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CNN This Morning

Pope Leo XIV Delivers "Message Of Peace" To Thousands Of Faithful; Source: U.S.-China Trade Talks Set To Continue Today; Zelenskyy: "Ukraine Is Ready To Meet" With Russia; Putin Proposes Direct Talks With Ukraine On Thursday; India And Pakistan Manage Tense Ceasefire; Trump Involved In Discussions To Suspend Habeas Corpus. Trump Involved to Suspend Habeas Corpus; Pope Leo XIV's Ancestry; Trump Picks Jeanine Pirro for D.C. Prosecutor; Tufts University Student Back Home; NBA Semifinals. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 11, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:29]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good morning. Welcome to CNN This Morning, Sunday, May 11th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the U.S., led a crowd of more than 150,000 people in prayer this morning. Now, before the prayer, the pope spoke about the legacy of Pope Francis and his invitation to welcome and accompany young people into the church.

CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb is live in Rome. Tell us more about the message on this Good Shepherd Sunday.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, it's been a sea of cacophony and color here in St. Peter's, with bands coming in. It's been a jubilee event of bands here in St. Peter's. They've been playing songs, and there's been a real celebratory atmosphere here in St. Peter's. And so it was appropriate that Pope Leo sang at the Regina Caeli address, which really surprised people.

He's actually got quite a good voice, and he sang that Regina Caeli prayer. And as you said, he -- before leading the prayer, there you go, you can hear some of it now.

(SINGING)

LAMB: So you heard Pope Leo's voice. It's pretty good. And before singing the prayer, he did encourage young people to consider a vocation to the priesthood and religious life, saying do not be afraid. Of course, this Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, a day when the Catholic Church prays for vocations.

Pope Leo also making a strong appeal for peace, saying never again war, calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine, and also praising the India- Pakistan ceasefire, but saying he hopes it holds. So, it's been quite a moment here in St. Peter's for Pope Leo's first Sunday prayer and address. As you said, around 150,000 people cramming into St. Peter's.

I think people were wowed by Leo's singing, but also his ability to connect in different ways. He called out pilgrims by name, singled out those who were from Dallas, Texas. That was special coming from the first American pope. So really quite a memorable moment here, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Christopher Lamb for us there, right there at St. Peter's Square. Thanks so much.

This morning, a source tells CNN that U.S. and Chinese officials are preparing for their second day of trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Right now, the U.S. has a 145 percent tariff on most imported goods from China.

CNN's Marc Stewart is with us now from Beijing. Marc, so the president has posted on social media there's a total reset negotiated in these talks. Are you hearing anything as glowing from the Chinese?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Victor, it's interesting. There's a lot of acknowledgment that these talks are taking place. But as far as any kind of specifics from either the U.S. side or from the Chinese side, nothing specific about any kind of actions or agreements that may be taking place. We are, at this point at least, lacking details.

Let me share with you more about what President Trump had to say on Truth Social after this first day of discussions between American and Chinese diplomats in Geneva. He described this as a good meeting, going on to say, "Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly but constructive manner. Great progress has been made".

Obviously a very optimistic tone, but again, no specifics. As far as what we are hearing from Chinese officials here in Beijing, nothing directly from the government. However, there was an editorial in Xinhua, which is Chinese state media, which may give us a little bit of insight into what China may be thinking.

Let me share with you some of their remarks about these talks and how it plays into some of the economic strife, some of the uncertainty, including supply chain uncertainty and the impact on the Americans -- the American economy.

[07:05:00]

They write, "It is meaningful for both sides to sit down and talk as a necessary way to resolve differences and prevent conflicts from escalating. However, the effectiveness depends on the sincerity and efforts of both parties". Going on to say, "Particularly whether the U.S. can genuinely adopt a rational and pragmatic approach."

So big themes, no specifics. And to be honest with you, it would be unlike Beijing to release any kind of specifics about an agreement until something is firm. We wouldn't necessarily hear leaks or hints about what the future may hold. China, again, keeping very diligent, maintaining its stance that unilateral tariffs should be lifted. We're also have been hearing messaging in recent days that China has been making an appeal to other nations to stand in solidarity after it says the U.S. has been acting like an economic bully and it's willing to play the long game.

Victor, if we look at the clock, it is just after 1:00 in the afternoon right now in Geneva. A lot of people are wanting some clarity. Markets will open here in Asia in just about 24 hours. Of course, small businesses, big companies, individual families.

What is said here really could dictate the roadmap for the future. So we will be watching developments certainly from Geneva, from Washington, and of course, Victor, here in Beijing.

BLACKWELL: Yes, hopefully we can get some of those specifics.

Marc Stewart for us there in Beijing, thank you.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have shrugged off demands for an immediate unconditional ceasefire starting tomorrow. European leaders and the U.S. are trying to put pressure on Putin to agree to the month-long ceasefire and the hopes, of course, is to bring an end to this three-year-long war.

Yesterday, Putin proposed direct negotiations, but he wants them done in Istanbul, and on Thursday, he made no mention of the ceasefire. Responding to Putin's speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "It's a positive sign that Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war and that Kyiv is ready for direct talks with Russia".

CNN's -- has Seb Shukla, he's following the latest in London. And we're going to start, though, with Nick Paton Walsh, he is in Kyiv. And Nick, just a moment ago, my producer told me that, you know, you were kind of off the -- out-of-the-camera lens because there is a threat that's happening now that's in direct context of this ceasefire discussion.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it's not uncommon here for there to be air-raid sirens. We had some early this morning. We've had some in the last 10 minutes. This, though, specifically the Ukrainian Air Force warning of a ballistic missile threat to the capital, Kyiv, here.

As I say, not uncommon. Every night Ukraine, with the exception of a couple of nights during Russia's unilaterally declared ceasefire in which they continue front-line fighting, every night Ukraine is hit by Russian attack drones and often ballistic missiles, too.

So that's just some context, though, for this discussion of diplomacy, which at times can feel very ethereal and detached from the gritty reality here of missiles being fired often at civilian areas. So where we are today is a European demand with Ukraine and with U.S. backing for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire has not been accepted at this point by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Indeed, in very late-night comments early this morning, indeed, he talked about how Ukraine hadn't honored previous ceasefires. Ukraine says Russia hasn't either. There's evidence, frankly, that these have been very rocky when they've been declared unilaterally, certainly in terms of Moscow's adherence to them.

He talked, too, about the need for direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and gave a date for that, Istanbul, on Thursday. Now, none of that is new. There have been talks between some parties in Istanbul in the past, and indeed, too, the idea of direct talks between the two countries has been agreed to in different types of wording by both Kyiv and Moscow.

So what Putin, I think, is suggesting is another diplomatic phase here in a country, in a capital -- sorry, in Istanbul, a city, where indeed we've seen diplomacy before. But we've heard from the French President Emmanuel Macron, who did a lot of the lifting to get us to this point of the demand for a ceasefire, speaking to President Trump in the past days many times, indeed.

He called this -- suggested this was another delaying tactic, he said in a tweet and a post on social media that there must be a ceasefire first, that you can't have negotiations while civilians are indeed being shelled by Russian bombs. And so it appears the European demand remains the same. That's been echoed by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that ceasefire first, then talks.

What we don't know yet is if, indeed, the White House, President Trump putting a very positive post out after Putin's comments last night. We don't know if that is, in fact, going to result in the massive sanctions that French President Emmanuel Macron talked about yesterday as being the consequence if Russia doesn't sign up to the ceasefire.

[07:10:16]

He said he had American backing for that. Donald Trump said he'd continue to work with Ukraine and Russia to be sure this process moves forward. We don't know the timing of when those potential consequences might kick in, or, indeed, if they'll have the same kind of hard backing that the European suggested they would in that remarkable meeting yesterday in Kyiv.

BLACKWELL: Nick Payton Walsh for us there in Kyiv, thanks so much.

Let's go now to CNN's Sebastian Shukla in London. Sebastian, the consequences, as Nick laid out, we don't know yet. What is clear is that this is not going to satisfy Europe after they set that ultimatum, that demand just yesterday.

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN INTERNATIONAL FIELD PRODUCER: Yes, I think that's right. What the Kremlin and President Putin are trying to do here is move the ball back into Western's -- the Western Europe's court here and say, look, OK, you guys are prepared to put an ultimatum on us of this ceasefire which needs to begin on Monday.

But what President Putin is doing is saying, OK, I raise your 30-day ceasefire ultimatum on Monday. I'm going to say let's have direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow, which is something, as Nick was saying, is not new but certainly hasn't happened since the early days of the invasion in February 2022.

So this is President Putin again trying to pull the rug and fool and trick the West into thinking that he is making and serious about peace and ending the war in Ukraine. And there may be some substance to that. Don't forget that the administration led by Donald Trump has been -- has kowtowed to Moscow in many ways.

You know, it sidelined Ukraine. It sidelined its European partners and held direct talks with Moscow. But then that rhetoric changed again where we saw Senator Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, come out and say, well, look, we're losing patience and the administration may be being strung on a little by the Kremlin.

And so this may be yet another ploy by Moscow to be able to say, look, no, we're serious about negotiations. But within all of this, the context and framework is so important. You can say you want to have the discussions, but so far President Zelenskyy and nobody else has ruled out attending them.

BLACKWELL: Seb Shukla for us in London, thanks so much.

There's also relief in both India and Pakistan. This tense ceasefire appears to be holding as a look at the accusations each government has against the other after a quick break.

Plus, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in President Trump's plan to end birthright citizenship. Will the court allow a plan lower courts have called blatantly unconstitutional?

Also, Taylor Swift is getting dragged into one of Hollywood's biggest feuds. Coming up, her connection to the lawsuit between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

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[07:17:49]

BLACKWELL: There's some relief this morning as this ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to be holding. People were on the streets of Pakistan celebrating once the ceasefire was announced around 5:00 p.m. in India and Pakistan. The truce ended four days of direct military strikes.

President Trump announced the ceasefire and said he was proud of the U.S. role in brokering the agreement, but contradictory claims have surfaced over the degree to which the U.S. was involved. We have teams in both countries covering all the developments for you.

CNN's Matthew Chance is reporting from New Delhi, India. Nic Robertson is in Islamabad, Pakistan. We're going to start with Matthew Chance. It didn't take very long after this latest back and forth yesterday to reach this ceasefire. What's India's view of the sustainability of it? MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's being sustained at the moment. I mean, there were reports in the hours after the ceasefire was announced of violations by both sides, but those reports have cleared up now. The situation appears to have stabilized, and it's pretty much returned to the sort of status quo ante, if you like, the situation as it was before, where it's just tense, you know, kind of standoff in that disputed territory of Kashmir.

There has been some, you know, different emphasis from the various sides on how this ceasefire was agreed. India has been playing down any American role, and there's a couple of reasons for that. First of all, there's a strong nationalist contingency inside India that would not -- you know, led by the government that wouldn't like to sort of admit that peace in this very emotional issue was imposed upon India from a power from the outside.

That's something that doesn't sit well with the nationalist sentiments here. But I think more importantly, there's a longstanding refusal by India to allow any outside party to negotiate when it comes to the Kashmir dispute. And so, you know, that's, I think, the reason why they're playing down U.S. involvement in this ceasefire negotiation.

[07:20:04]

And I think it's why it's going to be problematic moving forward as well, because President Trump has also offered to mediate in a sort of longer-term solution to the Kashmir dispute. And even though that's likely to be welcomed, you know, in Pakistan, I can tell you it will fall on deaf ears, or it's likely to fall on deaf ears here in India. And so, yes, you know, a very different set of priorities for the Indians when it comes to that disputed territory of Kashmir.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Bobby Ghosh was just on a few moments ago and said that these underlying conflicts still exist, the Kashmir, the water pact as well. And that the next interaction, that next intersection will ratchet up, which each country is willing to do.

Matthew Chance for us there in New Delhi.

Let's go now to Pakistan for the Pakistani point of view. CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson in Islamabad. What's the view there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Victor, look, I think there's a sense of quiet, calm, and relief, but part of the quiet not just because the guns have fallen silent, but we're not hearing from the big politicians. Quite simply, they're catching up on their sleep. I mean, they've had four days of living on the edge of their seats, phones pressed to their ears during the sort of diplomatic effort, trying to figure out what their best move was, when to stay calm, when to ratchet up.

They're catching up on their sleep. And I think we'll get their better reflections rather than the sort of messages of triumph and doing the right thing and thanksgiving for the country and all of that, which is deeply felt. But I think the things that are going to circle back and circle back very quickly, and they certainly will in questions coming from journalists, will be Kashmir.

And I think in that sense, it really isn't a situation where it's sort of reset to things previous and everything back to normal. Because, of course, after those 26 civilians were brutally massacred inside Indian-administered Kashmir just over two weeks ago now, one of the first things India did almost immediately was to say that it was going to abrogate the terms of the Indus Water Treaty that was agreed in 1960.

The World Bank put it together. Both sides have been -- have stuck to it. India recently, in recent months, has been trying to sort of renegotiate the terms in courts, and that's been contentious. So Pakistan was particularly blindsided, if you will, and angered to the point of feeling that this was an existential issue when India did that, two-and-a-half weeks ago.

So when the leaders wake up now, that issue that India has said that it will abrogate the terms, which means the three major rivers that India was letting the water flow from the Himalayan mountains, from Kashmir into Pakistan, the Prime Minister's been very clear, other officials in India have been very clear, it's our water, we're not going to share it, we're going to cut off the water on those rivers.

And this is huge for Pakistan. It's agriculture, we've said this so many times, it's power generation, it's existential. So I think, you know, what we're going to hear, it's not going to mean the terms of the ceasefire are going to fall apart, but what we'll begin to hear articulated by leaders when they sort of get their sleep, get up, get in their stride and put their views going forward down, because President Trump has said he looks forward to working on this issue going forward.

And we're hearing -- I think we heard from Secretary Rubio that -- or U.S. officials yesterday that there was going to be another round of meetings at a neutral location. Those details aren't fleshed out. But this core issue, the move that India took two and a half weeks ago, when the leaders here wake up, the situation is far from back to normal. Back to normal would be the water would be flowing. That's not the case.

BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson for us in Islamabad, thank you.

Two sources tell CNN that President Trump is personally involved in the talks to potentially suspend habeas corpus. My panel weighs in on what nixing the constitutional right could mean for the administration's aggressive mass deportations. That's next.

Plus, Pope Leo has a connection to another great American city, New Orleans. What we're learning about his Creole heritage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:48] BLACKWELL: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said that the Trump administration is actively looking at suspending the constitutional right for an accused person to challenge their detention in court. It's the writ of habeas corpus. If the Trump administration carries out the suspension of habeas corpus, it would be a dramatic escalation in the administration's efforts to conduct mass deportations by essentially eliminating the court's ability to rule on immigration matters.

With me now to discuss, CNN Legal Analyst Michael Moore, Former Political Reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WABE, Bill Nigut, and Columnist for TheGrio, Michael Harriot, also the author of "Black AF History", which I have at home on my coffee table.

Let me start here with you, Michael. Is it possible that the president can do this? First, without Congress, because in the past when it's happened, it's happened with the approval of Congress, with the exception of Lincoln, who did it when Congress was out of session, then they came back and said it was OK. You think it could happen?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I'm glad to be with you. You know, this is one of the scariest things that I've heard from this administration, that is to start doing away with a foundational principle like habeas corpus. I think it's unlikely he could do it without Congress. It has been done about four times in the past.

That goes back from the Civil War. And there are various other times. But it's been a very limited exercise of any type of power to do away with habeas corpus.

You know, and we heard Stephen Miller come out from the administration saying basically that this is because of an invasion, that the president has some authority to do this, because of an invasion. That's really nonsensical. This is really geared up toward acts of war, something where there's a public safety concern. The problem is it removes anyone's chance. And if they can do it for this group, the question is, who can they do it with next year? It removes anyone's chance to come in and challenge about why, in fact, they've been taken into custody of this.

BILL NIGUT, FORMER POLITICAL REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION AND FORMER POLITICAL REPORTER, WABE: One of the things that's interesting to me about this is, of course, the Supreme Court has no obligation to take up every case that they're asked to deal with. And virtually, every judge has said that Trump is out of line constitutionally in trying to pursue this.

The fact that the court is even going to go ahead and have a full hearing on this is interesting to me, Michael, and I wonder if it gives us any indication that they're taking what he might want to do seriously.

MOORE: Yes. I mean, I think you see -- I mean, you know, as you talk about with the birthright citizenship case that's coming up, those arguments on Thursday, I think you see sort of the court's willingness now to get into that. The question will be if there's a move to actually do away with habeas corpus, how quickly would the court act and is the fact that they're willing to take up the citizen -- birthright citizenship issue and the idea of a nationwide injunction power of a federal judge, is that going to -- is that indicative of the fact that they're willing to sort of jump into the fray early to address this if they try to deal do away with habeas corpus?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I want to -- go ahead.

MICHAEL HARRIOT, COLUMNIST, THE GRIO: I think it's also important to understand that like we are sitting here talking about a president deciding like, I don't have to give you your constitutional rights, and maybe we'll ask the court to decide. So, is the Constitution -- is the law a thing if a president can decide, well, this one I don't want and this one I'll respect.

BLACKWELL: And here's the other thing. I mean, just as the president suggests that he wants to deport U.S. citizens to jails overseas as he does under the Alien Enemies Act, there's no guarantee that habeas corpus will be revoked only for non-citizens.

HARRIOT: Well, you also have to know that, the State of Alabama following Trump is considering deporting and sending its own citizens, state's prisoners to overseas countries and having them basically outsourcing their prisoners to other countries. So, this is not just a federal thing now. TRUMP is opened a box that I don't even know if we're going to ever be able to close.

NIGUT: So, I'm glad you clarified that this move, if possible, habeas corpus move is a -- you know, precedes this court case about birthright citizenship. Thanks for explaining that in a different way. So, does the fact there's going to take that case up, which everybody says is basically unconstitutional, that birthright citizenship exists. Is it a sign the court really is interested in whether they how to deal with this?

MOORE: I think it is, and I think they're taking it up on sort of a limited ask by the department, and that is this whole question of whether or not this one judge can do an injunction that affects all the nation as -- and you know, that really leads to this whole question of venue shopping and everything else and where you want to bring your case and in front of what judge.

It tells me maybe that there are some -- there's a move or a change on the court, having seen what has been an attack on the constitutional rights that we've had and sort of even the president's own statement that he doesn't know if he has to follow the Constitution, that maybe there's a recognition now that they need to do it and this question of habeas corpus is an alarming.

BLACKWELL: So, this week, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside of a detention facility in his city. He'd been protesting there for several days. I had both a DHS official on the show yesterday and the mayor, I want you to listen first, if we can get the sound bite queued up. Listen to this DHS official, Trisha McLaughlin, her accusation, and then hear from the mayor and then we'll watch some video. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And you say who have video of members of Congress body slamming ICE --

TRISHA MCLAUGHLIN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: That's correct.

BLACKWELL: -- officials?

MCLAUGHLIN: That's correct, sir. It's disgusting.

BLACKWELL: OK. And so, if you have that video, are you suggesting that members of Congress will be arrested who were there yesterday?

MCLAUGHLIN: This is an ongoing investigation and that is definitely on the table.

MAYOR RAS BARAKA (D), NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: That's ridiculous. I would -- I'm waiting for them to show a video. I mean, you had two older woman congressman, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, who probably couldn't lift any of them --

BLACKWELL: She's 80 years old.

BARAKA: Right. Congresswoman McIver and Congressman Menendez, none of those people body slammed any officer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. So, as we're talking, I want to play the video that DHS released to support that claim. And as you're watching it, I had to look up the word body slamming, because I thought I knew what it meant, but let me read it. A wrestling or judo throw in which an opponent is lifted and hurled to the mat landing on the back. A physical assault in which a person is thrown to the ground. And so, we don't see that from any of the members of Congress here.

But was simply the arrest of Ras Baraka the point of this? Was it to have the mayor of a sanctuary city in handcuffs, in fed -- in front of a federal facility?

HARRIOT: I think that was the point. As you know, as Adam Serwer says, the cruelty is the point they are enforcing. When you're thinking about these -- first of all, we don't know if these are DHS officers, these masked guys who are coming around and deporting people. We don't know if they are even law enforcement officers. We don't see badges.

And so, the cruelty, the way that they're treating people, they're -- it's a chilling effect that they're trying to quell descent, essentially, and we've seen this in all kinds of protest movements. And so, to punish one of the most prominent mayors in the country, a black mayor, was the point of this because we're starting to see Congress people, we see Cory Booker, them holding sit-ins. And this -- the point is to quell this and show that they don't have that authority.

BLACKWELL: And to that point -- and we know in this case, they were ICE agents because they took him into an ICE facility after they took him into custody. But, Bill, before we go to break, I'll come to you. Ras Baraka is in a primary here for New Jersey governor for the Democratic nomination.

NIGUT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And so. Did he get a little bit of what he needed? Not the arrest, up to it. He was out there every morning with the bullhorn shouting to the protesters, we don't want this in our neighborhood. A party that's looking for a fighter, he there then gave them a fight.

NIGUT: Absolutely. And you know, we have to assume that on one hand he's very committed and believes what he's doing in terms of ICE interfering in his community and the way he sees it. But it's also a smart move for him politically to say to the base, I'm a fighter for you, both of those things could be true at the same time.

BLACKWELL: All right. Gentlemen, stay with us. We got more to talk about. It is Mother's Day. A nice dinner, maybe flowers, traditional Mother's Day gifts. After the break, we take a look at the gifts, if you still haven't shopped, that mothers don't want.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Michael, Bill, and Michael are back with us. And let's start with the pope. We heard from Pope Leo XIV this morning. And we've learned some new things about the pope is that he has some Creole history, connection to New Orleans. A family historian says that the family, they were free people of color prior to the civil war.

When they moved to Chicago in the beginning of the 20th century, they passed into the white world. His maternal grandparents are listed as black in a census record from 1900. And you posted on social media, Michael, what?

HARRIOT: You know, they're going to call him the DEI pope, right. And it's important to know that free people of color don't necessarily consider themselves black.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

HARRIOT: There were all kinds of racial classifications, but America treated them as black people. Remember, the s separate but equal policy that came out of Plessy versus Ferguson were free people of color. They weren't -- it wasn't a Black Supreme Court case. It was free people of color from New Orleans who started Plessy versus Ferguson.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

NIGUT: You know, it sort of reminds me of the movie "Conclave" where they -- after much about machinations, many votes, they elected a pope, who I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't seen it, turns out to be a very unusual choice given who he is in terms of gender. Suddenly, we hear that this pope may, in fact, have black roots, but he's also a Chicagoan. My hometown.

BLACKWELL: -- for you, personal pride.

NIGUT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And so, let's talk about some of the new assignments for the administration, I can't say appointments yet. The latest one, Jeanine Pirro. She's moving from Fox going to the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. SNL had something to say about that last night. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, we love Jeanine. She's a great legal mind and she has the most important quality I look for in a lawyer. She's on TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, I went and looked at the list of Fox News connected members of this administration there at DOJ, Transportation, Defense, EPA, State, DHS, the Kennedy Center, DNI, FBI, 23 now with Jeanine Pirro.

MOORE: Yes. I mean, this is a farcical appointment. This is just pure theatrics, if nothing else, I think. Remember that she's been appointed as the interim U.S. attorney and that means that she has about 120 days that she can actually stay in the job. Nothing beyond that, unless in fact, she's nominated for the position, which I have no belief that she would actually be or she would take it. I don't think she would survive confirmation, frankly, given some of the things that she said.

I think this is sort of the Trump thumbing his nose at the people who did not go along and jump in behind him, but he was trying to push through his other --

BLACKWELL: Head mark.

[07:45:00]

MOORE: Yes, his controversial pick because of some things in his past and things he had said and done.

HARRIOT: So, you're saying she's a DEI pick?

MOORE: Yes, maybe so.

BLACKWELL: As much as he like an inclusive program, I mean, he loves to include people from Fox.

HARRIOT: And it's very diverse.

NIGUT: You know, it is interesting that in announcing her in the statement that he made he actually included it, and he said, oh, and she's on one of the most popular shows on Fox News.

MOORE: Is this is too also -- this is also to keep the judge who he doesn't like in Washington, the chief judge from appointing the United States attorney. So, this is his way to do it. The question is whether or not he can actually do this as a follow up interim appointment. There's some debate about how many interims you can have, because he had Martin, now he's going to have Pirro. And so, the question is, does that somehow bypass and circumvent the Senate's authority to advise and consent on these presidential appointments?

So, will a sec -- and that matters because if he -- let's say she undertakes a case, that could become a challenge. Like for instance, we saw in the special prosecutor's case on the documents in Florida.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MOORE: If you can't appoint them, if the judge says, well this person didn't have the authority to take the job, then all those cases that she might bring up would be (INAUDIBLE).

HARRIOT: And you notice though that we keep asking, can Trump do things that he's doing, right? Like, is this legal? Is this president doing something legal? And then, he's doing it?

BLACKWELL: As it's happening.

HARRIOT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes. All right. So, I teased this. It's Mother's Day. Worst Mother's Day gifts. This is from a survey in Indiana. And here's the list, at the top of the list. I don't know who gives this to a mom. Weight loss products. Now, if you want to ruin somebody's Sunday, give them a subscription to a weight loss company. Cleaning supplies are worse. Worst Mother's Day gift, you all remember, you've given?

HARRIOT: I've given my mom pots (INAUDIBLE), which is like I didn't think about it. But now, I'm banned from choosing my Mother's Day gifts. Say send the money. We'll choose the gifts.

MOORE: I don't know that -- I don't know of a bad Mother's Day gift.

BLACKWELL: But I will also say, I think Father's Day gifts just are worse than Mother's Day gifts overall. Why?

HARRIOT: Yes. You think about Mother's Day gifts.

BLACKWELL: Because you take some time at least, and think about it. Tie, grill stuff, bottle of liquor, right? The top of the list.

HARRIOT: Yes. That's it. That's it. BLACKWELL: That's all --

MOORE: Nothing wrong with any of those gifts.

NIGUT: So, on your birthday, you don't want any of us to give you a good bottle of liquor. That's what you're telling us.

BLACKWELL: I'll take the cash. A good bottle. Don't bring me any mad dog 2020. All right. Michael, Bill, and Michael, thank you very much. Coy Wire joins me next with sports.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: A Tufts University doctoral student is back home after being detained by ICE for more than a month. Rumeysa Ozturk landed in Boston yesterday. And a judge ordered her release on Friday. She was taken by mass federal agents in March and spent six weeks in a Louisiana detention center.

Taylor Swift is now caught up in the middle of that legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Swift and Lively are friends, and Swift was subpoenaed after her name came up in text messages tied to Baldoni's $400 million defamation suit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Now, a spokesperson for Swift says that she had no role in the film, "It Ends with Us" beyond licensing one song and called the subpoena a publicity stunt. Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni denies it. The trial is set for March 2026.

Check out this video from South Florida. An uninvited guests showed up on a family's front porch in Fort Meyers, Florida there, a full-sized alligator. Now, listen, when you live in Florida, sometimes you just -- this could happen. Home security footage from Friday shows the gator wildling up, nudging a chair against the door, almost like it was knocking. Deputies and a licensed trapper were called in safely removed. Unfortunately, no injuries. Just a close call. Reminder, only some visitors are welcome. But again, this could happen in Florida.

An exciting night of basketball. CNN's Coy Wire joins us now.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Some call that an alligator. I call that a dinosaur.

BLACKWELL: It's huge.

WIRE: My goodness. And that does happen in Florida. Listen, we had some awesome, a four-pack of playoff last night, two in the NBA, two in the NHL. All game threes.

We're going to start the Western Conference. Timberwolves and Golden State. No, Steph Curry for Golden State, but Minnesota had Anthony Edwards and the Warriors got all of them, especially Kevon Looney, an absolutely audacious acrobatic dunk. Man, that was unreal. Then Antman here, the three-pointer to seal the deal. Edwards scoring 28 of his 36 points in the second half, just took over the game and took the win, 102-97, taking a 2-1 series lead. The Boston Celtics bounced into the big apple to battle the New York Knicks in a vital game three. After dropping the first two, Boston brought the boom, especially from beyond New York. C Celtics three-point shooting spree, converting 50 percent of their threes. Payton Pritchard particularly potent, pouring in a new personal playoff high and a team high, 23 points. Jayson Tatum tacked on 22. Knicks could not withstand Boston's barrage. A 115-93 win for the Celtics. Getting their much needed first win of the series. It's now 2-1 New York.

The playoff action continues today as the top seated Thunder seat to tie their series with the nuggets down 2-1. That's at 3:30 Eastern. And on TNT and Max, the Cleveland Cavaliers seek to do the same in their series with the Pacers. That's at 8:00.

[07:55:00]

Washington Capitals taking on the Hurricanes in Raleigh in Stanley Cup playoff action. The NHLs all-time leading scorer, Alex Ovechkin, had a shot there in first, but just can't get it past Frederik Andersen. And this was the story of the game. Andersen going like "Game of Thrones," transforming into this impenetrable ice wall, making 21 saves. Hurricanes dominate this one, four-nothing to take a 2-1 series lead.

Finally, watch this, Victor, some last second Stanley Cup drama. We get plenty of basketball buzzer beaters, but a buzzer beater on ice. Awesome. Vegas Golden Knights Riley Smith blitz in the puck and shooting in Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl, taps it in his own goal at the horn. Vegas wins 4 to 3Cutting the Oiler series lead to just 2-1.

So, I don't know what you're doing this Mother's Day, Victor, but we've got plenty more playoff actually today. If you want to get together, have some mommy mimosas or something, come on over.

BLACKWELL: I feel like Claire would've a problem with that, wouldn't she?

WIRE: Oh, yes. I say she would.

BLACKWELL: OK. All right.

WIRE: But you're invited. She loves you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. Coy, thank you. Thanks for watching this weekend. Inside Politics with Manu Raju is up after the break.

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