Congress Pulls an All-Nighter
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It is Wednesday, May 21st, and here's what's happening right now on CNN This Morning. Why are you trying to ram it through in the dead of night? Up all night, lawmakers are in a marathon meeting talking about the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Was the pressure from the president enough to move the needle? Plus, the Justice Department moves against another one of President Trump's past foes. Why former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now under investigation.

And the new rules just announced for Newark Airport. The FAA cuts flights just days before the start of a busy summer travel season. And later, weighing their future, why some high school grads are choosing to get real world experience over going to college.

It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at Capitol Hill, where it was a late night leading into an early morning for some lawmakers fighting over budget legislation. Good morning, everybody. I'm Adi Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me. Now, House Republicans, as we said, pulling an all-nighter to try and get the president's agenda over another hurdle.

So starting at 1 a.m. Eastern, the House Rules Committee convened for a final markup on this bill. And it's a meeting that is still happening right now. This is a live picture of them. Republican leaders hope to get a floor vote, a full floor vote as soon as today. And they want final passage of the whole thing by Monday. The one big, beautiful bill is our answer to the American people's mandate from November.

It is a clear, full-throated response to the millions of hardworking men and women across the entire nation who demand a serious course correction from the last four years.

But with a slim House majority, Speaker Mike Johnson has to convince these different factions of his party to get on board. So he called in some backup, President Trump. He's trying to bridge the gap on topics like tax breaks and Medicaid funding, which have become a flashpoint in negotiations. Here's what I want on Medicaid. We're not touching anything. All I want is one thing, three words. We don't want any waste, fraud or abuse. Very simple.

Although it may not be that simple, new analysis just released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds the Big Beautiful Bill slashes Medicaid funding and federal food stamp programs by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade. The office also says the bill would increase the deficit by a whopping $3.8 trillion.

trillion dollars by 2034. And that increase is causing conservatives like Congressman Thomas Massey to vote no in the face of personal attacks by the president. I don't think Thomas Massey understands government. I think he's a grandstander, frankly. He'll probably vote. We don't even talk to him much. I think he should be voted out of office. I didn't feel attacked in there. I think he was just trying to persuade people who weren't there yet. Did he change? Did he change your mind? Yeah. No.

Joining me now in the group chat, Megan Hayes, former Biden White House Director of Message Planning, and Charlie Dent, former Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania. Welcome to you both. So let's set the stage here. When you call in a president to talk about something, what is the goal? Is it really about showing the public, look, we're all on the same page? Is it actually about convincing people in the room? I don't know who wants to go first because you've been on different sides of this. Yeah.

I think they're trying to bring in Trump to close the deal in the House. But does that work? Is everyone scramble around like, oh, the president is coming today? Some do. But look, I think what's happening here is that many of these members right now who are out there saying I'm against the bill, they're going to melt.

and they're going to vote for the bill. That's what's going to happen. The bigger challenge is going to be these members in these marginal and swing districts who realize that whatever the House passes is going to be gutted by the U.S. Senate. And so that's the real question. If you're a member who's at risk of being reelected, do I vote for a bill that has enormous cuts to social safety net programs and keeps taxes lower?

Do I do that knowing that the Senate is going to really reduce the amount of cuts significantly? Why do I want to walk the plan? What I hear you saying is that we've been focusing on the different factions, so to speak. Like, oh, here are the fiscal hawks. They rise again. They talk about how expensive everything is. And they point out what everyone knows, that the math isn't mathing, right? Like, the math does not work on this.

And you just have to decide you're OK with that to go forward with the vote. But you're saying they're not the people who will be the ultimate holdouts. It sounds like what you're saying is the people who ultimately will be most concerns are the so-called front line members or people who are in those purple districts.

Those are the, who sometimes we call them moderates. It doesn't necessarily mean they are. Right, and I think for Democrats, they want those moderates and those people in frontline districts to have to take this vote because that gives them something to campaign against in 26. And they, you know, do Democrats want to take back power of the House? So, or take...

the majority of the House. So I think when President Trump is going up there, there's a little bit of peer pressuring. There's a little bit of shaming some of these members or just saying, like, you need to do what's best for your caucus. We're going to lose the majority. And I think that's why you take them up there. A lot of these rank-and-file members, at least from my experience working in the White House before, they don't see the president. Leadership comes to the White House. You know, the legislative office calls the leadership teams or some key, you know,

committee members for different committees, but they're not talking to all the rank and file members all the time. And so when the president goes to these caucus meetings, they have an actual conversation and he's able to meet with some of these folks who don't get that touch from them. And that may get them over the line to vote for something. I don't know in President Trump's case if that works. There's a difference here. I was here in 2017, same dynamics.

Obamacare repeal, replace. I was one of the guys that got summoned into the White House. I'm going to destroy you, Charlie. It's going to be your fault if this goes down. I still was a no. But the problem was, you know, you try to talk substance with the president. I don't think he really understands any of the nuances of Medicaid policy or SNAP benefits. And a lot of these members know they are voting for a bill that will never become law. Remember the BTU tax of the 90s when a lot of Democrats voted for this thing that was never going to become law. They lost their elections.

many Republicans are fearing that same dynamic because the Senate is going to just basically call all this stuff current policy. They just want to extend the tax cuts. At the same time, Charlie, you're here with me, right? Like the threat of being primaried, the threat of losing your seat is very real when you go up against Trump. I mean, is that basically enough to move this forward? And also him mentioning, hey, look, don't touch Medicaid, I thought was like an interesting moment.

Well, again, the front-line members, their bigger problem is the general election. So, you know, again, these guys in these very safe seats who are beating their chests right now, yeah, they're subject to a primary. By the way, Thomas Massey isn't a movable object. They're not going to get him. But those front-line members, the least of their problem is going to be the primary.

It's going to be the general election. And they know that. Donald Trump should know that. And so he has somewhat limited leverage. But again, keep your eyes on the Senate. Why put up a vote? Is he reading the room by saying not to touch Medicaid?

in terms of the public? Well, he understands. He understands that the politics of Medicaid have changed significantly since 2017, the last time they had a major look at Medicaid, that many Republicans now represent districts that have huge Medicaid populations and the expansion population. So like a real acknowledgement of that, I think, at this point. Yeah, it's into their base. But it's also a good talking point that we're all repeating, right? So I don't actually think Donald Trump cares about keeping Medicaid. I think it's a good talking point. But also, then these members need to take a serious look at their districts. Like,

Speaker Johnson's district has 30% of his adult population is on Medicaid and like 60% of children under 18. So that's just in his district alone. He's still pushing. He's very much pushing this. 100%. I mean, that's incredible numbers. All right, you guys stay with me because we're going to talk about a lot of things today. Right now on CNN This Morning, limiting access to vaccines. The Trump administration's plan to only allow the COVID shot for a certain group of people. Plus, NFL players will be able to compete in the 2028 Olympics.

But there's a twist. And protecting the homeland, President Trump unveils his plan for a Golden Dome. -President Trump announced that the Space Force will build a Golden Dome anti-missile shield to protect the U.S. from high-tech threats. Can we see what the Golden Dome shield will look like? Oh, yeah, that makes sense. There we go. Not bad.

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It's almost 15 minutes past the hour. I want to give you your morning roundup. So former President Joe Biden's spokesperson says that his last known test for prostate cancer was in 2014 and that the former president was not diagnosed with it before last week. Now, that test is called a PSA and it checks the blood for a certain protein. His rep released this information as many have questioned why this diagnosis was not revealed sooner.

Actor and comedian George Wendt, known for his iconic role as Norm in the TV show Cheers, has died at the age of 76. You know what I think the most important thing in life is? It's love. You want to know what I love? Beer, Norm? Yeah, have a quick one. The Cheers bar in Boston posted this picture in a tribute to Wendt saying, we're looking toward your spot at the bar and you're not here.

The FAA issued an order to cut the number of flights coming out in and out of Newark's airport. And this comes after weeks of delays caused by air traffic control issues and runway construction. The order effective immediately will only allow a few dozen planes to take off and land each hour for the foreseeable future.

And NFL players will be able to compete in flag football in the 2028 Olympics. Team owners voted yesterday that only one player per team can participate. The sport is making its Olympic debut at the Games in LA.

Next on CNN This Morning, graduation season is here, students are planning their next steps. Why are some choosing apprenticeships instead of heading off to college? Plus, imagine seeing this in your backyard, the damage this tornado and other storms left behind. Good morning, New York. It's Fleet Week. The parade of ships will travel up the Hudson River later today. Our youngest son came to us and said, you know, I don't think I'm going to go to college.

And I said, "Oh my gosh, you have to go to college because that's where you blossom. It's where you learn about yourself. It's where you might figure out what you want to do." And he said, "God will provide."

All right, I'm going to go off script for a second because take a look at this headline from the Wall Street Journal. It zeroes in on the high school juniors with $70,000 a year job offers, and that's without graduating high school yet or even having a college degree. So I want to talk about how we got to this point where going to school to become a doctor or lawyer may be perceived as being not as valuable for young people than, say, training to be a plumber.

And this year, the average cost of a four-year college degree at a private university gives us a clue why, because it climbed to more than $40,000 compared to just $24,000 for out-of-state students at public universities. We're just talking about tuition there.

So let's talk about whether or not you could fare better with a more hands-on route like say an apprenticeship or trade school. Joining me now to discuss is Angie Simon, president and co-founder of Heavy Metal Summer Experience. And Angie, I feel like I grew up next to a technical high school. Trade schools have been around forever. Do you see more interest at this point given how people are talking about the cost and value of a four-year degree?

I absolutely do. I think that the STEM is changing. I mean, I think the tide's moving a little bit and we're starting to see kids understanding. I've heard something of stats about 17 to 20 percent of the kids graduating high school are not going to go to any college at all. And they need to find careers. And I think the trades is one of those careers that they're starting to hear about. They like to work with their hands. It keeps them in technology as well. So it's a really it's a great opportunity for them.

I know your summer experience helps people get apprenticeships through unions, whether they be for plumbing, for HVAC, electrical. I'm wondering, though, hanging over this is the concern about AI and maybe how certain kinds of technology may change these jobs in the future.

Well, actually, we're looking for kids that have an interest in technology and AI as well as those jobs because construction has been an industry that is actually accepting technology a lot. And we need people who are willing to do robotics, interested in that, interested in AI in regards to how you track productivity. I mean, there's so much technology being used in construction today that it actually, I think we're looking for kids that have interest in that. And so I think that that

where the kids are starting to find that nice mix with construction, where it's not just you're digging a ditch anymore. It really is using the tools and technology that we have in construction to make it a much more attractive career. - Are you seeing any difference in tone or interest from parents who are maybe looking for something that they can feel is like a more tangible kind of gain for young people? Like, are they talking about debt or is it kind of the same communities that were already interested?

Well, actually, we focus a lot on the underserved industry, underserved areas and the kids that are at risk and those that need a second chance. And those kids and those parents, the parents there seem to be very, very accepting and excited that they found a path. But when we also deal with kids that are just from the normal high schools,

Their parents are actually very surprised about how much money a child can make, their child can make, and will be making within four to five years a six-figure job. And they will have no cost. They'll get trained for free. And at that point, when they turn out as a journey person, at that point, they're going to be making six figures. I remember five years in college.

And then one year at another job, I went to my new job at Western Allied and I was 24 years old and my pipe fitter that was working on my project bought a house in the Bay Area at 24 years old because he had been working in the industry for five years. And I, or six years, and I had been already at college and had a debt that I had to pay. So, I mean, it's pretty good. I mean, to be able to buy a house in the Bay Area after six years of working as a pipe fitter, it's a pretty good deal.

What do you want people to understand as they have this debate about, say, bringing back manufacturing to this country and whether or not we have a workforce that is ready for it?

Yeah, we do have to bring I mean, I would stress that we should be considering bringing shops back in a lot of the high schools. Some states are better than other states across the United States in regards to that. But right now, a lot of states don't have shops in the high school. So the kids don't even know how to use a tape measure when they hit our camp on the summer. So I think we should be thinking about the fact that not.

100% of the kids in every high school are gonna go to college. So let's start equipping our high schools back to when I was, I'm aging myself, but when I was a kid and we had shops in high school. So I really think we need to start looking at the fact that maybe 30 to 40% of our kids graduating high schools may in the future may not be going to college. - Angie Simon, president, also co-founder of Heavy Metal Summer Experience. Thank you.

Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it. Still ahead on CNN this morning, could Israel be getting ready to strike Iran's nuclear facilities? And what new intelligence suggests as Israel faces growing pressure to allow aid into Gaza? And habeas what? The Homeland Security Secretary is offering her take on habeas corpus, and she was told you got it wrong.

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Still going on Capitol Hill, live pictures inside the House Rules Committee. They have been talking about the president's so-called Big Beautiful Bill since 1 a.m. Eastern because there are more than 500 amendments proposed that still need to be debated. Good morning, everybody. I'm Adi Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN this morning. It's half past the hour and here's what else is happening right now.

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. According to a source, he is accused of lying to Congress about his administration's COVID response. Cuomo is currently running for New York City mayor. And a large and destructive tornado ripped through the Huntsville, Alabama area. The violent weather took roofs off of homes, downed trees and power lines and pelted cars with golf ball-sized hail. There are no reports yet of serious injuries.

And in just a few hours, South Africa's president heads to the White House. This comes after 59 white South Africans arrived in the U.S. after getting refugee status. President Trump claims they were being prosecuted, they were being persecuted at home. South Africa's president denies that. Here's Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet, who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they're going to do when they come here, they're going to receive preference.

So the two presidents are also expected to talk about the agreement that allows South Africa to export some goods to the U.S. tariffs, tariff free. President Trump lays out an ambitious plan to protect the U.S. from foreign attacks with his so-called Golden Dome. Now, it's inspired by Israel's Iron Dome, which is a missile defense program that protects populated areas from short range threats. President Trump's plan wants to take it up a notch.

Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles, even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space. The president laid out the cost and timeline in the Oval Office on Tuesday. $25 billion has been set aside in the budget bill for construction. The White House estimates it will cost a total of $175 billion, and they hope to have it done by the end of his term.

I want to bring in CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier. Kim, thanks for being here this morning. First, just looking at that picture behind him with that kind of golden image over the entire United States, I understand that this is inspired by Israel's Iron Dome. Israel is about the size of New Jersey. This is just a much smaller landmass. So talk about how this is possible. What's the thinking? Look, the...

Kid in me that grew up in the Star Wars generation with sci-fi as the backdrop, I want this to work. As an American who knows that China has a successful hypersonic missile system, that China and Russia are testing space-based weapons, and that Russia may have even armed some of its satellites, I can see the need for this. But weapons experts say it

could cost as much as $500 billion, not 175. Finishing it in three years, you're talking about creating new technologies, new systems to control them, integrating them into our existing command and control and weapons system, and covering this huge vast area. So great idea.

but executing it this cheaply and this fast, probably not. You mentioned Star Wars, which there's going to be a generation of people who think you're talking about Star Wars when I actually think we are both thinking about the Reagan-era missile defense system proposed. And here's how CNN reported it back then.

The president, in terms so vague as to be almost bewildering, adopted some of the high frontier language about a future in which the military balance will be dominated from outer space. That is to say, high technology in its most literal sense. We've heard before some of this talk of missile and satellite destroying laser beams, but never before have we heard it in an official speech by a president of the United States.

The late Daniel Shore there. You know, it is interesting, though, the same questions being raised of kind of like, this seems vague, this seems expensive, this seems like, is this really going to happen? But is this kind of already happening in terms of there being an arms race? There's absolutely an arms race. And

there's a gray area in terms of what you can put it in the atmosphere. There was a 1967 treaty for the outer space that says you can't put weapons of mass destruction up there like nuclear weapons, et cetera. But the problem is once you weaponize space and you've got

satellites that can target each other, that can create the kind of space debris that renders whole sections of space unusable. You're saying once it's weaponized. I mean, don't other countries have weapons already or is everyone just at kind of the starting line? We don't know for sure. We've had, we've seen the Chinese test things where they use one satellite to hit and take out another satellite, but we're not certain that anyone has got

a laser or something similar in space. So it is fraught with complications, but also second and third order effects like there are nuclear weapons treaties that are dependent on

the country's watching ground-based stuff to see which side, you know, what the trust is built into what they can see. And once you've got a layer of weapons in space that you think might just be satellites but might be something else, all those treaties could go out the window. Well, it's a fascinating area, especially because the Space Force is so new, right? So, like, they're going to be doing something, and we're going to be figuring out over time what that is. CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier.

All right, this morning there's actually new intelligence that suggests Israel might be preparing a possible strike on Iranian nuclear sites. That's according to U.S. officials. This is coming as the White House is working to reach a diplomatic deal with Tehran and as Western allies turn up the pressure on Israel to stop its latest round of fighting and allow aid into Gaza.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now from London. Nada, good morning. And I was wondering if you could start by giving us a sense of the credibility of some of this intelligence. How are U.S. officials thinking about it?

Well, according to officials and sources familiar with this intelligence, concerns have stemmed from public and private messaging between Israeli officials, intercepted Israeli communications and also observations of Israeli military movements, which could suggest that some sort of strike or attack may be imminent, including the movement of Israeli air munitions and the completion of an air attack.

exercise. But it is important to underscore that officials have cautioned that it's not clear at this current point in time whether or not any sort of final decision has been made by Israeli officials. There is also deep disagreement, according to officials and sources within the U.S. government as to whether or not they credibly believe that Israel would actually act.

act and take action to attack Iran's nuclear facilities directly. And of course, as we've seen in the past, this could also be a tactic to try to ramp up pressure on Iran. This comes, of course, as the Trump administration continues to pursue diplomatic efforts to secure a nuclear deal. They've called on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment, although officials in Iran have described this request and demand as unreasonable.

But again, of course, as you mentioned, there is also mounting pressure on Israel from its international allies. A strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could push the region into another broader regional war. That is something the U.S. does not want to see, as well as Israel's other international allies. And that pressure is mounting also when it comes

to the war in Gaza as you mentioned concerns around humanitarian aid getting into the Gaza Strip we had on Sunday course is really official saying that they would allow a basic amount the food into the Gaza Strip according to Kogat the Israeli agency which oversees the shipment of aid into gone there at 93 trucks containing humanitarian aid did pass into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening but humanitarian organizations agree the UN have warned that there are

huge logistical challenges ahead and that it could take days to get that humanitarian aid to those most in need. And of course, important to underscore, more than 2 million people, almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip, said to be at risk of famine as a result of that weeks-long blockade imposed by the Israeli authorities. At CNN's Nada Bashir, thank you.

We're going to turn now to an interesting moment on Capitol Hill. So Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking to a Senate committee when she was asked to explain the legal term habeas corpus. And here was her answer. So, Secretary Noem, what is habeas corpus?

Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their right to— No, let me stop you, ma'am. Habeas corpus—excuse me, that's incorrect. President Lincoln used it. Excuse me. Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.

OK, let me add to that. Habeas Corpus is Latin for "you have the body." It's the legal principle that allows people who believe they're being unlawfully detained or in prison to petition for their release in court. You literally have to show, hey, we have this person, and here's what we're charging them for. Obviously, this raised a lot of concerns about her grasp of a key constitutional concept, and the group chat is back to talk about this.

The reason why she was asked this question, obviously, is because she's the head of Homeland Security, where you are often wanting to detain people, you're looking at law enforcement, and you're dealing with the courts a lot. Was this a gotcha moment?

No, it shouldn't have been. But clearly she's not capable of doing the job. I mean, I think we all knew that, that she wasn't this isn't she's not qualified to do this job. And she clearly isn't being staffed properly, that she didn't know some basic terms that every most Americans know. I don't think most Americans know what habeas corpus is. Sorry, I think I think the Homeland Security secretary and people who work in the Homeland Security Department know what habeas corpus meant. Clearly, the senators know members of Congress know. We know. Was it a gotcha?

It turned into one. Yeah, it turned into one. Yeah, this is the great writ, you know, going back to the Magna Carta, the founders of the country, you know, are very worried about the way people were detained, you know, with the tyrannical king. You just get picked up and thrown in jail and you don't know why. And so, yeah, this is a, that was a problem. And there have only been about four or five times in the nation's history where this has been suspended for one reason or another. And that's actually what I noticed, right? Like the thing she did get corrected

It's when it was suspended. And at one point, yes, President Lincoln was doing that during the Civil War. Essentially, you had thousands of people who were detained without trials because they were like trying to escape the draft or trying to be involved in the rebellion. So she definitely got the part right about when to suspend it.

Does this reflect kind of the approach of this DHS in a way? I mean, we're talking about, I think someone's being challenged, challenging in the courts, being sent to South Sudan, right? There's a sense that they are very aggressive with some of these legal concepts.

Well, yeah, they're trying to remove all sorts of people from this country and there are all sorts of legal impediments that make it difficult. Right. In some cases known as due process. Exactly. And it's very difficult sometimes even to remove people who have valid removal orders against them. Their home countries won't repatriate them. So they're trying to find ways to move them to third countries from where they're not from.

So I think the administration is desperate to get people out of the country, but they have to still respect the laws and due process rights of people who are here, whether they're citizens or not.

Okay, group chat, stick around. We're going to talk more in this hour. Up ahead on CNN this morning, there are actually more revelations in the trial of rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs. We're going to bring you the latest as the mother of his ex-girlfriend takes the stand. Plus, Googling something on the internet may be changing for good. How the tech giant plans to use AI to supercharge your search bar. Of course, more from our friends in the chat after this.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo now facing a Justice Department investigation, according to a source. An issue House Republicans are accusing him of lying during an investigation into his administration's response to the COVID pandemic. He's already trying to make a political comeback as he runs for New York City mayor. In response, his personal office said in part, "This is lawfare and election interference, plain and simple." Something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against.

Joining me now to discuss Elise Adamson, former federal prosecutor. Can you talk about this in the context of Cuomo being the latest Democrat to have this flag waved in front of them of like, hey, we're probably going to investigate you. CNN's Stephen Collinson was writing this, that critics warn that while Trump claims he's de-weaponizing law enforcement, he's weaponizing it as never before. Again,

I can't imagine what it's like to be a prosecutor in the middle of all this. Yeah, Adi, it optically does not look good because there's the legal reality, which we can discuss in a second, but then there is like the optics

optic reality. This is the same Justice Department that was just in turmoil and lost career prosecutors because they dismissed the Eric Adams indictment a few months ago. And that was a case that had been fully investigated, indicted by the grand jury. That's just normal people who find probable cause. They're not

political folks who have an ax to grind. And the Department of Justice saw fit to get that indictment dismissed. And now we hear that the same Department of Justice is seeking to investigate the leading candidate for the New York City mayor. So it just doesn't, it's not a good look.

as the kids would say. I want to turn, speaking of the kids, I want to turn to this trial of Sean Combs, also out of New York. The latest witness to testify is the parent of Cassie Ventura, who of course has been at the center of all of this, his ex-girlfriend.

So on Tuesday, she told the court about a couple of incidents, including the time that Sean Combs basically, she claims, threatened to release sex tapes and demanded that the mom pay $20,000. And she also talked about actually taking her photos of her daughter for bruises to kind of document the time that she was harmed. First, can we talk about this idea of him demanding money?

because fundamentally it's Rico charges, right? He's being accused of being the head of kind of a criminal enterprise that did this trafficking and sexual abuse. So is the money significant? - Yeah, I think it's the conduct that's significant. I mean, what we saw there, it's blackmail, it's kind of like an extortion attempt, but what we are seeing is this pattern of conduct from Combs

controlling Cassie, like you said, you said the key word, threat, because remember, prosecutors have to demonstrate for the sex trafficking charge that there was coercive conduct, that it was not consensual. And now we have Combs reaching out to Cassie's mother, blackmailing her. And I think that is really key evidence there. It's also evidence that could go to that RICO charge. We were talking before we came on air about I'm not necessarily seeing the RICO right now.

But that $20,000, Adi, it was paid to one of Sean Combs' companies. So it's no longer Sean Combs, the individual acting. Now we're bringing in the company, which we have to. The enterprise, so to speak. The enterprise. We have to prove a corrupt enterprise.

The other thing, I've been waiting to hear about this for a while. Kid Cudi on the witness stand, he was the rapper who also dated Cassie Ventura for a short time. And I recall in the reporting from the New York Times, he confirmed to them that Combs had blown up his car, I think. What information are prosecutors trying to show?

Yeah, again, this is one of the more shocking allegations and he has confirmed it. I look forward to hearing his testimony on the stand. I think they used a Molotov cocktail, probably arson, because remember there's these predicate offenses that need to be proved in the RICO, arson being one of them. So they need to bring out that.

testimony. I'd also like to know whether or not other people were involved. Is the allegation, because I don't think Sean Combs put the Molotov cocktail in on his own because they need to prove this enterprise and other people were acting illegally at Combs' direction. I want to hear what threats were said to Kid Cudi. The reporting was that there was this meeting after the car blew up and apparently Combs said,

What car? What vehicle? So prosecutors are going to need to elicit more and make a more fulsome account for the RICO. I feel like it's not like I'm going into the weeds randomly because what the prosecutors want RICO and prosecutors love a RICO charge, right? Because they get to say this big, important person is head of a criminal enterprise and using all of the tentacles of that enterprise to commit crimes.

And what we're hearing now is this, you know, Kid Cudi being able to talk about a threat of violence. We're gonna be hearing about Cassie Ventura's mom talking about this blackmail concept, right? And the money going to the company. Why to you is it still not totally clear how the Rico element comes into play? - Yeah, I think it's, so to be clear, I see where prosecutors are going with this, but remember prosecutors-- - They're trying to show like he could use his company and his power

to do what he wanted. - That's correct. But in a RICO conspiracy, you have to demonstrate that it's Sean Combs and more than one person. You see that in the indictment. It says individuals known and unknown. They mentioned senior leadership in the Combs enterprise who were involved in bringing about this criminal activity.

And I think prosecutors are getting there. It's just like a slow drip of testimony. They need to demonstrate that other individuals were also engaging in this conduct. And again, they're getting to the line. We've heard some- Yeah, but in the meantime, the defense just has to prove over and over again with whomever you wanted to be there, you were into this, whatever the this is, it feels like a very kind of different

approach, legal strategy. - That's right, that it's consensual and that this is really Sean Combs, the man, acting out of a toxic, abusive relationship, but he is not sitting atop some kind of criminal enterprise. - All right, we're gonna be watching this testimony more over the next couple of days. At least thank you, as always, for explaining it. - Thank you so much, Adi.

Okay guys, it is now 54 minutes past the hour. Here are a few more headlines in your morning roundup. Pope Leo holds his first general audience at the Vatican. He rode around in the Popemobile greeting people and blessing babies before speaking to a crowd of thousands.

And a fifth inmate who escaped from a jail in New Orleans is back in custody this morning. That means five others are still on the run. A jail maintenance worker was arrested on Tuesday, accused of helping them break out last week. According to an affidavit, that worker claims one of the inmates had threatened him.

For decades, Google has been the leader in searching online, but AI is changing things. So now Google is rolling out AI Mode, which will look at your search history to personalize answers. It will also answer questions chatbot style instead of using those blue hyperlinks we've all come to love.

And during the COVID pandemic, one of the big points of contention was, can the government make you get the vaccine? Well, now don't worry about it. The FDA announced new guidelines for approving the drug with updated COVID shots that could cut back on who's eligible.

Now it could end up just being older adults and people at risk of serious infection. The group chat is back. We are now many years past the initial COVID lockdowns. A lot has changed. How significant do you think this moment is?

I mean, I think it's important that people have more of understanding of what vaccines they're taking. We I think that people forget when COVID first happened, how scared everyone was and how people were dying to have people were legitimately dying, but also very anxious to get a vaccine. So I do think.

that this is just a change in policy, I think one from the government, but I also think too of where we are as a country as a whole and our mentality about it. - Yeah, I think things are very different. Like very much like make America healthy again, the anti-vaccine movement born out of the COVID era has completely rocked the public health community.

I'm still a bit staggered by RFK Jr.'s performance in the committee hearing the other day where he couldn't give a full-throated endorsement of polio vaccines and measles vaccines. I'm kind of old school. I kind of thought that... Yeah, but so is he. He's an old school person suspicious of vaccines. Like, he's been at this a long time. The science of vaccines has been settled and it works. They work, you know, for polio and for the measles. Why wouldn't we just...

encourage people to do this and and and that's about problem yet people in leadership positions who aren't standing up

and advocating for public health. And he said, "It's really not my role to advise." - And that is the difference we're talking about, right? It's encouraging versus mandating. And now we're in a way kind of treating it more like the flu shot, something that's encouraged but not mandated. - But I also think it's important to recognize there is a huge difference between a COVID and a flu shot and a measles vaccine or a polio vaccine. Those are very different things for public health, but also for personal choice here. If you don't wanna get a flu shot or a COVID vaccine and you're okay getting sick,

At this point in time, it's very different than it was in 2020 and 2021. Measles and polio, I mean, we eradicated those diseases and to see measles coming back in the same way. So I think that they're just very different choices for the American public. And I do think it's unfortunate that our leadership is questioning those vaccines that the science has been tested on. Okay, it's the middle of the week, it's hump day, right? So like, what are you looking forward to? What are you keeping an eye on?

Well, I am excited about the NBA Knicks Pacers playoff game because I would like to show this. I would like to. She's not the only one. Oh, wait, wrong one. I would like to.

Sorry. It's Knicks mania, and are you, is that where your head is at? I mean, I just, I think it's nice to have a break. I think sports is a great break for the American people from Congress and all the other things that are in the news. Although we should know this headline is split. It's like the top half is Knicks and the bottom is Congress, so everyone is just crawling through the week trying to get to that other news. My thing's too, you know, sports is a great distraction. The Phillies are in first place in the National League East. Did you just pound your fist, Charlie Dunn? Really?

We've talked about so many things and that is the first time I've seen you pound your fist. Well, that's important. Of course, Congress, we're all focused on this whole reconciliation process. I'm still, as an appropriator, a former appropriator, I watch how they're going to fund the government. It's going to be a really interesting spending cycle this year, given what we've been through with Doge. And that's just starting to get heated up. So just watch that over the next few weeks and months. I'm going to be curious, what is in this bill? Like, the truth is,

We talked about hundreds of amendments. They're probably still talking about it right now. I don't think anyone can say with any confidence that they know exactly what is in this bill, that they have read every page. There's too much going on, and that is usually a time for reporters

where you gotta dig a little bit and figure out like what are the things we're not noticing that aren't about medicaid that aren't about all these other ideas well there are a lot of things in this bill that deal with student loans for example uh... that are pretty damn impactful watch that you know there are taxes on universities uh... endowments there are other things that you know nobody's really talking about but are in here that are really consequential but if reporters aren't even having an opportunity to

to dig into it these members also are having an opportunity to dig into it because they're in the committee hearing and they haven't gotten the full bill public right so you got the Rules Committee sitting here still flipping through page by page but most other people don't actually have the devil from the details

They don't. And that's the challenge with this. This is such a, this is such a, I hate this reconciliation process because it's so partisan. Lawmakers never liked it. And there's so much stuff in here. And to go through all this to vote for a bill that's going to be totally gutted in the Senate is just, it's got to be really painful for a member. All right, you guys. Thank you so much for being with me today. It was good hanging out with you. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish and CNN News Central starts right now.

Take a journey with your favorite stars to their favorite places in the new CNN original series, My Happy Place. Join Alan Cumming, Taraji P. Henson, Simu Liu, and more. A new episode of My Happy Place premieres Sunday at 10 on CNN.