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Trump in Doha on Day Three of Middle East Trip; Qatar Says Israel Strike on Gaza Sending Bad Signal Amid Negotiations; Sean "Diddy" Comb's Ex-Girlfriend Back on the Witness Stand; RFK Jr. Grilled as He Presents HHS Budget to Congress; Daughter of Cryptocurrency CEO Escapes Kidnapping Attempt. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired May 15, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The meeting was brief and informal, but could shape the future of the Middle East, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Young, attractive guy, tough guy, you know.
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VAUSE: Donald Trump's unexpected warm embrace of Syria's jihadist turned president.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A second day of graphic testimony from the prosecution's star witness Cassie Ventura.
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VAUSE: And more details of the physical abuse by her former boyfriend, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and the jury is shown images from his notorious sex parties.
And fleeing fascism. Why three Yale professors are moving to Canada.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I worry that people are just not taking this seriously enough.
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VAUSE: All three are historians and warn the lesson from 1933 is to leave sooner rather than later.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause. VAUSE: For the first time in 25 years, a U.S. president has met with
the leader of Syria, a moment made even more extraordinary by the $10 million U.S. bounty on the head of Syria's transitional president was lifted less than six months ago. He was once a leader of an offshoot of the terror group al Qaeda. Before traveling to Qatar, President Trump held an informal meeting with jihadist turned president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Just a day earlier came the surprise announcement from the U.S. president that punitive American sanctions on Syria, which had been in place for decades, would be lifted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How did you find the Syrian president?
TRUMP: Great. Great. I think very good. Young, attractive guy, tough guy. You know, strong past, very strong past. Fighter. He's got a real shot at pulling it together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: President Trump is now in Doha, where he was given yet another lavish welcome on arrival for day three of his trip to the Middle East. In the hours since then, President Trump has announced the mega sale of 160 planes made by the U.S. manufacturer Boeing to Qatar.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more details now reporting in from Doha.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump completing another whirlwind day here in Doha, flying from Riyadh, where he started the day visiting the new Syrian president. Extraordinary set of images from that private meeting, the first time in 25 years an American president has met a new Syrian leader, a day after lifting sanctions for Syria.
The president has been suggesting or teasing all week long that he could perhaps upend his agenda here and go to Turkey to personally mediate the ceasefire discussions between Russia and Ukraine. The president said earlier today he was thinking about it. But as soon as the Kremlin said that Vladimir Putin is not on the delegation list, the White House confirming to CNN that President Trump is not going to Turkey, which is what officials were sort of suggesting all day long.
But the president did, once again, as he was speaking here in Doha, have strong words for neighboring Iran.
TRUMP: You're also working with us very closely with respect to negotiating a deal with Iran, which is the far friendlier course that you would see. I mean, we have two courses. There's only two courses. There aren't three or four or five. There's two. There's a friendly and a non-friendly, and the non-friendly is a violent course. And I don't want that.
I'll say it upfront. I don't want that. But they have to get moving. ZELENY: It is the second straight day President Trump has talked about
Iran saying that the country will never get a nuclear weapon, but wants the country and leaders to come to the table and further nuclear talks.
So as the president continues his journey here, he'll be meeting with military forces at the Al Udeid military base, the largest U.S. Military base in the Middle East. It, of course, is the site of many Afghan refugees. Many of the fighting over the last two decades or so, Iraq and Afghanistan, both at theaters, have gone from there. So the president, we're told, will be delivering a campaign style rally before going on to the UAE and returning to Washington on Friday.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Doha.
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VAUSE: With us now from Washington, is Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Welcome back. It's been a while.
STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: It's good to see you again, John.
VAUSE: So it's notable that the president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was once designated as a terrorist by the United States, former leader of a group which was an offshoot of al Qaeda. So given all of that, there's been some debate internationally over whether now is a good time to lift sanctions on Syria.
Also, the makeup of the government is mostly Sunni Muslims, and there's only one woman who's there as well. So it's not very representative. But what were the fears if these sanctions were actually left in place on Syria?
COOK: Well, I think the primary concern if sanctions are left on Syria is that the significant amounts of humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance would not be able to get into the country. And the country has been devastated by more than a decade of civil conflict. That, of course, brought in foreign forces as well.
Syria has extraordinary needs, and as long as there is a full range of sanctions on the country, it would be very, very hard for the government and aid agencies to provide the kind of assistance that Syrians very much need.
VAUSE: And this decision came despite objections from the Israeli prime minister. But in return, President Trump is pushing the Syrians to normalize relations with Israel. If that does happen, it would seem to be a win-win all round. What are the chances it will?
COOK: I think the chances are pretty small that the Syrians will go ahead and normalize relations with Israel. Ahmed al-Sharaa, as you point out, comes from an Islamist extremist background. And even if you account for the -- his evolution, if it's in fact a real one, it seems highly unlikely that he'll be able to normalize relations and continue to maintain his position atop the Syrian government.
People across the region are angry about what's happened in the Gaza Strip. Syrians are no different. Israel not only occupies the Golan Heights, which now the United States, as a result of the first administration, has recognized as Israeli sovereign territory, the only other country in the world besides Israel that does, and now occupies an even larger buffer zone in Syria.
It seems to me that the president has moved too quickly here. He should have said that the United States will lift sanctions and will normalize relations with Syria if the Syrian government undertakes a number of steps. Those did not have to include normalization with Israel. But of course, that was the Abraham Accords was President Trump's signature foreign policy achievement of his first administration, and he wants to expand it. But I think it's very, very unlikely.
VAUSE: Well, a lot is being made of Saudi Arabia being the first place that Trump visited both in his first term and now in his second term. The first term trip also included Israel. The second term trip does not. Here's why.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: On Israel, you're not going to Israel. Does this trip sidelined Israel at all?
TRUMP: No, not at all. No. This is good for Israel. Having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them, I think it's very good for Israel.
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VAUSE: So the president says Israel is not being sidestepped, but is there anything in recent days from a ceasefire with Houthi rebels in Yemen to talks with Iran nuclear negotiations, to hostage negotiations with Hamas, which hasn't sidelined Israel?
COOK: Well, look, there are very significant differences between the Trump administration and Israel on all of the issues you just mentioned, Iran, the Houthis, a direct line of communication with Hamas, and normalization or lifting sanctions with Syria. But I think people are making too big a deal of the fact that the president isn't going to Israel.
It is true that during his first administration, on his first foreign trip, he went from Saudi Arabia to Israel, but not all presidents make a stop in Israel, despite the, quote-unquote, "special relationship" between the two countries. There are numerous examples, President George W. Bush, President Obama, President Clinton, going to the region and not including Israel on their -- on the itinerary.
I think perhaps the reason why this is being noticed so much is because the Israelis did send Prime Minister Netanyahu's primary adviser, Ron Dermer, to Washington to suggest a presidential stopover in Israel. And the administration said it was really unnecessary. They had just seen Prime Minister Netanyahu.
But this does not, of course, the fact that it's not required for the president to stop in Israel, it doesn't diminish the fact that there are significant differences in perspective and interests when it comes to very important issues in the Middle East between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
VAUSE: Steven Cook, as always, good to have you with us. Thank you, sir.
COOK: Thank you.
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VAUSE: And whilst in Doha, neither the U.S. president or Qatar's emir made specific mention of the now controversial gift of a luxury jumbo jet from Qatar to the U.S. But during an interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, Qatar's prime minister just dismissed the controversy.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Can we take a moment to get to the bottom of this offer by Qatar of a multi-million dollar Boeing 747-8 to President Trump? When did your government first start talking to the U.S. about this aircraft, and who broached the subject first? Was it the U.S. or was it Qatar?
MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL-THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: Well, actually, it's a -- you know, I know that there were a lot of speculations about this topic. I don't know what is the reason that instigate this. This is a very simple government-to-government dealing.
ANDERSON: The offer still stands.
Can we talk about Syria? President Trump wants Syria to normalize relations with Israel. Your reaction to what would be a seismic shift in geopolitics were that to happen? Do you expect that to happen?
AL-THANI: Well, what we are hearing from the Syrian government, they don't want to engage in war with their neighbors. They want to have a peace with their neighbors. Israel has occupied territories in Syria. If they have a deal that will make sure that the Syrian lands are back to their people, we don't see an obstacle to have a peace together and normalization together.
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VAUSE: A deadly Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza has been criticized by officials in Qatar, where ceasefire negotiations are underway between Israel and Hamas. 28 people were killed, more than 50 others wounded Tuesday. Qatar's prime minister told CNN that sends a bad signal from Israel
that it's just not interested in negotiations. Multiple sources say Israel targeted Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more, but a warning first, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's still no confirmation on whether those Israeli airstrikes at a hospital in southern Gaza actually killed their intended target. That target, of course, was Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas' de facto leader in Gaza whom Israel targeted with a series of very powerful airstrikes on the European hospital in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
And we can see from videos of the moment of impact on the CCTV video, the power of this blast that even threw people into the air, who were standing in the courtyard of that European hospital, as well as in footage of the aftermath of that strike. You can see these enormous craters that were caused by what appears to be a very large bunker busting bombs designed to target underground infrastructure.
And indeed, the Israeli military claimed that there was an underground facility underneath or near that European hospital in Gaza, where they claim, according to our sources, that Mohammed Sinwar was located. It could take days or perhaps even weeks before the military is actually able to confirm whether or not he was killed in this strike. But in the meantime, we are aware of other casualties as a result of this strike.
At least 28 people were killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. More than 50 others injured in a strike that also damaged that hospital. It comes at a time when hospitals in Gaza are already suffering under the strain of a lack of fuel, a lack of medical supplies getting into Gaza as Israel's total siege of the strip now stretches into its third month.
It was just one of a series of very deadly strikes that we have seen in Gaza over the course of the last 24 hours or so including strikes in northern Gaza that killed more than 50 people. Bodies were flowing into the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, including the bodies of many children, and one baby carried by his father.
And you can see the toll, as Israel not only seems to be continuing, but intensifying these airstrikes even as negotiations are ongoing, including in the Qatari capital of Doha, to see if a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas can be reached in the wake of Hamas choosing to release the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander.
Indeed, the Israeli military's operations appear to be intensifying in Gaza, with the IDF issuing an evacuation order for large swaths of the al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City. The Israeli military saying that Hamas is embedded in civilian infrastructure in that area and vowing that there will be intense strikes there. Those evacuation orders prompted panic, including at Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where patients began to leave.
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As soon as those evacuation orders were issued, the hospital later got a call telling them that they were not actually part of the evacuation orders, despite that hospital having been specifically mentioned in a tweet by the Israeli military's Arabic language spokesman.
Several schools in that area that have become shelters for displaced Palestinians were included in this evacuation order, and that sent panic coursing among thousands of displaced Palestinians in that area, many of whom were uncertain of what to do given that this evacuation order didn't say when these strikes would begin and how long people would have in order to try and get to safety.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
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VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, disturbing testimony about physical abuse from the former girlfriend of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs in his criminal trial. Details of her second day on the stand in a moment.
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VAUSE: After today's damning testimony from the former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, his defense lawyers will soon have a chance to question her later Thursday. During her second day at the witness stand, Cassie Ventura described the injuries and other medical injuries she suffered from Combs and from his drug fueled sex parties, also called freak-offs.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.
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WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Cassie Ventura looking glamorous at a Hollywood premiere. But she says the public couldn't see her mental and physical pain, bruises, a black eye, a fat lip, all from this. An assault by Sean "Diddy" Combs just two days earlier in March of 2016.
Ventura, testifying for a second day. I had bruises on my body that weren't completely covered by the makeup, she said. I had quite a bit of makeup on my face. The injuries, the result of Combs kicking and dragging her, she said, after she tried to escape a so-called freak- off, a drug fueled sex session with a male escort orchestrated by Combs. It allegedly happened the day after this.
CASSIE VENTURA, ACTRESS: This is my first real like film.
WAGMEISTER: Ventura promoting her new film on CNN, addressing her racy sex scene in the movie. VENTURA: I was aware that the sex scene was -- or the sex scenes were
going to be a little bit much, but, you know, I was asked if I was comfortable. I was very prepared. And it is an uncomfortable thing at the end of the day.
WAGMEISTER: Days later, Ventura says she was dealing with the fallout from her assault in the hotel. When Combs contacted her, she texted, you are sick for thinking it's OK to do what you've done. Please stay far away from me. But when a friend saw the wounds and called the police, Ventura wouldn't name Combs. In that moment, I just didn't want to hurt him that way. It was just too much going on, Ventura testified, adding she wasn't ready to turn him in.
The couple attended the premiere together with this photo snapped of Ventura showing what appears to be a scar above her right eye. In court today, Ventura showed the jury a permanent scar near her eyebrow from a different alleged attack by Combs in 2013.
He threw me down. I had a pretty significant gash. I cover it with makeup, she testified. After he sent her to a plastic surgeon, she says she texted him a photo of her wound. So you can remember. Combs' response, you don't know when to stop. You have pushed it too far and continue to push. Sad.
While admitting she sometimes initiated physical fights with Combs, but she says she never saw him injured. And the freak-offs continued, she said, as she felt controlled by Combs. I feared for my career. I feared for my family. It's horrible. It's disgusting.
Ventura testified that her physical health was also affected by the sex sessions, many of which lasted for days.
Ventura's husband, Alex Fine, was in the courtroom for some of her grueling testimony, which comes as she's roughly eight months pregnant, which Combs' attorneys believed could endear her to the jury.
The defense tried to prevent Ventura from being paraded by the jurors, a source close to Combs tells me. The judge denied that request.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on-camera): Now, towards the end of Cassie's testimony today, she revealed for the first time that she was suicidal in the years after she broke up with Combs in 2018. She said that she was having thoughts that she didn't want to be here anymore. She said that one day she came home from work and she told this to her husband, who then stepped in to help her. And she said that in February of 2023, she went to trauma therapy to begin her healing.
Now, of course, February 2023 was just a matter of months before she filed her civil lawsuit against Combs in November of 2023.
Now, to wrap up her testimony, she had a very powerful statement. The prosecutor asked her, why are you here to testify? And here's what she had to say. Quote, "I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the shame, the guilt. What's right is right. What's wrong is wrong. I'm here to do the right thing."
Tomorrow, Cassie will resume and take the stand again for cross- examination.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says the quiet words out loud. During a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill the head of the U.S. Department of Health says no one should take medical advice from him.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check today's top stories.
Donald Trump is in Doha on the second leg of his Mideast trip. On Wednesday, the U.S. president announced a deal for Qatar to purchase 160 planes from U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing. He's expected to meet with U.S. forces at a military base in Qatar in the hours ahead.
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend peace talks with Ukraine set for Thursday in Turkey. Talks Vladimir Putin himself had actually put forward.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he won't speak with any Russian officials other than the president. These would be the first direct talks between the countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sean "Diddy" Combs's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, testified for a second day about how he physically abused her and mentally -- mentally abused her during their relationship.
Combs is facing charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Defense attorneys will cross-examine Ventura on Thursday.
Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sparred with lawmakers during two separate congressional hearings Wednesday. Democrats and even some Republicans pressed Kennedy to explain mass cuts to healthcare programs, research, as well as staffing.
He was also questioned on where he stands on issues considered long since settled, like measles vaccines and fluoride treatments. More details now from CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The budget I'm presenting today supports these goals and reflects --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: RFK (UNINTELLIGIBLE)! TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The secretary of Health and Human Services jumped as a protest erupted behind him. But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. squirmed a lot more amid sharp questions from lawmakers up front.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D-CT): Are you planning to break the law by impounding congressionally appropriated funds?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Is health care a human right?
FOREMAN (voice-over): Way up in the clashes? Drastic cuts to health care spending. The secretary pushed back on claims they will have serious real-world consequences.
KENNEDY: It's just not true. We weren't cutting thousands of scientists. We weren't cutting clinical trials.
FOREMAN (voice-over): When challenged about proposed reductions in Medicaid, which serves many low-income and disabled Americans, he recited the administration mantra: it's all about waste, fraud and abuse.
KENNEDY: There are a million people who are claiming Medicaid from multiple states. That's illegal. It's theft. These are the only cuts that are being made to Medicaid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not true.
KENNEDY: Yes, it is.
FOREMAN (voice-over): He even leveled charges at his own National Institutes of Health.
KENNEDY: We should have the cure for Alzheimer's today. We don't have it, purely because of corruption at NIH.
FOREMAN (voice-over): However, the secretary struggled when confronted over rising measles cases in the U.S., topping 1,000 this year, and his continued reluctance to fully embrace lifesaving vaccines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you recommending the measles vaccine or not?
FOREMAN (voice-over): What I've said and what I said --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't sound like you are, if that's --
KENNEDY: Are you going to let me answer? I am not going to just tell people everything is safe and effective if I know that there's issues.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And the head of the department responsible for improving the health of Americans added this stunning statement.
KENNEDY: I don't think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Kennedy, who went swimming with his grandkids in a contaminated D.C. Creek this past weekend, also took heat over his calls to remove fluoride from public drinking water, although it is known to prevent tooth decay.
REP. MIKE SIMPSON (D-ID): We better put a lot more money into dental education, because we're going to need a whole lot more dentists.
FOREMAN (voice-over): At times, it was all too much for Kennedy and the lawmakers, too.
KENEDY: My time has expired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, well, then so has your legitimacy.
FOREMAN: A chief claim of RFK Jr. throughout all of this was that, despite cutting thousands of jobs from his department, there will be no compromise in defending American health or protecting American lives. It's a claim that many lawmakers are clearly very skeptical about.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come, a kidnapping attempt in broad daylight foiled in Paris. And police explain why the woman and her family were targeted.
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VAUSE: Mexican authorities are investigating the murder of a TikTok beauty influencer, killed as she was live streaming.
Valeria Marquez was talking to followers when someone arrived at her beauty salon to deliver a parcel. Moments later, the 23-year-old was shot dead on camera.
The live stream ended when someone picked up her phone. Police are investigating the case as a suspected femicide: the killing of a woman or girl because of their gender.
Amnesty International says one quarter of female killings in Mexico in 2020 were investigated as femicides.
To Paris now and a narrow escape for the daughter of a French cryptocurrency executive, who was almost kidnaped in broad daylight.
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VAUSE: The attack is the latest in a string of incidents in France targeting people with ties to the crypto industry. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne is in Paris with details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the spot where, on Tuesday morning, four masked men attempted to kidnap the daughter and grandson of a prominent French crypto boss, according to police. And it was all caught on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The video shows them fighting back and screaming for help. You can hear the woman shouting, "Aidez-moi," "Help me!" as she grabs an object that appears to be a gun and throws it in the street.
VANDOORNE: It turned out to be a fake, according to BFMTV.
Now a shopkeeper, now being hailed as a hero --
VANDOORNE (voice-over): -- ran out with a fire extinguisher, forcing the attackers to flee in a white van. The family was treated for minor injuries, according to BFMTV.
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VANDOORNE: Police believe the attackers were targeting them because of their ties to cryptocurrency. AFP reports the woman's father is the CEO of Paymium, a French crypto exchange.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation into attempted kidnapping by an organized gang, aggravated assault, and criminal conspiracy.
VANDOORNE: This is the fourth attempted crypto-related abduction in France in just six months. In one case, a victim's finger was severed.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The interior minister is holding an emergency meeting with crypto entrepreneurs on Friday, as officials now race to respond to this escalating threat.
VANDOORNE: Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back here in less than 20 minutes.
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(WORLD SPORT)
