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Trump Officials Approached Qatar First About $400 Million Jet; Violent Tornado Outbreak Kills at Least 28 People Across Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia; Biden Weighs Treatment Options After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 20, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: All of this happened is now in dispute because four sources familiar with the discussions tell CNN that it was actually Trump's team that first approached Qatar about acquiring a 747 that could be used as Air Force One. CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt joins us now with the details. What are these sources telling us?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: So as you heard there from from Trump in his telling it's Qatar that came to him with this offer. What we've actually been told is Trump came into office in January and not long after that the Pentagon went to Boeing asking for an update on the new Air Force Ones that are expected in the near future. There are two of them.

They were told that they wouldn't be delivered until 2027. You can hear there President Trump rather impatient. So what Boeing did was present the Pentagon with a list of planes that could work as a substitute and that Qatari plane was on there.

And so the Pentagon with the White House's backing went to Qatar and said we're willing to consider buying this. And the Qatari said well we're willing to consider selling this to you.

Simultaneously, Boris, Steve Witkoff the president's Middle East envoy. He had also been asked to put together a possible list of planes. He's the Middle East envoy. So he helped facilitate these meetings.

So this started as a conversation conversation about some sort of transaction, lease or a sale. But as you can tell it's evolved. We've heard President Trump talk about, a contribution. Once on true social he wrote that this would be a gift that was free of charge. Now this may end up being a contribution for which the U.S. pays nothing. But this is -- it's a lot more nuanced than it really was from what we're hearing.

Not Qatar that kicked this off but the U.S. that reached out to them.

SANCHEZ: Theoretically U.S. taxpayers would be paying something to retrofit this thing because there are security concerns. You would have to be taken apart and put back together. What would be the timeline for all of this.

MARQUARDT: Not just something but quite a bit. And it could be several times the actual value of the plane. We've spoken to current and former officials who have said that this could take as much as two years to overhaul this plane.

They essentially have to strip it down to the bones to make sure that there are no listening devices or other security threats on there. Then they have to rebuild it. They have to put all the technical and security specs on there that would be required of a presidential plane.

You'd have security, law enforcement, spy agencies involved in rebuilding this. So that could take up to two years. It could take many times the value of the plane.

We believe the planes around -- worth around $200 million. It's been reported around 400. So it could take a long time. A lot of money which may end up not being worth it. So this deal we're told still being hashed out. It would be the Qatari Ministry of Defense that would be giving or selling it to the U.S. Defense Department. But it's still very much not a done deal yet.

SANCHEZ: Great reporting Alex Marquardt, thank you so much -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says despite what's been reported there are quote, no plans whatsoever for her agency to participate in a reality TV show. Her comments come after news reports, including from CNN, said that there was a reality TV producer pitched this idea and claiming that he had multiple conversations about it with agency officials.

A DHS spokesperson told us last week that the show would involve immigrants competing against each other for American citizenship. Noem says there may have been something submitted to DHS at some point but she insists neither she nor anyone on her team has knowledge of it.

And another delay for Lyle and Erik Menendez and their push for freedom after 35 some years in prison. Their attorney says their June parole hearing has been postponed until August 21st and 22nd. Last week a judge resentenced the brothers for murdering their parents in 1989 making them eligible for parole. The parole board could recommend that Governor Gavin Newsom release them when it meets in August.

And finally some relief for consumers this upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Gas prices projected to be at their lowest in four years for the holiday. Gas Buddy is expecting the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded to be $3.08. That is a whopping 50 cents cheaper than it was this time last year. Gas Buddy also predicts a gallon of gas could drop below $3 this summer. Nearly 40 million people are expected to hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend which also marks the unofficial start of summer. And next a union representing National Weather Service employees says

President Trump's cuts have put Americans in harm's way after deadly weekend storms expose a staffing crisis.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Communities across Missouri are in recovery mode after an onslaught of deadly storms. State officials are now starting to get frustrated over this slow response in receiving federal disaster assistance. On Friday, an EF3 tornado tore through St. Louis. It killed at least five people. Two other people were killed in severe weather south of the city. By Saturday, Missouri's governor had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE KEHOE (R-MO): I got a great phone call this morning at 8 a.m. from Secretary Kristi Noem, who wanted to assure us that FEMA and Region 7, who we operate under, who has already been in contact with our state emergency management agency, stands ready to help us. And I'm grateful to Secretary Noem, wanting to know what they could do. So, grateful for their efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:40:00]

KEILAR: Yesterday morning, the mayor of St. Louis noting FEMA still had not arrived, saying it could take weeks to get federal resources. Senator Josh Hawley, airing his frustrations, he says he's not happy that Missouri is still waiting for President Trump to approve a major disaster declaration after storms in March.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): We cannot wait months. I'm not happy about the fact we're still waiting from all of that damage two months ago. We lost 12 people in those storms. We've lost seven here. The scope of the damage is immense. We need FEMA to act very quickly, very, very quickly, and that'll be my message to the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But the president has long criticized FEMA as ineffective and unnecessary. The Disaster Relief Agency lost about 30 percent of its full-time staff to DOGE layoffs and buyouts -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: And Brianna, we should point out that that same storm system also pummeled Kentucky, completely leveling hundreds of homes, splintering trees, and killing at least 19 people. Earlier today, Governor Andy Beshear said that it could cost as much as $100 million just to remove all the debris.

The Union for National Weather Service employees actually spoke out after the storm, saying that staff shortages did not impact the accuracy or timeliness of the tornado warnings. But it's important to keep in mind the agency's office in Jackson, Kentucky, no longer has an overnight staff. They made the decision to call everyone in on an emergency basis that night.

Here with us to discuss is Tom Fahy. He's the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization. Tom, you have flagged that the National Weather Service suspended overnight staffing in something like seven locations across the country, from Kansas all the way to California. What does that mean in practical terms for folks that are faced with this kind of severe weather?

TOM FAHY, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EMPLOYEES ORGANIZATION: Well, we have this type of severe weather. The National Weather Service has come up with a plan as sort of to say, we'll take where we have the location where the WFO is dark, the weather forecast office has turned off its operations for the overnight hours. The adjacent surrounding stations will take care of it.

So, for example, in Jackson, we had Louisville to the west, Wilmington to the north, Charleston to the east, and Knoxville to the south. These stations are monitoring what's going on in Jackson when Jackson is dark. So, at that point, nobody needs fear that the weather warning or an issue of an emergency alert and warning won't go out, because it will. The weather watches and warning will be issued.

SANCHEZ: I wonder whether that's sustainable long term, given the fact that some 560 employees have left the National Weather Service as a result of firings or programs aimed to thin the ranks.

FAHY: I understand. It's our concern as well. Never before have we seen 600 employees, almost 600 employees, leave the National Weather Service over a 90-day period.

It took 600 employees from 2010 to 2025. The National Weather Service lost 600 employees due to retirements and attrition, but that's over a 15-year period, and during that period, we were also rehiring at the same time. Currently, the president has imposed a federal employee hiring freeze, so we're not able to hire anybody right now.

The National Weather Service leadership has requested a special exemption from the president directly with permission to say, can we please have an exemption that says we can go ahead and recruit and hire right now?

SANCHEZ: Why is this an urgent matter for the administration and for lawmakers to take a look at?

FAHY: It's urgent because we're talking about the safety of the American people. The mission of the National Weather Service is to protect life and property, and our people take this as a matter of personal pride and responsibility. It's their commitment to public service.

They all believe in it. They're very passionate about this. SANCHEZ: I wonder what you're hearing from employees, given that this time the plan to have these adjacent facilities look at the forecast worked, but it may not necessarily in the future. Is there concern about burnout? It's a big load for the remaining staff, isn't it?

FAHY: There is a concern about burnout. It's something that we're very much interested in monitoring and keeping track of. A lot of people don't understand what National Weather Service employees do.

You know, you and I we work in an office and we have a monitor in front of us, or we have two monitors in front of us. If you're in a Weather Service office, you've got six consoles in front of you with multiple types of data, atmospheric data, satellite data, ground data, radar data. And you're constantly looking at these screens, particularly the radar data screen.

You're able to identify what they call a hook signature echo. At that point, you're able to say, that's a tornado. And then they hit the alert, then the alert goes out.

SANCHEZ: So they're essentially there to protect lives.

FAHY: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: And it's a difficult job.

[14:45:00]

I do want to ask you about what your message would be to folks out there who have a perception, who may be supportive of these plans to thin the federal government, who may have this perception that federal workers, in the words of some lawmakers, are corrupt or lazy or disconnected from everyday Americans.

FAHY: That's absolutely absurd, because they're so committed. They are everyday Americans. They work, they live and breathe in everybody's community. They live with the people who they're warning. It's just amazing. But they are hardworking, they are dedicated, and they're only interested in the safety of the American people.

SANCHEZ: Tom Fahy, we very much appreciate you coming on to share your perspective. Thanks for joining us.

FAHY: You're very kind. Thank you so much for the invitation.

SANCHEZ: A pleasure.

Still plenty more news to come this afternoon on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Former President Biden's cancer diagnosis has left some wondering how someone with access to VIP care could have such an aggressive late- stage cancer diagnosed. Experts, though, say that is not unheard of.

We'll hear from Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who will explain the diagnosis when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: Right now, former President Biden is considering treatment options with his doctors after announcing he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. It's a cancer that has already spread to his bones.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now to discuss. So Sanjay, how did they find this?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're hearing is that former President Biden had some symptoms, specifically urinary symptoms, and that's what took him to the doctor. He had an exam, including a prostate exam, where they found something suspicious. That subsequently was biopsied, where they actually look at this area underneath the microscope and they found some cancerous cells.

So that was sort of the beginning part of the evaluation. That was the Gleason score of 9 that you hear. That sort of reflects just how cancerous those cells are.

That score, incidentally, goes from a 6 to a 10, and it's worse if it's higher. So a 9 obviously raised a lot of concerns. He had imaging studies to find out if, in fact, those cancerous cells were in the prostate only or if they had moved outside the prostate, and that's when they found that it was also located in the bone. That is a place that prostate cancer often spreads.

So, you know, this is sort of what we heard. This is not an uncommon sort of scenario. Hundreds of thousands of men every year are diagnosed with prostate cancer. This was because he initially had some symptoms that prompted that investigation, though.

KEILAR: Why was it diagnosed at such an advanced stage? Is that something that happens a bit?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, it's interesting. I mean, first of all, just to give you some context, it does happen. So, you know, again, around 300,000 people a year, men a year, are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

5 to 7 percent, when they are diagnosed, they are diagnosed at a time when it is already aggressive, when it is already spread, when it is stage 4. So 5 to 7 percent of the time it happens. It's not, you know, super common, but it does happen.

Why did it happen in this case? Well, we don't know for certain what happened here. It could have been that the cancer was around for some time and was either missed or we just weren't told about this cancer.

Or it could be, and this is a bit counterintuitive, when you have an aggressive cancer, a quickly growing cancer, it is possible that several months ago, there really would have been very little hint of it, and then it grew quickly. And it grew quickly within the prostate and then spread out. So despite the fact that it's obvious now, it's a bit counterintuitive because it would not have been as obvious several months ago. Again, we don't know which of those three things happened here, but yes, I mean, it does happen, but it's not that common for it to happen.

SANCHEZ: And Sanjay, Biden and his family say they are reviewing treatment options with his doctors. In their statement, they mentioned that it appeared that the tumor was hormone sensitive. I wonder what treatment might look like.

GUPTA: Yes, so, you know, first of all, I think given his age and everything, it's unlikely that he would have an operation, surgery for this. When it is spread outside the prostate as well, it's very hard to do surgery on something like this. So it does leave a few other options.

And when you look at these options, we're not talking about cure here. I don't think the idea of curing this is on the table, but the idea of potentially treating it very effectively, even placing the tumor into remission, that is possible.

Your question about hormone therapy, think of it like this. Those cancer cells, they have receptors for hormones on them. That means that hormones are kind of fueling the cancer. If you can cut off the supply of those hormones by using hormone blocking medications, you can sort of take away the fuel to this cancer, can slow down or even stop its growth.

You can also use chemotherapy to directly treat the cancer. And also, you know, this idea that's gone into the bone is obviously concerning because that makes it stage four cancer, can also be very painful. Radiation can help with that.

So my guess is we're going to see what they say because this is, you know, it's a tough treatment. These are tough treatment options. So I'm sure they're thinking about it, trying to balance all that with his overall health.

But it might be a combination of all three of those things.

KEILAR: All right, Sanjay, so helpful to get your insights on this. Thank you so much. And don't forget to scan the QR code on your screen. Head to CNN.com to send us your questions about prostate cancer. Sanjay will be back tomorrow to answer them.

And Elon Musk pulling back his money. What President Trump's biggest donor just said about his plans to fund future campaigns.

[14:55:00]

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KEILAR: A lightning round of witnesses at the criminal trial of Sean Diddy Combs as prosecutors build their case against the media mogul. The jury hears from a male exotic dancer and the mother of Combs' former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, before a special agent from Homeland Security takes the stand. We'll dive into their testimony. SANCHEZ: Plus, during a visit to Capitol Hill, President Trump warning House Republicans, telling them not to F with Medicaid. Also insisting, though, that they cut out waste and fraud.

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