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Education Department Pays Over $7 Million A Month To Employees Forced To Sit Idle; Trump Budget Proposal Slashes Billions From NASA Budget; Defense Crash Expert Returns To The Stand Monday In Karen Read Trial; Apple Is About To Announce Updates To How We Use The iPhone And Its Other Devices; Warner Bros. Discovery Is Splitting Into Two Companies; Israeli Forces Seize Gaza Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 09, 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]

SHAWN VANDIVER, PRESIDENT AND BOARD CHAIRMAN, AFGHANEVAC: Sure. So let's take first the folks who are here. If you were here, you're generally safe. If you got here on a durable status as a refugee or as an SIVs, generally, you're safe.

The number one thing I can tell people is consult an immigration attorney if you're already here, make sure your case is good. And they can go to afghanevac.org resources to find for folks that are awaiting reunification or folks that are awaiting coming here.

The good news is SIVs are exempt. They their immediate family members will be exempt. The rough news is that if you're in the refugee track or if you're an asylee, follow to join or a follow to join refugee, you filled out an i730 or you're waiting for humanitarian parole, we understand that CBP has issued guidance and there's internal state guidance over the weekend that says those are -- those cases will be paused while the lawyers sort of figure it out.

The biggest news is don't take any action. Don't respond to the scary emails that are coming from government before you talk to a qualified immigration attorney.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: That is good advice. Shawn VanDiver, thank you so much for explaining that to us and giving your expertise on what is happening now with these new travel bans when it comes to Afghans. Appreciate it. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up for us, here's a quote for you. It's an absolute shit show. That is how one scientist is describing the confusion at NASA after major budget cuts are proposed for the space agency. And this morning, court resumes in the Karen Read murder trial. What we can expect now to hear from an accident reconstruction expert who will retake the stand. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:14] SIDNER: A new analysis finds the Department of Education is doling out more than 7 million a month to employees it forced to go on leave. The employees were terminated back in March when the agency cut nearly half of its workforce. The move was supposed to cut costs, but it's also part of President Trump's broader plan to dismantle the entire Education Department. CNN Sunlen Serfaty has brand new reporting for us this morning.

Sunlen, what can you tell us about what's happening here? That is a lot of money. This is what DOGE was trying to get rid of.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that is what is so notable by these huge numbers that are coming from the union. This is essentially a very costly waiting game for the American taxpayers right now.

The headline being that more than $7 million right now is being paid per month to government employees that cannot work. And that will continue, in essence, until the court and the court battle plays out.

Now, these are employees who are part of the Department of Education. They were originally terminated back in March as part of that dismantling of the agency that the administration wants to continue doing. But then the court cases brought them back and they were placed on administrative leave.

Now many employees are calling this administrative leave purgatory because they are being paid to not work. Essentially, they cannot work because their computers were taken away. They lost access to critical email systems and access to their office.

So employees are continuing to get paid, but they are not allowed to work. And a lot of the employees that I spoke to said that they were somewhat embarrassed by all this, the feeling that they are a drain on American taxpayer resources and money.

One employee told me, quote, it feels like garbage to receive pay in exchange for doing nothing. I also feel shame because on some level I feel like a parasite for American tax barriers. If I leave my position, there's no chance of me ever being able to do my job again.

And this is what I heard, Sara, from so many employees that I spoke to that are in this purgatory situation. They said they don't want to continue getting paid, but they do want to wait this out, in essence to see if their job is reinstated after the end of the court battles concludes.

So there is a hope that they could one day get their job back and not only get their job back to collect that paycheck, but to actually do the work. And as you noted at the beginning, this is all flies in the face of this focus on obviously efficiency and saving the government money. The fact that the government and American taxpayers are now paying $7 million a month to employees from the Department of Education who cannot do their job. Sara.

SIDNER: Great reporting from you, Sunlen Serfaty. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for coming on this morning. Kate.

BOLDUAN: So scientists are sounding the alarm as well, saying it cuts to NASA's budget proposed by the White House could set the agency back decades. One scientist saying morale at the agency has never been lower and went even further to say, quote, it's an absolute shit show. It feels for all of us that we are being abandoned by NASA leadership.

Now, under the proposed budget plan for 2026 from the White House, NASA's budget would be cut by 24 percent compared to last year, according to one analysis. And that includes a 47 percent cut to the agency's science activities. And the analysis also found that the funding level would be its lowest since 1961 after adjusting for inflation.

Joining us right now is CNN Space Contributor, host of the Endless Void, Kristin Fisher. It's good to see you, Kristin.

[08:40:00]

One of the things that we know is part of this whole conversation about what could be eliminated is NASA's Goddard Center. What kind of work was NASA's -- is NASA's got a center doing and what's the potential impact if these cuts happen?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE ANALYST: So just to be clear, Kate, there are two kind of different things. There's the Goddard center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and then there's the Goddard Institute for Space Flight Studies, which is based in New York City, a smaller office, part of the broader Goddard Center, but definitely independent. And it really has been at the forefront of a lot of climate studies over the last several years, really into climate monitoring, things that tell how our planet is reacting to climate change.

That is the part that is really looking to be almost entirely wiped out by this proposed Trump White House budget. But I should also say the Goddard Center in Greenbelt, Maryland is also facing substantial cuts.

I mean, Kate, this is the center that was responsible for the bulk of the James Webb Space Telescope, the biggest, most powerful telescope ever built that continues to beam back all those images back to Earth. So, a lot --

BOLDUAN: I think some of them that we're actually putting behind me are some of those that were brought back. You have -- you and I have talked about those amazing images that it is beaten back.

FISHER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Looking more broadly, the White House's budget, let's talk about the numbers.

FISHER: Sure.

BODLUAN: What they're proposing is a cut of NASA funding from $7 billion to just under 4 billion. One of the things that they were talking about, it would cut off funds for NASA's plans for robotics -- robotic exploration of the solar system, several space based missions to study Earth and the earth and sun.

And the way that the White House budget office is talking about it is that saying that NASA's current funding levels are unsustainable. What do you see in these cuts? Because it's one thing to cut a line item as, but we know, as we have been reporting on this in many different agencies, the fallout and ripple effects of what those cuts mean, especially when things are in progress, can be disruptive isn't probably an understatement.

FISHER: Yes. And Kate, you said this before, but we're talking about a nearly 50 percent cut in NASA's science budget, cutting it literally in half. I spoke with the former head of NASA science across three administrations, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, Dr. Z, as a lot of people called him. And you know, he described these cuts as absolutely devastating, that it would set the United States back decades and would make it very difficult to catch up with countries like China.

And a lot of it has to do with the workforce, the loss in talent. If you cut all these jobs, all that talent will go elsewhere, to private sectors, perhaps other countries. And so you're really looking at a large scale dismantlement potentially of NASA.

Now, Congress, even some Republicans on Capitol Hill are going to try to fight this, but you're looking at dismantling just a ton of climate and weather monitoring satellites that are already in production or already up in space or at various points in production.

And so it's really just something that is incredibly difficult for the entire NASA community to wrap their heads around. And Kate, don't forget this comes that budget was released just one day before the Trump administration announced that it was withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator, an incredibly popular figure with broad bipartisan support.

So that one, two punch of the budget cuts and the loss of leadership, good leadership at a time when NASA so desperately needs it, has I believe, based on my reporting, just sent NASA morale across all departments and field centers to an all time low.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Kristin, it's good to see you. Thank you. John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Very shortly, testimony resumes in the retrial of Karen Read, charged with running over her police officer boyfriend. Witnesses have told the court that the injuries did not match what you would expect from being hit by a car. Those are defense witnesses. Now prosecutors are pushing back on that.

Jean Casarez, who's been following us from the beginning here with us to explain what's going on with this testimony.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's fascinating. Accident reconstructionist for the defense. And they use Newton's law. Force equals acceleration times mass. But you knew that, John, didn't you? Newton's law. They went outside. You got to watch this testing because they had a crash dummy. They had a Lexus car.

[08:45:00]

And you're going to see that car. And that's a drone shot right there where it's going in reverse. All right. And they did it at different speeds. 15 miles per hour, and there was no damage to the tail light. And that's the crash dummy right there, who's on -- which is on a harness. And then you had 17 miles per hour, which actually showed a little bit of damage to the tail light.

Then 24 miles per hour, which the black box said was the speed feet of the Lexus. And that was some substantial damage to the tail light, the red plastic along with the white plastic underneath. But yet the witness for the defense said to a degree of scientific certainty it did not match the injuries on John O'Keefe. Listen to court where he makes that pivotal opinion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Did you reach any opinions or conclusions as to whether the damage to the right rear tail light of the subject vehicle is consistent or inconsistent with an impact to a right arm during a high speed reversing maneuver?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was inconsistent.

HANK BRENNAN, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: Instead of choosing the 12 pound arm, which is 0.12 difference, you chose a much lesser weight, didn't you?

UNDENTIFIED MALE: It was about 10 pounds, yes.

BRENNAN: No, it wasn't about 10 pounds. It was less than 10 pounds, let's be exact. You're a scientist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: That was a moment of actually some humor in the courtroom right there. It had to be the weight of John O'Keefe's arm, according to the defense, and he used a much lighter arm, which would produce a far more minor injury.

But the defense also said the dummy's on the harness so it can't fall the way John O'Keefe and the feet weren't on the ground with the dummy. And so you see there are pros and cons to experts on both sides.

BERMAN: What else are we going to hear today?

CASAREZ: This witness is still on the stand. Redirect. So there's been a weekend the jury can just think about this testimony. Defense will have another crack at their theory that the forensics don't match. And we are nearing the end of the defense case. It's believed.

BERMAN: It is always interesting, you see the defense put on scientific witnesses to try to present what they say are facts there, get in the jury's mind, maybe introduce that idea of doubt. Jean Casarez, thank you very, very much. Kate.

BOLDUAN: New this morning, Apple's big annual developers' conference kicks off today. And while Tim Cook often takes the stage with a new product and a big announcement in hand, this year feels a bit different. The company expected to announce updates to their AI features as well as new features for iPhones and Apple watches. CNN's Clare Duffy is tracking this one. She's here with me now. What are you hearing is coming or is expected today?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: So just to set the stage a little bit here, the last two years at WWDC brought these really major announcements. The Vision Pro headset and Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI tools. Those products have largely fallen flat since. So we are expecting more modest updates today. More modest announcements, but things that Apple probably feels it can definitely deliver on.

So some of the things that we're expecting to hear are a new translation feature for AirPods so you could have a live conversation with someone who speaks another language. Also an AI-powered battery management feature so your iPhone doesn't die as quickly. We potentially will see an AI health coach that will take data from iPhones and Apple watches and make personalized health recommendations. And then an overall new look for the operating system for iPhone and all of the other big Apple devices.

The big question is going to be can Apple announce interesting enough AI updates to give users a reason to buy the new iPhone in the fall? Apple is really behind its rivals on AI here. As I talk to experts and analysts. The risk for Apple really is that consumers start to think the iPhone is no longer cool, that it doesn't have the latest tech and they decide to go and buy a Samsung or a Google phone instead. So that's the big question. But of course, Apple could have surprises coming up this afternoon, so we'll have to see.

BOLDUAN: It's always much anticipated when this kicks off and begins. One thing I think we all know we can get a little help with, I will gladly welcome AI's help in managing my battery.

DUFFY: Yes.

BOLDUAN: No question that is a good use of AI. Thanks, Clare.

DUFFY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Still ahead, destruction in downtown L.A. after protesters against ICE immigration rates turned violent. Tear gas, flashbangs, fires. We're alive as the sun is rising on the west coast.

Plus, Israeli forces have seized an aid boat bound for Gaza, detaining several activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg. Those stories and more ahead.

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[08:53:57]

BERMAN: All right. There is breaking business news this morning, and the news is us. Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of CNN, announced this morning it is splitting into two companies, one focused around HBO Max and the movie studios, the other around CNN and the other linear TV networks. CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter is with us now. So, Brian, what's new in your office this morning?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: You know, I feel like I've seen this story before, John. It was three years ago when Warner Brothers Discovery was born. It was the mixture of the merger of Discovery's cable assets and the old Time Warner, including CNN and HBO. Those were brought together and the priority, of course, was streaming the HBO Max streaming platform.

Well, we know that's what's been growing in recent years. Look at Netflix's stock above $1,000 for evidence. And now Warner Brothers Discovery is breaking these assets apart in order to maximize the streaming growth of the company.

At the same time, though, the linear cable channels like this one, the one viewers are watching right now, these channels continue to be strongly profitable with global audiences.

[08:55:05]

So Warner Brothers Discovery says it is going to basically maximize both by having them become separately publicly traded enterprises. People might have heard about this at Comcast. Recently Comcast announced a spinoff of its cable channels and that's kind of underway all year long. It's going to be finished by the end of the year.

This Warner Brothers Discovery change is a little bit different because both of the enterprises were will be separate publicly traded companies. According to executives, they believe there's a lot of value in both. But let's be clear about what's going on here. Streaming is what's fast growing and investors want to be able to get in on that. Warner Brothers every stock is at about half the price that it was three years ago.

So this is an attempt to unlock that value in products like HBO Max for investors. John.

BERMAN: What will viewers notice? What will employees maybe notice?

STELTER: In the short term? Nothing. I think the snack machine will still work for you. John. This transaction will take effect in 2026 is the kind of thing that takes a little while to get done. These deals always do.

But it's a part of a broader change in the media industry. We've talked a lot about the rise of streaming and really the re bundling, the recombinations that are happening all across the industry. It is possible that the cable channel part of Warner Brothers Discovery will end up being acquired or be acquiring other channels. We just don't know what's going to happen down the road. CNN boss Mark Thompson says that this is something that employees

should look at and feel confident about because after all, CNN is one of the biggest global news brands and is rolling out its own streaming products in the months to come.

So this is the kind of situation that we've seen all across the media industry as streaming really as Netflix, the great banana of the streaming wars. Everybody else trying to compete and catch up to Netflix.

BERMAN: Brian Stelter, good news about the snack machine. We appreciate you explaining this so well. Talk to you soon. Sara.

SIDNER: Israel says it has intercepted a Gaza bound aid ship and detained activists on board, which included Greta Thunberg. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused the Israeli military of, quote, unlawfully boarding the Madleen and confiscating cargo including baby formula, food and medical supplies.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond who is in Israel for us. You know, we've seen what's happened with some of these distribution sites where the Israeli military ended up killing people who were, you know, going after the food and how it's being distributed. What does this say to you and what does this mean that this flotilla has been stopped?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, these activists were seeking to draw attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, to the insufficient amounts of humanitarian aid in Gaza. And they were not sure how they would be intercepted by the Israeli military and how this would all unfold.

But certainly they have at least succeeded in drawing attention to what is happening in Gaza and Israel succeeded in ensuring that this was a relatively peaceful interception, given the track record in the past of other ships like the Mavi Mamara in 2010 in which Israeli commandos killed nine people during a raid of that ship.

Today, there were no injuries, no one was killed as a result of this. But the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which runs this effort, says that the Israeli military unlawfully boarded the Madleen international waters.

It was carrying about a dozen activists and humanitarian aid, including baby formula, flour and medical supplies. Before Israeli commandos boarded the ships, activists on board reported seeing drones flying overhead that sprayed some kind of white paint like substance. They then received a broadcast message seemingly coming from the Israeli Navy, telling them that the Gaza coastline was off limits to them.

And then with their hands in the air, these activists, the Israeli military then boarded this ship and detained all dozen activists, including Greta Thunberg, as well as a member of the European Parliament who is another prominent activist on board. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says that the passengers will be returned to their home countries.

We're not quite certain what the status is right now, whether they have actually arrived in Israel, where they are being held, if so, and how quickly they will be deported out of the country, as well as the fate of the crew who were driving this ship as well.

In terms of what's happening in the Gaza Strip, you know, it's important to note that this is all happening at a time where still we are seeing that even a few weeks after Israel lifted its total siege of the Gaza Strip, the trickle of aid that has gotten into Gaza day after day is simply not stemming the hunger crisis that is existing there.

[09:00:00]

Some of that stems from the fact that Israel is limiting the amount of aid going into Gaza every day.