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Manhunt Underway For Shooting Suspect Who Killed Five People Including A Child; FDIC Holds Auction For Troubled First Republic Bank; American Trapped In Sudan Fears Execution While Trying To Escape; Mike Pence Testifies Before Federal Grand Jury Probing January 6th; GOP Senator Tim Scott Says He'll Make Major Announcement May 22nd; Debt Ceiling Stalemate As Financial Crisis Looms; Journalist Discusses His Break From Evangelical Movement. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 30, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:57]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You're back live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin the hour with the manhunt that continues for this man. 38- year-old Francisco Oropesa has been the focus of a desperate manhunt since Friday night. That's when neighbors asked him to stop firing his rifle in the front yard because they were trying to get a baby to go to sleep. Police say Oropesa then entered their home and began shooting. An 8-year-old boy was among the five neighbors slaughtered, almost execution-style, that according to the sheriff in that area.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Cleveland, Texas, for us.

Ed, I know you're on the scene of a vigil that just took place a short time ago for the little 8-year-old who was killed in all of this. And it just underlines once again what we're dealing with in this country. Just another awful tragedy stemming from mass gun violence.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, even more troubling and disturbing, after just a short moment ago, we were able to speak with Wilson Garcia, who is one of the survivors. He is the father of the young boy that was shot and killed. His wife was also shot and killed. It was his property where the shooting took place. And he just spoke with us and spoke very lovingly of his son and the anguish that his family is feeling at this moment, but he also detailed the horrific events that led to this shooting.

Wilson Garcia told us that on Friday night, they called 911 five times, asking for help to deal with this neighbor, Francisco Oropesa, who was shooting his firearms on his property next door to where their baby was sleeping. Garcia told us that he and two other men walked over and asked him not just to stop shooting, they said, would you mind going to the other side of your property so it wouldn't be so close to their home.

He said that 10 to 20 minutes later that this suspect came back over to their house, didn't say anything else, and then just started shooting. That his wife was one of the first to be shot and killed. And what he described after that, Jim, was absolutely heartbreaking.

He said that one of the women inside the home told him to jump out of a window and to run because his wife was dead and that his two other surviving children needed a parent. So he jumped out of the window and started running away. He said that there were 15 people inside the house, so that there were 10 survivors, and that some hid under piles of blankets in the closet to get away from the shooting and the rampage.

Heartbreaking and just really terrible details to listen to in this account that Wilson Garcia has shared with us. In the meantime, investigators here in Cleveland, Texas, northeast of Houston are mainly focused on this manhunt. It's been nearly 48 hours since this suspect got away. Investigators here say they have no signs of where he might be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SMITH, FBI HOUSTON SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Right now, we just don't know because if we did, we would have him in custody right now. We do not know where he is. We don't have any tips right now to where he may be. And that's why we've come up with this reward so that hopefully somebody out there can call us.

I pretty much can guarantee you he's contacted some of his friends. Right now we're just -- we're running into dead ends. Right now we have zero leads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Jim, in hopes of trying to get someone from the public to come forward with information, the state of Texas and various law enforcement agencies have pulled together a reward. It is now at $80,000 for information that leads to the capture of this suspect. And again, his name is 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa. Law enforcement agencies have been putting out pictures of him throughout the day, and of course also a signature tattoo on his left forearm that people -- they want people to be on the lookout for.

But what is disturbing here is that we're approaching now almost 48 hours and investigators say they have no clue where this man might be -- Jim.

[19:05:06]

ACOSTA: All right, Ed, and our hearts go out to that poor father. Such a sad situation there.

Ed Lavandera, thanks so much for the coverage, as always. We appreciate it.

Switching gears to a financial story we're watching closely. Right now, one of the troubled banks that's been in the spotlight is being auctioned off by the FDIC. Final bids for San Francisco-based First Republic were due a few hours ago. This follows a staggering 97 percent drop in its stock price since March 1st and comes despite a $30 billion lifeline that apparently fell short of what was needed.

And joining us now to discuss this is CNN's Matt Egan.

Matt, what does this auction entail? And I have to ask you, now that we're sort of getting into the evening hours of Sunday, you know, we're not that -- 14 hours and a half, maybe, from when the market opens on Wall Street. I have to imagine they got to get this done tonight or people are going to be a little nervous tomorrow morning.

MATT EGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, that's right. I mean, investors and U.S. officials, they are hoping that a white knight emerges here to rescue First Republic. The FDIC, it held an auction this weekend, trying to entice big banks to acquire this ailing regional bank. That is according to a person familiar with the matter.

Now we don't know yet, though, what the results of that auction are. And we don't really know yet who bid on First Republic. We've been checking with our sources, but, you know, we haven't heard anything. It's been quiet, really quiet the last few hours, even though final bids were due three hours ago. And you would imagine something would get announced some time pretty soon. U.S. officials would like to get something resolved to ease this concern in the marketplace.

Certainly before U.S. markets open tomorrow morning, but ideally before Asian markets open next hour. Now, First Republic Bank, it has been teetering really for weeks. This company's stock price is down 97 percent. Look at that chart, 97 percent since March. It was trading above $122 March 1. It's now below $4. And this is not some tiny community bank. It's actually the 12th biggest commercial bank in the United States.

It was sitting on $233 billion of loans and other assets. Based in San Francisco, it caters to wealthy clients. It's got branches in Beverly Hills and Palm Beach, Greenwich, Connecticut. It even has a branch right across the street from our offices here in Montana. The problem is that two-thirds of its deposits were uninsured as of the end of last year. That means above the $250,000 limit that the FDIC insures.

And a lot of bank customers, they got very nervous after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last month. We saw that First Republic lost 41 percent of its deposits in the first quarter alone. That translates to a loss of $72 billion in deposits.

Jim, now we are just waiting to see if a big bank will come to the rescue of First Republic. And if U.S. officials are able to stop this bank crisis from spreading to other banks.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, it's certainly something that they have got to get to the bottom of. And get a handle on quickly because these things, as you know, we've seen this before. Things can spiral out of control quickly.

All right, Matt Egan, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

The Fed is set to meet this week and it's widely expected to raise rates another quarter of a percent, which could complicate the sale of First Republic and add to some concerns there on Wall Street.

Joining us now is CNN economics and political commentator Catherine Rampell. She's also an opinion columnist for "The Washington Post."

Catherine, great to see you. What do you think about what is happening tonight with First Republic, and might the Fed's decision hinge on what happens with this First Republic auction? I mean, I suppose you might see a scenario where we don't get an auction tonight or it doesn't end with the sale of First Republic Bank. Wall street gets a little jittery tomorrow, and that might affect what the Fed does. What do you think?

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So we still don't know, as you and Matt have already discussed, what the resolution is with First Republic Bank. If, in fact, it will go into receivership and then kind of be sold off for parts, if there is going to be a white night who steps in and agrees to take on not only the deposits in the bank, but presumably a significant chunk of the liabilities, we just don't know at this point.

You know, the ideal solution would be that there is a private sector rescue, essentially, because any larger bank that purchases First Republic could presumably absorb the deposit outflows that have already happened and might come current customers, so that they don't continue to try to pull their money out of the bank going forward. That would be good.

The challenge, of course, is that we do have a bunch of regulatory requirements in effect that say the banks that have already been deemed systemically important cannot take on another deposit, you know, major deposit having institution.

[19:10:13]

So regulators may -- basically there are some stuff that needs to get ironed out, even if they can find a willing buyer, that would be ideal. If there isn't a willing buyer, then that raises a whole bunch of other questions, right? For example, what happens to that huge number of uninsured deposits at First Republic Bank, and as Matt pointed out, there are a lot of them. Deposits currently are insured up to $250,000. \

But this is a bank that has historically catered to high net worth individuals. There are a lot of accounts in there that would not be fully insured. In the past, of course, regulators stepped in for Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank customers and made them whole. Not clear if they're willing to do it this time around.

All of those questions about the fate of the bank, about the fate of the depositors, will lead to some fallout, right? I mean, if everything is resolved, great. Probably the Fed is on its way. But if there is sort of a frenzy because there's concern about this bank failing and whether, you know, whether depositors at other banks are safe, then you could see an additional credit crunch going on in the next couple of days. And yes, I think that that could theoretically knock the Fed off path. ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, this would be the third bank to fail after the

collapse of SVB and Signature Bank last month. Reports say that half a dozen other banks bid on First Republic. I mean, is it a good sign for a deal going through and avoiding catastrophe if you have these other banks sort of in the picture? And I mean, what happens tomorrow morning if this doesn't go through? I assume Wall Street is just not going to be happy about this. And this is what we're going to be talking about tomorrow.

RAMPELL: Yes, again, the best solution would be if there is a larger bank that comes in and basically decides to buy up First Republic Bank. That would be the best solution for the stability of the overall financial system as well as the current customers of First Republic Bank. And when I say the stability of the overall financial system, what I mean is, if there is a failure, if this goes into receivership, if they can't find a buyer, if it drags out for a while as it did in the case of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, where they were, you know, trying to sell off the different assets of those institutions, then you could see some additional contagion effects.

And in fact on Friday, we already saw some other regional banks after, you know, there have been stories breaking that First Republican Bank might be going into receivership by the FDIC, there had been a number of other banks that saw their own stock prices fall after hours, in fact because of these additional fear of contagion. It's the same thing we've been seeing basically for the past month. The hope is that this can be tied up with a neat little bow.

First Republic, the problems with First Republic, which have been ongoing for a while, will be done with and then everybody can move on. Because, again, part of the problem here has to do with mismanagement at some of these banks, but part of it is the additional stress on the financial system because of those interest rate hikes. Some of which was foreseeable.

It doesn't mean that the interest rate hikes were necessarily the wrong decision, but if the Fed is still going to keep its eye on the ball and try to tamp down inflation, it's probably going to consider at the very least or it's expected to raise interest rates again this week. And so, you know, more anxiety about the fragility of the financial system will complicate those discussions.

ACOSTA: Yes, they've got to think about how much stress this system can take, as they try to curtail inflation.

All right, Catherine Rampell, great to talk to you. Thanks so much for breaking that down for us. Really appreciate it.

There could be thousands of American citizens stuck in Sudan. One of them is a woman who went there to visit family. She shares her story with CNN next.

Later, abortion and elections. How Republican candidates are being told to handle the controversy.

Plus, incredible video shows a tornado tossing a car into the air like it was a toy. Take a look at this. What happened to the people in this footage, it's incredible stuff. We're going to show you in just a little bit.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:26]

ACOSTA: The second U.S.-led convoy to get Americans out of Sudan has arrived in Port Sudan. There evacuees face another journey of five boats to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Officials say the U.S. has overseen the departure of nearly 1,000 American citizens stuck in the conflict zone. Sudan's civil aviation authorities extending the closure of Sudanese airspace for at least two more weeks. That exempts evacuation and aid relief flights.

Local forces have extended a humanitarian truce for 72 hours, but in the past five ceasefires, numerous clashes broke out, meaning it can be dangerous for folks there trying to get out.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now.

Polo, the road to safety can be a dangerous one. But I understand you spoke with an American woman who's stuck in Sudan and trying to get out. What did she tell you?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, she tells us that the situation is certainly dire for the people in Sudan. And that includes for what the State Department estimates to be thousands of U.S. citizens that are looking to get out and make it back home safely. And that includes Myadah Kaila, my colleague Nicolle Grether (PH) and I had an opportunity to day to actually speak to her by phone.

The 28-year-old actually lives in Syracuse, New York, but in mid-March made the trip to her native Sudan -- she has dual citizenship, by the way -- so she could spend Ramadan with her family there in Sudan. And she said she had no idea that things would take such a violent and drastic turn while she was visiting.

Just to give you an idea of the journey that awaits her, a very dangerous one. My colleague is making a map for you so you can get an idea of where she is right now. She told that she's currently in the city of Kosti, about 4 1/2 hours south of the conflict zone in Khartoum. She tells us that she's now registered with the U.S. State Department and now waiting for a chance to begin the dangerous journey with her uncle to Port Sudan to then secure passage out of the conflict zone into Saudi Arabia, and then eventually travel back home to the United States.

[19:20:14]

She told us that making it through the chaos, it won't be easy, and she certainly knows it won't be safe easier. Here's part of our phone conversation today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYADAH KAILA, AMERICAN TRAPPED IN SUDAN: I'm definitely nervous about that trip, just because of running into RSF military or anything like that. But then also just the trip is going to be very draining. Might take two days to get there, might take longer, depending on the conditions in the trip. So yes, but something that we kind of have no -- I know we're willing to take because it doesn't seem like the fighting is going end to anytime soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Yes, Kaila certainly sounds calm and composed, but she was very honest with us in telling us that she certainly fears for her safety, but she cannot wait this out. Meanwhile, the State Department saying there are approximately 5,000 U.S. citizens have actually reached out to them in the recent weeks for information to get out. But she wrapped this conversation, Jim, by saying she hopes for a better Sudan, hoping that the spotlight remains on her country.

ACOSTA: All right. Polo Sandoval, we wish them all the best and safe travels. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Some Republican political candidates are being urged to reshape how they're handling the abortion issue. Our political panel examines the advice and if it might work, next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:57]

ACOSTA: This week, this past week, former Vice President Mike Pence testified for more than five hours before a federal grand jury investigating the aftermath of the 2020 election and what occurred on January 6th. Pence is the highest ranking government official to take part in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation.

And joining us to talk about this, former Trump White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, and former Republican congressman Denver Riggleman.

Guys, thanks so much for being with us.

Stephanie, you were in the Trump White House as we remember, up until January 6th, and then you said, no more. What do you think about this testimony that Mike Pence delivered to this grand jury with the special counsel? I have to think from your vantage point, you probably think that Mike Pence had some pretty important things to say. That might have been damaging to the former president.

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, I think it was really significant, especially because, you know, at first, he had really tried to protect a lot of the conversations, and I know he negotiated a little bit of that, some of the protected conversations with the president of the United States, but the fact that he was there for five hours was really significant to me. And you know, Mike Pence is an honest man. He is an honest man and so you can rest assured, I think people can rest assured that when he was in there, he was not trying to cover for anyone.

He was just telling the truth. His staff has been very open and forthcoming, but to spend five hours, and I understand he didn't have a lawyer with him, I think that it will be very significant and probably not extremely helpful to Donald Trump.

ACOSTA: Denver, what did you think of that when you saw that Pence testified for some five hours?

DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R), FORMER VIRGINIA CONGRESSMAN: Well, you know, I got to sit in some of the depositions, you know, as the senior technical adviser on the January 6th Committee, and we had some very fruitful five-hour depositions, and some very unfruitful five-hour depositions depending on people took the Fifth or they couldn't recall. It seems like every time we got into a deposition, people had some very critical memory problems that seemed to hit them right at that second.

So for me, I'd like to wait to see what happens. It's just for me being in interviews and depositions really my whole life, even going back into intelligence work, I'm just not quite sure what to expect of it. But for me, five hours can be significant. But we also had eight- hour depositions that were really non-starters, really nothingburgers also. So for me, it's always wait and see, you know, until maybe something leaks out or we hear about what he wants to tell us he said in a deposition.

ACOSTA: And Stephanie, I know you worked with presidential campaigns. You were out there with Donald Trump when he was running in 2016. He's obviously a declared presidential candidate, but it seems like some in the party are kind of shopping around for who might be out there in the competition. And South Carolina Senator Tim Scott says, and we're reporting this this evening, that he's going to be making a major announcement later in May, about three weeks from now.

What chance does Scott have if he jumps into this presidential race? Might he be the sort of, you know, anti, not that he's anti-Trump, but the non-Trump candidate in this that might emerge as a major contender?

GRISHAM: I mean, who knows, right? Right now, obviously, Donald Trump is far away ahead. He is the person to beat. DeSantis, of course, hasn't announced yet, but he's really in there, as well. But he's more of a Donald Trump 2.0, as we watch him go more and more. I think with Asa Hutchinson announcing today as well, I think that's going to be a great person to watch and listen to.

I do believe people are still trying to, as you just said, shop around, think about who they want. And I again have said it on your show before, I really believe that somebody will come out as a dark horse in this primary. People do not want, no matter what leadership, you know, on the Hill right now is saying, and no matter what people are saying in front of the cameras, they all talk behind their backs about how they're hoping Donald Trump will go away.

And I believe with a lot of these investigations still going on, notably, the E. Jean Carroll civil case this coming week, there's going to be more and more that piles up where people just have to finally take a step back and say, listen, you were great, you had some great policies, Donald Trump, but we're going to move in another direction.

[19:30:00]

ACOSTA: Denver, what do you think? I know you've had some problems with your party, I guess, your old party, you don't really consider yourself a Republican anymore if I had that correct.

But are there any of these candidates that might bring you back other than Trump, obviously?

RIGGLEMAN: At this point, it would be tough. I will tell you this, though. I think Ron DeSantis is dead rudder.

I think when you're in the same canoe with RFK, Jr. with the polling, I think you're having a tough time. And when you look at the other Republicans that are in the race, I don't think Vivek Ramaswamy is really a serious candidate at all.

So, I think Tim Scott getting into the race and Asa Hutchinson, I agree with Stephanie, I mean, Trump really is the presumptive nominee right now. But I think Tim Scott and Asa Hutchison brings a little bit more gravitas to the race.

I think DeSantis is in trouble. Looking at his -- the way that he answered questions overseas, the fact is that his egg breaks pretty easy when somebody takes a little hammer to it, it was just incredible to watch. I just don't think he's ready for the world stage.

I think if he has to be in a dynamic environment, he falters. I think when you look at Scott and Hutchinson, I think they're very much more used to a dynamic environment.

And again, I just think DeSantis is dead rudder. I think this is his high point. I just don't think he goes on from here, and I think Trump actually is a little bit stronger because of that, but then with Hutchinson and Scott maybe getting in the race, maybe we see a little bit of a shake up, but it's really hard to get away from Trump not being a presumptive nominee right now.

ACOSTA: And Stephanie, you mentioned, Asa Hutchinson. Let's talk about that.

Today, we heard from the newest GOP primary candidate, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, as governor in 2021, he signed a near total abortion ban into law. He says as president, he'd sign a federal abortion ban with exceptions. Let's listen to him talk about that a little bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ASA HUTCHINSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would support the

restrictions and I would advocate for the exceptions of the life of the bother, in the cases of rape and incest. I believe that's where the American public is. I don't think anything will come out of Congress without those exceptions, and I certainly would sign a pro- life bill, but I would expect those exceptions to be in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Stephanie, what do you think? I mean, we saw during the 2022 midterms how abortion really came back to bite the Republican Party. There were lots of swing district voters who came out and just said no, no, no, what happened with the Dobbs decision, they don't agree with that, and it was -- it became a problem for the Republican Party.

Is this helpful for Asa Hutchinson to be staking out this kind of a position, which you know, a lot of Americans see as a pretty hardline view?

GRISHAM: Yes. No. I actually watched that interview this morning, and I felt it was a misstep on his part.

You know, here in Kansas, which is very red Kansas, and I live in a very rural area of Kansas, they actually were against amending the constitution right after the Dobbs decision, and it would not allow Kansas to make abortion illegal.

So I do believe that this is a very important issue to voters. A lot of social issues right now that, you know, I agree with Ronna McDaniel that Republicans are going to have to hit this head on in terms of talking about it.

But I think right now, they are trying to only focus on the base to get through the primary and that is going to be really, really tough in the general, and I think that's important. Women are voters, and they do not want legislators saying what to do with their bodies.

And, you know, one other thing about Asa and the federal legislation, we, as Republicans are supposed to be about small government and no federal overreach. And so, you know, there is some mixed messaging with Republicans there. And again, I think it's going to be a real problem.

ACOSTA: What do you think, Denver? Last word to you.

RIGGLEMAN: I think Stephanie is right. I think that getting in front of Dobbs, they wanted to go to a state level of decision making. Now they're talking about federal restrictions. Plus, you know, as a former Republican, you know, I was for all the exceptions, right, that Asa talked about the with, but I've got to tell you, with three daughters and a wife and listening to them for the past few years, and really trying to be more in tune with what's going on out there, I just think that messaging that Asa puts out there isn't going to work.

I think people are looking for something more middle in the road, not either/or, and I think that's a problem we've had for a long time as this either/or methodology.

And on abortion, I think there's a middle ground between pro-life and pro-choice, but we're looking at some regulatory issues, right, at a certain point when we determine personhood based on science, but I think up to a certain point, there is not one woman out there who wants the government in the way of their decision making with their body, you know, and a child that they're carrying at the time.

And, you know, again, just looking at the field right now, they've got to run to the right to win the primary, Jim, they've got to do that and if they don't do that, they're not going to win.

So, you know, you sort of hope and cross your fingers if it is an Asa Hutchinson or something like that. After the primary, they come back, but it's sort of sad that they've got to do that and you really don't believe what they're saying right now during the primary season anyway, because it is going to kind of change during the general.

So, you know, that's something that I'm well aware of in politics.

ACOSTA: Yeah. All right, we've seen it before, that's true.

All right, Stephanie Grisham, former Congressman Denver Riggleman, guys, thanks so much, really appreciate it on this Sunday evening. Thanks for the time.

GRISHAM: Thanks.

RIGGLEMAN: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, the duel over the debt ceiling could lead to a financial crisis. What both sides are saying about that, next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:11]

ACOSTA: Congress is in a dangerous stalemate over a debt ceiling deal, and if there is no agreement by predicted early June deadline, the US could be forced to default, potentially triggering a financial crisis. Both sides say they have their own solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): President Biden maxed out America's credit card by spending trillions of dollars over the last two years. What Republicans said is we're willing to work with the President on addressing that, but let's also address the spending that got us here, too.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): What we need is a clean debt ceiling bill. What they want to do is to cut programs for nutrition, for education, for healthcare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us from the White House, but first, CNN's Alayna Treene is here with the latest on the negotiations in Congress.

Alayna, I mean where does this go from here? We've got another month to track this, but the clock is ticking.

[19:40:03]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: It is. I mean, Kevin McCarthy had a big win this week in pushing that bill through the House, but there is much greater challenge ahead in trying to navigate how to avoid a default and really passing that bill didn't do much to change the dynamics here in Washington.

We're hearing from the White House and Democrats who are slamming this bill as an unserious proposal that is dead on arrival in the Senate. They're also digging in on their refusal to negotiate any sort of spending cuts as it relates to the debt ceiling.

And so that really does leave Congress in a dangerous stalemate over how to move forward. So the key question, Jim, is what's next? The Republicans are arguing that President Biden must come to the negotiating table and start hashing out a deal. We did hear from House majority whip, Tom Emmer this morning on CNN reiterating that position.

Here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM EMMER (R-WI): The White House since this Congress began has had no ideas whatsoever, except jacking up taxes and spending even more money.

We've got to get this right, Dana, and the Senate -- the Schumer Senate, they have no ideas either.

Our recommendation is we passed it through the House, take it up in the Senate, and pass it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So Emmer is saying that the Senate should take it up and pass it, and that's just not going to happen. The votes, aren't there. I mean, Democrats are even refusing to consider this bill as a jumping off point for a future deal.

But I will point out that, we are starting to see some cracks in that position. Emmer mentioned Joe Manchin. He is one of a growing number of Democrats who are starting to call in Biden to sit down with Republicans and find a way forward.

But really the bottom line here, Jim, is that Congress is running out of time. I mean, the current estimates for when they must reach a deal is at some point in July, and the House is out this week, they are on recess.

And so we're not really going to see movement on that in the coming days, and so with the deadline right around the corner, every week counts.

ACOSTA: And Priscilla, what is the White House saying about all of this? It sounds like they've dug in over there as well. They're just not willing to negotiate this stuff, especially with a proposal that's been sent over by the House Republicans. They've declared that dead on arrival.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The White House's standing firm in its position that it wants to see a clean debt ceiling bill, it will not consider what Republicans have put forth, and that was quite clear last week after the passage of the bill that you heard Alayna talk about there.

When President Biden, when asked by reporters said that he is willing to meet with Kevin McCarthy, but not on whether the debt limit gets extended, on that, he will not negotiate.

And so that is really what we have been hearing since January from the White House that this is a non-negotiable. Now of course, pressure is going to mount as we near that -- as over the course of the next month from Democrats and Republicans.

And we've heard from some Democrats that perhaps they should meet and talk at the table about the budget, but not when it comes to the debt limit and extending that, so really setting up a standoff over the next few weeks, the White House for now saying that they are not changing their position.

ACOSTA: All right, I have a feeling we're going to be talking about this a lot over the next month. Priscilla Alvarez, Alayna Treene, thanks very much.

In the meantime, people trapped in a tornado in Florida captured some incredible video. If you have not seen this, take a look at this. If you take a close look, you can see a car tossed into the air like a toy. Just remarkable stuff. We'll talk about it next.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:50]

ACOSTA: Just in to CNN, police say the daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Shaquil Barrett drowned in a swimming pool. Police were called to the Tampa home around 9:30 this morning. The two-year-old girl was taken to a local hospital, but was unable to be revived.

The Buccaneers released a statement saying in part: "While no words can provide true comfort at a time such as this, we offer our support and love as they begin to process this very profound loss of their beloved Arrayah." We're so sad about that.

In the meantime, right now officials in Virginia Beach are responding to what they call major storm damage after a possible tornado. There are also reports of multiple homes with gas leaks.

Earlier today, a music festival there was canceled. We will continue to monitor this dangerous situation.

Meanwhile, terrifying new video of a tornado in Florida on Saturday tossing cars through the air, this car flipping multiple times. You can see in the video here. It's just incredible stuff on a highway in Palm Beach County. Others were left stacked on top of each other like pancakes.

All of that the results of an EF2 twister that tore through eastern Florida Saturday, with wind speeds as high as 130 miles per hour. Miraculously, no serious injuries had been reported.

Evangelical voters served as the backbone for Trump's presidency and still heavily influence Republican policies today.

I want to welcome in someone who knows that community well, Jon Ward. He is the chief national correspondent for Yahoo! News and the author of the new book, "Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed A Generation." John and I know each other from covering the campaign trail together.

So Jon, it's good to see you again. Thanks for doing this.

The title of your book is a tough one. And I'm sure it's wrangling some folks inside the evangelical movement. Why did you write the book?

JON WARD, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, YAHOO! NEWS: Yes, thanks, Jim.

This book is not meant to bash evangelicals. It is rather a critique of evangelicalism, the culture in which I grew up, and I would say I wrote it because for a long time, I felt a sense of discomfort with the ways that my tribe, my group engaged in politics.

I would say I was trained growing up and as a young adult in how to exercise private character, how to be a good person in my personal relationships.

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But I don't think I was trained very well, and I think this is a weakness in evangelicalism writ large in how to engage in public character, how to be a valuable member of the body politic.

ACOSTA: And what is it that you encountered that made you get to this point?

WARD: Well, I mean, I think for a long time, back to the 90s and the 2000s, I saw a way of engaging in politics that was more about standing outside, being antagonistic rather than being a stakeholder and thinking and working towards the common good.

So it was an attempt to dominate rather than collaborate, and I think that continued up through the Trump years.

What I think happened in the Trump years was that we saw a candidate so dismissive of the constitutional order, our democratic norms, and ultimately, the transfer -- the peaceful transfer of power that I think it caused a lot of people to wonder why evangelicals were so committed and that is also part of the story.

ACOSTA: Yes, I was going to say, because Trump became really a hero to a lot of evangelical Christians in this country, despite his incendiary rhetoric and his behavior.

Do you think there is some soul searching going on inside the evangelical movement after embracing Trump? And what do you think, Jon, do you think evangelicals kind of just struck a bargain with Trump policy victories in exchange for holding their nose and backing somebody like Trump?

WARD: Yes, it was a bargain. I think there may be some soul searching going, but I do think anyone hoping or expecting some mass repentance is not going to see that.

I think, pragmatically for the good of the country, we do need to find ways to bring conservative evangelicals into that larger conversation, because I do worry that to a degree that we mock conservatives, or we mock evangelicals, and dismiss sort of run of the mill religion that may not be familiar with all of us, I think that actually increases the risk that there will be greater political radicalization.

ACOSTA: All right, Jon Ward, thanks so much. Great talking to you. Let's check out his book and we'll talk about it in the future. We'll have you back, Jon. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

That's the book right there: "Inside the Evangelical Movement," by Jon Ward, "Testimony" is the book.

And we'll be right back.

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ACOSTA: That was Willie Nelson celebrating his 90th birthday alongside his pal, Snoop Dogg this weekend. An all-star group of friends of musicians are honoring the country icon with a concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Superstars like Neil Young and Chris Stapleton, also on stage with Willie and Willie will be back tonight with more of his friends for one more giant night of music.

So happy 90th birthday to Shotgun Willie, an American icon.

As the United Kingdom prepares to crown King Charles, what does this moment mean in the modern world? CNN has a special look on "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper at eight o'clock. Our Erica Hill has a preview of "The Rein Begins: Charles and Camilla."

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we can't talk about King Charles without talking about Princess Diana. They are always going to be linked, that's always going to come up in people's minds. And of course, what does this mean when we then start talking about the Queen Consort, Queen Camilla.

What's fascinating is just how important she has been for decades to Charles and what that relationship actually means in terms of his success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We talked about Camilla and her PR, it was a slow, steady, playing the long game from public enemy number one to where she is now, soon to be Queen crowned in Westminster Abbey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's got a consciousness about her public image.

CAMILA, QUEEN CONSORT: A lot is going on here, history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she is also conscious perhaps of her husband's ego or indeed the ego of the institution of loyalty to which she belongs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charles was very jealous of Diana's popularity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the reason Camilla fits in better with him than Diana did is because she doesn't upstage him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So it's that sort of quiet behind the scenes role that she has played, the patience that you may think she has shown over the years to get to this point, just what could that mean moving forward as this family and the monarchy and frankly, the UK and the Commonwealth are addressing some more difficult questions and maybe uncomfortable discussions about what it means in 2023, what their roles are, and how things could be changing.

We're going to get into all of that and a little bit more. We have some good surprises for you ahead -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, sounds great, Erica, thanks so much.

Don't miss "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper. "The Rein Begins: Charles and Camilla." It's next right here on CNN.

In the meantime, I wanted to leave you this evening, on this Sunday evening with a live look here of Washington, DC, I think from what I'm told we have a nice backdrop there of the Capitol. Clouds are starting to part after what was a rainy White House Correspondents' Dinner.

We're all sort of catching up on some rest, including yours truly, but I'll be back here next weekend. I'll see you then.

In the meantime, that's the news from Washington. I'm Jim Acosta. Have a great week, everybody. Thanks so much for tuning in. And we'll see you soon.

Have a good night.

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