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Trump Optimistic about U.S.-China Tariff Deal; Uncertainty Sends Markets on a Wild Ride; Consumers to Feel the Tariff Heat; Negotiators Meeting in Oman for New Iran Nuclear Deal; Trump Foreign Policy; U.S. Withdraws from Key Role in Global Disaster Relief; Wreckage Recovered in Deadly Hudson River Helicopter Crash; Prada to Buy Versace; Brussels Easter Eggs. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 12, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the dollar drops. But U.S. president Donald Trump remains upbeat. How the trade war is playing out.

A U.S. federal judge wants answers from the Justice Department after the government fails to give answers on where a wrongly deported man is after he was sent to El Salvador.

And the U.S. and Iran prepare to meet in the coming hours. At stake, a new Iranian nuclear deal that the U.S. hopes will stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

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ABEL: U.S. president Donald Trump is optimistic about a trade deal with China. He spoke about the growing trade war aboard Air Force One Friday after China raised its tariffs on the U.S. to 125 percent.

President Trump touted his good relationship with Chinese president Xi and called him a very smart leader. He brushed off questions about the U.S. dollar dropping to its lowest level in years. He also denied that concerns of a bond market catastrophe is what ultimately led him to hit pause on reciprocal tariffs for other countries.

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TRUMP: I think the bond market is going good. It had its little moments but I solved that problem very quickly. I'm very good at that stuff and I solved it very quickly. I didn't know I solved it that well, we had the biggest day in history.

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ABEL: And this is how former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen summed up the situation when speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper earlier.

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JANET YELLEN, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY; FORMER CHAIRPERSON, FEDERAL RESERVE: Well, this is the worst self-inflicted policy wound I've ever seen in my career inflicted on our economy. The Trump tariff plans are doing immense damage to our economy.

You can see that in the stock market, in the impact of these tariffs are expected to have on American households. And we're even beginning to see what looks like a flight away from dollar-based assets in the financial markets, which is a really scary development.

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ABEL: All the major U.S. stock market indices rose by more than 1 percent Friday to close out a wild ride over the week. Tariffs, retaliation and surprise announcements all playing a part in the cycle of uncertainty. CNN's Anna Stewart takes a closer look.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been a roller-coaster week for global markets and it all kicked off on Monday when the S&P started the week in bear market territory, a 20 percent fall from its recent peak.

That wasn't helped by president Donald Trump announcing an additional 50 percent tariff on China in response to their 34 percent retaliation the week prior. Wall Street started the day higher Tuesday, encouraged by word that dozens of countries were seeking deals.

But as the hours ticked down to Trump's so called liberation day, gains evaporated and U.S. stocks ended the day in the red.

Now on Wednesday, president Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs went into effect, a major escalation in his global trade war. Tariffs on China were raised to at least 104 percent. And China responded with 84 percent tariffs.

The European Union also backed countermeasures, albeit only against an earlier round of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Markets were deeply unsettled, with a selloff even in assets like U.S. bonds, usually a safe haven at times of volatility. But then Trump announced a major turnaround.

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TRUMP: Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know? They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions, because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did.

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STEWART: A 90-day pause on the new higher tariffs to allow for negotiations and, in their place, a 10 percent baseline tariff for all on his list; apart from China, whose tariffs increased to 125 percent.

The news sparked one of the biggest Wall Street rallies in history. But that was short-lived. On Thursday, the selloff continued as U.S. recession fears remained unassuaged by Trump's tariff pause.

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And those losses deepened after the White House clarified that the total levy on China wasn't 125 percent but at least 145 percent.

The E.U. announcing a 90-day pause on its tariffs on U.S. products. Wasn't enough to lift U.S. stocks, especially after the E.U. Commission president warned, if negotiations weren't satisfactory, their countermeasures would kick in.

The week ended with China retaliating once again, on Friday raising its tariff on the U.S. to 125 percent, with a spokesperson for China's commerce ministry saying it had become nothing more than a numbers game with no real economic significance.

In one week, we saw volatility on Wall Street, economists warnings about a U.S. recession, a weaker dollar and a U.S. bond selloff. It all suggests that Trump's trade war is already having lasting consequences, regardless of the backpedaling -- Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

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ABEL: Natasha Sarin is a professor and president of The Budget Lab at Yale. She is also a former Biden Treasury official and joins us from New York.

First, I want to start with trade relations with China and the tit- for-tat escalations. That's left both countries with more than 100 percent tariffs against each other.

What do you make of this moment?

What can we expect?

Will there be any trade at all still moving between the two?

And what are the trickle-down effects of this for other countries?

NATASHA SARIN, PRESIDENT, THE BUDGET LAB AT YALE: So the really challenging thing to understand is that, as a result of the tariffs that are in place currently and have been announced, which is the 10 percent across-the-board tariffs.

And these 145 percent tariff rate on Chinese goods, you're in a situation where, in the United States, you have the highest tariff rates that we've had at any moment in the last century.

And what you're seeing vis-a-vis China is kind of -- and frankly, understandably -- this ratcheting-up effect, where the United States launched this trade war, sort of very substantially increased tariff rates on the Chinese. And the Chinese have three times since increased tariff rates right back on the United States.

The key thing to understand is, in a trade war, the consumers cannot win. So what the American people are going to experience -- and The Yale Budget Lab, which I run, has kind of crunched the numbers here.

They're going to experience price increases across the board because it turns out a lot of things that they buy come from China and come from all these other countries that are going to see a very substantial increase in tariff rates, to the tune of, we think, around $4,800 a year in higher prices.

ABEL: OK. Well, Natasha, it -- does any off-ramp exist here?

Or maybe even there's an on-ramp in the opposite direction that leads to something greater than a trade war.

SARIN: Yes. The thing that's hard for me to understand, even as we think through that question, is, it is not clear what the objective is or what success looks like from this trade war.

In that, some of the administration officials have said, you know, we're not negotiating. What the objective here is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. What the objective here is to raise a lot of revenue from tariffs and to use it to pay for things like the $5 trillion extension of the Trump tax cuts.

Other administration officials and the president himself have said this is a negotiating tactic. And all these countries are calling us and we're going to negotiate better deals.

So in part, I'm not clear what the off-ramp is because I'm not clear where we are trying to go. And as a result, all we can tell you is that, should this trade war remain ignited, we're going to be in a situation where people are going to face higher prices and where the economy is going to be smaller.

And frankly, it's already happened, right?

Because trillions of dollars in stock market valuation have been wiped out. That's hitting people in their 401(k)s already today.

ABEL: Yes. That leads perfectly into the next question of, we've watched - so many of us have -- and have also felt the impacts of the market reactions to every turn of this, including the 90-day pause.

So where is the bottom here?

Have these tariffs already fundamentally changed the U.S. economy's standing in the world?

SARIN: I hope that the answer to your question is no. But I worry that the answer is yes. And what is really important to appreciate is that we have experienced, as a result of sort of the three days after the Trump Rose Garden speech last week, the three worst trading days in the United States since the financial crisis.

But importantly, this moment, it's not like the financial crisis. And it's not like COVID. This is a manmade crisis that was manufactured through the launching of this trade war. And what it's done is not just wipe out market valuation.

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What it's done, if you look at the bond markets, yields today crossed the 4.5 percent mark. And normally when the market is cratering, people flee to what they view as safe assets like U.S. Treasuries.

Actually what is happening at this moment is that normal trajectory has been reversed. And what you're seeing, I worry, is a push against the dollar in ways that really threaten our status as the reserve currency of the world.

And what that's going to mean is a lot of danger for the American economy. It's also going to mean higher borrowing costs for the American people in the, not just months, years ahead.

ABEL: OK. We'll see where it goes from here, Natasha Sarin. Natasha, thank you.

SARIN: Thanks so much for having me.

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ABEL: A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to provide daily updates on what they are doing to facilitate a wrongly deported man's return to the U.S.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Maryland father of three, who was deported to a prison in El Salvador. The White House says it was an administrative error. The Supreme Court ordered the White House to get him back to the U.S.

At one point Friday, the government's lawyer admitted he had no information about the man's location. Abrego Garcia's lawyers say the White House isn't trying to follow the courts order.

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SIMON SANDOVAL-MOSHENBERG, ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: I don't think there's anyone in this country who believes the government when they say, well, we don't -- you know, we don't know how to do this.

We can't -- we can't figure out how to get someone out of Salvadoran jail.

They got Kristi Noem out of a Salvadoran jail, right?

I mean, they can get Kilmer Abrego Garcia out of that same jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ABEL: His attorney says Abrego Garcia fled gang violence in El Salvador more than a decade ago. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protected status, which should have prevented his deportation.

A Louisiana immigration judge ruled on Friday that a pro-Palestinian activist who is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. can be deported. Mahmoud Khalil is a Columbia University graduate who led protests at the Ivy League school last year against Israel's war in Gaza. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest.

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's important to remember that, despite this judge's finding, that Khalil is, in fact, removable from the United States, it's unlikely that he will be removed from the country anytime soon.

The reason for that is because his attorneys have made it clear they plan to appeal that decision. Now it's important to remember that there are two cases unfolding here, the one in Louisiana, which is focused on his immigration proceeding and his immigration, his deportation order.

And the one in New Jersey, which focuses on the constitutionality and the legality of his detention. Remember, Khalil's attorneys have said that his detention is illegal because he is being targeted for his for his speech and for his political activity in violation of the First Amendment.

Now although the immigration judge has said that she believes Khalil will be deportable, the other case in New Jersey continues to advance.

Now we should also highlight that the Louisiana judge made that determination based on a piece of evidence submitted by the government, a two-page memo written by secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in which he laid out the reasons why Khalil is deportable, specifically citing his protest activity.

Again, his attorneys focused on the fact that that activity is protected by the First Amendment, something that not just U.S. citizens are protected by but also permanent U.S. residents like Khalil.

In the meantime, his attorneys remain focused on trying to get him released from detention. They are hoping that a judge in New Jersey will hear a motion asking for his release. It's not yet clear whether or not that will happen.

But it seems like, for now, the case is far from over and Khalil will have to remain in custody -- Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

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ABEL: The U.S. is ramping up the pressure on Iran to reach a new nuclear deal. Still ahead, negotiators are set to meet face to face as the threat of military action hangs over Tehran. Plus, Donald Trump's key envoy meets with Russia's President Putin,

hoping to make progress on a ceasefire with Ukraine. A look at how Steve Witkoff became Trump's most trusted diplomat. That's next.

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ABEL: Iranian negotiators have arrived in Oman ahead of nuclear talks with the U.S. That will begin in the coming hours. Iran's state news agency says the delegation is led by the country's foreign minister, who will speak with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

The White House is pushing for a new agreement that would stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. But U.S. president Donald Trump said if the deal is not reached in two months, military action is possible.

During his first term, he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran. Now he says he wants a stronger agreement but has not said how any new deal would be different. This is what he said Friday night about the upcoming talks.

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TRUMP: I want them not to have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can't have a nuclear weapon. I want them to flourish but they can't have a nuclear weapon.

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ABEL: Hossein Mousavian is a former spokesman of the Iran Nuclear File and he joins us now from Princeton, New Jersey.

Thank you for being with us. First, before we get to the historic nature of these talks, over the years, Iran has seen a string of setbacks in its ambitions for a nuclear weapon, including assassinations of nuclear scientists and sabotage, some of that potentially by the United States.

So just how close right now is Iran to achieving that goal of a nuclear weapon?

What are the stakes here?

HOSSEIN MOUSAVIAN, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, IRAN NUCLEAR FILE: I believe Iran has never been seeking nuclear weapon. We remember this nuclear deal 2015.

[03:20:03] Iran accepted the highest level of transparency and inspection measures that internationally exists. And the IAEA has and had also the most comprehensive inspections during the history of IAEA in Iran compared to any other IAEA member.

And repeatedly, IAEA published a report, after reports that there is no diversion toward Iran, toward organization (ph) in the Iranian nuclear program.

The reason Iran escalated, Brian, there, that its nuclear capacity was because the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal and imposed maximum pressure and imposed the maximum sanctions and pressures, while Iran was in compliance with the deal, which was the most comprehensive during the history of nonproliferation.

Iran increased the level and capacity of its enrichment as a bargaining chip in order to bring the U.S. to negotiation table, not to make the nuclear bomb.

ABEL: Hussein, so these will be the first talks of this kind in over a decade. And they come with president Trump not ruling out military action if the talks don't go well.

So how can we expect Tehran to act under that pressure?

What cards could be on both sides of the table?

Because there certainly is no love lost between these two countries.

MOUSAVIAN: I believe there are major reasons to be optimistic. One is the fact that president Trump and Ayatollah Khamenei has already agreed on some principles, even before the nuclear talks tomorrow.

The first important principles, the both leaders, they have agreed, is the fact that they both have opposed nuclear weapon. President Trump repeatedly has said the only demand he has from Iran is that Iran does not possess a nuclear bomb.

Iran is member of NPT. Iran does not have nuclear bomb. Iranian nuclear doctrine is based on no -- non-nuclear weapons state. Moreover, Ayatollah Khamenei has also issued a religious decree, a religious fatwa, declaring nuclear and all weapons of mass destruction as forbidden.

Therefore, the first important principles both leaders have agreed is no nuclear bomb.

The second important principle, I believe, both leaders, they have agreed, both, they are opposing war. President Trump does not want war. Ayatollah Khamenei also does not want war.

The third important issue, which nobody is talking about, is the fact that president Trump, number one priority is American economy. And Ayatollah Khamenei has also agreed to American investment in Iran after 45 years of economic sanctions. Iran needs trillions of dollars in economic cooperation and

investment. I believe there is no other country in the region and even beyond the region that has Iran's capacity to absorb large-scale economic deals and cooperation. This is, I believe, a golden opportunity for a win-win deal for both leaders.

And the reason we could be optimistic or we can be optimistic is that Iran's strategy previously was, no war, no negotiations. Now this strategy has evolved into no war and negotiations.

And president Trump's strategy before was based on maximum coercion, pressure, sanctions, which now has shifted toward seeking an agreement through diplomacy with negotiations. That's why I think we can be optimistic because of these five, six reasons.

ABEL: All right. Hossein Mousavian, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

MOUSAVIAN: Thank you, Brian. Thank you.

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ABEL: Along with the Iran nuclear talks, Steve Witkoff has also been tasked with leading U.S. efforts toward peace in Ukraine and Gaza. CNN's Alex Marquardt explains how Witkoff became Donald Trump's most trusted diplomat.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This is the first time we've seen images of Vladimir Putin meeting with a U.S. official in almost four years.

This U.S. official, Steve Witkoff, is different and is making a habit of this, sitting down with Putin for the third time just this year. It comes amid a flurry of new contact between the U.S. and Russia, which, so far, has made little progress at ending the war in Ukraine.

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It's being led by Witkoff, who's a longtime friend and donor of Donald Trump's and a fellow New York billionaire real estate developer. Despite zero diplomatic experience, Trump tapped Witkoff to be his envoy to the Middle East.

TRUMP: Steve Witkoff, who's just got back from the Middle East and he's done a fantastic job. He's a -- he's a great dealmaker.

MARQUARDT: It's a huge job, which only got bigger when he took on the Russia portfolio. And this weekend, Witkoff is set to add more, meeting with Iran's foreign minister to try to hash out a new nuclear deal. Iran's nuclear program, the Russia-Ukraine war and a ceasefire in Gaza, each a monumental task on its own.

And Witkoff appears to be doing much of it himself, traveling around the world on his own private jet, with little to no staff or officials with him.

STEVE WITKOFF, TRUMP ENVOY: I don't want to put -- put words in President Putin's mouth but I think he's indicated that he accepts what -- he accepts the philosophy of President Trump.

MARQUARDT: Many observers of Putin and Russia fear they're playing Witkoff and not actually interested in peace.

TUCKER CARLSON, TV HOST: What did you think of him?

WITKOFF: I liked him. CARLSON: Yes.

WITKOFF: I thought he was straight up with me. In the second visit that I had, you know, it got personal. The president, President Putin, had commissioned a beautiful portrait of President Trump from the leading Russian artist and actually gave it to me and asked me to take it home to President Trump, which I brought home and delivered to him.

MARQUARDT: Trump is increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in Ukraine and now, Witkoff's main accomplishment so far, the ceasefire in Gaza has fallen apart, with Israel resuming military operations against Hamas.

WITKOFF: I would encourage Hamas to get much more sensible than how they have been.

MARQUARDT: Trump and Witkoff met in the 1980s. Like Trump, he has now moved to Florida. His son, Zach, is a co-founder of a cryptocurrency company that's backed by Trump and his sons. Crypto site CoinDesk reported today that the company recently lost $125 million.

Few had heard of Witkoff when he was out golfing with Trump last September, when a gunman fired shots and Witkoff watched Secret Service spring into action.

WITKOFF: The entire team converged on top of him, except for the snipers.

MARQUARDT: Now he's the toast of the foreign policy world, seen by global leaders as the best way into Trump, overshadowing the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who does not have as close a relationship -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

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ABEL: Ukraine says nearly 100 Russian drones attacked its capital overnight.

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ABEL (voice-over): This video shows Ukrainian air defenses at work after a barrage of Russian drones targeted Kyiv and four other regions. Officials say three people were wounded in the capital and multiple warehouses caught on fire. Ukraine's air force says it shot down or electronically diverted most

of the drones. Ukraine and its allies are making it clear they don't have much faith in Moscow, despite Witkoff's talks with President Putin.

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ABEL: On Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the site of one of Russia's deadliest attacks on his country this year. At least 19 people were killed, including nine children, in a missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih.

Last week, Britain and Germany said on Friday that peace appears to be out of reach for now because of Russia's ongoing aggression. Mr. Zelenskyy echoed that sentiment.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Today marks exactly one month since Russia rejected the U.S.' proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire.

One month that has made it completely clear, Russia is the sole cause of this war. With our strength against Russia, there will be no will in Russia to accept and implement any realistic and effective proposals for peace.

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ABEL: Israel is warning residents in some parts of Gaza City to evacuate ahead of military operations. This comes as Israel looks to create a buffer zone to separate Palestinians from Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

The U.N. now estimates close to 400,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed last month.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is the billionth time I am displaced. I can't walk. I have back cartilage pain in my back. I have high blood pressure. I have diabetes. I can't walk. Enough terrorizing us.

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ABEL: Just ahead, why a U.N. humanitarian agency is cutting back its global workforce at a time of growing need.

Plus, as Myanmar struggles to recover from last month's deadly earthquake, the world steps up to help.

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But aid from the U.S. is almost nowhere to be found.

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ABEL (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta. Let's check today's top stories.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. economy is in great shape, despite an escalating trade war with China. He called Chinese president Xi Jinping "a very smart leader" on Friday after Beijing raised its retaliatory tariffs to 125 percent. Mr. Trump is optimistic that the two countries can reach a trade deal.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Iran Iranian nuclear negotiators in Oman in the coming hours. U.S. president Donald Trump is pushing for a new nuclear deal with Tehran and threatening military action if it's not reached. But he hasn't explained how that agreement would be different from the one he abandoned during his first term.

And the U.S. Justice Department has been ordered to provide daily updates to the court on what it's doing to facilitate the return of a wrongly deported man back to the United States.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Maryland father of three, who was deported to a prison in El Salvador because the Trump administration claimed he was a gang member. The White House says it was an administrative error.

ABEL: The top United Nations office for humanitarian aid is facing a severe funding crisis and cutting 20 percent of its global workforce as a consequence. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will withdraw or adjust operations in nine countries, including Cameroon, Colombia, Iraq, Nigeria and Turkiye.

[03:35:00]

The agency's head acknowledged brutal cuts that were driven by a nearly $60 million funding shortfall this year and were compounded by a rising humanitarian demands.

World powers, they are stepping in to boost the ongoing earthquake relief efforts in war-torn Myanmar. But as Will Ripley reports, help from America is in short supply. If it can even be found.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What the earthquake didn't take, the fire did. This was Sein Pan, one of Mandalay's poorest districts, built over an old garbage dump. Survivors describe an inferno when the earth split open.

KYL THEIN, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR (through translation): The fireball emerged from the ground just after the earthquake. It wiped out all 400 houses. Everybody ran. Now nothing remains. RIPLEY (voice-over): More than 2,000 people homeless, a neighborhood vaporized in minutes.

I just want my home back, this survivor says. She sleeps outside. And like many here, prays for help.

Aid workers say help, from the United States at least, is nowhere to be found. No American rescue teams, no visible U.S. presence in Mandalay, no American flags on the food trucks.

FRANCISCO BENCOSME, FORMER USAID OFFICIAL: That the United States only sent a paltry amount of assistance. It sent only three workers, which then subsequently were fired.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Those three U.S. staffers arrived days after the quake. They were notified their jobs would be eliminated while in the disaster zone. The U.S. initially pledged just $2 million, later increasing it to $9 million. Compare that to 2023.

The U.S. pledged $185 million and full search-and-rescue teams to the Turkey earthquake, deploying more than 200 U.S. staff.

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're not the government of the world. We are willing to continue to help in the humanitarian crisis. Other countries need to do so as well.

RIPLEY (voice-over): And others are China, Russia, India, Japan, more than 15 countries have boots on the ground. Search-and-rescue units, field hospitals, mobile clinics, heavy machinery. Chinese teams were pulling survivors from the rubble just 48 hours after the quake.

Beijing also pledged nearly $5 million more than the U.S.

TOM FLETCHER, HUMANITARIAN CHIEF, UNOCHA: So the fact that the U.S. is cutting back heavily hits us here. As you know, it hits us everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an embarrassment. But beyond that, it's deadly.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The U.S. used to be a leader in global disaster response, sending elite rescue teams, dogs, cranes, food and water. All that feels like a distant memory now.

EL MON KHINE, MYANMAR RECOVERY WORKER (through translation): We need proper machines to dig through collapsed buildings. Without them, people die. We can't save lives without real support.

RIPLEY (voice-over): This is the first major natural disaster since the Trump administration dismantled most of U.S. aid, firing thousands, freezing funding and ending contracts.

In Myanmar, almost 20 million people were already in need, displaced by four years of civil war. Then came the earthquake. The suffering is immense.

The United States, once a lifeline, now missing in action.

RIPLEY: Remember those three U.S. aid staffers, working in Myanmar when they were notified their jobs were being eliminated?

This was part of the broader layoffs at USAID and we're told that they weren't immediately pulled out. They're actually still working in Myanmar but their positions are being cut and there are no plans to replace them.

Now the countries that are, ironically, providing more aid to Myanmar are also sending hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons to the junta in some cases, like Russia and China. The U.N. has documented dozens of junta attacks since the quake, including some even after the junta declared a ceasefire -- Will Ripley, CNN.

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ABEL: Federal authorities are on the scene of that fatal helicopter crash on the Hudson River, where divers are searching for key pieces of the aircraft. Details on the investigation next.

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ABEL (voice-over): Sicily's Mount Etna is putting on quite a show, erupting with a stunning display of fire. Look at that. Video on Friday captured the dramatic display of red-hot lava from one of the world's most active volcanoes.

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ABEL: Officials say tremor levels are beginning to decrease and the nearby Catania Airport remains fully operational. Tourists have been flocking to Sicily's snowcapped volcano in recent months to get a glimpse of that powerful display.

Impressive.

Well, authorities have recovered some of the wreckage of the sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, which turned a family outing into a tragedy. Six people on board were killed; three children, their parents and the pilot. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the latest on the investigation.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not have a preliminary cause that takes time. BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials piecing together the helicopter wreckage, working toward what may have caused this sudden crash. The aircraft carrying a family and pilot, all six people on board, killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: River traffic, be advised. You do have an aircraft down Holland Tunnel. Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suddenly, we hear this huge explosion and we look up from our screen and the helicopter actually kind of just exploded.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The chopper on a short, scenic trip along the New York City skyline.

Forty-nine-year old Agustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, was here on a business trip, according to officials. His wife and three children traveling to join him. They went up in the helicopter as part of her 40th birthday celebration. One of their children would have turned nine today.

MAYOR STEVE FULOP, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY: The husband was telling people in the office how excited they were to do this helicopter tour. The family flew out to extend a business trip into a family vacation. So I mean, the more you learn about it, the -- the more sad and tragic the story is.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The pilot, a 36-year-old veteran named Sean Johnson, started working for the helicopter company a month ago, according to his social media. Recent videos show him in the cockpit of the chopper flying above New York City.

The Bell 206 pulled out of the water and dive teams continue searching for missing debris, including the main rotor and tail, according to the NTSB.

FULOP: We're using sonar because it is very murky and muddy, that part of the Hudson. And while it's not deep, visibility isn't great. And the goal is to retrieve as much of the helicopter as possible to reassemble what you can and understand how and why that happens.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The aircraft is operated by a tour company called New York Helicopter Inc. NTSB reports site two prior safety incidents involving the company in 2013 and 2015 neither resulted in fatalities.

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The company's CEO told "The Telegraph" on Thursday his pilot radioed that he'd be returning to base in three minutes but never came back.

"I'm a father, a grandfather and my wife hasn't stopped crying since this afternoon," he told CNN.

Officials will also be looking at maintenance records if any work was done on the aircraft and confirm if it was compliant with federal standards.

GINGRAS: The NTSB has 17 people onsite working on this investigation. And we have all seen those horrific videos circulating on social media. The NTSB is asking the public for any videos, any pictures, to send it to them, because it's possible it could provide some clues as they try to figure out what happened here -- I'm Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

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ABEL: The United States says at least 17 Americans were killed in Tuesday's roof collapse at a Dominican Republic night club. They're among at least 225 killed in the disaster. Authorities now say the search for survivors is over.

But relatives of the victims say the process of identifying bodies is too slow and they're demanding for it to be sped up. The tragedy killed two former Major League Baseball players and merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing at the time of the collapse. Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused it.

The Masters golf tournament is heating up in Augusta, Georgia. Coming up, the latest as the world's top players close the gap on the leader after the championship's second round.

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Things are getting serious at golf's legendary Masters tournament, the first major of the year not far from here in Augusta, Georgia. Englishman Justin Rose holds a tenuous lead. But as CNN's Don Riddell tells us, other golfers are vying to take him down and win that green jacket.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know of all the intriguing storylines that could play out here at Augusta over the weekend, I think Rory McIlroy is the most compelling.

The world number two is obviously a fabulous golfer but he hasn't won a major tournament now for over a decade and the Masters is the only one of the four majors that he's never won. And arguably it has caused him the most pain.

But he's playing superbly. He had a brilliant round of 66 on Friday. And afterwards he spoke to the media about how his role as a father is actually helping him as a golfer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RORY MCILROY, GOLF'S WORLD NUMBER 2: I rushed out of here to get home to see Poppy before she went to bed, so that was sort of nice to be able to get to see her before she went to sleep.

And, yes, I guess that's something that I didn't have a few years ago, to be able to, you know, get home and have that sort of, you know, take my mind off the golf a little bit. So but, yes, I just, I feel like I just did a good job of resetting.

I don't think I proved anything. If anything, I just backed up the belief that I have of myself and I -- and the belief that I'm as resilient as anyone else out here.

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RIDDELL: Well, it is going to be a packed leaderboard for the third round. The former U.S. Open champion, Justin Rose, is on -8. He leads by 1. Bryson DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is just a stroke behind on -7.

And, of course, let's not count out the world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who is trying to become only the fourth player to defend the green jacket. He's also trying to become only the second player to win three Masters titles in just four years.

Scheffler ending the day on -5. He's 3 back and I'm sure he'll have a lot to say over the weekend. Back to you.

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ABEL: Well, two of Italy's great fashion houses are uniting. Prada is buying its rival, Versace, for more than $1 billion. Prada is seeking to expand, having defied a slowdown in luxury demand while Versace has been operating at a loss in the last few quarters. CNN's Barbie Nadeau has more from Rome.

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BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the movie, "The Devil Wears Prada," fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly knows how to make a stylish entrance.

And just like that formidable fictional character, Prada is turning heads in the fashion industry with its pending acquisition of the rival brand Versace for about $1.4 billion from Capri Holdings.

They are two of the biggest names in Italian fashion. Prada is clean and understated; Versace, bold and glamorous. And as part of the Prada Group portfolio, experts say it could bring Italian fashion to new heights.

BRYCE QUILLIN, CO-FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, IT'S A WORKING TITLE: For Prada, this is an opportunity to sort of create a made in Italy sort of mega label, to kind of allow them to better compete with what are significantly larger competitors from France.

NADEAU (voice-over): For decades, Versace has been a staple on the red carpet, from Elizabeth Hurley's safety pin dress to J. Lo's plunging green gown to Taylor Swift's coral and hot pink Grammys look.

But in recent years, Versace has been struggling with lower revenues. And with Donatella Versace stepping down as chief creative officer of the brand last month, some strategists say Prada is well positioned to help revive Versace's sales.

MARIO ORTELLI, LUXURY BRAND STRATEGIST: If you look at the trajectory of the brand in the last year, there was a contraction of revenues, a contraction of profitability. But despite that, this is a brand with a great heritage. And I believe the Prada Group has got all the capabilities to bring back Versace to its -- to sparkle.

NADEAU (voice-over): At a time when much of the luxury market is in a slowdown, the Prada Group is on a hot streak, largely because of its Miu Miu brand, with its chic Gen Z vibe, which had a record retail sales growth last year of 93 percent.

And though the deal to buy Versace comes at a time of tariff chaos, the Prada Group says it's playing the long game, which isn't as much about cost cutting but expanding its brand into a tour de force -- Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

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ABEL: Just in time for the Easter holiday.

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A collection of edible Easter creations went on display this week at a hotel in Brussels. Check this out. The eggs are in an Art Deco style, blending nature curves, industrial material and geometric patterns found in the Belgian capital; 35 top Belgian chocolate makers created the eggs up to 60 centimeters or about 20 inches tall.

They cost $850 each, with the funds going to a Belgian hospital.

And Fatu, the world's oldest captive gorilla, has just turned 68. She celebrated by dipping into her gift basket of fruit and veggies at the Berlin Zoo on Friday. The veterinarian says Fatu has no teeth, so her treats are cooked. Otherwise, she's in good health, despite typical age related aches, pains and stiffness.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is not a patient.

So she is in good spirits and does not need our support except for a slightly adjusted diet. But otherwise she is doing very, very well.

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ABEL: Fatu is a Western Lowland gorilla, a species endangered in African rainforests. The Guinness World Record says no other gorilla in captivity has reached her age.

Happy birthday to her.

That's it. Thanks for joining us. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta. I'll be back sometime, same time tomorrow. NEWSROOM with Ivan Watson in Hong Kong is next.