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CNN This Morning

Several Dead After Vehicle Plows Into Vancouver Street Festival; Trump Questions Putin's Resolve To End Russia's War On Ukraine; Trump Criticizes Putin's Strikes On Ukraine In Truth Social Post; European Leaders Believe Putin Has Been Dragging Out Talks; Flooding In Oklahoma Kills At Least One; Heavy Rain Caused Massive Flooding In Oklahoma; Trump Weighs Federal Disaster Relief Reform Ahead Of Hurricane Season; Poll: President Trump's Approval Rating Sinks To 39 Percent. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 27, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:39]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, April 27th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for joining us.

We're following breaking news out of Canada. Police say a man drove his car into a Filipino street festival. This happened in Vancouver. There are reports of several dead. That driver is now in police custody.

President Trump is now questioning whether Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal with Ukraine. He made that comment after meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday. He's also raising the prospect of tougher sanctions on Russia.

Happening now, the Vatican is holding mass to mark the second day of mourning after the funeral of Pope Francis. And for the first time, the public is being allowed inside the church where he's buried.

And it could soon be harder for communities hit by disasters to qualify for federal aid. We'll share the proposal to have states pick up more of the tab, coming up.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we have snow. Yes, you heard that correct. Snow in the northeast right now. And the line of severe thunderstorms that's expected to develop across the central U.S. We'll break down the timeline, coming up.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's get to that breaking news. Several people killed and injured after a man drove a car through a crowded street festival in Vancouver, Canada. This happened just after 8:00 last night at a festival celebrating Filipino heritage.

Police say they arrested the driver, 30-year-old man from Vancouver. Right now, investigators say that they are confident that it was not an act of terrorism. But a source says that they are looking into whether mental health issues may have faced a -- factor rather into the incident. Many in the community are struggling to process what happened and why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE FRY, VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: I'm pretty chocked up. I don't even know what to say. This was a great day. A wonderful event. Huge community event. And to have it end in tragedy like this, it won't break us or the community but it's horrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Canadian prime minister Mark Carney posted a message expressing shock at the violence, calling the incident horrific, and offered condolences to the victims. We'll bring you more information, of course, as this story develops.

Now to Russia's war on Ukraine. President Trump questions now whether Vladimir Putin really wants a peace deal. In a post on Truth Social, he questioned he's being strung along by the Russian president. Trump wrote -- here's part of it. "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along."

Well, this follows Trump's 15-minute meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy just before the funeral of Pope Francis. CNN's senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak has more for us. Kevin, good morning to you.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Victor. You know those photos inside Saint Peter's Basilica were so notable, these two men, President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sitting knee to knee deep in conversation about the conflict in Ukraine.

But I think it was what the president wrote on Truth Social as he left Rome on Air Force One, heading here to New Jersey, that was so notable. The president offering a stern rebuke not of Zelenskyy, who has been the subject of so much of his ire, but of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Referencing specifically Russia's assault on Kyiv over the last week.

It was the worst bombardment of the Ukrainian capital since last summer. And the president wrote, "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through banking or secondary sanctions."

So, you hear there a real shift in the president's tone. You know, it was only on Thursday when I asked the president inside the cabinet room at the White House whether he thought Putin was serious about reaching a peace deal after this assault on Kyiv. And the president was pretty adamant. He thought both sides of this conflict did want to strike an agreement, did want to reach a peace.

Now, the president is voicing a lot more concern about whether Putin could be serious about this. He's essentially lending voice to the concerns that a lot of European leaders have had over the last several months that Putin may be playing for time, that he thinks he has the upper hand and thinks that he can string President Trump out as he tries to resolve this conflict.

[06:05:15]

And so clearly, the president is frustrated that his attempts to bring this war to an end have so far not been fruitful. Remember, he said he would be able to resolve this conflict within 24 hours of taking office. Now he's butting up on the 100-day mark of his presidency, and so far, there is no peace.

Most of his ire has been directed at Zelenskyy over the course of the last several months. He has called him -- he has said that he's not a fan of the Ukrainian president. There was that blowup in the Oval Office. But now it appears that the president is placing at least some of the blame on Putin. And that's a notable shift, and certainly something to keep an eye on as this war continues to grind forward -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Kevin, thank you very much. You set the table. Let's now have the conversation with Kim Dozier, CNN global affairs analyst.

Kim, good morning to you. So, let's start here. You're encouraged by the characterization from both leaders about that conversation at the basilica, the imagery, the social media postings. Why?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, this was the reset that Ukraine and especially Zelenskyy really needed after that Oval Office meeting, but also a one on one with President Trump allowed Zelenskyy to rebuild the relationship that had been broken by years of Trump seeing Zelenskyy as the one who refused to investigate Hunter Biden in his first term.

Zelenskyy being portrayed over and over in conservative media as ungrateful and even associated with some of the hardline military units that have been called Nazis inside Ukraine. Instead, what we got to see was the two men having this obvious heart to heart.

Meanwhile, the opening was created by Putin and Russia. Every time this past week that Trump has asked Vladimir Putin to stop the attacks. Instead, we've had another night, just like last night, of hundreds of drones and missiles hitting various cities in Ukraine and killing people, and that seems to have really gotten Trump's attention. Hey, this guy isn't listening to me.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's talk about the path forward here, because although they both said it was a positive conversation -- and the pictures look like they're having an intense conversation. It only lasted 15 minutes but you can get something done in 15 minutes.

The president, President Trump, told "Time" magazine that Crimea will stay with Russia. The president speaks about Russia tapping him along as if that's some revelation. Starmer, Macron, they've been saying that for months now. So, are they really any closer to a deal?

DOZIER: Yes. Here's where we get to the hard part. The two proposals, the one put forward by Ukraine and Europe and the one put forward by the U.S. which feels like it was dictated by Vladimir Putin, are very far apart. The current U.S. deal would basically allow Russia to keep everything it's holding, Crimea, but also the current territory that it's occupying, and have very few security guarantees.

Ukraine wants reassurances. They want NATO troops on the ground, but individually represented, not under the banner of NATO, to make sure that Russia can't invade again. And the White House hasn't fully embraced that yet.

So, will this moment of goodwill lead to any changes in those proposals? I did speak to one Ukrainian official earlier this week who was briefed on the talks, and they said, look, it doesn't look good, but this is what happens in negotiations. You bring the two impossible wish lists together and then you start bargaining.

Before this, we didn't even have anything written down from the U.S. administration. Now, we have something to work from. And I think you also might see a signing of a mineral deal as soon as this week to keep that momentum going and to keep Trump thinking, hey, Ukraine is actually working with us. It's Moscow that's working against us.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Also coming this week, the 100-day mark. And that marker might also offer some urgency to get something accomplished that you can say you did within the first 100 days.

The potential for sanctions mentioned in the president's social media post, the banking or secondary sanctions. What's the potency of those considering the sanctions that were levied by the U.S., western Europe during the first year and a half of this war?

[06:10:10]

They weren't deterrence.

DOZIER: They still didn't go after the oil as much as they could, Russia's oil sales. They allowed Europe, India, China to keep buying oil and natural gas from Russia.

So, I have spoken to Trump administration officials, current and former, who say they can think of ways to tighten up to make Vladimir Putin feel more economic pain. Let's see, though, if that's just a tweet or that more bad behavior leads to an actual levying of new sanctions, which would at least be a symbolic hit against Putin and might make him sit up and take notice.

BLACKWELL: Kimberly Dozier, always good to start with you on a Sunday morning. Thanks so much. Enjoy the day.

All right. At least one person is dead after a flash flooding in southwest Oklahoma yesterday. We're talking about Lawton. A person died after they drove into a standing water area from the flooding. The Lawton fire department responded to several calls for help from the massive flooding. And more severe storms are expected this week.

CNN's Allison Chinchar with me now. So, you're tracking what could be another week of rough storms. CHINCHAR: Yes. So, the system really begins to develop and take shape today. But tomorrow is when we really see the strength of the storm really kind of take shape.

So, let's take a look at what we're dealing with right now. We've got a little bit of snow left over and some rain showers across portions of the northeast, but it's the central U.S. this is where all the eyes are really going to be, especially over the next 48 hours.

You've got some rain right now, mostly light across portions of Minnesota, stretching down into Iowa, and this will eventually spread into Michigan and into Wisconsin farther down to the south. This is where we have some thunderstorms already out there.

No warnings at the actual moment, but that could change as we go through the next 24 hours. And here's why. This is the main line. This is the setup for the next system as it really begins to develop later on this afternoon. We have the potential for some damaging winds, some hail, and can't really rule out a few tornadoes along that line as well.

But then we transition into tomorrow. We're talking Monday, especially Monday afternoon and Monday evening time frame. This is when we really start to see that system strengthen. So now not only are you still looking for the same elements of damaging winds, but the hail is now going to get larger. Now you're talking the size of baseballs, if not even bigger than that.

And also, not just a few tornadoes but a few strong tornadoes. EF-2 or even stronger than that, especially in the red and orange areas. But really, anywhere you see in this highlighted area has the potential for those severe thunderstorms.

So, here's a look at the timeline. Again, here we've got those storms already out there this morning. That part of the system dissipates. And then once we get into the afternoon and evening you really start to see a lot of those storms fire up in the northern plains. So, the Dakotas into Minnesota, that will continue through the overnight hours.

And then by tomorrow afternoon and evening now we start to see the southern end of this system begin to develop, and that will continue all the way through Monday evening.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you. A big slump in President Trumps poll numbers ahead of his 100th day in office. We're going to go inside the numbers on immigration and the economy and tariffs. That's all ahead.

Plus, were a little more than a month away from the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. There's a new Trump administration proposal that could make it hard for disaster aid to be doled out. That's still ahead.

And the Vatican is holding a mass that marks the second day of nine days of mourning after the funeral of Pope Francis. We're taking you live to Rome later on CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND. We are just getting started.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:29]

BLACKWELL: We're just weeks away from the official start of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, and now the Trump administration is looking to make it much harder for communities to qualify for federal disaster assistance. The goal is to shift the responsibility for disaster response and recovery to states, rather than the federal government. CNN correspondent Gabe Cohen has more for us.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump has made it clear he wants to shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery to the states. Well, now we've obtained a memo that gives us a much better sense of what that could look like. I say could, because to be clear, this is just a proposal. But this is a memo that was sent up by FEMA's acting administrator, a Trump appointee, with recommendations for the president to potentially implement starting this hurricane season that would dramatically cut down the number of disaster declarations that get approved by the president, and the amount of federal dollars that go out the door to states and communities hit by storms.

Now, the memo lays out several recommendations, like denying all disaster declarations for snowstorms, for example. But by far the biggest piece of this is a proposal to quadruple the threshold of damage needed to qualify for federal disaster assistance.

Now, what that would mean is that a community, a state, would have to suffer four times as much damage as they currently do from a storm in order to qualify for federal aid. And that would focus federal funds almost exclusively on large scale storms like Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Helene.

[06:20:04]

And it would leave states to handle and to pay for smaller storms on their own. Now, the idea of raising that threshold really isn't controversial in and of itself. I've talked to top FEMA officials from the Biden and Obama administrations who told me, frankly, they think the threshold should be raised, that the federal government has been bailing out too many communities for storms that the state should really help handle.

But raising it fourfold ahead of hurricane season? Well, that could pose serious problems to states who have not budgeted or prepared for that. One state emergency official told us the proposal is, quote, "alarming." Another said, quote, "that is a massive increase."

We are fully anticipating that states are going to have to take on a larger burden to respond to emergencies. We just need some clarity. We're trying to develop a path forward without really knowing what the path looks like.

Now, at this point, there's no clear indication that these guidelines are being followed. But I do want to mention that President Trump recently rejected a request from Washington state for additional assistance after a bomb cyclone that hit last year. Their damage was more than twice the current threshold. And at this point, the White House and FEMA have not said why Washington state was rejected despite that fact.

Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

BLACKWELL: Gabe, thank you very much. Tuesday will mark President Trump's 100th day in office, and his poll numbers are sliding. According to a new Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released this morning, the president's net approval rating has dropped six percentage points since February. Only 39 percent of respondents say they approve of how the president is handling his job, 55 percent disapprove.

A poll released by the Associated Press shows that about four in 10 Americans say that Trump has been a terrible president in his second term, and that less than half of Republicans say that Trump is focused on the right priorities.

With me now, congressional reporter for "The Hill," Mychael Schnell. Mychael, good morning to you. Let's dig deeper into these tabs in the Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll. On the economy, 61 percent disapproval, on immigration 53 percent disapproval, managing the federal government 57 percent disapproval, looking out for the interest of average Americans 58 percent disapproval, U.S. relations with other countries 61 percent disapproval, tariffs on imported goods disapproval at 64 percent, the recent turmoil in the stock market disapproval 67 percent.

Trump's approval rating is lower than it was at this mark in his first term, lower than any president dating back to Roosevelt in the 30s in the 100-day mark. Is the unpopularity, though, shifting any policy or priority?

MYCHAEL SCHNELL, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Hey, Victor. Good morning. Look, it's important to note that polling is a snapshot in time, and I think it's fascinating to see specifically those cross tabs that you read out that that disapproval rating is elevated. When you talk about the economy, of course, there's been a lot of turbulence on the -- at the stock market, prices of groceries because of these tariffs that President Trump has placed on other countries.

You mentioned immigration. Well, there's been a lot of controversy about his handling of the case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

And then finally, you mentioned handling the federal government. One of the biggest stories of this administration has been DOGE and how Elon Musk has been trying to scale back the size and scope of the federal government, hacking away at the number of federal workers who are working here in D.C.

So, when you talk about what the general sentiment is in terms of those key policy areas, the polling is a good way to look at it. And the fact that the numbers are elevated, I think, does tell you something.

But to answer your question directly, is this an impacting policy at all? Look, we did see President Trump, stand back on those tariffs a little bit. As we had seen the stock market tumbling, we saw prices rising. So, that could be an indication.

But something that we know about this administration is oftentimes they like to dig in on their controversial ideas regardless of what folks are saying. So, it's going to be fascinating to see -- continue to watch the parallel between these polling numbers and what the administration actually does.

BLACKWELL: The news is bad for the president, worse for Democrats, the same Washington Post poll when asked the respondents whether the president, GOP, and Dems are in touch with the concerns of most Americans.

The president number matched his approval rating of 39 percent. His party at large, 35 percent. Democrats at 30 percent. So, simply opposing what most Americans oppose that's not enough for Democrats.

SCHNELL: No. And look, this is just another example of Democrats still struggling since November.

[06:25:00]

They lost. They had those crushing losses in November, losing the White House, the House and the Senate. And since then, they've been trying to pick up the pieces to figure out what went wrong, to lead to those losses. But arguably more importantly, how do we move on from here and make sure that this doesn't happen again in the future?

And, Victor, it's really twofold. You need a message that salient among voters, and you need somebody to carry that message and be an example within the party. That one voice that folks are looking up to.

Democrats still haven't really landed on a message, and they certainly still don't have that one leader of the party who's going to call the shots and set the example for how folks should push back on the Trump administration. So, these polling numbers are just showing that Democrats are still struggling for a game plan.

Now, look, there's still some time before the midterm elections. November 2026 is far away. But in Washington, time moves quickly, especially at this breakneck speed that the Trump administration is getting through its efforts. Democrats are going to want to figure out that message and that messenger sooner rather than later.

BLACKWELL: Speaking about the message you have reporting out recently about Democrats reconsidering the political fight around Kilmar Abrego Garcia, of course, he is the Maryland father who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration.

Senator Chris Van Hollen went down to visit him. Other members of Congress have gone to support him and draw attention to the immigration strategy. What's fueling the indecisiveness here in the -- in the Democratic Party?

SCHNELL: Yes. So, this is a bit of a nuanced issue because on firsthand, no Democrat is questioning whether or questioning there the Democratic argument that what the Trump administration is doing is unconstitutional, arguing that because per the Supreme Court, it said that the administration should facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. The administration is not doing anything about that. Therefore, Democrats are being very critical and hammering away at that.

Nobody is questioning that aspect. But when you get beyond the constitutionality of what's going on, some Democrats are wondering privately, publicly whether this is the right issue for folks to lean in on.

We know that the economy is oftentimes an issue that is most salient among voters, that most resonates with them. Well, right now there is an economic message for Democrats. The stock market not looking good, in the red for most of the day. The prices of groceries are increasing. We just had Easter. The price of eggs was skyrocketed.

So, some Democrats are wondering, should we be focusing less on this immigration issue and leaning in more on the economic issue? Now, the folks who are critical of that, they're very clear. They think economy over what's going on right now.

But some Democrats who are leaning in on the Abrego Garcia case, for example, I spoke to Congressman Maxwell Frost, a Republican -- a Democrat from Florida who actually went to El Salvador. He essentially argued Democrats can walk and chew gum at the same time. But we're going to have to see that balancing act as sort of both of these story lines continue.

BLACKWELL: Mychael Schnell, good to have you. Enjoy the week.

SCHNELL: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: The escalating clash between the Trump administration and some judges over the president's immigration crackdown. Why a former New Mexico judge and his wife were arrested, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:44]

BLACKWELL: We've learned that the Justice Department has announced charges against a former, New Mexico judge and his wife. Here they're being arrested on Thursday. They're accused of tampering with evidence related to the federal investigation of an undocumented migrant who is suspected of being in a Venezuelan gang.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has the latest reporting for us.

Julia, good morning.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Good morning, Victor. It all started with an anonymous tip back in January that undocumented migrants were living on a judge's property in Las Cruces New Mexico and in possession of firearms. That home belongs to former County Judge Jose Luis Cano and his wife Nancy Cano.

Homeland Security investigators allege in court documents that one of the people living on the property was Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, they say evidence suggests he's linked to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in the complaint are multiple photos and videos of Ortega-Lopez holding a handgun, assault style rifles and ammunition.

Investigators say it was through these photos and videos that they identified tattoos, clothing and hand gestures commonly associated with Tren de Aragua, saying they provided strong evidence of his potential connection to the gang. Homeland Security investigators also claimed that after Ortega-Lopez's arrest the former judge admitted to smashing a cell phone with a hammer weeks earlier because he thought it could have had photos or video that could reflect negatively on Ortega-Lopez and that his wife consulted with Ortega-Lopez over how to delete Facebook posts.

Court records show former Judge Cano is now federally charged with tampering with evidence while his wife is charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence. We've reached out to their attorney for comment.

Jose Cano denies ever knowing of the alleged gang affiliation writing in a letter to the New Mexico Supreme Court obtained by CNN affiliate station KOAT, quote, let me be as crystal clear as possible. The very first time I ever heard that the men could possibly have any association with Tren de Aragua was when I was informed of that by the agents on the day of the raid.

We should note too Victor, Judge Cano resigned in March sometime after the case first came to light. In this week the New Mexico Supreme Court ordered Cano to never run for judicial office in the future.

[06:35:08]

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the charges reflect the administration's belief that sanctuary jurisdictions only help criminals and that, quote, no one is above the law.

Victor?

BLACKWELL: Julia, thank you.

The 2025 NFL draft wrapped up yesterday. CNN's Coy Wire is here to tell us more about those who made it and how it changes their lives and today's difference-makers.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR (on-camera): Yes, good to see you, Victor. You know, part of the draft being so infectious is watching how these players' lives are --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WIRE (on-camera): -- impacted instantly, right? Yes, those players' lives are changed. I remember when I got drafted, I went from eating cold, leftover, microwavable burritos to my dream came true. I'm in the NFL, right?

BLACKWELL: You got to heat up your burritos then.

WIRE (on-camera): I got (INAUDIBLE). I had a microwave.

BLACKWELL: Good.

WIRE (on-camera): But, you know, it also impacts these players' families, right, the people who helped them get there. But sometimes you have this difference-maker who comes along. And for a young guy, this is really significant, who vows to use their blessings to make an impact on their communities, whether it's where they're from already or where they're about to be.

And that's the case with Dallas Cowboys' first-round draft pick, Tyler Booker. Huge, 6'5", 300-plus pound, liming out Alabama. Here he is dancing, celebrating the delight of being selected, working his way to this stage. And he eventually is going to give a big old bear hug to Commissioner Roger Goodell.

And after he met with the press and one of the first things he did was express his gratitude and his desire to make an immediate impact on and off the field in his new city, but also continue to be a pillar in Tuscaloosa and his hometown in Connecticut.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER BOOKER, TEAM CAPTAIN, TWO-YEAR STARTER ALABAMA: For three years at Alabama, I gave my all, blood, sweat, and tears. I stayed low. I stayed down. I stayed true to the program. I was a captain. I was a leader. I was very involved with the community.

And they're going to get the same thing out of me for however long God allows me to play the game of football. Like, I'm looking forward to playing my roots in Dallas. I'm looking forward to being a pillar of the community. And I'm looking forward to winning multiple Super Bowls in that city.

I'm holding my fourth annual Tyler Booker Football Camp June 21st at Hopkins High School in New Haven, Connecticut. And that's how I'm affecting the youth. And my football camp is the intro to segue into me creating or extending the branch of the Boys and Girls Club. Like, I really want to get involved within my community and New Haven continue to do that. But now I'm on the community in Dallas and I'm super excited to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE (on-camera): I mean, how selfless is that Victor to have this guy who's just graduating college and he's already having his fourth, you know, football camp back home.

So, he's so highly coveted by these NFL teams as an offensive lineman. Yes, protecting the team's biggest asset, the quarterback, but he's no stranger to making a difference off the field, along with his free football camp in Connecticut, plus time spent on his off days here in Tuscaloosa schools and the Loken Children's Hospital.

He's truly one of the one to watch as he inspires all of us to give back and invest in the next generation.

BLACKWELL: And I think that's fantastic. You don't just come to a city to play the game. You become part of the community and offer yourself to the community. And of course, that love comes back when you're on the field.

WIRE (on-camera): Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: All right. Cool.

WIRE (on-camera): Stuff (ph).

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

WIRE (on-camera): You got it.

BLACKWELL: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:42:52]

BLACKWELL: This morning, the Vatican marks the second day of nine days of mourning for Pope Francis. Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square this morning to attend a mourning mass for the deceased pontiff. More than 250,000 mourners attended the Pope's funeral in that square yesterday.

We're also getting our first look at the Pope's tomb at Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. He asked that the tomb not have ornate decoration. It's now public for people to see, for those to go and pay their respects.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now from Rome.

Rafael, still so many people are coming to mourn and will for the rest of the week.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Victor, good morning to you. Good afternoon from Rome. Yes, that's right. St. Peter's Square filled up again today, Victor, but perhaps not as much as it did yesterday when around 250,000 people attended the funeral mass of Pope Francis.

Crowds came back this morning for the morning mass for the Pope, although most of them by now have already left. The mass was over about 40 minutes ago. At this time, it's mainly young people from countries around the world, including the United States, who are also here in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee, a special year of pilgrimage and reflection for the Catholic Church. The mass started at 10.30 a.m. local time, 4.30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the former Secretary of State of the Vatican, presiding. He said the following, and I will share this with you, Victor. I address a special greeting to you, the Cardinal said during the homily, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes and to pass among you, to greet you, to walk among those people.

He said this is the second day of the Novendiale, the nine days of mourning after the Pope's funeral. Of course, the Pope is now buried. This morning at 7 a.m., the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore opened to the public to allow the faithful to pay their respects at Pope Francis' tomb.

[06:45:02]

The Vatican has released not only images of the tomb, but also the first official pictures, showing many things there in the in the tomb, including the inscription Franciscus as the Pope wanted. Earlier today, the Vatican also announced that Pope Francis tomb in a niche in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore can now be visited by the faithful as the church commemorates the late Pope with the second day of the Novendiale.

Popes, Victor are usually buried within Vatican City beneath St. Peter's Basilica, but Francis will be the first pontiff in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican as he requested in his will.

Victor?

BLACKWELL: Rafael Romo for us in Rome. Thank you.

Stars, take you to their favorite places in the new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES MY HAPPY PLACE." Join Alan Cumming in the Scottish Highlands for the premiere episode.

Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAN CUMMING, ACTOR: Absinthe if you didn't know is the powerfully intoxicating drink known as the Green Fairy.

Nice. Isn't he kicked it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that actually taste (ph).

CUMMING: Yes. That's actually delicious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, the name of the absinthe is Murmichan. So that's an old Scots word for a wicked fairy.

CUMMING: Look at that. What do you think?

I'm shocked. There's no mushy peas at that fish and chip van. (CROSSTALK)

CUMMING: That's terrible. Mushy peas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry.

CUMMING: I don't think mushy peas are English. No, I always have mushy peas when I come to Scotland. Do you not have them in Aberdeenshire?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think so.

CUMMING: Seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they under the counter?

CUMMING: I am quite pissed off about this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can see that.

CUMMING: Yes. Thank you very much.

No, I want mushy peas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CUMMING: I'm sorry to go on about this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Be sure to tune in the all-new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES MY HAPPY PLACE," premieres tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

Still to come. I'll have the details of a Broadway musical that celebrates Hispanic culture identity immigration and the importance of family ties.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:33]

BLACKWELL: Every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, one of my favorite segments on First of All is one that explores the intersection of news and art.

Now, special coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis meant no First of All this week, but I still wanted to share this week's edition of Art is Life.

It's about a Broadway musical that's history-making. It's timely. When the stories of immigrants are largely being told in the context of deportations, Real Women Have Curves. Real women have curves reminds us that there's much more to explore. It's a celebration of Hispanic identity and culture rare on Broadway until today, when it officially opens.

Real Women Have Curves first started as a play, then became an HBO film. Maybe you saw it starring America Ferrera.

I spoke with the director and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, stars Tatianna Cordoba and Florencia Cuenca about the work it took to transform that story into a colorful musical.

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TATIANNA CORDOBA, ACTOR, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES: Hi, my name is Tatianna Cordoba. I'm from the Bay Area, California, and I'm an actress.

FLORENCIA CUENCA, ACTOR, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES: Hola, my name is Florencia Cuenca. I'm from Mexico City, and I'm an actor.

SERGIO TRUJILLO, DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES: Hi, my name is Sergio Trujillo, and I was born in Cali, Colombia, and I'm the director-choreographer of Real Women Have Curves.

A story about family, about sacrifice, about rewriting your own story and finding your voice.

CORDOBA: I play Ana Garcia. She comes from a family of Mexican immigrants, and she gets into her dream college, which is a huge deal, full scholarship. And she sort of has to figure out how to juggle being able to still take care of her family.

CUENCA: You're going to feel, it's like a 360 experience. You're like listening to the music, listening to the accents that we all have. And sometimes we speak tantito Spanish, you know, or Spanglish, as I just did.

CORDOBA: You want to dance. You want to like hang out with us on stage. And I think that the audience is, it's truly an invitation into our party, into our body.

CUENCA: Well, as a Mexican immigrant, I can tell you that just me being on a stage is a political act. I am the first Mexican immigrant originating a role. That means that I am the first person ever to play this role on a Broadway musical, and that has never happened before.

It's crazy. It's 2025.

CORDOBA: I think that success for us is just being able to get as many people to receive our story as possible. When we see people at the stage door telling us how much, you know, I've never seen myself in that way. I've never been able to relate to a story so much.

TRUJILLO: As someone who has lived the undocumented immigrant experience, as an immigrant of America who is, you know, always and has continued to be in search of the American dream.

CORDOBA: I think there can be like resentment or, you know, some complicating feelings of wanting to show your parents that they came for a reason and that you can make them proud.

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And so, I think that that's a really cool dynamic that Justina (ph) and I get to explore, and it's going to be very relatable for a lot of people. We've had a lot of mothers and daughters come to the show and they just like coming together they like are hitting each other in the audience.

TRUJILLO: You know we are telling this story so truthfully with actors that have lived the experiences, you know a lot of them is the first time on Broadway. We have 17 Broadway debuts that's almost 95 percent of the cast is making their Broadway debuts.

CUENCA: Every time I step into this character and I start the show, I think about all those people who are -- who've been here, who were here, we're going to come, they're going to keep coming, we're here, we're not going to disappear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: You can catch Real Women Have Curves at the James Earl Jones Theater in New York and for more check out realwomenhavecurvesbroadway.com.

We'll be back.

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