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CNN This Morning

Gene Hackman And Wife Died Of Natural Causes; Canada Police Hunt For Three Suspects After 12 Injured In Shooting Outside Toronto Pub; Russian Forces Kill At Least 23 People In Attacks On Ukraine; Trump Targets Canadian Lumber, Dairy For New Tariffs. Texts By Surviving Roommates Shed Light on Timeline of Bryan Kohberger's Killings; Two New York Prosecutors Who Worked on Mayor Eric Adams' Case Put on Leave; Pope Francis Resting After Peaceful Night in Hospital. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 08, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:31]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday, March 8, 2025. I'm Omar Jimenez in Atlanta. Victor Blackwell has the day off. We got a lot to get to.

We're going to start with investigators in New Mexico now say a rare disease claimed the life of Gene Hackman's wife in their New Mexico home days before the Hollywood legend died himself. We're going to have the very latest.

And new Russian attacks on Ukraine as airstrikes kill nearly two dozen people and injure 50 more. Plus, new information on the health of the 88-year-old pope who's been in a Roman hospital for three weeks.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And new storms have fired up overnight. We'll detail where a lot of this severe weather is forecast to go as we head through the rest of the day.

JIMENEZ: But we're going to start this morning with new details in the investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Now investigators say the two died of natural causes, ruling out any foul play.

But officials say Hackman likely died of complications from heart disease. They say his pacemaker last recorded his heartbeat on February 18th. As for his wife, Betsy Arakawa, investigators believe she likely died a few days before Hackman from hantavirus, a rare infectious disease. CNN's Josh Campbell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. HEATHER JARELL, CHIEF MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR, NEW MEXICO: The manner of death is natural. JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mystery

solved, revealing tragic circumstances as a New Mexico chief medical examiner released autopsy conclusions in the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa-Hackman.

JARELL: Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed, with February 11th being the last time that she was known to be alive. Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18th.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Gene Hackman's death at age 95 came about one week after his wife passed away, also at their home, according to investigators. Their bodies were found on February 26, both showing signs of what authorities referred to in a search warrant affidavit as mummification.

JARELL: I think he died as a result of his heart disease, with Alzheimer's being that contributing factor. He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease. And I think ultimately that is what resulted in his death.

CAMPBELL (voice-over) 65-year-old Betsy Hackman likely died from Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare infectious disease transmitted from rodents to humans. Infection can come up to two months after exposure to mice droppings in urine and cause flu like symptoms, according to the medical examiner.

JARELL: I don't know when she began to feel ill and those are just things that I don't know that I'm ever going to have the answers to.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Even more questions still remain.

JARELL: There is no reliable scientific method to accurately determine the exact time or date of death. He was in an advanced state of Alzheimer's and it's quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased. What about starvation? There was no food in his stomach, which means he had not eaten recently, but he had also no evidence of dehydration.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Officials had previously narrowed down the timing of Gene Hackman's death using data from his pacemaker.

SHERIFF ADAN MENDOZA, SNATA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO: His last event was recorded on February 17, 2025.

CAMBELL (voice-over): The sheriff also revealed new details about the Hackman's final days after tracking the couple's cell phones and Mrs. Hackman's communication and activities that suddenly stopped on February 11th.

MENDOZA: She was walking around, she was shopping, she was visiting stores. But my detectives didn't indicate that there was any problem with her or struggle of her getting around.

CAMPBELL: Now, the case isn't closed yet. Authorities are still working to determine what happened to that poor family dog. Of course, being in a crate without food or water for a prolonged period of time would be the likely reason for his death, but authorities are working to conduct a necropsy just to confirm.

Authorities say they're also still working to pull certain information off the cell phones of Gene and Betsy Hackman. All that said, Sheriff Adan Mendoza in Santa Fe said that he believes authorities are close to finalizing a timeline regarding what they believe happened here. Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, Josh, thank you. Joining me now to talk about all of this is Dr. Aileen Marty, infectious disease professor at Florida International University's Department of medicine. Good morning, doctor.

06:05:07]

I just want to start with a little bit of where we just left off there that officials say Arakawa died about a week before Hackman. How would they be able to determine that?

DR. AILEEN MARTY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROFESSOR, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE: Well, the level of composition, the presence of insects, that and how, you know, at the stage at which the insects might be in the body are all used to estimate.

JIMENEZ: And doctor, if you can hear me, I mean, officials, they're trying to pin down the time of death based on when his pacemaker last recorded his heartbeat. I mean, is that an accurate way of determining time of death? I mean, how effective do you see that?

MARTY: Well, yes, that's going to be part of the way in which you can determine the time that Jean died. It's a pleasure to be here with you. By the way, this morning I thought were going to focus on the sin number virus that killed his wife, which is really probably since she died first, she wasn't able to help him.

JIMENEZ: Yes, Doctor, I was just going to say that. Let's pick up there. How rare is it for someone to contract the disease? And secondly, I mean, for folks that don't know, how rare is it that someone dies from it?

MARTY: Well, once you have it, you have about a 30 percent chance of death. So it is a significantly morbid disease. We first recognize Sin Nombre virus, which is the particular type of hantavirus that killed her in 1993 when there was a significant outbreak in the Four Corners area. And the investigation led my colleague Sharif Zaki and others to identify this virus, which is called the Sin Nombre virus, because nobody wanted to give it any other name. Nobody wanted to claim a name for that virus.

This is a very serious virus that has very peculiar aspects to it. And your report is correct. It is mainly related to rodent urine and other rodent products. And so that has an impact on the risk to humans.

And when there are certain climactic conditions, when there are more rodents or more rodents in close contact with humans, that's when we have a higher chance of getting infected.

JIMENEZ: And I guess on that front, too, I mean, you know, someone hears of hantavirus, I don't think that many people are very experienced with it as say, you know, the common cold or something like that. So what would those symptoms look like? I mean, is it possible that Arakawa thought she had a common cold and didn't seek treatment for those reasons? I mean, are the symptoms that similar.

MARTY: Well, first of all, as you noted, it does have a long incubation period. So it's uncertain for how long she was infected before she started manifesting symptoms. But because this is a virus that affects the endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels, especially those in the lungs, it's going to have very significant respiratory symptoms fairly quickly.

And of course, it varies per patient exactly which symptoms manifest first. But in her case, I suspect that the symptoms actually came on rather quickly and she probably didn't have time to notify others of what was going on.

JIMENEZ: Dr. Eileen Marty, thank you for explaining that. I think a lot of people, you know, will have questions about or have had questions about some of the details that have come out of this so far. Really appreciate you being here.

MARTY: Pleasure to be with you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Now breaking overnight, at least 12 people are injured after a shooting outside a pub in Toronto. Police in Canada are now searching for three male suspects. Officials say six people sustained gunshot wounds. Four others have non-life threatening injuries and the victims range in age from 20s to mid-50s.

Now Toronto Mayor Olivia Chao said all necessary resources are being deployed following the shooting. She wrote on social media, quote, I am deeply troubled to hear reports of a shooting at a pub in Scarborough. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We're going to bring you more details as they become available.

Also new overnight, at least 23 people killed in another wave of attacks by Russia across Ukraine.

Now, these strikes follow yesterday's deadly assault that prompted a conflicting response from President Donald Trump, who threatened sanctions against Russia while at the same time praising Vladimir Putin.

[06:10:06]

Now, Trump said, quote, Putin holds all the cards and suggested the Russian leader genuinely wants to end the conflict with Ukraine, even though he started the war. The president also spoke about his relationship with Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: How to end the war despite the Russia, Russia hoax. I've always had a good relationship with Putin. And, you know, he wants to end the war. He wants to end it. And I think he's going to be more generous than he has to be. And that's pretty good. That means a lot of good things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: For more on this, let's turn to CNN's Nada Bashir. Nada, look, Trump has gone from threatening sanctions on Russia to praising Putin. I mean, what is the context here?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, we know that the U.S. officials, including U.S. President Donald Trump, have been involved intensive talks both with Russian officials but also with Ukrainian officials, of course. And of course, what President Zelenskyy has continued to push for despite that unprecedented, somewhat hostile meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office just about a week ago.

Those talks have continued and Zelenskyy is continuing to push for those security guarantees, not only from his European partners, but crucially, of course, from the United States. But what we've seen in the last few days is that continued shift from the Trump administration. We've seen that pause in military aid for Ukraine aid. We've seen the suspension of access for Ukraine to vital satellite imagery to assist them in assessing Russian troop movements.

And now, of course, a scaling back of the shared intelligence between the U.S. and Ukraine when it comes to intelligence that might assist Ukraine in targeting Russia. So clearly a shift there. But again, those talks continue.

And what we're expecting to see early next week is a meeting between a Ukrainian delegation and a U.S. Delegation, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Saudi Arabia, where they will continue to focus on possible negotiations around a cease fire.

Now, we had previously heard from Zelenskyy following meetings with E.U. officials this week that he was somewhat optimistic around the potential for a cessation of hostilities in the air and at sea. So, bringing an end to those deadly drone attacks and missile attacks that we've been seeing over recent days. And of course, also bringing an end to military activities in the Black Sea as well.

But, of course, it remains to be seen how far President Zelenskyy can push. He continues to push for those security guarantees. President Trump has somewhat downplayed the importance of those security guarantees for Ukraine. He has also indicated that Ukraine might not be in a position may not have a choice or the leverage to really push any further when it comes to what sort of deal we're seeing on the table.

So there is certainly concern around what this will mean for what the future of Ukraine's security guarantees looks like. But again, those talks continue and just yesterday, of course, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking with Ukraine's foreign minister, the State Department later in a statement reiterating Trump's wish to see the war come to an end immediately, but also calling on both sides, both Ukraine and Russia, to take steps to bring this war to an end and to lead to a sustainable cease fire between the two.

JIMENEZ: Nada Bashir, thank you so much for the reporting. As always.

Right now nearly 20 million people are under threat as severe storms sweep along the Gulf Coast. And in Texas, the wildfire threat remains critical with more strong dry winds on the forecast. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar with me right now. So Allison, I mean, what are the conditions looking like?

CHINCHAR: Right. So in Texas specifically, you've actually got both things.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

CHINCHAR: You've got both the fire threat, but you also have the severe storms. Just depends on what side of the state you're on. So let's take a look at what we've got because you can kind of see the overall encompassing map and a lot of it has to do with this low pressure system right here on the eastern side in the northern flank. That's where we've got the bulk of the severe thunderstorms.

But on the backside, this is where you have the very dry conditions, but you still have the gusty winds to go along with it. And it's those gusty winds over incredibly dry conditions that are what's going to fuel that fire threat for the day today.

Those humidity levels down around 10 to 20 percent in some spots and again, very dry conditions in those winds gusting 30, 40, even possibly as high as 60 plus miles per hour. That's going to be a concern. Because look at this map, again, all of these areas are incredibly dry. You're talking level two, three or even level four of the drought.

We have rain, it's so close, just not necessarily in the areas we need to see it. You can see up around Dallas. This is where we even have a couple of severe thunderstorm warnings off and on this morning. You also have some more showers and thunderstorms right there along the Gulf Coast. This is where most of it is going to continue to develop throughout the day.

So essentially from Dallas all the way over to Tallahassee, this is where the main threat is going to be for severe thunderstorms. The main threat is actually going to be large hail. You're talking golf ball size, maybe even larger. But damaging winds, tornadoes, we can't really rule those threats out either.

[06:15:00]

Here's a look at the forecast radar again. You can see it really ramps up as we go into the afternoon hours. You get the help from that heating of the day starting to really form a lot of those showers and thunderstorms across portions of Texas, but also along the Gulf Coast. And then, Omar, for the rest of the day today and into tomorrow, you're just going to see that slide eastward across many of the Gulf coast states.

JIMENEZ: Well, and you highlighted the fact that Texas is a big state. You got completely opposite things going on depending on where you are.

CHINCHAR: Yes.

JIMENEZ: Allison Chinchar, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Still to come, President Trump again threatening Canada with tariffs, this time over dairy and lumber. Plus, a lawyer appointed to review the Eric Adams prosecution says the case against the New York mayor should be dismissed for good. We're going to have the latest on the legal controversy.

Plus, text messages are giving us insight into The Frantic Night 4 Idaho College students were murdered. We're going to have the latest on that investigation. Stay with us.

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[06:20:35]

JIMENEZ: All right, welcome back everyone. Tariff whiplash continues. President Donald Trump could slap new tariffs on Canada as soon as Monday and that includes matching Canada's massive tariffs on American dairy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products. 250 percent, nobody ever talks about that. 250 percent tariff which is taking advantage of our farmers. So that's not going to happen anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now this promise came barely 24 hours after President Trump offered Canada and Mexico a one month reprieve on sweeping 25 percent tariffs. Mexico already taken advantage of that delay to negotiate. The country's economy minister will meet with American trade officials next week to discuss.

I want to bring in Bloomberg News White House correspondent Stephanie Lai who joins me now. Stephanie, thanks for waking up this morning. Look, let's dive into this tariff back and forth because it feels like the policy is changing daily at this point. I mean, the president even said more, quote, changes and adjustments should be expected in the future.

I mean, what is the long game here? Is he hoping just the threat of tariffs or even if they're short lived, will scare Mexico and Canada into compliance? STEPHANIE LAI, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Certainly.

Well, as we've seen, you know, he's used tariffs as a form of negotiation and oftentimes this is sort of the punishment that would be placed on country that decides not to comply with the US's vision foreign diplomacy.

And so what we've seen in the last couple of weeks is Donald Trump threatening to put on tariffs on large sector that could cause major economic headwinds and impacts and then to scale them back slightly. And what we've heard, as far as we know, it seems like this will be the regime until we hit April 2, which is when the reciprocal tariffs will take place.

But as you've noted, you know, the threat of tariffs between now and then still plays a major role in how these negotiations move forward and will definitely shape how the Canadians and Mexicans proceed when it comes with negotiating with the US.

JIMENEZ: And I want to pick up on something that the President said in the sound bite before went to you, is that he talked about a 250 percent tariff on dairy, which sounds insanely high, but it's a sliding scale tariff that kicks in after our dairy exports hit a certain level, which hasn't happened because of the measures Canada put in place to protect its own dairy industry.

But it has been at the center of an ongoing battle between the two countries for a while. See, dairy tariff could reach 241 percent. Can you just give us some context on the dairy aspect of this? And why is it such a significant part of America's relationship with Canada?

LAI: Certainly, and you've correctly noted that this is a sliding scale. And when it comes to these discussions, the Canadians will always push back, that this is not necessarily a correct assessment of what the tariff is and the regime that they currently have.

Now, the U.S. also has tariffs currently in place on dairy, and I believe that's roughly between 11 and 17 percent, if I'm correct. And essentially, you know, what makes this so important for the U.S. economy is that Canada is the second largest market for American producers to export their goods. And this is often something that is important because there is an oversupply issue in the country.

And so to place these tariffs to sort of cut off that market and to make it much more difficult to trade could become a very big issue for American producers.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, with all this back and forth, I think, you know, the economy, I think it's fair to say, has faced some uncertainty. Definitely in the stock market, you've seen numbers fall, you've seen them rise, you've seen them recover. Friday's jobs report wasn't terrible and Fed Reserve Chair Powell offered a pretty positive outlook. But again, Overall S and P 500 down about 3 percent since Inauguration Day.

If that keeps happening, I mean, could that change the President's mind on tariffs? I mean, how sustainable? I guess the question is this period of economic up and down that we've seen over the past month and a half?

LAI: Yes, I mean, that's the question we've all been asking. And in fact, when Trump was asked about this earlier this week, he said, I'm not looking at the stock market right now.

[06:25:02]

He's essentially telling Americans that this is the short term pain that was anticipated when it came to putting on these tariffs and changing the economic system to match his agenda. But it seems like, you know, there is some recognition that there is a limit to what the administration is willing to do. And it does appear that among some of the top officials, they are closely watching this.

And so it really is time will tell as to how far they'll go on this. But as we mentioned earlier, you know, this regime will change on April 2nd.

JIMENEZ: And you know, one of the tensions we've seen, I guess now reported out in Trump's circle, for example, the New York Times not long after the president told his Cabinet, you're in charge, not Elon Musk. The president is now denying reports of a clash between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

But bottom line, how do you see the relationship on the economy, for example, between folks like Elon Musk who are cutting with, I think it's fair to say, a chainsaw versus economic policy that perhaps Howard Lutnick, Scott Bessent and others are trying to actually implement on behalf of the President.

LAI: I mean, publicly it does seem like the administration sees this as a two pronged approach. Right. We have Elon Musk in his DOGE efforts as what his cabinet secretaries are doing when it comes to tariffs and some of the budget related measures.

What they will usually point to is the fact that if we get our budget under control and we implement tariffs, then we can essentially expand the U.S. market and promote innovation from businesses and from the private sector.

It seems like that does really go hand in hand as Elon Musk is trying to sort of move some of the power outside of the federal government and put it towards more private sector businesses and interests. That's the same thing that we hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

So in a way, it really does seem like this is a united front, even if it is two very different methods of attaining that.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Stephanie Lai, really appreciate you being here.

All right. Prosecutors have released text messages from the roommates who survived the Idaho college murders. Coming up, we're going to tell you what those messages reveal about the night four students were killed. Plus, well-wishers are continuing to pray for the Pope as he battles

double pneumonia. We're going to have an update on his condition coming up as well.

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[06:30:00]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. Chilling new messages have been unsealed by an Idaho court. They contain texts between the only two surviving college roommates in the off campus house, where four college students were murdered in 2022. CNN's Jean Casarez has the details on what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "I'm freaking out right now". Frantic newly-released text messages between the surviving roommates of the University of Idaho murders when they tried to contact the victims. "No one is answering, I'm really confused right now." "Yes, dude, WTF?" The messages shed light on what happened in the early morning hours of November 13th, 2022, when Bryan Kohberger is accused of entering an off-campus home and killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin.

Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle shared the house with two other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were both home that night, but were unharmed in the brutal attacks. Phone records show Dylan Mortensen tried calling the four victims again, but got no response. Then she texted Goncalves, "Kaylee, what's going on?" Goncalves never responded.

Mortenson then texted Funke about seeing a man wearing what looked like a ski mask in their house. She told investigators she opened her bedroom door three times because she heard noises. On the third time, she saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose walking toward her.

"No, it's like ski mask almost." "STFU actually". "Like he had something over his forehead and mouth. I'm not kidding. I am so freaked out." "So, am I." Mortenson told investigators she watched the man walk toward a sliding glass door and then locked herself in her room, Funke continued texting her, "come to my room. Run, down here."

The two surviving roommates continued to call the victims for the next few minutes. Then a new string of text messages six hours later, "please answer. Are you up? Are you up?" Those messages would remain unanswered.

(on camera): We don't really know what happened in that house between 4:30 a.m. and about noon when the 911 call was made. The filing describes heavy-breathing and a lot of crying. The caller told dispatch, something happened in our house. We don't know what? Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [06:35:00]

JIMENEZ: Jean Casarez, thank you. Here with me now to discuss this week's latest legal threads is Judge Ashley Wilcott. Thank you for being here.

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: So, I just want to pick up where we left off there. Bryan Kohberger's trial set to begin in August. Prosecutors have indicated that the two surviving roommates will testify. We just heard some of the text messages there. I mean, what role do you expect those texts to play in a prosecutor's case?

WILLCOTT: Great question. So, very clearly, the goal is that, that sets out the timeline. Those are at 4:00 a.m. in the morning. So, it narrows down exactly what happened that evening and the allegations against Bryan Kohberger. The second thing it does is, you know, it's not offered for the truth of the matter, but rather present sense(ph) impressions, either get excited utterances and what was happening right then at the time, 4:00 a.m.

JIMENEZ: And based on the nature of this case, Kohberger's defense has asked to remove the death penalty. Do you see that happening based on what we know so far?

WILLCOTT: No, not at this --

JIMENEZ: Yes --

WILLCOTT: Moment, I really don't, because the state is putting forth a case and the allegations that Kohberger alone did this and killed these four individuals, and at this point in time, I don't see the death penalty being taken away.

JIMENEZ: I want to shift gears a little bit, because I also want to ask you about the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, because a court appointed conservative lawyer tasked with arguing against the DOJ's motion to dismiss the case, has now recommended the judge drop the prosecution altogether.

I mean, what do you make of this legal saga that we have seen out of the Southern District of New York? And do you agree with the recommendation to drop this case?

WILLCOTT: First of all, what a great description of saga. Second of all, it's very typical that you ask that charges be dismissed with prejudice. That means they can't be brought back up against you. And that's what would be expected to be requested in this particular case. The rub is, this is a political issue, and there's a very good argument, not saying it's going to prevail or not, that if they don't dismiss it with prejudice, if those charges can be brought against him again, it's being held over a mayor for political reasons. So, it's a little bit different than your average case.

JIMENEZ: And on politics, when there is -- there appears to be or a defense of politics or a reasoning I should say is brought into the mix, I mean, how does a judge typically respond to accusations of, oh, this is -- this is just a political set of complaints?

WILLCOTT: It doesn't matter, right? Ideally --

JIMENEZ: Yes --

WILLCOTT: As a judge, it doesn't matter because you're there to apply the law to the facts.

JIMENEZ: Yes --

WILLCOTT: And what politics are involved, don't make a difference. And most judges are able to put that aside and rule strictly on the law.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the interesting things of the saga is, you know, a source has told CNN, the Justice Department has placed two New York-based federal prosecutors who worked on the Adams case on leave. We, of course, saw the acting head of that office step down as well. I mean, what does that signal to you as you're watching people refuse to prosecute this, to step down, refuse to dismiss the case. What does that say to you?

WILLCOTT: I think that, unfortunately, means politics have gotten involved. But the right thing has happened because if there's an appearance of impropriety, if there's any appearance at all, that they can't handle it appropriately, the right thing to do is step aside, let somebody come in, because it may not mean that they're making a political statement, but rather, they're doing the right thing for justice to prevail because they'll have some objective, unrelated party that any accusations can be made against come in and handle the matter.

JIMENEZ: Judge Ashley Willcott, really appreciate you being here, thanks for --

WILLCOTT: Thank you, Omar --

JIMENEZ: Your time and perspective.

WILLCOTT: Absolutely, thank you --

JIMENEZ: Of course, of course. Meanwhile, Pope Francis has now been in the hospital for more than three weeks. We're going to have an update on the pontiff's condition after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

JIMENEZ: This morning, the Vatican says Pope Francis is resting after having a peaceful night in the hospital. But a Vatican source tells CNN, the pope's treatment switched from a non-invasive respiratory mask at night to oxygen therapy during the day. CNN reporter Barbie Latza Nadeau has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Pope Francis had a restful night Friday after spending the day alternating between rest, respiratory physiotherapy and a little work on Friday, Vatican sources said. He also spent 20 minutes in the private chapel of the papal suite at the Gemelli Hospital behind me here in Rome, where he's been since February 14th, fighting bilateral pneumonia.

While his condition remains stable, doctors say that his clinical picture is complex, and that they're not making any assumptions when it comes to his prognosis, which remains guarded. The 88-year-old pontiff, who had part of a lung removed when he was a young man, continues to receive high flow oxygen through nose tubes during the day and through a non-invasive mask overnight.

His doctors say they will have a clear picture in the next few days on how his situation is evolving. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, let's talk about this now with Katie Prejean McGrady; she's a CNN Vatican contributor and a "Sirius XM" Catholic channel host. Katie, I mean, it seems encouraging that the pope was able to do at least a little work and visit the papal chapel at the hospital. I mean, what does this news say to you?

[06:45:00]

KATIE PREJEAN MCGRADY, CNN VATICAN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it shows us that the holy father is improving, even if it is slight and gradual. It should be noted just this morning over in Rome, Cardinal Parolin; the Secretary of State, so, we don't have a vice pope, but he's kind of the vice pope in terms of the forward-facing work of the Vatican.

He actually read a speech of Pope Francis to a gathering of the Vatican Commission for life, or the Italy Commission for Life, where literally, Pope Francis said, a just society doesn't discard the unborn or the terminally ill or the elderly. So, I think Pope Francis is sending some pretty clear signals from the hospital.

I'm still here, I'm still around, I'm still working. And I think that should be an encouragement for Catholics, especially, who are a bit worried in this moment.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, on that note, the Vatican is being very careful about commenting on his prognosis. I mean, it does still seem a little touch-and-go, even if there are encouraging signs. What are you hearing is going on behind the scenes? How are they approaching that dynamic?

MCGRADY: Pope Francis notoriously is a bit of a workaholic. He's known as a man who will fill his schedule -- of course, the day he went into the hospital, he took meetings that morning. So, I think he would want -- and it seems to be the Vatican is continuing to turn along all of these various dicasteries, the offices that are headed up by different cardinals will keep operating and keep working.

The pope isn't micro-managing their day-to-day, even when -- in his house, even when he's at full capacity. So, I think it's important to note the Vatican is continuing to work, behind the scenes, things are normal, as normal as they can be when the holy father is in the hospital, and as normal as they'll continue to be until they're not.

Which I know is kind of a loosey-goosey way of saying the pope is ill, but the Vatican keeps working even if the pope is in the hospital. I think it's also worth noting, and this is just kind of an inside baseball comment, Pope Francis has from the second he went into the hospital, asked for these updates to be given to the public.

When we heard his voice for the first time on Thursday night, that was at his insistence, he wanted to record that message. It was under 30 seconds, he sounded labored. It clearly took a lot of effort, but he wanted the people to hear him. And I think that's important for the world to note, Pope Francis is not out yet. He is still pop-ing, so- to-speak.

And so, the Vatican continues to operate, the pope continues to be the pope, and we just watch and wait and hope to continue to see improvement in these medical bulletins.

JIMENEZ: And on that audio message recorded on Thursday, you know, he expressed his gratitude for all the prayers. Just -- can you tell us about the resilience? I mean, he is clearly showing -- and you touched on this a little bit. But clearly, the willingness and intention of wanting to still be seen, of wanting to still be visible, either through communication, audio, even if it is labored clearly not to the pace, it would be also if he was fully healthy.

But just bring us into that dynamic of wanting to have that message out there and why you think it's so important.

MCGRADY: Part of the Petrine ministry, part of the office of the pope, is to be close to the people. And for the past nearly dozen years, Pope Francis has done that. He has, without a shadow of a doubt, been close. Whether it's through the drive-through, Saint Peter's Square in the popemobile or spending time, you know, the photos that were shown at the beginning of this, where he embraces people, he comes close to people.

And so, we have not seen him for three weeks. And that's hard for Catholics to not see their pope in the modern era. You see the pope almost every day. The bulletin goes out every morning to the press corps and tells us this is what the pope did, and here's a photo. And so, for him to not be seen for three weeks, and then to get to hear his voice is clearly Pope Francis signaling, I'm still close to you, I feel carried by your prayers.

He literally says, gracias, at the end of that message. He speaks in his native Spanish. He wants to signal to the people, I know that you're praying for me, and I'm still close to you. And that is a huge part of the Petrine ministry. And as long as he's able to do that, he certainly will. Behind the scenes -- JIMENEZ: Yes --

MCGRADY: There's certainly going to be people who are, OK, Pope Francis, take a break, take a rest, you need to recover. But he's -- the workaholic that he is, we're going to continue to hear from him in this way, I think.

JIMENEZ: And obviously, a health situation we're monitoring very closely. Even if there are some signs of improvement, long way to go. Katie Prejean McGrady, really appreciate you being here, thanks for the time and perspective.

MCGRADY: Thanks so much.

JIMENEZ: All right, a Missouri bill may reward the public for reporting undocumented immigrants. Coming up, I'm going to speak with a woman who is concerned for her parents and the community she works with every day. Plus, new details in the tragic deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. What we're learning about the rare disease that killed her.

[06:50:00]

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JIMENEZ: CNN's Jake Tapper revisits some of the most unbelievable and devastating controversies of the modern era. In the second season of the CNN original series, "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL", now, the season's premiere episode focuses on the Abscam scandal, the FBI's complex and undercover scheme to offer politicians cash, bribes through hidden camera meetings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't investigate and convict criminals with angels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, the FBI takes a gamble, they'll let this con- man try to earn his freedom by conducting stings on white-collar criminals. But they had no idea how far that would go.

[06:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It started in a very humble way. The object was only to recover stolen art and securities, and to everyone's amazement, who was involved in the investigation. Three years later, it resulted in the conviction of six United States congressmen and a United States senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Should be good. Tune in, a new season of United States of scandal with Jake Tapper airs tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific on CNN. Now, in today's "START SMALL, THINK BIG", we meet a former fashion blogger and plus-size model who has opened her dream vintage store. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTINA URIEGAS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: My name is Kristina Uriegas- Reyes, and I own Hello Tallulah; a beautiful vintage boutique in San Antonio, Texas. I always wanted to open a vintage store, but I never knew it was possible because I didn't know anybody that did it. I just started collecting for no reason. I turned my hoarding into a job, and now I've opened this Hello Tallulah for over seven years.

It was really important to me for the store to be super inclusive of everyone, whether age, size, I wanted everyone to feel welcome. I wanted this place to be a magical, safe space where you could play dress up. I have created that, and I'm really proud of that like whether it's a trans-teen who's able to try on things for the first time or a drag queen, or just a plus-size girl who once told me this is the first vintage store that doesn't hurt my feelings.

Vintage is a win-win for so many reasons. First of all, nobody is going to have what you're wearing. Secondly, the quality is definitely going to be much better. Last of all, it is very sustainable. I hope to keep growing Hello Tallulah as the years go by.

AUDIENCE: Cheers!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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