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Judge: No Evidence Orders To Bring Him Back Being Followed; Donald Trump Threatens To Tax Harvard As A "Political Entity"; China Posts Unexpectedly Strong 5.4 Percent GDP Growth In First Quarter; Hamas Claims It Lost Contact With Militants Holding Edan Alexander; Journalists Linked to Navalny Sentenced at Moscow Court; Nations Pledge Hundreds of Millions in Aid for Sudan; Sudan's RSF Claims Control of Major Darfur Camp; Canadian Superhero Back in Action Amid Tariff Wars; North Korea's Mount Paektu Recognized for Geological Value. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 16, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:39]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, a federal judge chastises the Trump administration for not following her orders to facilitate the return of a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

President Trump is now going after Harvard's tax exempt status after the university rejected his demands for policy changes.

And China's economy posted unexpectedly strong growth for the first quarter. How that could play in Beijing's ongoing trade war with the Trump administration.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. The U.S. federal judge overseeing the case of a wrongfully deported man says there's no evidence the Trump administration is following her orders to facilitate his return.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador's notorious mega prison last month. In a hearing Tuesday, the judge said she was dissatisfied with the Trump administration's statements about the case. The case has sparked massive backlash against the Trump administration. Protesters demanded justice for Abrego Garcia. His wife says her children have now spent several harrowing weeks without their father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER VASQUEZ, WIFE OF KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: As we continue through Holy Week, my heart aches for my husband who should have been here leading our Easter prayers.

Instead, I find myself leading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Sherrell Hubbard has more about the hearing on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Crowds rallied outside a U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia supporters and his wife Jennifer, calling for his return while he sits in prison in El Salvador.

VASQUEZ: I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive.

HUBBARD (voice over): His case marks the first time the Trump administration has admitted to mistakenly deporting someone. Despite admitting to the mistake, calling it an administrative error, the White House has maintained that the U.S. has no power to return him.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Based on the sensationalism of many of the people in this room, you would think we deported a candidate for father of the year.

HUBBARD (voice over): The hearing comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government must facilitate his return.

At Tuesday's hearing, the judge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said she would issue a written order that expands on the definition of the word facilitate.

Many people are questioning the constitutionality of the Trump administration's deportation tactics.

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): The Trump administration itself has admitted that he was abducted and sent to this prison in error, and he should get his due process.

HUBBARD (voice over): An immigration judge granted Abrego Garcia protected status in 2019 which means the government should not have had the right to deport him to El Salvador.

I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Donald Trump's ideological battle with some of America's most prestigious colleges and universities has risen to a new level with Harvard, the president now threatening to strip the oldest university in the United States of its tax exempt status and tax Harvard as a political entity after its leaders refused to make key policy changes that the White House is demanding. Harvard appears to be the first prominent university to openly rebuke those demands. The Trump administration claims the policy changes are meant to combat anti-Semitism on campus after last year's contentious student protests over the war in Gaza. It also wants to root out programs and policies involving diversity, equity and inclusion.

Harvard's president says the school will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. The Trump administration has since frozen more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts at Harvard. The school's former president called it a punitive and unlawful attack.

[02:05:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SUMMERS, FORMER PRESIDENT OF HARVARD: This is an attempt to impose the kind of regulation on Harvard that is imposed by government on universities in countries that we don't think of as democracies, countries that don't have free speech protections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More now from CNN's Julia Benbrook at the White House.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This move comes after the Trump administration announced investigations into universities across the country, citing concerns of anti-Semitism or racial preferences and threaten to halt billions of dollars in funding for universities that don't follow the administration's demands.

Among the mandates in the administration's letter to Harvard were the elimination of the university's Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs, banning masks at campus protest, reforming the admissions process and reducing the power held by faculty and administrators.

Harvard informed the administration that it will not accept the proposed agreement, and in a statement, the university's president said, "No government, regardless of which party is in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue."

In response, the administration froze 2.2 billion in federal funding for the university, and President Donald Trump later took to social media, writing in part, perhaps Harvard should lose its tax exempt status and be taxed as a political entity.

Harvard's decision appears to be the first time an elite university has pushed back against those demands from the administration, and comes as other universities grapple with how to respond.

Reporting at the White House, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: For more, we're joined by Jon Fansmith. He is the Senior Vice President for Government Relations and National Engagement at the American Council on Education. Appreciate you joining us.

JON FANSMITH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT, AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION: Thank you so much for having me on, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Of course. Well, the Trump administration is now threatening Harvard University's tax exempt status after freezing $2.2 billion of funding because Harvard rejected Trump's demands for sweeping changes to its governance, admissions and hiring practices.

Now, Princeton and Stanford are standing with Harvard. Could this set a precedent, perhaps, for other U.S. universities to join forces against the Trump administration's demands?

FANSMITH: Rosemary, I really think it will. I think when you talk to a lot of the leaders of colleges and universities, they've seen the same things that Harvard saw, which is that this administration has not been acting in good faith. They've been not following due process, they've not been following the law.

And while I think institutions are very committed to addressing concerns about anti-Semitism or civil rights on our campuses, what they've seen is that this administration isn't looking to really address that. They're looking to through these very unreasonable demands, make efforts to control what happens on a college campus in a way that fundamentally would reshape the nature of the institutions, things they simply cannot accept.

CHURCH: And you have said that the Trump administration is trying to weaponize funding. What do you mean by that? And why is Trump doing this do you think?

FANSMITH: Well, there's very clear processes in American law for how you deal with concerns allegations of discrimination at a college campus, and the end of that, when there has been an investigation and evidence and a finding and the institution and the government cannot come to terms on how to resolve that situation. At that point, the government can take away funding.

What we've seen from the Trump administration is rather than follow the law, rather than follow due process, they've started with the punishment by taking away the funding and saying, we'll only restore it if you do these things we ask of you.

And as Harvard releasing the letter of demands it received indicates the things that are being asked of them go far beyond anything that could remotely be connected to addressing anti-Semitism on campuses.

It is direct federal government interference and who Harvard admits what they teach, who's allowed to teach them, even what student organizations are allowed to be on campus. It is grossly over the line of what has ever been accepted in American higher education. CHURCH: And while Harvard is, of course, trying to send a message that

it won't sacrifice its mission and identity, how much financial pressure could this put on Harvard if it continues this fight, even with its massive endowment?

FANSMITH: Harvard has tremendous resources, but this is a huge statement that they are making by resisting. This is -- to any institution, including Harvard, billions of dollars in federal funding is a significant leverage, but it's also worth thinking about what this money is. It is not billions of dollars to Harvard. It is billions of dollars that is being used to pursue world class research and biomedical health and technological innovation, ongoing research that is doing things to find cures for Alzheimer's and cancer and diabetes and other issues.

[02:10:34]

Suspending this funding doesn't improve the situation for a single student. What it does is harm the health and the future prosperity of our country for all Americans, it's a very poorly misdirected way of trying to force the institution to bend to the administration's will, and one that's bad for our nation and bad for every American, regardless of your political viewpoints.

CHURCH: And President Trump also wants an apology from Harvard. How likely is it that he'll get that? And how much do you worry about the future of higher education in the U.S. in this current environment?

FANSMITH: Well, I can't speak for what Harvard would do, I know that were I in their place, I would be expecting an apology, not offering one.

In terms of the future of higher education under this administration, I think certainly there are reasons to be concerned. We've seen an administration that doesn't follow the law in terms of how they approach this who seems to want headlines rather than solutions, and that certainly causes a lot of uncertainty. There has been a huge and long standing and vitally important relationship between colleges, universities and the federal government, and anything that puts that at risk is something to be seriously concerned about.

But that said, there are 4,000 or so accredited degree granting institutions United States. They represent a huge diversity of types of institutions. It is a strong and resilient system, and truthfully speaking to an international audience, it remains the envy of the world.

Colleges and universities will persist, will continue to serve their missions, will stand up for what is important and the values that they believe in and they hold dear.

CHURCH: Jon Fansmith, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

FANSMITH: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Still to come, President Trump says the U.S. doesn't need to make a deal with China, but they need America's money. We'll have the latest on the global trade war after the break.

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CHURCH: President Trump is said to be considering at least 15 trade deals with various countries at the moment, according to the White House press secretary. If true, it could mean the Trump administration's aggressive push for trade agreements that benefit the U.S. may be working after pausing the president's so called reciprocal tariffs.

But the White House gave no details on whose proposals are being considered or what's in those deals. It's safe to assume China is not on that list. The 145 percent tariffs the U.S. imposed on Chinese imports last week are still in effect.

On Tuesday, the press secretary read a statement from President Trump, who says the onus is on Beijing to come to the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: The ball is in China's court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don't have to make a deal with them. There's no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger and China wants what we have, what every country wants what we have, the American consumer, or to put another way, they need our money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has the latest now from Hong Kong. She joins us live. So Kristie, new economic data is out as Donald Trump raises the heat on Beijing. So, how's China's economy looking?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, China's first quarter GDP data is out, and it reveals growth in the world's second largest economy, just as U.S. President Donald Trump dials up the pressure with his trade war.

China's economy grew some 5.4 percent year on year, and that defied expectations. We got to remember that China has been struggling to rebound from this post COVID-19 pandemic slump as it deals with a number of economic headwinds. Here's a reminder of them. You got low consumer confidence, low consumer spending, high youth unemployment, as well as a prolonged and ongoing property slump.

China has set a pretty ambitious growth target of the year for around five percent, economists say it's going to be really tough for China to reach that given the trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump has been jacking up tariffs on China now to an eye watering level of about 145 percent, China has retaliated in return, and that is sparking fears of a prolonged trade war, and that is why we're seeing a number of investment banks slash their growth targets for China for the year.

In fact, UBS slashed its forecast for China's growth from four percent to 3.4 percent for the year, also adding this in a statement, let's bring it up from UBS saying, "We expect China's exports to the U.S. to fall by two-thirds in the coming quarters, and its overall exports to fall by 10 percent in USD terms in 2025, the latter also takes into account slower U.S. and global growth."

We also heard this from Citi, Citi adding this, "We see little scope for a deal between the U.S. and China after recent escalation."

So, Rosemary, all eyes now, because they're feeling the pressure on when China and its policymakers will reveal any new stimulus. We note that the high level Politburo is set for a meeting by the end of the month, so we may expect to see some new policy agenda setting then, back to you.

[02:20:07]

CHURCH: Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Many thanks.

Still to come, what Hamas is saying about the fate of an Israeli American hostage who's still being held in Gaza. We're back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Hamas says it's studying an Israeli cease fire proposal and will respond as soon as possible. A Hamas official says the deal calls for the release of 10 hostages from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The framework for a 45 day cease fire is also on the table. The proposal also calls for the release of Israeli American hostage Edan Alexander on the first day of the truce, as a special gesture to the United States.

[02:25:33]

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Tel Aviv in Israel.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hamas' armed wing is claiming to have lost contact with the militants holding the Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander hostage in the Gaza Strip. They say they lost contact with those militants after an Israeli bombardment on the location where Alexander was being held.

Now, CNN cannot independently verify this claim made by the Al-Qassam Brigades. We have reached out to the Israeli military, as well as to the hostages and missing families' forum for comment on this matter.

The Al-Qassam Brigade spokesman says that they are still trying to reach those militants, but have not been able to so far, effectively suggesting that those militants as well as Alexander, could very well be dead or gravely injured.

Now, it is also important to note that the Al-Qassam Brigades has previously lied about the fate of at least one hostage. Last November, the Al-Qassam Brigades released images of the body of what they said was a deceased Israeli female hostage. Her family was actually able to identify her based on a tattoo on her arm, and that hostage was the Israeli soldier Daniella Gilboa who was released by Hamas during the second cease fire agreement earlier this year.

She later said through her family that she had been forced to stage her death in those images that were later released and led her family to believe that she had died.

So, it's important to note that, because we simply do not know the veracity of this Hamas claim, but certainly it is consequential, and it comes at this critical moment when we are seeing some progress, or at least some momentum, towards reaching a deal between Israel and Hamas over another cease fire agreement.

And Edan Alexander has been central to all of those proposals. In this latest Israeli proposal, which Hamas, we are told, is indeed studying, reviewing and considering Edan Alexander would be the first of 10 living hostages to be released in exchange for a 45 day truce and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being released from Israeli jails.

We do not know whether this proposal will actually become a reality. There is certainly a sense of optimism, a sense of progress, but it's also very clear that many gaps still remain.

One of those is that this proposal calls for Hamas to disarm, which is something that a senior Hamas official told us they are simply not willing to do.

So, again, it's clear there are still many gaps. A lot still needs to be done for this proposal to become a reality. But certainly there are very, very active discussions right now about another cease fire in Gaza that could see the release of at least some of the 59 hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

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CHURCH: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is pledging the Alliance's unwavering support for Ukraine. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odessa on Tuesday. Ukraine state news agency reports, the two men talked about the country's need for weapons and air defense systems. Days after a Russian missile attack on Sumy that killed 35 people. Rutte expressed NATO's backing for efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: These discussions are not easy, not least in the wake of this horrific violence, but we all support President Trump's push for peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Rutte and Zelenskyy also talked about guaranteeing Ukraine security if a cease fire deal with Russia can be reached. Four journalists linked to the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny,

have been sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony. Russian state media says the reporters were accused of working for an organization founded by Navalny.

Prosecutors say they produce material for the YouTube channel of a banned anti-corruption foundation. The journalists deny the accusations, and their lawyers say they will appeal.

[02:30:00]

Key players are planning to ramp up aid to Sudan two years into its brutal civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. During a conference in London, Britain and the E.U. vowed to donate $750 million for humanitarian aid efforts. Other nations, including the UAE, Egypt and Kenya, pledged millions more. The conference co-chairs are calling for an immediate ceasefire, and the return to a civilian-led government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- will be sufficient.

DAVID LAMMY, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in and across the country, and to put peace first.

BANKOLE ADEOYE, AFRICAN UNION HEAD OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS, PEACE & SECURITY: The African Union calls on all belligerents to stop this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.N. says the world's worst humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Sudan, which includes a major famine and a deadly assault on a camp in Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are looking at images of a famine-stricken camp where families forced out of their home by war were attacked by a militia accused of genocide. This video verified and geo-located by CNN shows the Rapid Support Forces known as the RSF, attacking the sprawling Zamzam camp in the Darfur region of Sudan, forcing thousands of hungry and desperate people to flee for their lives.

This is what we know right now. The RSF raided the camp, killed dozens of people, set fire to tents in marketplaces, deliberately targeted health clinics, and killed at least nine medical workers, according to Relief International, an aid agency. This satellite imagery shows that the RSF carried out a scorched earth policy across an area of 165 football fields.

The RSF, which is seen here celebrating, has denied targeting civilians. Now, Darfur, the region where this took place is the epicenter of a genocide that was reignited when a civil war broke out between the RSF and the Sudanese Army. That war is now entering its third year, and it has triggered what the U.N. calls the world's greatest humanitarian crisis.

Once again, those with a black or African tribal identity are being systematically hunted and killed by Arab militias like the RSF in what has been determined to be a genocide by the U.S. State Department. And there is no end in sight to this conflict. Millions of people are unseen, battered, bruised, bombed and besieged, denied medical care and basic services, while the warring factions only exacerbate the suffering.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Trump tariffs have brought about a resurgence for a Canadian comic book superhero. Just ahead, we'll find out about Truth, Justice, and the Canadian Way.

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[02:37:55]

CHURCH: President Trump's ongoing trade war against Canada has led to a boost in the popularity of Captain Canuck, Canada's very own comic book superhero. He burst on the scene decades ago, but his fight for truth, justice and the Canadian way is just as relevant today. Paula Newton has that report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPTAIN CANUCK: Happy Canada Day, folks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, Canuck, get moving. There's a holiday crowd out there and we have less than three minutes.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Canada's comic book superhero, Captain Canuck is back, and this time, he's taking on U.S. President Donald Trump. In this 50th anniversary issue, Captain Canuck fights to protect Canada's independence from the U.S. Canuck's co- creator Richard Comely says he wanted to bring the maple leaf covered hero back after Trump said he wanted Canada to become the 51st U.S. state and started his trade war with allied countries.

RICHARD COMELY, CO-CREATOR, CAPTAIN CANUCK: All of a sudden, Trump gets into office and he starts talking about annexation and tariffs. And yes, all of a sudden, Canadians are looking to Captain Canuck as a symbol. And it's basically to them, Captain Canuck symbolizes independence. We have -- no thank you, we have our own independence -- we have our own symbols.

NEWTON (voice-over): Since 1975, Captain Canuck has been a symbol of Canadian strength, storylines about fighting off foreign powers and groups who tried to take over Canada. COMELY: Never, never in any of those stories was it America that was going to be taking over Canada.

NEWTON (voice-over): Captain Canuck has been popular in Canada for years with a countless number of comic books, spin-offs, and even a web series. Comely says he has received lots of new interest in the character since political tensions began to rise between the U.S. and Canada.

COMELY: So in a sense, we have Mr. Trump to thank for a bit of resurgence.

NEWTON (voice-over): Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The highest peak on the Korean Peninsula has been designated as a Global Geopark.

[02:40:00]

UNESCO recently recognized Mount Paektu on the North Korean side of the mountain as a site of global geological significance. It's an active volcano with a deep crater lake that sits on the border between North Korea and China. According to North Korean legend, the mountain is the birthplace of the mythical founder of the first Korean Kingdom.

I want to thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then Christina Macfarlane will be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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