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Kid Cudi Testifies He Reached Out to Combs After Car Fire; Multiple Fatalities After Business Jet Crashes in San Diego; Senate GOP Question Budget as House Passes Sweeping Trump Bill; Thousands of Volunteers to Honor Fallen Heroes at Cemeteries. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They discussed both Cassie Ventura, that they had both been dating her. And Cudi said when he was the meeting was over, he shook Combs' hand and said, well, what about my car? And Combs said, I don't know what you're talking about. Cudi told the jury he thought Combs was lying.

KEILAR: And Missy were also, I should note, hearing testimony or seeing testimony that is being heard right now from a former makeup artist of Combs and Ventura's who said that she saw Ventura with injuries on her face once around a Grammy weekend in 2021. To Kid Cudi's testimony, Misty, what part of the prosecution's case is his testimony key to?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, we were really waiting for this testimony, because remember, Combs is charged with RICO and RICO requires -- that's a racketeering conspiracy. It requires identifying what the underlying crimes are. That Combs and his co-conspirators committed crimes in furtherance of a criminal enterprise.

Now, one of those crimes that's listed in the indictment is arson. So we were waiting during Kid Cudi's testimony. We got a preview of what we believed he would say from Cassie Ventura's civil lawsuit relating to this Molotov cocktail in the car.

So it's important to note that the prosecutors do not have to prove that the arson incident occurred beyond a reasonable doubt or prove that it was getting beyond a reasonable doubt. All they need to do is show the jury and have the jury believe that Combs and his co- conspirators were involved in that incident. And it was part of a bigger pattern of conduct relating to the criminal enterprise.

So his testimony regarding that Molotov cocktail, that he believed it to be Combs referencing the breakup -- break into his home that happened prior, all speaks to that pattern. Now, I will say, as Kara laid out, the defense did some damage on cross examination because there was no direct evidence that Combs was involved.

There was never an arrest. There was never a prosecution relating to that incident. And Cudi did say that he never actually saw who did it and he never had any direct information. He just believed it to be Combs because he thought Combs was, quote, violent. So the testimony really got what the prosecutors needed with respect to that arson incident for the underlying crime. But the defense was able to really cut away and maybe put some doubt on that Combs was actually involved in that incident.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Misty Marris, Kara Scannell, thank you both with an update from the courtroom as we're learning that reporters inside the courtroom are describing this makeup artist talking about seeing Ventura with marks on her after a confrontation with Combs.

We're, of course, going to keep an eye on this story and bring you the latest as we get it from court.

Meantime, back to the breaking news out of San Diego. In about 30 minutes, officials there are expected to give us an update on that deadly plane crash that destroyed a number of homes near an airport where the plane was trying to land. It was a terrifying scene that forced residents from their homes in the middle of the night.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, a plane just (BLEEP) crashed right here. That's (BLEEP). That is (BLEEP).

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SANCHEZ: We understand that multiple people were killed as a result of this crash, apparently all of them from the plane, that's according to Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy, who joins us now live. Sir, thanks so much for being with us. Do you have a figure at this point of the number of people that were killed or injured?

ASSISTANT CHIEF DAN EDDY, SAND DIEGO FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, right now we're looking at it as a rostered on the plane with six individuals, so we're confirming that right now with the FAA and NTSB as they're getting on scene right now. So it looks like six individuals were on the plane. We are still doing a grid search through everything and trying to find any victims that we can.

The houses themselves have all been cleared up.

SANCHEZ: Can you walk us through what it was like for your teams when they arrived on the scene? Because from watching some of the videos, it appeared to be quite chaotic and widespread as well.

EDDY: Absolutely. Luckily, our teams trained for this. Right. And so we had reports of a plane down. So we do what's called an alert five, which is we send a very large contingency to the scene to ensure. First team units that got on scene had multiple cars on fire and multiple homes on fire when they first arrived and started immediate actions to ensure that we were doing rescues and knocking down the fire. Most of the street, the street is slanted to the west, running downhill. So as the plane crashed, we had a lot -- we had a runoff from the fuel that then started cars down the street on both sides of the street on fire as the runoff for the fuel came down. So it was a very treacherous scene. But at the same time, crews did a phenomenal job of getting it knocked down and starting to search the homes and look for any victims that we had that might possibly be trapped.

[13:35:00]

Originally, we had individuals that we were told were trapped in homes and were able to get them out.

SANCHEZ: And I wonder how they're doing now, what you're hearing from neighbors there.

EDDY: So for neighbors here, just like anything, everyone's pretty shocked with what occurred. We were able to do a evacuation center where we moved everyone from these neighborhoods up the street. We've had great coordination with San Diego PD, our partners within the military and ensuring that everyone is taken care of and accounted for.

We made it through all the streets, made it through all the homes, did our primary and secondary searches and then talked to those individuals to ensure that we accounted for everybody that was out of those houses. Those individuals that are at the evacuation center were also medically evaluated to make sure they're OK. And we're continuing to monitor them just in case any symptoms show up afterwards.

SANCHEZ: This is obviously delicate because as you're trying to process exactly what you found next of kin need to be notified for the deceased and it's an entire process. But I do wonder if even if you can't share their names, if you've been able to confirm the identities of those that perished.

EDDY: We have not been able to confirm the identity of those that have perished. We are working with the FAA and NTSB and local law enforcement resources to ensure that those families are notified first and then those names will be shared out there. But I do not have any names at this time.

SANCHEZ: Understood. And can you give us an idea of what conditions were like earlier today, if you're aware of what they were like around the airport and if there's anything that stands out about that area that you think might make it a challenge for a pilot to land this kind of plane, given certain conditions like fog?

EDDY: Absolutely. We had very dense, socked in fog this morning. I received a call at 3:47 when this was dispatched this morning and responded on my route in. It took me about 20 minutes to get here from from my location. And it was dense fog, maybe 20 feet of visibility in front of my car as I was coming in in certain areas.

The plateau that's up here, Montgomery Field where it's at and neighboring airfields that are up here, there is a lot of fog patterns that come through here. And so the conditions as we came in this morning were very socked in fog, incredibly hard to see coming in. And so those were the initial conditions that we came in, to the point where when the plane crashed into the house, our first crews that were on scene, it was tough for them to see down the street also to see what other houses were affected. So as we are initiating that fire attack and the rescue techniques and those tactics, we had to place multiple engines down the road so we could get eyes on it to see what exactly we had.

SANCHEZ: Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy, we have to leave the conversation there. Just from what we're hearing, it seems like this could have been much worse. So I'm sure that neighbors are grateful for your work and your response.

Thanks for joining us.

EDDY: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

So House Republicans are delivering a major win for President Trump, despite deep divisions within the party over that sweeping bill. What we know about what's actually in this package now that it's been passed and its deep cuts into Medicaid and food stamps.

[13:40:00]

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SANCHEZ: President Donald Trump says there is, quote, no time to waste calling on the Senate to pass his agenda after a stunning victory on the House floor early this morning. House Speaker Mike Johnson managing to win over enough Republican holdouts to pass the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill Act after days of intense negotiations.

Trump posting on Truth Social, quote, This is arguably the most significant piece of legislation that will ever be signed in the history of our country.

Let's take you now live to Capitol Hill and CNN's Manu Raju, who's been tracking all of this. Manu, what are you hearing from lawmakers?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, senators are indicating that they plan to change the bill that came out of the House, and we'll see how significant the changes are, because there are members who have conflicting demands, much the way that Mike Johnson had with his own conference. This is the same issue that Senate Majority Leader John Thune will have in the Republican-led Senate, which is 53-47. That means that we could only lose three Republican votes.

But there are some like Senator Ron Johnson, who told me that he is opposed to this bill because he does not believe it goes nearly far enough in cutting spending. Senator Rand Paul says he is opposed to this bill because it includes the increase of the national debt limit. And Senator Lisa Murkowski, a more moderate member, said she is concerned about the Medicaid requirements that are a part of this bill, including new work requirements for beneficiaries that would take place at the end of 2026. Now, this is all comes as some members on the hard right of the House GOP, the House Freedom Caucus, warned Republican senators not to pare back any of the spending cuts that were part of this plan, which also would add to the deficit roughly $3.8 trillion. And I asked those Republican senators if they would heed those warnings.

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RAJU: What do you think about those warnings?

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Well, it's it's rich coming from from the Freedom Caucus. It's supposed to be fiscal fiscal conservatives and end up with not that conservative a bill and then to lecture us. What we're going to do is we're going to pass a bill that can get 50 votes.

RAJU: There's projections that this could increase the deficit by significant amount. Are you concerned about that?

CRAMER: Well, if the Freedom Caucus isn't, why would I be, right? I mean, if that's what their goal is, it does concern me to some degree, which is why I think in the Senate we will try to find some some more spending cut opportunities.

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): I think once the Senate weighs in on it, I think we'll have a different opinion about what the bill looks like.

RAJU: I mean, this doesn't balance the budget increases deficits. Are you concerned about that?

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I want to get a bill done. I want to help the president's agenda, but I want to balance the budget.

RAJU: This doesn't do that.

SCOTT: I'm going to work my butt off.

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RAJU (on camera): And it does not balance the budget. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, it would raise the national deficit. So that's a question ultimately how the senators would deal with that because of these conflicting sets of demands.

[13:45:00]

They will have to reach some sort of middle ground. But will that middle ground be enough for some of those those same hardliners, particularly in the House or even some of the more moderate members who begrudgingly supported the bill in the House. All huge questions as Trump and the Republican leaders try to push this through as soon as July 4th -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Well, we'll see what comes next. Manu Raju, live on The Hill. Thanks so much, Manu.

Coming up, the president's plan to dismantle the Department of Education just hit a major legal snag, a judge ordering the agency to reinstate employees fired in those mass layoffs. The details in just moments.

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[13:50:00]

KEILAR: On today's Homefront, we focus on a compassionate movement that started five years ago when most of the country was in lockdown because of COVID. Emily Domenech sent out this tweet asking if anyone had buddies buried in Arlington who she could, for them, visit and pay respects.

The post went viral. It received an overwhelming response from loved ones across the country. And the following year, Emily partnered with the Travis Manion Foundation to start the Honor Project, gathering volunteers to visit the graves of fallen service members in person on behalf of their loved ones who couldn't.

This Memorial Day weekend, thousands of volunteers across the country will be paying respects in 60 different cemeteries across the country.

Amy Looney Heffernan is with us now. She is a Gold Star wife whose late husband, Navy SEAL Brendan Looney, was killed in action in 2010. And she is the president of the Travis Manion Foundation.

Amy, thank you for Brendan's sacrifice and for your family's sacrifice. What an amazing project that you all are spearheading to honor our service members like him. Can you tell me how this is going to look on the weekend on Monday and where you're going to be?

AMY LOONEY HEFFERNAN, PRESIDENT, TRAVIS MANION FOUNDATION: Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much, Brianna, for having me today. You know, the Honor Project is really our service-based initiative that we host at Travis Manion Foundation around Memorial Day.

And like you had mentioned, we started out at one location back in 2020. And here we are five years later with 60 locations at military cemeteries across the country. Last weekend, we started some of them. And this weekend, we will continue to host these service projects.

Volunteers come in from all across the country. You show up to a cemetery. Many families across the country are not able to necessarily honor and remember their loved ones on Memorial Day. So what a great way for us to get out, share the real meaning of what Memorial Day means, and have volunteers put commemorative coins and take pictures of our volunteers spending time with their loved one, sharing stories, and learning about what those individuals stood for.

KEILAR: Yes, it means so much to families. And I should note, you will not be able to go to Brendan's grave in Arlington. You'll be in Chicago as part of your service project.

What does it mean to have someone else through the Honor Project visiting his grave on Memorial Day? HEFFERNAN: It means so much to me. I mean, many of us are in different seasons of life. I have a three and five-year-old daughter, so it's very hard for me to just get over to Arlington National Cemetery when I live here in Chicago.

So for us, it's great. It's for every family of the fallen. It's so wonderful knowing that someone is there with your loved one, making sure that they're remembered, sharing stories about how they live their life, and just taking time to reflect and really understand what the real meaning of Memorial Day stands for.

KEILAR: Yes, I love this idea of service. Can you talk a little bit about how people can honor the meaning of Memorial Day, even as they are going about enjoying their long weekend and the unofficial start to summer?

HEFFERNAN: Yes, absolutely. And Brianna, it's such a great point. You know, many people associate, and you should associate Memorial Day with a kickoff to summer.

It's a great day to spend time with family and friends, to go to a barbecue, have a drink, and enjoy the start to the season. I think that's important. Those are great traditions that I still want to do and still continue to do.

But I know deep down that there is a reason why we are off work and why we have time to spend kicking off the season of summer. And I think it's important for people to understand, especially as a family member who lost a loved one that served our country, that it's important to take time and reflect. You know for us, every day is Memorial Day when we live it and experience it.

But we know that our nation takes an entire day to learn about those individuals and understand how they live their lives. And that's so important that we can share those values, share those qualities, and really explain that to our future generations so that they understand why Memorial Day is so important.

KEILAR: Yes, so well put. Amy, it is great to have you. Thank you so much for being with us ahead of this weekend.

HEFFERNAN: Thank you so much, Brianna.

KEILAR: Amy Looney Heffernan, we appreciate you. Thank you.

[13:55:00]

And minutes from now, we are expecting an update from officials in San Diego where a small plane crashed into a neighborhood We'll bring that to you live when it happens.

Stay with us.

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