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CNN This Morning
At Least 16 Killed As Severe Storms Sweep Parts Of U.S.; Millions Worldwide Take Part In "Hands Off!" Protests Against President Trump, Elon Musk; Wall Street Bracing For Opening Bell Ahead Of New Tariffs; Ted Cruz Speaks Candidly On Tariff Battle; Musk Slams Peter Navarro: "He Ain't Built Shit"; Sources: Trump, Netanyahu Working On Bespoke Trade Deal; Pope Francis Makes 1st Public Appearance Since Leaving Hospital; Homeland Security Department Bracing For Staffing Cuts. Auto Executive: Buyers Likely To Pay "Fair Chunk" Of Extra Costs; U.S. Car Dealers brace For Economic Impact Of Tariffs To Bottom Line; Pope Francis Makes Surprise Public Appearance After Leaving Hospital; NCAA March Madness Finals Stage Set. Aired 6- 7a ET
Aired April 06, 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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[06:00:36]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good morning, welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, April 6th, 2025. I'm Victor Blackwell.
Storms parked over parts of the south are triggering generational flooding and the death toll from those storms rising this morning. Now millions are at risk as the threat for flooding and tornadoes heads east. We have a report from one of the hardest hit areas. That's coming up for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CROWD: Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BLACKWELL: Millions of people in all 50 states and around the world poured into the streets to protest President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's slow dismantling of critical and important government agencies. Team coverage from across the country, that's ahead.
Also, it's not even the President's is safe from Musk's DOGE cuts. What four sources are telling CNN about potential Secret Service layoffs, that's coming up.
And you can call this a comeback. The big final four upset everybody's talking about this morning. A little later for you.
This morning, those severe storms, that's where we're starting. They're threatening tens of millions of people across the central U.S. and several areas have flood and tornado watches in effect right now. These are abandoned cars left sitting in floodwaters overnight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Heavy rains also brought catastrophic flooding to parts of Kentucky. Death toll from this week's severe storm now has risen to at least 16 across five states.
CNN's Michael Yoshida is with me now from Black Rock, Arkansas. Michael, Arkansas, hit really hard by these storms. What does it look like where you are?
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Victor. You mentioned we're here in Black Rock, Arkansas when you can see a flooded street, water well over the roadway here in Black Rock. This is site our team has been seeing throughout the night as we've been making our way around Arkansas. Highways, county roads, city streets just covered by all of this water.
Again, historic amount of water hitting this area in some parts. And this is important because it shut down major ways of transportation. Highway 63, even early this morning, closed to travelers. And that's blocking off access to Hardy, Arkansas, which is where we came live to you from yesterday morning. That's where they saw historic amount of water.
The river there, the Spring River, rising to levels around some 23 feet, flooding out major sections of that city. And speaking with the mayor yesterday, we know at least 50 percent of his residents impacted by that water. Again, 23 feet. To put that in perspective, flood level for them is around 10 feet. So far surpassing that.
And when we looked across Arkansas to see the strength and the power of all that water, just a short distance away in Mammoth Spring, we saw a bridge with some train cars on it actually washed away. The video there showing again the strength and the power of all of this water that fell over the last few days in this part of the country. Thankfully, no injuries reported there.
Crews were on the scene trying to assess, figure out how they can go about getting those train cars back on the tracks, getting some of them out of that river. Now, sadly, we did learn yesterday that there was the first death reported here in Arkansas. A five-year-old child in the Little Rock area dying during some of this severe weather.
That also brought the injury total up to around 12, at least 12 people here in this state injured as a result of all these storms. But again, when you look at everything around us this morning, this is the concern now. They've made it through the tornadoes, made it through the severe weather, but now they still have all of this water.
Officials warning people it's going to take time for it to recede, especially in these overnight hours. They don't want people out driving trying to make their way through this, really encouraging people to have patience, wait for officials to let them know when it's safe to get back out on all the roadways. And then they can really start that process of trying to clean up from all the severe weather that's hit Arkansas, but all the surrounding states as well. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Important guidance to follow because you never know what is below the surface of that water.
Michael Yoshida, for us there from Black Rock, Arkansas. We'll check back.
[06:05:00]
In every state and across countries around the world, millions of people gathered Saturday to protest President Donald Trump and the world's richest man, Elon Musk. The hands-off protesters demanded three things, an end to billionaire takeovers and corruption, end to slashing federal funds for programs like Medicaid and Social Security, and an end to attacks on immigrants and trans people and other communities.
CNN's Ivan Rodriguez kicks off our team coverage from Atlanta.
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're marching from Piedmont Park to the state capitol right now. Organizers had said about 5,000 people had signed up to be a part of this rally. And by the looks of it, from what we've been seeing for the last couple of hours, thousands really did show up to be a part of this hands-off rally, and it really is a rally that we're seeing across the country from several cities here in Georgia all the way to cities in Alaska.
People have mobilized, one of the largest mobilizations so far since Trump has entered now his second term. We'll flip around here to take a look more. Organizers who I've spoken with tell me that this really isn't just about one specific issue. A lot of people are coming together based on issues that are important to them, whether it be immigration, whether it's about DOGE related layoffs.
It could even be about abortion and health care, but really all of them coming together here for one purpose, to have their voices be heard. You'll hear here now from John Morris. He's an organizer with 5051, and hear why he believes so many people came out today to mobilize.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JOHN MORRIS, ORGANIZER, 5051: Many, many people agree that there's an opportunity to make the government more efficient, but there's a way to do that transparently and with oversight and with, you know, guardrails, right? And that's not what's happening. And what's happening is these institutions that have done so much for the American people are being dismantled in a way that will leave scars for our country for decades to come.
And so certainly a major call of this movement today is to say enough is enough. We need to protect our federal workers. We need to protect the institutions that those workers work for.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
RODRIGUEZ: And you can hear people chanting. They've been chanting now for hours, holding a different signs of what is important to them and a reason why they came out here for this rally. Ivan Rodriguez, CNN, Atlanta.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brian Todd in Washington, where we've seen one of the largest shows of force against what President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE team are doing in Washington. This is called the hands-off rally.
Take a look. Thousands and thousands of people here at the foot of the Washington Monument protesting DOGE going against the federal cuts, the layoffs, the cuts in the federal bureaucracy, the downsizing, all of that. This is a show of force against that people here coming from places like Seattle, New Jersey and Buffalo, New York. Those are just the people we spoke to. But of course, people coming from all over the place to attend this rally.
What they're doing is trying to get this kind of going around the world. We've been told by organizers that they want people to show up in 1,300 cities just inside the U.S. 1,300 cities and small towns just inside the U.S. But they're making it a global move -- a global movement as well, with rallies in London, Paris, Vancouver, Berlin and places like that.
Interestingly, this rally actually caused the White House to change its plans for an event on Saturday. The White House scheduled a garden tour, which they give every spring and fall of the Rose Garden and other gardens inside the White House. But out of an abundance of caution, the First Lady, Melania Trump's office announced that they were going to postpone that because of this rally and its proximity to the White House.
Again, they just want to be cautious because it's so close to the White House. They're saying just for everyone's safety, they're going to postpone that until Sunday. So even the White House changing its plans because of events like this.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of people took to the streets in Los Angeles to make one message quite clear. They're discontent with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Signs like these. We've been seeing a lot of Elon Musk. This one image of him making what looks like a Nazi salute that happened earlier this year.
The only minority destroying this country are the billionaires, this one. A lot of messages about the people, we the people, mentioning the Constitution. The whole protest is based on hands-off our Constitution, hands-off the federal government. Not just Elon Musk, but also protesting the Department of Government Efficiency as a whole, the dismantling of the Department of Education.
Many signs out here saying protect our national parks, talking about the stock market. All of this, of course, not only in Los Angeles, there were protests across the United States, in all 50 states, 1,400 protests as well as some abroad as well. Here in L.A., though, protesters kept this atmosphere quite light, very peaceful.
[06:10:01] It's basically a party that's been going on all day here. They marched throughout downtown Los Angeles, ending here at City Hall, where organizers are making their demands.
This is Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.
BLACKWELL: Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Todd, Julia Vargas Jones, thank you for those reports.
President Trump's trade war is heating up. Adviser Elon Musk said Saturday that he hopes for a zero tariff situation between the U.S. and Europe. Steeper tariffs are just days away from going into effect and markets are bracing for another rough day on Wall Street tomorrow.
Joining me now, Washington Correspondent with Spectrum News, New York, Kevin Frey. Kevin, good morning to you. The White House here for the past several days has been kind of talking out both sides of their mouth. This is an opportunity for negotiation, but it also is not a moment for negotiation.
I wonder if there's any indication of whether the White House is satisfied with their assessment of these potential company -- countries coming to them to negotiate. We saw what Cambodia is doing, Vietnam. What are you hearing?
KEVIN FREY, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, SPECTRUM NEWS NY1: Yes, I mean, look, at the end of the day, as you were just laying out, I mean, it's kind of this contradictory statement where you see White House aides in particular suggesting this is not a negotiation, this is an emergency that has to be addressed.
And at the same time, you see Trump posting on his social media accounts about having to be tough about how they are. He was touting at one point, as you mentioned, that Vietnam potential negotiation. And so it's unclear exactly what the end game is here.
One thing that I'm keeping an eye on is kind of public sentiment. Yes, in the short term, perhaps particularly his supporters are willing to engage with this. But if we continue to see the markets fall, if we eventually start to see some of those prices go up, will that be an opening?
You're already seeing within the Republican Party itself some schisms, albeit it is some of the usual suspects, the Murkowskis, the Collinses of the world that are coming out and kind of expressing some dismay and concern about where this is going, voting to try to push back, for example, on the tariffs, particularly on Canada. But whether that sentiment may grow, particularly as Congress returns this week, is one of the dynamics to keep an eye on.
Trump remains defiant. Yesterday, he was out on the golf course. He was posting, sending out a pool report, the White House did, about how he won a part of this golf tournament there, which Democrats have jumped on, latched on to, basically saying he's completely out of touch with what Americans are concerned about right now. BLACKWELL: You mentioned the usual suspects, Collins, Murkowski, Rand Paul as well, and some others vacant in the House. There is, let's say, an unusual suspect, if we're using that phrasing. Ted Cruz, on his podcast on Friday.
FREY: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Let's play some of what he said, some of his concerns about these tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I think a lot of people said, oh, he's going to threaten these tariffs, but he's going to lift them very quickly. If he does that, great. If he leaves them in place and we just have constant tariffs, that is a massive tax increase on the American people.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BLACKWELL: There's this concern about what's inside the White House, the advice he's getting as well. Listen to what he said after that.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CRUZ: I worry there are voices within the administration that want to see these tariffs continue forever and ever and ever. They don't want to lower them. They think they're great. And what is particularly, I think has startled some observers, it wasn't just directed at China, it wasn't just directed at bad actors. It was directed against everybody.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BLACKWELL: He's one of the few, a very short list of allies of the White House speaking publicly about this. Are the members of Congress speaking privately in this way, concerned about where this goes?
FREY: And that's the key word there is privately. We will see if there are any actual public votes when it comes to trying to push back on Trump. There was this initiative that has been launched, as you were kind of hinting at here in both the Senate and the House, to try to rein back some power within Congress, to have some say over tariff policy a little bit more fruitfully.
The chances of that getting through the House are pretty much slim to none. What you were just playing there, I think, though, speaks to this kind of larger debate that's going on within the Republican Party right now, which is kind of the populist protectionist wing that has emerged within the last decade or so with Trump coming on the scene, compared with the free market aspects that kind of was traditionally associated with the Republican value set.
And so those two items are in tension. And so when you see Republicans on Capitol Hill, like Senator Tom Tillis, for example, coming out and say, my farmers back home are suffering and they can't endure the waiting period, that speaks to some of that tension that's going on within the party.
[06:15:10]
BLACKWELL: I want to show a post on social media here. Someone posted part of Phil Mattingly's interview with Peter Navarro, the President's trade adviser, talking about his having a PhD in or degree in economics from Harvard. And Elon Musk then replied, "A PhD in econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing". And then said, "He ain't built s" about Peter Navarro.
You don't have to leave the White House for the infighting. What's going on here?
FREY: Well, I mean, let's start with the fact that Elon Musk has already not necessarily ingratiated himself to some of the other Cabinet members who have publicly voiced their concern with him, or at least I should say privately with the President in various Cabinet meetings that's been reported over the years.
And so this is not perhaps a new dynamic that is blossoming, that Elon Musk is in contention with some of the members of the Trump's inner circle, whether or not Trump's inner circle is willing to listen to any of that as they have concerns about how Elon Musk is handling DOGE is another matter altogether.
BLACKWELL: On another topic, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, is going to be at the White House tomorrow. The last time they were together at the White House, President Trump said that he would be interested in taking Gaza. The U.S. is going to take Gaza and make this Middle East Riviera.
Where are, if anywhere, the talks about getting a phase 2 in the ceasefire? I imagine tariffs will be on the table as part of the discussion. But what about --
FREY: Yes.
BLACKWELL: -- ending the war?
FREY: Yes, I mean, on the tariffs front, look, Israel is facing a 17 percent tariff increase. Netanyahu tried to rebut that pre-emptively by trying to lower tariffs on U.S. goods that got him nowhere. And so one can imagine that will be a prominent part of this conversation.
But look, Trump and Netanyahu have a very different dynamic than Biden and Netanyahu. Biden grew increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu's handling of the conflicts between Israel and Hamas. This second round or the return to the ceasefire seems to be on shaky ice, if at all.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
FREY: There are some indications that there's no expectation that it'll be coming in any short term anyway. And some of that is that there isn't necessarily the same amount of pressure, it seems, being exerted by the White House on Netanyahu in terms of at least backroom criticism of their handling of this conflict compared to the prior administration.
BLACKWELL: All right, we'll see.
Kevin Frey, good to have you this Sunday. Thank you.
The Department of Homeland Security is bracing for potential cuts. We'll have more on the other key agencies that Elon Musk's team is expected to take aim at in the next few weeks.
Also, we ask a car dealership owner how much more you may have to pay for a vehicle now that President Trump's auto tariffs are in effect.
And it may soon be legal for some 14-year-olds to work night shifts in Florida. The new rules the state's lawmakers are planning to put in place.
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[06:23:03]
BLACKWELL: Breaking news, just minutes ago, Pope Francis made his first public appearance since leaving the hospital two weeks ago after being treated for double pneumonia. Remember, he's 88 years old. Here he is greeting the crowd from a wheelchair. He's using a breathing aid, you can see. But he appears to be in pretty good spirits.
The Pope was in the hospital for five weeks. His medical team said that he came close to death during that hospital stay.
Significant layoffs are expected to hit critical agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. That includes possible cuts to the Secret Service. CNN's Betsy Klein explains why this comes as a particularly challenging time for the agency.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Good morning, Victor. Well, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that the Department of Homeland Security is in active discussions with DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the White House about potential cuts to the department in the coming days.
And strikingly, we are also learning that those staffing reductions could impact the U.S. Secret Service. Secret Service now bracing for what sources describe as what could amount to significant layoffs, though no final decisions have been made at this time, including the scope and scale of those potential cuts.
But this comes, Victor, at such a challenging time for the Secret Service, particularly in the wake of those two assassination attempts on President Trump over the summer and what officials have described as an unprecedented and hyperdynamic threat environment.
And from our reporting, talking to agents and former agents, there is low morale, burnout, staffing and retention issues plaguing the agency. Top officials have also testified on Capitol Hill that the agency is chronically underfunded and understaffed. And perhaps most startlingly of all, it's just weeks after the agency placed an unprecedented $2 million recruitment ad during the Super Bowl directed by Michael Bay.
[06:25:05]
Now, cuts to the agency we are learning could impact administrative and technical staff, as well as potentially new hires and any employees who are potentially on their probationary period within their first couple of years of service.
It is not expected, sources say, to impact the agency's core missions and readiness. But it could in time, particularly as those in law enforcement roles have to shift to support positions.
Now, a senior DHS official, when asked for comment, told CNN, quote, "We are determined to eliminate government waste that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer. Across DHS, we will be eliminating non-mission critical positions and bureaucratic hurdles that undermine our mission to secure the homeland. Secretary Noem, the official continued, is determined to return DHS to its core mission of keeping America safe".
But sources at the agency, Victor, are describing tremendous anxiety as they await the final decisions. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Betsy Klein reporting for us. Thank you, Betsy.
All right. Now, if you're planning to buy a car and you're wondering what it will cost now that there are these increased tariffs on imported cars, we have details from a dealer. Get some answers after the break.
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[06:30:48]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The Trump administration filed an emergency stay request to block a court's order to return a man that it admits was deported by mistake. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador last month.
On Friday, a Maryland judge ordered the father of three be brought back to the U.S. no later than Monday at 11.59 p.m. But according to the latest White House filing, the Trump administration says it cannot make that happen because they don't have any control over him currently to bring him back in that time.
Florida lawmakers are debating whether to allow children to solve a job shortage problem caused by a crackdown on undocumented migrant workers. The Republican-led state house is considering lifting some of the state's child labor restrictions.
If passed, it would expand when and how long some teens as young as 14 could work. Virtually all U.S. imports are now subject to a baseline tariff of at least 10 percent. But experts say it's the 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles that will hit Americans hardest.
It's still not clear what portion of the tariffs will be paid by automakers, dealers or the buyers. But an auto executive tells CNN the buyer is likely to get hit with a fair chunk of it. The tariff on auto parts will also increase the price of produce and repair to -- produce rather -- produce. To produce and repair cars. Sorry for that. And the likely jump in demand for used cars, since new cars prices will be higher, is going to push up the price of used cars.
As President Trump's tariffs roll out in various stages, some countries, Mexico included, they're already coming up with ways to strengthen their own domestic production.
CNN correspondent Gustavo Valdes takes us inside a Mexican factory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what it looks like inside a Mexican factory that's been making and sending car parts to the United States for more than 70 years. But that's changing.
At Megaflux in Mexico City, they produce water pumps, hydroelectric turbines, motors and generators
ROBERTO GOTTFRIED, CEO, MEGAFLUX (through translation): We make them upon request. We export more than half of our production to the United States and Canada.
VALDES (voice-over): Now, this assembly line is also manufacturing electric cars and buses, which will mostly be used in Mexico. Amid fears that U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs could trigger a global trade war.
FELIPE GALLEGO, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, MEGAFLUX (through translation): The best way to deal with tariffs is to buy locally. If you have an automotive industry and want to manufacture electric vehicles, sell them domestically or look at South America.
VALDES (voice-over): The company makes this bus called Taruk, which means roadrunner in the local Yaki language. It's the first electric bus manufactured in Mexico and is expected to run in Baja California.
It's part of Plant Mexico, a program launched by Mexican President Claudio Sheinbaum, giving companies incentives to invest in domestic production and generate jobs.
GOTTFRIED (through translation): I think we're experiencing a situation that could also become dramatic. But having our own technology allows you to better manage your next steps as a country.
VALDES (voice-over): Mexican companies now thinking of ways to expand domestically rather than across the border.
Gustavo Valdes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, Gustavo, thank you.
A lot of people who are looking to buy a car right now, they're speeding up their timeline to be able to avoid the tariffs.
Here's CNN correspondent Danny Freeman with what to expect to dealerships right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA SCOTT, PENNSYLVANIA CAR BUYER: I need to buy a vehicle before the prices start going up too high.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rosa Scott has been eyeing this new Jeep Wrangler for a while. But when she saw the dealership packed over the weekend, she knew she had to ask.
SCOTT: I really wanted to wait a couple of months, but it might be too much then.
FREEMAN: So, you -- you were hoping to wait a couple of months to buy this car, but you were worried about tariffs in particular?
SCOTT: Yes. I was worried about the prices going up.
[06:35:00]
FREEMAN (voice-over): David Kelleher is the owner of David Auto outside of Philadelphia, which sells mostly Stellantis vehicles like Dodge, Jeep and Ram. But he says new tariffs on imported vehicles will be felt across the industry.
DAVID KELLEHER, PRESIDENT, DAVID AUTO GROUP: When you're talking about GM, Stellantis, Ford, these gigantic companies, we're going to be impacted.
Make no mistake about it, even though we're American companies, we're going to be impacted.
FREEMAN (voice-over): For some, the feared impact means a race against the clock
KELLEHER: I have a customer that ordered an $86,000, 2,500 Ram. If that can get on a train today, it will be without tariff. If it gets on the train tomorrow, it's going to have a 25 percent tariff. That $86,000 car becomes a $103,000 car overnight, and that customer, he's going to turn to me. I'm most likely going to eat that. That's a $20,000 hit.
FREEMAN (voice-over): For others, smaller changes add up fast.
Take this new Jeep Compass, American car assembled in Mexico. It costs around $30,000 today, but with a 25 percent tariff, Dave explained, these cars could suddenly cost as much as $37,500.
KELLEHER: That kind of change in a price moves that payment $175 a month, and our customers, they're middle class people. They just can't afford that kind of bump.
FREEMAN: What would you advise someone who's looking to buy a car, should they go out and buy today?
AARON BRAGMAN, DETROIT BUREAU CHIEF, CARS. COM: That has been our advice, is to go out and get a vehicle, frankly, as soon as you possibly can.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Aaron Bragman with Cars.com says it's crucial to remember American-made cars will also be impacted, as most cars assembled stateside use parts from overseas, which are expected to be tariffed as well.
BRAGMAN: It's not going to just impact new car prices. This is going to impact repair costs as well. So, it's a knock-on effect these tariffs are going to have, not just in buying a new car, it's in maintenance, it's in ownership costs, it's a number of different areas that are going to, frankly, cost American consumers.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Across the country, customers said they were buying cars early due to the tariffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just knowing that tariffs went into effect, and it's real, now I know that it's something I don't have to think about anymore.
FREEMAN (voice-over): But Kelleher is now worried for American workers who rely on imported cars for jobs.
KELLEHER: I think what the President is trying to do is admirable. Bringing more jobs to the United States, you know, bolstering the industries in the United States. This is great, great, great stuff.
But I'm telling you right now, the impacts of these tariffs are going to make Americans lose jobs. There's no doubt about it.
FREEMAN: Now one important thing to note from experts and this dealer that I spoke with is the cars that are on this lot and lots all over the country right now, they're here right now. They got into the states prior to these tariffs going into place. So in theory, you should be able to get some cars that are on lots for pre-tariff prices.
So, if you're concerned at all of that, you might have missed the boat when it came to some of these price increases. Don't worry, there still may be a little bit of time to get a deal in.
Danny Freeman, CNN, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Important to remember, Danny Freeman, thank you. Still to come, Pope Francis made that surprise public appearance a few moments ago after leaving the hospital two weeks ago. We have a live report from Rome, next.
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[06:42:58]
BLACKWELL: Breaking news, Pope Francis makes his first public appearance since leaving the hospital two weeks ago.
CNN's Barbie Nadeau is up live for us from Rome now. Barbie, this was a surprise?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER (on-camera): Oh yes, this was very much a surprise. In fact, on Friday, we had sort of hints that there may be something in the works for today with the 88-year-old pontiff.
But then yesterday, on Saturday, they basically negated any chance that the Pope would be making any sort of appearance. And in fact, when they rolled him out into St. Peter's Square during a Lenten Mass that was being held there, the crowds just went wild. They were not expecting it I have to say, the journalists were not expecting it or anticipating it either.
But this is definitely very good news because even yesterday, that silence, a lot of people were speculating that he's not doing well. And in fact, he looked better than he looked on March 23rd when he got out of the hospital. He looked like he'd lost a little bit of weight. They put a microphone in front of him and he had what seemed to be oxygen tubes in his nose. We know he's been receiving oxygen.
And he sort of tapped the microphone and he said, Buona Domenica a tutti, which is, you know, have a great Sunday, everyone, which is something he says in his healthier times to those who gather in the St. Peter's Square at noon for his Sunday Angelus.
So, this is definitely very good news. We haven't seen him. We've been hoping for some sort of picture or sign of life and here we got it today. And those crowds out there who were there for the regular Lenten Sunday couldn't have been more thrilled, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Yes, those top doctors at Gemelli Hospital ordered him to have several months of rest and time away from crowds. He came out just to wave and I'm sure they were very, very appreciative.
Barbara Nadeau for us from Rome, thank you so much.
Still to come, the NCAA tournament comes to an end tomorrow night.
We'll discuss with sports expert, Christine Brennan, what to expect tonight and tomorrow night in the final games.
And be sure to tune in, "THE WAR ON GOVERNMENT, A FAREED ZAKARIA SPECIAL." That airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
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[06:49:29]
BLACKWELL: March Madness is coming to an end soon. The men's Florida Gators and Houston Cougars face off tomorrow.
And tonight, though actually this afternoon, everybody's going to be watching the women's final. You've got the reigning champs the South Carolina Gamecocks playing the UConn Huskies in the championship game.
CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan is with us. Christine, good to have you on a Sunday morning.
Let's start with the women because their game is coming up at this afternoon. When they played back in February, UConn beat South Carolina by almost 30 points. What are you expecting tonight? Are the Huskies beatable?
[06:50:12]
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST (on-camera): I think they are, Victor, yes. I mean, you know, at this time of year, March and early April, it is really, really tough to beat a Dawn Staley team.
Dawn Staley is one of the great coaches in the country, men or women's teams, obviously the head coach of South Carolina. They've won three national titles over the last decade. They're trying to get a fourth.
UConn, for all of their glory over the years, hasn't won one since 2016, while South Carolina has won those three. So, South Carolina really has been the team of the last decade, won it last year, of course, against Iowa and Caitlin Clark. And I was there in Tampa on Friday and watched both those games. They were both dominating games, not necessarily great games to watch because the two teams were so terrific.
So I do believe, Victor, we've got the two best teams, UConn and South Carolina. And while Geno and his group, including, of course, Paige Bueckers, would love to win this one, obviously, Paige Bueckers' last game as a collegian before she goes into the WNBA, I would never, ever, ever go against South Carolina and Dawn Staley.
She is just a brilliant tactician and she has great players who are, I think, generally sometimes overlooked because of the superstars like Caitlin Clark or like Paige Bueckers, something that Dawn Staley has talked about as well.
BLACKWELL: Actually, let's play that. We have that sound. She made a bit of news this week talking about sometimes her players being overshadowed by these marquee stars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWN STANLEY, HEAD COACH, SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS: Sometimes we create these narratives about great players. Caitlin was one of them. Paige is one of them right now. And we tend to forget the narrative about what our kids have been able to do and going for their third in four years.
So, there's a sentimental narrative about Paige, great freaking player. But when you put a narrative out there, everybody sees that and it puts us at a disadvantage, whether you want to believe so or not.
I want the sentiments to be about our players and what our players have been able to do equally because there's room to do both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Christine, what's your take on that and that she says it at this time?
BRENNAN (on-camera): Dawn Staley is a mastermind in all ways. She knows what she's doing. Obviously, that's one thing to do as a coach. You should do that. You should defend your players.
And you can also use that as a rallying cry, Victor, in the locker room. They disrespect us. Once again, we're being overlooked. But she's not wrong. You've had these two generational players, Caitlin Clark, maybe once in a lifetime, Paige Bueckers, who's been injured, but also terrific. And the media is focusing on that. And she is correct.
And so, you can have both things be correct, right? The media is spending time on superstars. That's what we do, whether it's Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, you name it. We focus on the superstars in sports. But Dawn Staley is correct in defending her team and saying, hey, what about us? Look at us.
And I think she will use that to fuel her players this afternoon at 3 o'clock when they play.
BLACKWELL: Before we go on to the men, last year, the viewership for the women's final had higher numbers than the men's final. Are we expecting anything close to that? I mean, you have a narrative, as we've discussed, but certainly not the narrative that we saw last season.
BRENNAN (on-camera): That's correct. Yes. Caitlin Clark is just extraordinary. She's a basketball player, but she's also an entertainer. I'm writing a book on her, actually. So, I spent a lot of time looking at this phenomenon.
And, you know, I think we just saw the numbers for the semifinals. For last year, Iowa against UConn, same time, apples to apples, Victor. Exactly the same scenario. Second game on a Friday night, 52 weeks ago, Caitlin Clark in Iowa against South Carolina got 14 million viewers.
And the other night, Friday night, in a blowout, it was 4 million. So, it was a loss of 10 million. Now, the number, the 4 million, was still excellent for women's basketball. So, it's almost like you need to go back a couple of years with the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, just so extraordinary and such an outlier. But yes, it will drop as much as I'd love to say the women would beat the men again. I just don't see it happening. But it was a 4 million viewer difference last year with the women getting 4 million more viewers than the men, which I still cannot believe I can say that sentence.
BLACKWELL: It was a phenomenal time in sports.
Let's turn to the men now. You've got University of Florida. You've got Houston. What's your expectation tomorrow night?
[06:55:04]
BRENNAN (on-camera): I'll tell you that that's, you know, it's kind of surprising. I think I'm sure a lot of Duke fans are still in absolute shock over what happened in that late game with Houston coming back.
And Houston, we remember from the '80s for those of us who were around, it's been since 1984 since they've made the men's final. That's -- that's extraordinary. And it's a long time. So, Kelvin Samson in Houston with great withering defense. They were down by 14 points to Duke with about eight minutes and change left and -- and just stormed back. And Duke of course kind of fell apart under the withering defense of Houston.
So -- so a surprise for many that Cooper Flagg and -- and Duke did not make the final and I'm sure devastating for them, of course. And then Florida and Auburn, you know, when you look at the two Southeastern conference teams and it was Florida that beat the overall number one seed Auburn.
So, I expect a great physical game on Monday night.
BLACKWELL: All right. We'll be watching.
Christine Brennan, good to have you this Sunday. Thank you.
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