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Former Israeli Prime Minister Benny Gantz Threatens To Leave Coalition Government If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu And War Cabinet Do Not Provide Plan For Gaza Conflict; President Biden To Deliver Commencement Address At Morehouse College; Americans Express Frustration With U.S. Economy Through Social Media; Body Cam Footage Nonexistent For Interaction Between Golfer Scottie Scheffler And Police Officer Prior To Arrest Of Scheffler For Assaulting An Officer; Severe Weather Threatening Parts Of Texas; Video Released Of Music Mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs Physically Assaulting Ex-Girlfriend; Public School Superintendents From Oregon Discuss Facing Budget Cuts As COVID Era Funding Ends. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 18, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

[13:59:56]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And we've got breaking news for you right now. Israeli war cabinet member and former Prime Minister Benny Gantz a short time ago delivering an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him the cabinet must agree on a six-point plan for the Gaza conflict by June 8th. He also threatened to leave the coalition government if Netanyahu does not meet his expectations.

CNN's Elliott Gotkine is in in Tel Aviv for us. So tell us more about this message delivered and what might be next.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN JOURNALIST: Fredricka, there was much speculation before Benny Gantz spoke this evening that he might actually be saying he was going to leave the government. But instead what we have is effectively an ultimatum for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that either he puts the national interests ahead of his personal interests, either he does what's best for Israel, or he goes with, in Benny Gantz's words, the radicals in his government, a reference, presumably, to the far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Either he goes with the nation or the radicals, or else Benny Gantz will leave this government.

And you recall back in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attacks of October the 7th, Benny Gantz was the one of the leaders of the opposition. He decided to go into the government, into the war cabinet, effectively to ensure that Netanyahu's running of this war wasn't held hostage to the far-right elements in his government. And as a result, it's important to understand that the way that the war has been playing out has been a result, not just of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his broader cabinet, but really the decisions of the war cabinet, which include what one might refer to as slightly less right- wing voices, whether it's defense minister Yoav Gallant or Benny Gantz himself, former defense minister, in order to ensure that the conduct of Israel in the war is done in the best interests of the country. But recently there have been growing concerns that Netanyahu's

decision-making is really being overly influenced by the far-right members of his broader coalition government, and that has led us to these words from Benny Gantz this evening.

Now, in terms of his six-point plan, he has effectively given Netanyahu, the prime minister, a deadline of June the 8th, saying that the cabinet needs to come up with a plan that would achieve the disarming of Gaza and the elimination of Hamas, to bring back the hostages, to establish an alternative Gaza that would not be run by Hamas or Fatah, the Palestinian faction that is run by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, bring back the residents of the north. Of course, there are tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from the north as a result of attacks from the Iranian proxy Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. And also of course those in the south as well. And also, as part of that plan, Benny Gantz is insisting that this progress with normalization with the Saudis as well.

But I think the key point here, Fredricka, is that Benny Gantz wants to see substantial progress, substantial evidence that Netanyahu is putting the national interest ahead of his own personal interest and ahead of those far-right elements in his governing coalition. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. And Elliott, Israel has also said that it had recovered the body of another hostage from Gaza. What more can you tell us about that?

GOTKINE: That's right. This is 53-year-old Ron Benjamin. He was out on a bike ride on October the 7th, and when he was in a junction just slightly to the east of the northeastern tip of Gaza when he was killed by Hamas and his body was abducted back into the Gaza Strip. That's according to the IDF. Now, they say that they recovered his body along with those of the three other bodies of hostages that were recovered on Thursday evening and that were announced on Friday.

And that still leaves some 124 hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip who were kidnapped on October the seventh. Around a quarter of them are already believed to be dead.

And I think, as I'm speaking right now, protests are again taking place in central Tel Aviv, in other cities across the country to try and put more pressure on this government to do whatever it takes to bring the remaining hostages home, especially the living ones, because the big fear is that the longer this war drags on, the longer these hostage negotiations, which had have hit another impasse, drag on, the less likely it is that their loved ones will be returned alive and that the most they will be able to hope for is that their bodies can be recovered, such as the body of Ron Benjamin, 53 year-old father of two, whose body was recovered on Thursday night, and which was announced today. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Elliott Gotkine, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about all these developments now. Let's bring in Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He's a CNN military analyst and former commanding general of the U.S. Army, Europe.

All right, well, let's begin with this ultimatum. I mean that a war cabinet member would give an ultimatum to the prime minister, what does this tell you about what is happening?

[14:05:09]

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's a very unique situation, Fredricka. Benny Gantz currently has the title of Minister Without Portfolio. Many people won't remember this, but Prime Minister Netanyahu pulled him into his government even though Gantz has been in direct opposition to everything that Netanyahu has done over the last couple of years and ran against him for prime minister just a few years ago.

He's a former defense minister and chief of the IDF. He's an extraordinary tactical leader. I was able to meet him one time, but in talking with others who have had more conversations with him, they say he is an impressive strategic leader. And I would say he is solidly grounded by ethics and morality, something that seems to be missing in the Netanyahu government as they execute this war. He is motivated by what's best for his country. He has stayed silent thus far, but now he's speaking out, and I think it's very good that he's doing so. It's going to cause a lot of tremors within the Netanyahu government because they can't afford to lose his support.

WHITFIELD: You said he's a pivotal strategic leader. Then what does this ultimatum that he's giving the prime minister mean about the ongoing strategy in Gaza? I mean, there's a June 8th deadline, but what will happen in the interim?

HERTLING: Well, what he's doing, I think you could almost say it's an in direct relationship to what President Biden and other international leaders had been telling Netanyahu -- you can't execute this war just by killing and be unbounded by it. There's got to be something that happens at the end of the conflict, at the end of the killing.

Yes, it's great. We've got to go out. They have -- the Israeli government has to go after Hamas. They have to kill the terrorists or capture them. But there's got to be more in terms of the end state. It's part of the holistic view of warfare, Fredricka. You just can't have the military go out and execute unbounded operations. It has to be tied to a political objective. And so far, Mr. Netanyahu's government has not even verbalized what their political objective is for Gaza, other than destroying Hamas. And when you're talking about over 2 million in people that live there, you have to have a security agreement and understanding of what happens after the war is over, to take care of the citizens and a potential rebuilding capability, even though Hamas has basically built their strategy around -- they're using the civilians and not caring about the civilians of Gaza to execute their strategy against Israel.

WHITFIELD: And now with Israel's military going back into northern parts of Gaza, and we also hear from reporting today that many Palestinians who were in the southern part are starting to make their way north because of this threatened ground offensive in Rafah, Israel is also losing that global P.R. war here. What do you suppose is going -- where does it give? I mean, what do you suppose the next steps can -- Israel can afford to happen?

HERTLING: I'm going to change your words a little bit, Fredricka, if you don't mind. They're not losing the international P.R. fight. They have lost it. They've lost it long ago in terms of the way they're conducting operations. You will get a lot of military leaders who will say this is the right way to do things in terms of killing Hamas terrorists, and I agree with that. But you have to have a counterbalance to that in terms of protecting the citizens and doing the kind of counterinsurgency operations that will go after the terrorists but will also not destroy infrastructure and kill innocent civilians.

So Israel is in a really bad place. They have been for quite a while. And that, in fact, is the strategy of the Hamas, to not only kill Israel, but make them world pariahs through their public relations campaign. And Israel is falling right into that trap. So they've got to change the way they're approaching this, and this is what President Biden has been telling them over the last several months.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, good to see you. Thanks so much.

HERTLING: Thank you.

All right, new today in this country, President Biden is in Atlanta where he is holding several 2024 campaign stops this weekend. It's part of a larger push to engage black voters who helped propel Biden to the White House in 2020. And as part of his visit, Biden is set to give the commencement address at Morehouse College tomorrow, even as some students say they are frustrated by the White House's support for Israel's war in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARQ RIGGINS, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GRADUATING SENIOR: I exist as more than a prop for a photo-op.

[14:10:00]

NOAH COLLIER, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GRADUATING SENIOR: He completely dismissed us by calling us violent, by calling us antisemitic. And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you?

COLLIER: No. In no way, shape, or form are any of us antisemitic.

AYLON GIPSON, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GRADUATING SENIOR: I don't want him to come here and campaign. I know he's going to tout some of his accomplishments. I know he's going to talk about so many things he's going to do for black people. I'm expecting to hear that, but I also want to hear authentic speech about why he's here for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right, CNN's Arlette Saenz is here with us right now. Arlette, great to see you, traveling with the president. All right, so how is Biden planning his speech to, I guess, reshape it? Listening to some of the student body who says, these are our grievances, these are our concerns. At the same time, we don't want to hear a political speech, but he's on the campaign trail simultaneously. What do we know about how the president has reshaped, retabulated his speech?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden and his team have really been working on this speech for weeks, trying to take into account the concerns of students. They are well aware of the frustrations among some students and faculty on campus when it comes to the president's handling of the conflict in Gaza. In fact, they deployed the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Steve Benjamin, to Morehouse College just last Friday to meet one-on-one in the small group setting with faculty and students to talk about their concerns. I'm told that about half of that over two-hour meeting actually focus on the issue of Gaza.

But the other issue at hand is that this is a commencement speech. And the president's advisers that I've spoken heading into the weekend acknowledged this is a moment so celebrate the future African American leaders that will be leaving Morehouse College tomorrow as graduates. And they also want to take into account issues that are of concern to them. There has been some concern among students that some of the attention that's been focused on Gaza and the frustration with the president might overshadow the events of tomorrow. But his advisers say that they will be keen, focusing in on the issue that they believe matter to students.

But it does come at a time when Biden is really trying to shore up support among black voters. In just a short while we expect him to make a campaign stop to meet with black voters. He's also hosting a fundraiser here today. Tomorrow he'll be trying traveling on to Detroit to speak at an NAACP dinner.

But it comes at a time, yes, black voters were a core part of Biden's coalition back in 2020. But if you take a look at recent polling, his support has actually been narrowing with that group. A recent "New York Times" poll in battleground states found that Biden earned about 63 percent support from black voters, while Trump had drawn about 23 percent. That's a real narrowing compared to 2020.

And Georgia, of course, is also a critical battleground state. Biden barely won here back in 2020. If you take a look at the polling now, Trump is leading Biden here among registered voters by about 10 percent.

So the Biden campaign acknowledges that they have work to do in battleground states like Georgia, where in the past Biden really put together this diverse coalition of voters and leaned heavily on the black vote. They acknowledge they have a lot more to do to win over black voters heading into November, and they believe that the formula for that will be, one, reminding voters of what Biden has done an office, but also trying to draw a sharp contrast with the former president and what he could offer in a second term. WHITFIELD: And the Biden White House knows that it can't afford to lose the black vote. It can't afford to lose the youth vote, the younger voters as well. And a lot of younger voters have made their voice is very clear, whether it be through the protests on college campuses or perhaps even talking about their frustrations about the economy on TikTok. Just take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can somebody explain to me in crayon eating terms why I make over three times the federal minimum wage and I cannot afford to live. And I do not want to hear the pull yourself up from your bootstraps, work 90 hours a week. Thats not the goal, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you all see the -- that's going on in these -- is grocery stores. This is my favorite -- simply orange juice. Seven dollars. That's simply too -- high. Put this -- on simply on lay away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I mean, the frustration is palpable, right? So I mean, the Biden White House has to find a way to engage with younger voters who are expressing their frustrations just like that.

SAENZ: Yes, and the issue of the economy is really an issue that affects all generations, right? And you've seen the Biden administration really trying to highlight some of the bright spots when it pertains to low unemployment, some rising in wages. But you still have Americans who don't feel like they're doing that much better in their pocketbooks, in their bank accounts when they're trying to pay their bills each month. And so that is a struggle that the Biden campaign has had basically since Biden announced that he was running for reelection.

But you see the campaign and the White House trying to talk about things that they are tackling to try to help voters there when it pertains to junk fees, lowering junk fees, trying to cancel student debt.

[14:15:05]

But there is some disconnect with the way people are feeling, and that includes extending to young voters who really make up a critical part of the voting bloc and have shown some discontent about Biden and his policies.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette Saenz. Thanks so much.

All right, coming up, we're following new development in the arrest of world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler, who just teed off for day three at the PGA championship. Our team is in Louisville with the latest.

Plus, more than a half-a-million people in Houston could be left in the dark for weeks after hurricane force winds ripped through the region. Now new warnings of a potentially deadly heatwave heading their way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:23]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to the significant new developments in the arrest of golfer Scottie Scheffler. CNN has learned that there is no police bodycam footage of the incident that led to the stunning Friday arrest of the world's number one men's golfer. Scheffler calls the incident a big misunderstanding with police.

It unfolded just before dawn yesterday outside the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Police accuse Scheffler of injuring an officer who tried to stop him from driving through the scene of a fatal traffic accident outside the club. Scheffler was booked, was in jail, and was released in time to make his tee time. He is now facing four charges, including felony assault on a police officer.

We've got team coverage. Patrick Snell is covering the action on the golf course, and Gloria Pazmino is following the threads of the investigation. Gloria, to you first. You spoke with the mayor today, and how is this helping to advance the investigation?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Friday, it's important to learn what we heard from the mayor today, that there is no police video from the interaction between Scheffler and the officer who arrested him. And the reason it's important to know that that video appears to not exist is because we have two sides of the story here. We have what the police department has said and what Scheffler and his attorney have said about the incident, that it was all a terrible misunderstanding.

I want you to listen to Scheffler's attorney describing exactly what happened. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE ROMINES, SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER'S ATTORNEY: He was directed by a traffic control officer to go around a stopped bus and to proceed into the grounds of grounds at Baja. Never at any time did he disregard any officers' directions. He followed another traffic control officer's directions as to how to proceed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So here's the problem, Fred. You hear what the attorney is saying, and then we have what the police have said, as well as what was described in the police incident report, which CNN has reviewed, in which it describes that Sheller -- Scheffler, I should say, was given instructions to stop, that he did not obey the instructions of that police officer, and that as he proceeded towards the entrance of the golf course, that's when he dragged the police officer who ended up being injured. He was taken to the hospital to treat some of those injuries.

So there is a little bit of two different versions of the story here. And now that we are learning that there's no police cam video showing the beginning of the interaction, it might, frankly, come down to whose version of the story is going to be believed here. Take a listen to what the mayor told us earlier today and what kind of video we might see in a few -- in a few days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CRAIG GREENBERG, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: The officer did not have bodycam footage turned on during the incident. We will release footage that we have. We do not have any -- to my knowledge, we have not yet discovered any video of the initial contact between Mr. Gillis and Mr. -- Officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler. There is some footage from across the street of a fixed camera when Mr. Scheffler was being arrested, and we will release that footage in the coming days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Friday, not only is Scheffler the number one golfer in the world, but this is a guy who has a pretty squeaky-clean reputation. That is how he is known in the sport, in the world of golf. But now we are asking law enforcement sources here as well as the mayor whether he believes those charges should be dismissed or downgraded. The mayor wouldn't really go there. He told us he is going to let the legal process play out. As of right now, Scheffler is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday. Fred?

WHITFIELD: OK, Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.

Let's go to Patrick Snell there. Well, when the day began Scheffler was pretty close to the top of the leaderboard. This seems to not have distracted him or sidelined him in any way. How is he handling things?

SNELL: Hi, Friday. Yes, he's back out on the course as we speak, round three for him here at Valhalla. But it was very impressive from a golfing point of view of how we responded as a player out there on the course Friday.

[14:25:00]

He fed off the energy of the crowd, and it inspired him to two early birdies in his round, on route to a five under par 66, which is a very good score. And it helped him power is way up the leaderboard.

Afterwards, he then gave an extraordinary press conference, typically generous with his time when he faces reporters, very open and honest. He spoke about the fear he'd endured, the trembling he went through when he was in detention, as well as sharing his innermost thoughts about whether he was going to be able to get through this ordeal and actually focus on his golf. He spoke to the fact that he was thankful just to be playing.

Scheffler, I think, fair to say, Fred having to prepare for a round of golf like no other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, WORLD NUMBER ONE GOLFER, ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING POLICE OFFICER: I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me. I didn't have my normal my normal warm-up. I usually stick to my routine. I'm a big routine guy, especially when it comes to my preparation, but it took a few holes to settle in. And it was kind of nice just to be out there inside the ropes competing. It's one of my favorite things in the world to do, and so I was fortunate to be able to come out here and do it again today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: We'll see how Scheffler fares, Fred, throughout this Saturday. A short while ago, he had a double bogey, which is not a good score during any person's round of golf. You wonder if this might, at some point, all catch up with him. We'll certainly know more as the weekend unfolds, Fred. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted. Patrick Snell and Gloria Pazmino, thanks to both of you.

All right, tomorrow on "The Whole Story," Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on hope for the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease. "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" tomorrow night, 8:00 on CNN.

All right, coming up, a race to restore power in Houston after devastating storms left more than 500,000 people without electricity. Now temperatures are expected to soar to dangerous highs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:12]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're watching the latest out of Houston where at any moment the mayor is expected to give an update after destructive storms this week, and it comes as more than 50 million people face severe storms today. More than a half million people across Texas are without power, and it could be days before it's back, which threatens to leave residents sweltering as high temperatures start to roll in.

Meteorologists Elisa Raffa is with us now with more on all this. It's a terrible, soupy mix.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's May, so this is really kind of like the first bit of heat that Texas is feeling so far for the year, so you might not be totally acclimated to it, then no power, no air conditioning, really not a good situation, especially for children and elderly that are more susceptible to the heat. So still hundreds of thousands without power, most of them in Texas. And here's the heat that builds as we go through the next couple of days.

These are the heat index values. So this is temperatures tacked on with humidity, looking at a feeling close to 103 in Brownsville, Texas, by Monday. Some real feels getting towards 100 degrees near Corpus Christi, some middle 90s for that heat index in Houston. So again, not the worst teeth that they've ever felt, but without the power, if you're outside, again, just remember to take breaks, because we also have poor air quality. There's the air quality alert and effect from Houston down towards Galveston, because when you have this hot air, it could be stagnant. That stagnant air traps the pollution from the tailpipes of our cars and can make that air unhealthy to breath, especially for children, elderly, anybody with a heart or lung disease. So keep that in mind as you're outside cleaning up the damage.

This is what's left of the same line of storms. It has definitely weakened. I've been watching it all morning. It is on a weakening trend for sure. Got still a few lightning strikes in there and a couple of downpours. A lot of the flood watches have been allowed to expire as some of the downpours moved south and east. But notice some of the river flooding still possible as those rivers try to kind of recover from all the rain we've had the last couple of days.

Here's that bull's eye today. You can see right along that Florida- Georgia line where we have the highest threat for damaging winds. But like I mentioned, it does look like that threat is continuing to diminish as we go through the afternoon. Something to keep an eye on, even going up into the Carolinas, you're looking at some of those showers and storms stretching all the way up towards Charlotte and Raleigh. It does look like, though, this isn't too much of an overnight threat. Things do start to clear as we go into the evening.

Then we already have another storm developing in the Rockies, already a level three out of five severe risk across a much of Kansas as we go into tomorrow. Looking at the threat for damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes, again. And it lasts into Monday for Kansas, Nebraska, and then going into Iowa.

So keeping us busy, continuing with a pretty active spring that we've had so far, already have had pretty high amounts of tornado reports so far in April. So May following suit.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Active and danger.

RAFFA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: This is a very dangerous spring. All right, Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.

All right, Sean "Diddy" Combs caught on camera in a CNN exclusive. Details on the newly obtained surveillance video showing Combs shoving, kicking, and dragging his ex-girlfriend in 2016.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:39:03]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. The Los Angeles Police Department says it is aware of the video exclusively obtained by CNN that appears to show Sean "Diddy" Combs hit, kick, and drag his then-girlfriend Cassie inside of a hotel back in 2016. In a statement from LAPD, they say there is no open investigation involving Combs and they did not respond to CNN's question of whether a report was ever filed regarding the assault of Cassie -- sorry, I forgot her last name.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister walks us through her exclusive reporting on the video that seems to report that at least some of the abuse claims against Sean "Diddy" Combs. We have to warn you that you're about to see disturbing video.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: New surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

[14:40:00]

The video, captured on multiple cameras, shows Combs, wearing only a towel, assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hallway at Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. A lawsuit filed by Ventura in November last year and settled the next day referenced actions that seemed 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 and 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. In the surveillance video, Combs can be seen grabbing Ventura in 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. Combs seems to walk back to the hotel room, then returns and appears to shove her in a corner. Moments later, he can then 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. Combs's attorney said the decision to settle was in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Venture 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 that Combs has repeatedly denied. Authorities searched Combs's homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March as part of an ongoing federal investigation carried out by a team that specializes in human trafficking crimes.

In a December 2023 statement, Combs responded to the claims and some of the lawsuits, 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."

Clearly, very disturbing footage and violent actions that we are seeing coming from Diddy, who up until this point has denied many of these allegations from all of these lawsuits that he is facing. Aside from this lawsuit from Cassie, which he settled back in November 2023, he is facing five separate lawsuits, and he has been fighting back through his lawyers. In fact, just last week, we reported on a motion that he filed to dismiss a lawsuit from a Jane Doe that claims she was 17 years old, a minor at the time of her allegations. And just a few days before that, he filed a motion to dismiss a portion of an entirely fleet different claim.

It'll be interesting to see now how this may impact all that Diddy is facing. But we have yet to hear directly from him.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much.

The Los Angeles D.A. says they are unable to charge Sean "Diddy" Combs for that alleged 2016 assault on Cassie Ventura, saying in a statement to CNN the assault occurred after the window for prosecution had passed.

All right, the school year is ending, and this summer, thousands of teachers across the country will say goodbye to their students and their jobs. Details on the budget cuts causing nationwide layoffs in education and what it means for already strained school districts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:36]

WHITFIELD: All right, summer break is almost here for millions of American students and teachers. But with deep budget cuts looming, many teachers are wondering if they'll even have a job next school year. The end of a federal pandemic era aid package means many public schools are now cutting back on teachers and staff. Back in 2020, Congress authorized $190 billion for schools to combat learning loss experienced during remote learning. Thats roughly six times what school districts normally receive from the federal government in a year. Well, now, with those funds drying up, school officials are making an urgent plea to save jobs and protect students.

Joining us right now, three superintendents from across the state of Oregon, Sandy Husk from Portland Public Schools, Andrea Castaneda yada from Salem-Keizer Public Schools, and Bret Champion from Medford School District. Good to see all of you.

SANDY HUSK, INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS: It's great to be here.

BRET CHAMPION, SUPERINTENDENT, MEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sandy, you first. Help people understand how these deep cuts are going to impact your school district?

HUSK: Thank you for the question and thank you for having us here today. We really believe that the strength of the nation counts on a strong education system, strong schools in order for students to become good citizens, have civil discourse, workforce development, and economic progress.

[14:50:05]

And when we go through these deep cuts, it has really intense impacts on the students. We have to consider priorities of what programs and supports we can offer. It's just, it's really, really hard on the employees, but it's very, very hard on the students.

And in addition to the ESSER cuts, I think many districts in many states are also facing declining enrollment, huge impacts from COVID, and yet strong expectations from our community about what they want from their school system.

WHITFIELD: So Andrea, you've said that this shortfall means the reduction of over 400 positions in your district, and you have an update from yesterday.

ANDREA CASTANEDA, SUPERINTENDENT, SALEM-KEIZER PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Yes. Yesterday was an important de in Salem-Keizer Public Schools. We had so many job actions that we had to announce that we took the very unusual decision of canceling school because we had to have hundreds of conversations with our staff. And it was a very difficult day for the whole community.

But as Sandy said, most importantly, these impacts are going to hit students. And we just are out here telling this story early, not just for Oregon, but for the full nation.

WHITFIELD: So Bret, a lot of this extra federal money came as a result of the pandemic. And a lot of kids were struggling with learning -- remote learning. When they got back to school, it meant helping a lot of kids kind of catch up. So some of the school districts were able to hire more people. But was it ever the thinking that it would be permanent, or that this was going to be short term and that at some point it would mean returning to what you all have known your school districts to experience?

CHAMPION: No, it was always known these were temporary funds. And so we were very careful to plan for and work with them in a particular way. But something we did not anticipate, Fredricka, was -- you used the past tense, that students were struggling. That's not the case. It's actually the present tense. Students are struggling. In fact, the ramifications of the COVID closures and, frankly, the upending of the really the world as we knew it has changed everything.

And so our students have more learning loss. Their behaviors are incredibly challenging. We have more students entering our systems with incredibly high needs. And so that's the part of the piece that we are really struggling with. The percentage of special education students who are on IEPs has increased. And so the needs we're seeing are actually greater.

WHITFIELD: And Sandy, these three districts that the three of you represent, this is from across the state, from north to south, and all three of you have actually put out videos, right, warning about the impact of these cuts will have, and you're trying to urge four more public support. Have you gotten much response from parents or even your students, any kind of feedback, Sandy?

HUSK: Well, we received a whole lot of response in our boardrooms, and there also community meetings. They're being organized right now. I know they've already started in Portland, I'm guessing they started in other places, of parents meeting with elected officials and saying, tell us what we can do, because this is too important. Our students only get fourth grade in one year.

So they're rallying around. I don't know that we have a clear plan yet, and so I want to reinforce what Andrea said. This is raising awareness for us so that the folks who are impacted by all these cuts can come together in a thoughtful manner and unite about what we want the future vision for Oregon and other states to look like around public education.

WHITFIELD: So Andrea, what do you believe is next? What will the fall school season look like?

CASTANEDA: I believe it's going to be a challenging one throughout the country, and I believe that it's a moment for us to pull our heads up and notice that something important is happening, something that we could prevent, and actually something we can convert into an incredible opportunity. For far too long, we've been comfortable with the idea that if there is a problem, teachers will solve it, because teachers usually solve problems. But we're at a point where we are asking too much, and they need help that the state and the country can provide. It's a matter of choices.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. I thank you so much, all three of you, for representing your school districts and your state of Oregon. Sandy Husk, Andrea Castaneda, and Bret Champion. All the best to you.

[14:55:02]

HUSK: Thank you.

CASTANEDA: Thank you.

CHAMPION: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani celebrated his 80th birthday on Friday, and he was served notice of his indictment related to an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona. Arizona's attorney general made the announcement on Twitter, saying, quote, "The final defendant was served moments ago," tagging Giuliani, and tweeting "Nobody is above the law."