Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Workday Facing Collective Action Lawsuit Over AI Hiring Software; Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Fatally Shot Near Jewish Museum in DC; Interview with Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC): House Passes Sweeping Budget Bill in Big Win for Trump, Johnson; Testimony Resumes in Sean Combs Criminal Trial. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Discriminates against people over 40 years old. The company's denying those claims. CNN's Clare Duffy joining us now.

Workday's used by over 10,000 organizations across the entire world. It's huge. How did this unfold, this lawsuit?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, this is a really popular technology that lots of companies use to manage open job applications, the hiring process. This began with a man named Derek Mobley back in 2017. He said from then to when he filed this lawsuit last year, he applied for more than 100 jobs through the Workday platform and was automatically rejected for all of them, often within minutes or hours, despite his work history, his education history.

And he is claiming that Workday's algorithm was biased against him on the basis of age and race and discrimination or his disability, I should say. He says that he has anxiety and depression. And I want to just read from you for you a portion of his complaint.

He says, Algorithmic decision making and data analytics are not and should not be assumed to be race neutral, disability neutral or age neutral.

Now, four other plaintiffs have since joined this suit with similar age discrimination claims, and they are suing Workday. A judge just approved this preliminarily to move forward as a collective action lawsuit, similar to a class action.

And this case really could have significant consequences in terms of whether and how companies can use AI in the hiring process. This is something that has become hugely popular because companies are trying to manage hundreds of applications. AI makes it easier.

But experts do say that AI risks, you know, exacerbating rather than reducing the historical biases that we see in the workplace. Now, I should say that Workday has denied these claims.

A spokesperson told me, We continue to believe this case is without merit. We are confident that once Workday is permitted to defend itself with the facts, the plaintiff's claims will be dismissed.

But we'll continue to follow this because this could be a really consequential suit.

SIDNER: Absolutely. It's huge since so many companies use it, and you know, you don't have any control over it. As a person applying for the job, you don't know why you're being kicked out or told no.

Clare Duffy, great reporting. Thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news out of Washington this morning on multiple fronts.

First, a young couple gunned down outside the Capitol Jewish Museum overnight. They're two staffers of the Israeli embassy. Police say the suspect said that he did it for Palestine. We're live at the scene.

Also breaking this morning, House Republicans, they just pushed President Trump's domestic agenda, a big step forward, a big victory for Speaker Mike Johnson and the president, how they got over internal Republican divisions and what the Republicans who voted against the bill are now saying.

And five fugitives are still on the run, now considered armed and dangerous after escaping from a New Orleans jail last Friday. And three people are accused of helping them and now under arrest.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the breaking news this morning, a suspect in custody in Washington, D.C. after the fatal shooting of two staff members from the Israeli embassy, it happened right outside the Capitol Jewish Museum.

Police say the gunman shouted free, free Palestine as he was being detained. That moment captured on video by an eyewitness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Free, free Palestine. Free, free Palestine. Free, free Palestine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Police have identified the suspect is a 30 year old man from Chicago in. And witnesses are giving chilling details about what he did in the immediate aftermath, saying he went into the museum, appeared to be a witness. Those inside say he was offered comfort and water. But after several minutes, they say he confessed to the crime and said he did it for Gaza.

The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. says the two staffers killed were a young couple about to be engaged. He says they were attending an event at the museum before they were gunned down.

Let's go right to CNN's Alex Marquardt, who is at the scene this morning. Alex, bring us up to speed.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this horrific shooting taking place just outside the Capitol Jewish Museum, which is that red brick building that you can see right behind me. Just after 9 p.m. last night, according to law enforcement, Elias Rodriguez, who is this 30 year old suspect from Chicago. He was pacing outside this event that was being held by the American Jewish Committee.

[08:05:00]

There were young members of the Jewish community inside, along with young diplomats for this event. As the event ended, this young couple, Yaron Lischinski and Sara Milgram, were outside along with two others and Rodriguez allegedly went up to them, pulled out a handgun and shot them before then going inside, where he was, as you say, welcomed by people, bystanders inside who thought he was a witness, thought that he might have been fleeing the shooting. He then confessed that he had done it for Gaza. And as he was detained, shouted, free, free Palestine.

Now we are learning more about this young couple. Lischinski was 30 years old, both an Israeli and German citizen. He worked at the embassy in the political section as a research assistant.

Milgram, we're told, was an American citizen who organized trips to Israel. According to the Israeli ambassador, they were due to get engaged next week in Jerusalem. Lischinski, according to the ambassador, had bought a ring and planned to propose next week.

Of course, this horrific killing being widely condemned. And Prime Minister Netanyahu says that security is being beefed up at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world -- John.

BERMAN: Two lives tragically, violently cut short. Alex Marquardt in Washington, thank you so much for bringing us up to speed -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. So the shooting is raising major security concerns, both in the United States and abroad. Joining me now is Andrew McCabe, CNN senior law enforcement analyst and CNN national security analyst, Carrie Cordero.

Kerry, you're here with me on set. I'm starting with you. Based on what you were hearing, based on what you saw, based on the details that we now have, is this terrorism, point blank?

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, Sara. Based on the statement that the individual made in front of the cameras that you guys just played, if he had a political motivation for doing this act of violence that was related to international events, in my assessment, that would be an act of international terrorism.

Since he was taken into custody, the FBI will continue to -- they'll see if they'll be able to interview him and find out more of his motivation. Obviously, they'll do a full retrospective investigation to find out what more of his motivations. But just based on that statement, based on the act of violence that he committed in downtown Washington, it looks to me like it would be considered an act of international terrorism.

SIDNER: Andrew, I am curious your thoughts on some of the details that we've heard here, one of which is that he went inside afterwards and people were trying to comfort him, offering him water, and that eventually is when he confessed. How much more damage could he have done, sort of acting as someone who was just a witness to this or a potential victim of this? And what does that tell you when you look at his profile?

Because you're so good at sort of profiling the people who are accused of crimes.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Sara, it's a great question and it really highlights the vulnerability of this particular location, at least in that moment. He is someone who had likely, you know, engaged in some degree of planning and organization. That's kind of the first thing that investigators look for.

He obviously obtained a weapon. He got himself to that event in one way or another. He very seemingly haphazardly targeted just likely the first two people or some of the first people that walked out of the building.

It doesn't appear that -- the targets don't appear to have any significance beyond the fact that they were there. Having a accomplished his deadly mission, he then likely didn't know what to do next. He wandered into the building, was able to get into the building, and could have just as easily brought the handgun into the building and continued his killing spree.

So this is a absolutely horrific tragedy, but one that could have been a lot worse had he been focused on really mass casualties, about killing as many people as he possibly could. My guess is he probably just wasn't thinking beyond the actual event itself and then he essentially tried to hide in plain sight.

SIDNER: Yes, it is remarkable. I mean almost remarkable that he was also taken into custody without -- after what he did, without much sort of resistance and fanfare.

I do want to ask you about what this means to Jewish institutions around the United States and the world and what you think should and could happen as far as the security apparatus that will likely be changed around them.

CORDERO: So two pieces. First of all, the Jewish community, particularly in the United States, is very aware of the threat that they face.

[08:10:00] And so both at a national level there are organizations that are dedicated to helping organizations have security, and at regional and local levels there are institutions that are in place to help them.

At the federal level though, one of my main concerns in the current administration is the fact that so many resources are being diverted to immigration enforcement. And that is a priority of this administration, and that's their prerogative.

But at the same time, if they are drawing down resources from counterterrorism components, both within the FBI and the Justice Department, then that potential can have more of an effect. And I think I'll be interested to know whether this individual was on any radar of investigators, considering the fact that he traveled from one location to another to commit this act.

SIDNER: Yes, those are really good points. Thank you so much, Carrie Cordero. And to you, Andrew McCabe, it's always a pleasure to talk through these really difficult moments with the both of you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, some more breaking news this morning. A big win for President Trump, for the House Speaker, and for the slim House Republican majority just before 7 a.m. holding a vote and pushing the president's sweeping domestic policy bill over the finish line. One reason this vote is such a win, it's because it comes after days, and honestly weeks, of internal Republican fighting over how much to cut, how much to protect, and how much to allow to add -- to allow it all to add to the deficit.

The Speaker is getting -- in getting enough -- the Speaker also was able to get just enough of the holdouts to give in, with the final vote then being 215 to 214, two Republicans voting against it.

CNN's Lauren Fox has been following it all on Capitol Hill, was there as this vote unfolded this morning. The Speaker held a press conference, spoke with reporters shortly afterwards. What is he saying now, and what does happen next?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Speaker of the House doing what was a huge victory lap for him and his leadership team, as well as all the chairmen who are instrumental in getting this bill across the finish line. It has been a whirlwind 24 hours. The same room that the Speaker held that press conference in this morning was the room that the House Freedom Caucus was threatening yesterday to potentially torpedo this piece of legislation.

So you can see just all the work that went into this bill over the course of the last several hours, and even into the evening and overnight, Republicans were able to pass this bill this morning, shortly before 7 a.m.

And it's really interesting because Speaker Johnson said that there were multiple pivotal moments over the course of the last week. And when I asked him, you know, if there was one in particular, if there was a meeting that he credits with getting this over the finish line, the Speaker, who is devoutly Christian, said that, you know, at several points, he prayed about this, and at one point even just went to the small chapel near the Capitol to actually try to figure out a way forward. That does show you there was a point in which this may not have all come together.

The Speaker also understands that this has to go to the United States Senate next, and there are changes that lawmakers there want to see. He sort of made a little joke about that. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: All the senators, every one of them that promised me they're not going to change anything in our bill. No, no, I had -- I was honored to be at the Senate Republican luncheon on Tuesday. And, you know, I encourage them to remember that we have a very delicate equilibrium that we've reached on here.

A lot of work went into this to find exactly the right balance. And you all saw how perilous that was over the last week as it developed. And I encourage our Senate colleagues to think of this as a one team effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And just to underscore how closely Johnson says he is working with Majority Leader John Thune, he said that last night there was a member who was teetering on the edge. He said he got John Thune on the phone to get some insurances to that member in order to get their vote on this bill. But obviously, a lot of work remains.

It goes to the Senate. You'll have to come back to the House. There's probably going to be some significant changes, and he's going to have to do this whole process over again -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, Lauren, thank you for covering it all for us. You've been doing an amazing job. Thank you so much -- John.

BERMAN: Now, as you saw the margin there, the actual vote margin was a single vote, but it turns out Republicans probably had a little more cushion there. Speaker Johnson and others telling a story of Andrew Garbarino, who is a Republican from Long Island here from New York. Apparently, after the long night, Garbarino put his head down, fell asleep a little bit and didn't wake up in time to make the vote.

These are the perils of holding so much late night action in the House of Representatives. One of the votes you may have needed was not awake at the time.

Now we have Lauren Fox's camera there. We're trying to get Congressman Tim Moore, Republican from North Carolina, with us now. Nice to see you making the quick switch there with Lauren Fox.

[08:15:00]

Your reaction this morning after that long night?

REP. TIM MOORE (R-NC): Well, I tell you, I'm so rested. I had almost a full hour of sleep last night. Look, I'm really excited for this morning, and I think Speaker Johnson said it very well, that the entire Republican conference supports him and the leadership team and the president and really came together to get this bill across the line.

And so I really have to give credit to our leadership, to Speaker Johnson and the president, for really getting folks together and making this happen because this is going to do so much for our economy. It's going to get things moving forward. And, of course, what it's going to do on border security, energy exploration.

That's not being talked about a lot, but I think that's going to do so much to help move our economy forward.

BERMAN: What possible changes in the Senate, because this is where it goes next, and you know they're going to change it because, as people like to say, there are two parties in Washington. There's the House and the Senate. What changes do you fear the Senate might make?

MOORE: You know, I'm not concerned about what changes. Certainly we know that there will be changes, but what I've seen throughout the process, again, this is as a new member, is that when the Speaker has communicated with every member of our conference, he's also been very candid in talking about where they are with the Senate leadership. And one of the early meetings we had, Senator Thune actually came and spoke to our conference.

So I have confidence that where we are, you know, there may be some things along the line, but in terms of the priorities, I mean, these are the priorities the President set forth. These are the priorities of all the Republicans, and I think this is a great day. And, you know, folks keep underestimating out there at the Speaker, and I think, once again, he's shown that the reason he's our Speaker, he's doing a great job.

BERMAN: So how much deficit reduction are you promising your constituents in North Carolina from this bill?

MOORE: So the big thing is, for once, finally, you know, after decades of deficits and debt out of control, we're finally taking a step forward to get this done. Again, I'm one of the new guys here, right? And a lot of the new members are talking about how we've got to get the debt under control.

And so this moves that forward. I do think in the CBO scoring where they're talking about adding to it, what they're not taking into account, because it's a static model, what they're not taking into account is probably the growth that we're going to have in GDP. And probably the biggest indicator from that is going to be what you have in energy, with the energy production, where instead of relying on other countries to get our energy, we're going to once again become an energy exporter, like we were during President Trump's first term. And look --

BERMAN: During the Biden administration, you do know there was more oil produced than at any other time, but that's neither here nor there. The independent budget office --

MOORE: Well, that was because the Trump administration started it. Then, of course, Biden stopped things, stopped the pipeline.

BERMAN: But the deficits expanded then, and they've expanded now, and they're projected to expand even more because of this bill. You cited the Congressional Budget Office, which you say has static scoring there. They say over $2 trillion.

Penn Wharton and other independent analysis says, you know, well over $3 trillion. Moody's is concerned it could be $4 trillion. The independent analysis shows this is going to expand, grow the deficits. Which you say this bill actually takes under control? How is that?

MOORE: Because what it's going to do, here's the thing that doesn't get factored in. When you cut taxes, you spur economic activity, which then fuels the economy. We saw that, for example, remember when the TCGA first passed in 2017, there was these estimates that that was going to grow up even more. And in turn, what you saw was it did not increase like that.

Now, the X factor that came along that nobody saw, of course, was COVID, right, and what happened in 2020 with the economy. But I'll tell you this, but for those initial tax cuts that passed then, we would have been in much worse shape.

BERMAN: Let me play you. I had Rich McCormick, Republican from Georgia, who voted for the bill. He absolutely did vote for it along with almost the rest of your colleagues. But, man, he didn't sound happy about it before he went into last night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): It's irresponsible, and eventually most of our budget is going to be consumed by deficit debt payments. I mean, it's a dis-servicing of that. And that's so irresponsible for our children.

It's going to bring us to our knees and our currency standard. We've been downgraded by Moody's. That's the second time in two years we're in trouble.

I would love somebody to give me a better alternative right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He was saying he would love a better alternative than what you had overnight. So, are your joys tempered like his?

MOORE: So, I believe, again, I do share the same concern that all of our conference does in any amount of debt we have. And then what you've got to watch for, too, is the amount of debt relative to the GDP. Some folks say it should be around 3 percent. I think we're getting actually close to 6 percent.

[08:20:00] And if we had stayed on the track we were with what the Democrats wanted to do, who knows where we would be. So, this is finally getting it under control, turning it around, but it's like anything else. I mean, this is a problem that's taken decades to get here, and we can't fix it in one year.

But this is a step forward, and I think you'll see us build on that next year and in the following year.

BERMAN: We will see, obviously, as it heads towards the Senate. The bond markets yesterday pretty nervous about it as well. But as you say, we'll find out more as it moves forward.

Congressman Tim Moore from North Carolina, thank you for your time -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, jurors in a sex trafficking trial against Sean Combs shown multiple images of evidence gathered from the former mogul's home. And today, rapper Kid Cudi expected to take the stand.

Plus, two women arrested accused of helping some of the ten inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail. This has five of those inmates are still on the run. A manhunt underway. We'll have more on that.

And new guidance from the FDA on COVID vaccines, the expanding warning labels that just now are being included.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: In just about an hour, we'll hear from more witnesses in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs, and prosecutors say they intend to call rapper Kid Cudi to the stand today. Cassie Ventura said in her testimony and civil lawsuit that Combs became enraged when he found out she was dating Kid Cudi back in 2011 and threatened to blow up his car. Soon after, the vehicle exploded in his driveway.

But first this morning, we will hear more from Combs' former assistant, George Kaplan, who said he often took drugs to hotel rooms for his boss. Ventura also said during her testimony that Kaplan quit after he witnessed Combs abusing her. CNN's Kara Scannell is outside the courthouse, as she has been every single day of this trial.

Kara, give us some sense of what you are watching for today.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're starting to see the prosecutors bring in evidence to go toward their charge of racketeering conspiracy, and that is where rapper Kid Cudi's testimony will come into play. Because as you said, Cassie Ventura testified that she started dating Cudi while she was still in a relationship with Combs. Combs became enraged with jealousy, and he threatened to physically harm Ventura and Kid Cudi.

And according to Ventura's testimony, he threatened to blow up Kid Cudi's car. So Kid Cudi will be on the stand today to talk about that. Ventura testified that there was a meeting between Combs, Kid Cudi, and her. So we expect he will speak more to that.

This racketeering conspiracy charge does have an element of arson in it, and this will be the second bit of testimony we hear about that.

And also, Combs' former executive assistant, George Kaplan, will be back on the witness stand this morning. He's testifying under a grant of immunity from prosecution. He was testifying yesterday about two times that he had picked up drugs for Combs. He said Combs had given him cash, and he had received bags of pills, tablets in one of them. And he also testified about cleaning up a hotel room.

Now, his testimony yesterday did not get into any knowledge that he had about the freak-offs, but he said he would help set up the hotel room and then clean it up. And when he was asked why he didn't leave that to the hotel staff, he said because he understood part of his job was to protect Combs' public image. That also ties into this racketeering conspiracy count.

So he'll be back on the stand this morning, and then we're also expecting to hear from a friend of Ventura, a makeup artist, who Ventura had testified was aware of some of the physical assault from Combs. So she is expected to take the stand later today -- Sara.

SIDNER: Wow, there's just so much every single day of this trial that comes out. Kara Scannell, thank you so much for all your reporting there, especially in the rain -- John.

BERMAN: All right, the breaking news. A suspect in custody after two Israeli embassy staff members were killed outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. We're getting new information on this investigation.

And then a poker player, an anonymous cybersecurity expert, and a crypto billionaire. New details on the guests having dinner with the president tonight after buying entry in the form of almost $400 million worth of Trump meme coin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]