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Protesters Clash Amid Dueling Demonstrations At UCLA; White House Releases Readout Of Biden-Netanyahu Call; 50-Plus Million At Risk For Severe Weather From East Texas To Missouri. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 28, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:17]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we are following tense exchanges across American college campuses over the war in Gaza.

Right now, a pair of dueling protests happening at UCLA, the school official says a security barrier was breached. That was intended to separate two groups of protesters. One side calling for an end to the war and for the establishment of a Palestinian state, the other is asking Americans to stand with Israel in the wake of Hamas' attack on October 7th.

It is the latest example of nationwide protests that have swept through colleges. Overnight, the University of Southern California said it was temporarily closing campus to everyone except for residents following disruptions and reports of vandalism.

And at Arizona State, university officials say a majority of the 72 arrested there for trespassing on Friday were not students.

CNN's Camila Bernal is live for us at the UCLA protest where these dueling demonstrations are underway. What is happening?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. The problem that the university is having is keeping the two sides separate. They have tried to establish these metal barriers. So behind here, you see a lot of the Jewish student supporters, and so the problem is when these areas essentially combine and then you have each other just shouting and screaming and pushing, and all it takes is just walking around a few minutes before you see these confrontations and before you start seeing people yelling and screaming at each other.

You know, just a few minutes ago, I saw a girl who told me she dropped her Israeli flag, tried to pick it up from the ground and was kicked, so she was bleeding.

You know, there are these confrontations that are unfortunately are not safe for that become very violent, and that is part of what the university is trying to address. I spoke to people on both sides of this issue who say they are trying for this to be peaceful, but obviously, it is not necessarily succeeding.

Take a listen to what I heard from, in terms of the student who are here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMAD HASAN, PALESTINIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT: The community here is just here to support the students who are -- have been keeping this encampment up for days now. They've been applying pressure to the university and the university has not even come to meet their demands yet.

So the community is here to make sure that the students' voices get heard on their campus and that they disclose their financial investments and divest from war, from genocide, and from weapons manufacturers.

ELI TSIVES, FRESHMAN, UCLA: We are for peace. I can tell you that right now. We have come here to demand for the release of our hostages.

We are coming here to show them that we are not afraid. The only people that are calling for aggression are the people hiding behind those masks because they are too afraid to show their face.

Do you see anyone here with a mask on this side of the protest? No, because we stand with what we believe in.

(PROTESTERS chanting)

BERNAL: And Fred, here is an example of the two sides. On one side, you have the people supporting the Jewish students. On the other, you have the pro-Palestinian supporters. They are holding and linking arms and trying to stay on their side.

And again, they are yelling back and forth trying to prove their points and everybody of course, extremely passionate no matter where you look at, no matter what side you look at.

These are not the people that were at the encampment. A lot of these people are just coming to support them. They have kept the people in the encampment completely separate from this area and they are trying to continue to keep those metal barriers up.

But again, just people extremely passionate on both sides of this issue, and you're seeing it play out right in front of your eyes as you see these two sides coming together here at the UCLA campus -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then Camila, is there any way to know at this point, are these mostly students and perhaps even some professors? Or are there other outside groups that have joined in? BERNAL: Yes, there is absolutely outside groups and people who are not part of the school who decided to come and support and I am talking on both sides.

You have people on the pro-Palestinian movement that are not from the school and are coming because they say they are here just to support the students that have been out in tents for a couple of days and then on the other side, you also have a lot of non-Jewish students.

You have just people in general who want to come support other Jewish students who say that the students feel harassed, that the students feel unsafe on campus.

And of course, you're seeing another one of those altercations right in front of us. You know, you just never know no matter where you are here when things are going to breakout and when people are going to start fighting because the passions are just so high and people are just so energized today -- Fred.

[15:05:13]

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila Bernal on UCLA campus, thank you so much.

And then updating our breaking news, the White House has now released a readout of the conversation earlier today between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This conversation coming as US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is headed right now to the Middle East for a new round of meetings aimed at ending the deadlock between Israel and Hamas.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House for us.

Priscilla, what more are you learning about the readout of this call?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Fredricka, we are learning that the two leaders spoke on multiple issues, including some of the recent events, but also forward-looking on that hostage deal.

So for example, the president according to this readout: "Reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel's security following the successful defense against Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack earlier this month." Recall that that was following Iran's strikes against Israel. Israel struck back and over the course of that time, the White House was quite tight lipped, and so was Israel as they were concerned about any tensions rising in the region. They had not talked since then, so this is the first time the two leaders were able to discuss that.

They all also talked about the ongoing hostage talks that includes, for example, a six-week temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, but also allowing an opportunity to surge more humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been in desperate need of it. So that was another topic of conversation, of course, that is one that has been a top priority for this White House and for US officials across government, as you mentioned there, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in the region as these talks are ongoing and they try to get this deal finalized, something that has been quite difficult to reach over the last a few months.

But they also talked about Rafah, that has been an operation, a potential operation that Israel would carry out in that region and that is where over a million Palestinians are displaced. And for that reason, it has been concerning for the White House because they want to contain civilian casualties in Gaza and they have said before that they don't see an operation there, an Israeli operation into Rafah as tenable. It would be untenable simply because there are so many people who have fled to that region.

And in this readout it says: "The leaders discussed Rafah and the president reiterated his clear position." The position being the they don't see that that can be an operation that Israel can carry out without the deaths of multiple civilians, given how many have fled to that region.

But of course this also comes after Congress passed that 26 billion in additional funding for Israel, among other priorities, like Ukraine. That was a big moment for the White House which had been pushing for these additional funds since last October, and finally it got across the finish line over the last week and the president signed that and that aid is now being able to be sent to these countries, including Israel.

So there were certainly a lot of issues for the two leaders to discuss in their phone call today, but what we will be watching for now is what are the results that we begin to see on the ground as a result of this phone call.

WHITFIELD: And Priscilla, is the White House revealing why the phone call today, is there any connection to the recent release this weekend of proof of life images of two of the hostages and that coming few days after a proof of life video of another American-Israeli last week?

ALVAREZ: This readout does not explain why they decided to talk on Sunday, but what I will tell you, Fredricka is that when I have spoken to US officials, what they often tell me is that anytime that the president gets on the phone with a world leader, it is usually at a crucial moment.

It is because they need to discuss some critical information or they are trying to make a breakthrough on whatever they may be discussing at the time. So, it is no small thing, essentially, for the president to get on the phone with a world leader. So when they do, we can expect that it is coming at an important moment, an inflection point perhaps.

So while the readout does not explain why the two were on the phone today on Sunday, we can just by knowing the way that the White House has carried these conversations before and when the president decides to get on the phone with a world leader, that it is coming at an important point and especially knowing that those hostage talks are ongoing, and the Secretary of State is in the region, and that they do want to see a breakthrough on this. You can imagine that all of that would have influenced the timing of this phone call.

WHITFIELD: All right, Priscilla Alvarez at the White House, thank you so much.

And just to indicate to our viewers there that live picture on the bottom of your screen, those were live moments coming from UCLA's campus where there are dueling protest right now, pro-Palestinians on one side, pro-Israel demonstrators on the other, but sharing the same space there on campus, and we are keeping a close watch on what has become a very passionate and heated set of demonstrations there.

[15:10:17]

All right, coming up, a devastating tornado outbreak that left several people dead in Oklahoma and a threat of severe storms continues from Missouri to Texas. We will have the latest forecast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:14]

WHITFIELD: All right, more on our developing weather story after dangerous and deadly weekend tornadoes tearing across multiple states, more than 50 million people are still under a risk for severe storms from Texas to Minnesota.

The danger zone includes parts of Oklahoma, a state battered by a tornado outbreak on Saturday. Governor Kevin Stitt spoke to reporters moments ago saying four people, including an infant were killed.

And earlier, he toured the damage in hard-hit Sulphur, right now, more than 60,000 customers are without power across Texas and Oklahoma.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KEVIN STITT (R-OK): We've got early reports, they think this is an EF-4 just kind of blowing right through downtown here and I just haven't seen this much destruction from my time as governor.

You just can't believe the destruction like it. It seems like every business in downtown has been destroyed now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This outbreak was the latest in a series of storms that first hit the Central Plains on Friday, causing widespread destruction across Nebraska and Iowa.

Here with me now for the lates, meteorologist, Elisa Raffa. So Elisa, many areas experienced so much destruction and then there are threats of more.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Still more. It has been a crazy busy 48 hours. The storm reports are just multiple. We are looking at 118 reported tornadoes. That means sightings of tornadoes, a lot of damage to sift through, to figure out how many tornadoes and what the strengths were.

And then when you tack on the threat for today, you could see a lot of it -- it is the same areas and now, just a little bit farther east today, including more places in Missouri, Arkansas, and then Eastern Texas and Western Louisiana. But I mean incredibly busy two days.

Look at all of the tornado warnings just in the last 48 hours. In Omaha on Friday, they had their busiest day at their weather service office with 42 warnings issued in a day; yesterday, Norman, Oklahoma did just that, too. Their busiest day with 59 warnings from that office yesterday, just countless warnings that have really just saved some lives.

We've got the storms that are really kind of almost stretching border to border. We do have some showers and thunderstorms over hard-hit, Omaha. People there are trying to clean up and now they are dealing with some lightning and some downpours.

What we are watching for today is this area here in Eastern Texas. We do have a severe thunderstorm warning there as to the south of Dallas, this area could refuel -- the atmosphere, could regain its strength, refuel, and prompt that next severe risk.

This could be our area that we are watching our next tornado watch for additional storms that can blow up and spin.

Here is a look at that risk. It is stretched from Des Moines down to Houston, that orange area there, that enhanced risk level three out of five, that's where that bulls-eye for additional tornadoes can be as you go into the afternoon and evening, so something that we will have to watch closely again.

WHITFIELD: All right, we are counting on you, Elisa Raffa. Thank you so much.

All right, we are also following new developments involving pro- Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations taking place on UCLA's campus. Our team is there live, following it all, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:48]

WHITFIELD: All right, we are continuing to monitor tense exchanges between protesters at UCLA pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrations are happening there right now. We have already seen a few pushing and shoving kind of moments.

Protests continue across the country despite recent crackdowns at many universities. Today, the White House called on demonstrations to remain peaceful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Now, the president knows that there are very strong feelings, George, about the war in Gaza. He understands that, he respects that, and as he has said many times, we certainly respect the right of peaceful protest.

People should have the ability to air their views and to share their perspectives publicly, but it has to be peaceful.

Now, we will leave it to local authorities to determine how these protests are managed, but we want them to be peaceful protests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Camila Bernal is at UCLA where you've got dueling demonstrations happening there behind you. What's the latest?

BERNAL: Hey, Fred. So we came up a little bit higher so that you have a better view of what is going on here when these two sides collide. You have the pro-Palestinian supporters here on one side. They obviously have their flags. They are chanting. They are screaming -- everyone extremely passionate.

And then you have that line where they meet and that is where you're having the most tense confrontations, where you're having the pro- Palestinians and the pro-Jewish students or Israeli supporters on the other side, and in that line in the middle, that's when they start screaming, yelling, pushing at each other, getting violent at many times.

Now, if you could -- I am going to pan over to this side because I want to show you how much this group supporting the Jewish students have grown. They have a stage, they have music. You know, their group has definitely grown over the last couple of hours.

Keep in mind the pro-Palestinian supporters are divided. There is a group of them behind this Jewish group, that is where the encampment is. There is another thing I want to point out and it is the mask, a lot of the pro-Palestinian supporters are wearing masks, and what I was told is that that that was a requirement to be inside of that encampment.

And so, they are trying to keep it consistent, but what some of these other supporters who are here to support the Jewish students are saying and chanting is "Show your face, show your face," so they are saying that that fat mask is being used essentially to not show their face and to hide their identities.

[15:25:19]

So again, once they started screaming these things at each other, that's when you get the violence. That's when you get the clashes.

No police as of yet, just the security guards trying to keep everything peaceful and yes, they are trying, but the reality is that it is not peaceful in many incidents. It is not peaceful when they clash and there are many, many people who are here just to be supporters, just to keep this as a peaceful protest. But there is definitely people here who are aggravating the situation and would prefer to be violent.

We will wait to see how this develops, but again, this is a growing group of people who are coming to support either side, and who say they are going to continue to be here for a while -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila Bernal, we will check back with you there on the UCLA campus where there are dueling demonstrations, pro- Palestinian, pro-Israeli.

All right, here with us now, former Education Secretary under President Obama, Arne Duncan. Great to see you.

So when you were Education Secretary, can you recall a moment like what we are seeing on campuses right now where there is such discourse or where there are demonstrations that have led campuses, not in this case, but on other college campuses to actually end in-class learning or even commencements?

ARNE DUNCAN, FORMER US SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: Yes, we had definitely our share of protesters and in protests, but nothing like this that I can recall, and I think it is so important that students have a right to speak and speak passionately, that is very different and not crossing into violence and clashes. There is no way violence helps a child in Israel that helps the child in Palestine.

I always try and think about Dr. King and how important active protest is needed in creating an active conflict was, but always in a nonviolent way and that is the line I just beg protesters on both sides not to cross.

WHITFIELD: When you look at these live pictures out of UCLA and you've got these dueling demonstrations, they are sharing space. We are hearing are reporter who says they are in each other's personal space. There has been some pushing and shoving.

What are your thoughts when you look at these dueling demonstrations taking place on this campus?

DUNCAN: Yes, I actually absolutely fully support young people or older folks sharing space, actively demonstrating and expressing their views. What I ultimately hope in all of this is it is not just sharing space, but actual dialogue and for me, for young people to learn how to disagree and to disagree vehemently, but still respect each other, have that conversation. For me, that is such an important role for universities and colleges around the country.

We don't want to suppress that free speech. We don't want to keep people separate from each other.

If they are just yelling at each other, I am not sure if that moves the needle, but if folks can actually talk and learn to disagree in a nonviolent way, that for me is hugely important.

But if we don't learn that on our college campuses, I don't know when we have a chance to learn that later in life. So for me, it is a complicated time. It may be a tense time, but here is a chance of tremendous learning and I don't want that opportunity lost on college campuses across the country right now.

WHITFIELD: Some of the demonstrators are not only just voicing their concerns, but they are placing demands on college campuses and today, we saw Portland State University actually pause gifts and grants from Boeing after students and faculty called on the school to divest from businesses supporting Israel.

The school is also hosting a two-hour debate in May to address the issues around these protests, so do you think that this country will see more schools actually meet the demands of protesters mostly pro- Palestinian protesters who are saying they want to see the campuses divest from either companies or issues that are in support of Israel.

DUNCAN: Well I think young people absolutely have the right to make those, what do you call them -- requests or demands, whatever they might be. It is up to the universities to search their conscience and figure out what the right thing to do is there.

This is not the first time we've seen those kinds of demands, whether it was South Africa protesting apartheid and trying to get folks to divest there. Obviously, protests and campuses have a long and rich history, frankly, here in America's Civil Rights era, Vietnam War, post Rodney King, and so this is not the first and not the last time there have been protests on college campuses, not the last time there have been demands.

And again, so important for students to have dialogue with each other and students have dialogue with university administrators and really, in a very complicated, intense, and difficult time, can we find a little bit of common ground, can we come to a resolution and makes some sense and ultimately again, the goal for all of this is can we have fewer Israeli citizens killed? Fewer Palestinians killed? That's the goal. Let's not lose sight of that in the noise.

[15:30:18]

WHITFIELD: I heard one USC student challenging educators saying, they get US presidents on campus with added security, why can't that happen to ensure students can attend their own graduations?

The class of 2024 is very unique, right? They have already been through a lot. They missed walking for their high school graduations. They missed senior prom. A lot of things like that because of COVID and then now this. There is a lot of frustration among those students who are saying they are not -- at least on USC campus -- they are not going to get a chance to enjoy the graduation ceremony they had been looking forward to.

DUNCAN: Yes. Very honestly, I agree with the students. One of the first laws of physics, if you're digging yourself into a hole, stop digging. And what USC did is they prohibited the valedictorian from speaking, then in response to that, they prohibited anybody from speaking.

As you said, this is the high school class of 2020. It did not have a high school graduation. Those students are being denied their college graduation experience now.

For me, we want dialogue. We walk people to speak. We want to keep people safe. We want to have disagreement, have vehement disagreement, as long as people's safety isn't compromised.

And so very candidly, I think USC dug itself a hole and kept digging. I think that was a big mistake.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arne Duncan, former US Secretary of Education, thank you so much.

DUNCAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right today, dozens of students in Southern Gaza showed their gratitude and support for the campus demonstrations. The students gathered near a school that now serves as a shelter for Palestinians. According to the United Nations, there have been direct hits on more than 200 schools since Israel's bombardment began.

Demonstrators held signs that read, "Thank you, Students in Solidarity with Gaza."

All right, still to come, President Biden take swings at former President Trump during the White House Correspondents' Dinner. We will have highlights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:55]

WHITFIELD: All right, President Joe Biden joined members of the Washington press corps and celebrities for last night's White House Correspondents' Dinner and Biden used the event to make fun of his own age and the legal troubles facing his opponent, Donald Trump.

The Annual Gala was hosted by "Saturday Night Live" head writer and cast member, Colin Jost, who also poked fun at former President Trump, Biden than the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN JOST, COMEDIAN: Before I begin tonight, can we just acknowledge how refreshing it is to see a president of the United States at an event that doesn't begin with a bailiff saying "All rise."

(LAUGHTER)

JOST: The Republican candidate for president owes half a billion in fines for bank fraud and is currently spending his days farting himself awake during a porn star hush money trial and the race is tied?

I was excited to be up here on stage with President Biden tonight, mostly to see if I could figure out where Obama was pulling the strings from. It is also wonderful to be back in Washington. I love being in Washington. The last time I was in dc, I left my cocaine at the White House.

(LAUGHTER)

JOST: Luckily, the president was able to put it to good use for his State of the Union.

I am not saying both candidates are old, but you know, Jimmy Carter is out there thinking, I could maybe win this thing.

(LAUGHTER)

JOST: He is only 99.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I am joined now by comedian, Alonzo Bodden. Yes, you can get a good chuckle out of that. It was kind of funny. They were a lot of good lines there.

Alonzo has hosted "Showtime's" "Historically Incorrect" and was the Season 3 winner of "The Last Comic Standing."

Great to see you, Alonzo.

ALONZO BODDEN, COMEDIAN: Great to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, so your smiles and your chuckle there tells me that you approve, you thought it was a pretty funny night?

BODDEN: Yes, he did a good job. I mean, it is a tough crowd. You know, this is a group of people who take themselves very seriously and it was funny to me in the beginning when Colin started, he was telling and jokes and he was kind of looking to the side like is this working?

WHITFIELD: I know.

BODDEN: But once he got on the roll, yes, I think he did a great job.

WHITFIELD: I guess that can really knock you off your game, right? For the comedian, because you know, you definitely want to see an immediate response to your jokes, but at the same time, it is a very big room. It is rather kind of cavernous, maybe he couldn't hear their laughter you think?

BODDEN: Well, when you're standing there with the president five feet away from you and all of the nation's press right in front of you, yes, Fredricka, tough room. You might feel a little judged.

Of course, it helps to be married to a movie star and he definitely capitalized on that. So I think he did a good job.

My favorite moment, the funniest thing to me was when at the end when he talked about decency and the people in the crowd weren't sure if they should clap. They were like decency? Wait a minute. Wait. Is that -- we are not sure about it.

WHITFIELD: Right. Where does the joke begin? When does it end? When are we getting serious here?

All right, so you know, obviously the event is also an opportunity for any president to be self-deprecating and kind of show their own comedic chops.

Let's take a listen to Biden as he roasted his republican presidential rival.

[15:40:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The 2024 election is in full swing and yes, age, is an issue. I'm a grown man running against a six-year-old.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: Donald has had a few tough days lately, you might call it stormy weather.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, yikes. Okay, but you could hear the crowd there?

BODDEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, yes. Go ahead. What does it take for someone to kind of prepare the president's remarks like that?

BODDEN: I thought he did pretty good.

You know, one of the things about Joe Biden, he has a sense of humor about himself and his age. So that was easy.

The stormy weather joe kind of a low blow, that was an easy one. Yes, that was an easy shot. He could have aimed higher on that one, but overall, I think he did well. He was -- I will tell you, he is funnier than I expected him to be.

I thought he did a good job.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Very good.

Former President Trump, all right, so I mean, he was there but not really, right? He was the butt of a lot of jokes, but he wasn't there physically and in fact, he never attended the dinner when you he was sitting president and this goes back decades.

This is a tradition from a sitting president to attend this dinner. However, Trump did either watch, I mean, he did find the time to slam the event at 1:00 AM this morning. And in fact, this is what he wrote on Truth Social: "The White House Correspondents' Dinner was really bad. Colin Jost bombed and crooked joe was an absolute disaster. Doesn't get much worse than this."

So what do you think? It kind of got under his skin then, yes?

BODDEN: Well, the first thing is I don't think he watched it. He probably fell asleep. He can't stay awake during the day. We know he didn't stay up at night.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

BODDEN: We knew that he was -- we knew he was going to go negative and he was going to be mad about it because he has no sense of humor about himself. I mean, that's the problem and that's the big difference, one of the big differences between the two presidents, right? He can't laugh at himself.

He never went to the dinner. He doesn't like comedians poking fun at him. And you can't be in the midst of all of this scandal and everything and think that what -- they are not going to mention it?

WHITFIELD: Because the last time he, Trump, did attend it was the sitting President Obama who did poke fun at him and he was sitting right there and you could see, I mean, he was turning all kinds of color. He was not happy about that, but then he got the ultimate revenge, didn't he? I guess.

Okay, so you talked about kind of the end of Colin Jost's spiel, and he actually got a little emotional towards the end as well when he spoke about his grandfather and President Biden and this was that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOST: I lost my grandfather this year as you alluded to, a firefighter, William Kelly. He is the reason that our son's middle name is William.

He helped raise me growing up and I would not be here today without him. And I swear, Mr. President, this is not an age comparison. You remind me of him.

Some of your best qualities remind me of his. He voted for you and the reason that he voted for you is because you're a decent man.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JOST: My grandpa have voted for decency and decency is why we are all here tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Wow. Wow. Right? Okay. So I mean, the expectation is you're a comedian of the night or host is just going to be funny, but then I mean, he got personal and had a very strong message there. What were your thoughts on doing that?

BODDEN: Well, I think it was a very real moment. I think it was great what he did because that was genuine. I don't think it was scripted. You could see he felt it and he related to his grandfather. I mean -- and he talked about how his grandfather living in a conservative environment actually voted for Joe Biden because he thought he was decent and think people related to it.

And he did make it funny. I mean, when you -- if you watch the whole thing, he did have jokes in there about his grandfather walking upstairs better than Joe Biden. So he is still -- he kind of broke the moment.

WHITFIELD: Still got that -- get it in there.

BODDEN: No, I think it was great. It was definitely a feeling moment and very real.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, Alonzo Bodden, great to see you. Thank you so much.

BODDEN: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Awesome.

All right, coming up, the clock is ticking for TikTok to find a new owner or get banned here in the US. What this means for TikTok users, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:44]

WHITFIELD: All right, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance says it has no plans to sell the social media platform. That is after President Biden signed a bill that could ban the app in the US if they don't sell in the next 12 months citing security concerns over its ties to China.

TikTok CEO is planning to fight the potential ban in court.

Let's bring in CNN's Clare Duffy with more on this.

Clare, what are TikTok's options?

[15:50:14]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: TikTok essentially has three options here. It could try to comply with this law. It has about nine months to find a new non-Chinese owner. The White House has the option of potentially extending that timeframe by 90 days.

Now, there are going to be some serious challenges if it tries to take that approach. Of course, ByteDance is indicating that it would not be willing to sell the app. The Chinese government has also said that it would not allow TikTok to be sold without its algorithm, which is really the special sauce that makes TikTok so valuable and so powerful.

If TikTok doesn't find a new owner within that timeframe, then app stores would be forced to ban the app in the United States. So that is essentially option two for the platform, and then option three is for the company to file a lawsuit challenging this law in court, which is exactly what the company is indicating it plans to do, although we haven't seen that filing come down the pike just yet.

WHITFIELD: Right. And I wonder what that kind of court challenge would look like for ByteDance. So what potentially could be the impact of a TikTok ban on consumers in the US, creators, businesses, perhaps those even engaged in politics?

DUFFY: Right, so I mean, look, TikTok, especially is saying here this would threaten, this would violate Americans' First Amendment rights and that is where we see -- we expect to see its lawsuit going, if and when we do see a lawsuit from the company, but look, this is an app that is used by 170 million Americans. There are seven million small businesses using the app, which is another figure that TikTok has touted here.

And this is an app that really has so much influence on culture. People have built their livelihoods on this platform. I talked with one creator who is 23 years old, who said that within three months of posting on this platform, starting last year, she was able to support herself and move out of her parents' house.

So this is an app that really has a lot of economic influence and potential in this country. I think there are also serious political ramifications from this law. I have talked with creators who said that they think that the passage of this law could potentially impact the way that they plan to vote in November. So serious potential political consequences here as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, so who would the potential buyers be?

DUFFY: There is bound to be a long list of potential buyers who are willing to buy this hugely popular app if and when we get to that point. Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that he would put together a group of investors who would bid to buy the app.

You're likely to see a number of other companies -- Walmart, Oracle -- were involved in a potential bid to buy the app when it was back on the table back in 2020, they may come again knocking here and look, there are a number of other tech companies that probably would be interested, although would likely have a harder time because big tech, the Microsofts, the Apples, the Googles of the world are already facing regulatory scrutiny for being too big.

And so it is unlikely that they would be able to make a bid to buy this platform, but surely you'll see others who are interested -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Clare Duffy, thanks so much.

All right, and this, just in, a tornado watch has been issued for Eastern Texas. The latest on the deadly storms straight ahead. Stay with us.

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[15:58:05]

WHITFIELD: The LA Lakers are still alive in the NBA playoffs beating the Denver Nuggets last night. Carolyn Manno is here with the latest.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, no team has ever come back from being down three games to none in the NBA playoffs, but there is a first time for everything.

The Lakers looking pretty good last night, getting off to a fast start, LeBron James and Anthony Davis working together like we've seen them do all season long and leading the way.

Davis said 25 points and 23 boards on the night and LA led by 13 at halftime, but they also led at the half in the first three games and lost those. So the issue is really finishing games.

Nicola Jokic trying to spark a Nuggets come back late in the third, flick of the wrist, perfect pass for the layup, the reigning finals MVP finishing with 33 and a triple double.

But this time around, LA holds on. LeBron stealing, dunking, scoring 30 as the Lakers win by 11, setting up another win or go home in Game 5.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, LA LAKERS: The only opportunity for us is just to play the next game and we've given ourselves another life, we give ourselves another lifeline. And it is a one -game series for us, so on Monday's game, I believe it is Monday. Yes, Monday's game is the most important game of the season for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: In the NHL playoffs, a late night in Vegas is just what the Dallas Stars needed to get back on track after dropping their first two games at home. Dallas getting a bounce back win of their own.

Wyatt Johnson from a nearly impossible angle beating Golden Ice goalie, Logan Thompson short side and high for the game winner in overtime, just shy of 2:15 AM Eastern this morning, three-two, the final there setting up another full day of action with six games across our family of networks on TBS and TNT.

And last but certainly not least for you this morning, Fred, the NFL draft wrapping up on Saturday night with one of the most unique titles in sports, Mr. Irrelevant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the 257th pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the New York Jets select Jaylen Key, a defensive back from Alabama. Good luck, Mr. Irrelevant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: The Jets making Jaylen Key the final pick of the 2024 draft, a choice which has endeared itself to fans and become known as Mr. Irrelevant. Thankfully, he does not appear to be taking it as a slight, saying afterwards he wants to lean into every bit of this.

And Fred, magical things can happen when you're drafted last. Just look at Brock Purdy, the 49ers quarterback, who is Mr. Irrelevant in 2022. Since that time, he has led the 49ers to a conference championship and a Super Bowl.