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CNN This Morning
India And Pakistan Exchange Retaliatory Strikes; 30M People Under Flood Threat Across East Coast; U.S. And Chinese Officials Meet For Trade Talks In Switzerland; Newark Mayor Released After Arrest At ICE Detention Center; Pope Leo XIV Faces Comparisons To Pope Francis; Victim's Sister Creates A.I. Video Of Her Brother For Court Hearing; Ukraine And European Allies Call For 30-Day Truce With Russia Starting Tomorrow. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired May 10, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
AARON LEIS, CO-FOUNDER, DIY CAVE: The demographics are kind of shocking. They range from what you would expect like the grizzle- haired old workmen all the way down to children and families. Everybody eventually comes down here and wants to be a maker.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Victor Blackwell. We're starting with that breaking news. Pakistan says 11 people are dead including a child. India says a local government official is dead after retaliatory strikes between the two countries.
Now, Pakistan's military says it fired off rockets targeting India and India's administered Kashmir. India said it effectively responded to Pakistan's attacks. Now, it's claiming that Pakistan has targeted places of worship like a Hindu temple. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with his security chiefs. Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he's offered to help mediate the escalating conflict.
CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is following all the developments for us. He is in Islamabad. What's the latest?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Victor, it feels as if there's sort of a pause for diplomacy at the moment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling opposite numbers on both sides of the divide here, offering to mediate between them, significant. That's the first time the U.S. has done that. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister also reaching out here. We've heard the Turkish foreign minister also reaching out.
So, there does seem to be this diplomatic push. But underscoring all of this there's a deep mistrust between India and Pakistan and the issues are very, very deep. I mean, not least the emotive issues of saying that a temple has been struck and just a couple of days ago the allegations were that India had hit mosques, religious seminaries on this side of the border, so it's very emotive stuff.
But I think you get a sense of how it's being framed by the political leaders and the militaries on both sides. The prime minister here saying today that the country had delivered a resounding response hitting eight air bases, India's air bases, hitting a number of Indian army military posts in Indian-controlled administered Kashmir, and saying that the blood of the innocent had been avenged.
They've been calling for that in parliament recently. And then the foreign minister here saying, look, we don't want to escalate this as long as -- as long as India doesn't. And on the Indian side, military spokesperson there saying that they don't want to escalate as long as Pakistan doesn't. It all sounds super good, super easy, super simple. But one of the big issues here and that it's existential for Pakistan is that India's already said that it's pulled out of this major water treaty that cuts off vital water to Pakistan. So, how do you resolve that. That's the heavy lift for Secretary Rubio or anyone else who's going to get in and mediate here.
So, you know, I think people are hoping right now, but as we saw last night things flare and flash and go off very big in a very big way very quickly with a lot of emotion. So, you know, at the moment, you just have to say window of diplomacy looks good but let's see what happens later.
BLACKWELL: Yes, pause for diplomacy is better than the alternative. Nic Robertson for us there in Islamabad, thanks so much.
Let's discuss now the implications of all of this with CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger. He's also the New York Times White House National Security Correspondent. David, good morning to you.
So, Pakistan's foreign minister says that if India does not retaliate then we will -- we will stop here. But with India now confirming the death of a government official and claiming that Pakistan is targeting religious sites. Is that plausible that this stops here?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think it's plausible and that's why you're seeing this flurry of diplomacy. I also think, Victor, it's essential. I mean, we've got two sets of targets here you've got to think about in their -- in their critical roles for both these countries. Obviously, the religious sites and all of the emotions that brings up, and that's what the escalation of the past couple of days have been about.
But when India hit Pakistan yesterday, for the first time, they went after critical military sites, three of them in particular, and one of them in Rawalpindi just outside of Islamabad. One of the major air bases that Pakistan has and not far. I know this area from past reporting pretty close to where Pakistan keeps its nuclear command authority.
And of course, the Pakistani fear in all of these and the part that no one wants to mention out loud all that much is Pakistan's deep fear of basically nuclear decapitation, that they wouldn't be able to use the nuclear weapons that they have invested in so much over the past 30 years or so. So, there's a lot of sort of quiet behind the scenes fortunately not public nuclear signaling going on here that basically is saying don't push me.
[07:05:23]
BLACKWELL: What do you make of the progression of the U.S. or toward this eventual mediation offer? It started with President Trump saying that's a shame. Then he added they should stop it. And now we've got the Secretary of State saying, all right, we will come in and help you stop this. What's your assessment of that?
SANGER: Well, it's a lot less activist than what we've seen the United States do in previous India-Pakistan blowups like this. If you think back to say 2001 when there was a similar confrontation, this one has gotten pretty severe. Colin Powell, other senior U.S. officials -- this was early in the Bush Administration -- made sure that they were in Delhi or Islamabad just about every day of the worst days of the conflict.
BLACKWELL: All right, I think he's back. We had a bit of a technical glitch but David's back. I saw him in the preview monitor. He's good.
David, let me -- let me move on to this question here. Because there is the offer from the U.S., there's also an offer from China to -- they say that they vowed to participate in ending this. China has a very close connection to Pakistan, providing more than 80 percent of their weapons imports over the last several years. So, what role if any can they play in this if they're so close to Pakistan? I mean, they wouldn't be seen as a just fair arbiter coming into this at all, would they?
SANGER: No, they wouldn't be. And you know, I think that -- you know, China obviously and India have had their own conflicts along the way and particularly over the border. So, while I can understand that the Chinese are trying to step into these more the way they did with the Saudis and the Iranians a number of months ago, I'm not sure they would be successful in this case.
BLACKWELL: Yes. There's also -- you know the U.S. says that they want to help to mediate, to deescalate this. Their record on de-escalation as of late of this administration is not good. I mean, de-escalating Russia's war on Ukraine or de-escalating the Israel-Hamas war. The president even saying before the inauguration, I can end these conflicts in 24 hours. This would never have happened if I were president. Well, this is happening while he's president.
Is any of that reality the result of what we're seeing in the style of offer that's coming from the U.S. that we'll come in and help but no guarantees the -- like we heard from the president leading into the inauguration?
SANGER: Well, Victor, I think that the key here is what you heard from Vice President Vance yesterday who basically said, we don't want this to happen, we don't want it to escalate, but essentially it's not our problem. And that's just a very different view than the United States has made before.
And you know, fact of the matter is when you've got two countries that are doing this who together have more than 400 nuclear weapons, first of all, it becomes everybody's problem, and secondly, it wouldn't keep itself just atmospherically to India and Pakistan. So, you know, I think the bigger question and I think I may have dropped out when we said this is why are they not taking the far more activist view that got taken during the Bush Administration when you saw so many officials during a similar crisis actually make sure they were in Islamabad or in Delhi trying to work this actively, not over the phone.
BLACKWELL: All right, David Sanger, we'll see if that is the next iteration of the U.S. involvement here. Thanks so much.
So, this weekend, parts of the East Coast could be in for a downpour. Right now, more than 30 million people are facing flood threats. And some areas, this could see some risk of this lasting for several days. CNN's Allison Chinchar joins me now.
You reminded me that tomorrow is Mother's Day. I'm all prepped for it. I just forgot in the moment. And it could rain out.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Rains for a lot of people.
CHINCHAR: Right. So, the rain in the Northeast should end later today. So, mom's up there, you'll be much drier tomorrow. It's the southeast where --
BLACKWELL: The Southern moms.
CHINCHAR: Yes. It's going to be a -- it's going to be a soggy weekend, yes. And even then into next week too because this is really going to linger over the next several days. So, you've got two spots here. You've got the rain in the northeast and the rain in the southeast.
[07:10:09]
Let's begin where it's going to wrap up here hopefully soon. Most of these showers are slow but will continue to slide off to the north and east as we go through the rest of the day, and most of them gone with the exception of maybe Northern Maine by tonight.
Now, it's down to the south. We've had even some strong thunderstorms mixed into some of these areas. But this low-pressure system is just going to kind of sit tight for several days. And that's going to be a problem for a lot of these areas because it's not just rain today, it's tomorrow, it's Monday, it's Tuesday, and in some cases for a few spots, it's even going to be on Wednesday. So, this is going to linger.
The concern there is the flood potential because you're just getting so much rain over a prolonged period of time. So, here's the flood risk for today. Again, you can see a lot of states here, but there's also a flood risk for Sunday, and even Monday. And you notice now that it starts to expand, you're looking at a lot more areas that have the potential for the heavy rain and flooding because now you're looking at day two and day three.
And you may not see it on the map here but we're also going to see a flood potential for Tuesday and Wednesday as well because it's going to carry through.
The Northeast, however, much different conditions. If you notice by tonight, all of this rain really kind of ends with the exception for a few folks by early tomorrow morning.
BLACKWELL: All right, thank you.
Happening now, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, they're in Switzerland holding crucial trade negotiations with China. Chinese state media says the talks began last hour. Now, this is the highest level trade talk between the two nations since President Donald Trump announced the 145 percent tariffs on China.
Bessent says the talks this weekend are unlikely to result in a deal but the tariffs have reached such a high level he says they're unsustainable. But the trade between the two countries, that's dropped off dramatically in the last month. After negotiations were announced, Trump seemed to soften his stance on tariffs for China. He said in a Truth Social post that Friday -- on Friday rather that China must import more U.S. goods. He also said that 80 percent tariffs on China seems right but it's up to Scott Bessent.
We're covering all of this for you with CNN's Camila DeChalus in D.C., CNN's Marc Stewart in Beijing.
Camila, you're up first. What does the White House plan to get out of just this first interaction, these meetings just over this weekend?
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Victor, the stakes are very high for these talks between U.S. and Chinese officials. We're told that U.S. officials are really coming into this meeting hoping to deescalate tensions between the two countries and really set this tone on whether both parties will be willing towards the future to really try to finalize this deal.
And as you mentioned, Victor, President Trump himself has seemed to really appear to shift his tone when talking about Chinese tariffs and the tariffs that he wants to place on the country. Just as you mentioned, yesterday, he put out a post saying that he's willing to lower it to 80 percent. And he also had something kind of friendly words to say about the Chinese president himself. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We lost $1 trillion last year with China, $1 trillion. So, if you're not going to do business with them, you're not going to lose $1 trillion. But we lost -- I just want -- I want China to do great. You know, I'm very friendly with President Xi. I have great respect for him and for China. But we can't continue to allow them to do what they did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DECHALUS: Now, Victor, it's important to note that even though Trump is signaling that he's willing to lower the initial tariffs that he's placed at 145 percent to 80 percent, that is still a very high number. And economists are worried about the negative impacts it's going to have on U.S. consumers and businesses across the country. But it's also really important to note, Victor, that this announcement about these talks between U.S. and Chinese officials is coming right after President Trump just announced a trade pact with the United Kingdom.
Now, we do not know all the final details about this deal or this pact, but it's really we're told that it's about a framework and it's really going to impact the auto industries, really impact cars and steel. And we're told that they're going to try to finalize these details in the upcoming days.
BLACKWELL: All right. It may take more than days though. Camila DeChalus, thanks so much.
Let's go now to Marc Stewart in Beijing. What's Beijing's answer to the same question? What they expect to get out of these talks and their messaging to the U.S. and to China as well, right?
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Victor. China is making it very clear that yes this is about economics. It's about money, but it's also about ego and respect. And Beijing in recent weeks has gone out of its way to make it clear that it is not the one that initiated these talks, these conversations. It's something that came after several invites, several messages, several knocks on the door if you will from the United States. So, it's only meeting after the insistence of U.S. officials.
And as far as what Beijing expects out of it, one analyst told me very, very low expectations. We are seeing a lot of messaging in China from both the government as well as on social media for China to be firm and to be strong and hold its stance against the United States, even asking international partners to stand up against the United States as it bullies and does not respect these principles of free trade.
[07:15:33]
In fact, it was just today as these trade talks were beginning that we saw a cartoon that was posted on Chinese social media, on the social media account of CCTV which is the state broadcaster. And in that cartoon you see there a caricature which appears to be Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent in what looks like a Walmart store with a sign pointing towards Switzerland with a Mandarin phrase on top saying the stress of the U.S. And there's a caption that suggests the United States needs to reflect on how it should engage with China given the high prices that American consumers are facing and the stress since these tariffs were put into place against American goods.
Now, as far as what China wants to hear, well, it has made it clear that it feels that these tariffs need to be dropped immediately. We've heard the White House suggest perhaps dropping these tariffs to around 80 percent. That may not be good enough for Beijing. That we're just going to have to see. That could just be the opening discussion. But the thought is that what happened today may set the stage for more conversations along the line.
And Victor, China eventually is going to have to take this very seriously because as the United States economy is suffering, China is also facing some very significant economic headwinds.
BLACKWELL: All right, Marc Stewart, we'll look for a readout of the meeting in Switzerland. They are again talking right now. Thanks so much.
Still ahead, the Mayor of Newark, he has been released this morning after an arrest at a detention center. We'll have more on the fallout. Plus, a man was killed in a road rage incident, but thanks to artificial intelligence he addressed his convicted killer in court. We'll take a look at how A.I. is changing the court system.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:22:12]
BLACKWELL: Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka is back home this morning after being arrested outside a federal immigration detention center in his city on Friday. He was there protesting against the opening of a detention center the Trump Administration is using to hold migrants before deportation. Baraka says that it should not have opened because of permitting issues. After he was released, Mayor Baraka said that he did not break any laws.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAS BARAKA, MAYOR, NEWARK: We didn't do anything wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
BARAKA: And you know, this should not have happened today but it did. And it's just an example of, you know, the work that we have to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: And I'll be speaking with Mayor Baraka in about 45 minutes this morning on "FIRST OF ALL."
Joining me now to discuss is Julia Manchester, reporter for The Hill. Julia, before we get to Newark, I want to ask you about a photo, some breaking news that happened. President Zelenskyy and the European leaders they're now meeting in Kyiv. They called President Trump. Ukrainian foreign minister called it a fruitful call. Zelenskyy and the E.U. leaders, you see here in this photo, they're on with him. They're pushing for this 30-day ceasefire starting tomorrow.
There has been, Julie, a bit of a rhetorical or tonal shift from the White House since the meeting at the Pope's -- the late Pope's funeral. What's the significance of this call that we see this photo of? JULIA MANCHESTER, REPORTER, THE HILL: Well, I think it's incredibly
significant because it shows I think that Ukrainian leaders, European leaders are relieved quite frankly at this tonal shift at least rhetorically from President Trump and his administration. You know, Victor, it wasn't that long ago that we were hearing from the Trump Administration that they were floating the idea of the U.S. essentially walking away from these talks and leaving it to the rest of the parties involved whether it's Europe, Ukraine, and Russia.
So, this is you know, of major significance and I think it shows in many ways that, you know, Ukraine and its allies are very much putting up this public image that the United States in many ways is siding with them and putting more pressure on Russia.
BLACKWELL: Yes. But just -- now to Newark. With just 12 hours or so almost from the mayor's release, Mayor Ras Baraka, what's the net impact of what happened? And I had Errol Louis on last hour who said, you know, both sides got a little bit of what they want.
MANCHESTER: Right. Right. I mean, look, in many ways, with this the Newark mayor being arrested, it you know, shines a lot of light on this issue. This is obviously, you know, in the bigger context of the immigration debate here in the United States.
And you know, it comes as Democrats are really trying to use this as an issue to push back on the Trump Administration as the Democratic Party as a whole tries to find its voice, tries to find a clear and cohesive message -- excuse me -- in pushing back against the administration. and it seems that they found that way or could have found that way in terms of immigration.
[07:25:18]
You have the Newark Mayor being arrested. You have these two members of Congress who were also there protesting at the ICE detention facility. This of course comes weeks after we saw Members of Congress including Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen travel to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Of course that Maryland man who was, you know, deported from the United States.
Now, you know, on the other side of this, you're going to see Republicans arguing that in their words this is a political stunt from Democrats. That they are pushing back against, you know, what they would call national security, you know, measures taken by the Trump Administration. We've also seen Republican lawmakers including Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna traveling to El Salvador to meet with that country's leaders to talk about MS-13 and the gang violence plaguing that country and other countries in South America.
So, I think this is really playing out, you know, in terms of the broader political messaging conversation, in terms of immigration. This is an example of that.
BLACKWELL: CNN's reporting is that President Trump himself he's personally involved with these conversations about potentially suspending habeas corpus which is the right of a person in this country to challenge their detention in court. Are Republicans in Congress going to be on board with that?
MANCHESTER: Well, you know, we saw these reports surface Friday, so I'm sure on Monday and Tuesday when they're back in session, we'll be asking them about it. But look, I mean, I think it's going to be vary from Republican to Republican because this once again, you know, immigration very, very big issue for Republicans. It's an issue that President Trump, one of them that he arguably won on in 2024. But it's the question of does this go too far? I mean, this sets him up for a very big legal battle, you know, with the courts.
And then on top of that, you have you know, some -- you know, some more conservative-leaning legal experts who are pushing back against this as well. So, you know, I think it fits in with the narrative of President Trump pushing back on the legal system and that conflict that's going on. I think it's interesting that Stephen Miller, adviser to President Trump, said that he hopes the courts do the "right thing." I think a lot of critics would say that it's not up to the executive branch to determine, you know, what the right thing for the courts is to do, but we'll see. I mean, this is another question that Republicans are going to, you know, be asked about.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Recent history would suggest that they are going to go with whatever the White House or the vast majority of them will go with the White House's decision. But there used to be a line that if you encroach upon what is the Congressional purview, then that is where there is some division. Even in the moments in history where the writ of habeas corpus has been suspended, the president went to Congress for authorization. We'll see if any of that applies now.
Julia Manchester, thanks so much.
Still ahead, Pope Leo XIV, he takes on leadership of the Catholic Church. We take a look at his packed schedule. And an international student detained after writing a pro-Palestinian newspaper column has scored a major legal victory. We have details of that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:33:10]
BLACKWELL: A Turkish doctoral student who was arrested after writing a pro-Palestinian op-ed is now out of custody.
Rumeysa Ozturk spent six weeks in Louisiana in a detention center there before a judge ordered her immediate release yesterday, without travel restrictions or ICE monitoring. The Tufts University student was taken into custody by immigration officers in March. You remember this video.
She was accused by the Trump administration of participating in activities in support of Hamas, but there was never any evidence of her alleged activities presented in court.
According to a new report, gas prices in California could climb to $8 a gallon by the end of next year, USC's Marshall School of Business says that projected spike is tied to the planned shutdown of two major oil refineries, adding rising fuel regulations and taxes and costly imports and prices could keep rising.
One long-time gas station owner, says that he's already had to raise prices just to break even. The governor's office says steps are being taken to keep prices in check.
Newly elected pope, Leo XIV has a full schedule over the next days and weeks. Today, he is expected to pay a visit to the cardinals who elected him. Tomorrow, he will lead his first Sunday mass as pontiff CNN's Atika Shubert is joining me now live from Rome.
A lot of folks already drawing comparisons between Pope Leo, Pope Francis. What are you hearing about the two of them and how they compare and contrast on tone and leadership style?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not least of all, his own brother, who said he would follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis. But as you can imagine, everyone's trying to parse all of his words.
Look at -- look at what his homilies. Look at what he's wearing even to try and find some clue of what the -- what the tone will be, and what direction he will set for the church.
[07:35:07]
What we do know is that, for example, from his homily yesterday, he -- with -- in his mass with his cardinals, he asked the cardinals to be small, to act with humility, and to continue the missionary work of the church.
This very much echoes the work of Pope Francis, for example. But at the same time, it's very clear that Pope Leo is trying to define his own papacy. You know, when we saw him come out on the balcony, for example, he was wearing very different clothes from Pope Francis, clothes that really projected the authority, the traditional authority of the church.
So, all of these things, people are looking to see what he will do next. I should just update quickly, he has just concluded his meeting with the cardinals now, and they have just begun the process, really, of kind of going over everything that was said in the general congregations right before the conclave.
And he said specifically that he chose the name of Leo XIII. Because -- excuse me, Leo XIV, because he was inspired by Leo -- Pope Leo XIII and his social reforms in the Industrial Revolution.
And he specifically says that in this day and age with the digital revolution, with A.I., this is something that he wants to see the church work towards -- work.
So, this is what I think we'll start to see more of in his papacy.
BLACKWELL: We will certainly expect to hear more from him in the coming days. Atika Shubert for us there. Thanks so much.
Still ahead, a likely legal first, a man confronts his killer from beyond the grave, thanks to artificial intelligence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:37]
BLACKWELL: Christopher Pelkey was killed in a road rage incident in 2021 in Arizona. But in what could be the first of its kind, use of technology, he spoke to the court during sentencing for the man who killed him. His family used artificial intelligence to give him a voice at the sentencing. And A.I. victim impact statement, if you will.
CNN spoke with his sister yesterday on why she did this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACEY WALES, BROTHER KILLED IN ROAD-RAGE INCIDENT: The imprint that he left was one of Thanksgiving, thankfulness, forgiveness. And so, I just wanted to think, well, what would he say in this moment? And there's no way that I could echo that, because it's not how I felt.
And then, I thought to myself, well, why can't I just write my opinion piece on what he would say, and I thought it would be more impactful if we brought to life the A.I.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The man convicted of manslaughter, was sentenced to 10-1/2 years, and now legal ethics questions are surrounding this case and the use of A.I. in the sentencing hearing.
Joining me now is Charlotte Alexander, professor of law and ethics at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business. Thanks for coming in.
CHARLOTTE ALEXANDER, PROFESSOR OF LAW AND ETHICS, GEORGIA TECH SCHELLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And so, the use of A.I. Let's start with first, this is not in the part of the trial where it determines innocence of guilt. Right?
ALEXANDER: That's right, this was in the sentencing phase of the trial.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Yes.
ALEXANDER: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And so, what difference does that make as it relates to some of the ethical questions of the impact on the judge?
ALEXANDER: Sure. Well, the -- what we think of as the traditional rules of evidence, where you hear objections for hearsay and that kind of thing, are looser during that phase, and there is a lot of latitude for people who felt the impact of that crime to express that impact to the judge, so the judge can take that in as part of his or her sentencing decision making.
BLACKWELL: On appeals, how much does this matter that they use this technology? And they weren't his words, obviously.
ALEXANDER: Right. Well, we don't know yet, because this is really new, and we don't know whether an appeal would be filed in this case.
I think the core legal question here is whether there was what we think of as prejudice or a due process impact on the rights of the defendant, where the judge might have been overly swayed by this particular statement, given that it was A.I. generated.
BLACKWELL: Do we have a portion of that? A sound bite we can play to see? Hear it is. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER PELKEY, A.I. GENERATED: This Here is a true representation of who I was, you know, not how the courtroom portrayed me. So, I would like to make my own impact statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: I mean, that's remarkable just to watch. Typically, having watched this phase of the trial, the impact statements, any relative or friend who wants to come up and speak is allowed to. Do you expect we'll see more of this now that it's happened?
ALEXANDER: Well, I know that Arizona, particularly the judiciary there, has formed a committee to try to establish some rules around this sort of thing, and not just A.I. and sentencing, but generally in the courts.
So, my bet, if I were to place a bet, is that we probably will not see as much. I think that there are a lot of concerns being raised here about the ability for this sort of technology to create this sort of out of -- sort of emotional impact on the judge, which might sway the judge's decision making, as we were saying before.
So, I would suspect that we're going to see some regulations to tighten the use of this sort of technology.
BLACKWELL: Yes, and it's interesting that the way in which they presented the deceased, here, the victim was just against a back plain white background. It could be him as a child. It could be versions of him. It could put him at the crime scene.
ALEXANDER: Right. And I think that this particular video, the central message, was about forgiveness.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
ALEXANDER: Which is interesting here. It wasn't about revenge and retribution. But I think to your point, even though the video contained a disclaimer and said, this is A.I., it still has a real impact.
And so, I think we want to put some guardrails around the use of technology in this kind of way.
[07:45:01]
BLACKWELL: Yes, it is still very compelling. Charlotte Alexander, thanks so much.
ALEXANDER: You're welcome.
BLACKWELL: All right. The "BREAKING NEWS" out of Kyiv. President Zelenskyy and European leaders are calling for a 30-day truce with Russia, starting tomorrow. During this meeting, described as an extraordinary show of force, Zelenskyy and the leaders called President Donald Trump.
And let's get to CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. His reporting from Kyiv there with the latest. What do you know?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, clearly, this is a momentous occasion in the process of this three- year war now. We have, it seems, 20 nations, according to posts from Ukrainian officials on social media, calling, as they have in the past, for an unconditional ceasefire for 30 days.
The key difference here is that one top Ukraine official has suggested this should start as early as Monday.
Now, that would essentially make this which has been called for by multiple senior European leaders here. The French president Emmanuel Macron, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, all here together in Kyiv, a picture of them sat around a telephone, just described as a historic moment.
Clearly, it seems, with some backing from the United States, here. They are suggesting a cease-fire, which is due to potentially start at the end of the weekend. It will be a continuation of the cease fire, unilaterally called by Moscow, which Ukraine says they haven't even respected themselves.
But it is clearly a bid here by Ukraine and its European allies with U.S. backing for some sort of sustained month-long cease-fire.
Essentially a moment in which they are throwing the suggestion that Russia is interested in peace, back at Moscow to see if they are willing to put money where their mouth is.
Now, there are many details that if this does indeed come into effect, we do not necessarily have the answers to about how this might be monitored, who would call violations, what exactly the orders to Ukrainian troops in their trenches might indeed be, but we do know, and this is a stark change now, is there is a clear call for a unilateral -- sorry, for unconditional ceasefire for 30 full days to start, potentially as early as Monday.
So, a stark series of messages here of unity amongst Ukraine's European allies, with U.S. backing. They have always wanted what they call the U.S. backstop to progress in peace initiatives here. This is indeed also asking Russia to respect an initiative from the White House that call for unconditional, 30-day ceasefire was made by the United States and Ukraine together nearly two months ago now, and has since been something you come in and said it will really assess when it's had answers to questions about nuances.
That's not a yes. So, definite diplomatic movement here a remarkable moment, certainly, and a huge question from Moscow to answer as to whether it's going to adhere to this cease fire as early as potentially 36 hours away.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Certainly, after we saw the European leaders several times meeting without the U.S. to now have that call with the U.S. president, that tonal shift after the meeting at St Peter's Basilica, we'll see how far this goes.
Nick Paton Walsh for us there in Kyiv. Thank you so much. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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[07:53:34]
After a six-year layoff, Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn had a successful return to skiing and now has her eyes set on more.
CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes, joins me now for her inspirational comeback.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Victor, you know that Tom Brady in football, LeBron in basketball. Now, Lindsey Vonn in skiing. Just ageless wonders. And you know, Vonn, she concluded her comeback season a little more than a month ago, taking second place in a World Cup super-G race.
And at 40 years old, Vonn is the oldest female alpine ski racer to make a podium at a World Cup race, and she was the oldest by six years. And on this week's difference makers, she tells our Amanda Davis that age just a number.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY VONN, THREE-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: At times the season that felt like it was insurmountable, the mountain that I had to climb to get back to the top. But you know, when I finally did it, I was just relieved, because all the hard work that I had put in, and my passion for what I do, it meant something.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Were you doing it to prove something to yourself or to prove something to everybody else?
VONN: I wasn't doing it to prove anything to anybody. But as the season went on, and I had so many negative voices from my peers that really hurt me.
And by the end, I knew that I could do it for myself, but I also wanted to prove it for every 40-year-old woman, you know that we are not defined by our age, we are defined by our ability and our work ethic. And I worked as hard as I could to be back to where I got to, and that's why I felt like I needed to do it, to prove to women that we could.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:55:09]
SCHOLES: Yes, and Vonn now hopes to make the U.S. Olympic team and compete in Italy in 2026. She would be doing that at 41 years old, which has never been done in women's ski racing.
And victory. I mean, just such an inspiration. Considering her age and all the injuries she went through in her career.
BLACKWELL: She certainly proven it.
SCHOLES: Yes.
BLACKWELL: All right. Andy, thanks so much. We'll be back.
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[08:00:03]
FIRST OF ALL, this has never happened to me. I've never gotten a heads-up that an interview might be in limbo, because the guess is just been arrested.
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