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Hamas Announces Imminent Release Of American Hostage Edan Alexander; Zelenskyy Says He's Ready For Direct Talks With Putin This Week; Top U.S. Officials Tout Possible Deal With China Following Trade Talks; Fragile Ceasefire Holding Between India And Pakistan; Pope Leo XIV: Church Must Continue Global "Missionary Outreach"; Leo Delivers "Message Of Peace" To 150,000 Plus Faithful; Jury Selection Resumes Monday In Sean "Diddy" Combs Sex Trafficking Case; Cassie Ventura May Testify Monday In Combs Sex Trafficking Trial. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 11, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
EVA LONGORIA, AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS, PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, AND ACTIVIST: OK, what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's not, but it's something crazy. This is duck tongue.
LONGORIA: Duck tongue?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is --
LONGORIA: And maybe I should not have eaten it first. I didn't even know ducks had tongues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you like it already.
LONGORIA: I did like it because I thought it was a chicharron.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Yikes. Be sure to tune in a new episode of "EVA LONGORIA: SEARCHING FOR SPAIN" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, right here on CNN.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
And we have this breaking news out of Israel where we have just learned that the last known living American hostage held in, Edan Alexander, is going to be released.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live for us in Tel Aviv with more on this -- Jeremy.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this is major breaking news. Hamas has just announced that they will indeed release Edan Alexander, the last living American held hostage in Gaza. Alexander is an Israeli soldier who was taken captive by Hamas on October 7th. And he will be released, I'm told, by a source familiar with the matter as early as tomorrow. But his release is expected to take place either tomorrow or on Tuesday.
Greeting him as he takes his first steps of freedom will be Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, who has been instrumental in these negotiations. Witkoff, who currently is in the Middle East already for a series of negotiations both on this as well as those talks with Iran, will travel to Tel Aviv tomorrow morning, I'm told, and will be on hand for Alexander's release.
But then there is also some hope about what this could mean for the future. According to this source, who I spoke to, Edan Alexander's release is a, quote, "total goodwill gesture on Hamas's part." Israel will not be releasing any Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Alexander, as this was a deal between the United States and Hamas mediated by the Qataris and the Egyptians. But the intention here is that Alexander's release will jumpstart peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all the remaining hostages.
The Israeli prime minister's office has actually just put out a statement about this imminent release of Edan Alexander. They note that it is a gesture to the Americans. They note that there are, quote, "no compensation or conditions" as part of Alexander's release. And they also note that the United States has told Israel that this move is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of additional hostages and that Israel is, quote, "preparing for this possibility."
So very major news here, and we will see in the coming days whether or not it can indeed unlock the release of additional hostages and lead to the entry of much, much needed aid into the Gaza Strip and perhaps, even perhaps, Fred, an end to the war in Gaza.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.
All right. And this breaking news out of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is ready to take up Vladimir Putin's offer to meet for direct talks this week. It comes after Putin rejected a European and Ukrainian demand for a ceasefire to begin at midnight tonight, a proposal backed by the White House.
On Sunday, President Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Russia's invitation, saying in a blunt social media post Ukraine should agree to this immediately.
CNN's chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is in Kyiv, where the midnight deadline is quickly approaching.
So, Nick, is there any expectation that Putin might actually put a ceasefire in place? And at the same time, try and get these more talks, direct talks started?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's important to put all of this in proper context, Fred, because, yes, we are certainly now wondering about Thursday in Istanbul and Putin's offer for meetings in Istanbul on Thursday was not actually at the highest level between himself and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He simply suggested the first direct wartime talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyy kind of escalated on that diplomatic move and said, look, if you want peace talks, I'll go there personally myself. I'll wait for you in Istanbul. And that may potentially have wrongfooted the Kremlin. But indeed, Putin's offer for those talks was in fact part of his rejection of a much more important, significant demand by Ukraine and four key European countries the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland. The biggest militaries in Europe, two nuclear powers, who came to Kyiv on Saturday and demanded this midnight ceasefire that we are now just one hour away from.
It seems pretty clear at this point from their public statements that Russia isn't going to be implementing that ceasefire, and that's extremely important because those European leaders in Ukraine stood there yesterday in Kyiv and said that if Russia didn't honor this ceasefire, they would implement, quote, "massive sanctions," in the words of French President Emmanuel Macron and indeed that they had the backing of Donald Trump in that particular line of consequence.
[16:05:24]
Now, it really is the White House's position in this, which is the most important and fascinating. Trump wasn't on the stage with those four European leaders, even though they did speak to him after their meeting to essentially brief him and confirm his support for their plan. Instead, he talked positively last night after Putin essentially seemed to ignore the ceasefire demand about this process, and has just recently put a social media post out in which he essentially seems to adopt a Russian narrative here and says President Putin doesn't want to accept a ceasefire, but does want to meet in Istanbul on Thursday with the Ukrainians.
And he pressured Zelenskyy into attending that meeting. Zelenskyy upped that necessarily and put himself in that particular city on that particular day. So it's been a phenomenally messy few days. But the ultimate takeaway, Fred, that's important is it doesn't look like we're going to get the ceasefire. It doesn't look like necessarily Moscow is bowing to that European demand, which seemed to have American support back then. And most importantly, it seems that Trump isn't necessarily speaking loud here about the consequences of Russia ignoring that ceasefire. And instead he's focusing on Putin's suggestion, which is the meeting in Turkey on Thursday.
Zelenskyy is obviously keen to not upset Trump. He'll be there in Turkey, he says. Whether Trump -- whether Putin will be, we simply don't know. And Trump will be certainly in the area at that time. And the secretary of State will indeed be in Turkey on that day. So it's a high stakes moment of diplomacy here, but one, it's important not to lose track of, in which Russia has essentially rejected a ceasefire demand and the United States, as yet, has yet to stand up for the consequences it said, with its European allies, would potentially happen if Moscow did indeed ignore that truce -- Fred. WHITFIELD: All those dynamics really fascinating. All right. Nick
Paton Walsh, thanks so much.
All right. We're also following this breaking news in the U.S. trade war with China. Just a short time ago a second day of high level trade talks between the two countries wrapped up in Switzerland. President Trump's top trade negotiators emerged from the meeting in Geneva touting, quote, "substantial progress," end quote, and appearing to confirm that some sort of deal between the two countries has been reached.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I'm happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in these very important trade talks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us right now.
Betsy, today's trade talks ending there. How hopeful are all of the parties?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, quite hopeful, I would say. The White House is characterizing this as a trade deal. And it has the opportunity to really have massive implications for the global economy.
Now, all of this started last month when President Trump imposed those 145 percent sweeping tariffs on most Chinese goods and relations between the U.S. and China have essentially been at a stalemate ever since. Now, on some of those other trade deals, the president earlier this week announced an agreement in principle, essentially with the United Kingdom. And his economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, said this morning that there were about 24 other deals in the works.
But China had proven elusive until this weekend when we saw those top U.S. officials emerge from two days of very intensive negotiations, expressing optimism that a deal had been reached.
I want you to listen to how the U.S. trade representative Jamison Greer characterized this outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMISON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to an agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought. That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days. The president declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs. And we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to resolve -- to work toward resolving that national emergency.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KLEIN: Now, Chinas vice premier said that both sides agreed to establish what he described as a trade consultation mechanism and that they would have further consultations going forward. What we still don't know is what tariff rate was agreed to between these two parties. Of course, President Trump had floated that potential 80 percent tariff rate last week on social media. But we don't know the number that was ultimately reached.
Bessant, for his part, said that there would be additional details unveiled on Monday morning. Markets, investors, businesses, consumers will be watching that with great interest, Fredricka.
[16:10:00]
WHITFIELD: OK. Meantime, the president is also making his first international, you know, trip this week. What can you tell us about this return to the global stage?
KLEIN: Yes. This marks the first major international trip of President Trump's second term. He is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week. And this echoes a trip that he took during his first term, stopping in Saudi Arabia and Israel. Of course, the circumstances are dramatically changed there.
There are -- Trump has really reimagined and reshaped the role of the U.S. in the world. And of course, there are those conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Hamas and Israel that have created so much instability in Europe and in the Middle East. But this is really an opportunity for the president to notch a couple of economic wins. He is expected to unveil some investments and economic partnerships with these countries.
He is also likely to revel in the pomp and circumstance of an official presidential visit, something he really enjoys with the stagecraft there, and highlight the deepening partnerships with these countries, which of course are not traditional U.S. allies. Now, there are also some underlying elements that will go unsaid, that will be just as important as what is said publicly.
Number one, the specter of Iran. Of course, today, Steve Witkoff, the special presidential envoy for the Middle East, conducting a fourth round of talks with Iranian officials in Oman. The U.S. officials described those talks as encouraging and said they will continue forward on additional technical details of that and also instability in the economy, of course, as a result of the president's tariff policies, as we mentioned -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much at the White House.
All right. Coming up, well discuss what impact President Trump's trip may have on peace and business in the Middle East. And Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza in his first Sunday Vatican address.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [16:16:38]
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's get back to our top story this hour. Breaking news out of Israel, where CNN has learned that the last known living American hostage held in Gaza, Edan Alexander, is going to be released.
Daniel Benaim is a fellow at the Middle East institute and a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Peninsula Affairs.
What is your reaction to the news that Edan Alexander is expected to be released maybe tomorrow or the following day?
DANIEL BENAIM, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ARABIAN PENINSULA AFFAIRS: I mean, I think this is incredible news. You're talking about a young man who was 19 years old when he was taken prisoner who's now 21, having lived through almost 600 days of a nightmare that, on a Mother's Day or any day, no parents could really fathom.
And the idea that he might be taken out and brought to freedom is just too good to be true. And I think all of us are holding our breath to make sure that this release is indeed followed through on, and that he makes it safely out. I know Steve Witkoff, the president's envoy, is heading to Israel to collect him, and they're working with the Israeli government to make the handover happen, and that Hamas has announced it.
So we're just waiting for the confirmation that this happens. And then I think from there, the question is, what can you do to make this part of a larger effort to reinvigorate diplomacy toward a ceasefire and a real end to the war in Gaza? That was what Hamas's statement said. And I think that's what people will need to test whether we can use this to get back on a path toward a peaceful outcome there.
WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, his release hugely celebrated I mean, I mean, our hearts are going out to the family members. But I wonder, you know, what this would signal, because there are other hostages still being held. And what this would signal, you know, for the entire region, potentially.
BENAIM: Well, I think every hostage who makes it out is cause for celebration. And as an American, having the last living American hostage who makes it out is indeed a just a cause for celebration. But I think you can never forget about the folks who remain, including, unfortunately several American bodies who are no longer alive it seems. So there's a lot of work to do here.
There's a lot of work to deal with. I think 59 who are left, and about 24 of whom are still alive, they think. So not to mention the work on the other side to end the fighting and make sure the humanitarian access improves from the lows that it's seen. So this is an opportunity and I hope that both sides and all their mediators in the region can work to seize it.
WHITFIELD: And then, you know, just to follow up on Israel saying it is preparing a new plan to, quote, "conquer Gaza." What's your interpretation of what that means?
BENAIM: Well, I think Israel is trying to find a solution whereby they can see the return of the hostages and live in security and see the departure of Hamas, which I think is what they require after October 7th from ruling and acting as a military force inside Gaza. I think that purely military plan probably won't get it done.
You're going to need some kind of a political and humanitarian element on the ground beyond what they've been willing to discuss so far. So we'll be looking to see what they're willing to do on that end to allow an alternate force to come in and take root there in Gazan society instead of the Hamas militants who have been able to fill a vacuum in the absence of a more credible plan that goes beyond military force.
[16:20:12]
So I think that's what we'll be looking for as well.
WHITFIELD: President Trump leaves on his trip to the Middle East tomorrow. He'll be going to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar. In your view, what will his goal, what should his main goal be?
BENAIM: Well, I think there's a moment of opportunity here opening up on Gaza that he should do what he can to seize. I think what has been the goal of the trip and what isn't important goal is to deepen these relationships that we've built with these Gulf partners. They're not actually the traditional first stop for an American president. Donald Trump has now broken with tradition twice in doing this.
Most presidents go to Mexico or Canada or Europe for a first stop. But these are important U.S. partners. And I think President Trump's trying to deepen our economic, technological security cooperation with them. And I think there's a lot of benefit there. I think what you can expect to see is some big splashy deals announced for sales and investment. And what hopefully will follow those deals is a lot of painstaking follow through and policy work and commercial diplomacy to see that we don't just get big press releases, but actually deals that create jobs in the United States and opportunity for Americans.
WHITFIELD: Is it at all a concern to you that transactional business deals would potentially upstage any diplomatic headways that should or could be made?
BENAIM: I think there's room for both, to be honest. The business dealing and the transactional piece of this that really should serve the American people and create American jobs and invest in helping us win the A.I. race and American aviation and American manufacturing. Those can all help U.S. communities. And at the same time, I think they'll have to be talking about how they can find a path forward when it comes to the Gaza conflict. And they'll be talking about Iran, too, where there's a diplomatic opportunity that I think the United States and the Gulf countries are more united in wanting to seize as well.
So there's no shortage of topics. They've got a big bilateral day between the United States and Saudi Arabia, a summit of all the Gulf leaders, a big investment summit. And then the president goes onward to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar after that. So there should be time for the regional issues and the economic issues over those days in the region.
WHITFIELD: All right. Daniel Benaim, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.
BENAIM: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan is holding. We'll take you to both countries.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:27:15]
WHITFIELD: All right. New today as fighting between India and Pakistan has largely stopped, India is raising new questions about the role the U.S. played in reaching a ceasefire.
CNN's Matthew Chance has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, after nearly four days of fighting the U.S. brokered ceasefire between India and Pakistan does appear to be holding. There were reports of violations by both sides in the hours just after it came into force. But Indian officials say the situation in the disputed region of Kashmir is now quiet, although troops remain vigilant.
This, amid a reluctance on the Indian side to acknowledge the significant U.S. role in the negotiations. India insisting that they did a deal directly with Pakistan. One reason may be national pride. Indian officials unwilling to admit a truce in this brief but bruising conflict was imposed on them by the United States. India also has a long standing policy of refusing to allow foreign mediation when it comes to the status of Muslim majority Kashmir, which it regards as an internal matter.
Nevertheless, President Trump, congratulating the leaders of India and Pakistan on stepping back from the conflict, has now offered to help the two countries find a solution to the Kashmir issue, something that's been welcomed in Pakistan but is falling on deaf ears, to say the least here in India.
Matthew Chance, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. While the ceasefire between these two nuclear rivals is holding for the most part for now, some of the key underlying issues are still creating some friction.
CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It does feel as if the ceasefire is holding. It took a little while to bed in. I think interestingly, this evening, and it gives you a sense of how the army really feels, they've wrapped up things here at the moment with the army, the air force and the navy gave or literally are right now giving a joint briefing. It's the end of the day here.
But this was such a big deal in Pakistan that the army requested that this be put on, played out live on big screens and big shopping malls in different venues all across the country that just doesn't normally happen. The army doesn't get to do that, and it was somewhat of a sort of a propaganda exercise, you know, talking about a proportionate response, talking about praising all the airmen and the sailors and the soldiers who'd been in the fight.
I think one of the interesting lines that came out to me, and this speaks to what we've heard Pakistani officials claim before is that they were able to perpetrate some pretty serious and significant cyber hacks on India's capability to fight, navigate its drones, for example. This is what Pakistan claims. We don't know what India has to say about that. So there's a big shout-out from the military here for these young, he described them as cyber, you know, warriors, if you will, in a way.
[16:30:22]
The other detail that came out here, Pakistan saying that it had hit 26 Indian air bases that had limited India's ability to fly sorties and attack Pakistan. And one other detail we really hadn't heard before, and that was he admitted that one Pakistani Air Force jet had been hit, he said, minor damage that would be repaired. One thing we didn't get here, we didn't get casualty figures from the Pakistani military.
WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, thanks so much.
All right, coming up, Leo XIV offering a message of peace in Ukraine and Gaza during his first Sunday mass as Pope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:35:41]
WHITFIELD: All right, cheers rang out this morning as thousands gathered in Vatican City to see Pope Leo XIV's first Sunday prayer. The new pontiff was greeted on the balcony of the St. Peter's Basilica to the thunderous applause of more than 150,000. He told the crowd that he was there to deliver a message of peace and surprise the crowd by singing as well.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
(SINGING) (END VIDEOCLIP)
WHITFIELD: Joining me right now is Paulist priest in Papal Missionary of Mercy, Father Bruce Nieli. Father, you also have some friends with you. Did you all watch the Pope's address together?
REV. BRUCE NIELI, PAULIST PRIEST, PAPAL MISSIONARY OF MERCY: Well, I watched it myself. They were actively at mass, but I saw it. I was very touched by the fact that he did sing.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
NIELI: Little aside, I had -- I once sang a duet on Madison -- in Madison Square Garden with Pope St. John Paul II but that's another issue.
WHITFIELD: OK. That was a bonus.
NIELI: That the Regina Caeli is very much in honor of Mary, who we Catholics believe to be so much a part of the history of salvation.
WHITFIELD: And Pope Leo really paying homage, you know, and mentioning Mary quite a bit on his first couple of very public appearances. You know, he's also inferred a dedication, you know, as a shepherd to the issues of poverty, to migration of kindness. And I wonder if, in any way, you're able to read into his messaging and how influential he will be on the global stage and particularly to the U.S. with its ongoing issues.
NIELI: You bet. I want to say that Happy Mother's Day to everybody. I'm here with my compadres, a mother, Kathy Rakejo (ph) and her husband, St. John Rakejo (ph). And the technician here is their son, St. John Jr. And I figured a good venue for what we're about. And in terms of Mary, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus. But you bet your life it's going to have a lot of implications for us in the United States.
Should I just mention a couple of ways?
WHITFIELD: OK. Yes, please.
NIELI: Sure. Well, first of all, yesterday in his talk to the cardinals, Pope Leo XIV used this book, which is the apostolic exhortation of his predecessor, Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, the joy of the gospel, as a kind of a launching pad. He says, I'm going to continue this legacy, which itself is a continuation of the legacy of the Second Vatican Council. And the very first words, the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.
He's a missionary outreach, missionary outreach. This is a missionary outreach family, Kathy, the public school system here in Austin, Texas, with children who are having trouble staying in school. St. John, the public library, reaching out to the homeless. Their son, St. John, Jr., who's the technician here with a brand new discernment on music journalism. But outreach and reaching out to the culture of the United States, I think that that's going to be really pivotal in this papacy. Oh, yes. I could not be more encouraged above this.
WHITFIELD: I can feel your enthusiasm above it. And so there --
NIELI: You got it.
WHITFIELD: -- in Texas, of course, you know, on the southern border, I mean --
NIELI: Oh yes.
WHITFIELD: Yes. I just wonder if you are anticipating some direct messaging from this pope on the issues of immigration. These are, you know, key components of this administration, this White House administration.
[16:40:15]
I wonder if you think he will depart from his global messaging and actually have direct messaging to U.S. immigration policies. Do you see as an American pope, he will do that with a certain liberty --
NIELI: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: -- that perhaps other popes may have been a little bit more reticent about?
NIELI: Absolutely. Well, I think he will continue Pope Francis's very strong statements on immigration, but he will do it as someone born in the United States. You know, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. That's the mother of exiles, Lady Liberty, that my grandfather just threw his hat into the ocean when he saw this in the 1890s coming from poverty in Sicily.
Oh, you bet your life. And in Peru, remember, he was a missionary for 20 years in Peru. And Peru now has 1.5 million Venezuelans housing them as refugees. So you bet your life. And he took the name Leo XIV to carry on the tradition of Leo XIII of applying social justice, Catholic social teaching to the situation of the world.
You know, the rights of people, human beings from womb to tomb. And I think that that's going to do a lot in terms of healing the polarization that we have in the United States. And today, I think what you were kind of leading into, it was the Angelus presentation to those thousands of people where he sang the Regina Caeli.
What was his message? The same message he started out with when he came out on the balcony a few days ago. Peace, peace. No more war.
Remember Pope St. John -- St. Paul VI to the United Nations, war never again. I think he's going to carry on that nonviolent tradition of Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Paulist the Father John Sheeran, Jesuit John LaFarge, all the way back. WHITFIELD: You have big -- yes, big expectations. You --
NIELI: All the way back to Thoreau --
WHITFIELD: All right.
NIELI: -- the godfather of nonviolence.
WHITFIELD: Father Bruce Nieli --
NIELI: I think we'll see them (ph) in the right movement.
WHITFIELD: -- always a pleasure having you. Thank you so much. And thank you for bringing your Texas family as well. Appreciate it. Happy Mother's Day.
NIELI: God bless you.
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Bless you as well.
All right, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:47:38]
WHITFIELD: All right, the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial resumes tomorrow. Opening statements are expected to begin once the jury is seated. And the eagerly awaited testimony of Combs' ex- girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, could happen soon after. Ventura is seen on that now infamous video being dragged down a hotel hallway as a central witness for the prosecution.
Combs issued an apology after the video surfaced. Lawyers for the music mogul have maintained that no crimes were committed and the sexual encounters were consensual.
Defense Attorney Misty Marris is joining me right now. Misty, so what are your expectations tomorrow?
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So tomorrow we're going to have a seated jury, Fredricka, and this is going to be really interesting. We know that there had been 45 jurors qualified. A couple had second thoughts last minute even as soon as Thursday, understanding the gravity of sitting on this jury.
So the judge actually punted final aspects of jury selection until Monday so that people didn't have time to really maybe have second thoughts over the weekend. But jury selection, we're going to know who those 12 jurors are, six alternates.
And then shortly thereafter, opening statements are going to start to unfold and that's going to be the roadmap for both the prosecutor and the defense case. So this is going to be a huge day in court on Monday. WHITFIELD: Right. And so we know in that opening statements, I mean, at least for the defense attorneys, we know that they are going to try to underscore that this was consensual. These were consenting, you know, adults involved here.
But then the defense attorneys, that team has to overcome, I guess, public opinion, you know, that has already been cemented in a lot of ways because of that video involving Cassie Ventura. So what's your expectation of how they will lay out their roadmap?
MARRIS: So absolutely, that video is very, very damaging to the defense and they're going to have to deal with it coming right out the gate because they know the jury is going to see it. So here's the themes to look for.
We know prosecutors, they're going to have the theme of, this is an all-powerful individual, successful, rich, using his money and his power to coerce -- through forced fraud and coercion, these individuals into not only committing crimes, but also into these freak offs, into this sex trafficking ring. So that's the prosecutor's theme.
[16:50:05]
Defense is going to have to deal with that video right out front, Fredricka. And the way they're going to do this, is to try and put it in a box. And what I mean by that is saying that Cassie Ventura and Diddy were in a relationship for over a decade and it was a tumultuous relationship, a relationship fraught with domestic violence incidents which are absolutely terrible.
However, it doesn't rise to the level of the charged conduct as prosecutors have -- are alleging. It doesn't rise to the level of sex trafficking or conspiracy. It was an isolated, bad relationship. So we know that's going to be the theme.
And then they're going to have to go on and say that these freak offs, we know this is central to the case. These were consensual encounters. Diddy lived the lifestyle of a swinger. And so the individuals who were involved consented to this.
So that's how they're going to try and deal with this. And they know what evidence is going to come out in the courtroom. They're going to have to contextualize it for the jury.
WHITFIELD: And among the prosecution witnesses, the expectation is Cassie Ventura will be called to testify. And do you see that she will be right out the gate after opening statements?
MARRIS: So she's going to be the star witness. We know that witness number one right now, that's going to be a male escort who's going to set the stage for the prosecutor's argument regarding prostitution by transporting individuals over state lines. That's going to be a short witness.
Witness two, we don't know who that is yet. Another short witness. Witness three, that's Cassie Ventura. And she's scheduled to take up the rest of the week. She's a star for the prosecutors because not only is she going to talk about that forced fraud and coercion element that is required to be established under the law with respect to sex trafficking, she's also going to talk about what this conspiracy was, how this process played out, how people were recruited into the freak- offs. She is really critical.
And we know the defense is going to cross-examine. And this is huge. This came out just last week. The defense has asked the judge to cross-examine on what they say was a mutually violent relationship between Cassie and Diddy to try and undercut that idea that she was engaging in anything through coercion.
So, tough one, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MARRIS: She's a pregnant woman who's a victim of abuse. They're going to see that video.
WHITFIELD: OK.
MARRIS: Better be a little gentle on that defense side during cross.
WHITFIELD: All right, Misty Marris, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.
And we'll be right back.
MARRIS: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:57:12]
WHITFIELD: All right, rising seas, floods, waterlogged streets. When you imagine the threats to Venice, these are likely what come to mind. But for those who actually live in Venice, the water is no longer the greatest threat to their city.
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ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So many people feel they have to come to Venice before it sinks or it floods.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think people will still have a lot of time until Venice really sinks. So people should really stay calm.
HILL: You don't have to rush.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, yes, you don't have to rush.
HILL: It's not going under water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not yet. HILL (voice-over): Not yet, thanks to this engineering marvel, the MOSE. A first-of-its-kind barrier system hidden on the seafloor. When the water is forecast to reach a certain level, the 78 floodgates are raised, closing off the lagoon and the city from the sea.
Since coming online in 2020, the MOSE has dramatically shifted the impact of an aqua alta on Venice.
HILL: The MOSE, the barriers came up today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HILL: What does that change for San Marco?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it changes a lot, especially the shops are not underwater anymore.
HILL: Right. So this is manageable now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's manageable.
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WHITFIELD: So with the water largely under control, many Venetians are focused on a larger threat over tourism. While they are not suggesting the city do away with visitors, they warn that not addressing the issue could turn their beloved home into little more than an amusement park.
Join Erica Hill for Saving Venice, an all-new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN Newsroom continues with Jessica Dean.
But before we go, where would we be without our mother's love? On this Mother's Day, and every day, we, my CNN Newsroom team, here salute you moms out there, doing it all, being everywhere, all the time, to all of us. And we're so grateful for your guidance, your unlimited devotion, your wisdom and care.
Take a look at all those beautiful moms in our lives. Happy Mother's Day to you, and thank you.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom. Mom.
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