Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

House To Debate Multiple Foreign Aid Bills; Trump Hits Campaign Trail On Days Off From Trial; Iraq's PMF Force Says Military Base Was Attacked, U.S. Denies Involvement. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 20, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:35]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Saturday, April 20. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Amara Walker. Here's what we're working on for you this morning. Congress is in session for a working weekend, we could see a final vote on a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel as early as this afternoon.

BLACKWELL: A much different vote though could cost Mike Johnson the speaker's gavel Marjorie Taylor Greene says there's a civil war in the House of Representatives and as another lawmaker joining her motion to vacate we're going in depth ahead.

WALKER: And nearly a half a dozen bless rock a military base belonging to an Iran backed militia in Iraq at a time of high tensions across the Mideast what we know about it coming up.

BLACKWELL: And former President Donald Trump hits the campaign trail today, just two days before opening statements begin in an historic hush money trial in New York. The judge has stern warning to Trump's legal team that's coming up.

So in just about three hours, the House of Representatives will gavel into what's shaping up to be a grueling weekend session. Three foreign aid bills for Israel, Ukraine and the Indo Pacific region are up for debate plus a fourth bill with offerings to placate House Republicans like sanctions for Russia, Iran, China and potential nationwide TikTok ban.

At the very least those eight bills are worth about $95 billion total expected to pass. The rule for the foreign aid bills passed with more Democrats in support of it then Republicans.

WALKER: Yes, Speaker Mike Johnson works across the aisle to get those bills passed, but that bipartisan effort could cost him the gavel. He's only been speaker now for six months. Just yesterday, Representative Paul Gozar of Arizona became the third Republican hardliner to join the effort to oust Johnson and joining representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. Now Greene is leading the effort but hasn't enforced a floor vote on

the resolution just yet. The earliest we could see that happen is today.

Joining us now is Punchbowl News congressional reporter, Max Cohen, up bright and early for us. Max, good to see you this morning. So let's start with the votes on the House floor. Today. Speaker Johnson's plan is to put those four votes on the floor this afternoon.

So you have each a bill one for Ukraine, as we said Israel, Taiwan and the other with, you know, sanctions for Russia, Iran and China. They'll all be voted on separately. Why the strategy now? Several months in and of course, what are we expecting?

MAX COHEN, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Yes, I think we'll see all four of those bills you just discussed, passed with pretty broad bipartisan support. And that's a really big change here for Mike Johnson. For months, he had resisted putting these eight bills on the floor.

But in a real change of direction earlier this week he said, Look, if it's worth my job being lost, if it's worth being ousted, just like Kevin McCarthy, then I'm going to do it because he believes that's in the national security imperative for the United States of America. He mentioned his son is going to be going to the Naval Academy in the fall. And he said he'd rather send bullets to Ukraine than put his own son and other Americans in harm's way if Russia continues to march across Europe.

WALKER: Yeah.

COHEN: This is a major turnoff for someone who voted against Ukraine aid before he was speaker.

WALKER: Yes, he said that, you know, he's going to do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may. Right. So as you said, Speaker Johnson is fighting for his political survival after he got more Democrats to vote for the rule than Republicans on Friday, which advance that nine to $5 million bill. He will need them again today. Right, as you were saying it's called by partisanship. And of course, we are continuing to hear some of the right flank. We've mentioned those three calling for his ouster, but they're also divided on that. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): They need to be asking the most concerning question. What has Mike Johnson made a deal to do? What has he promised he will give them in the future? And this is why we have to remove Mike Johnson from the speakership because he has made a deal.

REP. BOB GOOD, HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIRMAN: This was a terrible mistake. However, that doesn't mean that I support what I would consider to be not the most prudent action right now. We're six months before an election. We've got a two or three vote margin. There's a far greater degree of uncertainty in that situation than there was back in September.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:05:00]

WALKER: So that was the House Freedom Caucus Chair there Bob Good but clearly there isn't much of an appetite for another speakership fight and the chaos that came with it. Will there be a floor vote to oust Johnson, what's your take?

COHEN: I expect Marjorie Taylor Greene will force a vote in the coming weeks. As you mentioned, it could be as soon as today, but I expect it probably will happen after the House returns from recess, perhaps in a week. But at the end of the day, Democrats have indicated to me that they will vote to save Mike Johnson in this event if a vote comes up, because they think he would have done the right thing on foreign aid.

But taking a step back, I think the real issue is, Mike Johnson simply can't continue as the leader of the House GOP after November. I think no one wants to get him out now in the Republican Party, except for maybe a dozen or so. But it's not tenable for him to remain in power past November if Democrats are the ones who are profiting about.

WALKER: Do you think that there were concessions made a minority leader Hakeem Jeffries didn't answer directly when he was asked if House Democrats got any concessions from Republicans after they helped advance this bill.

And we also heard there from Marjorie Taylor Greene, that, you know, there was some kind of deal she believes and this is why this bill passed. What are your thoughts?

COHEN: Yeah, as you mentioned, Jeffries is pretty tight lipped there. But I think the main concession was simply the fact that these four foreign aid bills are being voted on. This is what Democrats have been demanding for months ever since the Senate passed its own version of Kim Jeffries. I've been saying bring the Senate bill to the floor.

And what Mike Johnson has done essentially, is do exactly that. The three bills Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific are almost identical to the Senate bills. And the fourth bills you mentioned with TikTok bans and other sanctions. That's not super partisan.

You know, Johnson didn't tie this to border funding. He didn't die the other poison pill piece of legislation. This is largely a democratic win in many ways with Johnson.

WALKER: I'll correct myself in the bills haven't passed it. I was talking about the role that procedural motion to advance the bill. Max Cohen, good to see you. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Let's go now to CNN White House reporter Camila DeChalus. She is traveling with the president in Wilmington, Delaware. Camila, good morning to you. So as Max mentioned, passing these bills would be a big win for Democrats, of course a big win for the administration. What's the White House saying this morning? CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the White House a signal that President Biden will immediately sign these bills if they are passed and sign them into law. Look, this is a big win for the Biden administration if these bills are passed. The White House has been demanding for months for Congress and lawmakers to quickly act like act and pass these bills that would provide additional assistance to countries like Ukraine and Israel.

They've also pointed to the fact that the Ukraine's military has almost weakened and lost a lot of ground to their fight against Russia. And they cited that it's because they have just lacked funding, and they need more additional support from the US. So this is a really big deal.

And also with these bills included in there, it would provide about $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid and assistance. And that is a big thing for Biden as well. So if these bills are passed, Biden has signaled that he is quick to act and sign these bills into law. Back to you, Amara, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes, so sorely needed that 9.2 billion in humanitarian aid. Camila DeChalus for us in Wilmington. Thank you.

The jury is seated and the historic hush money trial for former President Trump starts Monday. First, though, he's going to hit the campaign trail this weekend. We'll show you how he's trying to use these legal problems to score some political points.

WALKER: Also, the U.S. and Israel are denying any involvement in a new attack on Iran-backed militia in a rock. Coming up, the efforts to ease the tensions in the region.

BLACKWELL: And a Maryland high school student is arrested after police say he may have been planning a school shooting. Coming up, how they were able to uncover this alleged plot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:34]

BLACKWELL: New this morning and explosion at an Iran-backed militia base south of Baghdad killed a member of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces and injured at least eight others. This incident follows Israeli strikes at a military base in Iran yesterday. Iran's President did not mention that strike while praising last weekend's Iranian strikes against Israel.

WALKER: The tensions between Israel and Iran is sparking fears of an expanding Middle East conflict. CNN's Nada Bashir is following all of this for us. So where do things stand right now, Nada, in terms of the tensions and the fear of escalation?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, there certainly has been mounting concern over the potential for this to escalate more broadly in the region. At this stage, it appears as though a broader regional war has been averted for now settling the assessment by one top U.S. aide saying that neither side wants to see this being taken.

Further, we've seen on the Iranian side an effort to downplay Israel's attack on is for harm we've heard from Iranian officials, somewhat diminishing, really the scale of the attack describing Israel's using tiny drones at the impact physically was limited to just a few smashed windows.

And as you mentioned, we heard yesterday from the Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi speaking, no mention of Israel's attack, although there continues to be a focus on Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel following Israel's concealer strike.

[06:15:02]

And so clearly, there appears to be a consideration of the broader regional impact here. And of course, as we know, Iran has recently reestablished ties with both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, both key ally to the United States in the region. We know that the U.S. has been vocally pushing for neither side to take this further.

Now, on the Israeli side, of course, this has also been taken as a wind domestically, just as it is in Iran. We've seen from the Israeli side, no clear acknowledgement of responsibility for the show.

But what this is really signaling on the Israeli side is that there is clearly an intelligence advantage here, the targeting of Isfahan is, of course crucial and strategic. This is a province where we have a key major military airbase, we have a nuclear facility. This is an industrial hub known for producing missiles and drones.

So clearly, there is a strategic message being sent here when it comes to Israel's intelligence advantage. But of course, there is a fear more broadly in the region that this could have provoked and triggered a broader escalation, particularly when it comes to Iran's proxies in the region. We've of course seen this explosion now in Iraq fears there around the possible connections, the U.S. and Israel, both denying any sort of involvement or responsibility for that.

And of course, at this current point in time, it appears as though both sides both Iran and Israel are taking this domestically as a wind but not willing to take this any further, clearly, neither side wanting to be dragged into a broader regional confrontation as has been an affair for so long now.

But of course, this is still a very precarious and tenuous time for the region. And there are still concerns we've been hearing from officials in the European Union and of course, in the United States calling for tensions to be diffused on all sides.

WALKER: All right, Nada Bashir, thank you so much. Coming up, Donald Trump's historic hush money trial is moving forward quickly with opening statements that from Monday morning how the former president to is to exploit his legal issues on the campaign trail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:21:33]

BLACKWELL: In New York opening statements in the criminal trial against former President Trump are expected to begin on Monday. All 18 members of this jury were talking to 12 jurors, the six alternates they were all settled on Friday.

WALKER: The former president has complained that the trial would be keeping him out off the campaign trail but that's where he's headed later today for the first time since the start of the trial on Monday. He'll be attending a fundraiser and a rally in North Carolina. Here's CNN's Kara Scannell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We have our full panel, that announcement from Judge Juan Marchan after jury selection concluded, 18 Manhattanites, 12 jurors and six alternates now seated.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm sitting at a courthouse all day long this is going on for the week. And this will go on for another four or five weeks and it's very unfair.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump appeared bored much of the trial day four as attorneys on both sides pro potential jurors until they filled the remaining five alternate seats. Moments after the full jury was picked, a bizarre and tragic moment outside court as a man set himself on fire. Authority say he was previously known to the police and while they are searching for any domestic terror connections, that is not believed to have been the motivation.

In court, a handful of prospective jurors became emotional. One was excused after she told the judge she had anxiety and was worried as a trial goes on. More people could know she's part of the jury saying I might not be able to be completely fair and not emotional. So that concerns me.

Another was dismissed after she began crying, saying I'm sorry, I thought I could do this. I wouldn't want someone who feels this way to judge my case either. I don't want you to feel I've wasted anyone's time. This is so much more stressful than I thought.

A third was sent home after noting she was feeling anxiety and self- doubt as she listened to a line of questioning about the credibility of witnesses.

At the defense table, Trump set flipping through papers with charts, photos and graphics he whispered in past notes with his lawyers and at some points was hunched over with his elbows on the desk.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger started off questioning potential jurors telling them this is not about Mr. Trump being a former president. It's not about his being a candidate for the presidency. It's only about whether the evidence proves he's guilty.

During her presentation, Trump leaned back in his chair at one point his eyes closed. Trump's attorney Susan Necheles focused on bias against the former president. She told those in the jury box, you all bring biases and you particularly bring biases about someone who is as publicly and outspoken as President Trump. There's nobody that doesn't know him in this room.

In the afternoon, the court moved to a routine hearing to determine how much of Trump's legal history the prosecution will be allowed to ask him about if he testifies, which he said he plans to.

Prosecutors argued they should be allowed to question Trump about the findings in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case among others despite Trump's attorneys' strong objections. The former president shook his head as the prosecution spoke about how he defamed Carroll.

SCANNELL: Judge Merchan said he expects to rule on Monday on what prosecutors could ask Donald Trump if he does take the stand and testify in his own defense. Prosecutors also said they expect to call their first witness on Monday.

Trump's lawyers again asked if they could know the identity of that witness. Prosecutor so they would tell them on Sunday, but they said if it ends up on social media, it will be the last time. Amara, Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:25:00]

BLACKWELL: Kara Scannell for us there. Joining us now to discuss former federal prosecutor and defense attorney Shan Wu. Shan, good morning to you. Let me pick up where Kara left off there. And I'm going to start with the question of the Sandoval hearing. Judge Merchan that he'll let the attorneys know by Monday what's germane, what's in, and what's out.

What is he likely considering over the weekend to determine what's within the bounds for potential Trump testimony?

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Really, he's considering the relevance to the trial. The reason -- first of all, let me say, I think the prosecutors were somewhat conservative in the different areas that they put forth as being potentially useful for cross examination.

The main problem for Trump here is that the areas that they want to cross examine him in all go to veracity credibility, and he's on trial for fraud basically. And so that really opens up any issues if you've previously found to be lying. And that's what's really opening the door to all of these other issues.

So there's been some discussion, I think, a little bit confusing in the media, that this is all bad character evidence. That's true, in a sense, certainly, because it slides up his character, but it will only come in because he's taking a stand and his credibility, any witnesses, any defendants, credibility is very much an issue when they're testifying in these past acts, lying about someone to defamation, civil fraud, and business records, those things all go to his honesty and credibility that the jury is always allowed to consider.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there's also the decision by prosecutors not to tell the defense, the initial witnesses, these first witnesses, until Sunday, they initially didn't want to tell them the names at all. Is this something that is of any substance for potential appeal? I know, of course, the Trump team as any defense attorney would be there looking for what might give them a better shot in case there's a conviction.

WU: I don't think that it is a substantive grounds for appeal, because the timing of the order here of the witnesses is really just something that's more of a professional courtesy. I do think it tells us a lot about the concerns that the prosecution has over the security and the integrity of the case.

I also think it leads to the question of whether Judge Merchan needs to reconsider the way he's protecting the jury, as well as the gag order on Trump.

BLACKWELL: The jury, so, we know that there are going to be stresses. We hope that there will not be some effort to disclose information about them while this trial is going on. I mean, you could ask Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss, what it feels like if you're targeted by some of the President's -- former president's supporters.

Why not sequestered this jury? I mean, I can imagine if I'm on the jury, and I come out and find out that a man has set himself on fire outside of the courthouse that would add to those structures and pressures.

WU: I think that's a great question, Victor. I think the main reason he wouldn't sequester them now is because when they were picked and being questioned. They weren't told that they would be sequestered. So that could cause some more problems, he might have to go into the alternance, because being sequestered is like a big chunk out of your entire life at that point.

He certainly should consider sequestering them for the deliberations part. But I was just thinking yesterday and watching all the stressors with these folks saying that they're understandably anxious that he might need to reconsider that he may have underestimated just how stressful it would be.

He's done a great job working through the jury selection process. But he may not fully appreciate just how stressful it is for the jurors.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I just -- I thought about after, of course, the reporting of what happened, leaving that courthouse and knowing that it happened, just outside for whichever reason the man chose to do it could be intimidating in some way.

Let me ask you about this hearings coming up on Tuesday. The prosecutors are asking for a fine for Trump $1,000 for each post that they claim is a violation of the gag order. Is the purpose to be a deterrent? I mean, what's $1,000 to a billionaire? What's the value here?

WU: I think it's really making the record. It's nice to attach an amount to each violation because you can show how many violations there were. I think it's not quite as straightforward as is looking illegally because, for example, when he quotes somebody else, saying something about the jury, excuse me about the jury, then he could argue that look that's not covered in the gag order.

It certainly violates the spirit of the gag order, but the order actually says he can't personally talk rather tell someone else to talk about it.

[06:30:04]

He might say, well, yes, I'm just quoting someone else. My personal opinion is that the judge needs to be more expansive, needs to supply a little bit of the Will Smith style to the gag order, saying, just keep this trial out of your mouth, period, and minus the violence.

But I think it has to be a much stronger gag order at this point. And of course, he really does need to follow up with -- I mean, whether Trump goes to jail or violations, hard to say, but I liked the idea of amounts assigned to every violation because pretty soon, you can see, hey, you know, you've got 50, 60 violations going on here.

BLACKWELL: Now, Will Smith is sitting somewhere wondering, now how did I get here? He fears that -- keep my jury's name out your mouth -- all right, Shan, last one here for you. If you are watching from Florida or you're watching from D.C., or you're watching from Atlanta, are there any transferrable lessons from what's happening in this trial that applied to the other criminal trials?

WU: I think the big lesson is for everyone now to fully appreciate how stressful it is to serve on that jury. And even though these are very experienced judges in the other cases, with the exception of Florida, I think they really have to reconsider what kinds of measures they're going to put in place to protect the confidentiality.

Mashawn(ph), you know, I think improperly got this off at the press because he was frustrated at the effect of the pressure on the jurors. I mean, you know, it doesn't do any good. The gag, the press, you got the gag and you've got Trump.

He needed -- in the past tense, to have some protocols where there would be less of this open questioning where people could figure out their identity. So, I think that's the big take-away, is the judge is going to have to be much more careful about how they're doing with volunteers.

BLACKWELL: All right, Shan Wu, always good to have the insight, good to see you too, thanks so much --

WU: Good to see you, yes.

BLACKWELL: Graduation ceremonies at the University of Southern California, we'll look very different next month. Coming up, how the debate over the Israel-Hamas war has sent the school into damage control.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

AMARA WALKER, CO-ANCHOR, NEW DAY WEEKEND: A final vote in the House on a foreign aid package could happen as soon as today. The bill opposed by some Republicans, but backed by President Biden, will provide aid to both Ukraine and Israel.

BLACKWELL: Now, it could pass with rare bipartisan support, usually bipartisanship is an asset, but this leaves Congressman Mike Johnson more vulnerable to being removed as House Speaker. CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Louisiana where people in his district are reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the small northwest Louisiana town of Benton, where Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and his family live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By now, he and his wife, Kelly will.

TUCHMAN: Many people, not so surprisingly offer glowing reviews about the speaker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he is very fair-minded, and he's led by God, and he really tries to make his decisions according to prayer and his heart.

TUCHMAN: And when you go elsewhere in Johnson's congressional district, like its biggest city Shreveport, you will hear similar vibes.

MIKE BELANGER, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: He's a great guy. He's got great morals, and I think what he's doing is great.

DIANA HUDNALL, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: I think he's a good Christian man. I think it's what our country needs, and I trust him.

TUCHMAN: And even from non-Republicans.

LEON WHEELER, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: I'm a Democrat --

TUCHMAN: But you support --

WHEELER: I support Mike, I like Mike.

TUCHMAN: So, with that being said, what does the Speaker's Louisiana's constituents think of Georgia Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene trying to take him down.

DELTON SMITH, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: I think that there's different factions within the Republican Party that all have -- you know, all want to be heard, and you know, I think that Mike is doing a good job of managing all those different opinions.

And I think Marjorie Taylor Greene is just causing trouble.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Does it anger you?

SMITH: Yes, it does because I think that, you know, the last thing we want to do is get back in situation where the House is in turmoil and there's no leadership.

TUCHMAN: What do you think of Marjorie Taylor Greene, the congresswoman from Georgia trying to oust him as Speaker of the House?

BEVERLY ALFORD, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: I don't like it. I don't -- I mean, what is she doing it?

TUCHMAN: She doesn't like his stances on a number of things like funding for Ukraine, for example, she doesn't want it. So, what do you think about that?

ALFORD: I think we started helping them, I think we should continue helping them.

RITA HUMMINGBIRD, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: I think she's making a big mistake promoting that. And she's not my favorite congressperson.

TUCHMAN: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so glad she's not my representative.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): We go inside this office building in a downtown Shreveport, and meet with this man in the oil and gas business.

ELVIR CEHAJIC, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: A lot of things that are happening today in this country remind me of what happened back in the '90s in old Yugoslavia.

TUCHMAN: Elvir Cehajic is from Bosnia, and says he immigrated to the United States three decades ago in the midst of the sectarian war which led to the breakup of Yugoslavia.

CEHAJIC: It was a beautiful country, people were getting along, a lot of good people and the divisiveness between politicians have caused a major war, and a lot of innocent people suffered.

TUCHMAN: In this office, in this congressional district, we talked to a lot of people wanting Republicans and Democrats to work together.

[06:40:00]

And in this case, Republicans and Republicans.

WILLIAM O'BRIEN, SPEAKER JOHNSON'S CONSTITUENT: It's not good to be throwing bombs at each other, instead of just, let's work together and move forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: It's a novel idea, isn't it? Police in Maryland say they've stopped a school shooting plot. Coming up, what we are learning about the student they have arrested and the 100-page document, they say the suspect wrote.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A teenager in Maryland will be staying in jail. A judge denied bond for him. He was arrested Wednesday for allegedly threatening a school shooting.

[06:45:00]

WALKER: His name is 18-year-old Alex Ye, and he was arrested following the discovery of what police say was his disturbing 129-page manifesto, that outlined plans for a school shooting in Montgomery County. CNN's Gabe Cohen has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, police say 18-year- old Alex Ye referred to his disturbing 129-page manifesto as his memoir. A story about a very similar young man planning a school shooting. And according to this lengthy statement of charges, all of this only came to light because last month, he sent the book to a friend who he had previously been hospitalized with in a psychiatric facility.

They read it according to police, didn't even finish it before calling authorities to report what they saw as an imminent threat of a school shooting, and that kicked off this investigation. And since then, police say they have uncovered many more disturbing details.

Online searches by Ye about school shootings, AR-15s and gun ranges, as well as some alarming messages, including one sent back in December, allegedly to the very same friend where Ye said, quote, "my homicidal ideation has been getting worse lately to the point I might act on it eventually."

Take a listen. Here's a little bit of what the Montgomery County police chief said was in this manifesto.

MARCUS JONES, POLICE CHIEF, MONTGOMERY COUNTY: During the execution of the warrant, officers were able to read Ye's manifesto, which Ye alleges is fiction. In the document, Ye writes about targeting his former elementary school because little kids make easier targets.

COHEN: Now, there are still a lot of questions about the major red flags in Ye's past. Police say a school counselor that saw him dating back to 2022, told officers that Ye would express violent thoughts such as shooting up the school and wanting to hurt other people, and would smile while saying it.

I want to walk you through a timeline of that hospitalization that I referenced before back in December 2022, police say Ye was hospitalized for threatening to shoot up a school the next month in January of 2023, he was reported to be released from the hospital, but police say, he was still preoccupied with self-harming, school shootings and explosives.

Then in February, he was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Pediatric Unit where he remained for five months until July when he was released to a residential facility. What we don't know is what happened in the eight months after that, how much treatment or monitoring that Ye received before March last month when his friend notified police of that potential threat of a school shooting.

Now, the Montgomery County school district says Ye has not physically been inside one of their schools since Fall of 2022, and that's when he started taking online courses. According to police, Ye did appear in court on Friday on that misdemeanor charge of a threat of mass violence that carries a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

He is now being held without bond until his trial scheduled in early June. Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Tesla is recalling thousands of its cyber trucks. It has something to do with soap. We'll explain how this soap issue is probably endangering drivers.

WALKER: And less than two years after becoming the first HBCU with a women's gymnastics team, Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, has made history once again.

BLACKWELL: Last weekend, Morgan Price became the first ever HBCU student athlete to claim a national title. She won the individual all- around at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. In this week's difference makers, we look at a program filled with young women who want to inspire the next generation just like the one who inspired them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAIMAH MUHAMMAD, FISK SOPHOMORE GYMNAST: Gymnastics was considered a white sport. If you look at the sport as a whole, there's probably about 10 percent maybe of athletes who would classify themselves as a black athlete in this sport of gymnastics. The teams that were always on were very supportive, even though, of course, usually I was only like one of two black girls on those teams.

I was the only black girl on many of the teams. Gabby was like my idol, and I watched her win the Olympics and that inspired me to take gymnastics a little bit more seriously. Getting ready for competitions, you know, everyone will do their hair together and stuff, and my hair is the way different texture from anyone else's.

I absolutely hated my hair. You're constantly surrounded by girls that are just doing slick backs and I pick and put their hair up in a bind easily and stuff. And it's like OK, well, a hair doesn't do that. [06:50:00]

The first thing I noticed about coach D, was that she had locks. This is the first time I've ever had a black woman coach in my life. And she had hair that looked like me. And now, I'm on a team with girls with hair like mine, and they can help me with my hair and I don't feel like I have to change anything about myself to fit in.

CORRINNE TARVER, HEAD COACH, FISK GYMNASTICS: Sometimes they had to choose between an HBCU or domestics. And so, now they don't have to choose. It is the first gymnastics program at an HBCU or historically black college or university in history.

And Nayima(ph) is remembered as the first HBCU gymnast to ever compete in history.

MUHAMMAD: That was like crazy, high emotions. I was crying. I was like, oh my God, this is waiting -- every meet after that, we will be signing autographs or meeting young girls after the competition, is because this was huge for them.

I get so many DMs and so many messages and so many -- I get tagged in so many posts from low black gymnast all over.

"You're one of her favorite gymnast to watch. Do you think maybe you can send her some motivation? You are truly an inspiration." This girl Kumbaya(ph), she did her like a three-month project on me. It was like she wrote like a whole thing -- and that's also funny because I did -- I did a black history month project on Gabby Douglas. So, it is a full circle thing. I remember making -- doing a project like this. Now, someone is doing one on me.

TARVER: We still have a long way to go. Now, as a young gymnast, you're going to see people who look like you, year-after-year-after- year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

BLACKWELL: The University of Southern California is now calling off appearances by all outside speakers and honorees at its graduation next month. They cite security concerns. Well, as you know, Mideast tensions are escalating and supporters of Israelis and Palestinians advocate there in the streets.

WALKER: The move follows Thursday's on-campus protest. One hundred rally to demonstrate against USC's decision to deny its 2024 Muslim Valedictorian Asna Tabassum a chance to deliver her commencement speech. Federal regulators have ordered Tesla to recall its cyber trucks because of a faulty accelerator that sticks with pressed down.

The recall likely affects all of the futuristic-looking trucks manufactured from November 23rd last April -- last year, I should say to April 4th this year. That is nearly 4,000 trucks. Regulators say workers used an unapproved lubricant improperly when they were assembling accelerator pad, creating the issue.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And Grammy-nominated DJ, environmental toxicologist Jayda G's love of music and marine life creates an interesting intersection of her passions.

BLACKWELL: CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir sits down with her in the new CNN film "BLUE CARBON: NATURE'S HIDDEN POWER". Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Jayda Guy is not your average scientist. Though it started that way.

JAYDA GUY, ECOLOGIST & GRAMMY NOMINEE: I got my undergrad in biology and oncology, and my Masters in environmental toxicology.

WEIR: And what did you think you wanted to do with your life as a DJ?

GUY: I want to be a professor. Like I want to go the full academic route.

WEIR: And then the clubs got you, what happened --

GUY: Yes --

WEIR: With the music?

GUY: I took a hard right turn and changed my life.

WEIR (voice-over): Music was the other love of her life, and when she began making it as DJ Jayda G., a whole new career took off. She worked with mega stars and booked gigs and festivals all while finishing her Masters and the effects of toxins in killer worms.

The two loves merged in her film "BLUE CARBON", in a massive journey through the watery landscapes that serve as massive allies in fighting the climate crisis.

GUY: So, "BLUE CARBON" is basically these ecosystems that are amazing at pulling carbon at the atmosphere, and putting it deep into the ground.

You're saying this is blue carbon --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is blue carbon. So, yes, it's not blue, it's brown, but it is blue carbon.

GUY: There are like ten times better at it than the Amazon rain forest for example. Those ecosystems are mango forest, sea grass meadows and salt marshes. We were taking field recordings throughout the whole farm, and then I took all those field recordings and made a song out of it, essentially, and you get to hear that song at the end of the film.

I want to make a new anthem for nature by recording the sounds of coastal habitats that we don't value enough.

WEIR: You play these in festivals?

GUY: Yes.

WEIR: How do you connect your music audience with what you care about as a biologist, as an ecologist?

GUY: Incorporating those sounds automatically gives me something to talk about because people really care and they're interested.

WEIR: There's your Jayda G., the DJ persona. But then there's Jayda the biologist, and that's a paradox at times, given --

GUY: Yes --

WEIR: The footprint, the energy-use at festivals and all of that.

GUY: It definitely is a paradox. Like I'm a touring DJ, I have to fly to my gigs, and so, I have a big carbon footprint, and then there's this other part of me, that's the environmentalist and has study nature for so many years. How to reconcile that is by using my platform to talk about climate change and the environment.

And also, I want to lead as an example that we all have that paradox within ourselves. We all live on this planet. We all have things that we do, whether we're conscious of it or not, that hurt the environment just by existing in the society.

And we're always kind of at odds, and that's OK, we can still be at paradox and still want to help and save the environment.