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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Florida State University Shooting; Trump Escalates Attack on Fed Chair Powell; Midst of Tariff Uncertainties, PM Meloni Visits the White House; Russia's War on Ukraine; Next Week, South Korean Officials Scheduled to Visit the U.S. for Trade Negotiations; Phoenix Ikner, 20, Named as FSU Suspected Shooter; Fascist Specialist to Relocate to Canada from the U.S.; Potentially Exciting Possibility of Life on Another Planet. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired April 17, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all over the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington and you're watching, "The
Brief."
Just ahead this hour, a shooter has killed two people and injured five others at Florida State University. Police say the suspect, is the son of a
sheriff's deputy.
President Trump escalates his attack on the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, saying, quote, "If I want him out, he'll be out of there real fast." Big
questions as to whether that's true.
And is life really out there? Scientists say they have found the strongest evidence yet on a distant planet. It's worth asking.
We are tracking the aftermath of yet another shooting in this country. This one at Florida State University. A shooter killed, two people, wounded at
least five others. Police responded to the scene, shot and wounded the suspected gunman. He has now been identified as Phoenix Ikner. Police say
he attends FSU and is the son of a local sheriff's deputy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF WALTER MCNEIL, LEON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons and that was one of the weapons that
was found at the scene. And we are continuing that investigation into how that weapon was used and what other weapons perhaps he may have had access
to.
The alleged shooter was also a long-standing member of Leon County Sheriff's Office Citizen Advisory or Youth Advisory Council. So, he has
been steep in the Leon County Sheriff's Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have. So, it's not a surprise to us that he
had access to weapons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Remarkable witnesses described a chaotic violent scene. Take a listen to this student who spoke to our affiliate WCTV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CELESTE HALAVIN, FSU STUDENT: We saw cops running, students running. It was just like complete chaos. Everyone was like running all over the place.
And then we saw like a gurney, and then like the gurney came back, and the guy had his arm cut off, and I think like he was bleeding and like he had
like bandages and stuff. And so, like that was really hard to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Good Lord to say the least. A short time ago, Donald Trump called a shooting, quote, "A shame."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Look, I'm a big advocate of the Second Amendment. I have been from the beginning. I protected it. And these things
are terrible. But the gun doesn't do the shooting, the people do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Gun makes a lot easier. Joining me now, Felipe Rodriguez. He's a former New York Police detective, professor at the John Jay College of
Criminal Justice. Good to have you. Certainly, sad for the law enforcement community there that the shooter was a child of a deputy. But a legal
question here, would that deputy be potentially legally liable for not properly securing that weapon?
FELIPE RODRIGUEZ, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE AND ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Well, in the state of Florida, like in many
other states, you know, everyone is responsible for securing a firearm. You know, you just can't leave them lying around. There's going to be a very,
you know, intense investigation. Florida Department of Law Enforcement and also the Leon County Sheriff is going to be responsible for conducting that
type of investigation. And now, it's going to be up to the district court if they're going to decide to, you know, form charges and actually charge
it for the failure to safeguard the firearm or creating a reckless environment.
It's going to be interesting. This is one of those cases that, you know, really has a lot more pieces than our usual active shooter. And we still
don't know motive.
SCIUTTO: It is interesting, and I don't want to get too ahead of the gun because we don't know the circumstances as to how this shooter got the gun.
But certainly, that -- the fact that it was a deputy's gun is a relevant question.
[18:05:00]
Next question would be then, you know how, these -- we've seen more cases, right, where parents face criminal liability, right? I mean, we've seen
some par parents get convicted of crimes. I mean, the -- clearly law enforcement is attempting to assign more responsibility to parents going
forward. And I wonder if you think that's a good thing.
RODRIGUEZ: Well, we have to, you know. Firearms are definitely, you know, it's a serious situation. We're constantly having more and more, you know,
shootings of this type and the parents have to repair -- you know, bear the responsibility, especially when you have someone that be considered a minor
in the state, be it a long gun or a handgun. Depending on the type of firearm there are different rules and regulations.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Did you see anything in the initial response to this shooting? How law enforcement responded that showed lessons from responses
to previous active shooter situations?
RODRIGUEZ: It's very sad to say, but we're actually getting better at doing this. I mean, the response has been tremendous. You have multi
agencies now that are responding. And it's the concept of what, getting to that active threat, getting to that active shooter and actually
neutralizing it in this point.
And I can tell you from personal experience being an Orange County sheriff in Florida, that, you know what, they're very progressive in their
training. And they go for the situation and take care of it immediately. Unlike other agencies that maybe were lacking some sort of training at the
time, they do a good job in Florida.
SCIUTTO: Final question, Florida recently lowered the age at which you could have a firearm to 18 from 21. This shooter was 20, of course in this
case, got the firearm from a parent, so not necessarily legally. But from a law enforcement perspective, is that a good thing to lower the age at which
people can get firearms?
RODRIGUEZ: You know what, you have multiple, you know, opinions when it comes to that. You could be a soldier at the age of 18, but once again, we
keep saying, you know, the frontal cortex hasn't matured at this time. And you know, we really -- I think the answer's going to have to be, is
eventually at the federal level. We're going to have to make one age for the entire country and do the best that we can at this time.
SCIUTTO: Former NYPD Detective Felipe Rodriguez, thanks so much for joining.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: President Trump is reigniting his long running feud with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, who he appointed by the
way, with incendiary new attacks that could potentially rattle financial markets, raise new concerns over the independence of the Central Bank going
forward.
Trump began his anti-Powell blitz Thursday with a social media post blaming the Fed chair for not lowering interest rates fast enough. He said Powell
is, quote, "Always too late and wrong", and said, Powell's termination cannot come fast enough. Later in the day, he had this to say about the Fed
chair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't think he's doing the job. He's too late, always too late, a little slow, and I'm not happy with him. I let him
know it and if I want him out, he'll be out of there real fast. Believe me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: The Wall Street Journal says President Trump has privately discussed firing power for months. Politico reports, the Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent has cautioned against it because it might destabilize the markets. Not to mention the fact that Powell says, removing him is against
the law. This, however, is just the latest and long line of Trump attempts to strong arm the Fed into lowering rates to his advantage with Trump
saying back in 2019 during his first term, quote, "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy? Jay Powell or Chairman Xi of China?"
Trump's attack also comes as the European Central Bank lowered its interest rates for the seventh time this year. European inflation, however, is
easing while the Fed is bracing for severe price hikes due to Trump's expanding trade war. The President, however, claim today that inflation is
virtually non-existent in the U.S. which is just simply not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The costs are down. We have very little inflation. I would say, we have essentially no inflation. Hard to have inflation when oil goes down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Oil markets are going down actually because of concerns about shrinking economic growth around the world. Global Economic Data Analyst
Rana Foroohar joins me now. Lots of questions for you. First of all, is it against the law for the president to fire the Fed chair?
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST AND GLOBAL BUSINESS COLUMNIST AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, there is a court debate about
this right now. There is a rule in place that says that you have to have cause, you know, you have to have a reason to fire the Fed chair. The
president is trying to overturn that law and this is something that the court's looking at right now.
You know, we've seen him try and get rid of the heads of any number of agencies. There's an argument being made by conservatives that, look,
executive powers should allow the president to be able to do that. But the jury is literally still out.
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So, I do think that these threats are dangerous and they're preemptory because it's just not really clear that this is something the president can
do.
SCIUTTO: There's the beyond the legal question, right? The Fed is designed to be independent. It's designed so that a politician seeking political
advantage cannot force the Fed chair to change rates, you know, purely for political concerns. They want it to be independent. So, I wonder how would
financial markets react to such political pressure? Firing, perhaps getting someone in there who's going to do Trump's bidding.
FOROOHAR: I think it would be a real mess. You know, this is the sort of thing that you see in emerging markets, frankly, where the president or the
prime minister comes in and gets rid of the central banker. You know, you've seen this in places like Turkey, you know, where, you know, interest
rates are now in the high double digits.
You know, it -- this is something that is really unprecedented in the U.S. and I think it would absolutely shock markets. I mean, I wouldn't be
surprised if we saw the kind of dip, if not bigger than we saw, you know, a few days ago when the tariff situation began. So, it's just not a time to
be rocking the boat like this.
On the other hand, the president is clearly expecting that inflation probably will be rising and he wants Jay Powell to be cutting. He wants
easy money. I mean, he is a real estate developer. They love low rates. So, it's not a surprise that he is taking on the Fed chair.
SCIUTTO: Yes. But does he understand that you'd lower rates and that would make it more likely that prices would go up?
FOROOHAR: You know, I think there's a lot of opportunistic thinking here. You know, it's pretty clear that the U.S. may be heading for a slowdown and
possibly for a stagflation period. That's when the economy is slowing down. But inflation is always -- is still rising. That is the worst kind of
situation for a Fed chair to be in. You have to go very, very carefully.
So, the idea that Trump would be, you know, potentially kicking out a guy that's done a pretty darn good job of walking a fine line in the last few
years and replacing them with who knows who at a moment of extreme uncertainty and volatility, very, very anxiety provoking.
SCIUTTO: Much like the trade war that's currently underway. Rana Foroohar, thanks so much as always.
FOROOHAR: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Well, to the trade war Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was in town today meeting with President Trump, that makes her the latest
European leader to head to Washington since the start of his now global trade war. Prime Minister Meloni cannot negotiate a trade deal on the
E.U.'s behalf but she has been seen as a potential bridge between the E.U. and the White House. Some even call her the Trump whisperer for the E.U. as
the two share similar stances on reducing immigration.
President Trump says he is 100 percent certain he can strike a deal with the E.U. and that negotiations with other trading partners are on track.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think you're going to see some fantastic numbers when this all happens. It's happening now. I mean, everybody wants to make a deal. And if
they don't want to make a deal, we'll make the deal for them because that's what's going to happen. We'll just say, this is what it is. But we want to
listen to everybody. And I think I can say for Scott and the other people that are working on it that we're listening and we're going to be very fair
to people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Political Commentator Shermichael Singleton joins me now. I mean, listen to president there. We're going to make deals or we're going to make
a deal for them. We've already seen that countries don't like to be pushed around by the U.S. long-term allies, look at Canada. Even smaller economies
who say, no, we have red lines too.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And we're not facing --
SCIUTTO: You're not going to crush us.
SINGLETON: -- facing election right now.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SINGLETON: So, you have to think about the political dynamics as well. Jim, I think that if you could forward a focus on manufacturing of cars,
import it to other countries, agriculture from the United States into other countries, those tariffs are a little bit higher. The other tariffs are
pretty modest, generally speaking.
If I were the president, you were just talking about inflation, stagflation, I'm not necessarily worried about that. Unemployment numbers
are still really, really great. We're still adding jobs to the economy. Consumer spending for the most part, while people are cautious and starting
to save more, we haven't necessarily seen a significant reduction in spending that would at least personally worry me. At least not yet. So --
SCIUTTO: Confidence is way down.
SINGLETON: Confidence is going down, but people are still sort of spending, they're preparing for summer travel. So, we'll see what those
numbers will look like. I think next month we'll have a better idea of what the average consumer is going to do.
With that said, if I were the president, you got to return confidence back to the economy, back to folks in New York. Those folks who are on Wall
Street, exchanging money, if you will. I would say, European allies, partners, let's just have zero tariff right on imports across the board.
[18:15:00]
From us to you guys, zero flat. And let's all come together and focus on China because it's not just the United States that's in a disadvantage with
China. Steel, aluminum, rare earth minerals, pharmaceuticals, I mean -- semiconductors, I mean, these are really critical things for national
defense. Energy. It's also critical things for many of our allies as well.
SCIUTTO: The question is though, what is Trump's actual goal? Because he has said reduce tariffs that are our partners, trading partners, charge to
us. But he is also said, I want to bring all the manufacturing back here which some of those trading partners, set aside China for a moment, I'm
talking about the E.U. --
SINGLETON: Yes, sure.
SCIUTTO: -- or Mexico or Canada may not want that to happen because they want to keep some manufacturing jobs where they are.
SINGLETON: Yes, sure. It's boosted a lot of their economies.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SINGLETON: Look, there are certain goods that I would argue we really don't have an interest in making in the United States anymore. I think
that's probably a fair case to make.
SCIUTTO: Right. Do you want to make higher end goods, more develop --
SINGLETON: Sure. But I think there are certainly, again, key imports that we should return back to the United States. I mean, look at the number of
lumber we import from China for -- from Canada, for example. Could that now be returned back to the U.S.? I would probably say, sure.
Again, for me, I'm looking at pharmaceuticals. I'm looking at steel and aluminum. You're looking at Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
Let's say for example, hypothetically here, you're just following me if we were to get into a conflict with China. We had to intervene if they were to
attempt to invade Taiwan. Does China now say, there's an embargo on all imports going to the United States. Steel and aluminum, we need those
things to build missiles, for other weapons, technology. You can't rely on an adversary for that.
So, I'm looking at hypothetical worst-case scenarios to say, if we're going to focus on something, let's focus on key imports versus just sort of broad
picture that the president, sort of, is currently facing.
SCIUTTO: What about rules, right? I mean, we're talking about the Fed. The Fed is sure by design, independent. You know why?
SINGLETON: Yes, yes, yes.
SCIUTTO: You -- no Republican --
SINGLETON: You don't want to --
SCIUTTO: -- you know, sitting in opposition would want a Democratic president dictating rates. They'd say, hey, we want that to be independent,
so that they could follow the numbers and not just the political whims of the man who happens to be occupying the Oval Office. Do Republicans, would
Republicans support Trump saying, I want a pliant (ph) Fed chair who's going to do what I want even if the economic numbers point in the opposite
direction?
SINGLETON: I certainly understand the frustration. I think every executive in the past have always wanted to control every aspect when they were in
office. But I do think you got to trust the numbers, right? I mean, as a conservative, we generally speaking, believe that you need to go with the
whims of the market versus the whims of personal emotions. I think the market is a better predictor of what may come positive or negative.
With that said, some economists, some spectators, did believe that Powell was going to lower rates. We don't know yet. And I think a part of the
question for Powell is the unpredictability that we're seeing in the market that may make him hesitant. You don't want to lower rates too quickly and
then the market isn't stabilized.
Now, you have inflation that may get even higher, thus leading to a recession. He clearly wants to avoid that. So, I certainly don't have any
prejudice with his likely mindset with that regard. So, I would say to the president, talk with the Fed chair. Say, look, what is it going to take for
you to lower those rates? And if it's a stability thing, then what do I need to do on my end with my key advisors to focus on some of those
tariffs? Bring them down. I think go to zero. It's fair for all of our allies and partners, bring them together in a coalition. And again, focus
on China, Jim. You know, I'm like a big China guy here.
SCIUTTO: I hear you.
SINGLETON: I think they are our biggest adversary. And you're looking at what they have done over the past couple of years, I think there's a great
advantage for us in the rest of the civilized world to come together. They have a debt field growth strategy that has slowed down economic growth in
2024 compared to Q3 -- 2023, rather. I think that's going to only increase this year-round. They have an aging working population that they are trying
to deal with.
There are some serious variables that I would point to say this is a great opportunity for us and the rest of the globe to come together and put all
of our focus on China while strengthening our relationships and partnerships as westerners.
SCIUTTO: Just be prepared to pay more for this, you know. Made in China --
SINGLETON: Yes, $3,000 in one potential estimate.
SCIUTTO: Exactly.
SINGLETON: I'm not OK with that. And I'll add really quickly. There was an analysis that came out a couple of days ago that showed that if Apple were
to bring back just 10 percent of manufacturing in the United States, it would estimate between $50 and $100 billion in costs take between three to
six years. I just don't know how likely that is.
SCIUTTO: That's the question. Shermichael Singleton, thanks so much.
SINGLETON: Thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: Good to have you on.
President Trump told reporters today, the U.S. will be hearing from Moscow this week on the Washington ceasefire proposal between Russia and Ukraine.
Of course, Ukraine accepted it more than a month ago. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Envoy Steve Witkoff, are meeting with Ukrainian officials
and President Macron of France in Paris to discuss bolstering Ukraine's defenses against Russia's ongoing attacks
In Kyiv, President Zelenskyy took aim at President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying, quote, "I believe that Mr. Witkoff has adopted the
strategy of the Russian side. I believe that is very dangerous because he consciously or unconsciously, I don't know, is spreading Russian
narratives." Quite a charge there.
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And there's this, can -- clear what President Trump had to say today about who's to blame for starting in the war in Ukraine compared to what he said
back on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When you start a war, you got to know that you can win the war, right? You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size and
then hope that people give you some missiles. I don't hold Zelenskyy responsible, but I'm not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war
started. That was a war that would've never started if I were president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Of course, he didn't hold Russia responsible. Russia invaded. Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. Steven Pifer is Former U.S. Ambassador
to Ukraine under President Clinton, now a research fellow at Stanford University. Thanks so much for joining.
STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE (UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON) AND RESEARCH FELLOW AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Happy to be here.
SCIUTTO: The one consistency in those two statements, but also statements, tweets, you name it from Trump for weeks and months, is he will not utter
the simple words, I condemn Russia for invading Ukraine. He won't do it. And I wondered, do you have any explanation? Can you see any benefit from
the U.S. president refusing to assign that obvious blame?
PIFER: I really wish I understood why you could not simply say that Russia started this war. And in Mr. Trump's mind, the war began in 2022. No, it
actually began in 2014 when Russia used military force to cease Crimea from Ukraine and then got involved in fighting in Donbas in Eastern Ukraine.
So, throughout Mr. Trump's first term, from 2017 until the end of 2020, you know, he did nothing to get the Russians to leave Crimea or to stop that
fighting. But again, he just seems to be very reluctant to criticize Russia as the aggressor and in general, very reluctant to criticize Mr. Putin on
anything.
SCIUTTO: He has also given Putin far more time to respond to his ceasefire proposal, certainly than Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy, as you remember, he pulled
the U.S. intelligence sharing which put the country at risk, and then Zelenskyy signed the agreement. Putin still hasn't. Does Putin see that, in
your view, as weakness from the U.S. President?
PIFER: I believe that Putin looks the last two months and he's seeing really nothing but gifts and concessions from the Trump administration.
Agreeing to meet with Putin, breaking the boycott of other Western leaders over the last three years, the consistent American refuse about the United
Nations General Assembly, or in G7 statements to name Russia as the aggressor in this war. The fact that Russia was not a target of the trade
tariffs that the President announced two weeks ago.
There's a whole line of concessions, and I -- no real application of sticks to Russia. Vladimir Putin sees no punishment for not agreeing to the
ceasefire. So why should he? He looks at this -- he sees weakness in the White House, and he's prepared to exploit it.
SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this, is it possible that Trump is losing his dream of ending the war in Ukraine? And I ask you that not just because
Russia has not shown any concrete signals it's willing to make peace here, but you have Ukraine defending itself and getting support, quite vocal
support from Europeans as well as more aid, more weapons, more ammunition, et cetera. More diplomatic backing.
Might he inadvertently, this is Trump, be encouraging Ukraine and Europe to resist Trump imposing his own vision of peace there, which might, in their
view, be one more to Russia's advantage?
PIFER: Yes. Well, I would make two points. I think first of all, Ukraine and Europe would like to keep the United States engaged as a partner. But
if that's not going to be the case, I think they are prepared to go it alone.
But the second point here really is it's Putin who is the recalcitrant party in this. If Mr. Trump wants to succeed at mediating a settlement and
trying to bring peace, he's got to find a way to move Putin, and that means to my mind beginning to apply or threaten credibly to apply some sticks to
Russia, to make clear that there will be penalties if Russia does not set - - accept a ceasefire, if Russia does not begin to move towards compromise. And the President, he has leverage to do that, but he's chosen thus far not
to use it. And I think that means that his effort to mediate a settlement right now on its current course is going to fail.
SCIUTTO: Steven Pifer, thanks so much.
PIFER: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Just ahead, the U.S. says it is moving quickly on trade deals with foreign countries, not just in Europe, but also South Korea. So, are
they making progress? We're going to speak to a former foreign minister of South Korea right after this.
[18:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
?SCIUTTO: Speaking alongside President Trump during today's Oval Office meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
gave an update on trade negotiations the U.S. is in the midst of right now with several foreign nations. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We are working on the big 15 economies first. We had a fantastic meeting with Japan yesterday. I believe
there've been calls with the E.U. already, and then we have South Korea coming in next week, and I believe India is also talking -- that's moving
very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: As you heard there, the secretary said South Korean officials will be in Washington next week. Joining me now is Kyung-wha Kang who
served as South Korea's Foreign Minister from 2017 to 2021. Joins us now from New York where she's currently the president and CEO of the Asia
Society. Thanks so much for joining.
KYUNG-WHA KANG, FORMER SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER AND PRESIDENT AND CEO, ASIA SOCIETY: Thank you for having me.
SCIUTTO: You hear the administration say frequently that countries are just lining up to come and negotiate with the Trump administration on trade
deals. Is that true of South Korea?
KANG: Yes, as you have heard, the South Korean delegation will be coming for the starting of the negotiation with the administration. Yes, I think
after the 90-day pause announced by the United States, countries have lined up, according to the United States, some 70 countries. And so, Korea has
been one of -- one country that has asked to negotiate the terms of the reciprocal tariffs that was announced earlier in the month.
SCIUTTO: So, let me ask you this, what would be a -- an agreement that South Korea would be happy with with the U.S.? A trade deal that South
Korea would be willing to sign.
KANG: Well, South Korea already has a very robust free trade agreement with the United States that was amended, made even stronger during
President Trump's first term. So, I think, you know, the delegation will have to lay all the flags. There are some areas of the trade, including in
the agricultural sector where the tariff -- there is a little bit of tariff still that remains. But overall, the average tariff rate is nearly zero in
the trade between the two countries.
[18:30:00]
So, these specs will have to come out in the negotiation, but there's always room to further negotiate greater opening.
SCIUTTO: But let me ask you this, that was a deal that Trump signed with South Korea, much as he signed a trade deal with Canada and Mexico, which
he's now breaking himself with these additional tariffs. Are South Korean leaders confident that the Trump administration is negotiating in good
faith and will abide by whatever deal they make tomorrow and not try to change it in six, nine months-time, two years-time?
SCIUTTO: Well, we will certainly want to be assured that whatever is negotiated again this time, assured that it will stay. But of course, South
Korea is in an interim period where we are headed to elect a new president on June 3rd. But there is an active administration and the negotiator will
come to put up their very best efforts to spell out the terms that we would like to see in an amended trade agreement.
SCIUTTO: How about in terms of the national security partnership between the U.S. and South Korea. Our South Korean leaders confident that President
Trump -- that they could rely on the U.S. under President Trump to come to its defense? As you know, during the last administration, Trump
administration, he spoke of reducing U.S. forces on the peninsula. He paused military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. There are a
whole host of U.S. allies that are reevaluating the trustworthiness of the U.S. defense partnership.
KANG: Yes.
SCIUTTO: Is South Korea doing that?
KANG: Well, I assume that the authorities currently will be doing that. I think the alliance was challenged during President Trump's terms -- the
first term round. It will be challenged. The issue of negotiating the cost of the troops stationed in Korea. I understand that it was part of the
issue that the president himself raised with the Japanese delegation who are the first in Washington to negotiate the trade deal.
So, yes, there will be big challenges. The cost sharing agreement will be a particularly difficult one. We were at that -- because, you know, similarly
dealing with this issue during President Trump's first term. So, these and other alliance issues will be dealt with. But also, we know that President
Trump's approach to issues of security and conflict as we see in Gaza, as we see in Ukraine is unconventional, if I could put it that way.
And so, you will have to have you know, as we go forward with the management of the alliance to keep it strong, to keep the U.S. security
commitment to the United -- to Korea strong. These are issues that the new government will have to confront.
SCIUTTO: Former South Korean Foreign Minister Kyung-wha Kang, thanks so much for joining.
KANG: Thank you for having me.
SCIUTTO: Still to come, all the updates on that horrible mass shooting at Florida State University. We'll have more just after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto, and here are more international headlines we're watching today.
President Trump is lashing out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying, quote, "His termination cannot come fast enough." Powell delivered a stark
warning, Wednesday, that President Trump's sweeping tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding them could inflict lasting damage on the economy.
Not an unusual point of view.
Puerto Rico's energy company is racing to restore power now after sweeping blackout that left most of the U.S. territory entirely in the dark on
Wednesday. Luma Energy says electricity has now been restored to about half of customers. The island has faced ongoing power struggles since Hurricane
Maria destroyed its grid back in 2017. The cause of this latest outage remains unclear.
A federal judge has ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by having a virtual monopoly over online advertising. The judge sided with the Justice
Department in a landmark case. It was the second major antitrust victory against Google and its parent company Alphabet in less than a year. Google
could face sweeping penalties and ultimately be forced to break up its business.
Back now to our top story, police say that a shooter killed two people, injured at least five others at Florida State University in Tallahassee. A
new video show students running for safety as those gunshots rang out. Such a sadly familiar image there.
Police say that the two people killed were not students of the university. They have now identified the suspect as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, and we
just obtained this photo of the suspect. Police say he is the son of a sheriff's deputy and used that deputy's weapon in the shooting.
CNN's Nick Valencia is in Tallahassee, Florida. What more are we learning now about the suspect here?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a heartbreaking tragedy here on campus earlier today. And it's shocking the son of a Leon County Sheriff's
deputy, who's also a school resource officer, Jim, somebody whose job it is, of course, to keep their school safe from something like this happening
only for their son to allegedly carry out this shooting earlier today.
And here are the facts as we know them, the police say at about 11:50, the gunman came on campus, opened fire here just behind me at that student
union and killed two people, injured six others and refused commands from police when they asked him to drop his weapon and confronted him. He was
shot, taken into custody, and as we understand from police from a press conference earlier, has invoked his fifth amendment right and is refusing
to cooperate with them.
Because of that, we don't know motive but we do know that at least three handguns were recovered from the suspect. 20 years old. One of those guns
was the former service weapon of his mother's. It was her personal weapon. But previously had been used in the line of duty as a Leon County Sheriff's
deputy.
Again, we don't know if -- when he will make his first appearance. And also, an outstanding question is that we've seen this happen in other
instances, will the mother face charges in this? We know at least two states have had similar cases, similar mass shootings where those parents
were charged with felonies. That was an outstanding question that lingered and was unanswered at the press conference.
Meanwhile, just off camera here, there is a Catholic church, about 150 yards from the shooting scene. I spoke to the pastor there. He opened his
doors for refuge as a shelter for hundreds of students, and tonight he had planned a 7:00 PM holy mass, this is holy week, of course, Easter on
Sunday. He's expecting to continue on with that 7:00 PM service to give us space for fellowship for those students and everyone else here that was
impacted by today's event. Jim.
[18:40:00]
SCIUTTO: Such a sad and familiar scene. Nick Valencia there, thanks so much.
Coming up, America's new brain drain. We're going to speak to one expert on fascism who's moving from the U.S. to Canada and why some of his colleagues
are doing the very same. That conversation right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: My next guest is an expert on fascism with concerning analysis on what's happening in this country. Now, Jason Stanley's written a number of
books including "How Fascism Works" and "Erasing History, How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future." He's currently a philosophy
professor at Yale. However, Stanley has just accepted a new position outside the U.S. at the University of Toronto. Why the change? He's
concerned about what he sees as the rise of fascism under the Trump administration. He's not alone. At least two of his Yale colleagues,
including Tim Snyder, who's also written "On Tyranny" and fascism, are also moving to Canada.
Jason Stanley, thanks so much for taking the time.
JASON STANLEY, PROFESSOR, YALE UNIVERSITY, FASCISM EXPERT MOVING TO CANADA, AND AUTHOR, "HOW FASCISM WORKS": Thank you.
SCIUTTO: So, first help us understand your decision. I know as you've explained this in some of your writings, it was partly about your children.
But I also wonder, do you believe that given what you study, that you yourself might have faced the possibility of arrest or other harassment had
you stayed?
STANLEY: Well, first of all, Tim Snyder and Marci Shore already moved. So, they moved for a number of different reasons. And their presence there to
set up, sort of, an institution to defend democracy was attractive for me. But your question is apt. I am not alone in wondering whether I will be
targeted.
This is a fascist authoritarian atmosphere. There's a poem about this, first they came for the communists and I did not speak up because I was not
a communist, et cetera. Then they came for me and no one was left to speak for me. In this atmosphere of fear, everyone, the media, the professors,
immigrants, LGBTQ Americans, everyone wonders whether they will be targeted, and that's deliberate. That culture of fear is deliberate.
And so, I saw that I had this opportunity and I thought, why do I have to live in a culture of fear?
[18:45:00]
SCIUTTO: Listen, law -- add to the list, law firms, right? Republican lawmakers who defied the president, so many have been targeted. I wonder
why you believe the American public does not seem to be aware, though some people are but I certainly don't see panic in the streets. I see people
going about their lives. I mean, are we the frog in the boiling water, as it were, as this happens around us?
STANLEY: Well, fascism targets the pillars of democracy. And what are the pillars and of democracy? The schools and universities, the legal system,
and the media. So, people in those three institutions that defend democracy are going to be the first to notice it. And of course, the scapegoats of
fascism.
So, the scapegoats of fascism vary depending upon the country you live in. They could be black people, black Americans in the United States where the
scapegoats of fascism, LGBTQ people, and always immigrants. Always xenophobia.
SCIUTTO: Do you see any checks holding, right? You hear a lot about, well, the courts will stand in the way. We have seen some court decisions go
against this president, but we've seen him go right up to the line, perhaps cross the line of ignoring those decisions.
STANLEY: And we're only a few months into this regime.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
STANLEY: So, I think, my reading of the situation and this played into my decision to leave my home, my reading of the situation is that it's quite
likely that we're headed into a fascist dictatorship. It's not clear what the breaks would be. It's not certain. The future is not certain. There
could be a mass movement, there could be resistance, what Harvard University did is a source of hope. I think people now see that standing up
is much more effective. You don't respond to a domestic abuser by trying to satisfy them. They just -- their demands just get more extreme.
So, that gives me a lot of hope, actually. But right now, we're, you know, 50-50 or whatever. I don't know how to do the statistics, but it's likely
enough that, you know, you should be thinking about different -- I mean, in my case, I had this great opportunity and I looked at the probabilities.
SCIUTTO: A lot of folks beyond the courts point to the midterms and say, well, during the midterms you'll get a check. Perhaps the House will go the
other way. But I wonder, is it worth asking the question as to whether this administration perhaps emboldened would allow elections or if not allow,
stop elections entirely, allow elections to proceed fairly.
STANLEY: Well, what authoritarianism is, is a culture of fear and threat. So, I've never in my lifetime seen the ruling party 100 percent line up
behind the leader. That's like communist China, right? That's an authoritarian country. I've always seen dissension among the Republicans,
between different factions of the Republicans, as you would expect in a healthy democracy. But we're not seeing that.
We're seeing 100 percent compliance. That suggests to me real fear which is the mark of an authoritarian society. I don't know if this regime had, if
President Trump will listen to the Congress, will it matter who controls the Congress?
SCIUTTO: It's a fair question, right? And by the way, there are a whole host of congressional statutes that have been passed that -- by previous
congresses being ignored by the administration. Well, John -- Jason Stanley, I do appreciate the work you're doing. I wish you the best of luck
and I hope we find a way forward.
STANLEY: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Coming up just after the break, scientists discover the strongest evidence yet, some say, of the possibility of life on a far-away planet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
SCIUTTO: Now, to a potentially exciting possibility of life on another planet, beyond our solar system. The planet in question is known simply as
K2-18B. It is 124 lightyears from Earth, pretty far by the way, we travel. NASA's James Webb's telescope, however, detected signs of gases in the
atmosphere of that planet, which at least on this planet are usually produced by microbes, by living things. Here's the lead researcher on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKU MADHUSUDHAN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE OF ASTRONOMY: We have found signs of biosignature molecules, either DMS or
DMDS or both, both of which are produced uniquely by life here on Earth and have been predicted to be biosignatures on planets around other stars as
well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Findings are certainly intriguing. Some scientists are saying, or at least urging some caution and that more research is needed. Joining us
now, Christopher Glein, he's the principal scientist of the Space Science Division at the Southwest Research Institute. So, good to have you here.
So, tell us -- I mean, there have been other times when you've heard of telescopes detecting the building blocks of life on other planets, and
that's been exciting enough. This is different because this is saying, here's a gas that's produced by life. How excited are you by this? How
substantial do you think this finding is?
CHRISTOPHER GLEIN, PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE SPACE SCIENCE DIVISION: Hi, Jim. Yes, I'm thrilled to be on. Thanks for having
me. It's very exciting to talk about new data from an intriguing exoplanet. And you're right, we've looked for the building blocks of life and they
seem to be distributed in many different places, but this is one of the few recent studies that have attempted to take things one step further, which
is igniting a lot of discussion among fellow scientists.
SCIUTTO: Could there be another explanation for having these kinds of gases on this planet other than microbes producing them?
GLEIN: Yes. Well, the first thing that we worry about is whether the detection is actually real. That's the null hypothesis. And these are
difficult measurements. This is really stretching the James Webb Space Telescope to its limit. So, that creates some questions among researchers
about how robust or reliable these detections are. So, that's the first question that needs to be answered.
SCIUTTO: Now, 124 lightyears away is pretty darn far, right? Because light travels pretty fast. I mean -- so we can't send a probe there, but how else
can we further explore this possibility? Can James Webb just point at it more to try to discover more?
GLEIN: Yes, in fact we'd love to have that happen. And I think people are going to plan to do that. In the meantime, what's great is these data are
going to be released publicly to researchers all across the world next week.
So, everyone's going to be able to have at it, have these data. And that'll be great because that will allow scientists to test the reproducibility of
these results, and that's a hallmark of science.
SCIUTTO: All right. Before we go, I'll put you in a difficult spot. What's your betting on this? What's your betting on this? Do you think this could
be, hey maybe this will be a moment we discover it? Now, I'm not saying, you know, aliens with antenna. Maybe it's just some bacteria. But what's
your betting as to whether this is something truly big?
GLEIN: Yes, I think in this case it's OK to say, I don't know. I'd love for it to be life, but I don't know. And I think I'd like to urge everyone
to just have a little bit of restraint. Let the scientific process work itself up. And then I think we'll get closer to the answer.
SCIUTTO: Right, the best scientists often say, I don't know, right? Christopher Glein, thanks so much for joining.
GLEIN: Thank you.
[18:55:00]
SCIUTTO: And in today's "Good Brief", the Los Angeles Rams, U.S. American football team is set to honor L.A. firefighters in a unique way to show
their appreciation for efforts battling those devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires.
The team says their NFL draft headquarters will be at the fire department's air operation center. According to the team, the facility will be fully
operational while the draft is underway. The Rams have donated nearly $2 million to fire relief efforts, according to the team. That's a nice
gesture.
Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You are watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
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