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Dozens Injured After Car Plows Into Crowd At Liverpool Soccer Parade; Soon: Hearing After Judge Blocks Trump Ban On Harvard International Students; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) On Trump Slamming Putin As Russia Intensifies Attacks On Ukraine. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 27, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, HARVARD PROFESSOR, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: What we don't know is could they make that assessment because they knew who it was and knew that he had previous criminal records unrelated to the hate or terrorism, or did they see something in the videos that suggested there was some triggering event that led someone who may have, you know, physical -- may be drunk or something else that had him plow through. We don't know that yet.

But the quick assessment makes me believe just based on my expertise that they know something about him that would make them or have them easily dismiss terrorism.

Look, there's a lot of things that are terrible, and terrorizing, and terrifying that aren't terrorism and that's where the British are right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah.

What do you think about the fact they came out so quickly with the bit of information that it was a white man? How unusual is that?

KAYYEM: It was -- it was odd, and it was jarring but I knew why they did -- why they did it. You're giving a physical description. We had already seen the videos. We knew what he looked like.

Part of this is England and much of Europe, like the United States, is in the midst of a lot of racial animus and animus towards certain communities. And I think what the -- or I know what the authorities were trying to do was sort of temper any potential for retribution or people making all sorts of speculation. Look, they're already doing that online. We know that.

So what the British did is they came out and called it what's called a major incident. That's just a different category of kind of incident that just basically says this is outside standard operating procedure. We're surging resources and we're going to have an investigation. They have him in custody and that should make it easier for them.

BERMAN: Yeah. What's next in trying to determine the motive? KAYYEM: Yeah. Well, now that they have him and when will be what's his state, and what is he saying, and what is he willing to say. Of course, their legal system is different than ours in terms of the rights of defendants.

And then there will be a review of a lot of this video. They asked authorities -- they asked the population not to post these videos although we have seen them. They're pretty gruesome and it quite remarkable we haven't had a fatality yet. So they're going to look through those videos.

They're going to look at who he is, his colleagues. They said that there -- they didn't believe that anyone else was involved with this. And then, of course, any media presence.

I believe that these videos will tell us something about what -- first, what was his triggering event? And secondly, how did he get in? I mean, this is -- this was a well-known, well-advertised party. There was a lot, a lot of security there. And I'm curious whether it was -- it was being disband at the time because it was the end of the parade.

BERMAN: Yeah, that is certainly one of the questions I think people want to know is how is that car there at all at this moment.

Juliette Kayyem, thank you for all this. I really appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So today, for the first time since the -- President Trump moved to cut off Harvard's ability to enroll international students, the two sides are headed to court. A federal judge is going to be meeting with both sides on this. The same judge that just last week temporarily blocked the administration's move here.

Students and professors are now speaking out about the impact of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDULLAH SHAHID SIAL, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AT HARVARD: It's as if you are being used as poker chips -- as collateral -- being thrown from the Trump administration between the Harvard -- into the Harvard administration while not recognizing that we also happen to have lives and stories of our own.

STEVEN PINKER, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: The idea that these are radial troublemakers is just totally bonkers. These are some of our most studious students. A lot of Americans kind of take their good fortune for granted, but the foreign students feel so privileged to be here that they try and take advantage of every second that they're on our campus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And there's more. Just yesterday, President Trump leveled a new threat to pull $3 billion in grants from the university and redirect that to trade schools. Joining us right now is Leo Gerden and he is an international student

from Sweden at Harvard. He's about to graduate this week from the university. Leo, thank you for being here.

You have been speaking out -- speaking up and speaking out about the moves from the Trump administration against your school.

What's your reaction to this latest threat to redirect $3 billion in grants from Harvard to vocational and trade schools around the country?

LEO GERDEN, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CO-FOUNDER, STUDENTS FOR FREEDOM (via Webex by Cisco): I think Trump is going to make new threats and say new things every day, but we simply have to stay focused. We're going to fight this with all means that we have, whether it's the funding.

But I think especially what is hitting the hardest right now at the heart of this community -- it is the threat to essentially deport all international students. Because without the international body then Harvard is not Harvard anymore. And, you know, we're continuing fighting for my friends who just went home for the summer and simply don't know if they will ever be able to come back to this place that they -- that they now call home.

[07:35:05]

BOLDUAN: Graduation is Thursday. I mean, how different is this moment right now going -- is it -- at this moment and also going to be with this really public, very serious legal fight now hanging over campus? I mean, what is the feeling if you will?

GERDEN: Yeah, it is very different. Just personally, I've enjoyed these four years so much because of all the great people that I met. And just knowing that I might leave this place and it will not look the same next semester, it is truly heartbreaking. And that is why we are continuing this fight even over commencement.

So later today, at 5:30 p.m., we are rallying outside of the -- after the commencement events of today. We're having international students speaking, including me. We're having Jewish students speaking out. We're expecting a lot of turnout and we're showing that even though they did this move when most students had left campus we can still mobilize. And we're going to send a clear message to the White House that even though you are trying to divide us right now we are standing united as a community.

BOLDUAN: You wrote an opinion piece for -- in The Crimson in April and then saying that students and faculty need to stand up and speak up against this.

And at that time you wrote, "At this moment, we need Harvard to be a leader on behalf of all of us who feel threatened. It is time for Harvard to both stand up for its international students and for the ideals of academic freedom and democracy it claims to represent."

Do you think the school has been a leader on your behalf?

GERDEN: Yeah. So I wrote that op-ed about a week before Allen Garber's statement where he said we will not surrender our independence. And I think that all of campus right now are really proud of Allen Garber, but we're expecting him to continue on that strategy because there are going to be many opportunities for Harvard to give in on some of the demands.

But if there's one thing we know about Trump by now it's that he's a pretty shitty poker player. If we start to give in on something, then he is going to send a new letters of demand the next week. And we simply have to hold the line even though it truly feels like -- and it is so much at stake, whether it's the billions of dollars in research funding or the future of thousands of students, we have no option but to continue fighting because giving in -- giving in cannot be an option.

BOLDUAN: I was seeing some new reporting in The Wall Street Journal. The dean of Harvard's faculty of arts and science said at a recent meeting that the Trump administration's moves against the school have set in motion changes that will not be undone, at least not in the foreseeable future.

As you depart Harvard, what's your advice to incoming or aspiring Harvard students from around the world? Apply, attend, or look somewhere else?

GERDEN: You know, I think it's such a tricky question because it would -- it would truly break my heart to advise someone not to come to this place because as I said -- as I said, I have had an incredible time here.

But meanwhile, I understand why people are worried. I mean, why would you go to a country and to a university if you don't even know whether you will be able to finish your degree. To a country where you can't -- you no longer really have free speech. I mean, if you speak up -- if you say something controversial or against the federal government you might be picked off -- picked off the street and put in a detention center in Louisiana.

People are trying to navigate the situation that has so much uncertainty and because of that the damage to some extent has already been done. Less people are going to come and study in America. Less people are going to do research in America. And it is -- it is going to threaten America's role at the -- at the forefront of innovation.

BOLDUAN: That is definitely the fear I've heard from many in the research realm.

Thank you very much for coming in, Leo. Some -- congratulations on graduation. Thank you -- John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning the Kremlin is slamming a decision by Ukraine's allies to lift the ban on firing long-range missiles into Russia. Germany's chancellor made this announcing, saying there are no longer restrictions on the weapons supplied to Ukraine from Germany, Britian, France, and the United States.

This comes as overnight at least two people were killed and 16 others wounded when Russia launched a new round of aerial attacks across Ukraine.

President Trump seems surprised by Russia's current actions though they have been going on for more than three years. The president said Vladimir Putin has "gone absolutely crazy." And then he added this a few hours later.

[07:40:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm not happy with what Putin is doing. He's killing a lot of people. And I don't what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time. I've always gotten along with him. But he's sending rockets into cities and killing people. We're in the middle of talking and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: President Trump says he is "absolutely" weighing new sanctions against Russia. The Kremlin responded to the comments calling the reaction "emotional overload."

With us now is Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida.

The president says he doesn't know what the hell happened to Putin. What did happen to Putin? Do you think anything happened to Putin?

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) (via Webex by Cisco): I think what happened here is that Donald Trump is realizing that when he communicates with Putin or gets together with Putin it isn't for a play date. I mean, that's not what Putin is there for. He has always been a brutal authoritarian and always been someone who has no regard for human life. He invaded Ukraine. He believes that Ukraine should be completely subsumed by Russia.

And Trump has skipped through the last few years all the way back to his first term really playing footsie with Putin and thinking that he's going to somehow be able to charm him to his will. And, I mean, Putin is sadly far savvier than Donald Trump and Trump is -- has messed around and found out.

BERMAN: He said he's absolutely weighing new sanctions against Russia. How much weight do you put in that?

SCHULTZ: How about absolutely weighing and actually renewing the military assistance that we need to be able to provide to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back and stop Putin from killing civilians?

I mean, let's think about this. The President of the United States now realizes that Putin is indiscriminately killing civilians. This is not the actions of a leader of a country who is engaged in war where there's an actual enemy who -- in Ukraine that has animus for Russia. Russia wants to take over Ukraine. They invaded Ukraine and that requires a response like we had when the invasion happened and that must continue.

There are still some sane Republicans in my House of Representatives, and I hope they begin to stop caving to Trump and step up the pressure. And let's make sure we can help Ukraine fight off Putin's brutal attack. It's never going to stop. I don't know how the president doesn't realize that.

BERMAN: Our friends over at The New York Times are doing a series periodically looking into the Democratic Party and the challenges facing the Democrats are you try to run into the next election with some kind of momentum.

Shane Goldmacher, among others, is doing this research and he talks about it in an article over the weekend -- a focus group led by a longtime Democratic researcher who asked some 250 people to describe or compare each party to an animal. And I want to read you what this found.

"Republicans are seen as 'apex predators' like lions, tigers, and sharks -- beasts that take what they want it. Democrats are typically tagged as tortoises, slugs or sloths: slow, plodding, passive." And then a little bit later there was a response that said the Democrats were like "deer in headlights."

How is it that you think that the Democratic Party has earned these descriptions?

SCHULTZ: John, I'm not focused on the animals that some New York Times reporter compares the political parties to. My constituents are human beings. And the human beings that I represent are facing devastating health care cuts. The most significant health care cuts that have been ever handed down by any administration. Almost 14 million people will lose their Medicaid coverage. Many hundreds of thousands more when you add the cuts to the Affordable Care Act.

I represent the state that has the largest Affordable Care Act signups every single year. These are folks who -- they can get their health care insurance covered because of the Affordable Care Act, because of Medicaid. And as someone who knows that when you don't have your health you don't have anything, I know how vital that is.

So I'm focused on the humans I represent, not animal comparisons.

[07:45:00]

BERMAN: I will tell you there was -- it was the voters who were making the comparison with animals, and this was a focus group. It wasn't The New York Times reporter coming up with these labels. This was a Democratic-led focus group to try to figure out perceptions of the parties. SCHULTZ: John, you said they were asked to compare the parties, so they were prompted to compare the parties to animals. That is ridiculous. That's -- I've watched a lot of focus groups, and I know that the people that I represent want me fighting for the humans -- the families that I represent.

They don't want Republicans transferring more and more wealth to many more billionaires. They want to make sure that like what Democrats did under Joe Biden, under a Democratic majority, we ensure that we cut taxes for the middle class -- folks who put that money right back into the economy when they buy refrigerators with the windfall and other kinds of -- other kinds of expenses.

We make sure that we reduce prescription drugs prices. We started to bring CHIP manufacturing back home. We passed the largest infrastructure and investment act in history and now those jobs we're seeing come to fruition with rebuilding our infrastructure.

That's what people want their government to do for them. They don't want a lawless dictator of a president who hires antisemites and who then acts like he's trying to fight to protect the Jewish community. The hypocrisy in this -- in this administration is appalling -- appalling.

BERMAN: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, thank you so much for talking with us this morning -- appreciate it -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Ahead, caught on camera the moment Arizona firefighters narrowly evaded catastrophe. A roof collapsing and heavy smoke and flames just seconds after they arrived to respond to that emergency. And you see the response there.

All right. Also, a new journey for climate change data is taking a team of researchers to the top of Mount Everest. We'll hear from the team of scientists who are building weather stations at the world's highest peak.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:51:20]

BOLDUAN: Today the world's largest Bitcoin conference is kicking off in Las Vegas. Vice President J.D. Vance is one of the more than 25,000 people expected to attend over the next couple of days. The vice president is scheduled to give the keynote address -- keynote speech tomorrow as the Trump administration continues to lean into the crypto industry.

The Trump -- other Trump family members will be there as well. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. along with the White House crypto czar David Sacks are set to attend the conference.

And President Trump -- he attended this same conference last year while on the campaign trail but remember, he is also just fresh off that private dinner that he just hosted for more than 200 of the top investors in his meme coin -- a gathering that sparked protests and criticism widely, even from Republican lawmakers -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. This morning the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs is set to resume after a long weekend with another one of Combs' former employees taking the stand. Capricorn Clark served as Combs' director of marketing. She is his third former employee to testify in this trial.

Last week, Kid Cudi mentioned Clark on the stand. The rapper testified that he received a phone call from Clark back in December 2011 warning him that Combs had broken into his home after learning of his relationship with Cassie Ventura. Kid Cudi also testified that during that call Clark sounded scared and "on the verge of tears."

Members of the Los Angeles police and fire departments are also expected to testify today.

CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson joining me now.

All right. So if prosecutors have to prove a racketeering conspiracy charge where they have to beyond a reasonable doubt prove that Combs was involved in a criminal enterprise and that he involved other people to further that enterprise that were engaging in criminal acts -- with all the sort of dozen people that we've already seen, have they done that with this?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: So not yet, Sara. Good morning to you.

SIDNER: Did I -- did I get the definition right?

JACKSON: Yes, of course, you did, right?

SIDNER: Look at me.

JACKSON: Yeah -- of course, you did.

So when you look at racketeering think about mob bosses. Think about the underworld. Think about a mob boss who runs an enterprise and has underbosses who do their bidding, and they do a lot of so not nice things, right?

SIDNER: Right.

JACKSON: Engaging in arson and kidnapping, and all these other types of salacious activities.

Now let's relate that to Diddy. When we talk about the racketeering what we're talking about is the fact that he would be the head of a criminal enterprise. That he would have underlings who would conspire with him to engage in illegality.

So look at just a sampling of the evidence. If you look at sort of enterprise for racketeering -- SIDNER: Yeah.

JACKSON: -- you're looking at things like arson.

You mentioned Kid Cudi.

SIDNER: Right.

JACKSON: We heard about the torching of his Porsche, right? That would constitute that if you could equate it do Diddy. That hasn't -- right -- there's been an implication, but he wasn't charged for it.

SIDNER: Right.

JACKSON: The burglary -- the removal of surveillance cameras.

We've heard from his mother. Whose mother? Excuse me, her mother -- Cassie Ventura -- about the extortion in terms of this home equity loan. Hey, give me $20,000. Your daughter owes it to me. It was, of course, returned.

So what we're seeing is prosecutors attempting to lay a foundation as to that.

The other issue though is it's about a continuous period of time and it's about, right, various activities that you're engaging in to further the purposes of the criminal enterprise.

SIDNER: Um-um.

JACKSON: And so I'm presuming in the weeks ahead that they'll lay further predicate, right, acts and foundations to establish he was doing this.

Of course, from the defense perspective they say nonsense. He was a legitimate businessperson who was somewhat flawed, but that doesn't make him a kingpin of a criminal enterprise.

[07:55:00]

SIDNER: You know, this has been sort of on my mind as this trial -- actually when it was charged -- that usually in these kind of RICO -- these racketeering cases there's a lot of people that are charged. In this case it is just Sean Combs.

Is that unusual?

JACKSON: So it is unusual, and I think this is an unusual use of the RICO statute, but that's what prosecutors chose to do.

Now you're going to hear, I would presume, if prosecutors want to prove their case about conspirators. Now you can have people who are engaging in criminal activity --

SIDNER: Right. JACKSON: -- who are unindicted, meaning they're not charged, right? You can have other people who are named but the government simply is going after him. But there's a lot more that the government would have to prove to get there, including this continuous use of the enterprise over a significant period of time, not just these one-off activities. And sexual exploitation and trafficking would lead to that.

Are they there yet? It's a jury question but they have to show more coercion and forced activity. I think that's going to be an issue.

SIDNER: One thing they have been able to put on that stand is just shocking details and abuse and violence.

JACKSON: Absolutely.

SIDNER: Those things have come out in the trial -- the accusations on the stand there. But trying to look at that racketeering case is a hard thing I think for prosecutors to get to.

JACKSON: Absolutely.

SIDNER: But they've got another three weeks --

JACKSON: They've got a number of time.

SIDNER: -- to do this -- yeah.

JACKSON: We've heard drugs, guns, et cetera.

SIDNER: Yeah, yeah.

JACKSON: But, you know, we'll see what they do from a defense perspective. They are really fighting against this.

SIDNER: Yeah.

All right, Joey Jackson. It's always a pleasure. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

JACKSON: The pleasure is mine. Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: Over to you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: It was a scary moment on camera in Tucson, Arizona. New video that we have in -- it's showing the moment the roof of an abandoned warehouse collapsed as -- Jesus, look at that -- as firefighters were responding to a fire there.

Several firefighters were actually on top of the building when it collapsed. You can see the force of the impact knocking at least one firefighter on the ground off of his feet. Fortunately though, we're told no one was injured in this.

Crews plan to demolish what is left of the building.

A second suspect is expected to surrender to New York police this week for questioning in the kidnapping and torture of an Italian cryptocurrency trader. Follow this. Police say that the victim was help captive for weeks in a Manhattan apartment. That he was tortured for days, threatened with death, and even dangled over a railing all in an effort to make him -- force him to give up his Bitcoin password.

On Friday, the victim escaped and was able to flag down a police officer for help. Later that same day police arrested a 28-year-old man from Kentucky in connection to this kidnapping.

And this morning there is heavy flooding in India's financial capital. Mumbai is getting hit with its earliest monsoon rains in decades. It's already been the wettest May in over a century there. Downpours flooded roads. Even a newly-opened metro station. You can see from video water just gushing from the ceilings and down the stairs of that station.

Monsoon rains usually don't come until June and experts, of course, say that climate change is behind this and like so many other extreme and erratic weather patterns -- John.

BERMAN: Those are pretty crazy pictures -- wow.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

BERMAN: All right. So new this morning for the first time on this note scientists are installed weather stations on the highest peaks in the world, including Mount Everest, to track the effects of climate change.

Let's get right to CNN's Derek Van Dam for the latest on this. Tell us about it, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, John. This team that I caught up with actually spends a considerable amount of time on Everest's death zone. That's above 8,000 meters -- roughly 26,000 feet. Oxygen so depleted it's nearly impossible to do simple tasks, let alone install these weather stations you see behind me. And their capturing temperature, precipitation, solar radiance, all

filtering into glacial activity. Glaciers, of course, being the water towers of the world servicing freshwater for nearly a quarter of the world's population. So the data they're capturing matters.

I caught up with them on Everest. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. BAKER PERRY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: I'm back on Everest for my fourth expedition.

VAN DAM (voiceover): It's an ambitious scientific project that has taken this team of researchers to the most extreme environments on Earth --

We set up a network of weather stations from 12,500 feet all the way up to 27,000 feet.

Hi, everyone. Baker Perry --

VAN DAM (voiceover): -- tasked with a single objective to study the impacts of a rapidly changing environment from the world's highest locations.

VAN DAM: Explain to me just the ultimate goal of what you are trying to achieve up there.

PERRY: Our weather station network is really well poised to monitor and provide valuable data to make better projections of how the glaciers will respond to climate change.

VAN DAM (voiceover): I spoke with National Geographic explorer and Nevada state climatologist Dr. Baker Perry during his most recent expedition back to Mount Everest.