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Markets Open Higher; Christine Greenberg is Interviewed about Tariffs; Octavia Spencer is Interviewed about "My Happy Place." Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: There are 20 hostages that are alive, that Hamas knows more or less where they are, but there are another 38 hostages who are dead, and their bodies are scattered in tunnels and in bunkers all over the Gaza Strip. And more and more people, who held those bodies, are now dead, which means there are less people who know where they are.

So, it's a big challenge. And it could -- there could be the complete opposite effect of all those assassinations (ph) to -- to make it harder to know where all those hostages are.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: You also have new reporting, Barak, of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are pushing Trump to continue seeking a new nuclear deal with Iran, arguing during his recent visit to the region against potential strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. We know there's reporting that Israel obviously had been putting preparations in place for that. What do you see in this?

RAVID: I think it's really interesting because it's the opposite of what we saw in 2015 when former President Obama was negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. At the time, the gulf states, mainly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, felt that this whole process happened behind their backs. They were very concerned about Iran's regional activity. They were very concerned about this deal, and they supported Netanyahu's push against this deal and his threats to conduct a military strike against the Iranian nuclear program.

Today, it's completely different because the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Qataris, the Omanis are all saying, we need stability in the region. We don't see Netanyahu as a stabilizer. We see him as a -- as a -- somebody who is, you know, taking actions that destabilize the region. And they see that the Iranian influence in the region was diminished more -- mainly because of the last 18 months of war in the region where many of the -- Iran's proxies were diminished and weakened by Israel. So, I think they -- they think that this time diplomacy is a much better way to go. I think they're much closer -- they feel much closer to the Trump administration. Theres much more trust. And therefore, when Trump was in the region, we heard from all of those leaders, don't go for military action, go for a nuclear deal.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that -- the shift that you're reporting on, very interesting. Something to watch.

Barak, it's great to see you. Thank you so much.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just moments ago, the markets opened on Wall Street. You can see they opened up a little. The Dow basically flat, but the Nasdaq and S&P getting a little bit of a bump reacting to the court ruling which basically blocked most of President Trump's tariffs, saying they were imposed illegally.

With us now, CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich.

Up.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, huh, right? Not the strongest opening considering the news that we had last night. And that is largely because investors are looking at what has already happened with tariffs, which is that they have been ingrained into the economy for several months now, and they have done damage already.

Also worth noting that there are several other levers that the president can pull to activate more tariffs. So, that's why you see the Dow just up 27 points. The S&P up a little bit higher. The Nasdaq up substantially, but that's because of Nvidia earnings yesterday which beat expectations.

But if you look at what the president can still use to activate tariffs, you're talking about sectoral tariffs that he already has in place, obviously. But also Section 122. These are all section tariffs relating to retaliatory tariffs, national security, unfair trade practices. These are all in his toolkit. And he can activate them at any time.

So, investors saying, yes, this is good news that there may be a pause on these 10 percent universal tariffs, the 30 percent tariff with China, which is very important. But look at all the other tools that he has that he can use. Also worth noting that yesterday there was a lot of talk on Wall Street about something called taco.

BERMAN: Yes.

YURKEVICH: Not the taco you eat, but taco is an acronym for essentially saying that Trump doesn't do what he says he's going to do.

BERMAN: Trump always chickens out.

YURKEVICH: Always chickens out. There you go.

And in some ways, maybe that is what they're seeing. And that is why they are looking at the -- what is happening with this lawsuit. They're looking at what is happening sort of going forward in the future, that the president may set these high tariffs, bring them down. He may threaten a tariff, then pull back on it. So, taco was already playing out on Wall Street. And this response

really signals that Wall Street really isn't putting too much onus into what just happened last night. They're looking forward. They're looking at what's going to happen with second quarter GDP.

Also, these are -- look at the stocks. These are stocks that have been highly volatile to trade moves. You see -- look at Apple. Apple up significantly. Target. Nike as well.

[09:35:00]

They're all up right now. So, these are stocks that investors are looking at. Maybe relating more to the news that happened last night, feeling a little bit better. But otherwise, a little bit of a muted open.

BERMAN: Yes. Maybe investors just waiting for the next thing because they know it's coming one way or the other.

YURKEVICH: Yes, certainly.

BERMAN: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, President Trump's tariffs could send your wedding costs soaring. Gowns, candles, chairs, even cakes. We speak with the small business owners about the worries in the wedding industry, as those famous June weddings come around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:10]

SIDNER: It is almost June and wedding season is in full bloom. And if you've planned a wedding, or know someone who has, then we don't need to tell you that they can be very expensive. The average cost of a wedding in the United States last year was a whopping $33,000. That is the average cost. And now it might get even more expensive. Even with the court blocking Donald Trump's tariffs, the damage may already have been done to the wedding industry, hiking costs from everything from dresses, to cakes, to flowers. A recent "New York Times" article recommending couples add 10 to 15 percent to their budgets to offset the tariffs.

Joining me now is Christine Greenberg, the founder and co-owner of Urban Set Bride in Richmond, Virginia.

I know that you -- we talked for just a bit before this, that this is the busiest time of year for you all. What are you seeing that has maybe been impacted cost wise?

CHRISTINE GREENBERG, FOUNDER AND CO-OWNER, URAN SET BRIDE: Right now -- so I own a wedding gown store and a wedding planning company. So, I am, unfortunately, right in the middle of this chaos. For the bridal shop specifically, when the tariffs were at their

highest last month, and it's, as you know, been a roller coaster, we, as a bridal shop, were paying upwards of $800 extra per gown. That, of course, as a small business, we haven't budgeted for. That has since changed and now it's about $100 to $200. But the volatility prevents us from being able to better prepare our clients on what to budget, both in the wedding gown shop and wedding planning as a whole because, as you all know, it's not just the gowns, it's everything, from dresses to the ingredients in your cake, to the alcohol, to the party favors, to the DJ's equipment.

SIDNER: Are you seeing sort of the cost across the board going up for all of those things? Because $800 more for a wedding gown is a lot. How much of that do you have to say, look, we cannot eat this, we're too small of a business, that you have to say, the brides and the grooms are going to have to pay this money?

GREENBERG: Sure. I mean it's -- the wedding industry is made up mostly of small business owners and mostly of women and queer people. So, this is not something that people sign up for to get rich. We do it because we love what we do, and we love taking care of people. But as a small business, that has to predict our money for the next year or two and figure out how we can be sustainable, especially after surviving Covid. $800 just is not tenable, and it's also not fair for me to put all of that onto my clients.

A lot of our designers, like Maggie Sottero and Justin Alexander have been very transparent with us and have been eating some of the cost and then lessening the burden for the retailers. We will take a little bit of it, as we can. But, unfortunately, the rest is going to be passed down to the consumer.

SIDNER: There is this big argument from the Trump administration that doing this is going to bring manufacturing and all of the things back to the United States. For example, maybe making the dresses here, et cetera.

Do you see that being a viable option? And, I mean, obviously, it can't happen right away.

GREENBERG: Sure. I mean we would love that. My dad served in the Army proudly for 24 years. We're a proud military family. I would love to be able to buy American made wedding gowns, but that's a 10 to 15 year plan that I haven't seen. And I think bringing manufacturing back not only means early education for teaching us in middle school and high school on how to make clothes, how to sew beading onto corsets, and even how to grow some of these materials that we use, like silk and beads and plastic bones for building the corsets for support of these gowns, we just don't make things like this in this country, or either if they are made here, all of those materials that go into building a wedding gown are imported. So, the cost is still going to be the same.

So, I think to echo what I've been feeling from my colleagues and how we feel in our bridal shop is, I would love to buy American, but where is it and where is the plan to completely change our economy and our infrastructure to bring full scale manufacturing back to this country? SIDNER: How are you navigating this not knowing one day to the next,

because at times Donald Trump says, OK, a 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. OK, now it's down to 30. OK, now the courts have stepped in and said none of this is fair. But you know that there is going to be a pushback by the Trump administration, and they're still able to do some things. How do you navigate this as a business?

GREENBERG: We drink a lot of wine, to be honest, and we are transparent with our customers. And our whole business model has been transparency from the beginning. So, this pivot hasn't been challenging, but it's being communicative with our designers and our clients and taking a lot of deep breaths and just hoping that this will all shake out, or maybe his attention will move to something else and he'll forget about us, and we can go along as business as usual.

[09:45:13]

SIDNER: I think that was probably the most honest answer we've had on TV today, drinking a lot of wine to deal with the worries.

Christine Greenberg, good luck.

GREENBERG: Hey, we've (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: Good luck to you.

GREENBERG: Thank you very much.

SIDNER: And cheers to you. Thank you so much.

John.

BERMAN: Not a bad prescription.

All right, MIT pulls the plug on diversity efforts, bowing to new threats over federal funding. What this means for other top universities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:05]

BOLDUAN: MIT is closing its DE&I office amid President Trump's push to shut down diversity programs. The school says it's not abandoning efforts to make sure it has a diverse community, it is -- it will just be shifting its focus to what it is calling, quote, "community building at the local level." Last month, the Trump administration threatened to cancel medical research funds and pull accreditation of universities that maintain DE&I programs.

There's also this. Cassie Ventura and her husband have welcomed their third baby. Ventura gave birth to her son -- a son, just weeks after the start of the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs and after this star witness for the prosecution took the stand for days of emotional testimony that we've reported on in the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial of her ex-boyfriend. Ventura was called to testify so early in the trial, you'll likely remember, because of concerns over how pregnant she was and if -- and the timing of, you know, when she would go into labor. Ventura and her husband also have two daughters together.

And finally, we would like you to meet -- we will show you, beatboxing nuns.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Oh, yes. Sister Marisol and her sidekick, Sister Marissa, they were simply appearing on a catholic TV program in Brazil. That is when they say this entirely impromptu beatboxing and dance sesh broke out. The deacon, who is the presenter in the program, even joined in. The sisters say their music has long been a powerful tool to help people in need. They are dedicated to helping young people struggling with addiction. The viral video has now been seen by millions and Sister Marisol's Instagram has blown up -- I'm going to continue reading -- now with more than 100,000 followers. One can venture to guess, not only does Sara Sidner approve, but does the Chicago born new pope, Pope Leo, approve?

Get back to work, yo.

SIDNER: That was my jam. They're good.

BOLDUAN: Take this.

SIDNER: The CNN original series "My Happy Place" takes viewers on a personal and immersive journey across the world, where six celebrity hosts show us the places they go to escape and feel most at peace. This time, Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer takes viewers to New Orleans, where she explores the unique traditions and international flair reflected in the city's culture, art and food.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCTAVIA SPENCER, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER: Mardi gras is pretty spectacular.

One of the things that I love about New Orleans is the fact that it is an artist community. Whether you're a performer, a musician, or an artist who is participating and -- and creating these very unique experiences. I love that this exists.

Look at these unbelievable works. Got everything from the frog prince to blue whales to this handsome guy.

I know him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know him. We've got --

SPENCER: He's my friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

SPENCER: Wow. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So these -- this isn't -- this is papier mach. And

so this is -- this is a traditional process that goes back to the beginnings of carnival, but it's still something that we do today.

SPENCER: Oh, my God, this is gorgeous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

SPENCER: It's a pretty, beautiful work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

SPENCER: And as an artist, this is something that you get to do every day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's a joy. Yes, it's like a dream come true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And, lucky for me, Octavia Spencer is joining us now.

OK, I just want to know what your first experience was like when you first went to New Orleans, because I think you're a girl from the south. You're from Alabama, right?

OCTAVIA SPENCER, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER: I am from Alabama. And my first experience was like that of most college kids when they venture out to New Orleans. It was a party. A massive party. And I loved it. But it was also very overwhelming. And overstimulating. So, I decided to go back as an adult and revisit it. And I fell in love with it in a -- in a more meaningful way, I think.

SIDNER: There are a lot of layers in New Orleans. It's like you can never quite get to the bottom of it because everything is tangled up like the -- the roots of a tree. You also -- because one of the things that brings me to Orleans, I have to say, if I could have a hot beignet, I will fly there right now to get it and come back. What are your favorites when you go to New Orleans?

SPENCER: You have to have beignets and chicory coffee. You have to have etouffee. You have to have any -- I mean this is the city to do all of the -- the -- the fish, you know, and seafood.

[09:55:09]

I mean this is where you should be doing it, right? Because you get all of these different communities who have their own take on the cuisine. And so, it's -- it's, to me, it's one of the best places to dine in the world. I've traveled all across the world but the best thus far for me is New Orleans.

SIDNER: Octavia Spencer, have a good time in Prague, but I know you'll be back to New Orleans to get one of those beignets and some of that chicory. Really appreciate you spending the time talking to me.

SPENCER: Thank you. And it's so wonderful to meet you. SIDNER: Nice to meet you as well. Enjoy Prague.

And be sure to tune in and watch Octavia when a new episode of the CNN original series, "My Happy Place" returns this Sunday, June 1st, 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

We're just laughing because our happy place is here with one another every day.

BERMAN: Just keep telling yourself that.

SIDNER: We should go.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next. It's time to go. We got to go.

BERMAN: What are you wearing? I --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)