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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Defense to Continue Cross-Examination of Cassie Ventura Tomorrow; Supreme Court Weighs Birthright Citizenship; RFK Jr. On Milwaukee Lead Crisis; Georgia Teen Faces Deportation After Mistaken Traffic Stop; Man Quits Job, Buys Boat And Sails Around the World; New Episode of "Eva Longoria: Searching For Spain" Sunday 9P ET/PT. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 15, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: IVF, transplant immunology, there are five Nobel prize winning discoveries that go into what I just showed you there. But yes, it's happening for sure. And I think, you know, within the next few years, five years or so, it will probably be mainstream and a real option for people who are waiting, maybe with no chance of actually getting a transplant.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And you think about it, over that time, hundreds of thousands of people whose lives could be saved, worthy of Nobel prizes.
All right, Sanjay, thank you so much and as I said Sanjay has spent years investigating this. Don't miss "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Animal Pharm" that is Sunday night at eight o'clock. And thanks so much for joining us.
AC360 begins now.
[20:00:40]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360,now as Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorneys chance to question his ex-girlfriend under oath what his legal team wanted to get from her and what she actually said today.
Also tonight, the Trump administrations challenge to a pillar of the constitution, citizenship by birth goes before the Supreme Court. And the court could give the President at least some of what he wants.
And later, have you ever dreamed of quitting your job, taking off on an adventure you only hear from Oliver Widger. He didn't know about sailing, but he cashed in his 401(k) got a boat and is now sailing the high seas. We'll talk to him on his boat with his rescue cat companion.
Good evening, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with breaking news and a warning that some of what we'll show you and talk about tonight is graphic. The defense cross-examination of the federal government's star witness in the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
The aim was to bolster their case that Miss Ventura was a willing and loving partner for the many years she stayed with him. That, and to reveal what one defense lawyer today called the real Sean that other people didn't see.
Well, today on the stand and sometimes explicit testimony, Miss Ventura talked about her relationship with the defendant, their planning of drug fueled sexual encounters he called freak offs and described Combs as a sometimes explosive companion, specifically, when she did drugs without him.
She detailed as well what she says was an overdose he had in 2012, and watched as the defense presented text messages, which led to one of those freak offs before this videotaped assault on her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Now, just two days later, with her bruises concealed, she and Combs were on the red carpet attending the premiere of her movie, "The Perfect Match," a title with a horrible ring to it now.
Combs has denied all charges CNN's Kara Scannell was in court today as she has been every day, she joins us now. What were some of the key moments on the cross-examination?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, today was really about these text messages and establishing this long relationship that they had that began a decade or more ago. And she began with these loving and affectionate messages that they exchanged from each other to lay the foundation that this was a loving relationship.
And she got directly into the -- the defense lawyer got directly into the freak offs was asking Ventura about them highlighting somewhere Ventura was the person that initiated the freak offs or had said in one of them, I love our freak offs when we both want to do it. That was one message, and that was one that was from 2017, which was later in the relationship because Ventura testified on direct that this was something that she did initially to appease him and then hated doing it and didn't want to do it.
So she was asked about that, and Ventura said that, that those were just the words that she said at that point. And the lawyer said, but those were words you said to Mr. Combs, because they are trying to say that this was not coercion. This was not forced, that she made a decision to participate in these, because that gets to the heart of the sex trafficking charge.
COOPER: What was it like inside the courtroom?
SCANNELL: So, Combs was very active today. He'd been pretty, you know, reserved during most of the direct testimony. Today, he was passing Post-It note after Post-It note to his attorneys, and when there were breaks, he would jump in and huddle with them around him at the defense table.
So, definitely seeming like he wanted to inform the questions that they were going to ask them, because he knows what was going on in that relationship at that time during these text message exchanges.
COOPER: And how were the jurors?
SCANNELL: So, the jurors, even up until the end of the day, it was a very long day. They were leaning in to the monitors on the screen to look at the text messages, to follow along as they appeared to be very engaged. They have been engaged yesterday with some of the explicit photographs from the freak offs were showed.
You know, I saw one woman kind of put her hand on her chest and take a deep breath. Another guy looked and kind of looked away quickly, but they have been paying attention so far, doing a little bit of that tennis match, going back and forth between the witness and the lawyer.
COOPER: All right, Kara, I want to bring in former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson and criminal defense attorney Arthur Aidala.
So, Arthur, we've spoken at length about what the strategy would be for the defense. What do you make of their strategy on cross- examination today?
ARTHUR AIDALA, NEW YORK CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, they have to take the evidence that's in their favor, that is incontrovertible, so, the words are what the words are. So she's asking to participate. She's asking, she is like, I can't wait for the next one.
Look, it's all about consent. It's all -- I mean, it's no secret here. So, the times that she's not only saying, okay, I'll do it, but let's do it. At the end. I mean, the summation, they already did in the opening and the summation, they have to say, look, these are gross things. These are things we wouldn't participate in and we don't condone it. However, she's not handcuffed. She's not locked in a room. She's not beat down.
Look folks this text message doesn't lie. I can't wait to do this again, those are her words, not Sean's words. And that's consent. Even if she didn't want to do it, she still did it because she thought that's what was going to give him -- give her love to him and his love to her.
[20:05:36]
COOPER: Alyse, I mean, do you think the defenses attempt to paint her interactions with was consensual at times loving, as Arthur was saying? Do you think that's effective?
ALYSE ADAMSON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes, I actually do think that the defense's strategy here is effective. It is essentially the only thing they could do because in their opening, they conceded all of the conduct.
And a lot of these cases, there's also a question is as to whether something happened. That's not the defenses' strategy here. They're admitting all of the conduct. They're just saying, to Arthurs point, that there was consent. And to prove this trafficking charge, there must be coercion. Now, that being said, Cassie has contextualized these text messages. She held her ground. She was very credible. So I think a rational juror could conclude that, yes, she said these words. But there was also fear behind these words, and there was also love.
But I don't think that necessarily has proven -- that that necessarily has taken all of the strength out of the prosecution's case and I think there's a lot more evidence that these disgusting acts were, in fact, coerced.
COOPER: And, Kara, I mean, she was also pressed on the drug use by both of them.
SCANNELL: Yes, I mean, she said that they referred to each other as get high partners because they were oftentimes partying on drugs and both she said they were both addicted to opioids that was separate and apart from the drugs they were taking during the freak offs. What his lawyers tried to do with this was to show that, and Ventura agreed that often when Combs hit her, he was high on some drug, and that he often had said he didn't remember hitting her.
And that was to explain this one text message she sent yesterday. We saw it in which she sends him a photo of her injuries, saying, so you'll remember. So, they're trying to say that this was kind of --
COOPER: But they blame the video of the beating -- they were saying he was like it was a bad batch of MDMA or something.
SCANNELL: Yes, that's how the court day ended. His lawyer suggested to her, you know, have you had bad MDMA? She said, yes. You know, it's terrible. She's like, wasn't that what happened that day? But Ventura said, I don't know what we took that day. So she didn't concede that point. But they're really trying to suggest that this was a partying out-of-control and that it was not a -- it was not something he was doing knowingly.
AIDALA: But, Anderson, that's just so, you know, that's like not a legal defense under these circumstances. Like if he was so drugged up that there are certain crimes where inebriation or intoxication does mitigate something, and it is part of the case. Here it's part of the drama of the case.
But even if he was on ecstasy this whole period of time, that is not a defense that the defendants can argue. I will tell you, I was in contact with the defense team a little bit today, and they were very satisfied about how today went and they're very proud of their lawyer who did the cross-examination.
COOPER: Alyse, the prosecution says they expect about an hour of redirect tomorrow once the defense finishes cross-examination. What points do you think they will want to focus on, to you know, to kind of mitigate whatever the defense has done?
ADAMSON: Yes, again, what strikes to the heart of the case here is whether or not this conduct was consensual or whether it was coercive. So, I think you can expect to see the prosecution coming back to some of those e-mails and text messages that were shared on cross today, and having Cassie contextualize them, explain more about why she said those words. I think you can also expect to see them honing in on these specific areas.
A lot of these texts came from early on in the relationship. I know we just heard reporting that one of them was from 2017, but most of them were from earlier.
And remember, she described the pattern of abuse escalating and then her willingness to participate decreasing as time went on. So, I think they're going to get in and get out relatively quickly because they don't want to draw too much attention to it, but I think they just want to leave the jury remembering that this is all about lack of consent and Cassie is saying that she did not give her consent, and the jury is going to have to decide whether or not that is credible.
COOPER: The judge urged them to finish up, I think it was finish up cross-examination by lunchtime tomorrow. Is that common?
AIDALA: No, and that's insane. I mean, that's one point that I would be going to the mats with.
COOPER: Is that because she's pregnant? Or --
AIDALA: I guess it's because she's pregnant, except the defense attorneys can look at the judge, say, we've been begging you for an adjournment. We didn't want to start on May 5th. We wanted to start later on. So don't now tell us were in a rush. This guy's life is on the line. His whole life is at stake.
This is the main witness who's talking about an 11-year relationship. This isn't a bank robbery that took place in three minutes. This is an 11-year relationship.
As long as were not repeating ourselves, as long as were on relevant topics, we got to do what we have to do. And I'm hopeful that the judge gives the defense the time they need. Otherwise, the defense has a very powerful appellate issue.
[20:10:23]
COOPER: Kara, do you think they -- the prosecution will bring in sort of experts to talk about kind of relationships or messed up relationships like this?
SCANNELL: Yes, they've already gotten the judge to sign off on them, bringing in an expert who will talk about aspects of domestic violence, why people return to relationships even if there is abuse. He did set pretty strict parameters of what that witness can say. They can't talk about coercion because that is a legal term in this case, but they will be able to bring a witness and Combs is able to bring a rebuttal one.
COOPER: And then what happens once she's off the stand?
SCANNELL: So once she's off the stand, they're going to call a woman who was in a band, Danity Kane, who filed a civil lawsuit against Combs. She's one of the two witnesses. Ventura's mother is expected to testify in this case, and they're also expected to call several people who worked for Combs who were witnesses to some of this, including his former personal chef, among others.
COOPER: Right, Kara, thanks very much, Arthur Aidala. Thanks so much and Alyse Adamson, thank you. We want to take a closer look at Cassidy Ventura and how she became involved with Sean Combs and how that impacted the trajectory of her life and career. Randi Kaye has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): About 120 miles from the courthouse where Cassie Ventura is testifying against Sean Combs is where her story began. She was born Casandra Elizabeth Ventura in new London, Connecticut, in August 1986. A career in music and modeling later followed.
Her single "Me and You" on her self-titled debut album, landed the number one spot on the Billboard Hot R&B Hip-Hop Chart in 2006.
Even before the single dropped, Sean Combs took notice and quickly signed Ventura to his Bad Boy Entertainment label. Ventura was just 19. "It happened so fast, I don't think anyone could slow it down," she said about her newfound fame in 2006.
In 2007, more opportunities came her way. Ventura became a spokesmodel for Combs' fashion line, Sean John, and appeared in the dance film "Step Up 2: The Streets."
On her 21st birthday, she and Combs shared their first kiss, according to her testimony. In 2012, the couple went public with their relationship, becoming regulars on the red carpet.
REPORTER: Is there anything that you may want to confess tonight before you go in?
VENTURA: I keep everything right here. It's all right here.
KAYE (voice over): That was the couple in 2018, the same year that Ventura says Combs raped her after she tried to end their relationship. Combs has denied her allegations.
The two dated on and off for more than ten years. During that time, she released singles including "Must Be Love" in 2010, featuring Combs performing under the name "Puff Daddy."
Despite her saying she recorded hundreds of songs as part of a ten- album deal with Combs, an album of her own produced by him never materialized.
In public, their relationship looked rosy, but in private, Ventura alleges, Combs was controlling and abusive. In her 2023 civil lawsuit against him, she said he forced her to engage in sex acts with other men and introduced her to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse. This 2016 video from a California hotel surveillance camera, obtained by CNN shows Combs grab, shove and kick Ventura, his then girlfriend. Combs response --
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, HIP-HOP MOGUL: I was disgusted then when I did it, I'm disgusted now. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace.
I'm so sorry.
KAYE (voice over): Ventura cut ties with Combs in 2018. In 2023, she filed a federal lawsuit against Combs, accusing him of rape and physical abuse.
One day later, the suit was settled. The terms were not disclosed, but she testified they settled for $20 million, Ventura said in a statement at the time. "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control."
In 2019, Ventura married her personal trainer, Alex Fine. The couple have two daughters, Frankie and Sunny, with a third child on the way. She is more than eight months pregnant.
"There aren't words to describe how grateful I am that I get to do this life with you," Ventura posted in March 2025, in honor of her husband's birthday.
Her husband has been in court supporting his wife as she takes on her ex.
Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, much more ahead, including the Supreme Court grappling with the President's executive order banning birthright citizenship.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is just a very practical question -- how this is going to work, what do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn?
[20:15:10]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: We'll talk about the case with former federal prosecutor, Jeffrey Toobin and "The New York Times'" Maggie Haberman.
Also tonight, we check in with a guy who hated his job and did what many dream of. He quit and got a boat and took off with his rescue cat for the adventure of a lifetime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think you're ready for it, because I wasn't. I came out here and I was not ready for it. But look at this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: One case, two key questions for the Supreme Court. How the court decides could redefine who is a citizen and how American justice is done.
[20:20:07]
Now, the court today heard oral arguments in a challenge to the President's day one executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship. And just to clarify, the 14th Amendment seems explicit on this: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
Now, many legal scholars across the political spectrum say there's not much room to argue here, but the administration is. And three federal judges so far have issued nationwide injunctions against enforcing the executive order.
Today, the administration argued that those judges have gone beyond the scope of their authority and should not have the power to freeze executive action beyond their individual districts, meaning they can't order a nationwide injunction.
And though members of the court six three conservative majority appeared sympathetic, Justice Elena Kagan from the other side was not, after saying flat out that the executive order is unlawful, she asked Solicitor General Dean John Sauer how else, other than a nationwide injunction, could defendants get relief?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JUSTICE ELENA KAGAN, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that that's the important question in this case. Let's just assume you're dead wrong. How do we get to that result? Does every single person that is affected by this E.O. have to bring their own suit? Are there alternatives? How long does it take?
How do we get to the result that there is a single rule of citizenship that is not -- that is not -- that is the rule that we've historically applied, rather than the rule that the E.O. would have us do?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COOPER: Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in one of his questions for the government, asked how, if it were allowed to stand, would be the executive order, how would that be implemented?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
KAVANAUGH: This is just a very practical question how this is going to work. What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn? JOHN SAUER, U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL: I don't think they do anything different. What the executive order says in section two is that federal officials do not accept documents that have the wrong designation of citizenship from people who are subject to the executive order.
KAVANAUGH: How are they going to know that.
SAUER: The states can continue to -- the federal officials will have to figure that out.
KAVANAUGH: How?
SAUER: So, you can imagine a number of ways that the federal officials could --
KAVANAUGH: Such as? They're only going to have 30 days to do this. You think they can get it together in time?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So the court now has two questions to weigh if it chooses: Can lower courts impose nationwide injunctions? And fundamentally, does the 14th Amendment mean something other than what it appears to say?
With me here to argue the case, best-selling Supreme Court biographer and former federal prosecutor, Jeffrey Toobin; also CNN political analyst and "New York Times" White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.
Jeff, just on the legal front regarding those two aspects of how this may be decided. What do you think is going to happen?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, BEST SELLING SUPREME COURT BIOGRAPHER AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, I think ultimately birthright citizenship is going to be upheld.
There doesn't seem to be much sentiment on the court to adopt the Trump position on birthright citizenship. However, the issue of nationwide injunctions, which has gone -- which is a big issue. It was big under President Biden. It's big now. The court seems quite torn on that issue because and it's a very hard question, because it's obviously a problem when liberal lawyers can run to San Francisco and get one nationwide injunction and conservative lawyers can run to Amarillo, Texas and get a different.
COOPER: We've seen both that done.
TOOBIN: Absolutely, and that is not how the legal system is supposed to work. However, when you have something like birthright citizenship, it is a good idea to have a national rule. So, a nationwide injunction is a good idea.
So how do you differentiate between cases? I mean, you don't want to have a situation where, you know, the you have birthright citizenship in New York, but not in Texas. It should be one rule for the country. And so, the issue is how do you differentiate between issues where it's appropriate to have a nationwide injunction and have it in some where it's not? And I don't think the court has really sorted that out at all. They seem pretty much at sea on this.
COOPER: Do you have any sense of how the administration feels about how things went?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look. They are happy that this fight is at the Supreme Court. This fight over nationwide injunctions is one they have wanted for some time. Separately, the one over birthright citizenship is one they have wanted for a while.
Some folks in the administration believe they will ultimately be successful on a birthright citizenship case, even if it's not this one.
On the nationwide injunctions, this relates to a lot of their efforts in this administration going forward. If the court ends up doing something in their favor or takes time making this decision, they believe that that all at least adheres to them in some way this administration has yoked, you know, the public relations component and the press component and what people read with the legal component.
And they think that if people are seeing that the justices themselves are grappling with this, it gives more weight to what they're arguing. Even, again, even if they don't actually win on the point, there are enough people who will question what they are seeing when judges issue nationwide injunctions if they continue.
[20:25:07]
COOPER: And how quickly would a ruling come through, Jeff?
TOOBIN: Well, they seem very concerned about acting quickly, more than in the usual case, because they recognize that the uncertainty generated by nationwide injunctions, when nationwide injunctions may be illegal, is something that's a big problem for the legal system.
So, you know, were already late in the term. I mean, the term usually ends beginning of July. Here we are in the middle of May, but I would suspect there's going to be a decision in this case even before the end of the term, because they really want to get some sort of order around this, especially when it's not just birthright citizenship, but a lot of the Trump initiatives are being challenged in court. And there really should be one rule for the whole country.
COOPER: And are they, I mean, is the administration ready to act on this?
HABERMAN: Well, if they if they win in this case, yes, they're going to move forward quite quickly and you are going to see a rollout of a number of executive actions.
Look, they have done -- they're very proud of how many executive actions they have taken. They are very proud of basically trying to expand and maximize executive power in ways, obviously, that critics say is going beyond the scope of their authority. But they are maneuvering around Congress, and they have been trying to both do two things. One is to try to get things before the Supreme Court so they can then have whatever they are trying to do, either signed off of or not signed off and then they'll try again in certain cases.
But they are also attempting to attack the legitimacy of some of what courts nationwide are doing in general. You are seeing Stephen Miller doing it. You've seen Elon Musk doing it. Trump is doing it, albeit to a slightly lesser degree.
If they succeed here, they will move very quickly. But what aspects of their agenda will say.
COOPER: Has there --
TOOBIN: Well, but if they succeed in any way in limiting nationwide injunctions, that's good for the Trump administration. And that is, I mean, because ultimately, you know, so many --
COOPER: Because that is the only thing that is stopping a number of these executive orders.
HABERMAN: Correct and everything.
TOOBIN: I mean, the main story of the first months of the Trump administration has been this attempt to expand executive authority and the courts reeling it back in certain circumstances, to the extent you can limit the courts, that helps the Trump administration. So, any sort of limitation on that --
COOPER: It seems possible -- they are pulling every lever in every realm. It's remarkable.
HABERMAN: Look, we heard Steve Bannon talk about flooding the zone in 2017 when they first came in. This is an entirely different order of magnitude. They are not just with policy but basically with every system that they can trying to either attack it or take ownership of it or neutralize it. And the courts are the last vestige.
COOPER: Maggie Haberman, Jeff Toobin, thanks very much.
Next, the lead problem in Milwaukee schools, the CDC experts who could help with it or may have been able to help with it, they all lost their jobs. The Health Secretary, who said they were mistakenly let go and testified under oath that they'd be reinstated. That, and what one of those experts says really happened even as school kids face the threat of lead exposure.
And later, the man who cast aside his old life, then cast off lines and sailed into his new life. And the sunset, too, in spite of some serious medical issue, he has.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My issue with my neck was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me, because it put everything in perspective, and I think that's what gave me the courage to just, you know, make the leap and go for it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:33:06]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Part of some recent Senate testimony from HHS, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. caught our attention. It was about the lead crisis in Milwaukee's public schools. You'll recall the city asked for help from the CDC back in early April, and their request was denied because they'd fired the lead experts, essentially saying we can't help, those people are gone. They were cut in Elon Musk's DOGE efforts.
Now this is Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin grilling Kennedy about it on Capitol Hill yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN (D), WISCONSIN: The entire childhood lead poisoning branch has been fired. In the words of a Milwaukee mom, it really sends a message of, you don't matter. I don't know what you would say to parents who must now test their children for lead and deal with school closures. But do you intend to eliminate this branch at CDC, yes or no?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: No, we do not.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: Well, lead exposure can have incredibly serious consequences, especially for kids. According to CDC's own page on it, it can cause damage to the brain, nervous system, even death if the exposure is high enough.
Now last week, Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported from Milwaukee's schools, and here's just part of that.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: For the first time, they were able to link lead poisoning in children to the city's aging schools. Specifically, they found evidence of lead-containing paint in the elementary school bathroom. Since then, at least three more children have tested positive for elevated blood lead levels, and eight schools have also been found to have unsafe lead levels as well.
In fact, here at Westside Academy, these kids had to be relocated to another school just this week. They found evidence of red flaking paint on the outside, and lots of problems on the inside. Paint that was flaking on doors and walls and windowsills.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: Now, without the experts from the CDC, Milwaukee's health department is on its own to investigate the sources of the lead exposure and to try to screen thousands of school kids.
[20:35:01]
Secretary Kennedy seemed to acknowledge that was an issue in his testimony yesterday when he said he does not intend to eliminate the department of the CDC that can help in the crisis. But he was actually asked about it before, six weeks ago, when lead experts first were let go. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CDC program that monitors lead surveillance for kids was cut. Can you explain the rationale for cutting a program like that and why that's not an essential service?
KENNEDY: There were some programs that were cuts that were being reinstated, and I believe that that's one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Interesting. Do you know why it was cut to begin with?
KENNEDY: Part of the DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning. Is we're going to do 80 percent cuts, but 20 percent of those are going to have to be reinstalled because well mistakes. One of the things that President Trump has said is that if we make mistakes, we're going to admit it and we're going to remedy it. And that's one of the mistakes.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: That's one of the mistakes he said. Again, that was six weeks ago, and the crisis in Milwaukee has continued. What's been done ever since to get those experts back on the job and on the ground where they're needed most? Well, we contacted the former director of the division that oversaw the lead program at the CDC until it was cut back on April 1st.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
ERIK SVENDSEN, CDC's DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE & PRACTICE: None of our lead staff have been reinstated. None have been told that they're being reassigned to another agency. No one has contacted me at this point about reinstating the lead program or any program within our division.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: CNN reached out to the CDC to try to understand if or when any of those experts would be rehired, and an agency official said in a statement, "As HHS finalizes its detailed reorganization plans, the department will be looking into all strategic programs and priorities for the secretary and the nation. The work of this program will continue". Which doesn't really answer any of the questions that we asked.
In addition to those cuts at the CDC, President Trump's sweeping efforts to reshape the federal government are being felt across the country. In Dalton, Georgia, a teenage girl faces deportation after mistaken traffic stop. The community, which is largely Republican, Marjorie Taylor Greene represents it in Congress, and now some supporters of the President are expressing concern over his hardline immigration policies.
Dianne Gallagher has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CROWD: We won't look the other way.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): United and divided.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bunch of Democrats over here.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): In Dalton, Georgia, after a traffic stop on May 5th, 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal was pulled over for allegedly making an illegal right turn. She was then arrested for driving without a U.S. license.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever been to jail?
XIMENA ARIAS-CRISTOBAL, DALTON RESIDENT: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you're going.
ARIAS-CRISTOBAL: I -- sir --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
ARIAS-CRISTOBAL: I cannot go to jail. I have my finals next weekend.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): A week later, Dalton police said they determined that the officer pulled over the wrong truck. Her traffic charges were dropped. But Arias is undocumented. Her parents brought her here from Mexico at age four in 2010.
She was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, one of the country's largest immigration and customs enforcement facilities, where her father was also detained. He'd been there for weeks after being stopped for speeding last month.
The Dalton State College student's situation has shaken many in this northwest Georgia community, like Hannah Jones, who has raised thousands of dollars to cover the legal fees for her children's longtime babysitter.
HANNAH JONES, ARIAS FAMILY FRIEND: She's a Daltonian through and through. She has so many connections in the community. She's just an American teenager.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Arias' mother, also undocumented, and her younger daughters, who are American citizens, are devastated and traumatized. NDAHITHA ARIAS, XIMENA'S SISTER, 9 YEARS OLD: I'm scared that they could, like, just come to my house and just take my mom away.
MAYELLI MEZA, DALTON RESIDENT: There's fear in our community.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Now many in Dalton's Latino community are feeling on edge.
MAYELLI MEZA: I'm afraid, and I'm a citizen.
MANNY MEZA, DALTON RESIDENT: There's some uncertainty in our community, you know, as a concerned father, as a school board of education member, what's going to happen to a lot of our students that drive to school.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Dubbed the carpet capital of the world, Dalton is a manufacturing town that has long relied on immigrant workers. Today, roughly half the city's population has Hispanic heritage. It's also very Republican.
Marjorie Taylor Greene represents the area in Congress. More than 70 percent of voters in this county picked Trump in November. But some of those supporters say this is not what they were voting for.
KASEY CARPENTER (R), GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Let's focus on the bad people, the people that are here of malicious intent, and not the people that aren't, the people that are just looking for a better life, because that's the American dream, right?
GALLAGHER (voice-over): State Representative Kasey Carpenter wrote a character letter to the judge for Arias. He says during the election, he assured his community that Trump's hardline immigration talk was not about people like her.
GALLAGHER: Do you feel regret? Do you feel guilt?
CARPENTER: I mean, I still think the -- that Trump winning the election was important for the country. But on this particular issue, yes, I have 100 percent regret. I mean, these are people.
[20:40:10]
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Carpenter acknowledges his position is not shared by all his fellow Republicans here, many of whom agree with Trump's Department of Homeland Security, which says, quote, "Both father and daughter were in this country illegally, and they have to face the consequences".
Still, many in this ruby red community remain hopeful that she will return.
JONES: This is the only home she's ever known. She wants to lay down roots here. She wants to stay here. She wants to build a life here. She just needs the opportunity to do so.
(END VIDEO TAPE) COOPER: Dianne Gallagher joins me now. Does the family have any idea if she'll be released from that ICE facility?
GALLAGHER (on-camera): So, Anderson, according to her family and her attorney, Ximena Arias does have a bond hearing date set for next week on May 20th. Her father had a bond hearing yesterday, and I just spoke with a family friend who said that he is actually on his way home now. Bond was granted.
They expect him home sometime tonight, where he will be able to wait with his family as his case proceeds. I will say the Department of Homeland Security in that statement encouraged both the father and daughter to self-deport. Anderson?
COOPER: Dianne Gallagher, thanks very much.
Up next, a guy who hated his job and finally decided to follow his dream. Meet Oliver Widger, his rescue cat, and his decision to leave his old life and dry land behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: The ocean doesn't care.
OLIVER WIDGER, ATTEMPTING TO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD WITH HIS RESCUE CAT: The Pacific Ocean.
COOPER: Yes.
WIDGER: No, it doesn't care. It doesn't care about anything. And, yes.
COOPER: Is that scary or is that liberating?
WIDGER: It's neither. I guess it's pure. You know what I mean?
(END VIDEOCLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:46:23]
COOPER: Have you ever dreamed of quitting your job and sailing around the world? Well, you're about to meet a man who is living that dream after quitting.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
WIDGER: I'm a corporate guy. I absolutely hate this life, this kind of life, this lifestyle. So I'm taking this video now because I'm going to just start logging everything. About this journey, maybe at some point my brother will put a movie together. But, yes, I'm going to buy a sailboat and I'm going to sail around the world.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: That's Oliver Widger, who quit his job after he posted that video, liquidated his 401k, bought a sailboat, and started learning how to sail. He didn't really know how to sail. The 29-year-old was inspired after he was diagnosed with a rare bone disorder.
Then about two weeks ago, he and his rescue cat, Phoenix, left Oregon and set sail for Hawaii. It's the first stop on his planned trip around the world. Tonight, he joins us from somewhere in the Pacific.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: Hey, Oliver, it's Anderson Cooper. Can you hear me?
WIDGER: Yes, hey, Anderson Cooper.
COOPER: Hey, man. How are you doing? Thank you so much for doing this.
WIDGER: Yes, thanks for having me.
COOPER: How's it going so far? Where are you exactly?
WIDGER: Somewhere pretty close to the middle between like Hawaii and California. So --
COOPER: Do you know exactly where you are or?
WIDGER: I mean, I couldn't tell. I mean, like, there's not a lot of landmarkers, but I don't know my exact coordinates right now, but I think somewhere at the middle.
COOPER: And you said it was a disturbing medical diagnosis three years ago that really made you finally decide to do this. Can you talk about that?
WIDGER: Yes, so three years ago I was diagnosed for -- three or four years ago now, I think, I was diagnosed. I had really bad neck pain for a really long time. And I never went to the doctor just because I don't like going to the doctor. And then finally, it got bad enough, and I just like -- I went to the doctor.
I was like, you guys need to figure this out because my neck hurts. And they took some x-rays, and then I was -- I went to work the next day. And they called me while I was at work, and they were like, what are you doing? And I was like, well, I'm working.
And they were like, we need you to come in right now. And so I went in, and the lady, the doctor, she was like, I've done this for 20 years, and I've never seen anything like this. She basically described that my spine looks like -- my cervical spine looks like somebody who's like over 115 years old.
And so I can't remember what he said, but it was clip-or-fail syndrome, which is what I was diagnosed with. And so all of my cervical vertebrae or -- I don't have any discs between them, and they're all fused and deformed as well. So like, they're like different shapes.
COOPER: So are you in pain? I mean, are you in pain sitting there in the boat right now?
WIDGER: Yes, I'm always in like a -- like on a scale of 1 to 10, like my pain is always like a 2, but it like fluctuates.
COOPER: I mean, I got to say what -- I'm sitting here in a suit and a tie, and you are out in this incredibly beautiful ocean, and the sky is incredibly beautiful behind you, and I'm thinking to myself, what am I doing with my life? Can you just talk about the actual decision? Because a lot of people dream of doing a change like this. How hard was it to make that leap?
WIDGER: So hard. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. That was the hardest thing. I've done the impossible. All the things I've done have been impossible things. But even after that, that would -- making the jump was the hardest thing.
[20:50:09]
And I think part like -- I think like my issue with my neck was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me, because it put everything in perspective. And I think that's what gave me the courage to just, you know, make the leap and go for it. I just became -- I like -- because you worry about all the, you know, I have the same fears that everybody has.
COOPER: So what was the final decision, like, it's now or never, like I'm -- this is a leap of faith, I'm going to do this?
WIDGER: Yes, I mean, it literally -- it was literally like a decision I made one day. And I kind of just, I mean, how it happened was I -- my brother convinced me to start documenting everything. And so I took a video of myself while I was working at my previous job.
And I was like, it's the video that went viral. The first clip of that video where I'm in my uniform and I'm like, I absolutely hate this life. And I was just -- I was recording myself basically saying that I'm going to quit my job. I hate it. And I'm going to buy a sailboat and sail around the world.
And what happened was, I didn't mean to post that video. I didn't know how social media worked or any of that stuff worked. And so I accidentally posted that video.
COOPER: Wow.
WIDGER: And then all of a sudden it showed up to work. Everybody knows. So I was like, well, it's now or never. And I just left.
COOPER: Wow.
WIDGER: I was like, if that's not a sign then, you know -- yes.
COOPER: And it's working out. I mean, you're doing it.
WIDGER: Yes, it worked out. It worked. Yes, it worked. I didn't know how to buy -- I didn't know anything about boats. And so like the day after I quit, I had -- at the time I was like $8,000 or $10,000 or something in credit card debt.
I had no money. I had, you know, like rent due, you know, $2,500 rent due in 30 days. And -- but I knew I was like, I'm going to buy a boat somehow. I'm going to sail around the world. And then I had a great idea.
So a week after quitting, I liquidated my 401k. And then I started looking for a boat. And at the same time, I started selling apps every day that was in my apartment.
COOPER: You got a rescue cat. How's Phoenix doing?
WIDGER: Yes. She's doing good. It's really -- it's been really cool to see her because I was nervous. She's lived on the boat obviously for a year and gone sailing. But I was nervous, you know, taking her across an ocean because obviously the waves here are big and boat rocks constantly. But it was after two days, she went -- she became completely like, she's a through and through a boat cat now.
COOPER: Is there something you've learned on this adventure so far that you didn't know before about yourself or the world or anything?
WIDGER: I just -- the Pacific ocean doesn't care. They don't care.
COOPER: The ocean doesn't care.
WIDGER: The Pacific Ocean.
COOPER: Yes.
WIDGER: No, it doesn't care. It doesn't care about anything. And, yes.
COOPER: Is that scary or is that liberating?
WIDGER: It's neither. I guess it's pure. You know what I mean? It's real. Like, it feels, yes. It just feels real. If that makes sense.
COOPER: Are you -- I assume you got to be surprised by this huge following you have online now. I mean, did you think so many people would become, you know, be rooting for you?
WIDGER: No. No, not at all. It's been so cool. It's been such a cool -- I didn't -- yes, I didn't think so. I mean, obviously I've been trying -- you know, I've started posting on social media with the intention of using, you know, the goal has been to have social media be a form of income. So I can -- because that can help fund my circumnavigation around the globe.
COOPER: Yes.
WIDGER: So that was the goal, but I didn't not expect to like go like viral. You know what I mean? I'm not the first person to cross an ocean. And I mean, this has been done a lot. And so I didn't, you know, yes, I didn't expect to go viral.
And it's been really cool to see that it like, it's inspiring people. And that's just been like something I didn't expect and anticipate, but it's been like the coolest thing about it. And it seems like everybody's somehow, some way, it feels like it's bringing people together --
COOPER: Yes.
WIDGER: -- because people are saying that in the comments and stuff. And that's the coolest thing in the world. Like that's what the world needs, you know? And it's just super cool. So I'm happy to be a part of it, I guess.
COOPER: I'd love to keep checking in with you in the weeks ahead.
WIDGER: Yes, sure. Give me a call anytime, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Oliver, you take care of yourself. Stay safe.
WIDGER: Yes. Yes, thanks.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: Quite an adventure. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:59:30]
COOPER: Before we hand things over to the source, a preview of "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain".
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
EVA LONGORIA, AMERICAN ACTRESS (voice-over): Pincho bar hopping is central to Basque identity, but it's hard not to notice the similarity to Spain's other iconic small plates.
LONGORIA: What's the difference between pinchos and tapas?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, this is definitely the question that I get the most in my --
LONGORIA: Is this controversial? Am I asking something controversial?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not controversial per se, but the tapa, you know, it's usually like one food item in quantity on a plate, whereas the pincho is always sort of elaborate with several ingredients.
LONGORIA: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marty (ph). What Marty says, you stay not here. Here is your pincho.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that's it.
LONGORIA: OK, don't get that wrong, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't get that wrong.
LONGORIA: Don't get that wrong. This is amazing. Muchas gracias.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Jesus (ph).
LONGORIA (voice-over): Here, you have to do things in a certain style, and even a bar crawl is an expression of the Basque way.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain" airs Sunday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
That's it for us. See you tomorrow. The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
