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'Gold Card' Visa Spark U.S. Immigration Policy Debate; Judge Threatens Trump Admin. With Contempt Charges; WH Claims Mistakenly Deported Man Is Gang Member; Stocks Fall Fed After Fed Chair Warns About Tariff Impacts; IRS Making Plans To Rescind Harvard's Tax-Exempt Status; Puerto Rico Hit By Power Outage As Island Preps For Easter; Gaza Officials: At Least 15 Killed In Overnight Israeli Strikes; U.K. Court: Legal Definition Of "Woman" Excludes Trans Women; Family Concerned For Detained French American Tourist; Family Concerned for Detained French American Tourist. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired April 17, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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RYAN MAC, TECH REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: To pay massive sums of money just to have residency here. He hadn't spoken publicly about the Gold Card, but it is something that Trump, himself has favored heavily. You know, he has gone on Air Force One and showed off the card to reporters, and it's really a pet project of his.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah. Ryan Mac, thanks for being here. Thanks for doing the reporting.

MAC: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. And thank you all for watching. Hope you learned something. Anderson Cooper 360, up next.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. constitution could soon be tested like never before ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This case has become a flashpoint, in the tension between the White House and the federal courts.

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VAUSE (voiceover): With the White House facing a criminal contempt of court charge, what happens next might just challenge the foundation of American democracy.

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JEROME POWELL, CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE: The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects. VAUSE (voiceover): That could mean higher inflation for longer, an economic slowdown, plus higher unemployment, and not just in United States.

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VAUSE: And as economic turmoil spreads across the planet --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a monumental, discovery.

VAUSE (voiceover): Good news. Scientists have found another one, apparently teeming with signs of life.

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ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Jon Vause.

VAUSE: In the 87 days since his inauguration, the US President has been locked in a bitter feud with the judges who've blocked or slowed the implementation of many of his controversial policies. But that feud could soon be coming to a head, with officials in the Justice Department facing a rare but very real threat of being held in criminal contempt of court.

Federal Court Judge James Boasberg ruling that Trump administration violated an emergency order to stop last month's forced deportation of hundreds of men accused of belonging to a violent criminal gang. Despite the court's restraining order, two of the three deportation flights left the U.S. for El Salvador where 238 men are still being held in a notorious mega prison.

In a 46 page long ruling, Boasberg writes, "The government's actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its order sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt." The U.S. Justice Department is planning an appeal saying the alleged gang members were legally deported under the very rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, claiming they were all part of an invasion of the U.S.

More details down from CNN's Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent, Paula Reid.

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PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This case has become a flashpoint in the tension between the White House and the federal courts. And here, Judge James Boasberg, who has repeatedly been attacked by President Trump, has found that the government's actions last month when it came to deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, specifically the fact that they did not turn around planes full of migrants who were being deported to El Salvador after the judge ordered them to be sent back constitute a willful disregard of his order. Now the Justice Department has argued he had overstepped his bounds, he's trying to interfere in questions of foreign policy. But now he says he will begin contempt proceedings unless these migrants are given an opportunity to have their cases heard.

Now the Supreme Court weighed in on this larger issue, the use of the sweeping wartime authority, the Alien Enemies Act, to facilitate deportations, and it found that the administration can use this Act as long as the individuals who are deported have a court hearing. So it does appear that Boasberg is just sort of endorsing what the Supreme Court said.

It is also a little bit surprising that he is pursuing contempt, because, again, the administration won on the larger issue for now at the Supreme Court, but it is clear the administration says it will fight this. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

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VAUSE: Joining me now from San Francisco is Erwin Chemerinsky, he is the Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. Thank you for being with us.

ERWIN CHEMERINSKY, DEAN, UC BERKELEY SCHOOL OF LAW: Good evening.

VAUSE: So I want you to hear a little bit more from that ruling by federal judge James Boasberg. He wrote this, "The constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders, especially by officials of a coordinated branch who've sworn an oath to uphold it." So despite that, the administration appears to have violated the constitution and defied court rulings to stop those violations -- violations rather multiple times almost at will. What happens if the criminal contempt charge becomes a reality and the Trump White House simply ignores it? Then what?

CHEMERINSKY, : Well, then Judge Boasberg can hold them in contempt of court. He would refer it to the United States Department of Justice to prosecute. It's unlikely that the Trump Justice Department would do so. But then as Chief Judge Boasberg points out, he has the authority to appoint a private lawyer to bring the prosecution for criminal contempt.

What's important to remember here is, whether his order is legal or not. Orders must be complied with until they're vacated or overturned. He's absolutely right to say the government defiance of his order is contempt to court.

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VAUSE: Usually, just the mere suggestion of being held in contempt is enough to rectify any issue a judge may have in court. Instead, the U.S. president has actually gone after Judge Boasberg like this. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Many people have called

for his impeachment, the impeachment of this judge. He's radical left. What do you do when you have a rogue judge? He's a lunatic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That was back in March, and other judges have also been publicly criticized for rulings which went against the President. Do you see this as part of a strategy here by the White House to try and undermine the judiciary, the independence, also to intimidate judges?

CHEMERINSKY: It is definitely a strategy to intimidate judges. Never in American history has a judge been impeached or removed because they're disagreeing about rulings. I know of no other instance where a president is referred to a judge as a lunatic. And Chief Judge Boasberg has a reputation of being a moderate, not a liberal at all.

VAUSE: And we see the White House, which continues to apply a Supreme Court ruling to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man who was mistakenly sent to a mega prison in El Salvador. And on Wednesday, there was part of the evidence put forward by the Trump White House justifying Garcia's deportation. Listen to this.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When Kilmar Abrego Garcia was originally arrested, he was wearing a sweatshirt with rolls of money covering the ears, mouth, and eyes of presidents on various currency denominations. This is a known MS-13 Gang symbol of hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.

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VAUSE: If Garcia was given the right to due process that stuff, I guess, would never hold up in court. Seems the administration is not just defying the Supreme Court, but the response to the order for Garcia's return seems to be openly mocked by many within the administration.

CHEMERINSKY: First, there's no authority in the United States to put anybody in a prison in El Salvador. No matter what Garcia did or didn't do, the government is acting illegally in housing people in El Salvador.

Second, an attorney for the United States government admitted to the court two weeks ago that Abrego Garcia was apprehended by mistake. This has now been, it seems, invented by the government.

And third, a judge has ordered that he be returned to the United States, and the Trump administration is saying, once somebody is in El Salvador, no court has the authority to order the return. That's chilling, because then the government could take anybody, citizen or noncitizen, dissidents, and put them in El Salvador, and no court would be able to provide protection. We've never seen anything like that before in American history. We've never seen a president claim such power in American history. VAUSE: And just very quickly, what does that mean for the constitution and for this constitutional crisis which may already be underway?

CHEMERINSKY: We are in a constitutional crisis, but I think that this is the most important issue. If a president can violate the constitution laws and ignore court orders, then the president can do literally anything. And then it's not a democracy, not under the constitution, then it's a dictatorship. Hopefully, we'll never come to that point.

VAUSE: From your lips to God's ear, Erwin Chemerinsky, thank you, sir, for being with us. Your time is very much appreciated.

CHEMERINSKY: Thank you.

VAUSE: With this footnote, U.S. Senator who traveled to El Salvador to try and meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia was refused entry to the mega prison holding him. Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen was -- says he was asked -- he asked -- actually asked El Salvador's Vice President if he could at least have a phone conversation with Abrego Garcia, but that request was also denied. Van Hollen says he will continue to press for answers about Abrego Garcia's release, and he says more members of congress will be visiting El Salvador on his behalf.

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SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): I'm asking President Bukele under his authority as President of El Salvador, to do the right thing and allow Abrego Garcia to walk out of a prison, a man who's charged with no crime, convicted of no crime, and who was illegally abducted from the United States.

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VAUSE: The President of El Salvador visited the White House earlier this week. He did say he had the authority to release Abrego Garcia, but added it would be, quote, "Preposterous" to smuggle a terrorist into the U.S. Abrego Garcia's lawyers say he has not been charged with any crimes in the United States nor in El Salvador, nor is he a gang member. The Trump administration even admitted in court that he was mistakenly deported due to a clerical error, but now they deny that, alleging he is a member of the MS-13 gang.

The U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after a stark warning from the Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, about the potential impacts of President Trump's tariffs. Investors have been wrestling with the unpredictability of the trade war for weeks now. Powell says higher inflation, slower economic growth are likely to occur given the unprecedented nature of the Trump tariffs.

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POWELL: The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

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VAUSE: The markets reflected Powell's concerns about the economy. The Dow tumbled 700 points. S&P 500 fell more than 2 percent. The Nasdaq down by more than 3 percent.

The World Trade Organization is issuing a similar warning but on a global scale. A new report says trading prospects have deteriorated sharply since the announcement of President Trump's reciprocal tariffs. The group expects global trade to shrink by 0.2 percent compared to a 2.7 percent growth forecast before the trade war.

The WTO predicts North America will be hit the hardest and will see greater economic slowdown, and shrinking economies will have a widespread impact.

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NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, DIRECT-GENERAL WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: A decoupling between the two major economies could have far reaching consequences if it were to contribute to a broader fragmentation of the global economy along geopolitical lines into two isolated blocks. Our estimates suggest that global real GDP would be lowered by nearly 7 percent in the long term. This is quite significant and substantial.

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VAUSE: (inaudible) now, with CNN's Mike Valerio is following news of the tariffs standoff and the trade war. One point that this WTO report made is that if there is a slowdown in world trade, it's developing countries whose economies have this outsized hit compared to, you know, the wealthier nations.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that's one of the reasons why we see China's President Xi Jinping in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam trying to garner and add those nations to his cause.

But, you know, as we're looking, John, at the headlines from the region, we seem, and I emphasize seem, to have movement when it comes to making a trade deal with Japan. So we're going to focus on Japan first. That's where we had the lead negotiator in terms of the Minister of Economic Revival, Ryosei Akazawa, who was in the West Wing.

President Trump shows up unexpectedly and Akazawa is presented with a red signed MAGA hat. It seems to be a convivial conversation. Of course, this is a key U.S. ally around ballpark 50,000 American troops, a huge trade partner next to China.

And this is the readout of what Akazawa said was the result of that meeting. Akazawa was saying in part to members of the press, quote, "We are very grateful that President Trump met with us. The President never strongly stated, this is what we're going to do, but rather said, Japan is the top priority in the talks." He then goes on to say, we would like to continue to make concerted government efforts to continue to give highest priority and full force to these negotiations.

So the point here is, John, that the White House is I'm not going to say -- you know, choosing our words carefully here. Their full intent is to show the world that it can make a deal with a huge trading partner like Japan to try to quell and assuage the concerns of the markets as we have zero movement with China, which is going to be our next topic of conversation.

John, at this hour, we have new reporting from our team in the region that has a new understanding of what Beijing's point of view is right now. This is according to a person familiar with the government thinking. And, apparently, Beijing is still open, John, open to the possibility of a summit, but sincerity, consistency, and reciprocity are needed in negotiations.

According to the person's thinking in Beijing, there seems to be a huge deal of confusion why President Trump continues to have glowing statements about Xi Jinping who is on this tour of Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. But you hear Vice President JD Vance, you hear the Treasury Secretary, you hear trade representatives are using very hawkish language against China. So there seems to be confusion. What is it going to be? Can United States speak with one voice? So no movement on potential talks and making a deal or at least the phone call between Xi and President Trump.

And then wrapping up here, we have South Korea where we're broadcasting from right now. Another key U.S. ally like Japan being hammered with these auto tariffs, tariffs on automobiles, steel, aluminum, those are in effect even though the April 2 Rose Garden tariffs, the, quote, unquote, "reciprocal," not so much reciprocal tariffs, are paused.

South Korea is hoping that it can repeat what Japan is reporting today and have seemingly successful negotiations, getting off on the right foot beginning sometime next week, John.

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VAUSE: Everyone gets a tariff at some point. Mike Valerio there in Seoul. Thank you, sir, for the update and the reporting.

VALERIO: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: The Internal Revenue Service, IRS, is working to revoke Harvard University's tax exempt status according to two sources. If that happens, it would be an extraordinary retaliation by the Trump administration for the university's defiance of the president's demand for sweeping policy changes.

The administration has already frozen more than $2 billion in funding for Harvard, which professors and experts warn will have a dire effect on research nationwide. The White House claims the proposed policy changes are meant to combat antisemitism on campus after last year's contentious student protests over the war in Gaza. A final decision on Harvard's tax status is expected soon. Well, in a moment, Puerto Rico is now blacked out across the entire island. When we return, we'll look at that massive power outage in the mostly Catholic U.S. territory just days before Easter.

Also, some groups in the U.K. celebrating a landmark supreme court ruling, which says trans women should not be legally defined as women. A report from London after the break.

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VAUSE: The night the lights went out in Puerto Rico. All 1.4 homes and businesses on the grid are without electricity right now. At least 78,000 of those customers have no running water either. No word on what caused the blackout, and it could be days before power is fully restored, which means the island's majority Catholic population may just be celebrating Easter in the dark.

The Israeli military targeted displacement camps in Southern and Northern Gaza according to Palestinian officials overnight. They say at least 15 people were killed after the strikes on two tent cities. The images show the horrific scenes after the attacks with emergency workers trying to put out large fires. Several people were also reportedly hurt in the attack.

Israel says it has turned about 30 percent of Gaza into what it calls a security perimeter buffer zone. CNN has reported earlier that the buffer zone is about one kilometer wide, and it's off limits to all Palestinians. Many homes and buildings have been systematically razzed to the ground in those areas. Many Palestinians who try to go there have been shot or killed.

The United Nations says Israel has ordered 400,000 Palestinians to evacuate since a fragile ceasefire ended last month. And according to the UN, more than two thirds of Gaza is now either under active displacement orders or designated no go areas by Israel.

A landmark ruling from the U.K. Supreme Court says the legal definition of woman excludes transgender women. Wednesday's decision will likely have sweeping consequences for the application of equality laws.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports now from London.

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How do you define a woman by law? The United Kingdom's highest court just ruled that the legal definition of a woman excludes trans women. The British Supreme Court's unanimous decision also says, quote, "that the concept of sex is binary. A person is either a woman or a man," end quote. This is as it pertains to the application of the country's equality laws.

Transgender people will still have legal protection, the court says. PATRICK HODGE, DEPUTY PRESIDENT, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another.

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ABDELAZIZ: Outside the courtroom, it was For Women Scotland that was celebrating, the campaign group that brought the case which challenges guidance from the Scottish government that a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate is legally a woman and therefore entitled to sex based protections. The group argued those protections only apply to people that they say are born female. JK Rowling, a supporter of the group, has donated to them according to U.K. media outlets.

The Scottish Greens, a political party, said the ruling was a huge blow to some of the most marginalized people in our society and concerning for human rights. While the ruling stems from a debate in Scotland, it is a decision that will have sweeping consequences for how equality laws are applied across all of the U.K., and its impact will be closely watched by transgender activists around the world.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN. He went kite surfing in Colombia, somehow wound up in a Venezuelan jail, hasn't been heard from in months.

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[00:25:00]

VAUSE: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Let's check today's top stories.

U.S. District Judge has ruled there's probable cause to hold members of the Trump administration in criminal contempt. He says they violated his order to stop the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members last month. The Trump Justice Department is appealing.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after the Head of the Federal Reserve warned the reciprocal tariffs will likely result in higher inflation, slower economic growth, and higher unemployment. US markets closed down Wednesday amid the fallout from Donald Trump's erratic trade policy.

And the World Trade Organization also has words of caution on the trade war with predictions Trump's tariffs will negatively impact the U.S. and other economies around the world. The group adjusted their trade forecast for the year, initially predicting nearly 3 percent growth, now expecting global trade to shrink by 0.2 percent.

What was meant to be a kite-surfing vacation in Colombia has become a living nightmare for a French American tourist.

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His family says he's been detained in Venezuela for more than three months, taken by Venezuelan troops before he even set foot in neighboring Colombia.

CNN's Isa Soares has the story.

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ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how Sophie Hunter found out her brother had been arrested.

LUCAS HUNTER, DETAINED IN VENEZUELA: (SPEAKING FRENCH)

GRAPHIC: I don't want you to freak out. I was caught by the Venezuelans, and four hours have passed.

SOARES (voice-over): With a voice message, a location pin placing him on Venezuelan soil.

Her 37-year-old brother, French American Lucas Hunter, had been traveling around Northern Colombia to kite surf along the coast, sending Sophie regular updates about the places he was visiting.

But on January 7th, he told her something different.

SOPHIE HUNTER, BROTHER DETAINED IN VENEZUELA: "I was riding my scooter. I got a bit lost. I came close to a border checkpoint. I reversed, and I got grabbed" -- that's the word he used -- "by Venezuelan military forces. They took me across the border." I think maybe it's --

SOARES (voice-over): They continued to text for the next 24 hours. But then the messages stopped.

S. HUNTER: Since the 8th of January, 1 p.m. local time, we haven't heard from him. We have no idea where he is. The governments have no idea.

SOARES: Venezuelan authorities haven't responded to our request for information. For now, it is unclear where Hunter is. being held.

But the last group of Americans to be released from Venezuela were held here at this high-security prison on the outskirts of Caracas called Rodeo Uno. Activists say that this is the prison where those who challenge the government are held, but also dozens of foreigners.

DAVID ESTRELLA, FORMER PRISONER IN VENEZUELA: They could do anything they want. Put it that way. And they did.

SOARES (voice-over): Until January, David Estrella was one of those Americans, accused by the government of wanting to bring down Maduro. He says he was just a tourist. Inside, he says he was tortured and made to feel insignificant. ESTRELLA: They said many times -- they say, we -- you know, we can

disappear you, eliminate you. You don't exist in this country.

They were right. You didn't exist there. So, like they said, they can make a hole in the ground and shoot you and disappear. And nobody knows.

SOARES (voice-over): Venezuela denies any allegations of torture, but Estrella was only released on January 31st after President Donald Trump sent special envoy Richard Grenell to negotiate directly with Maduro, the first U.S. official to do so in years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe we're here.

SOARES (voice-over): Five other Americans went home with Estrella, but Hunter wasn't among them.

S. HUNTER: Obviously, I was a bit sad. However, I was very happy that some of the Americans got out. Because for me, that meant maybe we can understand more about the conditions.

SOARES (voice-over): The State Department says Hunter is unjustly detained and continues to seek the release of all Americans, ten in total, arrested by the regime in Venezuela.

Months after he was supposed to come home, Lucas's flat in Paris now bears the marks of his absence. His family have kept his things intact, certain he'll be back.

S. HUNTER: He's, you know, strong and everything. I also know that he has a soft side inside. And that's why I'm a bit worried for his mental health, for his asthma, and -- and how he can keep his spirits up.

SOARES (voice-over): Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still ahead, a potential answer to that profound question: Are we alone? Scientists say they have found strong evidence of signs of possible life on another planet. It's just 124 light years away.

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VAUSE: Scientists say they've found the strongest evidence yet of possible life on another planet.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers detected two gases which, here on Earth, are only produced by biological things like algae.

They say the possible biosignature came from a large exoplanet, about 124 light years from here in the constellation Leo. The study's lead author calls it a transformational moment.

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NIKKU MADHUSUDHAN, ASTROPHYSICIST, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE OF ASTRONOMY: Not only that, there is a chance that the planet can actually be habitable, but what we are finding is that we are demonstrating that it is possible to detect biosignatures around -- in atmospheres of such planets around nearby stars with existing facilities. And that's a big breakthrough.

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VAUSE: But before you think, yippee, there's another planet out there, the findings are promising, but scientists are not saying actual living organisms have been found. And they stress a lot more research is still needed.

Another scientific first with the first video images of a colossal squid in its deep-sea home.

This video of a juvenile squid was recorded by a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of 600 meters in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Right now, this teenage squid is about 30 centimeters long but can grow up to seven meters.

It's been 100 years since the animal was first identified and named.

When the owner of a small independent bookstore in Chelsea, Michigan, decided to relocate to a new building around the block, she got hundreds of helping hands from enthusiastic townspeople.

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About 300, in fact, volunteered to create an assembly line on Sunday to move all 9,100 books by hand to the right -- to the right shelves in the new store. It took them less than two hours.

The owner hopes to open the new bookstore within two weeks. People just really look out for each other, she said.

That little book stop around the corner.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.

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