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Israeli Probe Into Killings Of Palestinian Medics Finds Failures; US's Hegseth Shared Yemen Attack Details In Second Signal Chat; Air Raid Alerts In Ukraine After Putin's Easter Ceasefire Ends; El Salvador's President Offers Maduro U.S.-deported Venezuelans For Prisoner Swap; Pope Francis Makes Appearance in St. Peter's Square; The Impact of U.K. Supreme Court's ruling Against Trans Women; RJK Jr.'s Take on Autism Called Harmful and Regressive; Chinese Factories Flood TikTok with Ads for Luxury Goods; Rapper Drake Claims He was Defamed at Grammys and Super Bowl. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 21, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:25]
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello wherever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It is so good to have you with me. Coming up on the show, the Israeli military concludes its review of the killing of 15 rescue workers in Gaza, saying troops did nothing unethical when they fired on ambulances.
Dysfunction at the Pentagon. Now we know the U.S. Defense secretary chief shared detailed military plans in not one but two signal group chats. And what makes a Birkin a Birkin? Chinese factory workers are fighting back against U.S. tariffs, flooding TikTok with ads for luxury goods at a massive discount.
Welcome. The Israeli military is blaming professional failures for the killing of first responders in Gaza. Last month. There was international condemnation after 15 people came under Israeli fire and were buried in a mass grave.
Most of them worked for the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Now, an IDF probe has identified several failures and one officer has been dismissed. The Red Crescent Society says the IDF account is full of contradictions, but the military is standing by the troops. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOATAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military is acknowledging, quote, professional failures in the incident that led to the killing of 15 paramedics and emergency responders last month at the hands of Israeli troops. The Israeli military is blaming a, quote, operational misunderstanding for the decision to open fire on this convoy of ambulances and a fire truck.
The military concluded its investigation into this incident by dismissing the deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion. This is the field commander who actually gave the order to open fire and was the first to open fire on these ambulances and this fire truck.
The military also issued a letter of reprimand to the commanding officer of the 14th Brigade, which was also involved in this attack. The military said that it, quote, regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians.
But the Israeli military also stopped short of criticizing the decision making of the soldiers on the ground who opened fire, saying that they opened fire because they felt an immediate and tangible threat. That's despite the fact that these ambulances were clearly marked, that they had their emergency signals on, headlights on, and no weapons were found in any of these vehicles. All of these individuals were, in fact, wearing their uniforms, whether as paramedics or as civil defense first responders.
The Israeli military also praised the officer that it dismissed as a, quote, highly respected officer whose story, they say, reflects the, quote, spirit of combat volunteerism and great dedication. I also was in a briefing with the Major General Yoav Har-Even, who oversaw this investigation. And he also told me that he believes that commander who ordered troops to open fire, quote, acted reasonably.
And he said that there was no evidence in his view, of any unethical or immoral conduct by the forces, repeatedly calling it a mistake. And that is what he seemed to focus on, this idea that they opened fire based off of something that they felt preconceived notions that ultimately turned out to be false. But he did not fault them in the end for the decision to open fire.
He said that he is not recommending any changes to the IDF's rules of engagement or its combat policies in order to prevent another incident like this from happening again. I was also able to see aerial surveillance video from the Israeli military of this incident. They showed this video to us, but they have declined to release it publicly.
This also shows that in addition to the attack on a first ambulance and then that convoy of ambulances and a fire truck, several minutes later, a United Nations vehicle actually drives by. And in this video, you see this vehicle drive by quite slowly as it passes the vehicles that had been fired upon. Several Israeli soldiers standing behind that U.N. vehicle then opened fire.
The Israeli military has said that part of the incident was indeed a breach of the Israeli military's rules of engagement.
[01:05:00]
And the U.N. worker who was in that vehicle was indeed the 15th fatality resulting from this incident. Now, the findings of this Israeli military internal investigation have now been sent to the military's advocate general. It will be up to that office to decide whether to file any charges. It's not clear whether or not that will happen. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: All of this comes as Israel's prime minister promises to continue the war in Gaza even as opposition grows. Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for perseverance and resilience while the humanitarian situation in Gaza rapidly deteriorates. Dr. Aqsa Durrani is a physician and epidemiologist. She's the medical activity manager for Medicines Sans Frontier and she joins me now from Deir al-Bala in Gaza. Thank you so much for being with me. How are you doing?
DR. AQSA DURRANI, MEDICAL ACTIVITY MANAGER, MSF: Good, thank you for having me.
HUNTE: You're so welcome. Let's get into it. So I've read about the lack of electricity, the lack of medical supplies, lack of ventilators. What challenges are you facing on a day to day basis? And how do you prioritize patient care when your resources are so limited?
DURRANI: It's a losing battle. I think what we are seeing here is very clearly the destruction of life here in Gaza. We see it at every layer, every aspect of the team and of the care that we're providing. We see that our staff are themselves displaced, facing massively increased food prices. So they themselves are hungry and yet they're coming to work every single day under bombardment to treat our patients and to do their best to provide care in this context where they are part of the systematic destruction, it's quite harrowing and it's honestly, we are asking too much of them.
At this point, I think that the most painful aspect of this is that our patients don't even have enough food or nutrition sources. We are not able to provide children, new mothers, elderly, critical care, patients with the nutrition that they need to recover from their illnesses and just to live and to continue on.
HUNTE: How do you and your colleagues deal with the emotional impact of dealing with constant trauma and while you're under threat, yourselves too?
DURRANI: Ben, this is one of the aspects of this that leaves me without words, to be honest. What we are asking from the mental health professionals who are themselves facing bombardment, themselves facing food shortages, themselves facing evacuation orders and forced displacement in real time, and coming every day to the hospital to provide care for their community, to children who have been traumatized from what is happening and what they're seeing all around them and from their injuries.
They are truly, truly bearing a burden that is unspeakable. For example, I had a nine-year old patient I will never forget we had. The child was a poly trauma injured from an airstrike. His face had been torn almost down to the level of the bone. He was repaired in surgery, but was initially just in shock.
And after a few days we started to hear him speak, but he was just screaming over and over again for his brother who had been killed in the airstrike.
When the mental health providers had reached their limit with him, we called for a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist that we called, he had himself been displaced that day, so he could not even join us. So the levels within one patient encounter of the just, the suffering, the unjust burden and the undue burden that we are asking the Palestinians to bear is just -- it's incomprehensible.
HUNTE: Have you had to make any tough decisions about where to allocate limited resources? Have any particular patient experiences stood out to you?
DURRANI: Yes, we have had situations where overall, I would say already our clinics are rationing medications. We've had to provide wound dressings that typically would be provided with analgesia, where we haven't been able to provide pain medication because we had to ration.
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I had a critically ill intubated patient that we had no source of nutrition for, an elderly patient. And, you know, there's endless examples of things like this.
HUNTE: Appreciating everything that you've told me today, which seems just so horrific. Why do you still want to be there? What is motivating you to keep going?
DURRANI: I am here because this, I mean, I cannot imagine not being here. There's no words for what the people here are experiencing. And the very least that we can do is be here to stand with them, to show them that they are part of our global community. We are standing with them side by side and that we want this to stop, that we are calling on the Israeli authorities to end this deadly and inhumane siege. I cannot imagine not being here.
HUNTE: Well, thank you for your work, Dr. Aqsa Durrani. We appreciate you being here. Thank you.
DURRANI: Thank you.
HUNTE: Air alerts have been issued across eastern Ukraine after a temporary Easter truce announced by Russia's Vladimir Putin came to an end. Ukrainian officials are also reporting large blasts in the southern port of Mykolaiv, but it's unclear if Russian missiles struck their targets there or if they were intercepted.
Despite the ongoing attacks and a Sunday truce that never really took hold, U.S. President Donald Trump says he's hopeful a deal to permanently end the fighting will be reached this week. A State Department spokesperson said on Sunday the U.S. remains committed to reaching a full and comprehensive sea ceasefire.
But days earlier, President Trump threatened to walk away from the peace talks and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio also warned U.S. involvement could end if there are no signs of progress. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of breaking that Easter truce.
President Putin made the surprise announcement on Saturday for his forces to stop all military activity for 30 hours. But Ukraine's president says Russia violated the truce almost 3,000 times. Volodymyr Zelenskyy again said it's clear Russia wants to prolong the war. Still, he's asking that Moscow commit to a 30-day ceasefire on civilian infrastructure as a sign of good faith.
After more than three years of fighting, many are wondering what it will take for the Kremlin to agree to peace in Ukraine. CNN's former Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty explains the larger designs at play behind President Putin's strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: I think the only person who can change Putin's mind is Putin. You know, one aspect that we don't talk about is why would Putin want his country to be in a, you know, militarized for this war?
Well, you know, if you look at the old Soviet days, there were a lot of factories producing weapons, et cetera. And then the Soviet Union falls apart more than 30 years ago. Factories die. Well, those factories are open again and people have jobs and they're making money.
And so there's also that, even though it seems kind of perverse, but people are making money again because their country is at war. And that translates into support for President Putin. So that's another issue. There are many. I mean, I could name several, but that I think is a factor we don't talk about that much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: When we return, what we're learning about a second signal chat and the U.S. defense secretary sharing military plans with members of his family. Plus, Pope Francis made a welcome appearance at Vatican Easter celebrations. Those stories and more after the break.
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HUNTE: Multiple sources tell CNN U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed detailed military plans in another Signal chat. This comes weeks after it was revealed that Hegseth shared details about a strike on Houthis in Yemen on a separate signal chat that included a journalist. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOSUE REPORTER: CNN has learned that the Defense secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed plans about the on Houthi rebels in Yemen inside a Signal group chat. That's according to three people familiar with the matter. And if this all sounds reminiscent of the scandal that engulfed the administration about a month ago, it should because some of these details are essentially the same attack plans that Hegseth shared in that original Signal group chat. Details like takeoff times for attack planes who are heading to Yemen to strike the targets against the Houthis.
The difference is who was included in these chats. That first group chat was created by the national security adviser Mike Waltz included senior cabinet level officials in the national security space. It was meant to share details about the planning for this attack.
This new Signal group chat that we are just learning about included people inside Hegseth's personal circle, including his brother, personal attorney and his wife. Now, Hegsest brother and attorney both work at the Pentagon. It's not clear whether they have security clearances.
[01:20:05]
But his wife is not an official employee of the Defense Department, although she has attended meetings with foreign officials, which has raised eyebrows among officials over at the Department of Defense.
Now, all of this, I think, calls into question some of Pete Hegseth's decision making as he prepared for this attack on the Houthi rebels. And it comes after a period of chaos really in his inner circle, in his front office essentially at the Pentagon. There were the dismissals last week of a number of senior Pentagon officials who were accused of leaking information. They deny that.
And we have also now heard from the former press secretary to Pete Hegseth, John Ullyot was until recently his top spokesman at the Pentagon, sort of decrying this period of chaos, saying that it has been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon, from leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings. The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president who deserves better from his senior leadership.
Ullyot went on to say even strong backers of the secretary like me must admit the last month has been a full blown meltdown at the Pentagon and it's becoming a real problem for the administration. Now, the Pentagon has not officially responded to these latest revelations about the Signal app, although you'll remember the last time that the administration was accused of sharing these attack plans.
The White House and the president denied that they contained any classified information, although that drew plenty of skepticism from almost every national security analyst that CNN spoke with. It should also be said that this sort of tumultuous period is coming at a fraught moment for the U.S. national security space. It comes as the Pentagon is beefing up resources in the Middle East in preparation for a potential Israeli strike on Iran.
Of course, it's a fraught moment in Asia. Comes as Secretary Hegseth is working on President Trump's plans to somehow take back the Panama Canal. All of this potentially a distraction at a moment of heightened tensions around the world. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: As Kevin mentioned, the Trump administration argued last time that the information shared in a signal chat was not classified. CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton is pushing back against that claim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: No matter what they will spin at this Pentagon, this stuff is classified. No doubt about it. This is the kind of thing that gets people in trouble. You know, when the first Signal chat scandal broke, we talked about the old World War II adage, loose lips sink ships. This is exactly the kind of thing that happens because Signal chats can be intercepted by sophisticated adversaries like the Russians, like the Chinese. It's difficult for them to do so, but they've proven that they can do it in Ukraine.
And it's the kind of thing that we have to guard against. And you know, these types of Signal chats, even if they happen in the United States, in the D.C. Area, you can bet that the Russians and the Chinese are working very hard to intercept them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: El Salvador's president is offering to swap prisoners with Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. Nayib Bukele says he'll exchange 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. for political prisoners in Venezuelan jails. Bukele says Maduro has imprisoned journalists, human rights lawyers, and relatives of opposition leaders.
Bukele is facing international criticism for accepting deportees from the United States. Many are in the CECOT mega prison and haven't been charged with a crime.
OK. Still to come, a controversial Supreme Court ruling in the U.K. has many transgender women fearing for their rights and even for their lives. We'll examine that fallout ahead.
Plus, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says autism is preventable and caused by toxins. Coming up, we'll hear from people who call autism their superpower and say the U.S. health secretary is getting it wrong.
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HUNTE: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte. Pope Francis delighted crowds in St Peter's Square as he met Easter Sunday appearance and gave a blessing. CNN's Christopher Lamb has this report from Rome.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was Pope Francis most high profile appearance since leaving the hospital. Francis appeared on the balcony at St. Peter's behind me after he had met with Vice President J.D. Vance. They had a brief meeting in the Pope's residence, the Santa Marta. Of course, Vice President Vance is a Catholic. He was received into the Catholic Church in 2019. But he has not been on the same page as Pope Francis when it comes to questions such as migration.
The Pope before its hospitalization released a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration for their immigration policy. However, the pope taking the time to meet with Vice President Vance before coming out to St. Peter's he offered the Easter Sunday blessing, the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, which only the Pope can give.
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He did not read though his Easter Sunday address. The Pope, since recovering from double pneumonia, really finds it very difficult to speak for long periods of time, but he was able to wish people in the Square a Happy Easter.
And after his appearance from the balcony, the Pope got on to the Popemobile and greeted people in the square, delighting the crowd that had gathered.
It's the first time the Pope has been in the Popemobile meeting people since his hospitalization. And he circled the Square and children were brought up to him, and he seemed to be in good spirits.
Of course, this is a pope who really enjoys being amongst people. However, of course, Francis is still recovering from that double pneumonia that almost took his life on two occasions.
He is clearly still having to recover from that. He's finding it difficult, as I said, to speak for long periods. But today was the most high-profile appearance from the Pope since that hospitalization, and clearly did really delight the people who had gathered in Saint Peter's on Easter Sunday to see him.
Christopher Lamb, CNN -- Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Transgender women in the U.K. are afraid that their rights are being ripped away. On Wednesday, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex at birth. Now British trans women are not protected from discrimination as women under the U.K.'s Equality Act.
On Saturday, thousands marched in London against that ruling. They say it will impact trans women in nearly every area of public life, and will lead to more discrimination and even violence. Anti-transgender activists are cheering the ruling. They say it protects women's rights.
Well, you know, I want to dig deeper on this. We're going to speak to Dee Humphreys, the chair of Not a Phase, a charity supporting trans plus and gender diverse adults in the U.K. She's joining me from Brighton, England.
Dee, thank you so much for being with me. How are you doing at the moment?
DEE HUMPHREYS, CHAIRPERSON, NOT A PHASE: Thank you for having me, Ben. And good morning, or good evening there. It's a strange time. It's a really worrying time. It's a scary time for trans women and more broadly, trans people. And cis women, gender non-conforming cis women as well in this country.
And since Wednesday, it's been its been a very odd feeling. There's been a lot of anxiety every day about how I live my life, where I go. And the same with the whole community.
Just this ambiguous position of, do we have rights? Do we have protections? Does the way I live my life over the last ten years now have to completely change?
HUNTE: Where were you when you heard the result of last week's ruling, and what were your immediate thoughts when you heard it come through?
HUMPHREYS: So I was at work. I work in public services, in policy. And part of my routine, part of my job is scanning for information and updates and things and understanding how different policies affect communities the public services are supposed to serve.
And it came through as a news alert. And honestly, my heart sank and I could feel myself filling with anxiety and the messages started to appear from supportive cis women colleagues and friends and from trans women as well, and trans friends more broadly.
And it -- and when that started to happen, things started to become much more heightened that this is a big issue now. This is a big concern. This is something I need to be aware of and the community needs to be aware of.
But also, I tried to tell myself, and as a trans woman, you know, over the last ten years through transition, trying to manage anxiety in public spaces, it's trying to tell myself not to panic.
So we don't actually know how things will -- you know how things will be, well going forwards how guidance will be developed, how it will be -- how it will be instigated in this country and stuff.
I mean, it's so -- there's so many unanswered questions. And it's so important now for myself and other trans people. And as we saw on Saturday, those spaces to come together are so important to keep each other safe.
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HUMPHREYS: And that's with their allies as well, who are more important than ever who came out in force on Saturday as well.
HUNTE: I have been hearing from trans people across the U.K. who have said they know of people who have self-harmed or worse as a result of last week. I wonder if you've heard the same.
But how will this ruling actually impact the lives of trans people in the U.K. do you think?
HUMPHREYS: I think if you carry it through to the -- because there's lots of opinion on the way it could be taken forwards. But actually there are still protections in law for trans people.
It could -- it's the way it could be interpreted. And I think immediately, I think politicians who've sidestepped and industry leaders and public service leaders need to step up and talk about dignity and respect for trans people, and particularly trans women at this time.
I think there needs to be a greater conversation around how trans people enrich society and bring great value to society, and to get away from the division and the segregation, because that's what we anticipate.
Worst case scenario, trans people are segregated. Trans people are pushed out of public life. Trans people are routinely abused because of the misinformation about who they are and how they live their lives. And more broadly, this impacts on the queer community as well, of which I'm a proud member.
HUNTE: Just a few weeks ago, there were warnings to trans people in Europe about traveling here to the U.S. Do you think those warnings could now extend to the U.K. as well?
HUMPHREYS: Yes, absolutely. I think -- I think the media coverage, particularly in the U.K. of trans lives, is so lopsided and influential now. As we've seen, it spills out across the society. It does make it a hostile place.
It has been hostile. I deal with that almost daily still, ten years into transition. But it's -- and dealt with it when I was at school as well. But it's -- it seems much more likely that it's an increasing -- increasingly hostile environment.
And people open -- people feeling emboldened, I suppose, to challenge trans people around their identity and that fundamentally who they are. We could see more of that. And if as follows suit at the moment, there are pushes to reform the Gender Recognition Act and things like this, and go back and look at the Equality Act, which seems to now be you could interpret it any way you like, go back and change its interpretation from all those years ago.
It feels like it's open season on trans people. I think that is a dangerous place to be, and I would not want to be a trans person coming to this country.
HUNTE: Gosh, these are wild times.
But for now, Dee Humphreys, thank you so much for being with me, waking up early. I appreciate it.
HUMPHREYS: Thank you. Thank you Ben.
HUNTE: So welcome.
America's Secretary of Health and Human Services has said some controversial things even before becoming a cabinet member. But when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started talking about autism, people affected by the disorder say he went way too far.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has the details.
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ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: It's a canard.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A series of controversial statements about autism by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sparking anger last week in the autism community.
KENNEDY: This is coming from an environmental toxin and these are kids who will never pay taxes, they'll never write a poem, they'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.
JONES: He later clarified he meant among the most severe cases.
The CDC says about a quarter of eight-year-olds with autism are considered to have profound autism.
For Russell Lehmann, who was diagnosed with autism at age 12, the words stung.
RUSSELL LEHMANN, DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM: It's degrading. There are some individuals out there who have very high support needs. To talk about them as if they are not able to contribute anything to this world does a disservice to them.
I was that little boy who would cry and shut down and break down the minute I wasn't by my mom's side due to severe anxiety.
JONES: Lehmann is a public speaker raising awareness about autism and a lecturer at UCLA.
R. LEHMANN: I want people to know the real, raw, transparent look into my world.
JONES: Kennedy's remarks followed a CDC report showing a rise in autism diagnosis rates among U.S. children. In 2022, about one in every 31 children was diagnosed by age eight, up from 1 in 36 in 2020, and 1 in 150 children in 2000, according to CDC data.
[01:39:46]
JONES: Autism diagnosis rates are also higher among boys than girls, and in Asian Pacific islander, Black and Hispanic children.
Experts have largely attributed this rise to the better understanding and screening for the condition.
But Kennedy argues that this lets industries that make or use products he believe may be linked to autism off the hook.
KENNEDY: And it's to their benefit to say all that to normalize it.
JONES: Kennedy says HHS has launched research to identify a cause for autism by September.
R. LEHMANN: For him to cut funding to where we are conducting that research and those studies, and then to start his own task force led by people who are anti-vaxxers, does nothing.
If we got accommodations, we would thrive. All of us would pay taxes. All of us would be able to write a poem. All of us would be able to have a relationship.
JONES: Awareness is the first step for that, he says. In the mid- 1990s, when Lehmann was being diagnosed, autism was hardly part of the conversation.
How many different doctors did you go to?
GRETCHEN LEHMANN, RUSSELL'S MOTHER: I would say 10 easily.
JONES: And what did they tell you?
G. LEHMANN: Usually an incorrect diagnosis.
JONES: As school became unbearable, Russell dropped out in the fifth grade.
R. LEHMANN: You know, I never had the opportunity to go to college or anything like that. I was very lost, had no friends.
JONES: It was poetry that inspired him to make something out of his suffering.
R. LEHMANN: I always feel like I'm just one random act away.
JONES: The raw, unfiltered videos he posts online have gained him thousands of followers, many of whom say he makes them feel seen.
R. LEHMANN: I want to keep it authentic. I don't want to say autism is a superpower. If it's my superpower, it's my kryptonite. If it's my best friend, it's my worst enemy, you know? So, autism is neither good or bad. It's both.
JONES: Now, the silver lining of Kennedy's comments is all the attention being brought into autism again, says Lehmann. He says he just wishes that the attention wasn't so directed at finding a cause, and instead focusing on providing more support and dignity for people living with autism.
Julia Vargas Jones, CNN -- Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Still to come, Chinese factories offer what looks like designer handbags and other luxury goods at dirt cheap prices. But are those deals too good to be true? And how will the U.S.-China trade war affect the prices?
[01:42:15]
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HUNTE: China is warning the international community, those who make deals with the U.S. to restrict Chinese trade will face Chinese countermeasures. In a new statement, China's commerce ministry said in part, quote, "Seeking temporary self-interest at the expense of others in exchange for so-called exemptions is like asking a tiger for its skin. China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China's interests. If such a situation arises, China will not accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures."
Some Chinese factories are trying to hit American business in the wallet by luring away customers for supposed luxury goods at a fraction of the cost. They're attempting to cash in on fears from American consumers.
The tariff war will send some prices sky high. And they're offering to let you order directly from their warehouse. But are the deals too good to be true?
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave your message in the comment section. I'm Luna, your reliable sources partner.
This is (INAUDIBLE), your best sourcing partner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't you just contact us and buy from us? You won't believe the prices we give you.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ok. I know you've seen them too. Chinese warehouse TikTok videos that tout factory prices for designer items and a way to work around Donald Trump's trade war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess most of you know the price of Lululemon or other big brands. They sell you a legging pants for $100. And guess what? Here in these two factories, you can get them for around 5 to 6 bucks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crazy.
STOUT: It's very likely too good to be true.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dresses, leggings, shoes, t-shirts, everything.
STOUT: Experts tell CNN that the real suppliers for big brands often sign non-disclosure agreements. And what accounts like this are peddling are probably fakes.
In a statement, Lululemon said it, quote, "does not work with the manufacturers identified in the online videos and we urge consumers to be aware of potentially counterfeit products and misinformation.
Now some of these videos are now no longer on TikTok. CNN has reached out for comment.
Real or not, the flood of messages like this on TikTok revealed just how anxious consumers are about Trump's tariffs, and just how much Americans rely on Chinese suppliers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you recognize this style, this bag? Of course you do.
STOUT: China is often thought of as the world's factory floor, while the United States is the largest consumer base. Even if Trump's trade war risks breaking these two huge economies apart, young people in the United States and in China will keep mocking Trump's tariffs on social media.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:42]
HUNTE: DHL Express says it's suspending global shipments worth more than $800 to U.S. consumers starting on Monday. The company blamed it on new U.S. customs rules, which now require formal entry processing for those packages.
The minimum had been $2,500 until a change earlier this month. DHL says the move is temporary and does not apply to business-to-business shipments.
Rapper Drake has raised new allegations in a defamation lawsuit against his own record label. Ahead, the latest on one of the music industry's most talked about cases.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are legends of people with the gift of making music so true. It can conjure spirits from the past and the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Supernatural horror movie "Sinners" topped the U.S. box office for the Easter weekend. Its directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Michael B. Jordan, who have previously worked together on "Black Panther" and "Creed".
The movie took in nearly $46 million, edging former number one "A Minecraft Movie" in its third weekend. Both "Sinners" and "A Minecraft movie are distributed by Warner Bros/Discovery, CNN's parent company.
Rapper Drake is expanding his legal battle against his own record label, Universal Music Group. It's all centered around his ongoing feud with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, also a Universal artist.
Drake claims Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us" performed at the Grammys and the Super Bowl damaged his reputation.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: What started out as a rap battle has turned into an epic court battle. The feud between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar has escalated yet again, with Drake claiming that he was defamed by Kendrick Lamar at two high- profile events -- the Super Bowl halftime show and the Grammy awards.
Drake made the new claims in an amended complaint to the defamation lawsuit that he originally filed back in January against his own record label, Universal Music Group, accusing the label of defamation in the publishing and promotion of Lamar's song "Not Like Us". Both Drake and Lamar are clients of Universal Music Group.
In "Not Like Us, Lamar calls Drake a, quote, "certified pedophile", an allegation that Drake has fiercely denied, therefore saying that the diss track is defamatory.
The song was, quote, "broadcast to the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever". Drake's lawyers said in their latest filing, writing, quote, "it was the first and will hopefully be the last Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist."
Now, during the Super Bowl halftime show, Lamar skipped over the "certified pedophile" lyric, but he did rap another line where he accused Drake of targeting young girls, rapping "I heard you like 'em young". And then looking directly at the camera, a moment that immediately went viral.
The week before the Super Bowl, Lamar attended the Grammy awards, where he took home five awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
At the Grammys, clips of "Not Like Us" played during the ceremony when he won his award and the crowd sang along very loudly to another controversial line about Drake.
Now, Drake's lawyers claim that these two broadcasts amplified defamatory language about Drake to massive audiences.
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WAGMEISTER: Lamar's halftime show brought in the largest audience ever for a Super Bowl halftime show, with over 130 million viewers, and the Grammy Awards drew over 15 million viewers. Drake's amended complaint does not accuse Lamar of any wrongdoing,
solely lodging allegations against Universal Music Group.
UMG has repeatedly denied Drake's allegations, calling his lawsuit illogical and frivolous. The record label has said that the lawsuit should be dismissed, arguing that it could restrict free speech protections for musical artists.
Quote, "Drake, unquestionably one of the world's most accomplished artists and with whom we've enjoyed a 16-year successful relationship, is being misled by his legal representatives into taking one absurd legal step after another," a spokesperson from UMG told CNN.
the lawsuit is still in its initial stages, but if there isn't an out- of-court settlement, the trial is on track to potentially begin in summer of 2026.
Back to you.
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HUNTE: McLarens Oscar Piastri has won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by a margin of less than three seconds. Four-time champion Max Verstappen was penalized five seconds and just couldn't make it up.
Verstappen was assessed the penalty for veering off track when Piastri took the lead around the circuit's first corner. Verstappen argued in vain that he was forced to run wide. With this win, Piastri now tops the F1 standings.
The fastest dogs on short legs gathered to run the Corgi Derby in Scotland over the weekend. Yay. Four-year-old Juno ran away with first place honors. Her owner says she'll be showered with treats -- look at them -- as a reward.
The derby began in 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. She owned around 30 corgis throughout her life. It's the jacket.
Thank you for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It's been so real. Let's do it all again next weekend. Have a fab week and I will see you then. Thanks so much.
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