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Rick Newman is Interviewed about Tariffs; Newark Mayor to Appear in Court; Pennsylvania Pony Finds New Family; Retail Sales Slow in April; Pre-Trial Hearing for Idaho Killings Suspect. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired May 15, 2025 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That Combs' attorneys will begin their cross-examination of Cassie Ventura. And their goal here is to try to undercut her credibility and advance their defense, which is that any of the sex acts that were involved in the freak offs, they say, were consensual, were part of this long-term relationship and something special that they did together.
Also, getting at the physical violence. They said that that occurred on both sides, with Ventura herself hitting Combs, and that it was often born out of infidelity and jealousy. So, they are going to try to put that center stage when they begin cross-examination this morning. And as you said, it followed two days of intense testimony from Ventura.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the key here is for the prosecution to prove this was more than domestic violence. They have to prove racketeering. They've got to prove conspiracy here. So, insofar as that's the case, what were the big moments from the testimony from Cassie Ventura already?
SCANNELL: Well, yesterday it felt like the prosecution was really trying to get at this part of the sex trafficking charge because they have to show that it was sex with a commercial worker through force or coercion. So, so much of yesterday's testimony was focused on physical violence. The jury saw at least a half a dozen photos of injuries on Ventura, bruises, a gash to her forehead, a fat lip, and they also saw a text message that she sent Combs after their fight at the Intercontinental Hotel that was captured on that hotel surveillance video. Ventura texts to Combs, "I have a black eye and fat lip. You are sick for thinking it's OK to do what you've done."
She also testified about another time they were in a car, and she said, Combs was stomping on her head, that she was then shuttled to a hotel where she was forced to stay for one week until her injuries started to subside and recover.
She also testified about blackmail. That's another theory the prosecution has that she -- he was dangling these freak offs videos over her head, threatening to go public. She testified about a time that she was on a flight with Combs and he started playing one of those videos that she thought had been deleted, threatening to make it public. She said, "I felt trapped."
So, we're expecting to have the defense team try to hone in on some of these issues. It's going to be a long time on the stand for her. The cross-examination is expected to continue into Friday.
John.
BERMAN: All right, Kara Scannell, great reporting, as always. This will be fascinating to see. Thank you.
Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the breaking news coming in. Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is issuing a new warning today, warning the company will have to raise prices due to President Trump's tariffs. The company's CEO, Doug McMillon, is expected to tell analysts this on an earnings call today. I'll read you a quote as they sent out excerpts ahead of time. "We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins."
Walmart -- Walmart said the prices will begin to go up later this month, and the hikes could put the company also in an uncomfortable position, if you will, with the Trump administration. Remember last month the White House publicly shamed Jeff Bezos and also threatened Mattel's CEO with 100 percent tariffs after they said tariffs would lead to higher prices.
Compare this news today with what Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNN's Dana Bash just on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: So, we do expect a 10 percent baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future. But don't buy the silly arguments that the U.S. consumer pays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Rick Newman, senior columnist with Yahoo! Finance.
It's good to see you, Rick.
OK, so what do you make first and foremost of the statement from Walmart?
RICK NEWMAN, SENIOR COLUMNIST, YAHOO! FINANCE: None of this is surprising. The cost of goods is going up because the -- these tariffs are a tax on something like $3 trillion worth of imports. So, what's going to happen is, as the cost goes up to people -- to the importers, such as Walmart, and most retailers, they are going to pass as much of that -- as much of that cost on to end users as they can.
This -- this is not mysterious. We know what the level of the taxes is. It's about 30 percent on most stuff coming in from China. It's 25 percent on imported automobiles and auto parts. It's 25 percent on steel and aluminum. And for everything that's not covered by any of those, it's 10 percent. So that, more or less, is going to be the magnitude of the price hikes on these -- these products that are coming in from other countries.
And we -- we know where these price hikes are going to show up as well. There's been a lot of analysis on this. We're -- we're going to see cars are going to get more expensive. Car parts are going to get more expensive. Car insurance is going to get more expensive. Leather goods, such as handbags, are going to get more expensive.
[08:35:01]
Clothing, electronics, appliances. And we're going to hear more CEOs saying this because, if you run a publicly owned company, you have an obligation to your shareholders to tell them what's going on with costs. So, what's probably going to happen is we're going to see price hikes across the board from basically all retailers. So, if Trump wants to go after them, he's going to go after all of them en masse, instead of just picking off one or two the way he did earlier with Amazon.
BOLDUAN: You know, Republican -- Republican Congressman Andy Barr, who's a big supporter of Trump's trade policy, was on with John just last hour and was asked about this Walmart news. And essentially his case was still to say short-term pain, long-term gain.
Let me play this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANDY BARR (R-KY): Walmart will lower prices in the long run. Lower -- prices will come down lower in the long run because we're going to get better deals.
This trade policy is creating massive opportunities and we're back in a bull market because of the developments that are happening in the trade negotiations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: What do you think of that, Rick?
NEWMAN: That's economically illogical. So, the trade deals that Trump is trying to get, the concessions he's trying to get are, to the extent that he's getting any or they make any sense, are to -- are to make it more favorable to get American products into foreign markets where there are barriers. That makes sense. But that is not going to do anything to lower costs in the United States. And -- and if Trump actually gets his wish, which is that we just start making all this stuff in the United States, it's going to get even more expensive than if it comes in from other countries with the tariffs, simply because labor costs are much higher here. Manufacturing costs are much higher. It just costs more to make stuff in the United States. So, if -- if you think that this manufacturing renaissance is a good idea, it is not going to come with higher -- with lower prices by definition. It's going to come with higher prices permanently. So, you have to accept that trade off.
BOLDUAN: Well, we know that when it came to baby dolls and pencils and strollers that the president basically called it small ball. But let's see if he -- what his reaction is to Walmart saying this, if he still thinks products coming out of the world's largest retailer feels like small ball.
It's good to see you, Rick. Thanks for jumping on. I really appreciate it.
NEWMAN: Good to see you.
BOLDUAN: Also, staying on the economy, a brand new key inflation report just out. We're going to bring that in -- the data to you. What it shows and what it means for your wallet.
Also this ahead, Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four Idaho college students, he is headed back to court today, and it could be the last time before his trial begins.
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[08:42:08]
BERMAN: All right, happening today, Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka is expected to appear in court after being arrested outside an ICE detention center. The incident was captured in several videos. He says he was trying to serve legal papers to Geo Group, which runs the detention facility, and to support lawmakers from Congress who were there. The U.S. attorney says Baraka, who is running for governor, was trespassing after being warned to leave.
Let's get right to Newark. CNN's Omar Jimenez is there, I believe, outside the court for the very latest.
What do we expect to happen, Omar?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, so we're waiting on a status conference hearing right now for Newark's mayor, Ras Baraka, over trespassing charges, based on what we saw at the protest last week at a nearby private ICE facility. And what we're waiting on -- or the arrest, I should say, came after a very tense exchange with the mayor as he tried to join members of New Jersey's congressional delegation on a tour at that private ICE detention facility. And that mayor, who is running for governor, has essentially pushed back aggressively against the opening of that facility to begin with.
Now, to this point, we have seen multiple days of protests at that facility for that particular reason. But on the day of the actual arrest, as I mentioned, he was there alongside members of New Jersey's congressional delegation. He was trying to join a tour, as we understand. At one point he was seen on -- on the secure side of the fence, being told, as we heard on video, that he could not join that tour. So, then he returned to the public side, and that is where the arrest actually happened, and he was put into handcuffs and taken back to the secure side of the fence.
Now, Homeland Security has said he ignored multiple requests to leave that facility when the mayor has insisted he has done nothing wrong to this point. And as we know, he was eventually charged with trespassing.
Now, for those members of Congress, they were eventually allowed to tour the facility, but they too were threatened with arrest. And at least one of those members has said it is part of a wider intimidation tactic that they have seen.
So, it has been multiple days of protests at this particular facility. Again, but this particular arrest, we're waiting to see how this moves forward here with the mayor. We do expect him to be here. So, we'll be watching for when that happens in the coming -- in the coming hours.
BERMAN: Yes, the law and a lot of politics at play in all of this.
Omar Jimenez, thank you very much for that.
All right, this morning, a story about a horse and a family. A pony broke loose from her rescue farm in Pennsylvania and ran into the arms of a local police officer.
CNN's Polo Sandoval on the officer who went beyond the call of duty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Miss Fannie may seem mild mannered now, but on April Fool's Day she unleashed her wild side.
[08:45:03]
The pint-sized pony slipped out of the gate at Horse Angels Rescue and bolted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She took off through the woods, and she was gone.
SANDOVAL (voice over): Fannie hoofed it across Chester County, Pennsylvania, over highways and busy intersections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a miracle that she did not get hit by a car.
SANDOVAL (voice over): Calls flooded into the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department where Sergeant Ted Lewis was on patrol. But turns out Miss Fannie knew exactly where to go.
SGT. TED LEWIS, WESTTOWN-EAST OSHEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Since we were kids, we were always told that if you're lost, go find a police officer. And it seems like that's exactly what she did.
SANDOVAL (voice over): Fannie was found trotting down the police station's driveway, and Sergeant Lewis was easily able to clip on a lead. LEWIS: She was just a sweetheart. She was calm, friendly, was just
leaning up against me, and it was like we had been best friends for years.
SANDOVAL (voice over): Miss Fannie had been surrendered by her owners to Horse Angels Rescue less than 24 hours before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were looking to rehome her because she had a growth on her face that was severely infected.
SANDOVAL (voice over): They thought it could be cancer and were unable to care for her. It wasn't long after Sergeant Lewis bonded with Miss Fannie.
LEWIS: I usually get intimidated by horses, but not this one.
SANDOVAL (voice over): The officer realized he wanted to adopt her. Now the mini mare has moved to a mini farm with Sergeant Lewis' family, where she spends her days with her new pack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To meet someone who saved this horse, found her, and then adopted her, it means the ultimate dream for any rescue.
LEWIS: She's a good girl.
SANDOVAL (voice over): Sergeant Lewis and his wife, Anne, footed the bill on surgery for Miss Fannie's snout, and luckily, no cancer.
LEWIS: Come on. Walk with me.
She traveled the distance of almost three miles and just trotted right into my life. You know, I'm not quite sure what the reason is, but she certainly made our lives better and we're just happier for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: She trotted right into my life.
Polo Sandoval, thank you very much.
All right, new video shows the moment armed attackers attempted to kidnap the daughter of a crypto executive and her family. This is the latest in a string of attacks targeting people in the crypto industry.
And then, Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's ice cream has been arrested for protesting during the congressional hearing of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:51:59]
BOLDUAN: All right, breaking news. Just moments ago, retail sales slowing significantly last month as consumers are very clearly pulling back on spending. At the same time, wholesale inflation remained fairly -- goodness gracious, Kate -- fairly tame in April. CNN's Matt Egan joins us now.
For the record, that was like a -- that was like a -- that was kind of challenging -- challenging to say.
MATT EGEN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, it was. It was.
BOLDUAN: Let's make things that are less challenged right now. Let's start with retail sales.
EGAN: OK. I'll do my best.
Look, we did get a little bit of concerning news on really what is the backbone of this economy, right, consumer spending. We learned that retail sales in April, they slowed significantly. So, we saw a month over month gain of just 0.1 percent. That is a very sharp slowdown from March, which had skyrocketed almost 2 percent, right. That was actually revised higher.
And when we kind of dig into the why here and the categories, we can really see an impact from tariffs, particularly the fact that a lot of Americans in March were trying to beat the clock on tariffs, right, so they bought things like cars, sporting goods, clothing, electronics. All of those numbers were really solid in March. And all of them reversed in April. So, that does speak to a bit of a hangover after demand was pulled forward by demand. And it does suggest some potential weakness in consumer spending. So, that's something that we've really got to watch very carefully because that is the biggest driver of GDP.
Now, we got better news, as you alluded to, on the inflation front.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
EGAN: So, we learned that producer prices, this is wholesale inflation before it gets to all of us as consumers. Wholesale inflation actually declined. We saw a month over month drop of 0.5 percent. That was better than expected. In fact, that is the biggest monthly drop since April of 2020, during Covid. The annual rate came in at 2.4 percent. That was also a deceleration. So, moving in the right direction. And that was, more or less, in line with expectations.
And when we look at the trend for producer prices, we can see that they remain pretty tame. You can see on that chart there was this skyrocketing inflation surge, right, 2022. The inflation crisis came way down, started to tick higher, started to get people a little bit more concerned. But you can see, going in the right direction again. So, this is from --
BOLDUAN: How do you make sense of it?
EGEN: Well, it's the calm before the storm.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
EGAN: At least that's what economists believe, right, because they are anticipating that the trade war, all of these tariffs are going to drive prices higher. But we're not seeing it yet, right? It is not in this data yet. And even though that's what forecasters expect, they've been wrong before. So, we have to wait to see how this plays out.
But, look, if you listen to Walmart today --
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
EGAN: Walmart, right, the king of retail warning that they're even going to have to raise prices because of tariffs. And think about that. I mean no one has the heft and scale that Walmart does. So, if they're not immune to tariffs, what about all those mom and pop shops?
[08:55:01]
What about the mid-size retailers that can't really put as much pressure on their suppliers as Walmart can?
So, I think that's telling. And it does suggest that the trade war is going to cause some inflationary pressure. But how much and when, I think that remains very much up for debate.
BOLDUAN: Yes, that's the gray -- that's the gray area that we are still in right now.
It's good to see you, Matt.
EGAN: Thanks, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.
EGAN: Of course.
BOLDUAN: John.
BERMAN: All right, this morning, an attempted kidnaping caught on camera in Paris. Four masked men with guns are seen attacking the daughter of a cryptocurrency executive, her partner and their two- year-old son. The daughter, who was pregnant, fought back, got the gun away from one of the attackers and threw it onto the street. At one point someone walking by grabbed a fire extinguisher to help stop them. Eventually, the attackers gave up, jumped in their van and drove away.
Ben Cohen, the founder of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, was arrested by Capitol Police after protesting during a hearing that featured Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. A law enforcement official says his charges include -- the charges against him include crowding and obstructing. He posted a video of the protest saying, quote, "I told Congress they are killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and they are paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the U.S."
The president of Harvard University, Alan Garber, has elected to take a 25 percent pay cut. This comes after the Trump administration halted about $2.7 billion in federal funding to the university. Garber's current salary has not been disclosed, but according to "The Harvard Crimson," Harvard presidents typically earn an annual salary upwards of $1 million.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: All right, so today, accused killer Bryan Kohberger will be back in an Idaho courtroom for his final hearing before his trial begins in the deaths of four University of Idaho students. This could very well be the last chance for the defense and prosecutors to sort out the final details or fight over anything else before that trial begins in August.
CNN's Jean Casarez following this every step of the way importantly for us, because the context around it and what you bring to this, Jean, is so important. Talk to me about the purpose of today's hearing. What are we looking at?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's to tie up loose ends.
BOLDUAN: OK.
CASAREZ: And I'm sure that both sides are both compiling their lists right now as we speak, right, because, first of all, jury selection, it's not just any ordinary jury selection. It's going to have to be a death qualified jury.
BOLDUAN: Right.
CASAREZ: So, there are going to be questionnaires. We know that. But how many jurors will be brought into the courtroom at a time? Who will do the questioning? How long do they expect it to last? I think we can hear some things in that area.
On the defense side, this is fascinating because during the April hearings they had said that they wanted to bring in an alternate perpetrator. And Ann Taylor, lead attorney for Bryan Kohberger, said, we're going through tips right now, and we actually found something that we believe is very credible. There's an active investigation that we are doing right now. And the judge said, OK, well, if there is something credible, you've got to bring it to the court by May because there has to be time here.
It is May. So, let's see if we hear something on that alibi. Bryan Kohberger is not going to be able to bring in an alibi instruction that can go to the jury. And the defense wants that. And the judge said there is no one that can show where he was at the time of the murders. And the judge said, if you can find someone, bring it to the court as soon as you can. We'll see the timeliness of the issue. So, we never know --
BOLDUAN: Those are potentially huge things.
CASAREZ: They are huge things. For the defense they are, absolutely.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CASAREZ: Now, on the side of the prosecution, evidence is pretty set. The judge has made the rulings on the major evidence, the knife sheath, the single source male DNA that has been determined to be a statistical match to Bryan Kohberger, that's coming in. The defense says, we have an expert that's going to show that there were two perpetrators here. There had to be two perpetrators.
But then you have the Amazon click activity. This is where an Amazon account, in the name of Bryan Kohberger, defense says it was a family account, but a knife, a sharpener and a -- and a -- and a sheath were all purchased months before the killings. The same company, the very same company. And the person under the Bryan Kohberger account monitored when the delivery was going to come. Following the killings, that person monitored and looked at more Ka-bar knives. Didn't purchase one, but looked at them.
So, very substantial evidence for the prosecution here.
BOLDUAN: And how -- there's -- I mean it's been like bombshell revelation after bombshell revelation, like, leading up to this last moment. I mean how is this all going to impact the trial?
CASARE: Well, there's a potential jury pool out there. And that's an excellent point right there because there was a major docudrama Friday night, last Friday night, on NBC that brought out so many other things that -- in regard to potential reality of Bryan Kohberger monitoring the -- the serial killer Ted Bundy, looking up an old professor from Pennsylvania's paper on Ted Bundy, looking up articles on the -- the killings, the Idaho state college killings.
[09:00:02]
This is -- this is classic. This is truly classic for a killer.