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Last Known Living American Hostage In Gaza Set To Be Released; U.S. And China Touting Substantial Progress In Trade Talks; Zelenskyy Ready To Meet Russian Counterpart This Week; Pope Leo XIV To Host First Meeting With Journalists; India-Pakistan Tensions: Ceasefire Appears To Be Holding After Days Of Fighting; Remains Of Red Army Soldiers From WWII Laid To Rest; Newark Airport Recovers From Equipment Outage. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 12, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the U.S. and from around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Just ahead, the last known living American hostage held in Gaza is set to be released as U.S. President Donald Trump heads to the Middle East. We'll go live to Riyadh with the details.

The U.S. and China are touting substantial progress in trade talks. We'll look at how markets are responding.

And face-to-face, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is ready to meet his Russian counterpart this week.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: U.S. President Donald Trump is set to depart in the coming hours for his visit to three of the world's richest nations. He'll arrive in Saudi Arabia Tuesday, followed by visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The three countries have pledged to invest heavily in the American economy and buy U.S. weapons systems. Well, Hamas has also announced the imminent release of Edan Alexander, the last known living American Israeli hostage held in Gaza. President Trump called it monumental news.

Well, the President's first stop is in Riyadh. That's where we find our Becky Anderson. Good to see you, Becky. So, this is a big trip for Donald Trump. First stop, Saudi Arabia. What are the expectations?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, "CONNECT THE WORLD": Yeah, let's -- let's just talk about those in a moment. I think this news from Hamas is important. The timing of this, important, because Donald Trump, while he is here in Saudi Arabia, will be meeting GCC leaders, that is, at a Gulf U.S. summit. And that is going to be where the sort of geopolitics of this region are really discussed. And it is clearly where any progress on the Israel-Gaza conflict will be discussed.

Now, the parents of the Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander are travelling to Israel ahead of his planned release. U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler shared this photo showing him with his wife, Eden's mother, and his chief of staff. They, along with Edan's father, are expected to be in Israel today.

President Trump calling the imminent release a step towards ending the war in the region. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more from Tel Aviv.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The last living American held hostage in Gaza is now set to be released. Hamas announcing on Sunday night that it will release Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier who was taken captive on October 7th.

I'm told by a source familiar with the matter that Alexander will be released either on Monday or Tuesday of this week in what is being described as a, quote, "goodwill gesture on Hamas's part, one that is intended to try and jumpstart additional negotiations to ultimately end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all of the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip".

At least that is the intention. But for now, at least, this will mean the release of Edan Alexander. His parents, who live in the United States, have been waiting, of course, for 19 months now to see their son return home to them.

Steve Whitkoff, President Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, who has been intimately involved in the negotiations that are now going to lead to Alexander's release. I'm told that he will be traveling to Israel on Monday morning in order to be on hand for Alexander's release, to be able to personally welcome him as he takes his first steps into new-found freedom.

This agreement comes days before President Trump is set to arrive in the region, and that certainly does seem to have been a major pressure point to get this deal to happen at this very moment, with one source familiar with the matter telling me that this simply would not have happened without President Trump and the pressure that his visit to the region is indeed bringing to bear.

It also comes as Israel has threatened to escalate its military campaign in Gaza and also as Israel's total blockade of Gaza now stretches more than two months, with not a single truck of food or any other kind of aid entering the Gaza Strip.

[02:05:07]

And so, the hope now is that Alexander's release can indeed trigger these broader negotiations to get aid into Gaza, to perhaps lead to some kind of a ceasefire and, of course, the release of additional hostages.

The Israeli prime minister's office confirming that it was informed of this deal by the United States, also noting that it will not be releasing any Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Alexander. That is, of course, because this is a goodwill gesture and a deal with the United States, not a deal with Israel.

But the Israeli prime minister's office also confirming that the United States conveyed that this will lead or is expected to lead to additional negotiations for the release of additional hostages held in Gaza.

We will see, of course, how that evolves in the coming days and weeks. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

ANDERSON: Well, Qatar, one of Trump's stops on his presidential trip playing a key role in brokering the agreement to release Edan Alexander. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issuing a statement calling it a gesture of goodwill and a positive step towards resuming negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Well, it underscores a key theme of Trump's visit here, the Gulf's growing role in mediating on the global stage. Also squarely in focus for the president's three stop trip to the Gulf. Security, defense and trade investment.

Well, I want to bring in Sanam Vakil. She's the director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House in London. It's good to have you. Let's start with this news on the release of Edan Alexander.

Do you see this agreement as a sign of more progress to come when it comes to Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks? Or is this, to your mind, a one off gesture of goodwill at this point?

SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND N. AFRICA PROG., CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning and good to see you again. Honestly, it's too early to say. This is certainly an important signal from Hamas directly to President Trump that they would like to continue the negotiations. They're looking for something permanent.

And so, I think, this is an appeal to the president and his negotiating team, knowing full well that the Israelis and Benjamin Netanyahu are just marching to a different tune and the war continues on.

There is a humanitarian crisis, no aid going into Gaza. And so Hamas is trying to sidestep his Israeli interlocutors and work directly with the president, who is willing to take an unconventional approach and deal with Hamas directly.

ANDERSON: This announcement, described as monumental by President Trump, comes literally hours before he boards a plane for his three- stop trip here to the Gulf. And let's turn to the specifics of that visit here, starting where I am in Saudi Arabia. What are you expecting to come out of this first leg of Donald Trump's trip?

VAKIL: The trip is a reaffirmation of President Trump's relationship with three Gulf states, but particularly, Saudi Arabia, which has and continues to be a very important partner for the United States.

President Trump certainly is going to be doubling down on the economic nature of the relationship. There will be building out of the economic investments that Saudi Arabia has already committed to. And there will be a huge defense component to the trip.

The Saudi government is looking to solidify a long-term American security commitment. And this could result in further details about Saudi-American civilian nuclear cooperation. But really, this is about optics.

Saudi Arabia is a center of gravity in the Middle East. And the Trump administration would like to see American partners play a strong and consequential role in managing regional security. So, here is where Saudi Arabia matters to stabilize Lebanon, to support Syria.

And Saudi Arabia has also been working very overtly on the issue with Gaza. Normalization is not currently on the table with Israel because Israel refuses to be a partner to that agenda. But Saudi Arabia is President Trump's ultimate anchor in the region.

[02:10:00]

ANDERSON: In Qatar, where Donald Trump will be on Wednesday, statecraft and mediation, certainly, a key point of discussion. And many people in this region are telling me this is a sort of, you know, this is an acknowledgement by the Trump administration of the key role that Doha has played. Not just on the ceasefire and hostage talks of late, but on a myriad of different files, including that of Iran and others.

Trump's announcement that he will accept a luxury Boeing 747 from Qatar to use as Air Force One will of course make waves. Qatar also planning to buy 100 Boeing wide-body planes. A source telling me there's a transactional business nature to this relationship with Doha, as well.

I just wonder how much this and what happens here in Saudi and in the UAE. Speak to the transactional language that the -- that the Gulf is very comfortable to speak with when it comes to Donald Trump.

VAKIL: I think that President Trump is very welcome in this region. Many of these states and their leaders were very pleased that President Trump won the election last year. And they feel that they understand Trump, speak his language. And this deal-making approach that steps away from past American conversations on values and democracy promotion is just what Gulf states are looking for.

So, they also understand the geopolitics and the pressure the U.S. is under or how this U.S. president sees the world today as a race for resources, competition with China. And they are willing to, again, be key players in that race, protecting their own interests first. This is a much more mature Gulf region.

Eight years ago, it's important to remember that the Gulf states were on the precipice of the blockade of Qatar. And that, of course, was a huge rupture in ties. The Gulf states have now moved on quite pragmatically.

And they are also showing President Trump that they're willing to work with him on a range of issues, be it economic, defense, but also regional. And this is where Qatar plays a really important role.

ANDERSON: I think it's right to suggest that just as Donald Trump has an American-first focus, Saudi Arabia has a Saudi-first focus, as does the UAE, as these economies sort of power themselves into what is a new era when they are less dependent on hydrocarbons.

So, it's clear when you talk to people here that the UAE and Saudi, and to a degree Qatar, are not just looking to invest trillions of dollars. It has to be said in the U.S. economy, in A., in semi- conductors, in energy. And that will be squarely in focus for Donald Trump.

But they also want to see the growth of their own economies. And much of the investments in the states will help power these economies into a new era. Just how important do you believe that U.S.-UAE economic relationship has become?

VAKIL: It really has been a key pillar for both countries. The United States sees the UAE as a hub, a network for international trade and investment. And the UAE has tried to harness stronger economic ties with Washington, particularly in the tech, A.I. sectors, but also in defense, recognizing that stronger economic relationships can also foster more secure and guaranteed security cooperation between Washington and Abu Dhabi.

And this is a new approach that the UAE, but the Gulf states more broadly, have been employing for a number of years now. And President Trump very much welcomes this approach. His America First economic engagement is about rewriting the way America does business, anchoring economic relationships in order to foster security ones.

ANDERSON: Yeah. These countries squarely see their foreign policy as serving their economic interests, and they make no apologies for that. Sanam Vakil, thank you for joining us. And Lynda, it is difficult to overstate the importance of this Donald Trump trip.

[02:15:02]

It is an opportunity to reimagine U.S.-Gulf relations in a new era. These are cash-rich nations, which are positioning themselves as indispensable allies of the U.S. in terms of economic security going forward, the economy and national security squarely one and the same as far as Donald Trump is concerned.

The U.S. president clearly sees these cash-rich nations as offering huge advantages for his America-First policy that he can't necessarily find elsewhere. They get the transactional nature of this U.S. president, and they're comfortable with that, extracting as much benefit for themselves in terms of economic and national securities.

They seek to build their own economies into global powerhouses for a next generation. So, watch this space. It is a busy schedule for Donald Trump here, and expect significant announcements when it comes to trade, defense and other business, clear business investments around A.I., advanced tech, the green economy, energy, while he's here. Lynda.

KINKADE: Yeah, certainly a -- important week for Donald Trump there in the Middle East. Becky Anderson, good to have you there for us. Thanks so much.

Well, U.S. and Chinese officials say substantial progress was made over two days of trade talks in Geneva and it could bring much-needed relief in a global trade war triggered by President Trump's tariffs.

Let's take a look at the markets. Global markets reacting to the news. U.S. stock futures are climbing. There you can see the S and P 500 up almost 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq up over two percent. The Dow up over one percent.

Let's take a look at the markets in Asia right now, which are set to close pretty soon. You can see the Hang Seng up almost 1.5 percent and the Nikkei just under 0.5 percent there. U.S. officials say more details on the negotiations will be released Monday. And we expect to hear more about that next hour.

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JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as may be 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 -- work toward resolving that national emergency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more now from Hong Kong.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva ended on a positive note with U.S. officials touting substantial progress in a possible deal with China. Meanwhile, Chinese officials say they reached a, quote, "important consensus".

Now, after the talks, China's Vice Premier, He Lifeng, spoke to the media. He said that the trade talks with the U.S. were candid. They were in-depth. They were constructive. And the U.S. and China also agreed to set up a new consultation mechanism for further talks.

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HE LIFENG, CHINESE VICE PREMIER (through translator): The two sides agreed on establishing a consultation mechanism for trade and economic issues, identified the lead persons on each side and will carry on further consultations relating to trade and economic issues of their respective concerns. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: China's Vice Premier also said a joint statement will be released in Geneva later on Monday. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and China since the latest trade war escalated in March.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on many Chinese goods to 145 percent. China hit back with retaliatory tariffs of 125 percent. It's also hit back by limiting U.S. film imports and curbing some rare-earth exports. These, of course, are the critical ingredients for tech firms and defense companies.

The trade war has upended global financial markets and supply chains. It has also increased the risk of a recession. The stakes here are high. And that's why observers believe there was a sense of urgency in the Geneva talks.

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JOSH LIPSKY, CHAIR, INTL. ECONOMICS AT THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL: The global economy is not a light switch. You can't just turn off and off the U.S.-China economic relationship and then expect there's not going to be some short-circuiting.

And I think that's what's happening right now. So, we need some stability. We need some certainty. And we need some clarity going forward. And we hope we get that within the next day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Investors have been welcoming news of progress, but the details of the touted deal remain to be seen. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

KINKADE: Well, still to come, Ukraine's president and other European leaders are telling Russia that there'll be no peace talks without a ceasefire. But all that changed after Donald Trump's social media post. We'll have the details next.

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[02:23:49]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ukraine's president says he is ready for direct peace talks with Vladimir Putin. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I will be in Turkey this Thursday, on May 15th, and I expect Putin in Turkey, personally. And I hope that this time, Putin will not look for reasons why he cannot do something. We are ready to talk to end the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KINKADE: This would be the first time the two leaders have talked since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine back in February of 2022. And it comes on the heels of Donald Trump's social media post urging immediate talks. The U.S. president is ignoring Ukrainian and European calls for a 30-day ceasefire and giving Putin cover to do the same.

CNN producer Sebastian Shukla joins me now from London. Good to see you, Seb. So, both Putin and Zelenskyy have agreed to meet Thursday in Turkey. It would be the first direct talks since the invasion by Russia. Just talk to us about what's at stake.

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, good morning, Lynda. There's a bit more to it. There's nuance in this, in what Zelenskyy and President Putin are trying to do. And to get to that explanation, we need to go back a couple of days and look at the political brinkmanship, posturing and statements that have been made to get us to this point.

[02:25:05]

Over the weekend, European leaders stood beside President Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital and said, "We are calling for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to begin today," which was backed by Donald Trump, too. Hours after that, the Russian president came out and said, "I'll raise you and put the ball back in Europe's court and say, "Why don't we have direct talks instead?"

That then followed with a presidential tweet by the U.S. president which said, "Ukraine should agree to this immediately. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible." President Zelenskyy then took up the mantle and said, OK, I'm prepared to have these direct talks in person.

That's the key here, Lynda. President Putin did not say that he is ready to go personally to Turkey to have these talks and to bring them on a head of state level. The nuance there, so the devil is in the detail.

So, Zelenskyy and Western partners are trying to draw President Putin out and try to call his bluff. Because ultimately, what President Putin has suggested in these talks and what Ukraine wants are two very different things.

For example, the meeting between the two of them is likely to -- to see Russia demand and have discussions about Ukraine's sovereignty, you know, its borders, the line of control and contact which, you know, the areas of occupied Ukraine, which Russia currently has, and discussions around Crimea and Ukraine's ascension to NATO and military assistance from the West.

Whereas President Zelenskyy is talking about just stopping the fighting. So, they're -- they're talking about two different narratives here altogether. And so, that makes it a quite difficult conversation to have at the moment And so, we're trying now to see in the next couple of days and hours whether Russia and President Putin will blink and will agree to have these talks face to face with President Zelenskyy as he's laid out there, Lynda.

KINKADE: All right, we will see if this meeting does indeed take place come Thursday. Sebastian, good to have you on the story. Thanks so much.

Still to come, Peru honors Pope Leo with a special prayer meeting, what locals are saying about one of their own leading the Catholic Church.

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[02:30:42]

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POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): In today's dramatic scenario of a third world war being fought piecemeal, as Pope Francis said, I too turned to the world's leaders with an ever timely appeal -- never again war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Pope Leo XIV there calling for world peace and an end to war. Those remarks were part of his first Sunday blessing at the Vatican, where he also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as humanitarian aid for those suffering in the enclave. The pontiff's appearance drew massive crowds, and even larger crowds are expected for his installation mass next Sunday.

Leo surprised crowds with his singing during part of the Queen of Heaven prayer. Take a listen.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

KINKADE: In the coming hours, the pope is set to host his first audience with journalists since his election. Leo says his papacy will closely follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, and he's caring for the least, and the rejected.

Well, a ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to be holding, raising hopes that fighting between the nuclear armed neighbors has ended.

Let's take a look at how both countries reacted to the ceasefire.

Nic Robertson has the view from Pakistan. But first, our Matthew Chance brings us his report from India.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS 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)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think the picture were getting is really reflecting what we're hearing coming from India as well, that this ceasefire is holding. It's taken time to bed in, but it really does seem to be taking hold. And I think one indication of that was the fact that the military came out late in the evening. Pakistan, time to hold a press conference.

It was really an exercise in propaganda, praising their techniques, their tactics, praising the airmen, praising the sailors, praising the soldiers. But this was no ordinary press conference by any stretch. They did something they haven't done or don't do very often. At least they requested that at major venues throughout the country, big shopping malls a lot of venues top to bottom of the country that they broadcast this live, that they put it up on big screens, and were seeing images of people sitting there watching this press conference.

What we got was a sense of how the military had fought this campaign. They said that they had hit 26 air base targets, or 26 targets that India had been using to launch air strikes into Pakistan. That that happened early Saturday morning.

And they said as a result of that, that we don't know India's view on this, of course, but as a result that Pakistan said that limited India's ability to strike back with targets. We got a sort of a blow by blow on how the Pakistani military was taking down drones. It was trying to neutralize them in the air, spoof their GPS, put them off course. Then if they look like crashing into cities, shooting them down a hard, soft kill, then a hard kill.

So, a lot of military details coming out there. One detail we hadn't heard before, and I -- it struck me as interesting. [02:35:05]

That is, they say that just one, only one only Pakistan jet fighter jet was damaged. And they say that was minor damage. And it was soon be back in military service again. The other thing that we didn't hear anything about military casualties, we heard about civilian casualties, but no mention at all about the number of military casualties, praising bravery, valor, commitment, sacrifice, all of that. But we still don't have a casualty toll on the Pakistan side yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Nic Robertson there.

We are going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more news. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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KINKADE: A solemn moment near St. Petersburg, Russia, as soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany were honored. Volunteers laid to rest the remains of the Red Army soldiers in a ceremony just ahead of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE (voice-over): The subject of this search isn't just a matter of what, but who. These are the people looking for the Red Army soldiers of World War Two, nearly forgotten if not for these volunteers, the Soviet Union lost upwards of 24 million people during World War Two, soldiers and civilians, far more than any other nation. Eighty years on, the bodies of soldiers past lie in the brush just outside St. Petersburg, in the Leningrad region of Russia, left unrecognized for their fight against Nazi troops, but veterans all the same.

AYRAT FATYKHOV, LEADER OF "SNEZHNY DESANT" SEARCH TEAM: Everyone is being awarded. The veterans receive honors. The same veterans who had been killed during the war remain forgotten here in the forest.

KINKADE: Days before the Russian celebration of Victory Day, or the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, these volunteers set out in their search, fitted with metal detectors and shovels marking each site with remains.

[02:40:11]

But recovering the soldiers is only half of it. The real challenge comes with identifying these men. Some may have ID medallions still intact, but after 80 years, it's not often that easy. Many of these servicemen remain anonymous in death. But for these nameless heroes, this practice leads to the burial they deserve. And in the best cases, an identity uncovered.

FATYKHOV: We work in this forest not just to recover the fallen soldiers and rebury them with all the honors they rightly deserve. It is very important to identify a fighter's name and pass this information to his family.

KINKADE: A burial. at last, an honorable goodbye for these fallen soldiers. Both the named and nameless.

I'm Lynda Kinkade. For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is up next.

And for our viewers in the U.S., I'll be back after a short break.

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[02:45:12]

KINKADE: Welcome back to our viewers in America. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he plans to sign an executive order today that he says would drastically lower the price of drugs. The controversial policy has been blocked by federal courts during his first term. It bases payments for certain medicines on their price. In other countries. The president shared a post on Truth Social writing, quote, prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 30 to 80 percent, but it's unclear what payments or drugs would be impacted.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to depart in the coming hours for the Middle East. He will arrive in Saudi Arabia Tuesday, followed by visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the president said on Sunday night that the Defense Department plans to accept a Boeing 747 as a gift from Qatar to replace the current Air Force One on his truth social platform. Mr. Trump hit back at criticism from Democrats, who are calling it bribery. The president is calling it a very public and transparent transaction. Operations are back to normal at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

On Sunday, there was yet another air traffic control outage after a telecommunications problem at a radar control center. The FAA stopped all flights bound for Newark. That same center had a 90-second outage on Friday. A similar incident on April 28th led five air traffic controllers to take trauma leave. On Sunday, the U.S. transportation secretary was asked about that.

Mary Schiavo is a CNN transportation analyst and a former inspector general of the U.S. department of transportation.

Good to have you with us, Mary.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Thank you. Good to be with you.

KINKADE: So just what on earth is going on at Newark? This is the third major issue in less than three weeks.

SCHIAVO: That's right. What's going on at Newark is they've cobbled together a system to manage the traffic into Newark, and it's not working. Now, last July 28th, they took the control for directing traffic into Newark out of New York and put it in Philadelphia. Well, sort of half in Philadelphia. So now Newark traffic is funneled into the air traffic is funneled into Newark by facilities both in Philadelphia and New York. And the controllers, of course, theyre short staffed.

And this is actually the fourth outage today, at least that we know about. There may be more. There were two last year and then two this year. And it's a dangerous combination of very bad equipment, a shortage of air traffic controllers and running the traffic into Newark out of two different facilities and far more planes than Newark can handle. So it's -- it's -- it's not a good situation.

KINKADE: No, it certainly isn't. And, Mary, we know just a few days ago, air traffic controllers lost radar and radio contact with planes that were approaching and departing Newark for some 90 seconds. How dangerous is that?

SCHIAVO: It's very dangerous. And, you know, the FAA and internal documents, reports that have been coming out did admit that when they cobbled together this system for Newark last year. You know, they said, look, if -- if the communications lines go down, we don't have adequate backup. If we lose radar, we don't have backup. And if we lose both, then basically the planes are unidentified flying objects.

The only way to avoid a disaster is collision is if the pilots can do it. If their collision avoidance systems in the planes can, or if they can literally see and avoid. And they got around that terrible decision by saying, well, it's not going to happen. So, it's a low risk. Well, now it's happened four times. So it's very high risk.

Fortunately, the new secretary of transportation is sounding alarm bells, but it's going to take a while to fix it. They have to lay new fiber optics. They have to train more controllers. They have to get the situation fixed. So, the controllers are working in the same facility. It's going to take time.

KINKADE: Yeah. And I understand you are flying out of Atlanta today. Flights here were also grounded at the world's busiest airport on Mother's Day. What can you tell us about that issue?

SCHIAVO: Well, both Atlanta and Delta Airlines are having problems, in part because it was a runway equipment outage problem in Atlanta, but also because in some, some things really aren't the airlines' fault. And the weather was terrible in the Southeast today, just unbelievable thunderstorms.

[02:50:03]

And the system was stalled over the Southeast. So long lines at the airports, et cetera. So, a partial equipment problem and a big weather problem. So that explains Atlanta. But Atlanta's short-staffed too, just like Newark. They don't have all the controllers that they need. It's a -- that's a nationwide problem.

KINKADE: Yeah, it really is. I mean, the FAA says that there's currently 3,000 people they're short of in terms of air traffic controllers, 3,000. Just explain that shortage and what's being done to address it.

SCHIAVO: So, the shortage has been going on for a number of years. So, two presidential administrations ago during the Obama administration, they literally for a variety of reasons, stopped hiring. And then they started hiring again. And then COVID hit.

And during COVID, the training and hiring were almost entirely shut down. So, the shortage was exacerbated. And the other problem is it takes 18 months to two years to train an air traffic controller. It's a very difficult job, and about one third of the candidates washed out. They don't finish the training.

So, there are high barriers to entry. Theres a lot of training and they just didn't put enough in the pipeline for the last ten years. It's been -- it's been a big issue. And so, they're beefing up by increasing salaries, trying to speed up training. But, of course, that sends out alarm bells. You want them fully trained of course.

And then also air traffic controllers can't be hired if they're over 31 and they retire at 55. So, the administration is saying, look, that's ridiculous. We're going to let people work more than age 55. We'll pay them more and we'll get some of these barriers to entry lifted so more people can be trained and do the job and do the job well.

KINKADE: Yeah, they certainly need to kind of approach and address all those issues.

Mary Schiavo, always appreciate you. Thanks so much for joining us.

SCHIAVO: Thank you. My pleasure.

KINKADE: One person was killed and 32 injured when a tour bus crashed into a disabled SUV on a highway outside of Los Angeles. The SUV caught fire, killing the trapped driver. After the crash, the bus veered across the highway, hitting a guardrail before coming to a stop. Two people on the bus were critically injured. Its not known why the SUV was disabled. The crash occurred early Sunday morning on the 60 Freeway in Hacienda Heights, east of downtown L.A.

Well, four people died and hundreds were forced to leave their homes after a fire in an apartment building in Milwaukee. Dozens of people were hurt, including four critically. Around 35 trucks responded, with firefighters using ladders to rescue people. Residents said they saw people jumping out of windows and balconies to escape the flames. The cause of the fire is unknown. The building did not have a sprinkler system, but it was not required to have one because it was built before 1974.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced recently that it will retire its well-known weather and climate disasters database.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has more on how the move will make it impossible for the public to track the cost of extreme weather and climate events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: NOAA has been tracking billion dollar disasters since 1980, and there have been plenty of them. A total of $403 billion disasters since they began tracking. But they vary across the country. This is why it's so important to have these disasters tracked.

Take last year, for example. This is 2024, all of the natural disasters that took place that cost at least $1 billion worth of damage. You can see five of them were tropical systems, but we also had tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, snowstorms and even flooding.

But here's the thing. It's important to see these maps to notice whether or not there are trends. If more of these disasters are happening in one place or another, or if one region continues to see them.

This is why. Look at this. This is just from 2024. If we based all of the natural disasters off of this map alone, you might think, hey, they never happen in the northeast or the mid-Atlantic or even out to the west. But when you go back to look at previous years, you will notice that that completely changes. Thats why it's so important to have a lot of these maps for the information they provide.

It's also important to be able to look at year over year or even decade over decade. We may have had 400 in total, but not every decade is the same. For example, in the 1980s, they had a total of $33 billion disasters. You go to the 90s, that jumps to 57, a decade later, 67. Last decade, 131. Now we look at this decade, up to 115. That's more than several of these other decades in total, and we only have half of a decade worth of data right now.

So, it's important to have a lot of this information so that we can look at not only where disasters have happened in the past, but where they could end up happening in the future, and whether or not the frequency rates are going up as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:55:12]

KINKADE: Our thanks to Allison there.

Well, opening statements are set to start in just a few hours in the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal criminal trial, the music mogul is charged with five counts, including racketeering and sex trafficking. Combs former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution. She filed a lawsuit against Combs, claiming rape and physical abuse. That suit was settled, but surveillance video showing him assaulting her in a hotel was later published by CNN.

That opened a floodgate of other accusations. The trial is expected to last several weeks. Well, this year's Eurovision contest kicked off on Sunday in a big

way. Check out this huge parade in Basel, Switzerland. You can see the stream of flags and costumes as the hosts the Eurovision semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday, and on Saturday, up to 12,000 fans will watch the final in person. Last year, 163 million viewers worldwide watched Switzerland's Nemo win Eurovision. This year, the group KAJ representing Sweden is the favorite to win.

Well, Hollywood heavy hitters and the world's most glamorous will descend on the French Riviera this week. The Cannes Film Festival kicks off Tuesday, and there's more movies to watch. Tom Cruise will be there to promote what's billed as the final "Mission Impossible" film, and Robert De Niro will be awarded an honorary Palme Dor.

Twenty-two films are up for the top Palme d'Or prize. The winner will be announced on May 24th.

That does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. We'll be back with much more news in just a moment. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.