serves that unity that Cardinal Ray was preaching about today.

BOLDUAN: And when we do have the new pope, what is the significance, to remind everyone, of the name that the newly elected pope will choose? What signal will that send to the world?

[09:15:03]

BRISCOE: This is one of the things that will happen, and it will happen very quickly, Kate. I mean it's a remarkable thing because, you know, it will dawn on the pope that he's -- the new pope, that he really is the preferred candidate, right? So, he'll hear his name being said in the count as they -- as they go through each round of balloting. And he'll have a growing awareness that that this ministry is going to be asked of him. So, he'll begin to think about his name. And the name he chooses will signal -- will signal his preference for ministry, signal his priority, really, that he's going to undertake as pope. So, in the case of Pope Francis recently, a cardinal remarked to him just after he was elected, remember the poor, don't forget the poor. And so he took the name of Francis of Assisi, il poverello, as the Italians call him, the poor one, in order to indicate just that.

BOLDUAN: Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, it is always great to have you on. Thank you so much for your time.

Sara.

SIDNER: That was an enlightening conversation. Loved it.

All right, tensions, though, at the highest in decades between two nuclear powers. Pakistan now vowing to retaliate after India launches strikes there on what it calls terrorist infrastructure. That battle ahead.

Plus, China denies trade talks with the U.S., despite President Trump's claims. Why hopes for a breakthrough may be premature.

And, jurors who have seen the hotel video of Sean Combs may still make the final cut. How soon that jury could be picked and opening statements begin.

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[09:21:08]

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, two neighbors with nuclear weapons on the brink of war. India carrying out its deepest strikes inside Pakistan in more than 50 years. OK, the blast from one of those strikes was caught on camera and shared on social media. You saw it right there. India says it was targeting, quote, terrorist infrastructure on the heels of a tourist massacre, a massacre of tourists in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Pakistan maintains it had no involvement in that. The Pakistani military says India's strikes killed 26 civilians and security forces there say five Indian air force jets and a drone were shot down during that attack. So, there's some serious back and forth here.

CNN chief national security analyst Jim Sciutto is with us now.

And, Jim, just remind everyone why the stakes are so high here and what's different this time?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, the obvious one, as you know, these are two nuclear powered states. I mean there are no indications they're close to an escalation to a nuclear exchange, but that's always on the radar because once you're in it, it's hard to control the escalation because one side's proportional response could be considered by the other side to be an escalation. And here you have two differences compared to previous attacks we've seen. As you noted, the deepest strikes inside Pakistan by India, not just in the disputed area of Kashmir, but now also Pakistani claiming to have drawn blood as well from India with as many as five -- not yet confirmed by others -- five jets shot down.

Now, on the good side, that could allow both sides to say they've struck sufficiently, right? We struck India. Inside Pakistan, we have shown our resolve. We took Indian jets down, says Pakistan, and we've shown our resolve. It's possible. But that said, Pakistan has vowed a resolute response and we're now awaiting that.

BERMAN: Yes, look, and five jets. When you're shooting down five jets, and again we don't have confirmation of that.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BERMAN: But that's not a skirmish.

SCIUTTO: No.

BERMAN: I mean that's close to war when you're talking about things at that scale.

Proxies here. I mean -- and, first of all, I guess India and Pakistan are such major countries with major militaries, it's not necessarily a proxy war here, but there's the -- who supports whom is interesting here.

SCIUTTO: Well, I mean, that's the central allegation here, right, is that Pakistan -- India blames Pakistan for this terror attack because, and it's a fact, there's a history of these terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil with ties even to Pakistani intelligence, et cetera. Now Pakistan says that is no longer the case. India still holds them responsible.

But we've seen this before. You go back to the Mumbai attacks, right, in 2008. Horrible attack. Lashkar e Taiba, a Pakistan based group. And then that led to one of several.

I was going over my notes the number of times the two sides have shot each other. 2019, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2008, 2002.

BERMAN: Right.

SCIUTTO: I mean, these are regular events.

BERMAN: They are. Although again, deeper than we've seen before with potentially more consequences than we've seen before.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BERMAN: What's the U.S. involvement here, or how much power or sway does the U.S. have to sort of calm things down?

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, I mean, the U.S. is not the only one making calls right now. You saw that Secretary Rubio has been in touch with the two sides here. The neighbors are in touch. One could expect that China might be in touch as well. It shares a border. Each one saying, let's keep a cap on this.

Now, I did speak to U.S. military officials, because I asked them, what is your level of concern that this expands beyond what it is right now? And again, this is hard to predict, but they said that in recent years, India and Pakistan have managed to manage escalation, right, to take shots, which are -- let's not minimize the danger of that, but then to back down. So, you at least have some history of that as well. But we'll have to see, because Pakistan, it seems by all accounts, will respond. And then the question will be, how does India interpret that.

[09:25:03]

BERMAN: Yes, again, the what happens next here if there is a next is so crucial. So, we'll watch this space.

Jim Sciutto, great to see you. Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Thanks. Thanks.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Were minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. And this is also ahead of a big decision that will be coming from the Federal Reserve on interest rates and what the Fed chairman will say later today, which will be a very closely watched press conference.

Take a look at these lines. Today is the day that you need a Real ID to fly. And we are live in Chicago, where the lines are around the block to get said Real ID today.

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