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Trump Administration Bars Foreign Students from Enrolling at Harvard; New Details Emerge of D.C. Shooter's Past; The A.I. Generation Gap: How Age Shapes the Way We Use A.I. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 23, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:11]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, May 23. And here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

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KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together.

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CORNISH: The Trump administration takes on Harvard. It's now barred from enrolling international students. Will other universities be next?

Plus, a man charged in the murders of two Israeli embassy workers. New details this morning on who he is and what his history reveals.

And later --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KID CUDI, RAPPER: This is a stressful situation. I'm glad it's behind me.

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CORNISH: Rapper Kid Cudi takes the stand against Sean Combs. What he shared about his car being blown up, and the meeting where Diddy was acting like, quote, "a Marvel supervillain."

And Gen X had the first cell phones and CDs. Millennials, Facebook and smartphones. But for Gen Alpha, it's all about A.I. What parents need to know to keep up.

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at Chicago.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me.

We begin this morning with the Trump administration's continuing crackdown on Harvard University. The Department of Homeland Security has revoked Harvard's ability to enroll international students. The Trump administration claims it's due to the university failing to respond to antisemitism on campus.

And now Trump officials are holding up Harvard as an example for what they might do next.

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NOEM: This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together. Get your act together, because we are coming to make sure that these programs, that you are facilitating an environment where students can learn, where they're safe, and that they're not discriminated against based on their race or their religion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The decision puts the fate of several thousand international students in limbo. They may be forced to transfer or face losing their legal status unless a court intervenes.

And it comes just weeks after the Trump administration stripped billions of dollars in research grants, something Harvard is already suing over.

In a statement, Harvard calls this latest move unlawful, adding, quote, "This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission."

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RYAN ENOS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT: And now he's trying to punish them, to hold them hostage, essentially -- essentially, to try to win what he considers to be this political fight with Harvard. That's what authoritarians do. It's not done by the rule of law.

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CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Jackie Kucinich, CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief for "The Boston Globe"; Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist and senior adviser for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns; and Rob Bluey, president and executive editor at "The Daily Signal."

Jackie, I'm going to start with you, because you're at "The Boston Globe." And I know from working in Boston for a long time, we get sick of talking about Harvard.

However, why is the administration pushing so hard in this direction? They could, if they wanted to go after elite universities, do something that would undermine them across the board.

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Because they want -- I mean, you said it in your -- in your intro. The -- they want to make an example of Harvard. Harvard is fighting back, unlike some of the other elite universities.

And they really want to force them into compliance.

And this goes right at their bottom line. I mean, they -- the tuition paid by not only undergrad but graduate students, and they're able to attract talent from around the world. And this really -- this hits at that.

And I think we could expect Harvard to fight, as I think that -- because that's been the -- the pattern.

CORNISH: The people excited to see this: China reacting, saying -- a spokesperson for the China foreign ministry saying on Friday that the U.S. move "will only tarnish its own image and reputation in the world."

Other commentators on China's social media: "It's fun to watch them destroy their own strength." Another added, "Trump comes to the rescue again."

ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": It's a privilege for foreign students to study in the United States. It's also a privilege for universities to host those students.

Now, Kristi Noem, in her letter, did give Harvard an opportunity to respond, and she provided a list of things that they need to comply with. They're not in compliance with the federal government's requirements right now and providing her the information that she's requested. And so --

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CORNISH: Right now, the best and the brightest from around the world want to come to the U.S., whether it's Harvard or any other place. Why would they now?

And we've seen in other postwar context, for instance, what happens when a country experiences a brain drain. Do we want to start telling people, take a hike?

BLUEY: Well, for those students who are disruptive on campus and they're --

CORNISH: But this is everyone. This is all 6,000.

BLUEY: This is everyone at Harvard. But I think that what you see in Kristi Noem's comments, and also the letter that she sent to Harvard, they really focused on the antisemitism that's taking place on that campus and other campuses across the country. And so, yes, it does affect everybody.

But I think what she's saying is clean up the mess you have with antisemitism, and then you won't be in this -- crosshairs.

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The American people see with this because they see Harvard as elite. They get that. And that's what the perception is.

But they see it just as another context of bullying, of him not getting his way.

And also, Harvard knows what they're doing. When they picked back with -- when he sent a letter. And then they spell check everything and put the circles and try to embarrass the president. When you get these two head-to-head, it's a fight with unlimited money and resources of folks trying to just one-up each other.

CORNISH: It's interesting, because when I think back to the era of integration, when the federal government also used its levers of power to say, no, you cannot have segregated schools. Its' interesting seeing this in this new context, because it's not leverage the same way, right?

Like I said, it's not across the board. It's not going after particular policies. It's going after particular schools.

We had that Harvard professor earlier in the clip, talking about this being what authoritarians do. And CNN's Stephen Collinson writes, "They also fit into the category of presidential acts that ordinary citizens lack the capacity to influence," and that this mirrors "how autocrats corrode checks and balances by fostering cynicism about government institutions and disempowering the public."

Can you guys -- I don't know if that hit your ear right, but what are you thinking when you hear this idea that people start to feel helpless as they see the government target various institutions and people?

ROCHA: I would -- when I went to -- went to work for the union, I'd never went [SIC] to college. And so, the union quickly realized I needed some kind of an education and sent me to Boston to go to school at Harvard.

And I don't talk about this a lot, but I remember being around these students who were from foreign countries, because I'd never been around foreigners that much because I grew up in a real small town in East Texas.

And I remember how much hope and how much energy they brought to everything that they talked about, because they were seeing democracy in action. And many of them came from places where you couldn't do that.

And that's what set with me when I watched this is they almost appreciated it more than Americans, because we take it for granted of how good of an education a great place Harvard was.

CORNISH: Do you think that in the -- do you think we're going to see a good faith effort by the administration to show what is it you need to do to be in compliance? Right?

Like the things that they asked for were like, we want to have a lot to say of your curriculum, who goes there. It was really reaching deep into the university. What's the middle ground?

KUCINICH: Well, and I think that's what you're seeing the university push back as a result of how deep they want -- what they're asking for. Because they're saying they are in compliance with the law. And I think this is going to be one more thing that we see play out in the courts.

CORNISH: Yes.

BLUEY: As Jackie said earlier, I mean, this is a fight that Trump wants to pick. I mean, he wants to have this fight --

CORNISH: Yes.

BLUEY: -- with these elite universities, because I think he recognizes that not only this animates those -- this base of MAGA supporters who -- who are there and have his back, but also, I mean, these universities have been so out of step with so many conservative causes over the course of generations. Why not pick a fight with them right now?

CORNISH: All right. Group chat, stay with me. We've got a lot to talk about.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, accused of killing two outside a Jewish museum. That man is now facing murder charges. What he posted on social media right before the shooting.

Plus, another round of talks today between the U.S. and Iran. The red line Tehran says they will not cross.

And it was the most exclusive ticket in town. The private dinner with the president that only cost millions of dollars.

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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Donald Trump's dinner is a is a -- is a -- an orgy of corruption.

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CORNISH: So, the suspect accused of killing two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., has been federally charged with murder.

The 31-year-old made his first court appearance Thursday. He could face the death penalty if convicted. And this morning, we're learning new details about his past.

CNN correspondent Whitney Wild has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As FBI agents in tactical gear search an address linked to the man accused of shooting two people outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. The people who live in this busy North Side Chicago neighborhood are trying to make sense of the tragedy.

JOHN FRY, NEIGHBOR: It shocked me. I heard that the shooter was from Chicago. But, to have it be my next-door neighbor?

WILD (voice-over): From Chicago to Washington, law enforcement has been working around the clock to learn as much as they can about the 31-year-old shooting suspect, Elias Rodriguez.

Part of the investigation, according to law enforcement sources, a lengthy letter signed with Rodriguez's name and posted to social media Wednesday night. The letter advocated for violent retaliation over the war in Gaza, called Israel's actions in Gaza genocide, and expressed fury over the, quote, "atrocities committed by the Israelis against Palestine."

[06:15:06]

The letter referenced "armed action" as a valid form of protest, calling it "the only sane thing to do."

"What more at this point can one say about the proportion of mangled and burned and exploded human beings whom [SIC] were children?" the letter said. "We who let this happen will never deserve the Palestinians' forgiveness."

The shooting happened outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. The victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, staff members at the Israeli embassy.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The hate has got to stop, and it has to stop now. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

WILD (voice-over): Israeli officials say Lischinsky and Milgrim were dating. Lischinsky planned to propose soon.

BONDI: What we saw last night was disgusting. I saw a young man's body being taken away who was about to get engaged. He had an entire life in front of him, and that was taken away.

WILD (voice-over): Eyewitnesses told CNN Rodriguez first pretended to be a bystander after the shooting. When police arrived, Rodriguez turned himself in, shouting, "Free Palestine," a moment caught on video obtained by CNN.

ELIAS RODRIGUEZ, SHOOTING SUSPECT: Free, free Palestine!

YONI RIVER KALIN, WITNESS (via phone): He said, "I did this for Palestine." He started yelling, "Free, free Palestine! Intifada, revolution. There's only one solution." WILD (voice-over): Rodriguez appears to have been an activist for

years. This GoFundMe page, set up in 2017, raised money for a trip to Washington, D.C., for an event with a group called the People's Congress of Resistance. Rodriguez apparently writing that he wanted to "put an end to imperialist war."

He was also interviewed by Scripps News at a protest in 2018 over plans for an Amazon building.

RODRIGUEZ: Like, if we can keep Amazon out, that is a huge victory, and it demonstrates sort of the power of people coming together and being able to say no to things like gentrification and -- and these corporate subsidies.

WILD (voice-over): In the aftermath of the shooting, Rodriguez's neighbor shared this message.

FRY: I learned during the Vietnam War, you don't stop war with guns and bombs. You stop wars by going to your neighbors, talking to your neighbors.

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CORNISH: Still to come on CNN THIS MORNING, welcome to Generation A.I. We're breaking down the growing generational A.I. divide and what it could mean for your future.

And more on what this year's hurricane season might look like as the president threatens to close FEMA.

Good morning, St. Louis. A beautiful sunrise for you. The beginning of this Memorial Day weekend.

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[06:21:54]

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SAM ALTMAN, CEO, OPENAI: Older people use ChatGPT as a Google replacement. Maybe people in their 20s and 30s use it as, like, a life advisor or something. And then, like, people in college use it as an operating system.

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CORNISH: Sam Altman there, the chief of OpenAI. I want to go off script now because, of course, we've been hearing a lot about A.I. We've been hearing a lot about the dangers of A.I.

But for Generation Alpha, they will be digital natives to A.I. So, depending on where you fall in this generational divide, your use is going to be very different from that of your parents, kids, even your peers.

There's a bigger gap emerging between those born in today's A.I.- driven world and the rest of us. And so, that's the focus of a new book. It's called "Generation A.I.: Why Generation Alpha and the Age of A.I. Will Change Everything."

Joining me now is the author of that book, Matt Britton. Matt, good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING.

MATT BRITTON, AUTHOR, "GENERATION A.I.": How are you? Thanks for having me.

CORNISH: So, just to set the table here, you're saying that this is a -- you write in the book it's "a profound leap in how we connect, learn, and understand our place in society."

This sounds very different, although maybe similar from when I was a kid. And all of a sudden, there was, like, a Mac in the classroom, right?

BRITTON: Right.

CORNISH: And everybody was very panicked about that. Why is this different?

BRITTON: Well, for the first time ever, we can interact with technology the way, like, we interact with other humans. So, for Gen Alpha, the first generation to ever grew up with A.I. in the household, their brains are going to be developed differently. Because all of a sudden, they're going to be interacting at the earliest stages of development with technology the way they would like a friend. And that can confuse them and really shape the way that they look at the world completely differently.

CORNISH: And we should say there actually was a recent lawsuit involving a teenager's relationship with an A.I. chatbot that his parents believe contributed to his death, to his suicide.

How do people even begin to think about introducing A.I. tools to their kids when most of us aren't maybe using it in the same way?

BRITTON: Yes, I mean, I think parents really need to get their hands on the keyboard, understand how to use this technology.

You know, there are so many cool ways that you can use A.I. to interact with your kids. You can make coloring pages out of family photos. You can make up songs. Really try to make it playful, interactive.

Bring A.I. into the family dynamics, and over time, both you and your kid will get used to it; and it'll be part of everyday life.

CORNISH: What does literacy even mean in this environment? Right? It's changing so quickly. Like, how do you teach them? Like, how can you tell the difference from one thing versus another? What's real and what's not? And even kind of their own critical thinking, how to still deploy critical thinking in this context.

BRITTON: Yes. I mean, I think teachers are really going to struggle with this, because for years, what it meant to be a good student meant memorization and regurgitation, right? It meant cramming as much information as possible and then spitting it out the next day on the test.

But in this new world, it's going to be about critical thinking. It's going to be about problem solving and creativity. It's not really going to be about memorization and regurgitation of facts.

[06:25:03]

So, I think at the youngest ages, kids need to put themselves in positions where they can be problem solvers, where they can look at A.I., not necessarily as a tool where, you know, it's about the problem that's being solved. But it's really about to figure out, to zoom out and say, how can I apply this technology to the world?

How can I command it to really move forward? Because the world is going to change. The workforce is going to change. The jobs that exist are going to change moving forward.

CORNISH: As you were saying that, I was thinking about how many students have talked about cheating in college using A.I.

BRITTON: Crazy.

CORNISH: Writing papers, doing all kinds of stuff. So, we're already seeing this very kind of disruptive moment.

I know one thing I struggle with is I look at my kid. He's, like, 5 or 6, and I'm like, this won't even be the A.I. you'll be using in five years. Like, I don't know how to get my arms around --

BRITTON: In five years? Try five months.

CORNISH: OK, man. Come on.

BRITTON: Yes. I mean, it's already evolving.

CORNISH: So, where do we start?

BRITTON: It's really mind-blowing.

You know, I think that A.I. is going to be a part of our lives. And I -- you know, I've heard of some schools trying to ban A.I., and it reminds me of how some schools banned the Internet when it first came out in the early 2000s.

It's -- we're not going backwards. And, you know, no matter what job you're in, it's going to seep into every corner of your work.

No matter what relationship you have, it's going to seep into every corner of your relationship.

So, you just have to embrace it. You have to look at where your skill sets are and how A.I. can really superpower your life. I think ignoring it, I think saying, oh, I don't believe in it. That

may be the case, but ultimately, we're not going backwards. It's a part of our new society.

And the quicker that you can understand these tools, the quicker that you can command these tools, the faster you're going to be on the right side of this incredible change that we're seeing in our lifetime.

CORNISH: Matt Britton, thank you so much for your time.

And for those of you out there who want a copy of his book, it's called "Generation A.I." It's out now.

Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, a rap star takes the stand in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. His testimony and how it reveals why he thinks Combs was responsible for torching his car.

Plus, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to know the cause of autism by September. Why he's now walking back that deadline.

And of course, more from the group chat after this.

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