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CNN This Morning

$5K Baby Bonus for New Parents; Two-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Deported to Honduras; Democratic Lawmakers Hold "Sit-In" on Capitol Stairs. Nine Dead After Vehicle Plows Into Vancouver Street Festival; Heavy Rain Caused Massive Flooding In Oklahoma; Trump Criticizes Putin's Strikes On Ukraine In Truth Social Post; At Least 28 Dead, Hundreds Injured In Huge Port Explosion In Iran; Basilica Opens For Faithful To Visit Tomb Of Pope Francis; Tomorrow: Canadian Voters Head To The Polls With Trump On Their Mind; Milwaukee Judge Charged With Allegedly Helping Undocumented Immigrant Avoid Arrest. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired April 27, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:37]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, April 27th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for joining me.

We're following breaking news out of Canada. Police say a man drove his car into a Filipino street festival in Vancouver. Police say nine people were killed. That driver's now in police custody.

Parts of the country are under the threat for severe significant weather outbreak tomorrow. Forecasters are warning of tornadoes and hail the size of baseballs.

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

And mass just wrapped up at the Vatican, where they marked 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.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Sports highlights coming up this morning. We have NBA playoff action, an historic MLB feat, and the NFL draft. One of the biggest stories in the draft, Shedeur Sanders, for all the wrong reasons. We'll have that and more coming up in sports.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's start with that breaking news now out of Vancouver. Authorities say at least nine people were killed and several injured after a man drove a car through a crowded street festival. This happened just after 8:00 last night at a festival celebrating Filipino heritage.

Police arrested the driver. They identify him only as a 30-year-old man from Vancouver. Right now, investigators say they're confident that this was not an act of terrorism. But a source says that they are looking into whether mental health issues may have factored into the incident.

A lot of people in this community, they're just struggling to process what happened and why.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PETE FRY, VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: I'm pretty choked up. I don't even know what to say. This was a great, wonderful event, a 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 VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted a message expressing shock at the violence, calling the incident horrific, and offer condolences to the victims. We're going to bring you more of this as it develops.

At least one person is dead after a flash flooding in southwest Oklahoma yesterday. This is Lawton, and a person died after they drove into standing water from that flooding. The Lawton Fire Department responded to several calls for help from the massive flooding.

In one family, they said they lost everything.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TINA ALLEY, LAWTON RESIDENT: We lost everything. I think we've got some clothes that we can salvage that we're hanging up. We have maybe some -- a few valuables that were high up in China cabinets, things like that, family heirlooms that we were able to save. But as far as anything that we're going to be able to use for a home, we lost everything.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Allison Chinchar is with us now. It's going to be a rough week.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is, and there's more flooding expected, but also tornadoes, some hail, damaging winds. I mean, a little bit of everything is going to kind of get mixed into this next system.

So let's take a look at where it is right now. We've got a lot of the storms focused across the central U.S., and that's where they're going to stay at least for the next 24 hours before finally starting to shift eastward as we head towards the Midwest.

Now, right now, we still have some showers in the Midwest. This is mostly just light rain showers, kind of more of a nuisance than anything else across portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin and Iowa.

Farther down to the south, we've had some thunderstorms here. No warnings at the moment, but that could change as we go through the next 24 hours because we are starting to see the next system, the one that we've been talking about. This is really going to develop and take shape today.

So this is where the concern is, pretty much from the Canadian border all the way down to Mexico across the central U.S., and all of these areas have the potential for those damaging winds, around 60 to 70 mile per hour wind gusts. You could be looking at hail the size of golf balls today. That increases tomorrow, and even a few tornadoes today.

Now, tomorrow, again, the system takes shape today, but tomorrow is when we really see it strengthen as it begins to push eastward. So especially these red and orange areas here, that's where the biggest concern. You're talking a level four out of five for the severe weather threat.

[07:05:04]

Now, not only are we still talking tornadoes, but strong tornadoes that could be EF2 or stronger. The hail now jumps to baseball size hail for the potential tomorrow. Now, we're already starting to see some of those showers and thunderstorms develop today, especially in the afternoon across the northern plains and the upper Midwest.

But by tomorrow afternoon, and especially into tomorrow evening, that's when we really start to see things develop on the southern side of the system as well.

BLACKWELL: All right, Allison, thank you.

President Trump is questioning whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is really serious about wanting to end Russia's war with Ukraine. So in a post on Truth Social, Trump considered whether he's just being strung along by Putin.

Here's part of what he wrote. "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war. He's just tapping me along." Well, that was 15 minutes after the 15-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just before the funeral of Pope Francis.

CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak has more for us. Kevin, good morning.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Victor. You know, those photos inside St. 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.

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 blow-up 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.

At least 28 people have died and several hundred have been injured after a massive explosion at a port in southern Iran. The flames and the smoke, you can see them here at the port. First responders tried to put the fire out and save lives.

Iran's government says the explosion is likely linked to chemicals from containers that were stored in a corner of the port.

CNN's Larry Madowo is following this, joins us live. Larry, what more have you learned?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, it's taken firefighters almost 24 hours to get this fire under control, partly because of strong winds that have spread this thick gray smoke all around the Bandar Abbas town, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency and ask people to stay indoors, close their windows and avoid any outdoor activities to protect public health.

According to videos geolocated by CNN, it appeared to come from the Shahid Rajaee part of this expansive port. This is a container terminal that covers nearly 6,000 acres, and it has caused extensive damage to the section of the port.

And as we speak, in the last few hours, the government has said at least 28 people have been killed, 800 injured. They've so far only identified 10 of them. Six people remain missing.

And this public health emergency that they're dealing with right now, forcing schools and other public facilities to close, people asked to stay indoors as they figure out exactly what caused this fire. They can't say for sure, according to authorities, until the fire is fully extinguished. They were dealing with about 20 percent of it that's left.

[07:10:02]

The working theory is that it came from a section that had chemicals and sulfur, that part of the port. But they won't know for sure until that's all done. However, the big question is, what could have caused something this major that has led to this massive crisis, declaring state of emergency, and the government sending all the resources it can.

The Interior Ministry is in charge of that. And that inferno took place as the United States and Iran began a third round of talks in neighboring Oman about their nuclear program. So, obviously, there's been a lot of speculation if this was related. So far, nobody has claimed responsibility for it. And it's under investigation, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the pictures are awful. Dozens dead, even more injured.

Larry Madowo reporting for us. Thank you.

Protesters poured into the streets of Wisconsin. The major show of support for a judge who was arrested by the FBI for allegedly obstructing an immigration arrest. That's ahead.

And tomorrow is Election Day in Canada. President Trump's threats of tariffs and making it the 51st state loom pretty large. John King talks to some voters from across the northern border ahead.

And the 144th time is the charm for Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, in the NFL draft, a late pick that even had President Trump weighing in, later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:16:07]

BLACKWELL: This morning, the Vatican held another day of mourning for Pope Francis. Today marks the second of nine days of the mass that the Catholic faith traditionally holds after the death of a pope. These are some of the thousands of people gathered this morning in St. Peter's Square. More than 250,000 people attended the funeral on Saturday. And for the first time, the public is being allowed to visit the church where Pope Francis is entombed. Visitors lined up early outside of Basilica de Santa Maria Maggiore to pay their respects.

Protests erupted outside the FBI headquarters near Milwaukee on Saturday. It happened a day after a judge in Wisconsin was arrested. That happened Friday. The FBI is accusing the judge of trying to help the defendant avoid being arrested by immigration authorities.

That undocumented migrant the judge is accused of helping is now in ICE custody. Judge Hannah Dugan is now facing charges on obstruction and concealing the individual from arrest.

One person is in custody this morning for allegedly stealing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse. That theft happened last weekend at a restaurant in D.C. More arrests are expected in what is believed to be a theft ring in the area.

The purse had $3,000 in it, along with other items like her DHS access badge. Authorities have not yet said whether the thief knew and targeted Secretary Noem.

In fewer than 24 hours, polls will open in Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney hopes to continue leading the country. His party faces off against his biggest opponent, Canada's Conservative Party leader. That leader was the favorite to win when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down earlier this year.

But Trump's tariffs on Canada, the threats to its sovereignty, they've dramatically transformed this race. CNN's John King has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Trump effect on Canada's election cannot be overstated. You see more Canadian flags now. More of these signs, too.

Federal elections here are often defined by East versus West. Urban versus rural. English versus French. Liberal versus Conservative. But Trump versus Canada defines this one.

Just weeks ago, some of the flowers here at Lola Blooms came from the United States. Not anymore. Sisters-in-law Lindsay Smith and Kaitlynn Strain are buying elsewhere now. Their answer to Trump's threats of tariffs or making Canada the 51st state.

LINDSAY SMITH, CANADIAN VOTER: It's more Donald Trump. I feel like he's a bully in this situation. We're supposed to be allies. We thought we're on like a friendship level.

KING (voice-over): They both traditionally support the Green Party but both are leaning Liberal this time.

KING: If the Liberals are going to win or the Conservatives are going to win, you want them to win by what? A healthy enough margin --

KAITLYNN STRAIN, CANADIAN VOTER: Exactly.

KING: -- so that they're viewed as a strong leader?

SMITH: Yes.

STRAIN: Yes, very much.

SMITH: You put your vote where it counts a little more in this situation.

KING: And is that just because of Donald Trump?

SMITH: Yes.

STRAIN: Yes. Unfortunately.

SMITH: Yes.

KING (voice-over): Canadians see this as much bigger than who gets the most seats in parliament and gets to pick a prime minister. It's about spending more in the military.

Buying local. Finding new markets and new partners. Dropping any thought the ruts with Trump can just be smoothed over.

TOBY GORMAN, CANADIAN VOTER: I put up a flag myself. I never thought I would put up a Canadian flag. But I think when it comes down to crunch time, Canadians really gather up.

KING (voice-over): Toby Gorman is an environmental journalist and author and a pickup hockey player in the Canadian Beer League.

GORMAN: Just push it.

KING (voice-over): Gorman says he is hardly alone here in rethinking everything.

GORMAN: We're just sick of him, you know? And it's only been three months into the term and, you know, he's getting to an excess, he wants to crush us economically. I think, at first, it was kind of like losing your best friend or it's like, you know, what just happened, like, what's happening. But now, I think, we're at the point where it's like, well, we can move on.

KING (voice-over): That's a big shift.

This election defined by the belief Canada and the United States are suddenly more rivals than neighbors. Suddenly no longer skating in the same direction.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[07:20:13]

BLACKWELL: All right, John King, thank you for that story. A two-year-old American citizen has been deported to Honduras with her mother. And now a judge is questioning the government's reasoning for removing that toddler.

And a new rule means that Oscar voters will actually have to watch the film before they vote. Say word.

Those stories and more in this morning's roundup. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BLACKWELL: The world is watching to see if any progress is made in ending Russia's war on Ukraine after what the White House says were productive talks yesterday. What could happen next?

Joining me now, Alex Sanz, fellow at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Rodney Ho, entertainment reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Retired Juvenile Court Judge Ashley Willcott. Welcome to you all.

Alex, let me start here with you. It comes -- I mean, the tone is almost that it's a revelation that may be that Putin doesn't want to end this war. What do you make of what we heard from the President?

ALEX SANZ, FELLOW, THE POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA STUDIES: When you step back and look at the world, we are looking at different intersection points, whether it's in Gaza, whether it's in this country, the Vatican and Ukraine. This has been going on for a long time.

And we have seen the signals, at least the interest that, yes, both sides, many sides want this to come to a conclusion. They want the war to stop. But when you hear from the Ukrainians and from the Ukrainian president, there are clear red lines that they don't want to cross.

So, in the spirit of a ceasefire, sure, there's a conversation happening at the end of the day. Is it this -- this will be determined by what Ukraine can commit to, what concessions it might agree to. And Russia, which doesn't have at the moment, it seems, any intention of potentially scaling back or even when we look at the language of the framework that we've been discussing over the past week or so, really giving the Ukrainians many concessions.

So there clearly is a lot that will be up in the air over the next several weeks as these conversations continue. But the U.S. interest, obviously, is to bring this to a conclusion, whatever it ultimately looks like.

JUDGE ASHLEY WILLCOTT, RETIRED JUVENILE COURT JUDGE: I think actions speak louder than words. At the end of the day, to your point, you can say you want peace all day long, but your actions are going to speak volumes. And we know President Trump is going to react to actions.

You know, although the President believes that maybe he has to bring some sanctions or something to get Putin to end this war. Yes, maybe Putin wants to end it, but he wants to end it with Crimea. He wants to end it with the advantage over Ukraine. And the question is, does he now want to expand into the rest of Europe?

RODNEY HO, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: And does the United States have that much leverage? I mean, we've pretty much, you know, pushed really hard on sanctions already. And what more can we do?

BLACKWELL: Yes, the sanctions during the Biden administration certainly weren't a deterrent from even starting the war and continuing for as long as it's gone on.

Let's talk about this judge in Wisconsin, Hannah Dugan, who's been arrested. The FBI arrested her saying that she obstructed the ICE operation. She had someone in her courtroom who was there on domestic violence charge. And she apparently became visibly upset that ICE was there and showed him out a different door.

First, before we get into the strength of the case, the arrest of a judge. What's your thought?

WILLCOTT: Well, it's an extreme action, right? However, think about it in terms of our society. If a judge has committed a crime allegedly, well, then they are subject to arrest just like anyone else. She's not immune from that because she's a judge, Victor.

But on the other hand, I have to say, keep in mind, she's judicial. She's supposed to interpret the laws. She's not supposed to enforce the laws. That's the executive, the law enforcement role. And so the reality is, if she did cross that line, then she's subject to arrest just like any other citizen.

SANZ: It's also the boundaries. We have seen boundaries pushed and tested in these first 100 days. And there are certainly people, supporters of the President's policies who are cheering this on. This is what they say they were hoping to see.

It's what they voted on. And this is exactly what they are now pleased to see. At the same time, there are many groups, civil liberties groups who are wondering how much is too much.

At what point does the system, as they would consider it, reach a breaking point? And then what's the recourse? What happens if this extends beyond judges? What happens if a U.S. citizen, as we'll talk about, gets caught up in perhaps some of these deportation cases that we're seeing?

What's the recourse if there isn't a pulling back of sorts, the mechanism, if you will, that could potentially bring some of these things into check? There are people who are, you know, opposed and excited about this. And that's another area that I think will, over the next few months, I think really clarify where it ultimately goes.

WILLCOTT: I think we're looking at an extreme right now, right? An extreme way of it being enforced that's going to have to moderate and end up in a middle place eventually.

SANZ: Of course through action. Right.

WILLCOTT: Right.

BLACKWELL: What's the strength of the case?

WILLCOTT: Well, if the allegations are true, it's a very strong case because there are two witnesses in the courtroom, including a prosecutor who allegedly has said she directed them to the jury room, which was a back exit to get away from law enforcement.

If that's the case, I think there's a valid argument that she interfered with law enforcement. She interfered. She did something she didn't have the judicial power to do.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, we know that the AG went immediately on Fox News and the FBI director announced it on social media, then took it down, then put up a picture of her perp walk. So, we will see if that has some influence on the case as well.

Rodney, let's talk about something I teased right before the break. Oscar voters now have to be burdened with the responsibility of actually watching the films before they vote.

RODNEY HO, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: This is time consuming.

BLACKWELL: Right, right.

HO: There's hours, like three hours long, some of these movies.

BLACKWELL: I thought this was always a thing, and maybe it was for specialty categories, but you didn't have to watch the movies?

HO: Yes, I wasn't even aware of that myself. I mean, I don't know how they're going to ultimately enforce it. I know they can see whether you watch a digital screener and then -- but if you don't, if you go to a festival and see a movie, I guess you're supposed to fill out a form and say, oh, I watched it. There's still an honor system here.

But I guess if you should take these jobs seriously, I guess like any voting situation, then you probably should watch all the movies.

ALEX SANZ, FELLOW, THE POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA STUDIES: I mean, but think about it, these are competitions, whether it's sporting events, you and I have judged Emmy awards, we have to sit and watch and pay attention to what we're judging. And it's difficult to do that when you aren't sitting and watching the entirety of a production.

WILLCOTT: It's a crazy thought that you would vote without having watched the movie in my mind. I think you should have to.

BLACKWELL: And really, it reinforces the narrative that it's a popularity contest. I mean, if I didn't even watch the movie, but I think, oh, she should be best actress this year. WILLCOTT: You're voting on who's on -- in it.

BLACKWELL: You're voting on friends and voting on the name. One more thing here before we take this break. And the White House now considering program proposals from third-parties to encourage Americans to have children, one of them would be a $5,000 bonus for new mothers. CDC report in 2024 that -- or not CDC, I'm sorry, Brookings estimated 2022 that the cost to raise a child to adulthood $233,000. And so, $5,000, is that a significant enough bonus?

WILLCOTT: I have so much to say on this. I just have to kick it off and say --

SANZ: Drop in the bucket.

WILLCOTT: -- why would you give a bonus when the reality is, what if people can't afford to raise the children? They're going to need government assistance potentially, and then the government assistance is going to be cut. It doesn't make sense to me to think they should give any money for children to have children -- I mean, people to have children.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SANZ: I mean, you look at that. I have 14-year-old twins. Kids are expensive.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

SANZ: Childcare is expensive. Raising children is expensive. And $5,000, when you consider, as we heard this week, that tariffs are now increasing the cost of strollers, of all these different things that you need just to begin having a family, $5,000 doesn't go very far.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

HO: Non-starter.

BLACKWELL: Non-starter. So, the CDC stat that I was actually reaching for, they reported in 2024, that 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. That year. It is 54.6 births for every thousand women of reproductive age increased One -- less than a percent from the record low in 2023. The top 50 -- The reason for people who are under 50 who don't want to have children, they just don't want to. That's the reason from Pew. They say we just don't want to do it. It's not the economics. It's not the lifestyle. Just don't want to have kids.

All right. We'll take a break. Alex Rodney, and Ashley will stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: Alex Sanz, Rodney Ho, and Judge Ashley Willcott are still with me here. Let's talk about this child deported. A U.S. citizen, born in Louisiana, the child of an undocumented migrant who was in this country undocumented, as I said, a judge says that the deportation of this child is illegal and unconstitutional. The government's argument is that the mother wanted to take the child, so everything's fine. Is it?

WILLCOTT: And that's the exact issue that has to be litigated to find the answer to that. Because think about it, if you're a parent, a legal parent of a child, and you get deported, why can't you say, I'm taking my child with me. I don't care what you say, government. It's my child, stays with me. Does that consent override the ability of the U.S. government to say, no, you're not allowed, that's an illegal deportation, you can't do that? And that's the very issue, I think, litigation's going to ensue. But I think a parent gets to choose.

HO: And the child's only two, right? The two years old?

WILLCOTT: Yes. Two years old.

BLACKWELL: The other side of it --

WILLCOTT: With the mother.

BLACKWELL: -- just to add the other element is that the other parent in the U.S. wants the child to stay here.

WILLCOTT: Right. And then it becomes the custody battle. And that's a hard -- I mean, those are a lot of unchartered territories of litigation that we're now discussing.

SANZ: There's that, but the judges has also said, we hear what you're saying. I want to hear it for myself.

WILLCOTT: Yes. And that's fair too, because it's one thing for the government to say she consented. Oh, did she? Let's find out for sure. And that's what the judge's job is. What are the facts.

BLACKWELL: In this climate, of course we know with the priority placed on mass deportation. Hurricane season is a little more than a month away, starting June 1st, the Atlantic hurricane season, about 20 percent of FEMA's permanent staffers are likely to take a buyout, that's in addition to 800 earlier this year according to New York Times. What's the expected impact?

[07:40:00]

SANZ: I mean, we've talked about this when we last saw each other. For a very long time, the government, this institution was in intangible. And now, people are realizing it's a very, very tangible impacts of what government does. We have seen this with the cuts to Social Security and the inability for people to even reach someone sometime at an office or the telephone.

When you look at the impact that this potentially has, we are just now getting through another severe weather season. Hurricane season itself is still weeks away. As these cuts continue to really take hold, what will that mean for people? Does it mean that a state gets hit with a hurricane or a tornado or some other natural disaster, do people have to wait for help? Do they get that help? Those are all questions now that are coming up because of this, and there are states trying to push back. Not all states are obviously prepared to handle the burden of potentially a major recovery should it happen there.

HO: It's definitely the specter of Katrina. That was just 19 years ago. And we know what impact that had on President Bush.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And the other element is, and we just reported on some of the polls from the Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, is that the handling of the government and some of these cuts very unpopular. And to make these cuts or allow these cuts or offer them as we're going into the Atlantic hurricane season, these are the people that many in the country are going to be looking to and pair that with this effort to shift the responsibility to the states. And so that the threshold for federal disaster relief is even higher.

WILLCOTT: I think that's true. And I think that that's what confuses people is does it make sense given we're going into a hurricane season and we're about to face these natural disasters likely, how does that feel to common sense? And people pushed back against it because it doesn't feel like it's good common sense.

BLACKWELL: All right. Entertainment. Let's talk about Cowboy Carter, the rodeo chitlin circuit tour. Who's going?

WILLCOTT: You go. Rodney, this is you.

HO: It looks like --

BLACKWELL: No, I'm talking about to the concert.

HO: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILLCOTT: I thought you meant who's talking about it first?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILLCOTT: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: So, Rodney, it starts tomorrow at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, first of 32 stadium shows. It's not sold out.

HO: It's not, but she just, you know, did a massive tour two years ago that was, what, 56 states? So, I think most of them were sold out. I think she initially sold out several of these dates. They added extra. So, she has like five concerts at SoFi and five in New York and six in London. So, she's doing a lot. She's definitely pushing the envelope in terms of capacity.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILLCOTT: No way is it not going to sell out. I just think there's no way they're not all going to sell out. BLACKWELL: And I think it's going to sell out because so far we've not seen any of it on social media. And so, that once you see the concert --

HO: The buzz will --

BLACKWELL: Yes, you get the buzz, that those --

HO: She's definitely not going to disappoint. I mean, there'll be a lot of line dancing. It's going to be interesting because of the whole country vibe, which is very different from her "Renaissance" tour.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SANZ: There may also be a wait and see though. We are in this strange time where people don't know what the impact of tariffs will be in three months at -- in their homes. They don't know how much more expensive things will be if they have to buy a new car, if they have to make a repair in their house. It's possible that what we're seeing is partly some people taking that wait and see. They really want to go, but there may be five other more important things I have to get done first and then if I can get to it, I'll do it.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Consumer confidence certainly was higher a couple of years ago when the "Renaissance" tour was going across the country and the world. She's nominated for American Music Awards. The nominations came out this week. Kendrick Lamar leads with 10 artists of the year, favorite male hip hop artist, album of the year, favorite hip hop album. Led in large part by "Not Like Us," which is that Drake diss track. Is it that good though? Is it good enough? He could tie Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for the most awards in a single year if he wins in all eight categories. I mean, it's a great song. But do you think it reaches that level?

HO: We might be in a world of backlash. I mean, it's hard to say. I mean, American Music Awards, it's not quite the -- you know, it's not really the Grammys.

BLACKWELL: It's fan supported.

HO: It's not quite the Grammys in terms of prestige. So, we won't really know what this means in the grand scheme of things. But he's got, you know, a lot of good competition. Chappell Roan, Billy Eilish. There's plenty of great artists out there as well.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And he --

HO: And Drake.

BLACKWELL: And Drake, yes. He's on the grand national tour, and of course won the Grammys and after the Super Bowl performance. All right. Alex, Rodney, Judge --

WILLCOTT: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you all. All right. After 257 picks, the 2025 NFL draft is in the books. Coy looks at where Shedeur Sanders landed and the player dubbed Mr. Irrelevant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:00]

BLACKWELL: So, this is interesting, live pictures here from the steps of Capitol Hill. Democratic lawmakers are holding a sit-in on the capitol steps. You've got Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, the house minority leader, and Senator Cory Booker are calling this a conversation with the American people. Senator Chris Coons was just there a couple of minutes ago.

They're aiming for a focus on what they call our common values, our faith traditions, and the moral moment facing our nation. Apparently, they're going to have guests throughout this conversation. We'll keep an eye on this throughout the morning.

[07:50:00]

We're tracking severe storms expected across the Central U.S. this week. CNN's Allison Chinchar back with us now. So, when should we expect to see these storms?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, we have some showers out there this morning, but they really start to get going later on this evening and then especially as we go into the day Monday. So, you can see some light showers, mostly more of a nuisance across portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin farther down to the south.

This is where we have those thunderstorms already. No warnings at the moment, but that could change as we go through the next 24 hours. Here's a look at where we have the severe potential for later on today. You can see basically from North Dakota all the way down to South Texas. You're looking at damaging winds, some hail, maybe perhaps around the size of golf balls, and a few tornadoes as well.

Then we transition to tomorrow. It not only shifts eastward, but it also intensifies. So, you're going to see that system really begin to strengthen. And because of that you're now up to a level four out of five severe threat. So, now, the hail we're talking could be baseball size. Not only a few tornadoes, but a few strong tornadoes. It could be EF-2 or even larger. And some of those damaging wind gusts, that could be up around 60 to even 70 miles per hour.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you. Shedeur Sanders had to wait longer than expected in the NFL draft, but he now has finally found a home. CNN's Coy Wire is joining me now. They were a little deflated after the first round.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And then it went on and on and on.

WIRE: This was huge. Even President Trump tweeted on social media that -- asking, quote -- were the NFL owners quote, "stupid."

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WIRE: He said he -- Shedeur Sanders set for greatness. One of the biggest names in this draft, former Colorado quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, he became one of the biggest stories, but for not the reason he and his family would've been hoping, touted as a top five pick by many in the media and by his own father, NFL legend Colorado Head coach Deion Sanders.

Shedeur watched five other quarterbacks taken ahead of him, perhaps the most confounding draft day slide we've ever seen. On top of that, on Friday, during the draft, he received a phone call allegedly from the general manager of the New Orleans Saints, but it turned out to be a prank. This moment on video was posted by, Well Off Media, it's a production company by Shedeur's brother Deion Sanders, Jr. No word on who was behind this prank.

And although Shedeur was not drafted to the Saints, his friends and family, they could be heard saying encouraging words. But then, it came. A day after the prank, the former Big 12 player of the year, finally getting his moment. And you can see the joy. Drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round as the 144th overall pick. He will now get his chance to prove any doubters wrong. Shedeur posting on social media afterwards simply, thank you, God.

All right. Some highlights now, including the first ever NBA playoffs' buzzer beating dunk. But first, some mayhem between the Clippers and Nuggets. Final seconds of the first half. James Harden didn't like the way he was swiped that there. A foul is called. His Clippers were up 2-1 in the series over the Nuggets. But then Harden swiped at Aaron Gordon, six players called for technical fouls. No objections though.

And the game came down to this game tied in the final seconds. Nikola Jokic for the three. Is no good. But there goes Aaron Gordon.

BLACKWELL: What?

WIRE: Yes. Flushing it home just before that light turns red. Nuggets win. 101-99, tying the series at two a piece now in epic fashion. And not all heroes wear capes, some wear ties like Victor. Somewhere the number 30 Jersey Golden State Warriors stars Steph Curry scoring 36 points on five. Made three pointers to lift his team to 104-93 win over the Houston Rockets without their star, Jimmy Butler, who was out with injury. Curry proven why he is one of the greatest to ever do it. Leading his team to a 2-1 series lead.

And you have to see this, a piece of MLB history claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Eugenio Suarez. He hit not once, not two, not three, four home runs. How rare is this? He's just a 19th player ever to hit four homers in a game. And this is even more rare than a pitcher throwing a perfect game. There've been 24 perfect games thrown. His team lost 8-7 to the Braves. Details, minor details, but Suarez, he went from six home runs on this season, coming in to now leading the majors with 10 all in one game.

BLACKWELL: No, wait a minute, if I hit four home runs and we still lose, come on guys. WIRE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Come on.

WIRE: He did acknowledge it though. He said it would've been nice to have a win afterwards. But yes, he said, this is why you play baseball. I never would've thought I could ever hit home runs, four home runs in the game and there he did it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: Yes, you got it.

BLACKWELL: Eva Longoria is back with an all-new culinary adventure. She explores the vibrant and daring cuisine of Spain, one bite at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What a wonderful day to come to the capital of cava.

EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "EVA LONGORIA: SEARCHING FOR SPAIN": I know. I'm very excited. There's a lot of excitement happening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today is the phylloxera party and I have this here, because we dress in yellow.

[07:55:00]

LONGORIA (voice-over): This region was originally famous for red wine, but in the late 1800s, the vineyards here were devastated by a yellow parasite called phylloxera.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phylloxera was a nightmare for every winemaker, because it attacks the roots and it was a really disaster.

LONGORIA (voice-over): The disease vines were grafted with hardier ones from America and winemakers crafted a sparkling white that was the start of a whole new industry.

LONGORIA: That's the bug that just did it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain" premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. on CNN. Thank you for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics Sunday is up next.

[08:00:00]