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Supreme Court Sides with Trump, Limits Lower Courts' Power; Senate Expected to Start Voting on Trump Megabill Today; Republican Senators Threaten to Vote against Trump's Bill; Iran Holds Funerals for Officials Killed in Israeli Strikes; Iran's President Calls U.S. and Israeli Strikes "Gross Violation"; Trump Ends Canada Trade Talks over Digital Services Tax; Bezos and Sanchez Get Married amid A-List Guests, Protesters; Jury Deliberations Set to Begin Monday in Combs Criminal Trial. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 28, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are. Now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte. In Atlanta. And it is. So good to have you here.

Coming up on the show, the U.S. Supreme Court delivers a major win to president Donald Trump and his agenda. We'll explain the conservative majority's ruling on the power of lower courts and why the decision is so significant.

It's a crucial day for Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill. We have the latest on where the president's sweeping tax and spending cuts package stands in the Senate.

Plus anti-American chants in Tehran as large crowds honor top military figures and nuclear scientists killed in an Israeli airstrikes. We'll have a live report for you.

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HUNTE: Welcome. The U.S. Supreme Court has broadened president Donald Trump's executive power in a blockbuster ruling the president himself has hailed as the big one. On Friday, a majority of the justices ruled to limit the power of lower courts to block his policies on a nationwide basis.

The court's three liberals split from their conservative colleagues in blistering dissent.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, quote, "The executive branch can now enforce policies that flout settled law and violate countless individuals' constitutional rights."

President Trump says he can now go full steam ahead with his agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We can now promptly file to proceed

with these numerous policies and those that have been wrongly enjoined on a nationwide basis.

Including birthright citizenship, ending sanctuary city funding, suspending refugee resettlement, freezing unnecessary funding, stopping federal taxpayers from paying for transgender surgeries and numerous other priorities of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The case stemmed from the president's executive order to end birthright citizenship, which he signed on his first day in office earlier this year. Attorneys general from nearly two dozen states sued to block the move.

But Friday's ruling does not settle the issue of whether the president can enforce the order. Julia Benbrook is in Washington with the details.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT: In a 6-3 ruling, the conservative majority backed President Donald Trump's efforts to curtail lower federal courts from issuing nationwide injunctions that have served as a roadblock to his agenda for months but left the fate of his divisive executive order on birthright citizenship unclear.

The high court's decision was a significant win for Trump and it could have lasting implications, not only for the remainder of his term but also for future Presidents of both parties.

In the majority opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote, quote, "When a court concludes the executive branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power too."

In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that, "Under the ruling no right is safe in the new legal regime the court creates." Writing, "today, the threat is to birthright citizenship. Tomorrow, a different administration may try to seize firearms from law abiding citizens or prevent people of certain faiths from gathering to worship."

BENBROOK (voice-over): There were several other major rulings on Friday. The court also ruled that religious parents can opt their children out of the reading of LGBTQ books in school and upheld a Texas law that requires age verification for pornographic websites.

And in the latest legal challenge to ObamaCare to reach the high court, the court upheld a task force that recommends preventive health care services that insurers must cover at no cost.

BENBROOK: Every year, the Supreme Court tries to finish its work by July but it is unusual to see so many highly watched cases on the final decision day -- in Washington, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: Well, you know, I want to dig deeper. So let's speak to Misty Marris a defense and trial attorney in New York.

Misty, thanks for being up early for me.

How are you doing?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE AND TRIAL ATTORNEY: Yes. Good morning. Very good. Thank you and happy to be here.

HUNTE: Oh, I'm so glad you're here. So much happened yesterday. Let's start with the big one. One of the rulings significantly limits judges' abilities to block Trump administration policies.

Legally, how big of a shift is that?

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MARRIS: This is actually a huge shift in the legal landscape. And, of course, it affects Donald Trump and gives the executive branch generally more power.

But it's not just Trump. It will be for any president to come. So it's important to understand what this decision is about. It's about what's called nationwide injunctions; meaning, in this case, an executive order was challenged in federal court, that the parties went and sought a stay.

Meaning put a pause on the implementation of that executive order in a court. And the court said, yes, it can be paused.

Well, it won't just be paused in that federal district. It was paused nationwide. Now what the courts have said is that those nationwide injunctions are not proper and they can only happen in a very limited, narrow set of exceptions and circumstances.

So that means that if an executive order is implemented, that the courts have to act only with the parties that are part of the particular action, as opposed to protections being enforced nationwide.

So let me just give you an example with birthright. It could mean if it's not implemented yet, birthright citizenship has not been decided. But a baby that's born in Georgia could have completely different rights than a baby that's born in New York.

So that's why the nationwide injunction issue is such a big one when it comes to the implementation of these executive orders and its impact on individuals who are affected.

HUNTE: So I want to dig into all of that in a bit as well. So we're going to definitely jump into it.

But I was seeing online that critics are calling this a green light for unchecked presidential authority. And it's as if president Trump can just get away with whatever he wants now. Do you agree with that or are there still enough legal guardrails in

place?

MARRIS: Well, it definitely expands the executive power significantly. So in general, the courts are in place to, when there's challenges to any executive order or presidential act, the federal courts are the place to go.

But now, since there's no ability to pause those executive orders, on a nationwide basis, it means that they will go basically into effect without the legal challenge actually playing out.

So most certainly it is a green light to a certain extent to Donald Trump and any president that comes after. But more so, it is just a really big shift in what are the separation of powers, meaning the executive branch now has a lot more ability to implement executive orders without a lot of judicial review.

HUNTE: You touched on earlier, I want to talk about birthright citizenship because this is -- seems like a big deal.

What are the legal implications of what happened yesterday and what might change later this year?

MARRIS: So as of now, birthright citizenship, the actual substantive issue, has not been decided. Whether Trump's executive order on birthright, to end birthright citizenship, can actually go into effect is another issue for the Supreme Court.

The question is, can it go into effect while that issue is pending in the legal process?

As of now, this decision yesterday puts a pause on everything for 30 days because the administration actually hasn't provided any regulations.

For instance, if a baby is born, if a pregnant mother goes to a hospital, does she have to bring all of her documentation relating to citizenship with her?

What happens if a baby is born and the parents are not citizens?

So there's a lot of questions that would need to be answered.

In the meantime, Ben -- and this is really important. Federal courts and the parties to these lawsuits trying to stop the end of birthright citizenship for the individuals who are impacted, are scrambling.

They're filing what's called class actions, which requires three legal filings to even be in place. That's an order to stop them from after that 30-day window being potentially subject to that executive order.

So there's a lot of legal wrangling going on behind the scenes. At some point, the birthright citizenship substantive issue, the actual issue of whether Trump can end it, will be decided. But that is yet to come. HUNTE: There is so much going on. But you just broke it down so well

for us. We appreciate it, Misty Marris. I'll speak to you again soon. Thank you.

MARRIS: Thank you.

HUNTE: U.S. senators are expected to start voting on a president's massive tax and spending bill in the coming hours but it's still facing some hurdles among Republicans over spending levels and cuts to Medicaid.

Two Republican senators are already warning they're voting no. And several other holdouts aren't sure how they'll land. CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has more from Capitol Hill.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump and Republican leaders are pressing hard to get his massive agenda through the Senate by the end of this weekend and Saturday is a critical day. That's when we expect the first procedural vote to open up debate on this bill.

But, they can only afford to lose three Republican senators because all Democrats are going to vote no. Can they actually only keep the three defections?

That is the big question at this moment, because already two are threatening to vote against it. That's Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. He is concerned about the impact that this bill would have on the national deficit. In fact, it's expected to add trillions of to the deficit over the next decade but he is also concerned about the $5 trillion increase that this plan calls for to the national debt limit.

And then there is Senator Thom Tillis, who is concerned about the cuts to Medicaid and the impacts that this bill would have on his constituents. He told reporters on Friday night that he is a no, period, saying that the fundamentals of the bill need to change. We'll see if that ultimately wins his vote, if there are changes made to win him over.

Several other more moderate senators have concerns; Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Susan Collins, a more conservative Senator Josh Hawley. They all say -- raise concerns about the Medicaid cuts. All of them want to see the details of this plan before they commit on how to vote. And some of the members want deeper spending cuts.

Senator Ron Johnson, a more conservative member, wants deeper spending cuts, would not say how he would vote on Friday evening. This is what Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who suggested that he, Lee, Johnson and Senator Rick Scott potentially could all vote as one bloc on the vote on Saturday. So that will be something to watch.

But, if this bill goes down today, that would be a huge and embarrassing setback for President Trump, who is putting the pressure on these members to vote yes by his self-imposed July 4th deadline and if that fails, they have to retool the package, potentially push it back to later this month.

If it is approved, then the Senate will descend into what's known as a vote-a-rama. That means a marathon series of amendment votes that will take place all through the day, Saturday, Saturday night, into Sunday. Potentially, that could go on for many, many hours, ultimately, before the bill heads to its final vote and final passage.

Then it would come back to the United States House and that's where so many House Republicans are threatening to vote against this measure because of their concerns about some of the changes the Senate made.

Then it will be up to Speaker Mike Johnson as well as Donald Trump to cajole members and the House GOP to fall in line to get it onto his desk by July 4th.

So a lot of work cut out from in this major bill that deals with a multi-trillion dollar overhaul of the United States tax code.

There is deep spending cuts, new work requirements on Social Safety net programs, hundreds of billions of in funding for defense programs, for national security programs, for border security measures, all of which raises this question, can Donald Trump get it over the finish line and win these members over?

It's uncertain at this moment, as the Republican leaders and the president have a lot of arm twisting to do to get a major victory on President Trump's desk -- Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

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HUNTE: Well, earlier I discussed all of these developments with Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex. Have a listen to part of our conversation.

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HUNTE: We are seeing a real split between house and Senate Republicans at the moment from disagreements over Medicaid cuts to clean energy spending.

Does this breakdown suggest that Trump's grip on the party isn't quite as strong as it looks from the outside?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: So I would say he still has a strong grip on the party. The problem. Is that. For the senators and. House representatives in. The Republican Party, they have their own constituents. That they have to deal with.

I mean, they've been facing all kinds of backlash from these. Town halls that. They've been holding. So they don't just have to please Donald Trump. They also have to please their voters.

And that's where some of the problems lie. And that's why we've seen -- there's been divisions between Senate Republicans who face different types. Of. Issues. And even between House Republicans and Senate Republicans, whether it be. On the issue of Medicaid.

And here we see divisions between the Senate and the House, as the Senate Republicans want to be a little bit more aggressive on the Medicaid cuts, where House Republicans are hoping for something a little bit softer because that's going to affect their constituents.

And you have divisions on clean energy funding. Now here, the Senate Republicans want to be more gradual in phasing out solar and wind energy credits, tax credits.

And instead, the House Republicans want to move more rapidly. And then there's also issues of the $10,000 state cap on local and state local tax deductions. Here.

You might have some House Republicans that might be living in blue states where their constituents face higher state and local taxes that aren't in agreement of such a low cap that's being imposed by the Senate Republicans.

[05:15:05]

And then you also have these divisions between some of these more moderate Republicans in the Senate; for example, like Lisa Murkowski, like Susan Collins, that are worried about how aggressive this bill is.

And then you have the fiscal hawks that are worried that there's going to be an added $4 trillion to the national deficit over 10 years. And you have senators like Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson calling this immoral.

So there are divisions all over the place. But what we've seen is that these Republicans tend to get in line, even though there may be a handful of defections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Coming up, large crowds of people gather in Tehran for the public funerals of Iranians killed in Israeli strikes, including top military commanders. Full details on that story. Just after the break.

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HUNTE: Iran is holding public funerals for senior military commanders and nuclear scientists who were killed in Israeli strikes. Images here from Tehran as large crowds pay their respects to top officials and other key figures. Our Fred Pleitgen was there in the middle of the crowds and filed this report just moments ago.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a gigantic procession right through the heart of Tehran. There are thousands of people here who are trying to touch the caskets. They're trying to give the folks who are on the caskets items to rub on the caskets.

Now there are 60 coffins in total that are going through the city, among them Iran's top military leadership. You have the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami; the head of Iran's missile program, Ali Hajizadeh; many others as well, including nuclear scientists but also civilians.

There's also women and children whose caskets are in this procession right now. The people here say that they are honored to pay their final respects to those who were killed. But they're also vowing to continue to stand up to both the U.S. and Israel.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): "Death to America, death to Israel," she says.

"God willing, they'll be destroyed soon."

"My message to Trump is, God willing, you will die," he says, "because you attacked Iran. And be sure the people will take revenge for the blood of these martyrs soon, with the obliteration of Trump, Israel and the United States."

PLEITGEN: All this comes as Iran's supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has lashed out at both the United States and Israel, saying he believes Iran's military campaign against the Israelis was victorious and that also the U.S. had gained nothing from bombing Iran's nuclear installations.

At the same time, the Iranians are vowing to be defiant, saying that their nuclear program will continue; enforced enrichment will continue as well -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

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HUNTE: Meanwhile, president Trump on Friday did not rule out further military action if Iran pursues nuclear weapons.

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QUESTION: If the intelligence reports conclude that Iran can enrich uranium to a level that concerns you, would you consider bombing the country again?

TRUMP: Sure. Without question. Absolutely.

QUESTION: Have you had any --

TRUMP: That turned out to be unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: The Trump administration told U.S. House members they are working to bring Iran back to negotiating tables. One senior Republican says secretary of state Marco Rubio wants to meet one-on- one with Iranian leadership and not through third-party negotiators.

Let's head to London and CNN's Nada Bashir.

Nada, thank you so much for being with me again.

What message is Iran trying to send with the scale and the symbolism of today's funerals?

And how significant are Iran's losses in terms of its power and the actual military command structure?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Ben, as you saw there in Fred's reporting, we are seeing tens of thousands of people gathering to commemorate those killed in that 12-day conflict and the unprecedented attacks carried out by the Israeli military on Iran.

Among them, of course, as we heard there, senior security and military officials and top nuclear scientists. So clearly we are seeing an acknowledgment of the real cost and the price paid by the Iranian security apparatus and, of course, its top nuclear scientists in these attacks carried out by Israel.

And, of course, it's important to note that we've also seen an acknowledgment by Iranian officials of the scale and the scope of the damage sustained as a result of those airstrikes carried out, both by the Israeli military and those targeted strikes carried out by the U.S. as well.

We've heard from Iran's foreign minister acknowledging that the severe damage and the serious damage that has been caused to its nuclear sites.

And, of course, we had previously heard that from the White House and White House officials, that Iran had not been able to move its enriched uranium stockpile from the Fordow plant ahead of the U.S. strikes.

Iran, of course, now acknowledging that there has been damage sustained. But what we're seeing in these processions today is not only a symbol of mourning and grief, of course, but also it is a representation of Iran's honor.

We have heard that tone of defiance from Iranian officials, including Iran's supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And, of course, what we've been hearing from people on the ground as well is that continued sentiment of defiance, both against Israel and, of course, against the United States.

We've been hearing quite stark criticism as well from Iranian officials. Take a listen to this statement from the Iranian president. Just yesterday.

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MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (via translator): The attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime on Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities, which were under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, are a gross violation of all international rules.

And an irreparable blow to the status of the nuclear nonproliferation regime by a permanent member of the Security Council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BASHIR: Now, of course, when there are still questions circling around where things stand in terms of diplomacy, the potential to restart negotiations, potentially we had had indications that we might see meetings between Iranian and U.S. officials.

But we've also seen that continued tit-for-tat in rhetoric from both Iran's supreme leader and the U.S. president.

And while we had heard from Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, saying that they might consider transporting or transferring their enriched uranium stockpile, we've also heard that tone of defiance from Iran's supreme leader, as you heard there, from president Trump.

He has said that the U.S. could potentially consider military action again if deemed necessary by the U.S. Trump also indicated that he may have considered lifting sanctions.

But given the statements he has heard from Iran's supreme leader and other officials, that doesn't seem to be the case right now. So real questions as to where things stand right now in terms of diplomacy and the potential to really restart negotiations on the nuclear front. Ben.

HUNTE: OK. Nada Bashir in London, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

President Trump is predicting there will be a ceasefire in Gaza soon but fighting in the enclave still goes on. Several people were killed and buried under the sand in the enclave when an Israeli airstrike hit tents sheltering people.

And first responders rushed to recover victims and put out fires after an Israeli airstrike hit a school building in northern Gaza. Gaza civil defense says it was housing individuals who had been displaced. This is what the U.S. president had to say about stopping the carnage.

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TRUMP: I think it's close. I just spoke with some of the people involved. That's a terrible situation that's going, Gaza he is asking about and we think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: A shortage of aid in Gaza has resulted in a food crisis. The Palestinian health ministry says that two more children have died of malnutrition, bringing the total number to 66.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports on the death of a 3-month-old baby girl who had been born healthy. And a strong warning: some of the images that follow are extremely disturbing.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three months ago, Jouri Al-Masri was being carried out of a delivery room, swaddled in a baby blanket just like this one. Now her tiny body is set down on the cold, hard marble slab of a Gaza hospital morgue, drained of all signs of life.

Every millimeter of her body is a testament to Gaza's humanitarian crisis and Israeli policies that have enabled it. Her father says Jouri was born a healthy 7.9-pound baby but needed lactose-free baby formula, which she couldn't find in any Gaza hospital.

Closing the crossings and depriving children of milk is one of the war crimes against our children, her father says. I do not know what the reason is and what their sin is to be killed in this manner. Their only fault is being innocent babies.

For weeks, Gaza's doctors and nurses have warned baby formula shortages are threatening the lives of Gaza's most vulnerable. Like the babies in this neonatal unit at Al Helou Hospital.

MOHAMMAD TABASHA, HEAD NURSE AT AL HELOU HOSPITAL: We have a bigger problem of shortage of milk, especially for special formula milk for all of the neonatal --

DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel's aid coordination agency, COGAT, said it, quote, "Does not prevent or restrict the entry of baby food." And said, more than 1,100 tons of baby food have entered Gaza in recent weeks.

Israel lifted its eleven week total blockade of Gaza in May but has continued to restrict the number of aid trucks and types of aid allowed into Gaza. The result, thousands of cases of acute malnutrition among children.

Food shortages are also driving up the need for baby formula in Gaza as malnourished mothers like Fatmeh struggle to breastfeed their babies.

A mother does not even have enough to eat for herself. How can she feed her children or breastfeed them?

Fatmeh asks. I was nine months pregnant when the ceasefire began and I expected that everything would be available, especially milk. For now, Fatmeh has formula to keep her babies alive, even though limits on aid into Gaza means formula deliveries are inconsistent.

But for Jouri it is too late. Three months after she came into this world, she became the 66th child to die of acute malnutrition during the war in Gaza according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Her father says he was out hunting for her formula when she died. It was nowhere to be found -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

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HUNTE (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The U.S. Supreme Court has curbed the power of federal judges to block president Trump's executive orders. In a 6-3 decision, the ruling limits the ability of lower level courts to issue nationwide injunctions. The president praised the ruling, saying that a whole list of his administration's policies can now move forward.

U.S. senators are expected to start voting on president Trump's massive tax and spending bill in just the next coming hours. He says he wants it on his desk by July 4th but it's still facing some hurdles among Republicans over spending levels and cuts to Medicaid.

President Trump urged Iran's supreme leader to, quote, "tell the truth" about the conflict with Israel. The president's message comes after ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared victory over the U.S. and Israel.

Iran's foreign minister warned president Trump that he should, quote, "put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone" toward Iran's supreme leader if he wants to reach a nuclear deal.

President Trump abruptly announced on Friday that he's ending months- long trade talks with Canada and will soon announce a new tariff rate for the country. He's blaming a 3 percent Canadian tax on digital services, hitting such companies as Google, Apple and Meta. It was adopted more than a year ago and is set to go into effect on Monday.

Mr. Trump has taken issue with those taxes in negotiations with several countries.

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TRUMP: They were foolish to do it. And so I said, we're going to stop all negotiations with Canada right now until they, straighten out their act.

We have all the cards. You know, we do a lot of business with Canada but relatively little.

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[05:35:00]

They do most of their businesses with us. And when you have that circumstance, you treat people better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Canada's imports from the U.S. totaled $349 billion last year, with $413 billion in exports to the U.S. Canada's prime minister said his government is considering its response but will continue to engage with the U.S.

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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Look. We'll continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians, these negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Despite all of that trade drama, two out of three major U.S. stock indices hit new highs on Friday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite both set new records. The Dow did get close, closing within 3 percent of its all-time high.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Secretary said the United States could soon reimpose so-called reciprocal tariffs on more than a dozen countries. That's what Scott Bessent told CNBC on Friday, adding that they're nearing deals with 10 nations.

When the tariffs were paused in April, Mr. Trump's new deal deadline was July 9th, just over a week away. But also on Friday, Bessent told FOX News that negotiations could be wrapped up by Labor Day, September 1st, a more relaxed framework than the original timeframe.

Donald Trump could be on the verge of ramping up the pressure on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, with an unprecedented move. CNN's Matt Egan looks at what the White House strategy seems to be and what it could mean for the rest of the country.

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MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: President Trump is so frustrated with Jerome Powell that he could do something unprecedented to undermine him. President Trump has said that he could name. A replacement. For Powell soon.

"The Wall Street Journal" says. That could. Happen. As soon as this summer. The problem, though, is that Powell, his term is not up. Until next May. In this news cycle, that is a lifetime away.

Now this echoes a plan that was first floated by Scott Bessent last year before. He became Trump's treasury. Secretary. Bessent said what you could do is name a replacement for Powell so early in the cycle that this person ends up becoming the shadow Fed chair.

This is. Something that has never happened in the Fed's 111-year history. Economist and former Fed officials, they tell CNN that it could backfire by adding even more uncertainty and chaos to what is already an uncertain environment.

I talked to Alan Blinder, the former number two at the Fed in the 1990s. And he told me it's an absolutely horrible idea. If they're not singing from the same playbook, which seems likely, this is just going to cause confusion in markets.

And, of course, there would be confusion. You'd have effectively have two Fed chairs at the same time, one of them, who the president despises; one of them who the president loves, both of them nominated by the president. Investors wouldn't know who to listen to.

And just to remind everyone of why the president is so frustrated with Powell., of course, this is all about interest rates. During Trump's first term. Rates were very low. Three years ago, the Fed spiked interest rates to try to put the inflation fire out. Rates have come down.

But they do remain elevated and that makes it an expensive time for consumers and businesses to borrow. It's also an expensive time for the federal government to borrow. The president would like to see interest rates come down.

But Fed officials are reluctant to cut rates until they get a better sense for just how much damage the president's tariffs are going to do to inflation.

One last point here. Some economists have told me that this idea of a shadow Fed could end up being counterproductive by unnerving investors to the extent that they end up driving long-term interest rates, the ones controlled by the market, driving those rates even higher.

And, of course, that is exactly the opposite of what president Trump wants. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Billionaire Jeff Bezos' lavish wedding in Venice cost a bundle and is also giving the city's tourism industry a big boost. But not everyone's happy. All the details just ahead.

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Welcome back. Billionaire Jeff Bezos married former reporter Lauren Sanchez in Venice on Friday. The lavish, star studded wedding weekend reportedly cost as much as $55 million and Venice could rake in over $1 billion from tourism. Dozens of a-list guests attended, including Oprah Winfrey and the Kardashians. And protesters tried to disrupt the festivities by plastering posters and huge banners across the city. CNN's Melissa Bell has more from Venice. For us.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is day two of the three-day extravaganza. That is the Jeff Bezos and Lawrence Sanchez wedding here in Venice, held in the scorching heat.

We first caught a glimpse of the bride and former journalist today as she exited her hotel in style on a water taxi with two huge diamond rings and a bracelet with the initials "LB."

She was soon followed by the Amazon founder and a sea of photographers. As they headed over there to the private San Giorgio Maggiore island here in Venice, where they tied the knot in front of 200 guests, a barrage of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Usher and Tom Brady.

And we know that a performance by Matteo Bocelli is happening there tonight. He is the son of the legendary Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli and here is the now Lauren Sanchez Bezos on the cover of "Vogue" in her Dolce & Gabbana wedding gown finally revealed after much anticipation.

Italy's tourism minister said, Venice can expect to reap as much as $1.1 billion as a result of the billionaire's wedding.

But we have been kept almost entirely in the dark throughout the three days about exactly when and where the ceremonies will be taking place, not just so that they could keep the press and the paparazzi at a distance but also, of course, the protesters who are threatening to disrupt proceedings.

And so, it is from afar that if we have watched the happy couple tie the knot and dance the night away -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Venice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Well, you know, I want to dig deeper. One of the protesters in Venice joins us now live. Stella Faye is an activist with the group No Space for Bezos.

Thank you so much for being with me, Stella.

How are you doing?

STELLA FAYE, GROUP ACTIVIST, NO SPACE FOR BEZOS: Hi, how are you?

I'm good.

HUNTE: I'm good, too. Thank you for being here.

You've been one of the most vocal critics of this wedding.

Can you just tell me why the event struck such a nerve with you and with others?

FAYE: It was important for us to have our voice heard because also because. For us, it's just. Just, you know, a gossip event.

[05:45:00]

You know, you were describing this whole majestic wedding. For us, it's not just that. It's also a predatory approach, a predatory management of our city.

The mayor has been behaving like this and hosting these types of events all of the time in a city that is where people actually, you know, struggle to afford rent, struggle to have a decent paying job.

And then you have this massive event that foster luxury tourism which actually don't really bring money to the city, because people who live normal lives here, there's no trickle-down effect, as one might say.

So we really wanted to bring the attention to this. And then on the second aspect, we wanted to bring the attention to the like the figure of Jeff Bezos because, of course, we oppose these type of oligarchs, billionaires who come to our cities and believe they can do whatever they want.

But also who have enriched themselves to on the shoulders of workers, on the shoulders of the planet and actually on, you know, with military technology selling, for example, digital services to the Israeli military, who is currently bombing Gaza.

And so we wanted to bring the attention to a more local issue. But then on the other side, to a global issue and we wanted to unite our voices in that sense.

HUNTE: Yes, some people have said that this was just a private celebration. In fact, we've actually got a clip of Venice's deputy mayor with some pretty strong words. Have a listen to this.

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SIMONE VENTURINI, COUNCIL MEMBER; DEPUTY MAYOR FOR TOURISM, VENICE: I think that they are a little bit narcissistic because they exploit the attention of the world to the wedding, to make some protests and became famous all over the network. So they are exploiting the city and the image of the city, not the best wedding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: I mean, yikes, that was the deputy mayor of Venice, saying the protesters are narcissistic and just using the wedding for attention.

What's your response to that?

FAYE: Actually, this is definitely not true. Of course, it is important that the spotlight of the world is on Venice right now to bring the -- to bring the attention to core issues, to like the exploitation of the city and the problematics (sic) of overtourism in Venice.

And then on the other side, to bring the attention on war and on the people who are dying currently because of the, you know, the technology that Jeff Bezos is using. So I don't see any narcissism in this. Of course, we -- I have no -- I don't care to be famous, really.

I do care, though, to bring the attention to very important issues in our city and in the world.

HUNTE: All right. Well, thank you for joining me now, Stella Faye. We appreciate it. Thanks so much.

The jury is set to take on the criminal case against Sean Diddy Combs. Coming up, what jurors heard during two marathon days of closing arguments.

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

Former President Biden joined mourners at Minnesota's state capital on Friday. They were honoring a murdered state representative and her husband. Melissa and Mark Hortman were shot and killed on June 14th. They'll be buried later today, just a few miles away.

The man accused of killing them. Vance Boelter, appeared in court. He's facing state and federal charges and could get the death penalty if he's found guilty.

The jury is about to get the criminal case against Sean Diddy Combs after two marathon days of closing arguments. Jury deliberations are set to begin on Monday.

On Friday, prosecutors urged jurors to find Combs guilty, saying it was, quote, "time to hold him accountable."

Diddy's attorney argued that the prosecution exaggerated its case and has not shown evidence of a criminal enterprise. CNN's Leigh Waldman reports.

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LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Sean Diddy Combs. Defense laid out their case to the jury. On Friday. Challenging the prosecutions. Argument that Combs was running a criminal enterprise and telling the jury that the sexual encounters they heard about throughout the course of this trial were, in fact, consensual.

Now in the prosecution's rebuttal, Maurene Comey said, quote, "For 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes. That ends in this courtroom. The defendant is not a god. He is a person. And in this courtroom, he stands equal before the law. Overwhelming evidence proves his guilt. It is time to hold him accountable."

The fate of embattled hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs is in the jury's hands, as this weeks-long trial comes to an end. Combs is facing several federal charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury heard closing arguments from the prosecution Thursday. Assistant U.S. attorney Christy Slavik said the defendant counted on silence and shame to keep his crimes hidden. He thought his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.

But over the course of this trial, his crimes have been exposed.

Slavik highlighted testimony from Combs' ex-girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and the woman testifying under the alias "Jane." The women testified. Combs forced them to engage in sexual encounters referred to as freakoffs and "hotel nights."

[05:55:00]

In her closing, Slavik said, "Up until today, the defendant was able to get away with these crimes because of his money, his power, his influence. That stops now. It's time to hold him accountable."

Friday, Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Combs, doubled down on his opening statement from May, that the sexual encounters were between consenting adults, telling the jury "They are swingers. They are avowedly swingers. This is their lifestyle."

He also challenged the merit of the entire case and sarcastically referred to the searches of Combs' home in 2024, telling the jury, "Boxes of Astroglide taken off the streets, whew! I feel better already. Artificial lubricant not for me. The streets of America are safe from the Astroglide.

Combs did not testify. Throughout the course of this trial. And if he's convicted on all counts, he could face up to life in prison. The jury has been dismissed for the weekend. On Monday, they'll receive their charge instructions from the judge. And then we expect those deliberations to begin that day -- in Manhattan, I'm Leigh Waldman, reporting.

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HUNTE: Authorities in New Orleans say they captured another inmate who has been on the run for more than a month.

A tip led investigators to Antoine Massey's arrest in a neighborhood just miles from the prison. Massey and nine other inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail on May 16th. Investigators say they took advantage of bad luck, stolen bedding and a hungry jail employee to escape. One escapee still remains on the loose. That's all I've got for you. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It's been very

real. Thanks for joining me and the team. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world is "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS." See you at the same time tomorrow. 'Bye.