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Judge Halts Ban On Harvard Foreign Student Enrollment; U.S. President Threatens 50 Percent Tariff On E.U., 25 Percent Tariff On Apple; Trump Announces Deal Between U.S. Steel And Nippon Steel; Rare Nor'Easter To Bring Rains, Gusty Winds To Eastern States; Kyiv Pounded By Large-Scale Russian Attack; Russia, Ukraine Begin Largest Prisoner Swap Of The War; Palestinians Frustrated As Limited Aid Trickles In To Gaza; Trump Admin Cuts Funds For African-American History Museum; Police: 7 Arrested For Helping 10 Escape New Orleans Jail; Eight Found Guilty In Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial; Billy Joel Cancels 17 Shows Due To Brain Disorder; Kermit The Frog Delivers Commencement Address. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired May 24, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:31]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States and around the world. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, international Harvard students face uncertainty as the Trump administration tries to revoke their enrollment. We'll hear from some of those students and a look at the legal battle.

President Trump issues fresh tariff threats. We'll have the details on the sudden about face.

And Russia strikes Ukraine's capital city with missiles and drones just hours after the first phase of a major prisoner exchange. We'll have the latest in a live report.

The Trump administration is facing a major setback in its battle with Harvard University that could impact thousands of international students. On Friday, a U.S. judge blocked the administration's efforts to ban foreign students from attending the Ivy League school.

The ruling is temporary and comes after Harvard filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government. It says the ban was, quote, "clear retaliation" for refusing to give in to the administration's policy demands. President Donald Trump signaling that other universities could be targeted next.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you considering stopping other universities besides Harvard from accepting foreign students? DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we're taking a look at a lot of things. And as you know, billions of dollars has been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that? Harvard's going to have to change its ways. So are some other.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ABEL: Another hearing is scheduled for next week when the judge could decide if she'll leave the block in place until the lawsuits decided. CNN's Jason Carroll went to Massachusetts to learn how students are reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For many international students at Harvard, being accepted and coming here is a dream come true, a dream many now fear is coming to an end.

LEO GERDEN, HARVARD UNIVERSITY STUDENT FROM SWEDEN: I came to this place because I love this country and I love the values that it stands for and its openness to people of different backgrounds. And I truly believe that that is still America. But right now, Trump is attacking all of those values.

MARC HVIDKJAER, HARVARD UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL STUDENT FROM DENMARK: I'm in limbo and, you know, the government has showed its hand here and it's showed to what lengths it is willing to go.

CARROLL (voice-over): Hvidkjaer and students like him are now faced with big decisions. Do they stay and hope the courts permanently block the Trump administration's order banning Harvard from admitting international students or not take the risk and leave?

ABDULLAH SHAHID SIAL, HARVARD UNIVERSITY STUDENT FROM PAKISTAN: Right now, we're not sure. No one is sure if we are legally allowed in the U.S. or not.

CARROLL (voice-over): Abdullah Shahid Sial is Harvard student body president and a sophomore studying applied mathematics.

CARROLL: Do you feel confident that you will be able to come back and study in the fall?

SIAL: Not at all. Not even close. I'm not confident about that.

CARROLL (voice-over): The administration says its efforts are in part an effort to get Harvard to do more to stop anti-Semitism on campus. This international student from Israel says while the university could take more action, she does not believe the Trump administration's decisions are helping.

GENIA LUKIN, HARVARD UNIVERSITY STUDENT FROM ISRAEL: This specific measure targets a population that is not actually in position to fight any of it and that is also going to include among others Jewish and Israeli students who have been experiencing this anti-Semitism and hostile environment for the past two years and now are also experiencing this mess.

CARROLL (voice-over): Harvard Professor Ryan Enos says even if the courts ultimately decide in Harvard's favor, the damage may already be done.

RYAN ENOS, GOVERNMENT PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I am not sure I can look to a student now with a straight face and say I can guarantee what's going to be in the future for you, and that's a really sad thing.

CARROLL (voice-over): Jason Carroll, CNN, Cambridge.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ABEL: Jessica Levinson is professor of law at Loyola Law School and host of the Passing Judgment podcast. She joins me from Los Angeles. Thank you so much for being with us, joining us to explore the legal angle of all of this a bit more.

So the first question is, Harvard attorneys, they're arguing that this is retaliation for not following the government's policies. What grounds does the Trump administration have in this case?

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: That's an interesting question. So the Trump administration is saying that we're just trying to make sure that there's no anti-Semitism on campus, that we're trying to make sure that the campus is a safe place for all students. The Trump administration has asked for a great deal of information from Harvard.

[05:05:08]

Harvard has said that they have actually given most of that and the Trump administration really is saying with respect to Harvard and Columbia and other schools where there are different levels of escalation, they're trying to ensure that these are safe campuses.

ABEL: OK, and so, does Harvard have a strong case here at the moment?

LEVINSON: I think they do and I think that's at least why at this very initial stage we see a judge implementing a temporary restraining order. So the Trump administration tried to stop this certification that allows Harvard to have international students.

Harvard filed suit within really a matter of hours. And just a few hours after that, you see a federal judge saying, OK, Trump administration, pause. We think there would be a real and irreparable harm if this policy is allowed to go into effect while the case is litigated.

So you ask me specifically what are we looking at here? I think we're looking at what Harvard has alleged which is that they are being targeted based on their speech, based on their expression. So the heart of their case is really about the First Amendment.

ABEL: I know previous cases of course always play a major role in how a judge decides on a case. Do we have any precedent for a case like this?

LEVINSON: That's a great question. I would say yes and no in the sense that I don't think in modern history we've had this sort of dramatic escalation between a presidential administration and a school before. Having said that, we certainly have had battles between administrations, the executive branch and private organizations, non- profit organizations, sometimes educational organizations.

And what Harvard is going to point to is a long line of first amendment cases, some with similar facts, some not, saying that the government is not allowed to pick winners and losers. The government is not allowed to say we're taking something away from you. You lose your certification based on the idea that the government doesn't like what you're saying.

And so when it comes to the precedent, I think that's really the precedent that Harvard is going to point to. There's also some questions about how the Trump administration went about this change, specifically about whether or not they provided enough notice, enough opportunity for Harvard to say, no, please stop, or let's have some sort of conflict resolution surrounding this, which all kind of boils down to the idea of due process.

ABEL: OK, what are the implications if the Trump administration gets a legal victory here? Should other universities be preparing?

LEVINSON: Yes absolutely. So if eventually a judge says that the Trump administration has the power to do this, then I think other schools obviously will take note. I think it's worth acknowledging that Harvard is in a unique situation in the sense that they're not just one of the oldest institutions but the wealthiest educational institution in the country.

So if there was any institution of higher education that has the ability to say we actually don't want to comply or we are ready to fight, it is Harvard. Other schools may feel that they don't have the same opportunity just in terms of a difference in resources.

ABEL: Well this isn't the first clash between these two parties. There's been a build-up to this moment with the Trump administration freezing billions of dollars in funds last month for Harvard. Could that move factor into this case?

LEVINSON: I think yes and no. I mean I think that it is broadly speaking we're talking about similar questions. We're talking about the Trump administration trying to get Harvard to comply with its policy goals and we're figuring out whether or not Harvard legally speaking can say you can't do that.

But of course with respect to the specifics of the law, it is slightly different. We're talking about slightly different questions and I think judges will take each particular set of facts separately and look at everything kind of individually to see whether or not the Trump administration can do what it's seeking to do.

ABEL: All right, we will see what happens next. Jessica Levinson, thank you for your expertise.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

ABEL: Friday saw fresh economic uncertainty and mixed messages on European trade from U.S. President Donald Trump. He threatened the European Union with 50 percent tariffs on all imports insisting he's, quote, "not looking for a deal". But later, he suggested he might be willing to push the June 1st start date back, quote, "if somebody comes in and wants to build a plant here".

[05:10:00]

Mr. Trump's threats and his changing positions on a possible deal caused major stock market indices on both sides of the Atlantic to fall and close in the red. Also Friday, the President vowing to slap a 25 percent tariff on Apple unless it moves iPhone production to the U.S. And he warned other tech companies could be next.

Mr. Trump said tariffs on the E.U. were necessary because of stalled trade negotiations and what he called, quote, "non-monetary trade barriers".

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUMP: We have a big deficit with them. They sell millions and millions of cars as you know, Mercedes and BMW and Volkswagen and many others. And we were restricted from -- essentially restricted from selling cars into the European Union which is not nice.

And I just said it's time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game, you know? Nobody -- they've taken advantage of other people representing this country and they're not going to do that any longer.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ABEL: CNN Business Editor-at-Large Richard Quest has more from London.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: The President decided to have two bites at the tariff tree today. The first was against the European Union. This idea of 50 percent tariffs by the beginning of June because the talks were going in the President's words nowhere.

The second was against Apple and that was because they're not bringing manufacturing back to the United States. They're shifting from China to India. But as the day wore on, we got perhaps less clarity but more comments from Mr. Trump.

When it came to Europe, it seems he doesn't want to deal at all. It's not quite sure what he does want but it seems to be something to do with bringing more manufacturing of cars back to the United States. And then with Apple when asked outright and bluntly wasn't that illegal to target one company. He said, oh no, I'm targeting them all, including Samsung. The problem with all these smartphones being manufactured in the United States is that it's not possible in the short term arguably not even in the medium term. It would take billions of dollars and several years to build the necessary factories, all of which leaves everyone bemused and puzzled as to what is the President's barometer for success.

The real challenge is how to find that success when the deadlines that Mr. Trump has set are very close by. June is around the corner.

Richard Quest, CNN, London.

ABEL: The U.S. President also announced a deal between Japanese steel maker Nippon and U.S. steel. He said it will provide $14 billion in investments in the United States and keep the American company's headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Trump didn't say how much control would remain with U.S. steel or whether the deal is truly a partnership not an acquisition. The United Steelworkers Union had said a sale to Nippon would be, quote, "a disaster".

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer in the United States but soaking rain and gusty winds will make it seem more like late winter in the eastern states. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If this was the middle of February and we're talking about a nor'easter across New England, we'd be also mentioning over a foot of snow for some of these coastal locations but it's the end of May, so a completely different type of weather pattern but it is certainly bringing cool, damp and breezy conditions to many of the locations across the northeast through this extended holiday weekend.

So Portland, Maine, Boston, Massachusetts into Burlington, upstate New York could see those on and off again showers. One thing's for sure, this is going to lock in below average temperatures for many of the locations across the northeast. Places like the Big Apple down to Philadelphia towards the nation's capital, were running 5 to 15 degrees below where we should be this time of year.

Also want to give you a heads up on the potential of a flash flood risk going forward throughout the central and southern plains as well as the Ozarks. Look at all the rain lighting up our futurecast radar going forward.

We could pick up anywhere from four to locally 6 inches of precipitation right through Memorial Day. So heads up, Little Rock into Oklahoma City, Dallas. Of course with the cool weather in place, we stay below average anywhere you see these shades of blue and purple extending east of Denver all the way to the nation's capital temperatures will remain below average going forward into the early parts of next week.

Enjoy. ABEL: Ukraine's capital is reeling from Russian drones and missiles that targeted the city overnight. The attack coming on what was supposed to be a day of joy for some POWs and their families. We'll explain.

Plus, a new search for survivors. Palestinian health authorities say Jabalya is the latest location hit in Israel's expansive military offensive in Gaza.

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[05:18:58]

ABEL: Ukraine's capital is starting to take stock of the damage following a massive wave of Russian strikes overnight.

That's a sight and sounds of drones and missiles raining down on the city leaving at least 15 people injured. Reuters is reporting that sirens and explosions blared across the capital as air defenses work to engage incoming missiles.

Officials say multiple residential buildings have been hit causing a number of fires. Ukraine says five other regions were also targeted. The barrage came a day after Russia and Ukraine kicked off their largest prisoner exchange since the war began.

Hundreds of POWs were released on Friday leading to tearful reunions with friends and loved ones. More prisoner swaps are expected over the weekend.

Paula Hancocks is monitoring those developments and joins us from Abu Dhabi. What is the latest, Paula?

[05:20:01]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brian, starting off with the attacks that we have seen overnight, it is not just in the capital. We understand that there have been attacks across much of Ukraine, more than half a dozen regions. And we know from Ukrainian sources that at this point they have a death toll of some 13 civilians with more than 50 injured.

Now, we have heard from the Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy saying that it has been a difficult night for all of Ukraine. Also pointing out that with each such attack, it is very clear which side is not wanting peace, saying the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow.

So it has been a particularly deadly night. Those 13 killed over a time period of the last 24 hours across the whole of Ukraine. But as you say, certainly in Kyiv, it has been a terrifying night for many. And it does come as we are seeing what is expected to be the largest prisoner exchange since the war started, since Russia invaded Ukraine back in February 2022.

We could, if all goes to plan, see some 2,000 prisoners from both sides, from Russia and Ukraine, being released over the next couple of days. We saw the beginning of it on Friday. We heard from Zelenskyy himself saying that some 390 arrived back in Ukraine. We saw some very emotional scenes of reunion, as some of those released had been held for some three years.

Let's listen to the Ukrainian leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The main thing of today is that the exchange took place. This is the first stage of the largest exchange that was agreed upon in Turkey. It was the only significant result of the meeting in Turkey.

And the Russians are blocking everything else. They are blocking it for now. But the return of our people is exactly what we are always working for. We will definitely return everyone, every one of our citizens, every Ukrainian military and civilian, all Ukrainian hostages held in Russia. We must free them all.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

HANCOCKS: So this was, as you said there, agreed last week at that meeting, the first direct talks since soon after this war started between Russian and Ukrainian officials, not the leaders themselves, but lower-down officials.

And it's -- as Zelenskyy said there, it was really the only tangible piece of success, the only outcome that seemed to be positive that came from those talks. Ukraine has been calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. They did again at those discussions. But nothing has been -- there's no sign of anything becoming closer in that respect.

So even though we are seeing this very significant prisoner exchange, officials that are speaking to CNN are not hopeful that this necessarily heralds a breakthrough in anything apart from the exchange itself. Brian?

ABEL: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi for us. Paula, thank you.

For a first-hand account of what those strikes look like on the ground, I spoke with Ukrainian Parliament Member Kira Rudik, who was in Kyiv during those attacks. This is what she told me in the last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: I personally spent this night under the stairs at home, where we usually hide during such attacks. It was terrifying. It felt honestly like Armageddon. The explosions were everywhere. And right now, our hearts are with the people who were injured during these attacks.

But from my personal experience, because there was a missile hit last year right near where I live, Russians are not targeting specific places. Sometimes they are targeting civil buildings and infrastructure just to bring havoc, just to bring disaster, just to try and break our spirits, because it's very important for them.

But I can assure you once again that right now people are concentrated on helping each other, figuring if there is any help and support needed somewhere, because, again, there will be a new day and we need to stay strong.

ABEL: You describe such a horrible experience. We're grateful that you're OK. There seems to be a disconnect here. We mentioned that this weekend stands to see the biggest prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, with each side returning up to 1,000 soldiers and civilians, if all goes according to plan.

U.S. President Trump suggesting, quote, "this could lead to something big". Is that how it feels right now?

RUDIK: Well, first, we are all really elated. And I cannot imagine how families of the prisoners feel right now, but it should be fantastic that we are able to bring our people home because for us it's so important, the most important thing, to save as many lives as possible.

[05:25:16]

However, we do not believe that Putin wants peace. There has not been a fact that would support this. And he's just trying to keep the illusion that President Trump and his team has that it is possible to agree with Russia, that it is possible to continue to go on.

But I would concentrate on what have happened this night with this massive attack and many attacks before that were happening exactly at the time of negotiations, calls of President Trump to Putin, et cetera, et cetera. Russia does not want to end the war, because you know how we would know that they want to end the war? They would just stop attacking us by missiles and drones, killing people.

This is why they're trying to win some time. And winning this time is saying, yes, we can talk, yes, we can negotiate, where in truth they just want to destroy all of us. And this is what they're doing every single day and night.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ABEL: U.S. and Iranian nuclear negotiators have agreed to meet again in the near future after their fifth round of talks in Rome ended with limited progress. U.S. officials say there is still work to be done, but Iranian officials say U.S. insistence that Tehran dismantle its uranium enrichment program could collapse the talks.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for medical and other civilian purposes and says it's willing to commit to not enriching uranium to weapons grade as part of an agreement.

An Israeli airstrike in Jabalya in northern Gaza left rescuers and residents searching for victims on Friday. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says the strike killed and wounded several people. Israel has ramped up attacks in northern Gaza in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, aid is slowly trickling into some parts of Gaza after nearly three months of an Israeli blockade. Crowds desperate for food flocking to bakeries like this one in central Gaza, though many left empty-handed as it ran out of flour and bread within minutes. Aid trucks aren't even making it to northern Gaza.

Israel has recently issued evacuation warnings there. Some trucks have been held up because of limited and unsafe routes or have been looted on the way to distribution points. Israel says more than 300 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Monday, but the United Nations says that's a fraction of the aid that entered before the war.

At that time, 500 to 600 trucks came into Gaza every day.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: As the world's leading hunger assessment found, the entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine. Families are being starved and denied the very basics, all with the world watching in real time. All the aid authorized until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ABEL: New details in the shooting that killed two Israeli embassy staffers at the Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday. Investigators say the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, wore a digital video recording device on the night of the shooting. The device was recovered from his backpack when he was taken into custody inside the museum.

A law enforcement source told CNN it wasn't clear whether Rodriguez intended to live stream or post video of the attack. So far, no video has appeared on the internet, and there's no indication that video was sent to anyone. Detectives are trying to learn if someone helped him by posting a manifesto that appeared online after the shooting.

Four people are in critical condition after a knife attack in Hamburg, Germany. A total of 18 people were injured. It happened at Hamburg's central train station. German police arrested a 39-year-old woman in connection with the attacks. Investigators tell CNN they believe she acted alone.

They're looking into whether she was in a state of mental distress, and they say they're not assuming the attack was politically motivated. Police say the woman acted, quote, "apparently indiscriminately", stabbing people near her. Hamburg Central Station, the busiest passenger railway station in Germany.

The Trump administration has targeted cultural institutions as it attempts to reinvent U.S. society. The story of one iconic casualty when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:33:03]

ABEL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom, I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta.

Let's check some of today's top stories. U.S. President Donald Trump sparked a new round of economic uncertainty on Friday, threatening to impose 50 percent tariffs on all imports from the European Union starting on June 1st. Mr. Trump initially said he would not be open to a deal with the bloc, then later said he might be willing to push back the tariff's start date.

Ukraine is assessing the damage after a deadly wave of Russian strikes overnight. Officials say at least 13 people have been killed, more than 50 injured in Russian air attacks across the country. Russia unleashed the barrage as the two countries are preparing for the next phase of their largest prisoner swap of the war.

A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to ban foreign students from attending Harvard University. It comes after Harvard sued the U.S. government, saying the ban was, quote, "clear retaliation" for refusing to give in to the administration's policy demands.

The White House is pushing Harvard and other universities to make changes on campus to root out anti-Semitism, but its decision this week has left thousands of international students facing so much uncertainty.

Shreya Mishra Reddy, a student at Harvard Business School, talked to me earlier about what she's been going through.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SHREYA MISHRA REDDY, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENT: I didn't know that I'll be allowed to finally leave the campus with the tag of a Harvard alum or not. It's been really difficult up to this point because if it's still uncertain, then it doesn't -- I don't know where that leaves me, basically.

ABEL: Well, Shreya, give us some insight into what the university's outreach has been to students impacted by this. Do you know what your options are? Have they been spelled out at all? Have you had to seek out that information on your own?

REDDY: Yes. So I did talk to a few other students in different programs, and the university is in touch with them.

[05:35:00]

The university also released a statement saying that they stand with the international students and that Harvard is not Harvard without its international students, which I was really touched by. And all the international students felt a deep sense of relief reading that. But the few students that I'm in touch with, and they're from different programs, they told me that they're looking into legal recourse. They're trying to figure out what their options are when it comes to immigration. So they're trying to figure out if there is an immigration lawyer who's an expert in something like this who can help them with their legal status, seeing that they probably have to make a move really soon and maybe switch to another school.

So I know that Harvard's been in touch with us, with me, as well as with the other international students. But at this point in time, I don't know if everybody has received a confirmation on what the steps will look like moving forward for everybody who's on campus.

ABEL: Well, we do have a picture of you that we want to show our viewers, this image of you on campus. And there's a caption that you had on top of this picture. It said, "Hope. Still. Always". Is that sentiment still holding true for you right now? And what are your fears at this moment?

REDDY: Absolutely. So the picture is from last year when I was on campus attending the program in person. And I stand by what I wrote, hope, still, always, because we all believe in Harvard as an institution and in what it stands for, truth, justice, integrity, and ethics.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ABEL: The U.S. Supreme Court could soon weigh in on how much access the public has to the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE. On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay of a lower court order, which would have required DOGE to publicly disclose some of its records.

The stay will give justices time to review written briefings in the case. At issue is a government watchdog group's lawsuit demanding DOGE disclose public documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

The White House says DOGE is a presidential advisory group, not a federal agency, and therefore should not be subject to the act. DOGE has garnered calls for more oversight after Elon Musk directed it to slash agency budgets and fire thousands of government employees.

The White House has cut funding for what many consider a historical treasure, Boston's Museum of African American History. It's in a building where renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass once held crucial meetings.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty went to Boston to investigate.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

ALL: Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than six decades, Boston's Museum of African-American History has been a connection to the past, inspiring students like 7th grader Excel Alabi.

EXCEL ALABI, 7TH GRADER, CODMAN ACADEMY: I realize that like so many people have fought for us, fought for our freedom.

SERFATY (voice-over): The museum is a 200-year-old African meeting house, where former slaves and abolitionists like Frederick Douglass once spoke.

MICHAELAH MARSHALL, 7TH GRADER, CODMAN ACADEMY: I feel it. Seeing it like in person better than seeing it on screen or on a paper.

DR. NOELLE TRENT, PRESIDENT & CEO, MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY: You get to touch history and engage with history.

SERFATY (voice-over): But school programs like this one may themselves soon be history, after the Trump administration sent the museum's CEO a letter saying its grants, quote, "no longer serves the interests of the United States".

TRENT: I will forever remember that line. How is the fight against slavery a conflict that literally affected everything from the writing of the declaration to the Constitution through the Civil War that literally divided the country and us not offering a perspective on that story, not in the interest of the United States?

SERFATY (voice-over): In April, the museum's $500,000 grant from the federal government was abruptly canceled, money which was supposed to be used for school field trips and educational programs. And it didn't end there. Corporate support started drying up after Trump took office, which the museum blames on anti-DEI sentiment.

SERFATY: When you received that letter, what was your reaction?

TRENT: I was really shocked.

SERFATY (voice-over): This museum is not alone. The administration has proposed eliminating the agencies that dole out the grants, the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities. And in the last two months, the White House has pulled tens of millions of dollars in funding from cultural groups across the country, affecting a music program for young children in Nebraska, a young readers program in South Dakota, and the National History Day competition, valuable programs for kids now wrestling with cutbacks or even closure.

JAMES GROSSMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: The Department of Government Efficiency canceled these grants, not the NEH staff. Nobody was involved who actually knew what they were talking about.

SERFATY (voice-over): These changes are an effort by Trump to exert more control over the nation's cultural fabric.

TRUMP: We will teach our children to love our country, to honor our history. [05:40:03]

SERFATY (voice-over): And drastically shrink the size of the federal government. Many Conservatives have long advocated such cuts, arguing arts and humanities programs are a waste of taxpayer money.

SERFATY: Why should taxpayers still be on the hook for this?

TRENT: It's a joint investment in our community. Your taxpayer dollars don't always go just to what you can immediately put your hands on, but it also goes into the things that affect your daily lives in sort of very subtle ways.

DR. DERRICK CIESLA, HEAD OF SCHOOL, CODMAN ACADEMY: It would be a tremendous loss for our students, because a lot of our students wouldn't experience this in any other way.

SERFATY (voice-over): Including Axel Alibi (ph), who says she learned something about the Civil War she never learned in school.

ALABI: Teenagers were going to war just to fight for rights because their families were slaves. Like that really stuck to me.

SERFATY: So you made a direct connection --

ALABI: Yes.

SERFATY: -- teenagers (ph) your age?

ALABI: Yes, I think that was like really amazing. Like, high schoolers going to war just to fight for rights.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SERFATY (on-camera): And there are battles being played out in the courts right now to try to get the funding restored that the administration continues to fight against. Meantime, as all of this is happening, CNN has also learned that the administration is redirecting some of that money that was pulled in those NEH grants, and they're putting it towards the President's proposed National Garden of Americans Heroes Project, a sculpture garden that will cost millions.

ABEL: Sunlen, thank you.

Some Americans are trading in Times Square for Piccadilly Circus, planning to move to the United Kingdom in record numbers. Data from the British Home Office shows applications from the U.S. grew during the state -- during the start, rather, of Donald Trump's second term.

To be clear, the number of applicants may seem modest at a bit more than 1900, but that's the highest level since 2004. Cross-border tax experts say some Americans cite various reasons for wanting to leave, including the U.S. political climate and taxes.

But the U.K. is not making things easy. The government says it will toughen requirements for legal migration, and it's extending the wait time for newcomers to claim British citizenship.

Eight people have been found guilty by a court in Paris for their involvement in the multimillion-dollar robbery of Kim Kardashian. Coming up, why all of them will be walking free.

Plus, new arrests tied to a jailbreak in New Orleans. Police say they've arrested accomplices who helped 10 men escape. Ahead, the latest on the investigation and the manhunt for the remaining escapees.

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[05:45:37]

ABEL: In a briefing on Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the business jet that crashed into a residential area in San Diego on Thursday didn't have a flight data recorder. They are still trying to determine if a cockpit voice recorder was present.

Before the crash, there were warnings that some airport lighting was out, lighting which could be critical for finding the runway in poor weather conditions. As CNN reported previously, the automated weather reporting system also was not functioning. However, the pilot didn't report any problems to air traffic control or declare an emergency.

Police say they've arrested seven people suspected of helping 10 inmates escape from a New Orleans jail. Five of the escapees now back behind bars, and there's a manhunt for the remaining five. CNN's Ryan Young has the latest.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That manhunt certainly continues as police and federal authorities look for the five suspects that are still on the run. There were 10 total initially, but five have been captured. And of course, now they're hoping that tips from the public helped lead them to the five other suspects.

But what we do know is a fifth person has been arrested and accused of helping one of the suspects after they were released. So that's something we're paying attention to. We know the New Orleans Police Department actually used their tactical squad to bring that last person in.

And on top of that, the New Orleans Parish D.A.'s office asked the sheriff's office to cooperate with forensic audits and putting forth DNA evidence or fingerprints or any other phone calls and emails surrounding the situation. So you can see this investigation continues on that side of it.

Crimestoppers has been very active, and this is a holiday weekend. So we know the New Orleans Police Department will have more patrols around Bourbon Street, especially with all the tourists that'll be flowing in town during this holiday weekend.

But right now, this active manhunt has a lot of questions still left to be answered. During this investigation, a source has told us they found electric tremors nearby the hole where the inmates escaped. And as we talked to the former sheriff of this area, he says there had to be massive amounts of failure for all 10 to be able to escape, not only that cell, but then to get to the next door before getting outside.

More arrests are expected, according to our source. It's a story that we continue to follow.

ABEL: Ryan, thank you.

Eight people have been found guilty and sentenced in the trial of 10 people who were accused of robbing Kim Kardashian in Paris in 2016. Nearly $10 million in cash and jewelry was stolen at gunpoint by a gang while she was in her hotel room.

In a statement, the reality TV star called it the most terrifying experience of her life. The hall included her $4 million engagement ring from then-husband Kanye West, which was never recovered. The judge issuing multiple prison sentences, but the guilty walked free due to time served during pre-trial detention.

Kardashian thanked French authorities for pursuing justice.

Singer-songwriter Billy Joel says he has a rare health condition. Coming up, how his diagnosis has impacted his career and the possible long-term impacts the condition could have on his health.

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ABEL: Troubling news for fans of The Piano Man. Billy Joel canceling all of his upcoming tour dates. The 17 concerts being dropped stretch into next year in the U.S., Canada, Scotland, and England. The five- time Grammy winner is seeking treatment for what's described as a very rare brain disorder.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has more on his diagnosis.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We're talking about something known as normal pressure hydrocephalus. So people have heard of hydrocephalus, maybe. That is something you typically associate with kids, with babies, water on the brain.

What it really is, and take a look at these images here, is an increase in fluid in these normal fluid-filled spaces in the brain. Now, again, you typically associate it with children, but it can happen in adults as well, typically older adults, typically people over the age of 65. So when you look at these images here on the left, that is sort of a normal brain. The image on the right, you can see that those black, sort of darker areas in the center of the brain, those are the ventricles. And they are bigger. They are filled with more fluid.

Typically, that happens because the brain around those ventricles starts to shrink a bit, and the ventricles sort of expand to fill that space. This isn't something that happens commonly, but it is something that happens and is often associated with very classic symptoms.

People may have difficulty with walking and their balance. They may have difficulty with their bladder control overall. And they may have some cognitive difficulties, memory problems. A lot of times, this is a mimic for things like Alzheimer's or even Parkinson's disease.

People go into the hospital. They get this scan because they are having symptoms. And sometimes they see something like this normal pressure hydrocephalus.

Now, if somebody has this, the good news is that it is potentially very treatable. Sometimes you put a needle in the lower back, something called a lumbar puncture. You drain fluid, the fluid from the brain and the spinal cords all circulating around together.

You drain some of that fluid. And sometimes the patient starts to feel better pretty quickly. Their balance improves, their bladder control improves, their overall cognition improves. If that is the case, then what surgeons -- and I do this procedure myself -- what surgeons will do is sometimes put a catheter into the brain, into that fluid filled space, and then drain that fluid to another place in the body, usually in the abdomen. That is called a shunt, and that is a more permanent solution.

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So that may be what Billy Joel is sort of thinking about now, talking to his doctors about, but it is, again, a potentially, it's rare, but potentially a very treatable condition.

ABEL: Sanjay, thank you.

In the NBA playoffs, the Indiana Pacers are now up two games to zero against the New York Knicks. The Pacers stunning the Madison Square Garden crowd with another victory Friday night. The series now heads to Indianapolis.

And later today, the Minnesota Timberwolves will try to claw their way back into contention against the Thunder. Oklahoma City, leading their Western Conference Finals two games to zero.

Kermit the Frog delivering the commencement address at the University of Maryland this week. The star of the Muppets donned a cap and gown to speak to the graduating class of 2025. He paid tribute to Muppet creator, Jim Henson and Henson's wife, Jane, the pair meeting in a puppetry class at the university in 1954.

Kermit also spoke about three things close to his heart -- finding your people, taking a leap together and making connections.

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KERMIT THE FROG, FILM AND TV STAR: If you're with your people and you won't have to do it alone because life is not a solo act. No, it's not. It's a big, messy, delightful ensemble piece, especially when you're with your people.

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ABEL: Kermit advised the graduating class that life is like a movie to write your own ending and keep believing. So true.

Thank you for joining us on CNN Newsroom. I'm Brian Abel. For our audience in North America, CNN This Morning is up next. And for the rest of the world, it's African Voices Changemakers.

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KERMIT THE FROG: Esteemed professors, proud parents, families, friends, fighting Terps and fellow amphibians --

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