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U.S. Ramps Up Pressure On Ukraine To Accept Peace Plan; Pope Francis Lying In State Before Funeral On Saturday; Donald Trump Again Expresses Optimism About Deal With China; FEMA Losing 20 Percent of Its Staff as Hurricane Season Nears; Israel Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day; Pope Francis Honored by His Hometown Soccer Club. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired April 24, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:30]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, new Russian strikes slam Kyiv as President Trump criticizes Ukraine's president. Why he says Volodymyr Zelenskyy's red lines are making peace negotiations even tougher.

Catholics around the world are mourning Pope Francis. We will take you live to Vatican City, where funeral planning is well underway.

Plus, President Trump is changing his tune about tariffs. But experts say the trade war is far from over. How the markets are reacting to the president's mixed messages.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us, and we begin with a scene of utter devastation in the Ukrainian capital following a new barrage of Russian strikes. Emergency officials say at least nine people are dead and more than 60 wounded in Kyiv after drones and missiles hit the city in the past few hours. Rescuers are seen here at an apartment building apparently flattened by the attack. Officials say a number of buildings caught fire, and the search is ongoing for people trapped under the rubble.

Explosions rang out across the city as air raid sirens blared for hours. Russian missile strikes were also reported in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv.

Ukraine is also under growing political pressure from Washington to accept a U.S. proposed peace plan. President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Wednesday, after he again made clear Kyiv will not recognize Russia's control of Crimea. That's a key part of the U.S. proposal, according to sources who spoke with CNN.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance added even more pressure on Wednesday, saying the territorial lines in Ukraine should be frozen somewhere close to the existing lines. Russia currently controls about 20 percent of Ukraine, with six million Ukrainians living under Russian occupation.

President Zelenskyy has long said that ceding Crimea is a nonstarter because it would violate Ukraine's constitution, but President Trump appears to be losing patience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just want to see the war end. I don't care -- if they're both happy, they both sign an agreement. I have no favorites. I don't want to have any favorites. I want to have a deal done. I want to save the lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We get more now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting from Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Russian state T.V. praising the Trump administration after the vice president issued a stern warning, sign a cease fire deal now.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Kyiv is refusing to hear the warnings, the anchor says. President Trump is fuming after Kyiv says it won't meet one of his key demands, de facto acknowledging Crimea, which Russia has been occupying for 11 years as Russian territory.

Trump lashing out at Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a social media post. The situation for Ukraine is dire, he writes, he can have peace or he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country.

While the White House hasn't confirmed details, an official familiar with the framework tells CNN he would also put a cease fire in place along the current front lines of the war, meaning Russia would get to keep nearly all the territory its forces have occupied since the start of a full on invasion in 2022.

But after another night of major drone attacks left more than a dozen dead across Ukraine, when officials said Kyiv residents in no mood to be told to give up lands.

Peace is not worth any bargaining, this woman says, bargaining is simply not possible. We do not need peace at this price. And he says, I think it's right that Ukraine defended its borders and

said that Crimea is part of Ukraine and did not recognize it as part of Russia.

[02:05:05]

But on the streets of Moscow, a very different scene, optimism still prevailing that a deal can be made with the help of President Trump.

Of course, we believe a settlement is possible. This man says, you just need to sit down at the negotiating table to make the settlement possible.

Earlier, Biden's administration did not even try to reach an agreement, this man adds, no one listened to us. Did not want to listen to us. Today, they heard us, and hope emerged for us to reach an agreement.

And I asked this man if he thinks Trump could forge a peace deal. I don't think so, he says, our president will call the shots.

And Russian leader Vladimir Putin once again showing he is calling the shots, meeting with his Military-Industrial Commission, telling them to make more weapons and fast.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We are looking at live images from the Vatican, where thousands of mourners have been patiently waiting to pay their respects to Pope Francis. The famous doors to the basilica reopen to the public a little more than an hour ago and will remain open until midnight local time.

People have been standing in line for hours just to spend a few seconds before the Pope's coffin to honor his life and compassionate leadership. The pontiff is lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica until his funeral on Saturday, and that will kick off nine days of official mourning, and a conclave will later be held to elect the next pope.

I want to bring in CNN's Vatican Analyst from Rome now, Elise Allen is also a senior correspondent with Crux now. Good to have you with us.

ELISE ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Good morning, Rosemary. It's wonderful to be with you.

CHURCH: So, we have been seeing these long lines of the faithful waiting patiently to pay their last respects to Pope Francis as he lies in state, illustrating just how beloved and appreciated he was as the leader of the Catholic Church.

So, how are people remembering him, and, of course, his legacy, as they bid their Pope farewell? ALLEN: You know, I think people are just flocking to St. Peter's Square. You know, I've been around the area here and there over the last couple days, and it is increasingly, you know, full.

You know, it's hard to move around. You can't get through the crowds. People really want to come out, and they're coming out in droves just to show their support for this pope, for Pope Francis, and for everything that he did. There's really a sense of tranquility though, about the crowds, people understand that it's a somber moment.

You know, there have been so many people that have come yesterday, just in the first eight hours that he was laying in state, there were almost 20,000 people that passed by to visit.

And of course, lines continued overnight. The basilica had to extend its hours. It was originally only going to stay up until midnight to allow people interview, but it stayed open until 5:30 in the morning and reopened again at 7:00 local time here.

So, there really is a much higher turnout than even the Vatican was expecting, and that's going to continue we expect for the next couple of days.

CHURCH: It is extraordinary, isn't it, to look at these numbers. And of course, as you say, this mood, quiet, calm, serenity, as people file by the Pope.

And preparations for the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday reveal a departure, don't they, from more traditional practices with a greater emphasis on a simpler, more humble funeral, just as Pope Francis had requested.

So, how different will his funeral be to those of previous Popes? And will this set a new standard, perhaps for future popes, in an effort to establish this stronger connection to the faithful?

ALLEN: Francis in death, as in life, was a very simple man, you know, he's decided to modify a bit, you know, the funeral rights, keeping things very simple for the choice to not be on an elevated platform, not to be above the faithful, but to be at the same level. He has a much simpler coffin than popes usually have.

You know, and so, just little details, a lot of it is very subtle. And I would say there has been sort of a shift in simplifying these people liturgies, you know, people funeral rights for the last few Popes. You know, Paul VI started with just, you know, from what he chose to have in the coffin with just a gospel. You know, the book of the Gospels versus, you know some other things. You know, other items that you can put in there.

So, there has been sort of a slow progression of this, but Francis has really simplified it even more. And, you know, who knows what might come in the future, you know, and how tone setting these decisions from him might be.

You know, of course, Benedict the XVI, who resigned, also wanted a very simplified liturgy for his funeral, and that was in part because he was no longer a reigning Pope when he passed, you know.

[02:10:08]

But all these things you know do set a certain tone. You know, for who comes next. So it will be interesting to see, you know, what things look like going forward, but Pope Francis has really still embraced that simplicity, you know from his attire as Pope and to his attire now, and his final resting place, you know as the Vicar of Christ.

CHURCH: And of course, Roman Catholic cardinals are gathering in Rome ahead of the Pope's funeral. And of course, the Conclave where Cardinals will elect the next pope. It is an unpredictable process, of course, but who are the most likely candidates, and do you expect a continuation of Pope Francis's reformist legacy, or perhaps a return to more traditional values?

ALLEN: Well, I think that's the question, Rosemary, that everybody is asking right now, and all the Cardinals are pondering at this moment, because there's, of course, you know, it's -- right now is a time of preparation for the funeral.

After the funeral, there are nine days of mourning, but there are going to be meetings, general congregation meetings during those days when the Cardinals are getting together and they're talking, they're discussing all of this.

So, you know, in terms of candidates, it's hard to say who are the front runners, really, because so many of these Cardinals come from places that are very distant. They're far away from Rome. They haven't come very much due to the distance and the costs involved.

So, a lot of these guys simply don't know one another. So those meetings are going to be very important. You know, of course, there's a lot of chatter you know about certain candidates right now. I think the most front runner we're hearing a lot of discussion about is the Vatican Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin. But there are also some other candidates, you know, the cardinal Bishop of Marseille, Jean Aveline, is also somebody who's kind of coming out into the fore, you know, a little bit.

So, these are the personalities that are starting to get, you know, some attention. But we really have to see what happens in those general congregation meetings, you know, the question of whether the Cardinals at this point want continuity or discontinuity with Francis, I think, is the key question.

I think there's probably a general consensus that some of the things Francis did, especially his embrace of the poor and the marginalized, was something that was for the church and something that, you know, that the world had a very positive reaction to, that might be something they want to continue.

But Francis was also quite controversial on some other issues, and cardinals might want to take things in a different direction. So, we really have to -- you know, it kind of depends on each man. It kind of depends on what comes out of those discussions. We have to see in the coming days and weeks or so what they have in mind.

CHURCH: Yes, one thing for sure, it will be a surprise to everyone, as it usually is. Elise Allen, thank you so much joining us live from Rome. Appreciate it.

ALLEN: Thank you.

CHURCH: A controversial Cardinal is claiming he can take part in the forthcoming conclave despite being listed as a non-elector. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu became the first Cardinal to be convicted in the Vatican's criminal court when he was found guilty of embezzlement and fraud in 2023. He maintains his innocence and his appeal is still under consideration.

On Tuesday, he told a Sardinian newspaper that, "There was no explicit will to exclude him from the Conclave." The Dean of the College of Cardinals and other senior leaders will likely decide on his participation.

Well, tensions are rising between India and Pakistan after the deadliest attack on civilians in India in nearly two decades, protesters in three Indian cities blame Pakistan for Tuesday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, when gunmen killed at least 26 people and wounded a dozen others at a popular tourist spot in the Himalayas.

The demonstrators burned Pakistani flags, chanted down with Pakistan and held signs reading, stop terrorism. Pakistan denies any role in Tuesday's massacre.

A little known militant group called the Resistance Front claimed responsibility, though Indian authorities are still investigating and searching for the gunman, the Indian government has now suspended a critical water treaty with Pakistan, one of several measures against its neighbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKRAM MISRI, INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY: The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, the integrated check post Attari will be closed with immediate effect. Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme visas.

The defense military naval and air advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared persona non grata. Support staff of the service advisers will also be withdrawn from both high commissions.

Pakistan's Foreign Secretary denounced the suspension of the Water Treaty. Islamabad National Security Committee is set to meet in the coming hours to determine its response.

[02:15:07]

Well, meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Palestinian authority president is demanding Hamas disarm and release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. In a fiery speech, Mahmoud Abbas laid out his vision for a unified Palestinian state and strongly criticized Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT (through translator): Stop the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. This really must stop. Every day there are hundreds of deaths. Why don't they want to hand over the American hostage? You sons of dogs, just hand over the hostages and let's get out of this mess. Block their excuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In response, Hamas rejected the claims from Abbas and questioned his competence. This comes amid a renewed push for a cease fire between Israel and Hamas, with Egypt also floating the idea of Hamas disarming.

Still to come this hour, tax on, tax off. A new day brings a new approach for the Trump administration on tariffs. We'll see how financial markets are responding.

Plus, while tariffs lock Chinese car makers out of the U.S. market. China's electric vehicle sector is booming.

Just ahead, we'll take you to the country's largest automobile show in Shanghai.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, now to the U.S. trade war with China and another day of mixed messages from the White House. President Trump says he could start reimposing reciprocal tariffs on some countries in the next two or three weeks if they don't make deals with the U.S., but is much more optimistic about China, claiming direct talks are happening every day.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned it could take two to three years to rebalance trade with Beijing. Here's the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think what's going to happen is we're going to have great deals. And by the way, if we don't have a deal with a company or a country, we're going to set the tariff. We just set the tariff. It's something that we think that will happen I'd say over the next couple of weeks. When you say, I think so, over the next two-three weeks, we'll be setting the number, and we're going to pick could be for China too. Could be for China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Sources tell CNN, President Trump's latest tariff gyrations came after a Monday meeting with the CEOs of major retailers. They reportedly warned the president his policies would mean supply chain disruptions and empty store shelves. Investors on Wall Street have been encouraged by the prospect of

reduced tariffs on China with significant gains for the second day in a row on Wednesday.

More now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny, reporting from the White House.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump signaling on Wednesday, once again, that he is eager to make a trade deal with China. Of course, for weeks, this trade war between the two superpowers has escalated bit by bit. China has not blinked at all. The U.S. suddenly is saying it wants to lower those 145 percent tariffs, but only if China meets the U.S. part way.

But the U.S. president had this to say Wednesday night in the Oval Office.

TRUMP: I get along very well with President Xi, hope we can make a deal. Otherwise, we'll set a price, and hopefully they'll come here and they'll contribute, and if they don't, that's OK.

ZELENY: So, certainly a softer, friendlier tone, if you will, echoed by the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as well. He was trying to explain the America first agenda, of course, a key part of the Trump administration's plans, but he said the U.S. is willing to reach out to China. They're, in fact, eager for President Xi to reach out to the United States.

Now, in this back and forth escalating trade war, China has not blinked at all. The United States has on several occasions. It is clear, because of the negative reaction in the fiscal markets. Just the idea of the economy and the supply chain slowing, the president is trying to shake things up a bit and get his trade war with China unstuck, if you will.

So, certainly a softer tone from President Trump. We will see if China responds.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: So, let's take a look at how financial markets around the world are responding first to the Asia Pacific region. You can see a mixed bag there. Japan's Nikkei up nearly half a percentage point. Shanghai up just slightly there.

Want to turn to U.S. Futures and all in negative territory, and the Dow down 0.37 percent now, of course, S&P 500 also down along with the tech heavy NASDAQ. We'll see what happens when the bell opens in a few hours from now.

So, automobile brands are vying for attention at China's largest car show, Auto Shanghai. The 10 day gathering comes as the global car industry grapples with President Donald Trump's tariffs on car imports to the United States.

CNN's Marc Stewart toured the latest models and has the highlights.

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MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When we look at this U.S.-China trade war, technology is a big part of it. We're on the ground here in Shanghai at the largest auto show in China. It's a chance for Chinese companies, of course, to show off their innovations, but it's also a chance for China to show that it's a force and it doesn't need the U.S. to thrive.

[02:25:05]

The unveiling of this blue car here is one of the most anticipated events of the entire show. It's from Chinese auto giant BYD and its Denza brand, its first concept sports car. As you can see, it's very aerodynamic. It's got a spoiler on the back.

This is a big deal because BYD is really a fierce competitor to Tesla. This isn't just about style. These cars have a potential for speed. This is the 7GT from the brand Zeekr. It can go from zero to around 60 in just about three seconds.

This car is attention getting not just for its bright color, but for its connectivity. It's from a company called Xiaomi. It's a phone company. A lot of people have their phones. One feature is that you can control some of the different appliances from your car, from this very panel in front.

Because of tariffs, Chinese car makers are locked out of the American market, but they're firmly planted in China, which is the world's largest automobile market. They've also been expanding to places like Europe and to Africa, showing that they don't have to have American buyers to be successful.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Shanghai.

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CHURCH: The U.S. disaster relief agency is losing hundreds of experienced long time employees, and we'll tell you why so many FEMA workers are leaving just ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[02:31:00]

CHURCH: The start of the Atlantic hurricane season is just weeks away and the agency that helps U.S. communities devastated by natural disasters is losing about 20 percent of its full-time staff. CNN's Gabe Cohen has more on the DOGE buyout initiative at FEMA.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've learned that roughly one thousand FEMA workers, about 20 percent of the permanent full-time workforce at the agency are expected to take this latest DOGE voluntary buyout. And that includes a lot of FEMA's senior leadership, some of the people who are longtime officials with the most institutional knowledge, who play really critical roles during disaster response and recovery, and who are now voluntarily heading for the door amid this cratering morale that we are seeing at FEMA.

And that's because the agency has been criticized relentlessly by President Trump and his allies in recent months. And the administration has vowed to eliminate FEMA altogether. In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has even administered at least a dozen lie detector tests to FEMA officials for alleged media leaks. One senior FEMA official told me, "People don't want to work here anymore and they're worried about what the agency will look like in a year." Another senior FEMA official told me, "All of these people have seen their work destroyed and denigrated. They started seeing that FEMA might actually be killed."

Now, this is just one aspect of the workforce reduction that FEMA is facing right now and about a half dozen FEMA officials voiced serious concern to me about what all of this is going to mean when hurricane season gets underway in the coming weeks, given that preparations for storm season have already been stifled by the turmoil that FEMA is facing.

Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Time for a short break. When we come back, how Israel is marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."

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CHURCH: It is Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel where people will pause for two minutes, a siren sound at the top of the hour. The day commemorates the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust by Nazi Germany and its allies, and recognizes the strength of the Jewish people. In Washington, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted the annual Days of Remembrance ceremony at the Capitol. Here is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

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HOWARD LUTNICK, (R) UNITED STATES COMMERCE SECRETARY: The Holocaust was a failure of humanity. But as we all know, no matter how hard we try, that kind of hatred continues to exist just in many, many other forms, shows up in different ways and it shows up at different times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Historians estimate around one million Jews were killed in the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz. The site was converted into a museum in 1946 by former prisoners.

In Argentina, Pope Francis' hometown soccer club is remembering the late pontiff. The San Lorenzo soccer team held a mass in Buenos Aries on Wednesday evening. Francis' love of soccer and his team never diminished as Pope and fans have been bidding the pontiff farewell at the club's chapel and say he was a card carrying member of the club.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR LUCCHINI, CARETAKER, CHAPEL OF SAN LORENZO DE ALMAGRO SOCCER CLUB: The day we gave him his membership card, he said he would accept it, but added I'll pay the fee, he said. He paid his membership fees for the San Lorenzo Club religiously. We handed him the card in person and it had the membership number 88235. Now, he has passed away at the age of 88 at 02:35 in the morning Argentina time, so we don't know if it's a blessing, a coincidence, or something he sent us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The club's president says players will wear special commemorative jerseys at a match on Saturday, the day of the Pope's funeral.

I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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