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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Trump Administration Revises Key Health Report After Flaws Uncovered; Russia's Poster Child For War Killed In Explosion At Home; Reward For Two Remaining Escapees Jumps To $50,000. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 30, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: A report from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Health and Human Services Department is coming under scrutiny. The nonprofit Washington publication NOTUS is reporting the Trump administration's latest Make America Healthy Again report references some studies that apparently don't exist.
CNN has done its own review of the administration's flagship report. Our health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more on what was found.
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JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The MAHA report has more than 500 citations and CNN has checked dozens so far. Now, the White House says it has updated the report but in the report's original version, here at CNN we've identified at least two citations that appear to not have publications online. Both of those studies are in reference to direct-to-consumer advertising of medications. For one of those studies an author is referenced as being Dr. Findling at Virginia Commonwealth University, but the university confirmed to CNN that Dr. Findling has not authored such a paper.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this report and its citations in a press briefing. Here is what she had to say.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated. But it does not negate the substance of the report which, as you know, is one of the transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government and is backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government.
HOWARD: And the White House was also asked if the report used AI. Karoline Leavitt said that was a question for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Now, in a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services says, "Minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected, but the substance of the MAHA report remains the same -- a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children. Under President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, our federal government is no longer ignoring this crisis, and it's time for the media to also focus on what matters."
But some experts I've talked to say that they still have questions. I spoke with an expert at NYU, Dr. Art Caplan, who says that he still thinks the errors appear to have been AI-related.
Back to you.
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SOLOMON: Jacqueline Howard, thank you.
U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell reportedly didn't budget in the face of President Donald Trump's pressure to cut interest rates. The two held their first meeting in six years yesterday with Trump reportedly scolding Powell of his handling of monetary policy. But according to the Fed, Powell said that the decisions will be based only on economic data, not on the president's demands.
Trump has been unrelenting in his attacks on the Federal Reserve chair, calling him at times "a fool" and a "major loser."
Experts say that the central bank's independence is crucial to keeping the U.S. economy stable.
Still ahead, a Russian military veteran was touted as a hero by the Kremlin for his role in Ukraine -- that is before his apparent assassination on Thursday. It's also not a first in Russia. We'll have that story straight ahead.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back.
Ukraine is reporting new strikes by Russia on its major cities just as the U.S. is threatening to walk away from its efforts to reach a peace deal. The country's second-largest city, Kharkiv, was attacked today setting off a fire at a local transportation company. Officials say that at least 11 people have been injured in that region over the past 24 hours. The port city of Odesa also took Russian fire in recent hours.
This is all happening a day after the U.S. told the U.N. Security Council that it may step back from peacemaking if Russian attacks continue. Moscow says that it has invited Kyiv to continue peace talks in Istanbul on Monday.
A military veteran turned poster child for Russia's war in Ukraine is the victim of apparent assassination at home. As CNN's Matthew Chance reports he's hardly the first prominent figure associated with the conflict to suffer that fate.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voiceover): Excel for Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine, the Kremlin might call you a hero. It could also mark you out as a target for assassination by the other side.
[05:40:08]
These are the final moments of the latest Russian war hero killed in a mysterious explosion. Thirty-four-year-old Zaur Gurtsiev had only recently been made deputy mayor of Stavropol in southern Russia, but the former soldier distinguished himself here in Mariupol where he led a Russian airborne unit in one of the most brutal sieges of the Ukraine war.
The Kremlin even made a promotional video about him called "Time of Heroes," highlighting his exploits and family. A model veteran to be given priority in Putin's new Russia being forged in the Ukraine war.
ZAUR GURTSIEV, RUSSIAN HERO ASSASSINATED (through translator): I could bring my experience to public administration as a person who has gone from a cadet to a commander. From a person to whom ready-made decisions are communicated to a person who makes those very decisions.
CHANCE (voiceover): But becoming a face of Russia's war potentially paints a target on your back. Russia enduring a spate of assassinations of pro-Kremlin bloggers, propogandists, and military figures, all reminders that in the brutal calculus of what Russia calls its "special military operation" there are only rewards at the price of considerable risk.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
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SOLOMON: In a few hours, jurors in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial will hear more from his former assistant. Coming up, graphic testimony about what she says she endured and what she witnessed.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon, and here are some of the stories we are watching for you this morning.
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are back on. The federal appeals court has temporarily restored the president's ability to levy tariffs using emergency powers after he was blocked by another court on Wednesday. Trump slamming the decision, saying that it undermines his presidential power. The U.S. State Department says that new appointments for student and exchange visas could be available sooner rather than later. The White House paused those appointments as part of a crackdown on visas.
And Hamas is demanding some changes to a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal thought to be accepted by Israel. The militant group says that it will release all remaining hostages but wants assurances that the fighting will not resume after the 60-day truce. Hamas also wants the U.N. to handle all humanitarian assistance.
Well, in just a few hours the woman who worked as Sean "Diddy" Combs' assistant for eight years will resume her testimony in his federal criminal trial. Using a pseudonym in court she said that the music mogul was violent with her and sexually assaulted her several times.
A warning that details of Thursday's testimony are graphic and disturbing.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports from New York.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The jury heard from the government's second alleged witness following the testimony from Cassie Ventura who, of course, was the prosecution's first witness to testify.
Now, this woman is testifying under the pseudonym "Mia" in order to protect her anonymity. And Mia was a former assistant to Sean Combs. She worked for him for years. And throughout her testimony she described this culture of control and fear where she said that she was physically assaulted by Combs on numerous occasions and also sexually assaulted by Combs more than once.
Now, Mia says that she was essentially forced to live with Sean Combs during her employment. She said that she had her own apartment but that she was living with him most of the time in his home in Los Angeles and in Miami.
She said that sometimes on a good day she would be able to sleep in the guesthouse, but most of the time she was sleeping in the main house where she said that she had to ask for permission to leave. One time when she left to be with her friends, she then found out that Combs was sending his security to go find her.
She also said that she was not able to lock the door in her bedroom in Combs' homes, so with that she got into these allegations of sexual assault. And she said that one time because that bedroom door wasn't locked that she woke up to the weight of body on her and when she woke up it was Combs. And that is when she says that he raped her.
She said that the first time that she was sexually assaulted was before that and it was at Combs' 40th birthday party at the Plaza Hotel here in New York City. She said that he offered her some shots of vodka to say let's celebrate for my birthday, and that when she took the two shots that she immediately felt very strong effects that were very atypical to how she felt when she typically drank alcohol.
She said that Combs then suddenly kissed her and put his hand up her dress. And then she says that the next thing that she remembers is waking up on a chair as the sun was rising, but she has no recollection of how she got from point A to point B -- to that chair -- when the sun was rising.
Now, Mia also said that Combs would throw objects at here. One time he threw a bowl of spaghetti. Another time he threw a computer at her.
And she corroborated much of Cassie Ventura's account, including many instances of alleged physical violence, one of which she says Sean Combs threw Cassie Ventura against a bed where she was gushing blood. After that, Mia testified that Sean Combs asked her to get in touch with a doctor and to say that Cassie was drunk and she fell, and she hit her head.
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Now, Mia will continue with her testimony on Friday where she will first continue to be questioned by prosecutors, and then Combs' defense will go for cross-examination.
Back to you.
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SOLOMON: A reward for two prison escapees in Louisiana now stands at $50,000. Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey are still on the run after breaking out of the Orleans Justice Center on May 16. Groves, here on the left, was serving time for a double murder. Massie has lengthy criminal record, including domestic abuse, aggravated assault, and vehicle theft.
Eight other inmates who escaped, allegedly with the help of prison employees, have now been caught.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the recapture of a convicted killer and rapist who escaped from prison in northern Arkansas on Sunday. Fifty-six-year-old Grant Hardin was serving a 50-year sentence for first-degree murder and two counts of rape. He had been in prison since 2017.
Before then he had jobs in law enforcement and corrections, including chief of police for a few months in the town of Gateway, Arkansas.
Authorities are investigating the timeline around his escape. Multiple agencies are involved in this manhunt.
All right. Still ahead for us after the break, dramatic scenes from Switzerland as a village is engulfed by a collapsing glacier. We'll have the details coming up next.
Plus, dangerous wildfires are burning across Canada as the smoke heads toward the U.S.
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SOLOMON: Massive wildfires burning out of control in western and central Canada are forcing thousands of people to flee their homes while sending hazardous smoke toward major U.S. cities. There are more than 170 fires burning across Canada and only about 50 are under control. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency. Much of Canada from the northwest territories in Alberta to Quebec are at extreme risk of wildfires at the highest level.
Smoke is expected to reach the Upper Midwest and Great Lake areas of the U.S. and linger through the weekend leading to dangerous air quality in some places around Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Detroit.
Now to dramatic drone footage showing the moment this village in Switzerland was buried by rubble after a glacier collapsed. Around 90 percent of the community of Blatten was overwhelmed by ice, rock and mud. The village had been evacuated earlier this month.
But as Bill Weir explains the same thing could happen in other places in the world which may not be so lucky.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Those pictures from southern Switzerland are so staggering and the energy of that glacier collapse and the avalanche coincided with a 3.1 earthquake in that part of Switzerland.
The most violent sort of seismic act tied to this sort of event that they've seen in over a century there, but it could have been a lot worse. That village of 300 or so people was evacuated about 10 days ago when geologists noticed changes -- new stresses, new rock weight on top of that already shrinking glacier.
It's too soon to say how much climate change or warming contributed to the actual moment of collapse. Mountains fall apart all the time over eons. But the Alps, like so many high regions around the world, has been melting as the planet warms. The permafrost that held up a big rock face under that particular glacier, locals say, has been thawing over the years.
And this is a warning to mountain communities really around the world. There is estimated up to 15 million people living below glacier lakes in the Andes and the Himalayas. There's 8,000 glaciers just in Pakistan. And a lot of those places are just an earth and an ice dam holding back meltwater, and if it releases all at once you can see the resulting catastrophe there as well.
This is Switzerland, one of the richest countries in the world with scientists who provided early warning that obviously saved lives right there. But there are sort of dripping time bombs like that all over our overheating planet.
Bill Weir, CNN, New York.
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SOLOMON: All right, turning to sports.
The Edmonton Oilers are heading to a rematch against the Florida Panters in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers scored three early goals on their way to a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars Thursday. The Panthers beat Edmonton in seven games in last year's Stanley Cup Final, so the Oilers -- they're going to be out for revenge when game one kicks off next Wednesday.
The New York Knicks have forced a game six in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 32 points for the Knicks. The Pacers still lead the series three games to two. Game six coming up Saturday in Indianapolis and the winner of the series will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
All right, this is always a fun one. The National Scripps Spelling Bee, it's always a treat. Young people struggling to spell impossible words that most of us have never heard of and often need some consoling when they get it wrong. Others -- well, they just knock out incredibly complex words with breathtaking ease, such as this year's winner, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki. He actually came in second last year.
This time the judges challenged him with a word derived from French.
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SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE JUDGE: Your word is "eclaircissement."
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FAIZAN ZAKI, WINNER, SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE: Eclaircissement. E-C-L-A-I-R-C-I-S-S-E-M-E-N-T, eclaircissement.
SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE JUDGE: That is correct.
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SOLOMON: I don't know about you, but I use the word all the time -- every day.
Faizan wins $52,000 and a trophy. By the way, the word means an enlightening clarification. A clearing up of something obscure.
All right, that'll do it for us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon and live in New York. Have a great weekend. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
