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Yellen Warns Congress Treasury May Run Out of Cash; Manhunt is Underway in Texas; PA Governor Moves to Stop Spreading "Tranq" Crisis; Harry's Star Turn on the Red Carpet; "CNN Tonight" Presents "On the Lookout." Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired May 01, 2023 - 23:00   ET

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


[23:00:00]

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was a big surprise coming from Yellen today, saying that this was going to happen as soon as June 1st. That's because the estimate had been basically a wide window of the entire summer where the default could potentially be happening.

Now, we know that Congress has a deadline, essentially a month to figure this out, which is why you are starting to see some action that you did not see for the last 90 days. That is about how long it has been since McCarthy and the president sat down in a room to talk about this issue. Now, we expect that they are going to meet on Tuesday, next week, to make decision about how to go forward.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Okay. Hold on a second. Next Tuesday?

FOX: That's exactly right.

CAMEROTA: If time isn't --

(LAUGHTER)

Why are they meeting seven days from now?

FOX: Well, the fact is that the House is on recess right now and Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, is a broad. So, the soon that they are going to be able to get together and have this conversation is next Tuesday. And that is exactly right. I mean, a lot of lawmakers, including Mitt Romney, today argued, why are we waiting so long? This is an emergency. We know Congress takes time to figure these things out. We need to be on this sooner.

CAMEROTA: Hadn't President Biden said he wasn't going to meet? I don't know if he ever stated that, but the feeling was he wasn't going to meet with McCarthy because, I guess, he didn't think that the Republicans were negotiating in good -- in good faith. What was the -- what had been the holdup until now?

FOX: Well, one of the arguments that the White House had made is they were not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling. The other argument they had made was House Republicans needed to show their plan. That is exactly what they did last week. They passed their own plan that would increase the debt ceiling as well as hold spending and return it to fiscal 2022 levels, which means for everyone at home, that they are cutting spending.

And that is something that McCarthy was able to unite his conference around. That was a huge leap of faith. It was a huge gamble for McCarthy and his leadership to display to everyone, we are going to say that we are going to vote on this, and then we are going to actually get the votes.

Remember, McCarthy has such a narrow margin. He could only afford to lose four Republicans. He was able to do that last week. And I think that is why you are seeing the White House willing to have a conversation not just with McCarthy but other congressional leaders as well to try to figure this out.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm always fascinated by, like, as someone who is not covering politics every day, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, I don't get the impression that they're calling each other every night, to talk to each other in at night --

(LAUGHTER)

-- and ask, you know, how your day went. And so, trying to balance clearly the personal divide or personal relationship between the two with the governing responsibility that we are all watching, why are you taking a week, this is an emergency, what you're doing, and I am just fascinated when it comes to that meeting, what the dynamics of that meeting is going to be. Is it going to be country or is it going to be politics?

FOX: Well, I do think that the relationship between Biden and McCarthy is relatively untested. Right? I mean, McCarthy is a new speaker. He is generationally in a different place than the president.

The relationship that is a lot more established is the one between Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden. That relationship spans more than three decades. They have been through multiple times where they've had to figure out fiscal cliffs, where they've had to figure out past debt ceiling negotiations. So, they have a little bit more of a runway when it comes to these discussions.

But McConnell sorts of taken a backseat. He wants McCarthy to lead these negotiations in part because McCarthy is the one who has to decide what goes on the House floor and what is going to be something that his members, especially the conservative wing of his party, can vote for. So, I think it is kind of an untested relationship.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can I ask a question? You know, I've covered McCarthy for a little while. I covered him actually from Bakersfield on the local side to this large stage.

FOX: Yeah.

What -- is he coming in with a position of strength? I know you said the vote last week was a big accomplishment, but it is still narrow. There is so little room you would think on his end to negotiate, especially if the risk is maybe him losing that speakership.

FOX: Yeah. Well, I am so glad that you brought that up because Ralph Norman, who is a conservative, somebody who has railed against spending in the past, he told me last week, and I made him repeat this over and over again, that Kevin McCarthy's argument to conservatives in a private conference meeting was that this bill is not going to be significantly watered down. That was the argument that he was making to them to get a vote on it.

UNKNOWN: Oh, boy.

And I said, are you sure that is what McCarthy was promising you? Did you hear that correctly? And I think to a lot of conservatives, that is at least what they are hoping for. They don't want this bill watered down. And remember, there are four Republicans who voted against it, and they are still trying to win back those votes.

So, what is McCarthy going to bring back to them? I think it is a huge question. And there is a potential that if Kevin McCarthy brings something back to them that is unsatisfactory, he could be in a position where, remember when he won the speaker's race, any one Republican can absolutely bring a vote to remove him from the speakership. That means that he has to retain enough support from his conference and not lose more members in a way that he can maintain the gavel.

[23:04:58]

And so, this is a huge tight rope for him because on the one hand, he has to make sure that the country does not revolt. On the other hand, he wants to keep his job.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Oh, I just wonder if he can walk this tight rope. Right? I mean, he is really between a rock and a hard place. Joe Biden is not just going to go and say, well, Kevin, you (INAUDIBLE) that vote, I'm going to give you everything you want. Right? That's not the way it works.

I think that is part of the reason why, you know, if you look at the chances of default and the people who are actually putting money on this and sharing the U.S. bonds, the chance of a default has been rising rather rapidly in these markets.

Now, it is still low, right, but the closer we get and especially with the comments from Janet Yellen, I have to ask whether, you know, is this a realistic scenario? It can definitely seem like a realistic scenario that we can end up defaulting given the current lines going through Congress and the president. Right?

FOX: Well, I think that is certainly a potential. And I think that the White House is certainly guessing that if the market starts to drop in a dramatic way, that changes the calculus for Republicans. Maybe they are more willing to come to the table, maybe they are more willing to move to the side of Democrats if all of a sudden, they start hearing from Wall Street that this is a major problem, and not just hearing from them in private meetings, but seeing it unfold on Wall street.

I think that is the impetus that the White House is counting on when it comes to moving this negotiation forward and partially why they have waited 90 days since their last meeting.

CAMEROTA: See, I just feel like we have covered this so many times. There have been so many iterations of the debt ceiling. You don't even have to be a political reporter to have covered this for years. What always happens is the sky is falling, the sky is falling, and then at the 11th hour, they come up with some magical solution and it is a compromise, and lo and behold, we do not default on our debt.

So, I have always felt, like, okay, you're not going to trick me again. However, is this year different than all the past years when we've covered this?

FOX: I think you will always have to be careful by using the past as prologue for these kinds of scenarios because every political situation is different. I think McCarthy's position, like we said, job or default, is extremely precarious when it comes to his role in this.

I think he is just really untested as a leader. Right? And so, we haven't seen him have to negotiate this with the White House at this point when everybody is watching. I think this is a totally different scenario than we have seen in the past.

ENTEN: I will note, I think I did the math a few months ago when the debt ceiling talks first started that there have been more talks about the debt ceiling and perhaps defaulting over the past decade or so than there have been summer Olympics.

So, yeah, it does seem to me like we have had this discussion a lot, but I think, you know, the politics of it now and given the small majority that the Republicans have in the House may make this perhaps a little difficult. Hopefully not. Hopefully they reach a solution, but we will see.

CAMEROTA: Did they talk about this, Lauren? I mean, do we have anything that they said? Are you reading the tea leaves from what they said today?

FOX: Yeah. I mean, one of the things that you are hearing from lawmakers on Capitol Hill is they are still really divided on what the path forward is. I thought it was interesting because lawmakers coming to town at about 5:30, the Senate is in session, the House is out of session, but our colleagues on the Hill were running around, talking to all of these members, and one thing that you heard over and over again was the talking points that Republicans and Democrats have had.

This came after Janet Yellen's letter where she said basically we did not get as much money from taxes as we thought we are going to get. Therefore, we could reach this deadline by June 1st.

CAMEROTA: Oh, boy. All right, thank you for --

(LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: I hope all of Congress was just listening. Thank you very much, Lauren. All right, when we come back, the manhunt going on tonight in Texas and beyond. Hundreds of law enforcement officers searching for the suspect accused of that massacre that killed five people, including a nine-year-old boy. Omar is following the story for us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: All right, an urgent manhunt underway for the suspect wanted in the massacre of five people in Cleveland, Texas. Thirty- eight-year-old Francisco Oropesa is accused of shooting and killing five of his neighbors, including a nine-year-old child after they asked him to stop firing his rifle so close to their home so their baby could sleep.

Omar Jimenez is on this story for us. Omar, he was here. The suspect was here in the U.S. illegally. He had been deported several times. The manhunt, are they looking in Mexico where he's from?

JIMENEZ: Well, that is certainly part of, I'm sure, their search. He is a Mexican national. As you mentioned, immigration sources told CNN he had been deported four times. He came to the U.S. initially back in 2009.

But what is interesting about that is that does not necessarily inform what may have led to this shooting because the shooting happened in a way that you could almost see in any neighborhood where it's a guy who's firing his weapon, family comes over and says, hey, look, I know you're firing a weapon, but we got a baby sleeping, could you just do it on the other side of your house, which seems to most people like a reasonable request.

Yet, less than a half hour later, he comes barging into the home, shooting and killing godparents of this man, children, killed his nine-year-old son, killed the mother of the son.

And he even said, the father, Wilson Garcia, said that once the mother went down when she first got shot, another person in the house told him to jump out the back window because here was a son or children who have now lost the mother and they did not want him to be lost too and his children not to grow up without a father. This is all happening in the moment as someone is now barging in to kill them.

CAMEROTA: It's so shocking. It's just so awful. Also, I read, Omar, I don't know if you reported on this, these families hadn't had issues with each other.

JIMENEZ: No.

[23:14:58]

CAMEROTA: In fact, the wife of the shooter and the wife who was killed, the mother of the nine-year-old, had been friendly.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

CAMEROTA: And I believe that the shooter had one time helped them with either their car was broken down or something in their yard. So, does anybody know why -- what set him off, why he went into a homicidal rage?

JIMENEZ: That is a big question. I mean, they seemed to have a normal relationship that you would have with any neighbors. Yes, they talk all the time. He even helped the suspect at one point cut down a tree in the neighbor's yard. Clearly, they are having contact.

Even when this man shooting his gun, they feel comfortable enough to walk up to someone who is firing a weapon and say, hey, totally cool if you want to do this, just do this over there, and we're going to go back over here. So, clearly, there was a relationship.

But yeah, what authorities are trying to figure out is what set him off because clearly, there was something. This snap happened again within a matter of less than half an hour. And it wasn't just the snap of yelling in someone's face, it was shooting to the point of indiscriminately killing children, of targeting those that are -- even younger children who survived this ordeal, but --

CAMEROTA: Because they hid one of them.

JIMENEZ: Because they hid. They hid under clothes. That is the reality of growing up in many parts of America, is that you could find yourself in a position where you are in a neighborhood home trying to enjoy a Friday night and just by lightly confronting someone to say, hey, can you consider our child, you could end up in a situation like this. So, it's scary for a lot of people looking in this.

CAMEROTA: I don't know if you guys saw the interview today with the father.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

CAMEROTA: It is so heartbreaking because he lost his nine-year-old, he lost his wife, he still has a one-year-old, the baby who was sleeping, and the four-year-old who they hid under clothing. I mean, his life is -- he just can't believe. It's one of these situations where in the flash of a moment, you make decision, and then your entire life changes.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. And, you know, the wildest thing now is all this happens. Authorities have no idea where he is. As of this point, police have no leads, at least that they're saying publicly, I should mention that. The FBI considers him armed and dangerous. They put out $80,000 reward just to try and spur people to come forward. But, again, him being a Mexican national, I'm sure that's informing where they are potentially looking. But also, the victims killed here, they were from Honduras. And so, the Honduran government is, of course, trying to not only sent support to these families that were lost, but also trying to make sure family back home in Honduras is taken care of as well.

And so, one thing I actually should mention, too, is that local sheriff, you brought up that he had been deported many times before, he was asked about that. Why is this man here, someone who has been deported? And his answer was at this point, it doesn't matter whether he was here legally or not, especially for the family, because what we are dealing with here is someone who committed violence against these people and these people live in an area that I have jurisdiction over, and I need to take care of that.

FREEMAN: Omar, can I ask you?

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

FREEMAN: I don't know if you specifically touched on this in the course of your reporting on this, but one of the things that came up in the conversation was Governor Greg Abbott, when he pulled out the release, not just describing the shooter, but he also described the victims.

In his words, he said as legal immigrants, as folks who are undocumented here in this country, is there any sense as to why the governor decided to label the victims in this particular way, using that language?

JIMENEZ: Well, look, if you've been paying attention to Governor Greg Abbott in Texas over the past year and a half, beyond, he has been very critical of the Biden administration when it comes to how he interprets their handling of what's happening down at the border to the point where he has been sending people apprehended at the border to other major cities, Chicago, New York, other -- Washington, D.C. as well.

And so, when you put out that initial statement, it was kind of in theme for better or for worse of what his messaging has been when it comes to anybody, any story he has seen involving any form of deportation, any form of potentially being in this country under questionable circumstances. You notice that once he learned, at least one of them was not, he walked it back a little.

FREEMAN: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: But still, the sentiment of it remains that he wanted people to know that as part of this, there was an issue of illegality in regards to immigration status, whether that had any motivation in the actual shooting itself or not.

ENTEN: Go ahead, Lauren.

FOX: It has been several days since this took place. Can you describe, like, what does a manhunt look like when you are dealing with a suspect who is on the loose and you may not be able to find them?

JIMENEZ: Well, it is coordination of a lot of jurisdiction. Texas is a big place with a lot of place -- lot of space to drive.

[23:20:03]

And, you know, across multiple jurisdictions, you're going to start at the state level, you're going to -- also the local sheriff here has even said that they are really understaffed, and so they're likely relying on other help as well. You likely have customs and border protection involved because you're trying to make sure that potentially this Mexican national doesn't try and go back to Mexico. If he does, you can potentially catch him at the border there.

The FBI is also involved, in case he's going from state to state, trying to coordinate and lock down and use as many of their resources to get at least a sighting of him because, again, as we mentioned, at this point, there is no lead. And, you know, you put the face out there to try and spur people to say, you know, actually, I think I saw someone who may look like --

CAMEROTA: And he also has distinctive tattoos.

JIMENEZ: I want everyone to pull everyone's attention to because the authorities are obviously going to rely on the public's help for this. They do have a lot of photos of him. So, take a look. You just can call 1-800-CALL-FBI if you see anybody like this because he got to be -- you know, he is on the run. He obviously needs money. People are going to see them, actually. Harry, do you have a question?

ENTEN: Yeah, no, it just seems to me that there are a lot of political fault lines sort of driving through the case. Right? We have guns on the one hand.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

ENTEN: We have illegal immigration on the other hand. I'm just wondering how this all kind of, you know, plays out. It feels like everybody, you know, besides the obviously human interest point of this and so many people needlessly murdered, you know, people are going to probably play politics with this in just how it sorts of playing up because it seems like each side sort of has a way they could do it.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. People will find a way to play politics with anything. I mean, we got some D.C. reporters around. You know that. But in this particular case, yes, I mean, when you look at gun violence alone, if you just want to stick with that, we've already had almost 200 mass shootings four months into the air across this country.

I was just covering Louisville two weeks ago. Since then, we have had mass shootings in cities across this country not just in ones that get huge coverage but nearly every night or every week shootings in some of these cities. So, you've got that.

Now, guns in Texas is a little bit less of a political issue than it would be guns in Seattle, for example. But people looking at that from the outside in would say, look, all right, here is someone who clearly or had something that made him snap or go, I now want to kill these people. And gun advocates would look at that and say, well, if he didn't have a gun, this interaction might be hand to hand combat, it might be -- you might be talking about a stabbing as opposed to an entire family decimated.

Yet, on the other side of things, someone might say, well, if this family had a gun and maybe they could shoot back, you know, that's where the politics start coming into play when, if you look at the father, Wilson Garcia, as he spoke today, he was far away from politics.

He was trying to figure out how he is going to move forward, how is going to raise these other kids who have lost a good portion of their family in a blink of an eye. And it is a place, sadly, that so many families across this country found themselves in.

CAMEROTA: There is a GoFundMe page set up to try and help the family. And again, call 1-800-CALL-FBI if you know anything.

All right, meanwhile, the governor of Pennsylvania taking a major step to stop the spread of the drug known as "tranq." Dan has been following this developing story for us. He is going to tell us all that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: All right, Pennsylvania taking steps to tackle the spread of a powerful sedative known as "tranq." Its real name is xylazine. Xylazine?

FREEEMAN: Xylazine.

CAMEROTA: And Governor Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania is classifying this as Schedule III drug. Xylazine is a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use. Pennsylvania joins three other states, Ohio, Florida and West Virginia in classifying this sedative as a controlled substance.

Danny Freeman is following this story for us. So, Danny, just explain how bad is this in Pennsylvania. You heard me stumbling through that. Most of us don't even know about this drug yet.

FREEMAN: Absolutely. As you said, it is a drug that is mostly used as a sedative or a muscle relaxer but for cows and horses. That is how strong and powerful we're talking about. And it has found its way into a lot of other illicit drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, we'll get to it in a moment, but people who are taking drugs are expecting drugs to be fentanyl, to be heroin, and then this is laced in there and it gets very complicated. But you ask the question, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, why now? This problem with xylazine, with "tranq," has been kind of snowballing for a couple of years now. Folks have been detecting it here and there. I would say, over the past six months, it has really come to a head.

DEA is saying that this is something that they issue a public alert, saying this is something we need to pay attention to. The White House just last month was saying that this is an emerging threat that we need to pay attention to.

And now, Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro in the past week and a half, he said this is something that we are going to put on the controlled substance list. It is going to Schedule III drug.

I just want to show you some numbers that you mentioned. In 2021, 34% of all Philadelphia overdose deaths, xylazine was detected. So, you can just start to appreciate the scale of the problem that's actually happening not just in a city which Shapiro called the epicenter of this problem but it's spreading throughout the state and throughout the country.

[23:30:00]

CAMEROTA: As you are saying, these are people who don't even necessarily know that they're not looking for -- they're not looking for xylazine, they don't want it, but they're getting it. What does it do to the body? What do people look like when they're on it?

FREEMAN: Yes, it's awful. It's really, really terrible. It's painful. But frankly, I probably could not do it just as describing it to you, but one of our reporters, our correspondents, Elle Reeve, she actually went to Kensington, one of ground zero spots in Philadelphia, for drug use often. She spoke with people who are on this drug and who have been suffering because of it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: It has been open for 21 months or so. (Bleep). It doesn't let your body heal.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE). It's eventually going to kill you if you keep going. I see it every day. That. Every day. Right next to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh, that's awful. I mean, that is on zombie stuff. Like an open wound, as he was saying, for 21 months.

FREEMAN: Yeah. There were cases where it gets so bad, these ulcers that get on your skin, that people have lost limbs because of that. And, you know, it hasn't been studied at tremendous amount in humans again because it hasn't been a controlled substance, it's not designed for the. So, there's still research being done as to why this is happening to people's skin. But it happens. And it is sad and it is hurting a lot of people, again, in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania, the country. JIMENEZ: I always think about, like, how do you begin to tackle this? Because, you know, when you talk about the drugs itself, it always seems like someone is looking for something stronger. It's not just heroin, it's heroin with fentanyl. It's not just fentanyl, it's "tranq" as well.

You know, on one hand, it is okay, maybe we can try to eliminate the supply of this, but in some ways, if you eliminate the supply, wouldn't they just go and try and find something stronger? So, how do you begin to tackle this?

FREEMAN: It's interesting. And again, like I said, this is one of the newer phenomena that folks who are dealing in the space are trying to address. So, people are still figuring that out. But, what I would say is that -- I mentioned before, it's a horse tranquilizer. It's a horse sedative. Right? So, it is used by farmers and other folks who deal with veterinary practices and need to sedate a cow for some reason.

The government, the DEA says, that's not where this is coming from. The DEA said in a report from last year that people can go online, they can buy it from Chinese suppliers, and it comes in. And what it does is it elongates the high of something like fentanyl, something like heroin. And that is why people, bad actors, are putting into these drugs and selling it on the streets.

So, it is a hard question as to how to then address that, but that's how the larger ecosystem is working right now. But yes, it's a challenge. And in Pennsylvania and these other states as well who have now designated this as a controlled substance, the goal is to get more resources to fight back.

ENTEN: So, just so I'm clear, are people who are using these drugs, are they seeking out this additional thing or are people putting it in and they don't know that they're getting it? Is there a little of A and a little of B? What exactly --

FREEMAN: It really -- as far as the studies go, so far, the people who are on the ground, people don't look out for this drug. People don't say, I want "tranq" on the hole. Right? It was interesting. There was actually a study done by the CDC recently, at the end of last year -- excuse me -- that was just released in the past week that was about the portion of time in 2022, and it said that they surveyed 200 users or 20 plus users of drugs that had "tranq" in it. Only 6% of those people, when they were looking for heroin or fentanyl, actually got heroin and fentanyl. In 81% of the time, "tranq" or xylazine was actually in the drug that they had or some other things. So, no, folks are not seeking this out. It's in it and it's causing a lot of pain.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. It is awful. We've all seen the stories of teenagers who think they are getting Adderall, who think they're getting a Percocet, and then end up getting fentanyl or something like this. And it's just awful.

FREEMAN: Yeah. Absolutely. Again, that is what -- it's hard when the drug in question is not a controlled substance. There are not a lot of levers that governments can do to address this really. So, in Pennsylvania and these other states as well, by making it a Schedule III drug, now the government can control shipping, control delivery, can actually mandate that it's stored in a locked place when you have this drug. It's those little things that hopefully will lead to better enforcement.

The other thing, law enforcement officers, if they so choose, can now regulate it themselves and decide if they want to charge if people are selling or distributing.

CAMEROTA: That sounds like progress. Go ahead.

FOX: What do you make of the fact that Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who a lot of people look to as a potential presidential contender down the line, is taking this action? Is this sort of like Democrats turning the tide on being tough on crime in a way that maybe they learned a lesson from the last election?

[23:35:02]

FREEMAN: You know, I think Governor Shapiro is an interesting figure in this particular moment because he came into office, certainly running against a more extreme Republican candidates, Senator Doug Mastriano -- State Senator Doug Mastriano. But I think that what he has tried to do, at least in this first now 100 plus days of being in office, is be more bipartisan than perhaps other Pennsylvania Democratic governors have been in the past.

So, I don't think that he would necessarily say, he had a press conference in Philadelphia, that this is -- our office is being hard on crime or tough on crime. I think they are saying, his administration and other people who are working in the space, listen, addiction to this or any other types of drugs, these opioids, in this case, is a disease. That's not a crime. We're looking first to attack a disease. And that's, I think, what we're seeing here in Pennsylvania.

CAMEROTA: Danny, thank you very much for educating us to all of this. It is horrible, as you say.

All right, on a much lighter note, we are about to show you Harry's star turn on the red carpet at the White House correspondents' dinner. We'll show you which celebrities he was pestering.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENTEN: Can you believe they allowed me to do this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The Writers Guild of America reportedly walking away from the negotiation table without a deal tonight. Their contract expires at midnight, Pacific time. And at this moment, Hollywood is bracing for a strike. If it happens, who will entertain us? Will it be A.I. or will we have to rely on Harry Enten? Here he is. Here is what that would look like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENTEN: I just have one question for you. Obviously, you're the comedian of the evening. But if you are not, in fact, the comedian of the evening, would you actually be watching this event?

UNKNOWN: You're the data guy.

ENTEN: I am the data guy. You know who I am.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, I know exactly who you are.

ENTEN: And I know who you are.

ROY WOOD, JR., HUMORIST: (INAUDIBLE) going up against Monday night football. I'll be the (INAUDIBLE) and check back on it later.

ENTEN: That's a great question. I have no idea what I'm doing here.

You know, they called us the nerd prom. I have to ask. How does this compare to your actual prom back in the day?

Actually, there is no difference between this prom and my actual prom. I don't have a date to either one.

(LAUGHTER)

UNKNOWN: Well, I was a nerd. So, this feels right to me.

ENTEN: Your accent makes my accent look so crummy by comparison. And people always say, I have this big New York accident, but nothing compared to your accent.

UNKNOWN: Who could make this up?

ENTEN: Who could --

(LAUGHTER)

I don't think anyone could make it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Harry, that is awesome. How much fun did you have?

ENTEN: I have to be honest. I was nervous going into it. And the --

CAMEROTA: So, you've never -- had you go on to the White House correspondents' dinner?

ENTEN: I had once attended. I had worked on, you know, coverage but back from the studio, right?

CAMEROTA: Not on the red carpet.

ENTEN: Not on the red carpet. And I think, you know, one of the things that people take for granted perhaps from watching television is they don't realize there are certain people who have some skills and other people who have other skills.

(LAUGHTER)

And so, the idea that I would hold a microphone up to somebody and ask them questions is not something I really ever done before, right? I'm not a field reporter. I'm usually in safe confines of the studio where someone like is asking me questions and I'm giving the response instead of the other way around. It's like, oh, my God, am I going to do something wrong?

And so perhaps there was some nervous energy that was coming out during that clip, but it seemed to work. I feel like you asked a perfect question --

FREEMAN: Yeah.

ENTEN: -- to Roy Wood, Jr. right off the front -- right off the bat.

JIMENEZ: He --

(COUGHING)

-- how should I answer this?

CAMEROTA: I know. That was great.

JIMENEZ: -- I'm hosting. Also (INAUDIBLE) like you watch a football. I feel like -- I feel like you know that man.

ENTEN: Well, thank you. That is very --

JIMENEZ: I will endorse you to go out and do it again next year, if you so choose, if that means anything to anyone. Let's get him back out there.

ENTEN: I'm hoping --

FOX: Two votes of confidence.

(LAUGHTER)

ENTEN: If we have Oscar coverage, I'm hoping that maybe --

JIMENEZ: Here we go. Here we go.

FOX: Translate.

JIMENEZ: What else do you want to do? Translate --

ENTEN: You know, maybe a red carpet --

FOX: Met Gala is going on.

ENTEN: Met Gala.

FOX: You got to run out. You got to get there.

ENTEN: That is a good one.

FREEMAN: I just like also that, you know, most television journalists go up and they interview people in the field, you know, (INAUDIBLE) about different things, the gas prices, the milk prices, and you start at the White House correspondents' dinner red carpet. That's the starting point for interviewing people.

FOX: No pressure.

ENTEN: No pressure. I sort of leaked ahead. But what is interesting to me also was the type of celebrities that were there, right?

FREEMAN: Yeah.

ENTEN: So, you know, there were a lot of people who were well known in the 1990s or the early 2000s, and that actually played very well for me because that is all of my pop culture reference --

CAMEROTA: Perfect. So, should we see a little bit more of you?

ENTEN: Yeah. Please, please.

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENTEN: Oh look, there is Phil Mattingly! I wonder if he'll tell us tales from most baseball days.

WOOD: You know who I'd love to see to this event? Chris Rock.

ENTEN: Oh. If Will Smith wasn't here, it would be okay?

WOOD: You said it, not me.

ENTEN: Very hard on myself. Do you suggest that he gets, for dinner, if he's looking for something interesting to eat in Bentonville, Arkansas?

ASA HUTCHINSON, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: Well, of course, you know, the barbecue can't be beat there.

ENTEN: You stand then, you stand now, when the heck you ever sit down and start on this end?

HUTCHINSON: It's sort of a foodie paradise there. So, you'll find a lot of different options. It's incredible. Tacos, Mexican food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: How long did that conversation with Asa Hutchinson go on?

[23:45:01]

ENTEN: You know, I got to say the former governor was very kind. My friend, Neil Payne (ph), moved to Bentonville, Arkansas. So, he is actually neighbors with Asa Hutchinson. So, I was legitimately asking him a question. I was looking up for my buddy, Neil (ph). I was, like, where can Neal (ph) get a good bite to eat in Bentonville, Arkansas? So, you know, it wasn't just about me, it was also about my friends.

CAMEROTA: Sure. Lauren, in terms of tomorrow's news, how many relationships will you have to repair now that Harry has done this to various, you know --

FOX: (INAUDIBLE) people on -- I mean, it's actually good training and a good reminder for me on Capitol Hill like how I can get some attention from senators, right? Like I can use your strategy, like the red-carpet strategy in the halls of the Dirksen Office Building.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: That was just waving and jumping that Harry was doing.

FOX: Well, I mean, we will try it. We'll see if it works. You know, everyone has their own strategy.

JIMENEZ: Much more echoey in that building than on that carpet.

FREEMAN: I think Senator Bernie Sanders would love that.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, he would love that.

FOX: I think he would respond well.

(LAUGHTER)

ENTEN: I think the question would be who was the best accent, me (INAUDIBLE) or Bernie Sanders?

FOX: That is true.

CAMEROTA: You're right.

FOX: That's a hard contest. We won't answer that because then I would have to repair that relationship.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Yeah. You're right. So, what was your favorite moment?

ENTEN: I think if we have some sound of it, there was a moment when someone from the 1990 show, "Wings," which was very big for me. I don't know if we have the sound. Do we have that sound? We do. Let's listen to it.

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENTEN: Harry.

UNKNOWN: Harry. I'm Tim.

ENTEN: Yeah, I know you because I watched the show, "Wings." "Wings" is one of my favorite shows of all time.

UNKNOWN: You must have been four years old, but great, I'm glad you watched it.

UNKNOWN: I was on an episode of "Wings."

ENTEN: Were you? Really?

UNKNOWN: Yeah. I played this tall girl at a single stand and I started crying because I'm too tall and no one wants to dance with me.

ENTEN: You're not too tall for me.

UNKNOWN: Oh, never.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE) actually.

UNKNOWN: Yeah.

UNKNOWN: That's a little-known secret of his team.

ENTEN: Whatever you want to wear is all right by me.

Can you believe that they allowed me to do this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: No, we can't. Harry, that was great. That was really fun.

ENTEN: Well, it was a pleasure being there. Although I was nervous to start out with, it's great to expand my winds and prove that I can be someplace besides the studio.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, you spread your wings. And you -- obviously, you hooked up with your all-time wings (INAUDIBLE).

ENTEN: That is right. I love the show, "Wings." The team's song is fantastic. I've even flown in the plane. That is featured in the opening credit of "Wings."

CAMEROTA: That is beautiful.

ENTEN: So, it all came together. CAMEROTA: Fun fact.

ENTEN: Fun fact.

CAMEROTA: That is fun. All right, Harry, thank you very much for that. Another gala, a baby announcement, for tennis superstar Serena Williams at the annual Met Gala tonight here New York City. Williams announced that she and her husband are expecting their second child. She looks stunning in her black dress and pearls. The couple already has a five-year-old daughter, Olympia.

Last year, Williams said in an essay in Vogue that she planned to grow her family as she evolved away from tennis. And she's doing just that.

Okay, up next, "On the Lookout." Our reporters are going to tell us what stories they're looking out for on the horizon. Can't wait to hear it. We will be right back.

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[23:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: And we are back with our fantastic panel of reporters to tell us what stories they are keeping an eye on. We call it "On the Lookout." Okay, Lauren, what you've got?

FOX: Well, tomorrow is a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the ethics of the Supreme Court. They wanted John Roberts to testify. Instead, they're going to have a series of experts on the Supreme Court to testify.

But the reason it matters and the reason I'm so interested in it is because there's obviously a lot of questions about whether or not the Supreme Court needs to tighten its ethics rules, whether or not they need to come up with some protections to make sure that the American public has belief and trust in the Supreme Court after what we've seen over the last several weeks, and all this reporting that has come out on Clarence Thomas's lavish travels. I think that that is going to be something to watch tomorrow.

CAMEROTA: Okay. Thank you for that. Danny?

FREEMAN: I have a similarly very, very serious thing that I'm looking forward to. Uh, sixers (ph) --

(LAUGHTER)

The Celtics. No one thought it was going to happen. It was fantastic. I'm looking forward to game two. And, you know, of course, everyone in Philadelphia, they're hoping -- look at this. I mean, Harden was unbelievable, 40 plus points. It was nuts tonight. I'm glad that the game ended and I can come here. I was excited the entire time. And again, I'm looking to see if (INAUDIBLE) comes back. You know, he has been having these injuries since (INAUDIBLE) in the Florida nets. We hope he comes back.

CAMEROTA: I'm so glad you're able to multitask tonight.

(LAUGHTER)

That is faster. Thank you for that. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Aside from keeping an eye on Lakers Warriors (INAUDIBLE) keeping an eye on. But this week is World Press Freedom Day, on Wednesday. So, tomorrow, I'm actually moderating the panel at the United Nations. We're bringing together the heads of various media rights groups from around the world to talk not just about what countries can do across the world but also to bring awareness to some very high-profile journalists like Evan Gershkovich right now in Russia, Austin Tice in Syria, but also to bring light to some other stories as well.

Obviously were coming off the fun of the White House correspondents' dinner, but obviously, at the center of it all is the ability to do journalism and we're going to take some of those conversations to a global level this weekend. I hope to be able to share some of those conversations.

CAMEROTA: I'm so glad you're doing that because it's getting more dangerous to be a journalist around the world.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Omar, thank you very much. Okay, Harry, what are you keeping an eye on?

ENTEN: It is snowing currently in Northern Michigan, and it snowed in Green Bay yesterday, still today, earlier today. And, you know, it's not unusual that it snows in Northern Michigan this time of year, but it's the amounts that are so unusual. We're talking double digits. We could be looking upwards of two feet when it's all said and done in some locations.

[23:55:03]

And I can only say I'm extremely jealous. I went to college, the specific college I went to, in part because I wanted to know. This year was a record low snow total in New York City. Apparently, it's all going to Northern Michigan and Minneapolis, which I think is like the third highest snowfall total ever for them in a season. So, God bless them. Hopefully, if they need me to come shovel them out, I would be more than willing.

CAMEROTA: All right, I feel like you both have revealed that your closet meteorologists and you're a closet forecaster. So that is fantastic. Thank you all. Great to have you with me tonight.

Tomorrow on "CNN This Morning," what Disney man who pioneered the personal computer think about artificial intelligence? You're going to find out when Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak joins the show live. That starts at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. Thanks so much for watching tonight. Our coverage continues now.

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