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CNN International: IDF Retrieves Bodies Of Three Israeli Hostages; Jake Sullivan Traveling To Middle East Amid Rafah Offensive; Ukraine: Russia Expanding Push Into Kharkiv Region; "Diddy" Shown In 2016 Video Assaulting Former Girlfriend; World's No. 1 Golfer Arrested In Kentucky, Faces 4 Charges; Biden Tries To Build Back Support Among Black Voters; Trump Heads To Minnesota Today To Address State GOP Dinner; New COVID Variants Threaten To Spark Summer Spike In Cases. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 17, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:32]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Welcome, everyone. It is 8:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Tel Aviv, 12:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, 3:00 p.m. here in New York, no matter the time, I'm Omar Jimenez. Thanks so much for joining me today on CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's get right to the news.

First up, Israel's military says it's recovered the bodies of three hostages from a tunnel inside Gaza. Shani Louk, Amit Bouskila and Itshak Gelernter, were killed after escaping the Nova Music Festival. Their bodies were then taken into Gaza.

Now, the IDF chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, broke the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGAGIR, IDF SPOKESPERSON: The bodies were transferred to medical professional for forensic examination and identification. After the procedure was completed, we notified the families. Our hearts go out to them, to the families at this difficult time.

We will live no stone unturned. We will do everything in our power to find our hostages and bring them home. We will not rest until we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, earlier on Friday, Israel also defended its Rafah operation in front of the U.N.'s top court. As part of its case accusing Israel of genocide, South Africa requested an emergency hearing in an attempt to stop the IDF's offensive in the southern city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILAD NOAM, ISRAEL'S DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW: I am compelled to restate once again that there is a tragic war going on, but there is no genocide. Yet particularly at the provisional measures stage, where the evidentiary threshold is such that the applicant is not required to provide proof of its allegations or the existence of specific intent to commit genocide, there is a danger that the court will find itself engage in the micro management of operational aspects of an armed conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem for us.

So, Jeremy, let's start with the first part that we opened the show with? What more do we know about the recovered hostages here?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, these three hostages, were actually killed on October 7th, according to the Israeli military, and overnight, an Israeli military operation successfully retrieved their bodies from inside the Gaza Strip, finally, giving a sense of closure, at least to the families of those a hostages who have endured seven months of anguish and uncertainty.

Shani Louk, the 23 year-old hostage, an image of her in the back of a pickup truck surrounded by Hamas terrorists actually embodied the brutality of Hamas's attack that day. But it was only her family of these three who had actually been informed prior to this latest operation that her -- that she was actually dead. The families of Amit Bouskila, a 28 year-old fashion stylists from southern Israel, Itshak Gelernter, a 58-year-old father and grandfather, it wasn't until today, it seems that they were actually informed that their loved ones had indeed been killed on October 7.

And so two different types of closures, certainly being offered for those families, but also heartbreaking news as they learn of the deaths of their loved ones. That Nova Music Festival is what the three of them were attending that day when Hamas terrorists attacked on October 7, they then fled to a nearby kibbutz of Mefalsim, about ten miles down the road, and that the Israeli military says is where they were killed and their bodies then taken into Gaza, held hostage until today.

JIMENEZ: And that last one of those last points you made of families not knowing if they're hostages or their loved ones are alive or dead. I think highlights dynamic we've been seeing since October 7, especially for many Israeli families.

I want to turn to what we saw out of the high court. The U.N. says nearly 640,000 people have been displaced from Rafah. And obviously, Israel's had to defend some of its -- some of its actions on the accused genocide front, as well as we saw a little bit of that played in court.

But what is the latest on the ground operation that we have seen to this point?

DIAMOND: Yeah. Well, as you said, the United Nations now saying that more than 640,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah, forced to flee as the Israeli military has expanded its military operations in the eastern part of Rafah.

[15:05:13]

But the fear and the panic has spread far beyond east certain Rafah, into the central parts of that city where enormous tent camps for displaced Palestinians have really emptied out over the course of the nearly last, nearly two weeks since the Israeli military began carrying out that offensive.

And so, we're seeing even just this limited operation in eastern Rafah, the enormous impacts that it is having. We're also seeing that this military offensive has led to the closure of that Rafah border crossing, which remains closed as Egyptian and Israeli officials try and negotiate the reopening of that crossing. But for now, there's a lot more blame game than actual solutions being offered.

What is happening though in terms of the entry of more humanitarian aid is today, the U.S. military finally, opening up that floating pier that was anchored yesterday to the Gaza coastline. The first trucks actually offloaded from a ship off of the Gaza coastline onto that pier, driving across this causeway where they were then offloaded by the World Food Program, which will be responsible for distributing that aid.

Once it is fully up and running. This floating pier could bring in about 500 tons of aid or 90 aid trucks per day, up to 150 aid trucks per day once they ramp up to full capacity according to the U.S. military, providing much needed relief at a time when that rough a border crossing is closed, but still, U.N. officials say land crossings are the most efficient and the best way to get more aid in. And they say those crossings needs to be reopened -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, and it doesn't seem there's an indication that the piers are meant to replace the land crossings as well, spent to supplement. So we'll see how those dynamics play out in the near future here.

Jeremy Diamond, really appreciate the reporting.

Now, this news comes as ceasefire talks remains stalled after weeks of what looked like progress. President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is traveling to Israel and Saudi Arabia this weekend as the White House keeps a close eye on Israel's operation in Rafah.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon.

Now, Oren, what does Sullivan hope to achieve in the region this weekend?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, for national security adviser Jake Sullivan, there are a number of major issues on the table as you point out. First is the hostage negotiations is it possible to try to get those restarted in some fashion, or at least to make some progress as you point out. There were optimistic signs that there was real progress being made try to close some sort of deal that would allow hostages to come out, more humanitarian aid to go in and a ceasefire in the war after some eight months at this point.

But that stalled. So, Sullivan will have that on his mind as he moves in. Also the U.S. and Sullivan are looking for some sort of clarity on what Israel's intentions are with their operation in Rafah. To this point, the Pentagon and others have called Israel's operation in Rafah limited, even as Israel has the forces surrounding the southern part of the Gaza Strip, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge to move in on large scale.

The U.S. has been asking for, frankly, borderline demanding from Israel some sort of plan for what to do with all the Palestinians having taken refuge there. The U.S. is still looking for answers there.

And then there's, of course the big picture question, one of the things the U.S. is trying to put on the table for Israel to end this war, is a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, which would be enormous accomplishment for the region, the Israelis and the U.S. So, Sullivan will be looking to see where that stands. And if it's possible to make progress on that front, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, that'll be interesting to see what progress, if any, can be made or if any that we end up hearing about.

Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Now, to Russia's war on Ukraine. Russian forces are advancing in northeastern Ukraine and CNN has learned Kyiv believes more than 25,000 Russian troops are taking part in the operation, though it's unclear how many of those troops have actually crossed into Ukraine.

Nick Paton Walsh is in Kharkiv and joins me now.

So, Nick, what can you tell us about the latest Russian gains and what you and your team have seen?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, increasingly, it's a story, Omar, of this city feeling the pressure. In fact, during broad daylight, there was witnesses said a three-pronged string they one area of this city, leaving a small number of dead and dozens injured. And during the previous night, we had drones and explosions in Kharkiv the second largest city in Ukraine.

It does appear that a lot of the pressure being exerted by Russia in this entirely new offensive from their territory down into northern Kharkiv region, aiming it seems to take villages which would enable them to put greater pressure to artillery onto Kharkiv behind me is gaining in its intensity, 25,000, you say the estimate put forward by Ukrainian intelligence officials, that's a lot that potentially could be why Kyiv is also warning of heavy battles to come.

[15:10:04]

And we saw yesterday what some of the more intense fighting, one of the most contested towns, Vovchansk, right on the border, looks like. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): When nightmares recur, they're often the same. Here, they get worse.

The border town of Vovchansk bearing the blunt horror of Moscow's race to take as much as they can in the weeks before Ukraine starts feeling American military help again.

Every street aflame, Russians deeper inside the town.

Policeman Maksym (ph) is answering one of 35 calls from locals on Thursday to evacuate. The day before, three colleagues were injured. The shelling never stops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quiet! Everyone get down.

WALSH: Three people still coming out. And you have to imagine quite how desperate these final people the situation must be to leave.

Mykola (ph) and his wife hiding in their basement, but despite staying through the first Russian occupation and then liberation, two years ago, they found the airstrikes last night just too much.

They're joined by Maria, their mother, who can't hear the shelling or anything too well.

Thousands evacuated since Russia invaded again around here, five days ago.

Why everyone has to leave is clear again, as we drive out, as it is with almost every part of Ukraine, Russia covered, just utter destruction, little left to rule over.

This is their first moment of calm in many days, entire lives in plastic bags.

Saying it wasn't like last night was scary, and everyone else was talking about significant bombardment more than it was just better to get out of there, 85.

An armored ride to a new world, knowing they may never get back to their homes, tormented for days by shelling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aerial bombs, everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And mortars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Russians are over there. On the other side of the river. And we were on this side.

WALSH: We head back in with another police unit who soon learned two of the houses they must rescue from or impossible to reach. As we wait, we heard a buzzing noise.

I think they can hear a drone here so hard to tell with the wind in the trees and the artillery, but that's a constant threat for them now.

Then our security adviser spots it. They raised their weapons, but will firing make them more of a target?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if it's ours?

WALSH: Three drones, one large one that hovers, and two small ones whizzing about exposed, powerless, if we run the cover, they might come for us. All we can do is hide in trees and hope that if we are seen the Russians instead, have a better target in mind.

Then it become right overhead, that noise.

Either the sound of death or someone deciding, you're not worth that payload.

We decide to leave but again, we cannot travel fast enough to escape the drones. Only expose ourselves and pray they lose interest.

Perhaps they did. We'll never know but behind us, Ukraine is aflame again because however the West's interest in this war wanes, Putin's burns brighter than ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Incredible how just the sound of those drones indicates are really new era in warfare.

Nick Paton Walsh really appreciate that reporting.

We're also following other news. Still to come, new exclusive CNN reporting that CNN has obtained footage appearing to backup abuse allegations made against music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:33]

JIMENEZ: All right. Welcome back, everyone.

We're following major developments involving rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs. CNN has exclusively obtained video that seems to support some of the disturbing abuse allegations against Combs. Now its graphics, surveillance video from 2016 that appears to show Combs repeatedly hitting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, out inside of a hotel may have to warn you some of what you're about to see is very disturbing.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now with more from her and her team's exclusive reporting here.

So, Elizabeth just give us the context of what we're about to see and what you all have learned.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes. As you mentioned, Omar, this footage is incredibly disturbing, so we do want to give that warning to our viewers. Now, Cassie Ventura, known by her stage name of Cassie, she and Diddy dated over the course of a decade, and she came out with this bombshell complaint against him in November 2023.

Now, what was quickly settled overnight essentially, but she was the first woman to come out with one of these complaints against Diddy, and that is what started this whole domino effect that we've been seeing play out over the past few months. Now in that complaint, Omar, she references an incident that occurred at Los Angeles hotel in March 2016, and we have got our hands on some of that footage.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): New surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. The video captured on multiple cameras shows Combs wearing only a towel assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hallway at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.

A lawsuit filed by Ventura in November last year and settled the next day referenced actions that seem to match those seen in this video. There is no audio.

According to the complaint, Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye, which according to the lawsuit prompted Ventura to try and leave the hotel room.

The surveillance video obtained by CNN begins as she enters the hallway.

The complaint says, as she exited Mr. Combs awoke in, began screaming at Ms. Ventura. He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her. The complaint goes on to say he grabbed her and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her.

[15:20:03]

In the surveillance video, Combs can be seen grabbing Ventura and throwing her to the ground. As Ventura lies on the ground, Combs then kicks her twice and attempts to drag her on the floor back to the hotel room.

Ventura is seen picking up a hotel phone. Comb seems to walk back to the hotel room, then returns and appears to shove her in a corner. Moments later, he can be seen throwing an object in her direction.

According to Ventura's now settled lawsuit, the pair began dating several years after they met in 2005. They parted ways in 2019.

Comb's attorney said the decision to settle was in no way an admission of wrongdoing.

Ventura declined to comment on the video, but her attorney told CNN the gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.

The video hasn't been seen publicly before and comes on the heels of a series of civil lawsuits alleging Combs involvement in sex trafficking and sexual abuse, allegations Combs has repeatedly denied.

In a December 2023 statement, Combs responded to the claims and some of the lawsuit saying: Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear, I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER (on camera): Now in that Instagram post, Diddy is referring to some of these allegations in some of the lawsuits. I do want to point out that there was a settlement struck between Diddy and Cassie, so neither of them are able to respond to this video or anything in her complaint. That is why we have not heard from Cassie, but we did hear from her attorney who is applauding her for her bravery and coming forward. We have not yet heard from Diddy's team.

JIMENEZ: And, Elizabeth, look, I mean obviously while that case was settled, its not the only one that's out -- that's out there right now as we understand other investigations playing out at this point as well, how does this new reporting impact what -- what being investigators will look at in some of those other civil cases, for example?

WAGMEISTER: You know, there were a total of six civil cases. This included. So there are five. In four of those, Diddy is being accused of sexual assault. In the fifth one, that's actually in relation to his son and Diddy's involvement there.

But Diddy is fighting back. You know, he's not just sitting down with this deluge of allegations. In fact, last week, Omar, we reported on a motion that he filed to dismiss a lawsuit from a Jane Doe and just a few days before that, he also filed a motion to dismiss a portion of an entirely separate lawsuits.

So he is claiming his innocence. He is denying all of these allegations against him, but now it'll be interesting to see if in when we hear from him because this video evidence obviously shows a much different picture than Diddy saying that I have not done any of these awful things.

JIMENEZ: Especially as it lines up with literally some of almost line by line of what was alleged in that, again, now settled complaint that was filed.

Elizabeth Wagmeister, really appreciate the reporting, thank you.

Joining me now to discuss all of this is attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin. So first, Areva, I mean, look, there is an immediate reaction to that

video and I want to get your perspective on that, but also as an attorney, what is your reaction to seeing that video? If someone like Disney, for example, was your client?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, Omar, as you said, there's just a visceral reaction. I think anyone will have when they watched that video. It is so horrific to watch one human being treat another human being liked that. H treats her worse than you would treat an animal. He kicks her, he punches or he throws a glass base at her. He drags her across the floor.

I see some kind of rag doll as some kind of again, inanimate object, and its just unbelievable that someone who presents himself in the way that he has, the one who presents himself as a dad -- a girl dad who loves his daughters, could treat another woman like he treated Cassie Ventura in that video. So that's my first reaction is just for fine. It shows the kind of predatory conduct that has world around Diddy for years. There have been allegations that he has been both a sexual predator as well as a violent person. And this video, in many ways confirms some of those allegations had been made against him.

[15:25:01]

From a legal standpoint, we know that after the raid on his house that happened a month or so ago, that there were rumors at least, or allegations perhaps that he was being investigated by law enforcement, not clear what the nature of those investigations were, but clearly what we witnessed on that video is criminal conduct. That is the worst kind of felony assault that you can imagine.

Now, obviously, there are statutes of limitations with regards to fairly felony assault in all states. So not clear that this is one of the incidents that law enforcement is looking into, but clearly to the extent he is facing some responsibility from a civil standpoint, this video do suggest that he would also be subject to, but for statutes of limitation, perhaps some kind of criminal accountability as well.

JIMENEZ: And so, that's -- that's -- those are my next question that, look, this video matches some of the allegations in the now settled federal lawsuit filed by Cassie last November. And at the time, Diddy's attorney said his decision to settle was in no way an admission of wrongdoing.

Now, this video is from 2016 and there are other civil suits in play right now against Diddy. Does anything come of this video if you're an attorney for example, someone else who is suing Diddy, do you look at a video like this? And does that somehow inform the case that you may be bringing or is this just something that we look at our shocked by and may not have any legal repercussions?

MARTIN: Oh, no, Omar, I suspect every lawyer that has filed one of these five pending lawsuits that are still pending against Diddy is looking at that video, trying to determine if its something that if they might move forward to trial, they can try to have introduced at trial. There's something called prior bad acts evidence that sometimes can come into a case of its acts that a person may have engaged in that don't directly involve the person that is the subject of a particular lawsuit. We know different states, again, different rules make that evidence sometimes more difficult to have introduced. But this is evidenced that I'm sure will be come the subject matter of motions and of efforts by those other warriors to have introduced cases that may move forward.

And also, Omar, we should not underestimate that this video is very damaging, very damning, very explosive video could also motivate Diddy's team to enter into settlement agreements with some of the pending plaintiffs.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Areva Martin, I really appreciate your analysis on this. Obviously, a very shocking video for people -- for people to see, but important reporting that we've been able to get out. Areva Martin, appreciate your perspective.

And a reminder, if you're watching us here in the U.S. and your experiencing intimate partner violence, you can call the national domestic violence hotline at 1800-799-SAFE or go to the hotline.org for help. Any hour, any day.

All right. We want to turn to a story out of Kentucky now.

This morning, the world's number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, was arrested and charged with a felony all before teeing off at the second round of the PGA championship.

Now, an ESPN reporter filmed the arrest. You can see some of the video here.

Louisville police were investigating a fatal accident and directing traffic near the Valhalla golf club, Scheffler reportedly tried to drive around the accident scene and kept driving when an officer tried to stop him. Now, he's called all of this a quote, big misunderstanding, police are reviewing body cameras from officers at the scene and were expecting them to make a statement later today.

CNN's Patrick Snell is in Louisville and he joins me now.

Patrick, I know we've obtained a copy of the police report here, but what more are we learning and is there an indication of what we're expecting to come out of Louisville today.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Hey, Omar. Yeah, welcome to Louisville, Kentucky.

I can tell you the world of golf absolutely in shock regarding what happened. I think fair to say a somber Friday here at the PGA championship, one of men's golf big four tournament is just a massive global event. And we're all watching very carefully indeed to see how this all plays out legally over the coming days.

What we do know is that Scheffler began the day in police custody. But he did get to the course to make his delay tee time, the tournament delayed due to the tragic passing of a worker connected to the tournament here, Omar, a man who lost his life.

But I do want to pick up more on what Scottie Scheffler has been saying about all of this. I want to elaborate a little more on his statement. He said that he never intended the disregard any of the instructions given to him by the officer in question. He wanted his focus to be purely on golf and he was at pains to express the deepest sympathy to the family of a man who passed away, saying that it truly puts life into perspective, puts everything into perspective.

And we now know in a further updates from the PGA of America here, Omar, the tournament organizers, the name of the deceased man, John Mills, tribute to the life of him being paid by the PGA of America, who say they're also fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place.

[15:30:15]

While the legal process, it plays out, questions should be directed to Scheffler's attorney. Now on the course, we know that he is a formidable competitor, has no doubt about that this is a man who's the world's top rank men's golfer. He just won the masters for the second time. He's looking to win his fifth tournament in six starts, just incredible.

And he came out here onto the course. He started birdie bogey birdie, there was a great reaction to him from the fans who've got behind him wanted to show him their support and he's just finishing up his round.

Now, I can tell you on Friday, he has just completed his round around of 66 for the second round of the championship, he's looking to win his third career major and he is right in that contention right up there, putting all the pressure on Collin Morikawa, to back of Collin Morikawa leads the way after a stunning 65 left him at 11 under par.

But certainly a day of reflection here, a day of shock, and a day of poignancy and sadness as well is important to remember and pay our own respect to the loss of life here.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, it would've been a day of shock, regardless with the person that was killed prior to all this happening. But to have everything on the tail end of it.

Patrick Snell, thank you for staying on top of it all. I really appreciate it.

Now, when we come back by, President Biden's busy schedule, this weekend highlights or renewed effort to shore up support with black voters in his reelection campaign. We're going to have more on that effort, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:05]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back. President Biden today marking a pivotal moment in American history as he works to shore up support among Black voters. It's the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of education, the Supreme Court's ruling that desegregated schools and ended the doctrine known as separate but equal.

Now in remarks today, Biden reflected on the power of an education to pave the way for equality and accused his opponent, Donald Trump, of undermining that history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All the progress we've made is still had more to do. And there's still groups are trying to erase it. My predecessor and his extreme MAGA friends are now going after diversity, equity and inclusion all across America. They want a country for some, not for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, building on those remarks, a president is going to deliver the commencement address this weekend at Morehouse College, the historically Black school, where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is an alum.

It will be Biden's first remarks directly to college students since we've seen in nationwide campus anti-war protests and comes at a moment when polls show Biden losing ground with key members of the Democratic coalition, including Black voters.

So, joining me to discuss all of this is Malcolm Kenyatta. He's a Democratic state representative in Pennsylvania and a member of the Biden-Harris campaign national advisory board.

Malcolm, really appreciate you being here.

All right. Look, lots of debate over Biden's issue with Black voters.

Polls that we've seen show him down double-digits from his margin with Black voters in 2020. So still up, but from his butt down, from his 2020 margin and polls also show he's losing ground with younger voters.

So if these polls hold, obviously, there should be a pretty significant racial realignment. But do you believe these numbers are real? I mean, how big of a problem is this for the president?

REP. MALCOLM KENYATTA (D), PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE: You know, let me tell you what I believe. I believe that the president's record, Omar, of fighting for black Americans and for all Americans it is real and it is historic. He talked about today and his speech about the record investments that he's making an HBCUs, more than any other president. He talked about the historic increase in Pell Grants, which like myself, who need a Pell grants to go to college, you have a younger the person right now who's able to go to college in part because of this president's focus on making college more affordable and also making sure that when people leave college, you can actually start your life by that first home build your family.

And so, like we've seen throughout this week and were going to continue to see throughout this campaign, there really is a split screen. Donald Trump is somebody who has dinner with white supremacists and neo-Nazis. This president and President Biden, you know, hosts the litigants of brown and all the other cases that pushed America and a direction that we need to never get tired hired of pushing toward to make this a country where no matter who you are, what you look like, you get a fair shot and a fair shake and that's what this president is focused on.

JIMENEZ: You know, and obviously, look, he's going to speak at Morehouse this weekend and Morehouse's president actually spoke to CNN and he said Biden needs to address a few things. Why he chose Morehouse for him to then give his vision of domestic policy so that it creates a more inclusive economy and that he needs to speak to the issues of Israel-Hamas in Gaza.

Do you agree? And how do you make this a speech of substance as opposed to what some may perceive as purely politics of someone who's trying to get reelected?

KENYATTA: You know, here's the truth and this is what I love about Joe Biden. There is -- there is no difference between the man and the candidate. The reality is the president hasn't just started talking about Black people because he's running for reelection or talking about doing things like lowering the cost of prescription drugs just because he's running for reelection.

This is who he is. This is who he's always been, and this is what he's been doing in the White House. When you think about the American Rescue Plan, which included that child tax credit cut childhood poverty, poverty for African-Americans in half when publications let it expire, the president reaffirmed today his commitment to bring that back, one of the most effective anti-poverty programs.

We've seen in a generation, the president's commitment to lowering home cost to that $10,000 investment to help middle-class families and folks in the working class who one of by that first home.

These aren't about, not about a campaign. It's about what this president wants to see for the future of this country. And this president understands that America is better when it's fairer. He understands that when we have an economy that's actually focused on the middle-class and on folks who are trying to get into the middle- class, that's what makes America the envy of the world.

[15:40:04]

And so, I'm grateful that we have a president who isn't pandering because it's election time. We have a president that's planning for the future. That's planning on how we can really address the systemic issues that has made life too hard for too many, for too long.

And I think that's what the president is going to talk about, his vision for the future and what he's been building over his administration and what he will continue to build on when he wins four more years. Instead, we have a guy who pals around with racist, who says that there are good sides on both people in Charlottesville. And who has no business I'm getting anywhere near the White House again.

JIMENEZ: And just before we go, President Biden has tried to remind voters of many of those contrasts. People don't have a short memory. This is -- this is who Donald Trump is going more of that route.

But I'm curious, is simply contrasting from him do you to think enough? Because look, the economy is doing well, adding jobs, we've seen markets at points hit record highs, but it -- there seems to be a gap between what some may see in the numbers versus some -- what people are actually feeling.

So it's contrasting Donald Trump enough or what does President Biden have to do to sort of close that gap between what were seeing on paper and what people might actually be feeling?

Listen, we're seeing, if you look at some numbers, we're seeing consumer confidence go up. You see inflation go down. Listen, every campaign, you have to do two things. First, you have to have a story to tell, and then you have to have a messenger who can go out and deliver that message.

This president has a story to tell, appointed more African women to the bench than every other president combine, stood by his word and picking an incredible vice president in Kamala Harris and this administration is focused on getting the job done. And this is what's good. When you do the right thing, that also turns out to be good politics.

And this president is doing the right thing focused on all Americans focused on lifting up Black Americans, and he's going to tell that story at Morehouse. And he's going to tell it for the next six months and beyond when he wins another four-year term, he's the only person ever beat Donald Trump, and he's going to beat him again.

JIMENEZ: Well, as we talked about, uh, before we got to this is a long way to election day, a lot can change for the better or for worse. You know, destiny is in their hands.

Malcolm Kenyatta really appreciate it.

KENYATTA: Look forward to talking to you about it, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Thanks for joining us today. Yeah, we'll talk about it again soon.

It's also graduation day for former President Donald Trump's son Barron, meaning Trump's criminal hush money trial is on pause for the day. Taking advantage of the time off, Trump is hitting the campaign trail tonight. He's going to go to St. Paul, Minnesota, to address the state party's Lincoln-Reagan dinner.

Joining me now from St. Paul is CNN's Alayna Treene. She covers the campaign closely. Now, Alayna, look, Trump lost Minnesota in 2016 and in 2020, lost by seven points in the state.

Does the campaign legitimately believe Minnesota is competitive this time around?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: They argue, Omar, that they do despite losing Minnesota to Joe Biden by seven points as you just laid out. Actually, earlier this month, at the RNC retreat in Palm Beach, two of Donald Trump's campaign managers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita walked a group of high-profile Republicans and donors through what they argued was a pathway to potentially compete here in Minnesota, as well as in Virginia, both, again, two traditionally very blue states.

Now, I think its worth noting that no Republican presidential candidate has one Minnesota since 1972. That was when Richard Nixon won the state. So it would be a huge upset if Donald Trump were able to clinch enough of vote here, votes here.

Now, I will say, in 2016 Donald Trump nearly pulled off that type of upset when he was up against Hillary Clinton. He lost by less than two points in 2016. But again, he did lose by seven points in 2020.

And so, they're going to be trying to make some sort of play here. Were seeing that lay out tonight. Now, I will also note that Donald Trump did actually campaign heavily in Minnesota in 2020 and he often said that he would not return to the state if he did not win it. However, he obviously didn't win and he is returning and we did hear from Democratic governor Tim Waltz this morning, he was speaking with CNN and he addressed that.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: He lost it in '16, lost in '20, he'll lose it in '24.

Look, I was hoping the one thing he kept his word on was he said he wouldn't come back, but he'll come out here and he'll use his list of grievances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Omar, I think one thing to keep in mind as well is that this is going to be a big a fundraising opportunity for the former president. The Minnesota's annual Republican Lincoln-Reagan dinner is a great opportunity for small dollar donors to contribute. So, that's what the campaign is expecting tonight.

And I was told from Trumps team that he will give a typical stump speech and really focus heavily on an economic message, and those remarks this evening.

[15:45:08] JIMENEZ: And critically for those paying attention, Trump does not have court. And so he then goes out to the campaign trail and that's the dynamic we've seen play out over the course of a lot of this campaign season. And Alayna Treene has been on top of it all. Thank you so much as always.

Still to come, new virus variants could lead to a spike in summer COVID cases. We're going to have the details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing symptoms. Now, look, Powell's diagnosis comes as COVID-19 levels are at about the lowest they've ever been in the U.S.

But new virus variants could lead to a summer spike in COVID cases.

CNN's Meg Tirrell has all the details.

So, Meg, what do we know about this variant and what does it mean for the immediate future?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Omar, so these variants are called KP.2 and another one called KP.1.1. Some people are calling them flirt variants, that's just because its sort of the makeup of their mutations.

But what you need to know is that together they comprise about 35 percent of cases in the U.S. So, KP.2 is now dominant, but these are all part of the omicron family. And so far, they're not showing any differences from the variants that we've had circulating already in terms of the symptoms they cause or the severity of disease.

And so people are watching these very closely, but so far they are not particularly concerning except for the fact that they do seem to be more transmissible, probably because they can escape our antibody protections a bit from prior infection or vaccination. But vaccines are expected still to hold up a little bit, at least against them, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. So bottom line is this expected to cause any new COVID surging? Where are the COVID numbers, right now for example?

TIRRELL: Yeah, as you said, I mean, it's sort of surprising here. The Fed chair has COVID, because they are really at low levels.

One way we have to monitor COVID is through wastewater. S that just kinds of looks at levels of virus across the country, and you can see we are now at a trough at.

[15:50:02]

The CDC calls these minimal levels. But if you look at the trends going back, we sometimes do see almost every year we've seen spike toward the end of the summer. And so, we'll see if that actually happens this year and if that's caused by these variants.

But what experts do expect is a much bigger spike toward the end of the year as we get into COVID, flu and RSV season. And we are expected to have an updated vaccine, whether that will target these variants or even new ones that emerge. We're going to find out probably in June.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Meg Tirrell, really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

TIRRELL: Thanks.

JIMENEZ: Still to come for us, the competition that challenges you to do nothing but space-out. I'm going to sign up after this, but were going to explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: All right. Now, to a competition for all the couch potatoes out there, no running, jumping, or physical activity of any kind required. You simply sit and space-out. It sounds amazing, but contests and say doing nothing for awhile actually does a body good.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A crowd gathering, media jostling for the best spot to catch sight of a fierce competition among more than 100 people in South Korea recently. They are rivaling each other in Seoul's annual space-out competition, where contestants have to zone out for 90 minutes without falling asleep or checking their phones. The winner gets determined based on audience votes and competitor's heart rate.

This year, more than 4,000 people applied to participate in the competition, the city government says. From an Olympic athlete to bakers, contestants came dressed in clothes that reflect their different professions.

KWAK YOON-GY, SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATER (through translator): I tried out for the Olympics five times and have never taken a proper rest while training for 30 years. I heard this place is where I can clear my mind and rest at least during this time, so I came here thinking, wow, this is what I needed so much.

[15:55:04]

GU GA-HYEON, BAKER (through translator): While we stare at the oven, we see customers outside a window going out after buying bread while we work in the hot heat. We're so tired and exhausted. So we wanted to relax our mind. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the competition that was founded by visual artist, Woopsyang.

WOOPSYANG, VISUAL ARTIST(through translator): The space-out competition overturns this social convention that spacing out is a waste of time in today's busy society and turns it into a valuable activity. This contest tells you that spacing out is no longer a waste of time but a time that you really need.

MONTGOMERY: Since its first competition in Seoul in 2014, the contest has expanded internationally, taking places in cities like Beijing and Tokyo for this years competition and soul the winning trophy went to a freelance broadcaster, Kwon So-a, who works multiple jobs.

KWON SO-A, FREELANCE BROADCASTER: I think, especially here in Korea. It's such a competitive country, where people think that if they do nothing, that they are a little behind. So I think everyone has to have their own pace and sometimes just slow down.

MONTGOMERY: Hanako Montgomery, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Conditioning, it starts now, you got to get prepared now. Hanako Montgomery, thank you for giving me my idea for the summer.

And thank all of you all for joining me today. I'm Omar Jimenez.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.