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Port Surge?; Trump Continues Middle East Trip; Cassie Ventura Testifies in Combs Trial. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 14, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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


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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Back on the stand, Cassie Ventura is testifying for a second day, describing a fight with Sean "Diddy" Combs that she says left her with a facial scar. The jury could soon see the videos showing those so-called freak-offs that are at the center of the case.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus: supply and demand. Ports could see an uptick in cargo as China drops its tariffs following that deal with U.S. negotiators. But are those dockyards ready for a surge in goods, as companies apparently try to stockpile products before tariffs potentially return?

And Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the hot seat, grilled about vaccines, whether he would want his own child vaccinated against the measles.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Moments from now, Cassie Ventura is set to return to the stand. And for the first time in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, the jury is expected to see video footage of these so- called freak-offs, as he allegedly called them, these sexual encounters at the heart of this case.

And, later, the defense could finally get its chance to cross-examine the prosecution's star witness. Cassie Ventura so far today has been sharing graphic new details about the 2016 hotel altercation between her and Combs that was caught on surveillance cameras.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Ventura telling jurors about the -- quote -- "fat lip" that she had after the incident, revealing how she wore sunglasses to hide a black eye, Ventura then explaining that she didn't fight back, fearing it would make him -- quote -- "more violent, make him stronger."

Ventura has also given details about the threats of blackmail she says that Combs made when he was angry, as well as the physical toll she says that these freak-offs had on her body.

CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates has been inside the courtroom tracking all of this for us. So, Laura, walk us through some of this testimony, the big takeaways

so far.

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: This has been a day about truly talking about the aftermath of that video, that hotel surveillance video that we all saw and are very familiar with, and the jury as well, and about other instances of violence.

The prosecution's theory in these moments are to talk about the wearing down of her ability to exercise power or control over her life, the idea of the toxicity and the violence contributing to her lessening feelings of self-worth and beyond.

She talks about a movie premiere where she had to have body makeup and extensive makeup over her face in order to cover up evidence of the violence. You also see a lot of videos of escorts, those who were paid to have sexual intercourse with Cassie in these so-called freak-offs.

You're seeing photos of them. They're drawing connections to their even presence and hearing about violence and often asking her about it in the aftermath. We also heard her talk about her fear and concern about the threats that were being made to release any video evidence of these freak-offs, at one point saying she was afraid she would have to answer to her mother.

The fear of discovery was always palpable for her, and she expressed it throughout. There was a moment she talked about the hell, the hell on her body that it took, multiple UTI infections, often back to back, the idea of gastrointestinal issues based on the frequency and the use of the drugs, much of which was helping her to cope by either numbing or dissociative qualities.

She also spoke about how he would take her passport after the Cannes Film Festival, and she felt a feeling of being trapped, only to go on an airplane with him, and him to taunt her, so to speak, by showing her the video.

But we also saw moments when she expressed how even he was concerned when somebody else, a deejay and another person, referenced to her the existence of these videos and they used the weight of security in the presence of a restaurant to try to intimidate and get more answers.

But then there was a moment of tears. She was relaying a Father's Day text message to a man that she called Pop-Pop, a name that she actually called her grandfather, that Sean "Diddy" Combs assumed as his own nickname in their relationship.

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And, in it, she described her love for him, how he made her a better woman, and how she wished they could one day have a baby of their own. At that point, she began to tear up and touched her eyes, as she frequently would touch her own belly during the course of the testimony. It was truly a moment.

But I want to bring you for a second. Here's an inside scoop of what was going on after she left the stand. The lawyers are continuing to try to figure out what type of evidence is going to come in, who is going to see it, and also what ability of lawyers who are lawyers of the other victims in this case who have pseudonyms and other aspects of it, how to prevent them from being revictimized and not being able to speak about their experience in court.

KEILAR: And, Laura, we are expecting cross-examination to possibly begin this afternoon. How do you think the defense might approach this?

COATES: Oh, this is going to be the moment for the defense. She is the star witness for this prosecution, the one trying to bridge the gap between the public persona of Sean "Diddy" Combs and what they say should be the fairly and accurate description of a criminal indicted with five felonies, a trafficker, a racketeer, and someone engaged in prostitution across state lines.

We heard early this morning -- before anything went on in terms of the testimony, we heard an argument about how they would cross her. The defense wants to bring in different exhibits. The prosecution, they wanted it now. They called it trial by ambush if they did not receive each and every document that they were going to provide and possibly use at cross.

But you can expect two things. Number one, they are going to test the theory of this being nonconsensual. They're going to probe very deeply about whether she ever admitted or spoke or said, I do not want to do this and Sean had awareness of it.

And, number two, they know the optics of attacking verbally a pregnant woman, visibly pregnant in front of this jury, who the jury might conflate with the then 19- or 22-year-old who first met Sean "Diddy" Combs with the woman she is today.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the defense at one point arguing that she should be seated when the jury entered the room, a motion that the judge obviously dismissed.

Laura Coates, thank you so much for that reporting outside the courtroom in New York.

Right now, the other big story we're tracking, President Trump is in Qatar, the second of three scheduled stops during this Middle East visit. Just hours ago, he announced a new deal, signing a $200 billion agreement that includes the purchase of 160 Boeing jets for Qatar Airways.

KEILAR: Before arriving in Doha, the president made waves in Saudi Arabia. He met with the new leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist who helped topple the Assad regime. Trump praised him as a -- quote -- "young, attractive, tough guy with a strong past."

He says he plans to lift sanctions on Syria and that he will explore the possibility of normalizing relations with Damascus.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live for us now from Doha with more details. Jeff, the president arrived to quite the fanfare. Tell us about this

stop and the agreement signed today.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, once again, another welcome for the American president, another day of fanfare.

Camels were the order of today. Yesterday, Arabian horses were greeting the president in Riyadh. Of course, this is the kind of welcome that they know that President Trump wants and likes. He loves the pomp, the pageantry, the gold certainly.

But this is a dealmaking trip. There is no question about that. And they got down to business fairly early with a deal with Boeing, the Qatari government and the royal airlines assigning a deal to buy 160 planes from Boeing, to the tune of some $200 billion or so.

But there's no doubt also that the geopolitical challenges in this region are weighing very heavy on the mind of the American president. And he made that clear in his meeting with the emir.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This has been a very interesting couple of hours. We discussed the world. We discussed Russia and Ukraine, where you have been a tremendous help in so many different ways. We certainly discussed Iran, where it's been really an interesting situation.

I have a feeling it's going to work out. I think it's going to work out. It's got to work out. One way or the other, we know it's going to work out.

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ZELENY: So many challenges, of course. It is yet to be determined which will work out, which will not.

But one thing not discussed in that meeting is the -- another issue that's been hanging over the American president this entire journey of his is the Air Force One that he would like to acquire from the Qatari royal family here. This has been a controversy, as you well know. We have been reporting all week.

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Republicans and Democrats alike, many have raised the alarm about the propriety of this, the security of this, so not mentioned there, but clearly on Donald Trump's mind. He was messaging about it on social media early, early this morning, trying to defend against this.

So we will see if that comes up in his state dinner tonight, which is scheduled in just a few hours -- Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Jeff Zeleny live for us in Doha, thank you so much.

Let's dig deeper now with CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt.

Alex, how crucial is this partnership for Qatar with the United States?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's critical for Doha. It's hugely beneficial to the United States.

Doha can play at the level it does on the international stage essentially because of three reasons. It has an extraordinary amount of money that they can splash around. They're willing to talk to anybody, and that really helps the United States. And then they have their relationship with the United States to lean on.

And that's why we so often see Doha bending over backwards, whether it's Democratic or Republican presidents, to please the United States, because that really is how they get their status in the world. They are home to Al Udeid Air Base, which is the biggest U.S. base in the Middle East.

And they have held and been mediators for some critical conversations that the U.S. can't have directly, whether it's with the Taliban, Hamas, Iran, Russia, and the list goes on. So Trump is getting a huge deal out of this. Boeing is getting the $200 billion deal.

But this is also a big thank you to Qatar, because they are willing to do so much. And we see that again today, because, yet again, they are playing host to cease-fire talks for Gaza. An Israeli team is in Doha. Steve Witkoff, the president's Middle East envoy, is in Doha to continue those conversations. So Qatar really is at the middle of all of this.

KEILAR: And this meeting that Trump had with the leader of Syria, just showering praise on him, tell us a little bit more about what this means.

MARQUARDT: I'm running out of synonyms for surprise and being stunned, because I really do think this is going to be the moment of the trip. And he's only halfway through at this point.

But so much of this trip was about the optics and the financial deals. This is huge from a geopolitical perspective, clearly, President Trump bowing to pressure and requests from the Turkish president, Erdogan, from the crown prince, MBS, to meet with Sharaa, but not just the meeting.

He's now talking about lifting sanctions, which the Syrians have essentially been begging for. The Europeans have been a bit farther along in lifting sanctions on Syria. The U.S. has loosened them a little bit. But, here, we have President Trump saying he's going to lift the sanctions, which is critical to Syria essentially getting back on its feet.

And then for him to sort of heap praise on Sharaa and call him a fighter, he literally was a fighter in Iraq against U.S. forces. He was in a U.S.-run prison.

SANCHEZ: He was a jihadist. Yes.

MARQUARDT: He was a jihadist. He went back to Syria, running a group that was linked to al Qaeda. He was a designated terrorist by the United States with a $10 million bounty on his head.

Here he is meeting the U.S. president, having these sanctions lifted. On top of that, Trump is meeting Sharaa and not going to Israel, not meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

KEILAR: A strong past, is that -- what you just described, that's the strong past...

MARQUARDT: Apparently.

KEILAR: ... and the words that were used. Just really interesting.

Alex, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Still ahead: Workers at American ports have been sounding the alarm about the dramatic slowdown in cargo due in part to President Trump's tariffs. But they could see the exact opposite here in a matter of weeks. We will explain why there are now fears over a surge from stockpiling.

SANCHEZ: And the FAA meeting with airlines to talk about their plan to cut flights to Newark to combat delays. What this could mean for your summer travel plans.

Don't go anywhere.

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KEILAR: Starting today, all cargo leaving China and heading for the U.S. will now carry a 30 percent tariff, which is a steep drop from that -- 145 percent tariffs that were in place for the past six weeks.

The temporary lower tariffs are in effect for 90 days, as the U.S. and China try to negotiate a new trade deal. The crippling high rates devastated America's ports, which saw a dramatic slowdown in cargo. They're now bracing for a surge from stockpiling.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is with us now.

Tell us what to expect here.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what a dramatic reversal that could happen in just a matter of weeks.

For the past few weeks, we have been reporting that ports across the United States have been experiencing such a steep decline in cargo volume coming in because of that high 145 percent tariff on Chinese exports. Now, with this 30 percent tariff on Chinese exports, economists and analysts are expecting that retailers will take advantage of this 90-day window, when the U.S. and China are negotiating, to bring in as much inventory as possible.

You're talking about back-to-school shopping items and holiday items that many retailers put on pause because the tariffs were too high. One economist told me -- this is Peter Boockvar -- he said: "You're going to see a rush of ordering over the next 90 days the likes we have never seen before. You're going to see the cost of transportation skyrocket too in the coming weeks and months."

Now, this potential surge, though, will not be seen until late June or early July, because it takes between three to four weeks for goods to come from China to the West Coast and four to six weeks for goods from China to come to the East Coast.

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However, this does not wipe away what is happening this month at U.S. ports. Just take a look at the Port of Los Angeles reporting a 25 percent drop in cargo this month, Long Beach saying they saw a 35 to 40 percent drop in cargo last week. And the ports of Seattle and Tacoma say they're expecting an 8 to 15 percent drop in cargo versus what they see normally.

Also, the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which represents Seattle and Tacoma, say that, yes, they are glad that imports may pick up again, but this chaotic nature of the on-again/off-again tariffs make it very difficult for the ports to staff accordingly and, of course, for people who work at those ports to know exactly how much work they're getting and how much hours they're getting.

Yet to be seen how big this surge is, but the ports, retailers and ocean cargo brokers are expecting for there to be a boom in the coming weeks, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, it is a lot of uncertainty.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Let's get a view of the impact of these tariffs from the Northwest with Ryan Calkins. He's the commission vice president for the Port of Seattle.

Ryan, thanks for being with us.

So, about a week ago today, the Port of Seattle said it had zero container ships docked. What's it like right now?

RYAN CALKINS, COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT, PORT OF SEATTLE: It's actually looking pretty good right now. I think we have four container ships.

Looking out over the bay right now, we have four container ships in. We have got a grain vessel at anchor right now. And, yes, so we're pretty busy right now.

SANCHEZ: What do you anticipate the change is going to be now that there's this pause on tariffs for Chinese goods? It seems like there's been an uptick in activity. I assume you're expecting a lot more.

CALKINS: Yes, you're exactly right.

We anticipate that, by midsummer, that we're going to see a surge, we're going to need to staff up significantly, we're going to need to bring in all the longshore gangs that are looking for work right now back to the terminals to make sure we can operate at full capacity to manage all that.

But, as you can imagine, this kind of whipsaw environment is not ideal for smooth port and distribution ecosystems. We really prefer to have really steady, certain trade relations, so that we can manage more optimally. This is not a great scenario for us.

SANCHEZ: Put that uncertainty and the complexity and uncertainty that it creates into the context of consumers. What does it mean for businesses? What does it mean for folks looking for products on store shelves?

CALKINS: Well, if you had asked me or had told me back in January that, in May, we would be looking at 30 percent tariffs with China and that that would feel like a good thing, I would have been shocked, honestly; 30 percent is still very high.

And, of course, those taxes need to be passed on to the consumer in some way. I have spoken with some small business owners, some car dealers, and they're going to try to eat part of that increase, but they really do have to pass it along. These are low-margin businesses for the most part.

So consumers are going to see that increase. And, furthermore, for us, the biggest problem is the uncertainty. When you're trying to do business planning around stocking up for the holiday rush or preparing for back-to-school, you have to figure out not only how much you're going to get, but what you're going to price it at.

And if you don't know what your tariff rate is going to be when that merchandise lands in August or September, that makes for extraordinarily challenging business planning.

SANCHEZ: What is it like for these companies that might be trying to stockpile products? These retailers, I imagine, are trying to gather as much as they can while the tariff is low now in case, at that 90- day window, it shoots back up again.

But that in itself, the stockpiling, creates complications.

CALKINS: It does.

And I want to give lots of credit to business owners who are finding creative ways to manage around this uncertainty. I have spoken to importers who took material to Canada to park it there as they waited for the 145 percent to drop.

And now that it's down to 30 percent, they're bringing it over the border by land. I have talked to others who've said that they're narrowing the total number of items they bring in, so that they can focus on those higher-margin goods, so that they avoid taking a penalty on high tariffs on low-margin goods.

So they're creating ways to do it. But, as you can imagine, we're not really set up to deal with peaks and valleys like this. It's best suited for a smooth system, where we have a certainty of a tariff rate and businesses can plan around that.

SANCHEZ: Ryan Calkins, appreciate you sharing your point of view. Thanks so much for joining us.

CALKINS: Always a pleasure. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

We have breaking news to CNN: Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriend Cassie Ventura will soon be back on the witness stand. We have the latest from inside the courtroom with our reporters who are there next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: So, Cassie Ventura, the prosecution's star witness in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, has now been testifying for several hours today, part of her second day on the stand.

KEILAR: And, so far, she has given explicit details about the sexual encounters which were called freak-offs she has testified that she had with Combs.

She's also detailed the aftermath of the 2016 assault in a Los Angeles hotel that was caught on camera, explaining to the jury how she spoke to police after the incident.

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