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Judge Rules Columbia Activist Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported; Judge Demands Daily Updates On Deported Maryland Man; Trump Praises Xi Jinping As World's Smartest While Imposing 125 Percent Tariff; Wreckage Recovered In Deadly Hudson River Helicopter Crash. U.S. and Iran to Begin High Stakes Nuclear Talks Today in Oman; A Judge Says Menendez Brothers Re-sentencing Hearing will Go Forward; CNN Recounts How Augusta National Golf Club Stepped Up to Help During Hurricane Helene. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 12, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: -- over what happens next. We'll get into that. President Trump says that he believes something positive will come out of the escalating trade war with China, even as the markets and U.S. businesses brace for more uncertainty.

And new this morning, the U.S. and Iran are set to hold crucial talks to try to reach a nuclear deal and ease tensions in the region. This is how the White House is approaching the talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That all options are on the table and Iran has a choice to make. You can agree to President Trump's demand or there will be all hell to pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And wreckage from that deadly helicopter crash in New York has been recovered from the Hudson River. The new details we're learning about the accident and those on board, that's just ahead.

And there are new developments in the Menendez brothers case. A judge says the new L.A. County district attorney cannot withdraw the office of support for resentencing the next steps in the case. Coming up on CNN This Morning.

We begin with an update in the case of a Columbia University graduate facing deportation. A Louisiana immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil can be deported. Khalil is a legal permanent resident, was arrested last month after participating in protests against Israel's war in Gaza.

Now, the federal government submitted a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that Khalil is deportable because of his, quote, beliefs, statements or associations that could compromise U.S. foreign policy interests. One of Kahlil's attorneys railed against the judge's ruling, promising

to keep challenging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC VAN DER HOUT, ATTORNEY: Was the epitome of the lack of due process in a court proceeding in this country. It was shocking. The immigration judge had made up her mind before the hearing even started what she was going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Gloria Pazmino has been following this case. She has the latest for us. Gloria, good morning.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Victor. It's important to remember that despite the Louisiana judge's order saying that she believes that Khalil is deportable from the United States, it's unlikely that he is going to be deported anytime soon.

The reason for that is because his attorneys have made it clear they plan to appeal her decision. Another thing that's really important to remember here is that there are two parallel cases unfolding besides each other. They have the immigration case in Louisiana, which we heard about this week. And then there's also the federal case in New Jersey. That case is centered on the legality of Khalil's detention.

His attorneys are contesting that, asking that judge to consider releasing him on bail while his immigration case plays out.

Now in terms of next steps here, we are waiting to try and learn a little bit more about how this appeal process is going to work. But the judge's ruling is extremely important and significant because she said that she was relying on the foreign policy memo that Marco Rubio issued as evidence in this case.

The secretary of state issued a memo saying that he found Khalil to be deportable because of his activities. That was a reference to the fact that he participated in protests on the campus of Columbia University last year.

That is what Khalil's attorneys have focused on, to say that he is being persecuted here for his political speech, something that is protected by the First Amendment, not just for U.S. citizens, but also permanent legal residence, which Khalil is one.

In the meantime, what his attorneys have been most focused on is trying to get him released from detention. He remains there in Louisiana for now until they can appeal this decision or until the judge in New Jersey decides that he will consider the motion that they have filed in his court to have Khalil released from detention. Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Gloria, thank you. Later this morning on first of all, I'll be joined by two of Kahlil's attorneys to talk more about that ruling and the next steps in that case. So join us at 8:00 Eastern for that conversation.

A U.S. district judge is demanding daily updates on what the Trump administration is doing to return a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia identified him in a picture of detainees going into El Salvador's notorious prison there last month.

ICE says that he is a member of the MS-13 gang. The administration later admitted that he was deported because of an administrative error. Prosecutors say they have no info on exactly where Abrego Garcia is right now. But on Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return.

[01:05:05]

President Trump responded to that order last night on Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more for us. Priscilla, good morning.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Well, after the Supreme Court delivered its order on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, it's still unclear if and when he will return to the United States. The Supreme Court saying in their decision that the federal government needs to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, but stop short of requiring his return, sending it back to the lower court and placing an emphasis on due deference to foreign affairs. That giving the administration some wiggle room and also part of the basis of why they called that decision a victory.

Now, in that hearing room in the court in Maryland on Friday, federal judge asked questions of the Justice Department about what steps were being taken to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. The Justice Department attorney, however, stonewalling many of those questions and the judge at one point saying that the lack of responses was, quote, extremely troubling.

The federal judge ordered that there be daily updates by the federal government as to what steps they are taking to facilitate his return. It's unclear, however, whether those answers will be satisfactory to her and what she will do she, the federal judge will do if she does find that the answers that the government is providing as unsatisfactory as she has over the course of these court hearings.

Separately, the White House announced earlier in the week that the president of El Salvador is expected to visit the White House and meet with President Trump on Monday. Back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, thank you. Well, to the economy now. And President Trump is projecting confidence in his tariff war with China despite this turbulent week on Wall Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The bond market is going good. It had a little moment, but I solved that problem very quickly. I'm very good at that stuff. I solved it very quickly. I didn't know I solved it that well. We had the biggest day in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, the three major U.S. indices finished higher on Friday, but it came after some sharp jolts throughout the week and a new report showing a plunge in consumer confidence. CNN's Anna Stewart explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It has been a roller coaster week for global markets and it all kicked off on Monday when the S and P started the week in bear market territory, a 20 percent fall from its recent peak. That wasn't helped by President Donald Trump announcing an additional 50 percent tariff on China in response to their 34 percent retaliation the week prior.

Wall Street started the day higher Tuesday encouraged by word that dozens of countries were seeking deals. But as the hours tick down to Trump's so called Liberation Day, gains evaporated and U.S. stocks ended the day in the red.

Now, on Wednesday, President Trump's so called reciprocal tariffs went into effect. A major escalation in his global trade war. Tariffs on China were raised to at least 104 percent and China responded with 84 percent tariffs.

The European Union also backed countermeasures, albeit only against an earlier round of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Markets were deeply unsettled, with a sell off even in assets like U.S. bonds, usually a safe haven at times of volatility. But then Trump announced a major turnaround.

TRUMP: I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippee, you know, they were getting a little bit yippee, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions, because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did.

STEWART: A 90-day pause on the new hire tariffs to allow for negotiations and in their place, a 10 percent baseline tariff for all. All on his list, apart from China, whose tariffs increased to 125 percent. The news sparked one of the biggest Wall Street rallies in history. But that was short lived.

On Thursday, the sell-off continued as U.S. recession fears remained unassuaged by Trump's tariff pause. And those losses steepened after the White House clarified that the total levy on China wasn't 125 percent, but at least 145 percent. The E.U. announcing a 90-day pause on its tariffs on U.S. products wasn't enough to lift U.S. stocks, especially after the EU Commission President warned if negotiations weren't satisfactory, their countermeasures would kick in.

The week ended with China retaliating once again on Friday, raising its tariff on the U.S. to 125 percent, with a spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry saying it had become nothing more than a numbers game with no real economic significance.

[06:10:05]

In one week, we saw volatility on Wall Street economists warnings about a U.S. recession, a weakened dollar and a U.S. bond sell off. It all suggests that Trump's trade war is already having lasting consequences regardless of the backpedaling. Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: President Trump is praising Chinese President Xi Jinping as, quote, a very smart leader. That was after she slapped retaliatory tariffs of 125 percent on U.S. goods and that intensified the trade battle between the two countries. CNN correspondent Mike Valerio has been following all of the developments, not just in the last 24 hours, but all week long. Mike, good morning. What do you know?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, good morning to you. So at this hour, evening here in this corner of the world, we are waiting pretty breathlessly for that moment or for that matter, for any kind of clue as to who is going to talk to whom first, Victor. And right now we don't have any clues about that.

But notable, the United States not retaliating, not raising its tariff higher than 145 percent after China raised its tariff on U.S. goods to 125 percent.

Let's go to a graphic and we'll talk about the view from Beijing, a little window into their thinking. Anna Stewart previewed it a couple seconds ago. But the Ministry of Commerce saying in part, quote, if the U.S. Insists on continuing this numbers game with tariffs, China will not engage. However, if the U.S. persists, persist in substantively harming China's interests, China will, quote, resolutely take countermeasures and fight to the end.

So what does that mean, countermeasures and fighting to the end? Victor, we're talking to economists who are thinking that perhaps China may have reached the end of its toolkit with tariffs and may reach into another toolkit to cause economic pain to Americans. Just think of China, not buying soybeans from the middle of the country, but rather buying soybeans and crops from Brazil, cutting off all rare earth mineral exports to the United States.

Right now they just have export controls on a few rare earth minerals and dumping potentially treasury bills, treasury notes and treasury bonds that China holds that could cause havoc in the market. So let's listen to President Trump and the White House press secretary

talking about who's going to call whom. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it up to President Xi to pick up the phone? Where do you think?

TRUMP: I guess so. You know, whatever it is, we have a lot of countries, not just China, but whatever it is, I think we're in very good position waiting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For China to make the first move here?

LEAVITT: I'm not going to comment on communications that are happening or may not be happening or either way, we'll leave it to our national security team to get these discussions underway. And as always, in the effort of transparency, we will provide updates moving forward. But the president has made it very clear he's open to a deal with China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So a pertinent question, who can endure more economic pain, the United States or China? And political scientists are beginning to say it seems as though China most likely has a higher pain tolerance. We're going to hear from political scientist Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia on that front, saying that President Trump has to face the voters for midterms. Xi Jinping does not. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SABATO, CENTER FOR POLITICS DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: In a democracy, presidents, even presidents who think they're above it all have to be subject to public opinion because their fellow party members in Congress and other places are worried already about the midterm elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: And something that could hasten these conversations wrapping up here, Victor, is if there is more turmoil in the bond market, you know, it is out of whack, or at least it was in the middle apart in the middle part of last week because usually in terms of economic turmoil, people flee to the safety of T bonds. And that did not happen.

You know, the 30-year treasury yield reaching 4.95 percent, the largest weekly increase since 1982. And why that matters. If there's still turmoil in the bond market, it could get very expensive for people like you and me to pay off our mortgage, to pay any kind of car loan that we might have to borrow writ large. So that could put the pressure on both of these leaders to talk a little faster if that turmoil continues, Victor.

BLACKWELL: YEs. And an embargo on U.S. soybeans, I wonder how that would change calculations from Republican members of Congress and their view of these tariffs. Mike Valerio with the reporting for us this morning. Thanks so much.

You set up the conversation beautifully for Axios congressional reporter Stephen Newcomb. Stephen, I'll just put that question to you. If China says, you know, they're done with increasing the tariffs in this back and forth with the US. But no more U.S. soybeans.

[06:15:07]

We saw from North Carolina's Tillis his concerns about what this would mean. That could be a game changer for congressional response.

STEPHEN NEWCOMB, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Yes, good morning Victor. Look, the congressional Republicans, especially Senate Republicans are super concerned about this, the sort of toxy turvy back and forth of the tariff policy. There's deep heartburn about the tariff policy policies itself and the reciprocal nature coming from China.

If that were to deepen, move into different areas of the economy, whether it's soybeans, whether it's rare earth minerals, the cause for concern would be even deeper on Capitol Hill. And I can tell you from being up there with them all of this week. There was relief largely once the President pulled back many of the tariffs. But the realization I think is still there for Republicans that many of these tariffs across the board are still there and the biggest fight is still with China.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So Mike also brought up an interesting point here that we should explore that after China retaliated for the first time after so called Liberation Day, the U.S. responded and raised tariffs on imports from China. And then there was the response from China and then another increase now that they're at 125. There has been no increase on Chinese imports into the U.S. and the President is being complimentary. We heard what he said on Air Force One.

Is this being seen in Washington as the window, as the moment they're in this. Who's going to call whom first? But how much should we read into this decision?

NEWCOMB: Yes, I think two things. One I don't think we -- this is, you know, that we've seen from the White House on this front. I think we'll probably see more from the President over the weekend and certainly early next week.

But Republicans in D.C. are hopeful that people come to the negotiating table much sooner rather than later. We talk about the 2026 implications. That is on top of folks minds. So yes, they do see this as a window to make this happen and they want those conversations to happen between the White House and Beijing sooner rather than later here.

BLACKWELL: Mahmoud Khalil in detention in Louisiana. The administration's trying to deport him related to his pro-Palestinian protest. Columbia University student. The immigration judge says that he is deportable. Now that is there's a parallel process in New Jersey, a win for the administration here, but he's not going to be deported immediately. What does this mean for the Trump administration?

NEWCOMB: Well, I think, you know, across the board, not just this case but I think you talked about the case of the Maryland man who was deported in Guatemala. The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that they need to facilitate his return.

The Trump administration, the president, has been testing the extent of executive power, whether it's these deportation cases, whether it's the shuttering of federal agencies. And I think that you actually have seen like in this case, the White House get some victories from the court system and some of the lower courts, especially in terms of just the amount of no restraint that the executive has to sort of move forward with its agenda.

Now, the Supreme Court ruling unanimously that it has to -- the White House has to facilitate the return of the, you know, the deported Maryland man who is in Guatemala. The president says he respects the Supreme Court. So we'll see how they go along with that decision.

But from the beginning, they have been challenging the restraints on the executive and they've gotten some early returns from the court system that are encouraging for the White House.

BLACKWELL: All right, Stephen Newcomb of Axios, thank you.

Still to come, more than a dozen NTSB investigators are looking into why a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River. What we know so far about the accident and the passengers on board, that's next.

Plus, an Iranian delegation is in Oman ahead of high stakes talks with the U.S. what the two sides are hoping to achieve through those negotiations.

And a setback for the Los Angeles County DA in the Menendez brothers case. New details on the status of their resentencing hearing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:24:31]

BLACKWELL: We've learned that at least 17Americans died in a deadly nightclub collapse in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. They're among the at least 225 people killed in that disaster. Authorities now say that the search for survivors is over. And relatives of the victim say that the process of identifying the bodies that needs to be faster.

Merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing at the club, and two former major league baseball players died in that tragedy. The Dominican president created an investigative commission that is working to determine what caused the roof to cave in.

[06:25:05]

President Trump authorized the military to use and take jurisdiction of federal land along the U.S.-Mexican border. A White House memo to the Departments of Interior, Homeland Security, Defense, Agriculture, it says that the military must take a more direct role to secure the border. The areas would be used for activities like border wall construction, installing detection and monitoring equipment on the southern border.

Migrants who cross into these restricted areas would be put into holding for trespassing on a military property. And that could clear the way for Homeland Security to pick them up and deport them.

Chicago's annual Cinco de Mayo parade has been canceled over fears of deportation raids. Organizers say that Mexican communities there have nothing to celebrate after the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown. Despite Chicago being a sanctuary city, it's been a target of ICE raids since President Trump took office in January.

There's an investigation now. And to figure out what caused a deadly helicopter to crash into New York's Hudson River on Thursday. Dive teams recovered some of the wreckage from the crash. All six people died on board that day, including the pilot and a family of five visiting the U.S. from Spain. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the latest details on what we know. Brynn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not have a preliminary cause that takes time.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials piecing together the helicopter wreckage working toward what may have caused this sudden crash. The aircraft carrying a family and pilot, all six people on board killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: River traffic, be advised. You do have an aircraft down Holland Tunnel. Please keep your eyes open to anybody in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suddenly we hear this huge explosion and we look up from and the helicopter actually kind of just exploded.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The chopper on a short scenic trip along the New York City skyline. 49-year-old Augustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain was here on a business trip, according to officials. His wife and three children traveling to join him. They went up in the helicopter as part of her 40th birthday celebration. One of their children would have turned nine today.

MAYOR STEVE FULOP, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY: The husband was telling people in the office how excited they were to do this helicopter tour. The family flew out to extend a business trip into a family vacation. So I mean, the more you learn about it, the more sad and tragic the story is.

GINGRAS: The pilot, a 36-year-old veteran named Shawn Johnson, started working for the helicopter company a month ago, according to his social media. Recent videos show him in the cockpit of the chopper flying above New York City.

The Bell 206 pulled out of the water and dive teams continue searching for missing debris, including the main rotor and tail, according to the NTSB.

FULOP: We're using sonar because it is very murky and muddy that part of the Hudson. And while it's not deep, visibility isn't great. And the goal is to retrieve as much of the helicopter as possible, to reassemble what you can and understand how and why that happens.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The aircraft is operated by a tour company called New York Helicopter Inc. NTSB reports cite two prior safety incidents involving the company in 2013 and 2015. Neither resulted in fatalities. The company's CEO told the Telegraph on Thursday his pilot radioed that he'd be returning to base in three minutes but never came back.

I'm a father, a grandfather, and my wife hasn't stopped crying since this afternoon, he told CNN. Officials will also be looking at maintenance records if any work was done on the aircraft and confirm if it was compliant with federal standards.

GINGRAS: And Victor, The NTSB has 17 people on site working on this investigation and we have all seen those horrific videos on social media. While the agency is asking for the public to send in any videos, any pictures they might have of this crash, it's possible it could help them in trying to figure out what happened here. Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, Brent, thank you. Tehran says that it's seeking initial understanding that could lead to negotiations on its nuclear program. What to expect is U.S. and Iranian delegations meet for talks in Oman today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: Crucial talks begin today between the U.S. and Iran, as the two sides try to reach a nuclear deal. Now, the high stakes meeting in Oman is happening as President Trump insists Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and warns of possible military action if no deal is reached. Iran says any attack could trigger a wider conflict in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want them not to have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can't have a nuclear weapon. I want them to flourish, but they can't have a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: With me now for more on what's at stake is Rachel Whitlark; assistant Professor at Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech. She's also the author of "All Options on the Table: Leaders, Preventive War and Nuclear Proliferation". All right, welcome in.

RACHEL WHITLARK, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SAM NUNN SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, GEORGIA TECH: Thanks very much for having me.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about what this is, because the U.S. says that these are direct talks, right? The Iranians are saying that these are not direct talks, they don't want direct talks. They want to go through the intermediaries. Is there some reason that the Iranians would be very specific about not entering into these direct talks with the U.S.?

[06:35:00]

WHITLARK: Sure, I mean, I think we can understand the Iranian position based on the history and how we have arrived here, and the fact that they feel like they've been burned before with the President Trump having removed the United States from the previously-negotiated Iran nuclear deal. So, I think we can understand their preference and their specificity for indirect talks first as their sort of way to test the waters and see if they have a trustworthy negotiating partner. So, I think we can hope --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WHITLARK: To see that those indirect talks could then quickly or not so quickly pivot to direct ones, but from their perspective, they want to start with the indirect for sure.

BLACKWELL: OK, so, Iran backs Hezbollah, backs the Houthis, and also probably most relevant for this question, Hamas. And the war with Israel has come at great financial cost. How does that influence the likelihood, the landscape potentially for a deal, after all that they -- that has been cost over the last several years?

WHITLARK: Definitely. So, I think that context that you just set out is incredibly important for us, understanding why we have arrived at this moment now and are seeing these talks get underway. So, I think that the threat of military force as one tool in the counter proliferation toolkit to try to limit or stop the Iranian nuclear program, which because of all of the reasons that you just described, many people think that the risk of the use of force has gone up.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WHITLARK: And that, to my mind, sets the stage for these talks, in that both Iran and the United States have in their interest. From Iran's perspective, not wanting to be on the receiving end of military attack, and to the extent that such an attack could catalyze a larger regional war. The U.S. administration also has a preference to see the use of military force avoided.

And I mentioned that the risk of military force has probably gone up in recent months. And I think it's exactly because Iran finds itself in a relatively weakened position. Its proxies have been decimated. Its friend in the Assad regime in Syria is no longer in power, and the limits of Iran's own military capabilities have been demonstrated, in that they twice shot at the Israelis, and the Israelis were able to intercept the overwhelming majority of their missiles and then took the fight to Iran itself and was able to destroy some critically- important air defenses. So, all of that, I think, is in the background for the negotiations and why we're seeing them happen now.

BLACKWELL: The name of your book is "All Options on the Table". Do you think that there's any intermediary step between where the U.S. and Iran now -- are now, and military strikes to destroy their nuclear program? Is there anything in-between there? Because that would be much like the JCPOA. Anything more aggressive than that, short of military action that's realistic?

WHITLARK: So, I think if I understand you correctly, I mean, you're asking if there are other tools --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WHITLARK: In the toolkit that we could see sort of along the pathway between where we are now and the use of force. And in fact, you know, the use of force and negotiations, these are but two tools in the wider counter-proliferation toolkit. We've seen economic sanctions deployed before, we might see them again.

And I think that's also important for understanding the timing of these negotiations, because there's a legacy part of the JCPOA that will expire if those economic sanctions aren't reimposed. So, we could see those come back. We've also seen cyber tools used previously against the Iranian nuclear program.

So, I think that could be on the table again. Most likely, my expectations, though, are that these talks, to the extent that they will continue --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WHITLARK: Will be continuously sort of with in the background the use of military force. And if a deal isn't struck, then I think the likelihood of military force goes up.

BLACKWELL: In 2018, President Trump and the leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong un, they signed this agreement. There were, you know, lots of flags. It was the -- lots of pomp and circumstance. It did not end North Korea's nuclear program, did not reach the CVID that we all learned then complete, verifiable, irreversible, denuclearization.

How much should this which was in large part a spectacle -- it stopped the ballistic missile testing for the rest of that term. But how much should that inform what we expect out of this engagement with Iran? Are they similar in any way?

WHITLARK: Similar, but not the same, I think --

BLACKWELL: Yes -- WHITLARK: Is the way to think about it. I mean, on first and

foremost, I mean, North Korea at the time already possessed nuclear weapons. So, that means it is a fundamentally different situation than where we are with Iran today. Iran has to their -- to what -- to believe what they say, a civilian peaceful nuclear program and many Intelligence communities, including the United States, have said they have not yet made the decision to acquire nuclear weapons, though, they are advancing in their potential ability to get there.

[06:40:00]

So, that's a -- that makes, you know, dealing with the North Koreans a fundamentally-different problem since they already possess nuclear weapons.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WHITLARK: But I think there are some important parallels that we can draw, you know, the Trump administration has been saying in the run-up to today's talks, that they're aiming for something that looks like complete denuclearization. The Libyan model, the North Korean model. And that's setting an incredibly high bar.

Iran's nuclear program is quite entrenched, right? It is quite sophisticated.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WHITLARK: They are going to be unwilling to just give it all up. It is the most important card that they are still holding on to. And so, the terms of the deal are going to be really something to watch. But they're already setting the bar high at least, the Trump administration is.

BLACKWELL: Yes, given to the demands or there will be hell to pay we heard from the --

WHITLARK: Not today --

BLACKWELL: White House. Rachel Whitlark, thank you.

WHITLARK: Thanks very much for having me.

BLACKWELL: Erik and Lyle Menendez will get their day in court. Coming up, a judge's ruling means they can keep seeking a new sentence that could lead to their freedom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: A Los Angeles judge ruled the re-sentencing hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents three decades ago, can continue. That's despite the L.A. County District Attorney's attempt to end it. A judge said that office could not back out of a motion filed by the previous DA. CNN's Nick Watt has more for us. Nick?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, the lawyer for the Menendez brothers, he said that this is probably the biggest day since they've been in custody, and that's over 35 years. Why? Because a re- sentencing hearing will now go ahead next week in this courtroom starting Thursday.

The Menendez brothers or the Menendez, as their lawyer called them today on a couple of occasions, they are currently sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. At the re-sentencing hearing, that might be changed to life with the possibility of parole, which means that they could get out of jail under California law, they are then eligible for parole, and there is a parole hearing already scheduled for June, because the governor wanted the parole board to look into whether the Menendez brothers would be a danger to society if they were let out.

That hearing is already scheduled. So, we saw the brothers for the first time in public in 20 -- 35 years since their trial basically. They appeared by video link from where they're being held in a prison down near San Diego. Both of them wearing blue prison overalls, lanyards around their necks. They are middle-aged men now.

They were pulling their glasses on and off. Lyle, the older brother, bald-headed, had a sheaf of paper, had a pen in his pocket. Younger brother Erik still has gray salt and pepper hair, they looked pretty impassive throughout. Now, the question is going to be at that re- sentencing hearing next week here in Van Nuys, California, will the brothers show up in person? Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Nick Watt, thank you, Nick. Still to come, how Augusta National Golf Club stepped up to help when its community was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Live report from Augusta, Georgia, next.

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[06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: A new episode of "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL" with Jake Tapper, follows the story of a notorious D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Abramoff was known for his substantial influence on the inner workings of D.C. politics. But in the early 2000s, we learned he was also involved in conspiracy and fraud and tax evasion.

A new episode of "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL" airs tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN. The Masters tournament continues this weekend at Augusta National. Just a few months ago, that community was devastated when Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage around town and throughout the south.

In the aftermath of the storm, Augusta National stepped up in a big way. CNN's sports anchor Andy Scholes joins us now from Augusta National with more. Andy, good morning to you.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Victor. You know, huge part of the identity of this city is the Masters and Augusta National, and Hurricane Helene, I mean, it did a lot of damage to this area. But as soon as it passed, the corps stepped up to see how it could help alongside many of the partners in the Augusta community.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This storm came in the wee hours of the morning. No one was truly prepared. You could hear the wind howling. You could hear trees and power lines coming down immediately. It was so frightening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody was hurting. Everybody -- I don't know anyone in the CSRA that did not have some sort of impact from this hurricane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediate needs became basic shelter, water, food. No one was truly prepared for the storm that came and just rattled us to our core.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of the first calls that I got was from the Augusta National, and they said, let's get together, let's join the community, see what can we do. So, we came up with the Helene Resource Center at the hub. We opened the doors on that first day to this drive-through where people could come, they could get food, they could get clothing, they could get cleanup supplies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We pulled up our bootstraps and just continued to serve. We ended up having the hub up and running fully stocked, so helpful in the community for nine days. And I think we saw somewhere in the vicinity of 10,000 families. I've never felt community in that way. I've never seen Augusta stand together in that way.

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I knew I was fortunate before to live in such a giving, caring community, and I really know it now. It was moving. I still get emotional about it. It's one of those things where it's almost unnerving to witness and to live through, but to know that I have the comfort and the support of my neighbors, tragedy struck, but we stood tall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will never forget how this community pulled together, and there's a long way to go, but we're going to get there, and we're going to get there together.

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SCHOLES: Yes, and that recovery is still ongoing. You drive around town here, Victor, you still see some blue tarps on roofs. And here on the course, you know, I walked the course many times. It -- you could definitely see that they lost a lot of trees and a lot -- the tree lines are much thinner around the course after the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

BLACKWELL: Fantastic story. Andy Scholes, thanks for bringing it to us. Still to come, President Trump says he's comfortable with where the tariffs are with China. Up next, the latest on the trade war between the two countries and the impact on small businesses.

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