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Hundreds Of U.S. Institute Of Peace Employees Fired; Protesters Call For "Global Day Of Action" Against Elon Musk; 1,700 Dead As Rescues Struggle In Aftermath Of Myanmar Earthquake; 100M Plus People Under Severe Storm Threats From Texas To New York; Judge Halts Deportation Order Against Tufts University Student; WI Supreme Court Race Will Decide Balance Of Court. "Global Day of Action" Against Tesla and Elon Musk; LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith' Feud; 100M Plus People Under Severe Storm Threats. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired March 30, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:48]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Brand new hour, glad you're here. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It's Sunday, March 30th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what's happening this morning in a new interview. President Trump is publicly expressing support for his national security team after the Signal text chain became public. But we're learning of the concerns he's expressed privately about his national security adviser.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CROWD: Deport Musk! Deport Musk! Deport Musk!

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: More than 200 Tesla takedown demonstrations were planned across the country yesterday. Activists are ramping up their opposition to Elon Musk and his DOGE team. The message they say that they're sending to Washington.

Rescuers are still finding survivors in the ruins of buildings after that 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar. 1,700 people are confirmed dead. But it could take weeks before we get the full picture of the devastation.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And thunderstorms are already starting to fire up this morning. We'll detail the timeline as that line of thunderstorms is expected to move across the country.

BLACKWELL: All right, new this morning. Some auto tariffs are going into effect this week. But President Donald Trump says that he does not care if automakers hike prices as a result. Actually, he's encouraging them to do that. The President spoke with NBC's Kristen Welker on the phone Saturday, and he said he hopes automakers raise prices. He says if they do, people will buy American-made cars.

He also reiterated support for his national security team. Despite that Signal tech scandal that rocked Washington this week or last week, he said simply, I think it's just a witch hunt. However, The New York Times reported that President Trump did consider firing National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

Sources told The Times he asked aides and allies if he should. Waltz is the one who added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat in the first place. And as the Trump administration reinvents the role of the U.S. abroad, another agency is being caught in the crosshairs.

Hundreds of employees at the U.S. Institute of Peace were terminated. They got the letters on Friday.

CNN's Betsy Klein explains why the administration says the group is no longer serving its purpose.

Betsy, good morning to you.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Good morning, Victor. Well, we have seen the Trump administration take steps toward dramatically slashing federal government spending as well as reimagining the role of the U.S. in the world.

And to both of those ends, I have learned that on Friday night, there was a mass layoff of staff at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Now, the USIP is an independent non-profit founded during the Reagan administration. And unlike the other government agencies that President Trump and his team have sought to dismantle in recent months, USIP staff are not offered the same protections as federal workers.

Now, President Trump signed an executive order back in February taking aim at the USIP, an effort that he said would dramatically reduce the size of the federal government while increasing its accountability to the American people. And so on Friday around 8:00 p.m., hundreds of USIP employees received notice that they were terminated as of March 28th and that their health care would end this Monday, March 31st.

According to one source who was impacted, that person requested anonymity to speak freely without jeopardizing their severance package. Now, asked for comment, White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly tells me in a statement, "Taxpayers don't want to spend $50 million per year on a publicly funded research institute that has failed to deliver peace".

"President Trump", she said, "ended the era of forever wars and established peace in his first term, and he is carrying out his mandate to eliminate bloat and save taxpayer dollars".

Now, I also spoke with George Foote, who served as counsel to the USIP before his position was eliminated by the Department of Government Efficiency. He's now involved in an ongoing lawsuit to preserve it. He talked about how the institute promotes research and training on international conflict resolution.

It advises the National Security Council as well as the Pentagon. It also helps develop peacebuilding techniques to prevent war.

[07:05:06]

He told me, quote, "These are not faceless bureaucrats. They're not people just living on the public dime. They're not bloat or waste. They are bringing peace to the world and preventing the need for American military intervention and making the world and the country safe".

Now, a judge is expected to make a decision on this case and determine whether or not a hearing is going to take place by the end of next month. Back to you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Betsy, thank you.

There are protests at Tesla dealerships around the world Saturday. It's part of a campaign demonstrators call the Tesla Takedown.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CROWD: One, two, three, four. Let's push Elon out the door. One, two, three, four. Let's push Elon out the door.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Here in the U.S., more than 200 demonstrations were planned at Tesla locations. Protests were also in London and Berlin. The campaign wants people to sell their Tesla vehicles and sell their shares of Tesla stock to denounce owner Elon Musk and his efforts to gut federal programs and staffing budget cuts.

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez was at a protest in Southern California. Marybel?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The protests against Tesla and Elon Musk continue nationwide with over 200 reported just this weekend alone. Now, here in Pasadena, California, dozens and dozens of people have come out outside of a Tesla store with signs saying democracy is not autocracy. Keep Elon Musk out of the federal government.

All sorts of messages they hope get to the ears of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk himself. They're critical of Musk's recent downsizing of federal agencies and their employees. And they say they're worried about the future, especially when we're talking about their healthcare and their other needs.

We spoke to one organizer who tells us what drove him to attend this protest, which is now his third one in recent weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) SCOTT VICTOR, PROTESTER: These are not regular protesters here. This is a pretty seasoned crowd, if you know what I mean. Probably most people here are over 60. And, you know, these aren't the activist type of people. See, you've got to ask your question. Why are these people coming out?

There's been a wholesale gutting of Social Security. There's a threats of Medicare and Medicaid. And there's so many people in our state that utterly depend on.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

GONZALEZ: And the protests part of this movement have been by and large peaceful, with organizers asking protesters to remain calm when sending their messages. But we know that this has not been the case in other incidents. There's been violent attacks and also acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles and Tesla facilities. Acts that the attorney general has called domestic terrorism.

Now, the organizers and protesters we've spoken to here say they strongly denounce these acts. They say that is not the way to send a message. Instead, they're asking people to do what they're doing. Taking to the streets and boycotting Musk's companies until Musk steps down.

Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Marybel, thank you.

The number of those dead continues to rise in the aftermath of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar. It now stands at 1,700. Rescue crews are still racing to free thousands feared trapped in the rubble of the largest earthquake that country has seen in more than a century.

New video into CNN shows rescue crews pulling one man alive from the wreckage 40 hours after the earthquake. International aid has reached the most devastated parts of the country. But aids groups say that they're still facing major shortages of medical supplies.

CNN's Will Ripley has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In earthquake ravaged Myanmar, families sift through the rubble searching for signs of life, all too often finding death.

Mother, I'm your son, may you please go to a proper abode, says this man holding his mom's lifeless hand.

One of many devastating scenes across the crippled city of Mandalay. Damage stretches across entire neighborhoods, homes and historic buildings reduced to rubble. Buddhist monasteries, places of peace and reflection now piles of debris. Geologists say the massive 7.7 earthquake had the energy of hundreds of atomic bombs. Myanmar's worst quake in more than a century, hitting right during Friday prayers. Many mosques collapsed, trapping Muslim worshippers inside.

After several years of brutal civil war and largely self-imposed isolation, the leader of Myanmar's military junta surveyed the devastation, making a rare plea for international aid now slowly beginning to arrive from China, Russia, India. Other countries have also pledged support.

[07:10:04]

For this impoverished nation, help cannot come quickly enough. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake and its powerful aftershocks, likely leaving parts of the nation uninhabitable.

With severe damage hundreds of miles from the epicenter, including in Thailand's capital city of Bangkok, skyscrapers swaying so violently, rooftop pools briefly became waterfalls.

And this 30-story high rise under construction near a popular weekend market collapsed without warning, likely trapping dozens inside.

RIPLEY: Here in Bangkok, heavy machinery is now sifting through the rubble of that collapsed skyscraper. They do have the resources and the manpower for a massive disaster response. But with each passing hour of not finding anyone alive in all that rubble, hope for the families is fading.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Search and rescue teams are doing everything they can, sniffer dogs picking up possible signs of life, giving hope to this wife and mother of two who was working in the building with her husband of 30 years, but stepped outside for a break just before the quake.

I'm looking for my husband, she says. He's trapped inside. Until I see his body, I still have hope.

Drone footage captures the scale of the collapse, a tangled mass of steel and concrete where rescuers continued searching all day Saturday, and only one dead body recovered.

I'm praying my mom and sister are among the survivors, she says. But I see how fast the building went down. It's hard to hold on.

Hope is still alive here, but barely.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIPLEY (on-camera): And here in Bangkok, you can see that work is basically continuing around the clock. They're now using more of the heavy machinery to dig through this large pile of rubble, that concrete and that steel, which raises the question, are they no longer concerned about destabilizing areas where they thought survivors might be trapped? The fact that they haven't found anyone alive, and it's been a full day of searching, certainly difficult for a lot of the families out here who continue waiting.

Will Ripley, CNN, Bangkok.

BLACKWELL: Thanks for that.

This morning, more than 100 million people are under severe storm threats from Texas to New York. CNN's Allison Chinchar joins me now. It's going to be a rough day, maybe a rough tomorrow. What are we looking at?

CHINCHAR: Yes, I would say more of it's really going to ramp up in the latter half of the day. We have storms out there already, but it really picks up tonight through the overnight and then really all day Monday. So certainly something to keep an eye on, especially maybe if you've got a morning commute tomorrow.

You may have to contend with some of these showers and thunderstorms. Right now, this is where we're talking about. The focus is really going to be across the central U.S. You've got areas of just some lighter showers across portions of the Ohio Valley.

But again, it's this line right here. That's where we're looking at the most activity, at least as we start the day. Here you can see across portions of Missouri. You've even got a couple severe thunderstorm warnings, not just in Missouri, but also down across portions of Texas, too, where a lot of those storms are firing up.

As the sun comes out, heats things up, you're going to see more of those showers and thunderstorms develop. So this entire area here, essentially stretching from southern Michigan all the way back towards Texas, has the potential for those tornadoes, potential for some large hail, could even be tennis ball, baseball size, and those wind gusts up around 60 to 70 miles per hour.

Then Monday, we start to see it shift eastward, pretty much up and down the entire eastern seaboard here, going from essentially upstate New York all the way back down to the Gulf Coast. Same threats, still going to be looking at some large hail, damaging wind gusts, and the potential for some tornadoes.

Again, you're just looking at a slightly different area here. Now, one thing we talked about is the timeline, Victor, so we'll get to that timeline coming up in just a few minutes.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you, Allison.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting a Tufts University student. We're following the latest developments on President Trump's immigration crackdown.

Also, Wisconsin, now Elon Musk's latest political playground. We'll tell you why he's spending millions on the state Supreme Court race there. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:46]

BLACKWELL: The University of Minnesota has confirmed that an international grad student has been detained by ICE. The student was taken from an off-campus residence on Thursday. In response, Minnesota State Senator Doron Clark told CNN that, "I'm saddened and angered that ICE is operating around the University of Minnesota. The university is working to get more information, but has not identified that student".

Now, that's just one of several foreign nationals linked to top U.S. universities that have been arrested during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. A federal judge in Boston has ordered immigration officials to stop the deportation of a Tufts University grad student from Turkey.

You probably have seen this video by now. She was arrested by federal agents Tuesday while walking near her home. CNN's Rafael Romo has more.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The only thing that's temporarily stopping U.S. immigration authorities from removing the 30-year-old PhD student is an order published by a Massachusetts district court. Judge Denise Casper wrote that Rumeysa Ozturk, who is currently in detention at a Louisiana facility, shall not be removed from the United States until further order from this court.

As you may remember, Ozturk was arrested Tuesday night near her home by six plainclothes officers who suddenly encircled her on the street near her apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts, in the Boston area.

[07:20:06]

Her attorneys say the Tufts University international student was transported across multiple states before ending up at the Louisiana facility. In a statement, Ozturk attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said the following about the federal judge's order. "This is a first step in getting Rumeysa released back in home to Boston so she can continue her studies. But we never should have gotten here in the first place", she said. Rumeysa's experience is shocking, cruel and unconstitutional.

Ozturk is one of several international university students facing deportation following a Trump administration order to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses. This is what Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to say about these cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're saying it could be more than 300 visas? RUBIO: Sure, I hope. You know, I mean, at some point I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them. Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt -- we gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we've given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we're going to take it away.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: There's another case that stands out, that of a Russian scientist who was detained after failing to declare frog embryos upon returning to Boston from France, according to her attorney.

Kseniia Petrova, who works at Harvard Medical School, has been detained for weeks and could be deported. Her attorney, Greg Romanovsky, says his client faces deportation to her native country, where he says she would face immediate arrest over her previous outspoken opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Romanovsky says she has an immigration court hearing in Louisiana in early May.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: All right, Rafael, thank you for that.

House Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about a special election in Florida this week.

Plus, Elon Musk is headed to Wisconsin. He's got a couple of million dollars to hand out, but that's not sitting well with the state's attorney general.

Also, the White House Correspondents' Dinner has cut the comedian this year. Amber Ruffin dropped from the event. That's ahead in your morning roundup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:43]

BLACKWELL: A judicial race in Wisconsin is now the costliest ever in the country. Let's talk about that and much more with Rahul Bali, WABE News Political Reporter, Judge Ashley Willcott, retired juvenile court judge, and Jason Lee, Senior Editor for Bossip. Welcome, everybody, to the table.

So let's start with Elon Musk. He has spent $20 million on this race. He and his groups here in this judicial race. This will be the first test since DOGE of his popularity, because Democrats are making him central to this contest.

RAHUL BALI, WABE NEWS POLITICAL REPORTER: I think the important thing to remind, that I've been reminding our audience of why these races have become so important is because of the Conservative and Republican push to push more issues back to the states. For example, abortion. That was kind of the big example. Now, this has become a state-level issue. The states get to decide what those law. And kind of the next step to all of that is the federal government and the Trump administration trying to send more stuff back to the states, like education funding.

That's going to -- and most importantly, that's going to make your state representative, your state senator, your governor, your state Supreme Court race even more important these days.

BLACKWELL: Judge, this -- he's going to be in Wisconsin today to hand out million-dollar checks. Initially, when he first tweeted out, it was to voters. Then he quickly changed it to people who signed this petition. The attorney general there sued to stop him from doing it. The appeals court just yesterday did not block that.

So how close to the line of illegality is this? Because it happened right before the election, too.

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, RETIRED JUVENILE COURT JUDGE: Right, right. Well, I think the problem is not only is it possibly close to a line, but the creation of this perception of it's not fair, won't be a fair and impartial judge, right? Because you've got this political person stepping in and giving all this money and the public perception of how can they be fair when they're supposed to interpret the laws and yet you have this person paying all this money to get a certain judge elected. Does it make it feel like that judge is in the administration's pocket?

BLACKWELL: Yes, and we're seeing these Tesla takedown events across the country where you get 200 events in the U.S., 500 around the world. I wonder, is there any evidence -- and this is for anybody -- that this is making a difference, that it's changing anything in Washington, that it's slowing DOGE at all?

BALI: Not really. From everything we've seen is, DOGE is still going straight. Look, we're seeing it at the CDC and the VA here in the Atlanta area, but with agencies across, you know, across the -- in federal government. You know, those fights are happening in court. Those fights are happening in Washington.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We also got from sources familiar with the Defense Department, as we talk about DOGE and efficiency and spending federal dollars, the Defense Department data, according to the sources, shows that the President's mission at the southern border cost taxpayers more than $300 million in the first six weeks of this administration, more than a quarter billion in the first month.

One official says, quote, "They're drunk on money". How do you reconcile that kind of spending with this DOGE-firing closure elimination of programs?

WILLCOTT: I just have to jump in and say, I think at some point it's going to become a judicial issue. I think they're going to get the courts involved, Victor, because at some point, you can't reconcile both. There's going to be a moment when the dollars and cents don't align and don't make sense. RAHUL BALI, WABE NEWS POLITICAL REPORTER: But here's the thing. On the campaign trail with President Trump and his supporters, this is what they wanted. This is what they talked about. They talked about this and economic issues. Those are the top two things that they talked to me about when I was out at campaign events during the presidential campaign.

BLACKWELL: So, you think the price tag doesn't matter?

BALI: This is what they -- this is what his supporters wanted.

BLACKWELL: OK. $2 billion, if they keep at this pace, it'll be the first year. Let's talk about the White House Correspondents' dinner. Because typically, there's a comedian who is the feature, I mean, usually the president attends, but the president won't be there. No one expects him to attend.

The White House Correspondents' Association announced that Amber Ruffin is not going to be there. No comedian at all. Here's the statement from yesterday. At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics or division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation. That's from the president, Eugene Daniels. Every moment is a consequential moment for journalism. What happened here?

JASON "JAH" LEE, SENIOR EDITOR, "BOSSIP" WEBSITE: I find it interesting that he used the phrase consequential moment in journalism because I feel like it's also a consequential moment for politicians. Everyone needs to be held to account. And being that, you know, Donald Trump and the Republicans control all three branches of the government right now, they will be most likely the ones who receive that criticism.

But there's plenty of criticism also to go around for Democrats for, you know, people who are dissatisfied with what they've been seeing as far as fighting back against some of these policies. But everyone needs to know how to take accountability for their actions, and part of that is jokes and well crafted, well thought out jokes that Amber Ruffin could provide I think would be good for people to see, for people to, you know, get a laugh at and to be able to understand that there's some serious things going on out here. And also, there's a good time.

Plus, there's no truth like the truth that comes out of a black woman's mouth when it's time to say what's really going on out here.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

LEE: And so, it's disappointing that they chose to go the other direction.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean, just February they announced her and Daniels, who announced the -- they're dropping her from the bill. Amber's unique talents are the ideal fit for this current political and cultural climate. This dinner's about censoring the importance of a functioning democracy. Is this about just, you know, the president being vindictive and what they see happening with the A.P. and the fear of what the consequences could be for a joke that maybe he doesn't like?

BALI: I think that may have been one of the concerns. Obviously, I'm not part of the White House Correspondents' but I -- that may have been one of the concerns or maybe they did want to put the focus on their journalist. You know, in general, journalists -- what's different about this time with journalists is I'm doing more media literacy events, for example, explaining to people how I do my job, you know. And some of the common questions are how -- you know, why do you do this story? Why do you do that story?

And so, that's what's different about -- more people are asking questions about how we do our jobs and answering those questions, I think is what, what falls on us when it comes to that.

BLACKWELL: OK. Well, we'll see how they craft the event this year, because it's unlike what we've seen in previous years.

LEE: And I got to say during the campaign, you know, there was a big brouhaha about Trump, you know, making these statements about taking black jobs, and it's kind of ironic that somehow there's been a black job eliminated from this entire thing when there's a black woman to come in to say, let's, you know, do her job and do -- be funny and tell these jokes. Here we are.

BLACKWELL: I forgot all about black jobs.

LEE: That's a black job that was eliminated from this economy.

BLACKWELL: Took that black job. All right. Everybody, stay with me. We've got more to talk about coming up after the break. Ongoing feud rocking the sports and media world. LeBron James, the face of professional basketball, and Stephen A. Smith, prominent ESPN anchor. We'll tell you what started their latest fight and it just got ugly over the last couple of days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. Back with our Morning Roundup, Rahul Bali, Judge Ashley Willcott, and Jason Lee are here. So, Greenland. Of course, the vice president was there this week, had some harsh words for Denmark. In this interview with NBC News, the president said that the military is not off the table and that the U.S. will get Greenland.

The American people had no appetite to send U.S. troops to Ukraine, to send them to the war in Israel with Hamas. Is there any interest in sending U.S. men and women to take Greenland?

BALI: I think the Trump administration's going to have to make that argument about why Greenland? Why is this going to be the focus? Why is this going to be necessary? And I think the other thing that -- to watch for is what's going to be the reaction to Europe.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILLCOTT: But I also think that it wasn't something that his supporters were looking for, were expecting. And so, you're not going to have the same kind of buy-in that you will on some of the other major issues he's tackling.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

[07:40:00]

LEE: Well, hopefully, if they do decide to go forward with this whole idea of taking over Greenland, that it doesn't end up in a Signal chat and that all types of people aren't added to the Signal chat, giving away the -- it's secret -- intelligence secrets that the American military is planning to invade Greenland.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We have been there.

LEE: We have been there already. We've seen that before.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, we got some pop culture I tease before the break. This feud between Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James. We -- maybe some people have seen the confrontation on the sidelines right there at the court, that was, I think on the 6th or 7th of March.

This week, Stephen A. Smith accused LeBron of not going to Kobe's memorial and then had to apologize because he did. Jason, this just has gotten ugly over the last couple of days.

LEE: It's gotten very ugly. And the sad part about it is that Stephen A. Smith, he has some substantive points about Bronny James and whether or not he was prepared to play in the NBA. But I don't think that his criticism or his commentary was really about Bronny James, it was about LeBron putting unnecessary pressure on his son, saying that, you know, my son is better than some of these NBA players that I see. And if you want me on your team, just draft my son.

There also seems to kind of be a rollout problem with this whole idea that LeBron obviously wants to play with his son. And we all understand that. But to take it to the point of, you know, confronting Stephen A. Smith live at a basketball game, you know that that's going to get eyes on it. You are at a basketball game, you're doing your job. People are going to see this.

So, you know, he's blaming Stephen A. Smith for, I guess, essentially clout chasing and using this talking point to kind of further his own career to get eyes on him. I don't think Stephen A. Smith really needs that, but beyond that, there's just two ideas that LeBron, I don't know if he can -- if he's holding them in his head correctly.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

LEE: The point was more about him putting that pressure on his son and not necessarily Bronny as a player. BLACKWELL: It just that they both -- it looks small.

WILLCOTT: It is small.

BLACKWELL: I mean, LeBron is the biggest basketball star and for this kind of back-and-forth week after week, it just kind of looks small.

WILLCOTT: It is small, but the internet takes over. So, it is not one of them controlling it, but also, you're there to play a basketball game, play the basketball game, deal with issues you have about comments by a professional commentator who knows sports outside the arena.

BALI: And underlying all of this, people have strong opinions about both.

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's true.

BALI: You know, dating back to -- you know, going to South Beach for LeBron James and people have strong opinions about Stephen A. You know, some of the conversations I've had at the baseball field, it feels like that underlies some of that with both of them.

BLACKWELL: Listen, this is another one that got a lot of attention this week. This is gospel singer Marvin Sapp. And he's getting some backlash after he said this to a congregation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARVIN SAPP, GOSPEL ARTIST: I said, close them doors. Ushers, close the doors. Close the doors. Close the doors. I'm challenging each of you all down here to give a $20 seed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You got to pay that $20 to get out of that sanctuary. He this week said that there is a cost to ministry, but that is not resonating well.

WILLCOTT: And the problem is legally, from my perspective as a former judge, this is a crime. If they didn't feel like they could leave the sanctuary --

BLACKWELL: A crime?

WILLCOTT: -- that's kidnapping. If you hold someone against their will, and some of the church members have said, listen, I didn't feel like I could leave. So, he's crossed a line if it's true that they didn't feel like they could actually leave where they were contained.

LEE: Kidnapping of the name of the lord is craziness. That's an insane thing to do. But beyond that, what is going on with this story? I've been to church. I grew up in a black church. I went to church my whole life as a small child. I've seen a lot of things at church, and Marvin Sapp tried to clean it up after the fact saying, well, this is a vulnerable time and it can be risky if people are moving about. That's why I told him to close the door of the church. I've never seen anyone get their purse snatched, be pickpocketed, walking on the way to give tithes and offerings.

BLACKWELL: He --

LEE: So, I'm not even understanding what is so vulnerable -- that explanation just doesn't hold any water.

BLACKWELL: $40,000 he was going forward. $20 seed, as he called it, from a thousand people in the room, a thousand people online. And then he asked everybody on the stage there to give a hundred dollars, part of his long Facebook explanation, as the assigned ministerial gift for this international gathering, one of my responsibilities was to help raise the conference budget. That's not manipulation, its stewardship. So, that from Marvin Sapp.

[07:45:00]

This is a topic that I was leaving until the very end after other things, but this guy is talking during the break. I don't drink coffee, but Pedro Pascal's joking that he felt violated when his coffee order was exposed, and it's six shots of espresso. Apparently, that's a lot. I don't --

BALI: First, how do you do a morning show without coffee?

BLACKWELL: You know, just deep breaths.

LEE: No, six is a lot.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

LEE: That's a very aggressive amount of coffee. I don't do -- if I had a cup of coffee right now or espresso my hands would be shaking. I'd be doing a Harlem shake up here. I cannot, under any circumstances, imagine a situation that I would need six shots of espresso.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I've -- I had nothing to compare it to. I tried to drink coffee years ago, but I started adding caramel and whipped cream and sugar and all the things --

WILLCOTT: To make it taste good.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Speaking of tasting good, we got to look at some of the baseball stadium, the new food they have there. In my hometown of Baltimore, there's a double burger with queso fundido, pickled pico de gallo, fried onions on a pretzel bun.

WILLCOTT: Would you eat it?

BLACKWELL: No.

WILLCOTT: Why?

BLACKWELL: I wouldn't even want to know how to get a bite of that. This is the one. So, this is in Chicago, battered dipped corn dog, marshmallow base drizzled with sweet condensed milk and Fruity Pebbles on top. Who wants Fruity Pebbles on a hot dog?

LEE: I'll try it.

WILLCOTT: People will eat anything.

BLACKWELL: Really?

LEE: I would try it.

BLACKWELL: Oh, no.

LEE: These meals, right, meals right here are exactly why we need free healthcare in America. This is a prime example of why we are desperate for free healthcare in this country.

BLACKWELL: Oh, Jason, Judge Willcott, and Rahul, thank you all for coming in.

WILLCOTT: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: We'll take a break. We'll be right back.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: This morning, more than 100 million people are under threat as severe storm sweep across Texas all the way to New York. Joining me now, CNN's Allison Chinchar, what are you seeing?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, we do have some active severe thunderstorm warnings. You can see those right now across portions of Texas. The main line of these storms is sliding across the Central U.S. and we'll continue to shift eastward as we go through the day. So, that's why all of this area you see here has the potential for those strong to severe thunderstorms. That does include damaging winds 50, 60 miles per hour. It also could include some hail, the size of tennis balls or baseballs. And yes, even the potential for some tornadoes as we go especially into the late afternoon and evening hours.

So, here's a look at that timeline. Again, you've got a lot of these storms right through here, crossing over portions of the Ohio Valley, but also down to the southeast. But then, look overnight, especially the evening and the overnight, that really strong line of storms begins to form and will continue to slide eastward through the evening and overnight hours. So, impacting Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery, all of those areas as the line slides east.

Then by Monday morning, you're still looking at some of those strong thunderstorms across portions of Atlanta back down through New Orleans before the line continues to slide east. And then, really, by late Monday, it's really up and down the eastern seaboard that really becomes the big concern. That's why Monday, you still also have the potential for a lot of these showers and thunderstorms to continue throughout much of the day and even into the evening.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you. Tipoff is in just a few hours for the March Madness tournament to continue CNNs Coy Wire is here with a look at all the action.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Madness is fully here now. Have you seen your bracket --

BLACKWELL: I have not.

WIRE: -- in our bracket challenge? It is something. We'll get to that in a minute. We had a sweet 16 thriller. Number one Florida in a dog fight with Texas Tech in the Elite 8. Gators were up against the ropes, down by nine with about two minutes and 50 seconds to go, But Thomas Haugh three, next possession. Watch him again. Haugh another three ball. It's good again. Bam. Texas Tech's lead was cut to three. And then the very next possession, Walter Clayton Jr. ties it up. The Gators were reigning threes and they would go on to win it after ripping off an 18 to four run and it's 84-79 win. Florida in the final four for the first time in 11 years.

Number one Duke came out swinging against two seed Alabama. And Baba's Mark Sears got rejected like a friend request from a great fake profile. Instant block, seven foot two Khaman Maluac. Holy moly. And Cooper Flagg, Duke's freshman phenom, who will be the number one overall pick in this year's draft, 16 points, nine rebounds. Blue Devils dancing through to the final four, winning by 20, 85-65. Holding Bama to the second fewest points they scored all season.

Today, we have two more men's games with trips to the final four on the line. It's in San Antonio this year. One seed Houston taking on two seed Tennessee. And the winner will get Duke. Top overall seed Auburn facing Michigan State. Winner of that one gets Florida.

Women's tourney. Three seed Oklahoma facing Paige Bueckers in the one seed Yukon Conquerors. Paige Bueckers' Yukon had 10 three pointers in this game and Paige had six of them. She scored a career high of 40 points. She outscored the entire Sooners team by herself in the second half.

BLACKWELL: Wow.

WIRE: Huskies headed to the Elite 8 for the 29th time in an 82-59 win. Bueckers' first UConn player ever to score 40 in a March Madness game.

TCU and Notre Dame, check this out. Olivia Miles is a magician. Behind the back dribbled then a no look dish to Liatu King. Showing why she led the ACC in assist. Then she drain a three of her 10 points there. Look at her, she's feeling it. The Irish were up, but the frogs hopped back in it.

[07:55:00]

Hailey Van Lith lift on fire. And watch the bench go wild. Van Lith has more handles than a bucket shot. She scores 26 points because the first player to play in Elite 8 for three different schools. TCU wins 71-62.

All right. Let's pull up that CNN anchor challenge bracket. Leading the way, Jessica Dean, 98 points, do not come from my job, please. Allison Chinchar, 80. You have Michigan State winning it all. You have a shot. Then, let's see here. That was me. I had 80. You have 64. You have Michigan State winning all. I had St. John's. They're not in it anymore.

And, Victor, if you scroll all the way to the bottom, you have 15. You know Kentucky win it at all. They are not in it anymore. And the only reason I bring this up is because last year I brought it up when you were crushing it, you were like at the top.

BLACKWELL: Wait, Jessica Dean is at ranked 202, I'm at 51,000?

WIRE: Yes, we cut out a whole bunch of people in between just to highlight you there. But --

BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: Yes, good job, buddy. There's always next year.

BLACKWELL: And thank you all for watching this morning. Inside Politics with Manu Raju is next.

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[08:00:00]