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U.S. and China Agree to Roll Back Tariffs in Major Trade Breakthrough; Opening Statements Expected in Sean Combs Sex Trafficking Trial; Pacers Build 41-Point Halftime Lead, Rout Cavs in Game 4. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 12, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news and a major surprise, the U.S. and China rolling back their effective trade embargo for now. What this dramatic break in the trade war means, markets reacting with futures surging. And we will hear from President Trump this morning from the Oval Office.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking news, the last known living American hostage in Gaza is coming home. We are tracking the release of Edan Alexander.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And opening statement expected to begin today in the federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean Combs. A key witness may take the stand today, Combs ex- girlfriend whom he was caught beating up in a hotel hallway.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: And the breaking news this morning, a major breakthrough in the trade war between the United States and China, the two sides making a surprise announcement after a weekend of talks in Switzerland. Under the agreement unveiled by the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, for 90 days, the U.S. is going to cut its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 percent down to 30 percent, and China will cut its levies on U.S. Imports from 125 percent to 10.

During these 90 days, then the countries say that the negotiations continue. Globally, markets are cheering the news. U.S. Stock Futures, they are, well, take a look at that way up ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, after weeks of wild volatility that we've all been experiencing and covering over President Trump's tariffs, which have disrupted supply chains and raise recession fears.

President Trump will likely be asked about all of this when he signs an executive order later this morning that he says will be to lower prescription drug prices.

Let's get over to the White House right now. CNN's Alayna Treene is standing by. Break all of this down for us right now as we know it so far, Alayna. ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Kate, I mean, this is a major breakthrough between the United States and China from these -- following these talks in Geneva this weekend. The treasury secretary, Scott Bessent announced in a 3:00 A.M. press conference that both countries have agreed to dramatically scale back these tariffs for at least 90 days.

Now, we're expected to see these tariffs be rolled back starting May 14th. That's just two days from now. And I want to reiterate how you laid this out. So, essentially, the United States is going to temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 percent to 30 percent while China's going to roll back its tariffs on American imports from 125 percent to 10 percent.

And, Kate, I cannot overstate enough how big of a change this is, particularly from a White House that has really tried to make China the key part of this broader tariff policy that the president has put forth. Despite having lowered tariffs on all other countries, really, China has been increasingly the one country that they wanted to kind of make an example out of.

And just days ago, I'd remind you that the president was saying, continuing this trade war with China was good policy because it essentially meant the United States wasn't losing money to Beijing.

Now, I think. You know, just taking into all of this into account is even more notable when you recognize that this weekend, the talks in Geneva between the United States and China were the first time the two sides really got together and actually talked about this. Not even just face to face, but even over the phone, to hash out some of these details and try to find some sort of off ramp to the escalating trade war.

Now, already, Kate, we are hearing from this administration, much friendlier rhetoric toward China, much more positive and optimistic view of how we're going to be moving forward in a United States- Chinese relationship. And Scott Bessent kind of highlighted that during the press conference when he said that neither country wants a decoupling. Listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: The consensus from both delegations this weekend is neither side wants a decoupling.

[07:05:01]

And what had occurred with these very high tariffs as Ambassador Greer said was the equivalent of an embargo, and neither side wants that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Kate, as you mentioned, we're already seeing global markets kind of buoyed by this news, and there's no doubt that the president and this White House are going to spin this deal as a major win for them. But, again, I just want to highlight how big of a deal this is and how much of a change in posture this is from the Trump administration particularly again given their repeated insistence on needing to hold China accountable.

Now, and I also think just to make clear that the inflationary reaction we've seen to some of the president's tariff policies, particularly as it relates to China, and also, you know, the economic concerns overall, the impact of his tariffs on the markets, that definitely played a role in all of this. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Alayna, thank you very, much more to learn about all of this morning still. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. The agreement between the U.S. and China, of course, having a ripple effect, as you just heard mention, around the world, the markets in Asia surging on the news,

CNN's Marc Stewart joining us now from Beijing. I'm just curious about this because what you're hearing from one side here in the United States is that this was a major win, a major agreement, but there is a huge capitulation on the part of the United States here. How did this agreement come together so quickly?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, I think a big part of it is just necessity because look at the economic upheaval it's caused around the world. In the United States, there's been a lot of concern about supply chains. Here in China, manufacturing was beginning to take a hit. It doesn't look good when the world's first and second largest economies are fighting with each other. And then this door opened and both sides felt it was ripe for conversation.

And as we have seen, markets really like what they're seeing. If we look at the big boards, if we look at the United States, at U.S. Stock futures, we're seeing gains across the board, including the S&P. That's important because that's where so many of our retirement accounts are based upon. And then here in Asia, as you mentioned, big gains as well. We saw the Hang Seng in Hong Kong up by more than 3 percent.

But with all of this so-called celebration, if you will, there is a lot of caution. China's being very measured in its response. It's seeing this very much as a first step, and that's reflected in some of the statements we are hearing from the country's leadership, including China's vice premier. Let's listen to some of his remarks from earlier in Geneva.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HI LIFENG, VICE PREMIER OF CHINA: We are going to promote new development in the China-U.S. trade and economic relations and inject more certainty and stability into the world economy.

China's position towards this trade war has been clear and consistent, and that is China doesn't want to fight a trade war because trade wars produce no winners. But if the U.S. insists on forcing this war upon us, China will not be afraid of it and will fight to the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: So, perhaps the most important takeaway in all of this is that there is now a vehicle of conversation between these two nations that did not exist before. China wanted to see respect from the United States. This seems to fall in line with those demands, Sara.

SIDNER: It certainly does. China pointing out that the trade war was begun by Donald Trump.

Marc Stewart, thank you so much for all your great reporting there from Beijing. John?

BERMAN: All right. Opening statements set to begin shortly in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs. One major question, who will be the first witness to take the stand?

And, quote, it was a gift, free of charge. President Trump expected to accept a multimillion dollar luxury jet, hundreds of millions of dollars, from a foreign government, and he is going to use it, they say, as Air Force One.

Handcuffed and arrested, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, speaking out this morning after being detained by armed ICE agents.

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BERMAN: All right. Very shortly, we could see opening statements in the federal trial of Sean Combs, just after 12 jurors and 6 alternates are chosen and sworn in. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. If convicted, he could face the rest of his life in prison.

With us now, CNN Senior Legal Analysts, former Federal and State Prosecutor Elie Honig. It's all really getting started this morning, Elie. Walk us through the charges.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. John, we are in federal court, downtown Manhattan, a couple miles from here, and that's important because our charges are federal charges. Now, the lead charge is what we call a racketeering conspiracy, meaning Sean Combs allegedly was part of a criminal organization that committed multiple interconnected crimes. What are those underlying crimes? According to the prosecutors, sex trafficking, kidnapping, drugs, guns, arson, and obstruction.

Now, John, you may notice something unusual about this particular racketeering conspiracy, which is it's one guy. Now, there's allegedly other people involved, but Sean Combs is the only one who's ever been charged with this. Watch for the defense to play off of that.

Beyond the racketeering, there also are sex trafficking charges. The first set involved force, fraud or coercion, the second set do not. [07:15:02]

And there's a huge difference here, because if Combs is convicted of the force, fraud or coercion, he's looking at 15 to life. If he's only convicted of the non-forcible interstate prostitution, it's zero to ten. So, big difference there in the charges.

BERMAN: Huge difference in the severity of the possible sentences there.

What are we talking about in terms of evidence and witnesses?

HONIG: Yes, so the witnesses are going to be key here. This will be a victim-driven case. The primary victim has been designated victim number one. That is Cassandra Ventura, who is Sean Combs' long-term girlfriend. She will be a key witness. She's actually the only witness victim who has decided to use her own name.

There will be maybe three other victims who, if they testify, will be using pseudonyms, fake names, to protect their confidentiality. Important to note though, the prosecution said on Friday they're having problems with victim three, who does not want to testify. They have subpoenaed that victim. That's risky for prosecutors.

Also, of course, there is the video, the surveillance video from 2016 in a hotel showing the vicious attack by Sean Combs on Cassandra Ventura. And, of course, there's other evidence alluded to in the indictment. We expect to see some of these bottles of baby oil and lubricant from these so-called freak-offs. We expect to see firearms and ammunition that were seized during search warrants at Sean Combs' homes. There should be drugs also alluded to in the indictment and medical records of the victims showing that there was force used.

BERMAN: When you see these RICO cases and you see here like eight weeks of testimony in this, you tend to say, oh, this must be a complicated case. What about the defense, Elie?

HONIG: So, I think the first defense is going to be this was consensual. These were long-term relationships. And even if, John, even if these were abusive, physical relationships, that would be a state level domestic violence charge, but that would not necessarily be a federal racketeering conspiracy.

Relatedly, I think you're going to see the defense go after the victims, the witnesses. They're going to say, first of all, these were consensual relationships. Second of all, though, I think the defense is going to try to cast doubt on the motivations. They're going to point out the fact that all of these victims have civil suits against Sean Combs. So, I think the defense is going to say, this is a pile- on. They're all trying to get their names out there. They're all trying to make money. So, that's what I expect to see from the defense.

BERMAN: Yes. In many ways, as complicated as many facets of this case, as there are, it does get down to the issue of consent, a very classic defense in cases like this. How do you expect this will play out?

HONIG: So, here's the process, and we're told it's going to take about eight weeks. Sometimes I think, though, those estimates I know from my own experience end up overestimated, and then the trial ends up being shorter. Jury selection should conclude today. They'll narrow down to their 12 jurors and 6 alternates.

Then today we will get into opening statements. Prosecution will open. By the way, the defense does not have to open at this point. I think they will in this case, but they have the option of choosing not to do that. The prosecution will put on its witnesses and evidence. The defense will put on a case, if it chooses, then we will see closings. The jury will then get the legal charge. They will deliberate. And at some point in June or July, they will return a verdict.

BERMAN: So, right here in opening statements, you talk about the defense. They don't have to. Elizabeth Wagmeister, our great reporter who's been way out in front of this, just got some information. The defense, Sean Combs, excited that they can finally tell their side of the story.

HONIG: There you go.

BERMAN: That's where you'll begin to hear.

HONIG: We'll hear that today probably.

BERMAN: Elie Honig, thank you very much.

HONIG: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right. Kate?

BOLDUAN: A lot to come with that, for sure.

Also, this breaking overnight, Hamas agrees to free Edan Alexander, the last living American being held hostage in Gaza, and we are standing by for news on this today.

And Pope Leo is meeting with journalists for the first time at the Vatican. What he told CNN.

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BOLDUAN: All right. The Indiana Pacers dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals. And it was quite the gut punch for the Cavs, especially who had the best regular season record in the east.

Let's get to our CNN's Coy Wire for much more on this. And that win came with an ejection. What happened?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, all kinds of stuff happened, Kate. The Pacers, they came out swinging against the Cavs tying a playoff record with a 41-point halftime lead. It was 80 to 39. Those Pacers were swinging figuratively and literally. Benedict Mathurin punching De'Andre Hunter in the gut. Then Hunter walks over and sends Mathurin flying to the court with a two-handed shove. Mathurin ejected with a flagrant two. Hunter held his ground, but this one truly was a gut punch for the Cavs.

Their star, Donovan Mitchell, didn't play the second half with an ankle injury as the Pacers dominate 129-109, taking a 3-1 series lead, pushing the east top seated cast to the brink of elimination.

While the Pacers scored 80 in the first half, the Thunder and Nuggets combined for just 25 in the first quarter, tying the mark for the least in any quarter in playoff history in the shot clock era. But OKC Star Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, team high 25, an 11-0 fourth quarter run by Cason Wallace's two three-pointers helped the Thunders seal the deal, 92-87. They tied the series at two.

Carter Verhaeghe got the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on the board first against Toronto in game four. Then what about Bob? Bob was brilliant. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky unbeatable, 23 saves, his second shutout this postseason. Panthers clawing their way back to tie this series at two after a 2-0 win.

Mother Mary of MLB brothers Josh and Jace Jung wore a split jersey supporting each of her boys as they duke it out against each other on Mother's Day.

[07:25:03]

And Josh came out on top, hitting a two run homer for his Rangers in a 6-1 win over Jace's Tigers. Mom said, my heart is just exploding watching them both live their dream.

Jace, well, Kate, he kind of just seemed more annoyed than anything. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACE JUNG, DETROIT TIGERS 3RD BASEMAN: I'm just like, damn. I mean, but at the end of the day, you know, it's your brother. You hate to see it, but like I don't know. I don't even know how to describe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. We talk a lot about GOATs on this show, right, Kate, greatest of all time. Well, here's a highlight of an actual goat flying into a rider in Albania at the Giro D'Italia, making a bad decision, picking the wrong time to cross the road. Oh, that was bad, wasn't it? One rider just barely making it past the goat. That goat was determined to get to the grass over there. Maybe he truly thought it was just greener on the other side, Kate. You got to love it.

I hope that helps you jumpstart your morning and I promise not to break anymore bad goat jokes. But they say goat big or goat home. So, I'm just going for this one.

SIDNER: Oh my God.

BOLDUAN: You're the only person that can pull that off and I still want to talk to you later.

SIDNER: That's the real goat of this whole story though, to be fair, adorable.

BOLDUAN: It's true. Coy, if you weren't so cute, we wouldn't have you back.

I love you, Coy. Thank you so much.

SIDNER: Thank you, Coy.

BOLDUAN: Only he can pull that off and we'll actually not shame him.

SIDNER: It's the smile.

BOLDUAN: It is.

SIDNER: That's why he gets away with everything with that.

BOLDUAN: True.

SIDNER: We sound like mother.

BOLDUAN: We are. We're like the biggest fan club for him.

SIDNER: All right. Coming up, President Trump promised on the campaign trail an era of American energy dominance, but a new report out this morning suggesting that just might not be the case.

All right, four people dead, dozens injured, hundreds homeless after an apartment fire in Milwaukee raged out of control for hours. Authorities are talking about how the fire may have been started.

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