believe, and we'll say without regard to any other constituency or pressure upon them. and if you don't have that feeling about somebody, really, why are there? they're just quote the press release >> all right. this has been great conversation. thank you all very much for being here. i will leave you with this in times of tragedy and heartbreak, it's always amazing to see real community today. people showing up for when each one another making sacrifices to help other people both physically and emotionally. and we are seeing that in baltimore i have seen classic examples of what it means to be maryland tough and i've seen classic example of what it means to be baltimore strong. i have seen a community rally i have seen us overwhelmed with the amount of calls from philanthropist and the private sector wanting to come in and support. we even had sandwich shops that closed to the public so they can make food for first responders. we've watched a community rally. we've watched a community that takes care of

each other. we've seen a state that truly shows what it means to be maryland tough i'm gonna be in baltimore this weekend and i know that's what i'm going to see at camden yards and across the city. thanks very much to of you for joining us this morning. i'm kasie hunt. don't go anywhere. cnn news central starts right now >> this morning for the first time i'm investigators will board the cargo ship that crashed into the francis scott key bridge. as new questions emerge about what caused the accident, wasn't a bad engine that you'll were warning signs missed or ignore. >> and former president obama as sounding the alarm on the 2024 election sources saying he believes the biden trump rematch will be an all hands on deck moment, and he's working with his former vp on a plan to win sean diddy combs briefly detained and as he was about to leave for spring break trip with his kids, new details on

the raids on his homes, and what his legal team is saying this morning, i forgot whitfield with john environment, sara sidner, and kate bolduan are off today. this is cnn news central >> we, are standing by for crash investigators to go inside the cargo ship that took down the francis scott key bridge in baltimore >> this will be >> their first time on board as we're getting brand new details of what may have gone horribly wrong, including questions about whether during pretty fuel played a role an officer who was on the ship told the wall street journal, quote, one of the edges, coughed and then stopped >> the smell of >> burn fuel was everywhere in the engine neuron and it was pitch black. this morning, more divers will join the difficult task of recovering six construction workers who are now presumed dead. some of them parents leaving behind several

children also today, the threat of hazardous materials are a major concern. federal officials are watching about 1.8 million gallons of diesel so that might have spilled, seen as gabe cohen is live on the scene this morning. gabe, what are you seeing out there >> well, john, it's a pretty quiet morning here as we know that search and recovery operation is expected to get going here pretty soon. we also know a couple of dozen investigators from the ntsb are here. some of them will be boarding the dali two begin this investigation really to start speaking with the crew and collect any recorders or electronics that they can get their hands on. and as you mentioned, the wall street journal is reporting that investigators are going to be looking at whether or not contaminated fuel inside the ship may have played a role in this may have been a contributing factor to that near total blackout that the ship experienced just before the collision, losing control,

losing operations really before hitting the column and sending that bridge into the river and look, it's going to be very difficult for the recovery crews that are out there because we are expecting rain, wind choppy waters. so it's not going to be easy to find those six missing crew members, but today is really when this investigation gets going, john, and as you mentioned, there also concerned about potentially hazardous material that might have spilled out into the river from that ship when it collided with the bridge. and so really they're looking at a few different angles to this. and it could be a tricky de, and very busy day for those investigators. >> gabe, what are we learning about the victims here? some of whom may have actually saved lives >> we're learning a lot. i mean, look, several of these individuals, he six construction workers that have been missing and presume i'm dead in the river. they had lived in maryland for a long

time. they were residents family members. we've learned about 38 year-old that may nar you here suozzi sandoval, for example, he is an immigrant from honduras. he has been a us resident now for the past 18 years a married father of two with an 18 year-old son and a five-year-old daughter, his brother, told scene in an describing him as his beloved figure in the family we've also learned about miguel luna, a father of three from el salvador. he had lived in maryland for more than 19 here's john, and we expect more of these stories to come out in the hours ahead. and you can feel the heartbreak from the family members, some of the local organizations friends that knew these individuals and are grieving today as this recovery effort continues, and this investigation gets underway, it's such a law escape. gabe cohen. thank you very much. and thank for that. some of those construction

workers may help help clear the bridge before the boat hit and saved other law. i mean, it's remarkable >> remarkable because >> usually about 30,000 people get over that bridge on a daily basis. all right. thanks so much, john, we're also learning new details about at least three other deadly accidents involving synergy marine group. that's the group that managed the dali cargo ship yep. in 2018 and australia one person was killed on a ship elevator in 2019 an officer went missing after likely falling overboard in singapore and then last year in the philippines, one person was killed when a tanker collided with a dredging ship cnn's ivan watson is onboard a vessel in hong kong. ivan, what more we learning about these incidents >> right i'll get to that. we're just here. it's after sunset, but i'm next to a container ship just to give our viewers a sense of this of the he's gargantuan vessels. this

should appear is actually shorter. it's not as long as the dali that's the 300 meter long, just under 1,000 foot long containers chip that took down the bridge in baltimore this week. and were dwarfed by it the dali itself had a capacity to carry up to 10,000 containers. sener's, the kinds of things that are stacked up here. you may be able to see in the dark, it was carrying according to the operating company, more than 4,700 containers here's at the time of the deadly collision the ship itself is owned and operated out of by companies out of singapore. it had a crew of 20, 2022 indian nationals onboard. they've all been reported as healthy. >> the track record >> of the ship, it's safety record. well, he was inspected by the us coast guard in september and there were no problems, however, in june of 2023 chilean authorities

briefly held the ship. >> they had some >> concerns about gages having to do with propulsion now, some experts that i've talked to say that's not really a big deal but that may be something that the us investigators will look into sin in the singaporean maritime officials are saying that the crew would reported a loss of propulsion shortly before that collusion took place. but just again, the ships, these kinds of ships are massive >> and one thing to keep in >> mind is when the francis scott key bridge was constructed in the late 19 container ships of this size, we're not being built by ship builders. this is a much more recent development and they are integral to international trade. there's a good chance that some of the stuff you have in your for haul has been moved around on ships like this, that constantly operate around the

world. >> back to you, fredreka and john >> all right. ivan watson. thank you so so much for that. jon. all right. other major news this morning. sean diddy combs releases this first statement since the fbi raided his home. we've gotten new details on the investigation and then just in hunter biden will move to dismiss the felony tax charges against him. the new arguments from his lawyers that will be brought before a judge today. and we have new reporting. president obama jumping into help with the biden campaign calling it an all hands on deck moment if you work in spaceflight. this is the worst thing that can happen. >> space shuttle columbia final flight from beers sunday, april 7 at nine on cnn >> doug, hello, ghostbusters it's duck i've doggedly moon. we help people customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual

>> anyway, we got a bit of a situation here >> sure i can only pay for what you need >> those clusters frozen empire in theaters now you always got your mind on the green mat. you you, your business bank account with quick will 20 now words 5% apy that's how you business differently >> intuit quickbooks >> some people have minor joint pain plus stomach problems. they may not be able to take just anything for pain. that's why doctors recommend tylenol. it won't irritate your stomach the way aleve or even an advil or motrin can for trusted villi, trust tylenol, file 100% free with turbotax free edition, roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify form 1040 and limited credits only see how a turbotax.com that's me

>> structured settlement had died >> no >> it's your money >> use it when you need it >> with fast sides >> signage that gets you noticed. it turns hot lots into homes that's signs. >> make your statement >> how could anyone possibly know that every single one of these pistachios is guaranteed to be wonderful by reading right here.

>> wonderful pistachios are the pistachios that are wonderful. but the word wonderful on them >> kinda riva support your brain health, narrate. janet, hey eddie, know, fraser, franck, franck, bred. how are you? fred, >> fuel up to seven brain health indicators, including your memory, joined the new riva brain health challenge what you doing just buying a car on carbonic. >> you or not. yeah, it's super convenient. already >> got pre-qualified in two minutes >> let's >> yeah, it is. >> look, i can customize my terms, say the customed down and a monthly payments >> and just like that, my car is getting delivered in a couple days >> delivered. we right here right here, here, car shopping made unbelievably convenience not all caitlin clarks are the same. caitlin clark. city planner. just like not all internet providers are the same. don't settle. you want fast. get fast. you want reliable. get reliable.

you want powerful. get powerful. get real deal speed, reliability and power with xfinity. she shoots from here? that's kinda my thing. your spring cleaning today for just $19

>> all right. >> knew this morning a source tells cnn, sean diddy combs was briefly detained as authorities search two of his properties, the source close to the rapper says, he was getting ready to leave my me for preplanned spring break vacation with his daughters when police stopped him one of his attorneys slammed monday's raids as a quote, gross overuse of military-level force, combs is the target of a federal investigation carried out by a human trafficking team within the department of homeland security with us now, san antonio legal analyst, joey jackson. joey great to see you. so the hip hop producer is facing several lawsuits alleging sex trafficking. so did this search look like one that was focused on looking for people potential suspects, or evidence in terms of items yeah. for drinking. good morning to you. it's certainly appears that the authorities

were looking for information, right? this is an investigation, in order for them to have reached the homes of mr. combs, they would have had had information probable cause to believe that a crime was emitted or some evidence of criminality was there. and so it looks like they may have that is authorities and prosecutors have been looking for information that would tend to establish whether or not there was this session sex trafficking. we know that because of course, this homeland security investigative agency was really the head of this that's what they specialize. it and so in taking computers and other devices, right, things that might have been referenced in the lawsuit in terms of what mr. combs behavior may have been, it would help to give them information that is authorities and prosecutors as to whether or not any crimes are committed. just a brief note for dream and that's it and that's number one, just because you're but a target of investigation doesn't necessarily mean, right, that you'll ultimately be arrested or prosecuted. you certainly could be and number two, we

know that they didn't have information that is authority sufficient for an arrest of mr. combs because if they did, they would have done so. so it's very preliminary at this point what happens in excellent predicated upon the analysis of what if found and what if any information that would lead crimes and if they find that there'll be prosecutions if they don't, there'll be nothing to see here >> okay >> now, we know that he had settled a lawsuit filed by singer cassie, who alleged combs subjected her two and according now, a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking how long after that, at least three more women filed suits alleging similar experiences. so what would be required for homeland security investigations in new york, miami, los angeles, to all cooperate, work together, and advance at this investigation. >> yeah. i think fredreka that those lawsuits you'd have to believe again, i'm just drawing reasonable inferences from the facts, but i would have to

believe that those lawsuits would give authorities are roadmap into potential criminality just based on the nature of the allegations. i think it was a misstep by the cassie lawsuit passed this past november of last year to even be released and then settle the day after if you're going to settle the lawsuit, why allow it to enter the public domain once that happened, there were a number of lawsuits that followed that that gave explosive allegations with respect to all types of alleged misdeeds of mr. poems that now authorities can look into and then looking into them, obviously, you going to look at the sources who are giving that information factually, what are they saying factually? what was he allegedly doing is we look at the lawsuits. there, right >> what information is in them the investigations in terms of whether he was videotaping things and what specifically he was doing. so it gives authorities a bevy of information for eureka with respect to go now and investigate. and i think that they those lawsuits serve as a large measure to what

authorities are doing now again, they don't have the information yet to arrest. how do we know that he would have been arrested? but they certainly have information to believe that there could be criminality, whether there is will be predicated upon what authorities have found from the investigation of those homes. >> all right. we'll leave it there for now. thanks so much. joey jackson. i appreciate it john. >> all right. we are standing by for investigators to finally board the ship that took down the francis scott key bridge in baltimore. there had been concerned they would be in the way of search and recovery efforts with this now, is ntsb chair jennifer homendy. thank you so much for being with us. can you just tell us if investigators have been able to get onboard the vessel yet and what the first thing that they will do when they get there is so we did have some investigators who boarded late last night to begin to look >> at the engine room, the bridge, and gather any sort of electronics two or documentation. but really it

was a very late. and so we are returning today to continue that work and to also have our highway team kim to begin to look at the structure >> oh, i didn't realize investigators were able to get on overnight at this early stage. what was obtained, what was learned yeah. >> so right now, we do have the data recorder, which is essentially the black box. we've sent that back to our lab to evaluate and begin to develop a timeline of events that led up to the strike on the bridge and we hope to have that information to share with the public later today. >> later today, we should have information from the black box. look, everyone has now seen the video of the power flickering on this vessel, not long before it hit the pylon that ultimately took down the bridge. you can see right now on the dali the lights completely out in the video that i'm showing right now what have you learned about

what caused the power outage >> well, right now, our work on scene now we have a team of 2004 investigators, various specialties. they are focused on collecting the perishable evidence that is all the documentation, including pictures and components that we may need on the vessel or amongst the structure to begin to dr. our investigation with regard to analysis and really looking at the documents and digging into inspections and what occurred leading up to the striking that will take a longer amount of time right now, it's getting what would disappear once this is cleaned up. and that is the focus. we're also spending part of the day beginning to do our interviews have they have they begun yet the interviews of people onboard the vessel

>> they will begin later today with respect to those on the vessel will also interview fire and rescue and people that were on the bridge as well. >> one of the concerns that's been raised overnight and some of the reporting is the possibility that dirty fuel might have played a role what could and i understand you're still at the early stage of the investigation, haven't begun the analysis yet, but in theory, what could how could dirty fuel effective vessel like this >> well dirty fuel if, if i've heard the reports too, but it's something that we would have to verify. it really is something that we look at in all of our investigations but that would certainly affect the operation of the vessel. but again, it's far too early. we've heard the reports, but that's something that will come later. >> i understand. absolutely. you haven't done that analysis yet, but as dirty fuel, the type of thing that could lead to a power outage

>> i don't want to speculate. we don't speculate at the ntsb right now. it's looking at all the evidence as we collected to see where we need to go in the investigation >> obviously, you are deep into this investigation right now, was so much focus on what is literally right in front of you. but this accident does raise concerns, i think for a lot of people in the country about the bridges that are around them in one of the things that has been discussed, i have a slide right here up of what this bridge there's look like, no fenders, no blocking areas near the bottom of the pylons on this bridge. and people can see what they look like here are some giant fenders at bridges, and there are other versions with rocks piled around the bottoms of the pylon what are you doing now to assess bridge safety elsewhere in the country >> yeah. so right now the ntsb has a lot of expertise and experience in i investigating

bridge strikes and bridge collapses. going back to 1967. so we have a lot of expertise at the agency with this particular bridge we will focus on this particular bridge and look at the structure. we will look at fenders, we will look at areas that should have been in place to prevent this type of destruction from occurring that will be part of our investigation here. >> i mean, the pictures of the bridge from beforehand certainly show that there don't appear to have been fenders on this bridge, is that correct >> yeah i've seen the pictures. again. we'll want to look at everything that on the structure of the bridge, on the design of the bridge. and then we'll have further information just share. >> all right. we know you have a lot of work to do. we really appreciate the time you've taken to speak with us to let

us know that investigators have been on board the ship, the so-called black boxes. now in your custody and we will hear from you later today on that >> yes. and we do hope to have a lot of information to share later today, including a timeline of events. so look forward to sharing that and seeing you again all right. >> thank you so much. ntsb chair jennifer homendy. thank you so much for your time. fred. >> all right. john rnc staffers and new hires forced to answer a new question do they believe the 2020 election was stolen >> this year? the one thing republican democrats have in common, they're both waiting for their nominees to die this such white trash in congress >> you have young america ferritin, same than lot is getting it, right. why don't you take a gap year in abbotta bog >> have a show were right and left talk to jump sanity needs

to save space cnn presents an encore presentation of hbo's real time with bill maher, saturday at eight on cnn >> you know what's brilliant boring. >> think about it. >> boring is the unsung catalyst for bold what straps bold to a rocket, hurdles and into space. >> or in dms >> boring makes vacations happen early retirements possible, and startups, start off because it's smart, dependable so instead, all words you want from your bank for nearly 160 years, pnc bank has been brilliantly boring. so you can be happy to fill which is pretty and boring if you think about it >> this tax season, it's time to get with straight talk wireless. you get unlimited data and the samsung galaxy a 14 on them. so you can give your genki phone here, kid turn your tax refund into a you fund with straight talk wireless >> more real estate professionals list properties with realtor.com than any other site. >> really

>> really trust the number one-half real estate professionals trust. download the realtor.com. >> today >> we deserve a real king because if he cannot protect his own family he's opposed to protect us >> man is going to taste good luck. >> we always >> are going out with us anymore. i'm going to do this myself. >> fine flexor muscles >> aquaman, and the lost repeated 13. now streaming exclusively on macs for fast natural relief experienced note vihj, i am not as congested and nasally sounding and i am sleeping 100% butter nevada gave me instant relief. >> nevada was sailing through the nasal passages to help clear congestion by quickly sucking up mucus allergens and germs. >> i've had people ask me how i find relief and i tell them

nevada immediately there's no other product out there like it available in major retailers or online at nevada.com. kinda riva support your brain health. >> mary janet, hey, eddie know appraiser, franck, franck, bread. how are you, >> fred fuel up to seven brain health indicators, including your memory, joined the new riva brain health challenge >> so would you get to nashville hot tenders and three mandarin orange tenders? >> what about you? >> three classic tenders? >> for but a flash ribbon for the gonna baby. >> when know. >> it always a competition. i am the shrimp bought >> if you try vaping the kurtzman okay. it might feel like progress, but with three times more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes, apes increased. craig trapping you in it and i was craving loop new caret

basics.com for the best apparel in the game i'm caitlin paul lands in washington and this is cnn >> all right. the breaking

news. we were just told that investigators have now boarded and taken a preliminary look inside the cargo ship that crashed into the key bridge in baltimore, bringing that bridge down they have retired, retrieved the data recorders, the so-called black boxes. they are listening to them now and we should get an update on what information there is on them sometime later today. in the meantime, with us, is the secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg. mr. secretary, thank you so much for being with us. any updates on the recovery efforts inside the river at this point >> well, this is going to be a long road to recovery in terms of the infrastructure right now, are our thoughts, of course, first and foremost are with the families, six families who were hoping for the best yesterday and are now facing the absolute worst. i can't even describe to you what it was like yesterday to stand at the water's edge, lookups, see

the mass of wreckage that bridge a ship basically as large as the span of the bridge itself and then to see the rescuers. and the first responders doing unbelievable work. some of them coming out of the water after their shifts in cold water with barely any visibility trying to save lives just a shocking situation. >> now, we're working >> toward getting things back to normal for the people of baltimore. that means getting the bridge back up and getting the port back open. neither one of those things will be simple >> there are reports from overnight that when this ship was in port, that there were problems with the power, even then, people had noticed power issues even before it left. the other day. how concerned are you that warning signs were missed >> so that's gonna be part of what the coast guard and the ntsb are investigating by design, that investigation is independent and i can't

comment on it. what i will say is that the impact of this incident is going to be felt throughout the region and really throughout our supply chains were talking about the biggest vehicle handling port in the country that is now out of commission until that channel can be cleared. and a bridge that took five years to build. the president has been very clear that every federal resource will be directed toward getting back to normal both for the traffic that counts on the bridge supply chains, the count on that port but this is going to be a big long and not inexpensive road to recovery. >> no, not inexpensive at all. and you said that the federal government you assume will pay for this. but why should taxpayers pay for all of it if if there was negligence involved, if there was something preventable, there shouldn't. one of the shipping companies involved be paying here >> well to be clear, if any private party is responsible for and accountable for this,

then they will be held accountable. and again, that's part of what the law enforcement and ntsb investigations will determine, but we can't wait for that to play out, to get to work right now, to get this up and running what we know is that we've got to tear down every obstacle, physical financial administrative, that means using all the tools that we have as a department and very likely working with congress as well and that was the commitment that the president made and that i made yesterday with governor wes moore. we were with him in his leadership team so were the congressional delegation of maryland clearly determined to make sure that every resources made available. i've never seen anything quite like this, but there had been experiences in the us that we are drawing from, including the 2007 minnesota bridge collapse, where really the federal government, the whole country stepped up to get that reconstructed. we're learning from that. and a lot of other moments in us history as part of the playbook on what to do

next. so much depends on getting that bridge backup and that port back open quickly. >> you said a lot has been learned. one of the things that had been learned over time as ships, big cargo ships have hit bridges. is there have been fenders placed around the base of pylons in bridges like this. you said you're not so sure that any bridge could have withstood a ship of this size. but there are bigger ships than this. there are a lot bigger cargo vessels than this. >> how >> concerned are you about bridge safety in the rest of the country? i know the delaware memorial bridge, not terribly far from where this accident is. is actually going under a multimillion dollar refurbishment to put some fenders around the base >> after 30, 40, 50 years of underinvestment in us infrastructure. this is one of the reasons why president biden made infrastructure a top priority. and it's why roads and bridges are the single biggest category. in his infrastructure package that we're delivering across the country. and that's for all kinds of design issues and resilience issues that are at stake. for example, we're doing

a seismic retrofit right now on the golden gate bridge to make it better able to withstand earthquakes, were designing the new i5 bridge that's gonna go in in the pacific northwest to make sure that it is more resilient for the future. and after a collapse in tampa, the tampa region in the 1980s, there have been new elements of bridge design that have been added in the newest latest, and greatest in engineering think since then, again, it's really too soon to speculate on whether those designs or any designs would have would have changed the outcome here where you had a vessel, it's really difficult to express the physics, the mass of this. we're talking about 100,000 tons. so 2 million pounds of force hitting that support peer that is critical to the entire structure. just a shocking level of impact that as everybody saw, it was enough, almost instantly to take that bridge down. >> any estimates as to when this channel will reopen and

you'll be able to get maybe some of the shipping that's been trapped now inside the harbor out or to get things through >> le's you mentioned not only do we need to get those ships in, there are some ships that are already in there that can't get out. so it's very important to get that channel back open. i have not yet received an estimate right now. the focus obviously is just shifting from searching rescue to recovery but we've already started to work to try to engage all of the relevant parties on what that's going to take. i think the army corps and the coast guard are going to play critical roles in this as well. this is not going to be a simple thing. you've got the the bridge, the wreckage of the bridge. we don't know about the conditions of the pier. so even the part, what will you see now is the central span is down too soon to really know about the condition of the parts of the bridge that are still standing, which also of course have an impact on the entire channel what we do know is that we have tools that we

didn't have a few years ago to help manage supply chains in the us, the president's infrastructure package helped us stand up a new multimodal freight office. we're using that to coordinate among the different players. this is not like air-traffic control where there's one authority that tells the planes what to do and where to go if running and when it goes out, we've got a lot of interplant independent players, different ports, different terminals, different shipping companies and cargo owners who were all going to have to come together and work out how to reroute this traffic. while of course the focus is how to get that port back up and running quickly as we can. >> you have your work cut out for you. we do know that and we appreciate you being with us this morning, mr. secretary, pete buttigieg. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> read all right. hunter biden will be back in court over the future of his felony tax indictment. will a judge agreed to his argument to throw out the nine charges and republicans lose an alabama, a democrat flips at stake he'd house seat with a campaign focused on reproductive rights

is the gop looking at a big warning sign for this november get your viewing glasses ready and experience so rare, it won't happen again for >> another two decades. joint cnn for live coverage it's around the country of the spectacle in the skies. he clips across america. april 8 did one on cnn or streaming on some people just know that the best rate for you is rate based on you with all state, because you know the right way to >> save with dr. wise and get a rate based on you, doing good hands with allstate make your first moos with battery power. they buy steel right now, say y $50 on the fsa 57 battery trimmer said real still. >> find yours >> emergency crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good

throwback? >> emergency crystals >> it's a new day one. we're our shared >> values propel >> us towards a more secure future through august of partnership, building upon cutting-edge american, australian, and british technologies will develop state-of-the-art next generation submarines and build something stronger together security decades, peace and prosperity for america and our allies we are going forward and stenting for word together not all caitlin clark's are the same >> caitlin clark, city planner. >> just like not all internet providers are the same. build settle he went fast, get you want reliable, give reliable. you want powerful, get house

get real deal speed, reliability, and with xfinity, shoots from here, that's kind of my thing >> trim the riva, support your brain health. >> married janet. >> hey, eddie, know fraser, franck. franck, bread. how are you? brad fuel to seven brain health indicators, including your memory, joined the new riva brain health challenge >> with fast sides, create factory great visual solutions to perfect your process that sides make your statement and safe flight will take care of fixing your windshield. but did you know we can take care of your insurance claim. that means less stress for you. >> my pleasure. >> have a good one >> scheduled >> today at safe flight.com. c-flat, we pay >> likely place >> don't know. i've got to go

thanks for django >> you to dream about it for y

keepsake app. we would love a chance to frame it for you >> there is no media personality, >> businesswoman >> celebrity chef my current many lives of martha stewart. >> now >> streaming on macs >> a courtroom showdown in los angeles today, attorneys for president biden, son hunter, will try to persuade a federal judge to dismiss felony tax charges against him special counsel, david weiss, charged hunter biden with nine tax offenses in december. he has pleaded not guilty. his lawyer say he has quote, being targeted because of his

political and familial affiliations and contend that weiss cave to pressure from donald trump and congressional republicans cnn's katelyn polantz is joining me right now. so caitlin, what are we expecting in court today >> well, for this will be a midi hearing where hunter biden's lawyers are going to be arguing to the judge all of the ways they think that this case should be dismissed. now, if the judge will buy those arguments remains to be seen, but this is the stress chest of the indictment that special counsel david weiss filed against hunter biden is the type of hearing that typically happens in one of these cases. criminal case, before it goes to trial so it is a big opportunity for hunter biden's team one of the things that makes this hearing a little bit unusual is that hunter biden's team is going to be pulling at the threads. in this case that make the prosecution of hunter biden unusual. they're going to be talking to the judge about how they don't believe

that this case should ever have been charged because he had a plea agreement with the justice this department, or an agreement with them previously that fell apart they are also going to be arguing that he shouldn't be charged out in federal court in california because he didn't live there at the time of the alleged tax evasion violations. and then they're also going to be talking to the judge about how they believe politics spoiled this investigation and reveal too much about hunter biden and his private tax business that shouldn't have been revealed. so all of those challenges will be before judge mark scar. see we will see how the judge reacts that we don't expect a decision today on whether this case can move forward >> okay. and then separately, a california judge is expected to rule on whether former trump attorney john eastman should be stripped of his law license. what are we watching there? >> fred, this is a special

judge overseeing attorney discipline in the state of california. we are expecting a decision from the judge out there today. this is following a trial of john eastman regarding attorney discipline proceedings that were brought against him. so what's at stake is the possible loss of his law license. it would have to be certified by the courts in california if that's what the judge decides, the penalty should be for john eastman for the work he did for donald trump after 2020. but this is one of those trials where you're seeing the consequence of 2020 and that election, the efforts of lawyers on behalf of donald trump play out even well before those cases go to criminal trial, we will see what happens with eastman today. there's also proceedings happening for others in the system who are lawyers. fred. >> all right. katelyn polantz. thanks so much. john new cnn >> reporting sources say that former president do bomber is calling it an all hands on deck

moment. new details on how he is planning to help the biden campaign. and the fda approves a new drug that could stop the deadly condition and women, the doctors are calling it ticking time bomb >> if you work in spaceflight. this is the worst possible thing that can ever happen >> my dad died doing what he is loved >> space shuttle columbia. he final flight or mere sunday, april 7 at nine on cnn one, barbara switch to turbotax >> i wrote for generations of family tradition. >> i want to make perfume a little so i mean barbers new psyche counts. by guaranteeing her maximum refund intuit's turbotax

>> new assignments in my bag like a bunch of groceries, alice cheese and greece just come to me. >> freedom. you can take your eyes off the new 2024 wrangler in gladiator jeep. there's only one during the jeep celebration event, purchase and get $2,000 cash allowance on the 2024 jeep wrangler sport. don't ms this great offer. visit your local jeep dealer today? >> kinda riva support your brain health. >> mary janet, hey eddie. know, fraser, franck, franck, bread. how are you >> fred, fuel up to seven brain health indicators, including your memory, joined the nar riva brain health challenge with thyroid disease i hit from the camera and i wanted to hide from the world >> for years. i thought my ted was >> beyond help but then i asked my dr. about to pessoa to peda is the only medicine that treats ted at the source, not just the symptoms in a clinical study more than eight out of ten patients taking depressor

had less eyeball during to pessoa is an infusion and may cause a fusion reactions. tell your dr. right away, if you experience fans high blood pressure, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, or muscle pain before treatment, tell your dr. if you have diabetes, ibd, or pregnant or planning to become pregnant? to pestle may raise blood sugar and made worse than ibd to peasant may cause severe hearing problems, which may be permanent >> now, i'm ready to be seen again. >> doeoes it lie to pass a.com o find a ted is specialist and to see bridget's before and after photos forced to be recommended. >> now that you say client, do your business bank account with quickbooks money, now earn 5% apy 5%, apy. >> that's new. >> yep, that's how you business differently >> shingles some described it as an intense burning sensation or an unbearable h. >> this >> painful, blistering rash can

disrupt your life for weeks and could make it hard to be there for your loved ones. shingles could also lead to serious complications that can last for years. if you're over 50 the virus that causes shingles is likely already the inside you. and as you age, your risk of developing shingles increases don't wait. ask your dr. or pharmacist about shingles today >> oh, good job. we >> trying dietary supplements from volterra for healthy joints >> copd isn't pretty out-of-breath and often out of the picture but this is my story and with worst daily trilogy, it can still be beautiful because with three minutes listens in one inhaler trilogy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and

prevents future flare-ups trilogy, you also improves lung function. so i can breathe more freely all day and night. >> trilogy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your dr. if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it? you're not take trilogy more than prescribed. trilogy may increase your risk of thrush pneumonia and osteoporosis. call your dr. force in breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling problems, urinating, vision changes, or i paint occur >> would ask your dr. about once-daily trilogy for copd because breathing should be beauty all day and night. >> i'm rafael roma, the georgia state capitol in atlanta. this is cnn >> so one lucky person in new jersey woke up this morning more than 1 billion richer actually, that's not true. it's highly dependent on whether they take the lump-sum payout and it's before taxes. so really it's disappointing it was the fifth largest jackpot and mega millions history tonight, uh, powerball

jackpot worth more than then $800 billion is up for grabs. two over the world's largest credit card companies, visa and mastercard agreed to settle a decadeslong antitrust suit. the settlement is set to lower swipe fees by $30 billion over five years. these are the fees that businesses have to pay when customers use a card. new overnight cnn projects than an alabama democrat who made a reproductive rights a central part of her campaign will flip a republican-held state house seat in alabama, marilyn lands won the election. it is one that democrats across the country are no doubt watching very closely we've got new reporting on former president obama in how closely he is paying attention to the current presidential campaigns. cnn has learned that he is in regular contact with both white house officials and president biden. this comes as the current president biden is seck to attend a fundraiser here in new

york with former president obama and clinton and all kinds of high powered stars. cnn senior white house correspondent, mj lee is with us now, talk to us about former president obama and what exactly he's doing. mj yeah, john, we know that the former president has told people around him that he expects the joe biden, donald trump rematch to be >> extremely close and that he sees the 2024 election as an all hands on deck moment. and now that we are fully headed into the general election we fully expect that the former president is going to become increasingly engaged with the biden campaign. for example, the president, the former president was here at the white house last friday in spend several hours with president biden and former house speaker nancy pelosi taping an organizing call offer the campaign we're also told that they taped a number of others content videos that the campaign is going to be rolling

out in the coming weeks. the view that the former president things that this is going to be a close election obviously is shared by most people here at the white other national democrats and certainly biden campaign officials but it does speak to the urgency of the moment. and one thing that we're going to see tomorrow night in new york city is going to be this pretty blinked out at fundraiser event that the former president is going to be participating in. he'll be on stage with president joe biden and also former president bill clinton in a conversation that is moderated by comedian stephen colbert. so really striking moment where we're going to see three president's essentially a banding together to try to stop former president donald trump from getting returning back to the white house. and this is going to be in a fair were, we'll see, you know, number of liberties in attendance. these tickets range from $225 to a whopping half

the million dollars. and some of the people in the audience, they'll have an opportunity to get their photo taken, for example, with the famous photographer annie leibovitz. so this is the kind of event where i think it won't be surprised at the end of the day ends up being one of the highest grossing single fundraisers of the biden campaign cycle so far. now, i think it's clear that the former president's popularity and draw an appeal has been pretty undeniable to the biden campaign so far, he has held hoped raise some 15 million just through the grassroots outreach that he has been a part of. we've also seen him, of course help the biden campaign tried to make that contrast with the former president particularly as we were talking about before on an issue like obamacare, something that he of course work with so closely with the current president when he was vice president. now, in terms of his plans, as we were saying before, he is going to become

increasingly involved. and we expect, even though none of these plans are firmed up, yet, that he should be visiting some college campuses and some big important cities and battleground states. and that of course has so much let's do with trying to do outreach to younger voters, progressive voters, and also voters like black and latino voters. these are people that were so key to the obama coalition going back years and people that are now so key to the coalition that joe biden is trying to capitalize on come november john mj lee on the blink doubt, biden reelection campaign, mj. so great to have you on cnn news central. thanks so much. >> right. >> all right. joining us right now, democratic strategist, joe trippy and cnn political commentator and republican strategist alice stewart. and good to see both of you. all right. so joe are you going to be there at that bling death? the affair >> no, i will be there, but i do think it is all hands on deck. i think this is a

tomorrow night will be another fundraiser that again, we'll widen the gap between biden's money in the democrats cash on hand and compared to very dismal republican national committee dollars and dwindling trump campaign finances. so i am glad the obama is out there. he's right to call this all hands on deck. it is. it's not just for biden for democracy itself. it's all hands on deck. this remember, and i think that'll be part of the round and call that president obama, clinton, and biden, of course, make >> but joe, how influential with this dinner, this gathering be. i mean, obviously people who had at least $250 or hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a ticket. they're already on board >> well, i think obama first of all, democratic grassroots

fundraising is on fire, weather, the, whether it comes from obama or biden and i think this, but i think the dinner in the event will bring more attention at every level and i think right now, democratic activists in donors, and i'm talking about $10 to hundreds of thousands are our realizing there's an advantage here. it's time to pile on. it's time to widen that gap. and so i think you're seeing at least in the fund raising that is we are for my firm does a lot of fundraising for progressive in other groups and we're seeing a big uptick uptick particularly in the defense of democracy. so i think this event tomorrow, we'll just feel that >> all right, so alice is kind of gearing up for a biden's reelection i mean, certainly this is signaling a shift that perhaps maybe the trump

campaign needs to be rethinking its opponent >> not at all. fred, look, i think when obama says, are all hands on deck, it's more of a freak out amongst democrat. so they're going to need every penny of this money. they're raising and look, that event sounds pretty cool. i wouldn't mind attending and getting my picture taken by annie leibovitz, but they're going to need all that money of this campaign and this administration is an overdrive trying to convince americans that the economy has good, the border is secure and our nation a safe and none of that is true through even spending millions of dollars fred, on trying to shore up hispanics and african american voters really part of the heart and soul of the democratic party. and they're spending money to keep those people on board because they're losing those to the trump administration. so there's no amount of money that's going to make people feel as though their economic situation is better. they don't feel that way in the polling indicates this. and you look at every battleground state pole, the real clear politics average this donald trump ahead of joe

biden in those poles. and that's a major factor for this biden administration. they got to raise a lot of money to turn things around and there's no amount of star power that's going to make joe biden any younger, make people feel like the economy is good when it's not all right, let's shift gears to alabama democrat who made reproductive rights a main focus of her campaign will win alabama's >> a special election. so might this be an indicator for the gop down-ballot says, and of course the presidential race, alice that women's reproductive rights are front and center very influential. it could change everything >> look, it's no secret that alabama's and the bible belt and alabama as a red-state. and that is a very pro-life and that is a big issue. but at the end of the day, people in alabama are looking at what the economy is right now and they want going to see a change. they know that things under the biden administration, the

economy is not good and they're concerned about immigration and they're also concerned about safety on the streets. and they realize that republicans that have a new vision for the future are better for the people of alabama. and that's a big issue. people aren't single issue voters while the pro-life issue is a big topic of conversation with many pundits and those in the news media, you look at what voters are concerned about and issues that turn them out at the poles. it is the economy, immigration and safety i don't know joe might >> rights >> b. at the center of >> how how people vote. it really can be a single issue that influences them. and this might be it yeah. i >> mean, what else just said doesn't make any sense. i'm sorry. but like okay. so all that's true, but the we we want an alabama and as somebody who ran or was his chief strategist for doug jones race

in 2017 when he became the first democrat to win statewide and the senate race there this. is an, amazing thing to see, something like this happen in alabama and it's just confirms what we've seen in special election after special election. and since dobbs women have come out and a lot of republican women are breaking with the party beyond this issue. and it's particularly with trump in some of the candidates that are out there, particularly in north carolina and ohio. the senate candidates and gubernatorial candidates that the republicans have nominated are on the wrong side of this thing. and i think it's making even the senate more competitive. in 2024 in november >> all right, we'll leave it there for now. a joe trippy, alice stewart, good to see you both. thank you >> all right. another hour of cnn, news central starts right now.