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Elon Musk Takes Center Stage at Trump's First Cabinet Meeting; Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas Laid to Rest in Emotional Funeral; Western Tourists Speak About Recent Trip to North Korea; U.S. and Ukraine Expected to Sign Minerals Agreement. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired February 27, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:21]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Trump's obsequious Cabinet rolls over for Elon.
Hello, I'm John Vause. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If anybody is unhappy, say it, you know. If you are, we'll throw them out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Just nervous approval for the unelected, unconfirmed Elon Musk as he wreaks havoc across the federal government.
With phase one of the Gaza ceasefire coming to an end --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The bodies of four Israeli hostages handed over to the Israeli military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Will stalled negotiations over the next phase mean a return to war? And boldly going where a few have ever wanted to go before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE O'KENNEDY, BRITISH SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: It's like, oh, yes. (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I'm in North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Why some tourists just can't resist traveling to the most isolated country on earth.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Donald Trump's new Cabinet met for the first time Wednesday with Elon Musk, the unelected and unconfirmed presidential appointee, taking center stage, leaving little doubt that no one in the administration is closer to the president than the tech billionaire.
And while taking questions from reporters, President Trump repeated his false claims that the U.S. has contributed a lot more to Ukraine than Europe, and Europe should provide security guarantees for Ukraine because the U.S. will not.
He dodged a question on U.S. commitment to defend Taiwan if China tried to take the island by force, saying only he had a great relationship with China's President Xi. And he warned the E.U. to expect 25 percent tariffs while adding the European Union was formed specifically, in his words, to screw the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I love the countries of Europe. I love all countries, frankly, all different. But European Union has been -- it was formed in order to screw the United States. I mean, look, let's be honest. The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That's the purpose of it. And they've done a good job of it. But now I'm president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, Elon Musk informed Cabinet he intends to slash $1 trillion from the federal budget while also defending the "what did you do last week?" e-mail to federal employees, saying it was a pulse check, almost proof of life for workers on the government's payroll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: To be clear, like the, I think that e-mail perhaps was misinterpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse?
(LAUGHTER)
MUSK: Do you have a pulse and two neurons? So if you have a pulse and two neurons, you can reply to an e-mail. This is, you know, I think not a high bar is what I'm saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: During Donald Trump's first term, cabinet meetings were often marked by awkward declarations of loyalty and over-the-top admiration for the president. But this was the first time that sort of deference was shown to an adviser who also happens to be the world's richest man.
Here's CNN Jeff Zeleny reporting in from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: If there was any question where the power lies in this new Trump administration, it became clear on Wednesday at President Trump's first Cabinet meeting of this term. It is not in the Cabinet, at least, the most power. The dynamics between President Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man and one of his senior advisers, became clear inside the ornate Cabinet room on Wednesday, as the president called on Elon Musk to talk specifically about his work for government efficiency, how he's been asking more than two million workers across the government to justify their existence, which has sparked confusion and consternation. But the president made clear Musk is his man and called for dissent and then laughed.
TRUMP: Now, Elon, let the Cabinet speak just for a second.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: If anybody is unhappy, say it, you know? If you are, we'll throw them out of here.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Is anybody unhappy?
ZELENY: The president saying, if anyone is unhappy with Elon Musk, let him know. Of course, no one voiced that concern. But the president saying there that workers are on the bubble. It raises the questions exactly of what will become of some of these federal workers who are told to not respond to Elon Musk. But the bigger picture to all of this is as the Trump administration engages in the next step of reshaping this federal government in major ways through mass layoffs and reductions in force, who is actually overseeing these? The Cabinet secretaries or Musk himself?
In fact, right after the Cabinet meeting, the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, went to Capitol Hill and got an earful, we're told, from some Senate Republicans who were wondering, in fact, who is in charge.
[00:05:05]
And she said Elon Musk reports to the president, not to the Cabinet.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Los Angeles now, and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.
Hey, Ron, good to see you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, John.
VAUSE: So this was quite the extraordinary Cabinet meeting. And when the secretaries were given the chance to speak up, there wasn't a word from any member about Elon Musk and his role in slashing the federal government and what he's been doing. There was just this sort of slow applause, nervous laughter, which is odd because, before this Cabinet meeting, some members of the Cabinet had actually spoken out, especially about that "what did you do last week?" e-mail.
But still, to the president's face, in front of Musk, there was nothing. They just fell in line. So what does this now say about Musk's influence and essentially the authority he's been given by the president?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think what you saw from the Cabinet is about as honest an expression of real views as you might expect in a hostage video, say, I mean, you know, it's extraordinary to watch that. At that moment, cameras, the president there, anybody got something to say? You know, I mean, it was almost a dare from the president.
Look, I think, you know, the administration has wanted to have it both ways on Elon Musk. When they're in court they minimize his role in the cost-cutting that's going on and the mass firing that's going on as a way to limit his potential exposure in lawsuits. Today, I think you saw the other side of the coin, which is probably the real side. I think very clearly is the real side, which is Musk spoke before any of the Cabinet members.
I mean, that's really all you need to know. He was given the floor in a way that none of them were. And that's the reality. The president finds him useful as a force of disruption, maybe as a heat shield for some of the things they are doing. But I would note that Musk has kind of swallowed the administration. I mean, the driving the dominant story line of Trump's first weeks is not mass deportation, which was one of his promises, and it's certainly not what he is doing to bring inflation under control.
It's Musk disrupting the federal government in a way that could leave them vulnerable if some of these services, some of these agencies that are being eviscerated now ultimately people find those services missing.
VAUSE: There was also a question put to the president about his expectations of how his Cabinet secretaries will perform. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is it your view of your authority that you have the power to call up any one of or all of the people seated at this table and issue orders that they're bound to follow?
TRUMP: Oh, yes, they'll follow the orders. Yes, they will.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: No exceptions?
TRUMP: No exceptions. Well, let's see, let me think. Oh, yes. Yes. She'll have an exception. Of course no exceptions. You know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: They'll follow orders. No exception. So much for a Cabinet's role to advise the president. What are the potential consequences here having a Cabinet filled with nothing more than sort of blindly loyal functionaries? BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, it's kind of a mixed blessing for Trump.
And the key issue, John, is not only the Cabinet over which the president's authority, you know, is unquestioned. For many years, with the exception of the Justice Department, which is probably, you know, designed to have more independence and maybe the Defense Department, but he is asserting the same level of control over independent agencies.
I mean, where, you know, since the 1930s, the courts have allowed Congress to establish more distance between the president and people on things like the FCC and the FEC and the Fed, Federal Reserve Board, and so forth. Trump is asserting the same level of control. The theory is what's called the unified executive theory propounded by conservatives. There's a lot of sympathy for that among the conservatives on the Supreme Court.
And it is good to kind of keep in mind that all of these lawsuits now, many of which have seen lower court decisions limiting Trump's attempts to kind of assert this level of authority or to rescind funding the Congress has already approved. Those have to end -- the terminus for those lawsuits are the Supreme Court. And we saw, you know, as early as today with John Roberts, traditionally those conservatives have had a pretty expansive view of presidential power so it's not clear where and when they are going to say no to Trump.
VAUSE: Yes. The Cabinet of rivals is certainly dead.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
VAUSE: Musk described himself as little more than a tech support guy for the government, but few in tech support are able to cause this big of a screw up. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect. But when we make mistake, we'll fix it very quickly. So, for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola. Ebola prevention. I think we all want Ebola prevention. So we restored the Ebola prevention immediately, and there was no interruption.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The problem is without oversight, without accountability, is there any way to know how many mistakes like that have already happened?
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BROWNSTEIN: No. Exactly right. And those mistakes won't necessarily be visible immediately. That's why I believe that, you know, Trump and Musk are accumulating debts they may have to pay off down the road in a way that is very politically damaging. I mean, once you make these -- it's kind of like the Colin Powell rule. You know, you break it, you bought it. I mean, once you make these levels of cuts and impose this level of disruption on to federal agencies, you are on the hook for events.
I mean, you know, the federal government backstops a lot of things that affect Americans' daily lives that most people don't even think about being part of the services the federal government provides. But when you take it away, you know, things can go south very quickly. I mean, if you are weakening the FAA and firing dozens or maybe hundreds of people and there are more problems in the air, there are going to be some pointed questions.
If you're firing federal food safety inspectors and there are outbreaks of foodborne disease, there are going to be issues. If you have an HHS secretary who, as he did today, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. downplays the risk of a measles epidemic that claimed its first life in Texas, well, if that becomes more common around the country, people are going to be asking pointed questions. There may or may not be a backlash at the front end to disrupting the federal, you know, system in this way -- Americans generally believe there's a lot of waste in the federal government, so Trump may have some leeway on that.
But you can guarantee if there are events that seem to flow from these decisions down the road, there's not going to be a lot of tolerance for them, I think, in the public. And that's the point at which Republicans in Congress may find their voice.
VAUSE: We shall see.
Ron, as always, great to have you with us. Appreciate your time.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Pleasure.
Israel and Hamas have made their last exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, as agreed to during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, set to expire this Saturday. Red Cross busses carrying hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees arrived in Gaza. More than 600 Palestinians will be released, among them women and children, as well as the longest serving Palestinian political prisoner.
In the West Bank families greeted a group of prisoners who were released in the early hours of the morning.
Earlier, Hamas handed over four coffins with the bodies of Israeli hostages. Israel says the identification process of the bodies is now underway to try and confirm Hamas claims that they are the remains of four male hostages, all taken during the October 7th terrorist attack.
And the youngest hostages killed in Gaza, Ariel and Kfir Bibas and their mother, Shiri, have been laid to rest in an emotional funeral. Thousands of mourners lined the funeral procession to pay their last respects.
More details now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DIAMOND (voice-over): His voice trembling with emotion, Yarden Bibas summons what strength he has left to say one final goodbye. His wife Shiri and their two children, Kfir and Ariel, are finally being laid to rest 16 months after they were all abducted from their home near the Gaza border.
Apricot, Yarden says, calling his wife by her pet name, who will help me make decisions without you? Do you remember our last decision together? In the safe room I asked if we should fight or surrender, you said fight, so I fought. Shiri, I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you all.
Yarden was also taken hostage on October 7th, but held separately. Now, just weeks after regaining his freedom, heartbreak.
I'm sure you're making all the angels laugh with your silly jokes and impressions, he says, to his eldest, Ariel. I hope there are plenty of butterflies for you to watch, just like you did during our picnics.
I'm sorry I didn't protect you better, but I need you to know that I love you deeply and miss you terribly. I miss nibbling on you and hearing your laughter.
Yarden Bibas is not alone in his grief. An entire nation joined in mourning the deaths of the youngest Israeli hostages and their mother, who came to symbolize the horrors of October 7th. Their bodies carried to their final resting place in a single casket, surrounded by Israeli flags and the orange balloons evoking those red headed babies.
Thousands of Israelis have been lining this entire procession, as we now see these vans coming through carrying the bodies of Kfir, Ariel and Shiri Bibas, their mother.
(Voice-over): As Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel are laid to rest, their family are not done asking questions.
Our disaster as a nation and as a family should not have happened and must never, ever happen again, the boys' aunt Ofri says.
[00:15:00]
They could have saved you, but preferred revenge. We lost. Our image of triumph will never happen.
As one hostage family buries their loved ones, another reuniting. After 491 days of captivity, Or Levy is back in his brother's arms.
MICHAEL LEVY, BROTHER OF OR LEVY: He's getting stronger. He's finally eating.
DIAMOND: His brother Michael now sharing what he has learned about why he emerged emaciated from Hamas captivity.
LEVY: They were intentionally starved. It's as simple as that. They're -- the terrorists next to them ate all the time. They ate next to them. DIAMOND: Really?
LEVY: Yes.
DIAMOND: Next to them.
LEVY: Next to them. They even laughed when they saw them looking.
DIAMOND: So their captors were eating full meals.
LEVY: Full meals.
DIAMOND: And what were they getting?
LEVY: Chicken, meat. They had everything. They were getting nothing.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Those conditions now driving both brothers to push for the urgent release of the remaining hostages.
LEVY: It is right now concentrated on two things. One is Almog, his son, getting back to being a father. The second is to bring back all the hostages.
DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, the latest update on the health of Pope Francis as he remains in hospital with double pneumonia. Also traveling to the hermit kingdom, the first Western tourists since the COVID pandemic share their experiences of life in North Korea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:21:08]
VAUSE: Crowds continue to gather at the Vatican and across the world, praying for a speedy recovery for Pope Francis. The Vatican says the pontiff is showing slight improvement as he continues to recover from pneumonia, and a mild kidney failure has receded. They add, though, that the pontiff's prognosis is still guarded.
The holy father has been in hospital now for almost two weeks. It's his longest stay in hospital since elected Pope in 2013.
Few ever dream of traveling to North Korea, the communist nation known for its brutal rule by the Kim family and harsh punishment for Westerners who might step out of line. Even so, Pyongyang has issued a limited number of tourist visas in recent weeks. This after years of restrictions because of the COVID pandemic.
As CNN's Will Ripley reports, among the tourists are Americans. That's despite a State Department ban on U.S. citizens traveling to North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first glance, this could be any elementary school recital until you notice the backdrop.
O'KENNEDY: It's not until moments where you see a group of 7-year-old children doing synchronized dancing in front of a giant, you know, LED screen showing missiles, you know, blowing up boats, you know, and it's like, oh, yes, (EXPLETIVE DELETED), I'm in North Korea.
RIPLEY: British travel influencer Mike O'Kennedy, one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea since before the pandemic. State-controlled Western tourism is making a limited return to Rason, an isolated region near China and Russia.
O'KENNEDY: One of the most interesting parts for me was that, you know, given the fact that tourists haven't been allowed in for five years, there was a sense of isolation in the air.
RIPLEY: Strict COVID-19 protocols kept already isolated North Korea even more sealed off from the world.
JUSTIN MARTELL, TOUR OPERATOR, YOUNG PIONEER TOURS: But there seems to be a rumor that COVID-19 got into the country via a balloon sent from South Korea that was infected with COVID-19.
RIPLEY: Bizarre theories aside, American tour guide Justin Martell says COVID paranoia is still everywhere. And yet, despite five years of near total isolation, North Koreans aren't entirely in the dark.
MARTELL: So they're aware that Donald Trump is now the president once again, and they are aware of the fact that talks broke down last time during the first Trump presidency. So, when I asked the question, would you like Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump to meet again, the response I got was, if Kim Jong-un wants to do it, then of course we support it.
RIPLEY: He says traveling to the secret state is not for everyone. Sightseeing feels more like a school field trip. Itineraries are tightly controlled. Unauthorized photos are forbidden. But any glimpse of the hermetically sealed nation is social media gold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am in North Korea.
RIPLEY: Which may explain why so many social media influencers are snatching up seats.
Ever since the death of American college student Otto Warmbier in 2017, the U.S. State Department has banned American tourists from visiting North Korea. But that's not stopping some from trying.
WENDY ARBEIT, U.S.-GERMAN TRAVELER: I do have a U.S. passport, and I also have a German passport so that was my ticket in.
RIPLEY: American Wendy Arbeit calls herself an extreme traveler. North Korea is her 195th country.
So how does North Korea stack up?
ARBEIT: It was definitely one of the more unusual places to go. You know, I have to be honest, I was surprised how good the food was. They were very lavish in the food that they gave us. There was a flaming snail that was brought to me and I was like, I don't know what to do with this, but it's cool.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The United Nations says nearly half of North Korea's population is undernourished. For them, flaming snail is almost certainly not on the menu. But for Western influencers, a country sealed off from the world is the ultimate feast for content.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:25:05]
VAUSE: No U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine even though the U.S. is set to get a big slice of Ukraine's mineral reserves. In a moment, a closer look at the deal, which is meant to help pay for Ukraine's post-war construction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The freeze on U.S. foreign aid is set to continue at least until Friday. The U.S. Supreme Court placed a pause on a deadline which was issued by a lower court ordering the Trump administration to release $2 billion in aid. What's called an administrative stay was imposed Wednesday by Chief Justice John Roberts to allow more time to review written arguments.
Foreign aid was frozen by executive order in January, one of the first actions of Donald Trump's second term. But aid groups and businesses sued, and a district judge ordered the money to continue to flow while he considered the case.
[00:30:11]
Lawyers for the Trump administration argued they could not meet the deadline and appealed to the Supreme Court. The chief justice called on plaintiffs to respond by Friday.
Ukraine's president is still hoping for U.S. security guarantees as part of the newly proposed deal granting access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy expected to sign that deal with Donald Trump when he visits Washington Friday. A draft of the deal, seen by CNN, shows it does not provide Kyiv with explicit security guarantees.
Zelenskyy calls it a framework, with those guarantees to be decided jointly with the United States, as well as Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course, this agreement is about economics. But I asked for there to be at least an understanding that we are seeing things the same way, that all of this is part of future security guarantees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: President Trump spoke about that deal during a cabinet meeting Wednesday. It calls for a postwar reconstruction fund managed by the U.S. and Ukraine, with money coming from the development of Ukrainian minerals and other natural resources.
The U.S. president laid out his position on security guarantees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that, because it's in -- you know, we're talking about Europe is their next- door neighbor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: One potential sticking point is the fact that some, or almost half, of Ukraine's valuable mineral deposits are in areas currently under Russian occupation, what the Kremlin calls the new territories.
CNN's Anna Stewart has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Ukraine mineral deal may be getting closer, but lots of questions remain about Ukraine's minerals. Where are they, and how much are they really worth?
First of all, what did President Trump mean by rare earths?
Well, these are 17 elements in the earth's crust. They are crucial to the production of electronics, clean energy, and some weapons systems.
But actually, Ukraine doesn't have a significant amount of these rare earths, and we don't really know which specific minerals the Trump administration is most interested in with this deal.
What Ukraine has more meaningful reserves of are the more subjective category of critical minerals. Now, each country defines this one a little bit differently, but it often includes things like graphite. This is a form of carbon, and you find it in batteries.
Then we have titanium and zirconium. These ones are critical for defense. And lithium, which is used for rechargeable batteries. So, very useful in making electric vehicles.
So, the big question is where in Ukraine are they? Now in green, we can see the rare earths. Now as we said, not a significant amount. But then we come to the critical minerals. Let's have a look at
graphite. We have this one in blue. These are significant. In total, Ukraine is believed to have 19 million tons of proven reserves.
In red, we have titanium and zirconium. Again, quite large areas. And actually, it's considered to be the largest titanium reserves in Europe.
And this is the fun one. This is lithium. Now you can hardly see it. It's these tiny little splodges here. But Ukraine is thought to hold one of Europe's largest deposits.
According to the Ukrainian government, it could be 3 percent of global supply, but none of it has been extracted. So actually, it is hard to say definitively how much it could be worth.
Let's talk about some of the problems, because much of what we know about the rare earth deposits here are based on Soviet-era assessments, so it's unclear if it can actually be mined, and it would involve a lot of money.
Then of course, we have complications, with some areas under Russia control. You can see some of the deposits around there.
President Trump originally put a $500 billion price tag on Ukraine's mineral reserves. The draft deal no longer mentions this number, and frankly, no one knows how much it could be worth.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In a moment, what did Hamas think of Gaza-Lago, an A.I.- generated video of postwar Gaza, as envisioned by President Trump. In a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:38:44]
VAUSE: Donald Trump the president, was more Donald Trump, the real estate developer, Wednesday as he released a video, generated by A.I., showing his vision for postwar Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald's coming to set you free, bringing the light for all to see. No more tunnels, no more fear. Trump Gaza is finally here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Hamas calls the video disgraceful, with the territory reimagined as a glitzy beach resort on the Mediterranean.
The militant group says the fake imagery is a reflection of deeply rooted, racist colonial mindsets, and is a desperate attempt to legitimize the ongoing ethnic cleansing carried out by the Israeli occupation, in their words, with clear American support.
Part of the redevelopment plan, Donald Trump believes the 2 million Palestinians who live there should be relocated to neighboring Arab countries to transform the area into a Riviera owned by the United States.
The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority has called the proposal a serious violation of international law.
An Australian couple is speaking out about their traumatic experience of sitting next to a dead passenger on a flight to Doha in Qatar.
The couple was headed for a vacation in Venice when a woman collapsed in the aisle. Qatar Airways's flight crew could not revive the woman, and they later tried to wheel her body towards the business class section, but the aisle was too narrow.
Here's what the couple told our affiliate, Nine Network, about what happened next.
[00:40:05]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCHELL RING, SAT NEXT TO DEAD BODY ON FLIGHT: So, they looked a bit frustrated, and then they just looked at me and saw seats were available beside me. The wife was on the other side. We're in a row of four by ourselves.
And they just said to me, Can you move over, please? And I just -- just said, yes, no problem. And then they placed the lady in the chair that I was in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And they say they have not been contacted by the airline since that flight. They were expecting some kind of offer or counseling.
Qatar Airways now says it has spoken with those passengers, as well as the family of the woman who died.
I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but please stay with us. After a short break, it's WORLD SPORT. See you back here in less than 20 minutes.
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(WORLD SPORT)
