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Trump Meets Former Militant Who Now Leads Syria; Cassie Ventura Returns To Witness Stand In Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial; Qatari Prime Minister Dismisses Controversy Surrounding Trump Plan To Accept Gifted Jet; Putin And Trump Leave Zelenskyy In The Dust, Skipping Peace Talks In Turkey; Ukraine, Russia To Hold First Direct Talks Since 2022; White House Considering Suspension of Habeas Corpus; Academics Leaving U.S. Amid Fear of Trump's Policies; Trump's Tariff Uncertainty Hits U.S. Luxury Brands; Defense to Cross-Examine Combs' Ex-Girlfriend Cassie Ventura; Mexican Beauty Influencer Killed During Livestream. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 15, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:23]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The meeting was brief and informal, but could shape the future of the Middle East. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Attractive guy, tough guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump's unexpected warm embrace of Syria's jihadist turned president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A second day of graphic testimony from the prosecution's star witness Cassie Ventura.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And more details of the physical abuse by her former boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs. And the jury is showing images from his notorious freak off sex parties.
And fleeing fascism. Why three Yale professors are moving to Canada.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I worry that people are just not taking this seriously enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: All three historians have warned the lesson from 1933 is to leave sooner rather than later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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. And he was once 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 have been in place for decades, would be lifted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you find the Syrian president?
TRUMP: Right. Right. I think very good. Young, attractive guy, tough guy, strong pas. Very strong pass fighter. But 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 two of his trip to the Middle East. In the hours since then, he has announced a mega sale of 160 planes made by Boeing sold to Qatar. And CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more details. Now reporting in from Doha.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. 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 is the far friendlier course that you would see. I mean, two courses, there's only two courses. There aren't three or four or five. Friendly is a violent course. And I don't want that. I'll say it up front. 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 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Neither the U.S. President or Qatar's Amir made specific mention of the now controversial gift of a luxury jumbo jet from Qatar to the United States. But during an interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, Qatar's prime minister dismissed the controversy. He also talked about a multibillion dollar deal with Boeing, which comes despite a string of controversies in recent years and questions over safety standards at Boeing.
[01:05:09]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: You've pointed out that there is a commitment to buy over 200 jets from Boeing, price tag of around $200 million. Given it is Boeing's failure to deliver a new Air Force One to the President on time as promised, something like a five year delay, sir. Are you confident that the aircraft manufacturer will deliver on time and on budget for you?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL-THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: Well, Boeing has been a reliable partner for Qatar Airways for a long time and of course we trust them and we trust, we are confident that they are going to continue this partnership together with Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways has been nominated as the top airline in the world for many years consecutively and we are using Boeing actually quite significantly in our fleet.
ANDERSON: Can we take a moment to get to the bottom of this offer by Qatar of a multimillion dollar Boeing 7478 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 is it Qatar?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Well, actually it's, you know, I know that there were a lot of speculations about this topic. I don't know what is the reason that instigated this. This is a very simple government to government dealing when Ministry of Defense and Department of Defense are still exchanging the possibility of transferring one of our 747-8 to be used as Air Force One. And it's still under the legal review. So there is nothing really, I
don't know what was like, why it became like so big as a news that this is something that, you know, considered, you know, very, in a very strange way. It's -- we have done a lot together with the US. For example, the airlifting that happened during Afghanistan evacuation, 80 percent of that being taken care of from Qatar.
ANDERSON: I think the point is that this people are confused as to whether this is a personal offer to President Trump from the Emir, certainly President Donald Trump suggesting in an interview on Tuesday that Qatar approached him claiming that one Qatari official said if I can help you, let me do that. Is that true?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Well, it is a government to government transaction. It has nothing to do with personnel, whether it's on the U.S. side or on the Qatari side. It's Ministry of Defense, Department of Defense. So I don't see anything in that.
ANDERSON: It's, you know, you're alluding to the fact that this has created huge controversy in the States and this is sort of bipartisan criticism, Republicans and Democrats accusing the president of graft and Qatar of buying influence. Are you?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Why would we buy an influence in the United States? If you look just, you know, in the last 10 years of the U.S.-Qatar relationship, Qatar has been always there for the U.S. when it's needed, whether it's on the war against terror, whether it's in the evacuation of Afghanistan, whether it's on releasing hostages from different countries around the world.
And Qatar has been always a reliable partner for the U.S. has been always stepping up to help and to support the U.S. because we believe that this friendship needs to be mutually beneficial for both countries. Cannot be a one way relationship.
ANDERSON: Can we talk about Syria?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Sure.
ANDERSON: You're a strong backer of this new government and you've been lobbying for sanctions release for some time now to unlock aid into the country. Now Donald Trump in Riyadh announced that he is lifting sanctions. This news is making huge waves across this region. What do you now believe that you can accomplish for Syria?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Well, I think first of all, the Syrian people deserve to live a dignified life. And basically the sanctions were imposed on Assad regime, given his behavior against his own people. And now if the sanctions remained as they were, how we will be able to help the Syrian people to change their situation and to get out of the consequences of the civil war that they had and they've been through in the last 12 years, maybe. So lifting the sanction, we believe it is the right step moving forward.
[01:10:02] Now, there are a lot of questions being raised about, OK, how do you -- how do we know the current government? What's about their background? Everyone has these questions and these are legitimate questions since it's a new government and given background, of course.
We have no knowledge about this government until they became power. So basically what we've been -- what we decided to do is to start engaging with them, to start to see if they are saying and doing the right things, then we should support them. We should support the stability of Syria. We should support that Syria shouldn't fail and shouldn't turn into a chaos.
And basically what we've been hearing and what we've been seeing until now, we've been hearing the right things. Of course, there will be downsides from time to time. There will be some mistakes happening here and there. And this is a country which is getting out of civil war after a long time.
So we believe disengaging is going to be the biggest mistake will leave us with just one option. The chaos. But engaging and engaging in a constructive manner, trying to help to alleviate the situation over there in Syria and making sure that we are working together with them step by step. That's the only way for us where we will have a chance to have a better Syria and stabilize Syria.
ANDERSON: And let's talk about Gaza. You've been deeply involved in mediating between Israel and Hamas for more than 19 months. I've been in and out of this country and watch the efforts that have been put into that mediation. And there's a high level Israeli delegation here today.
Steve Witkoff is here, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy and his hostage, chief hostage negotiator, Adam Bola. What can you tell us about any progress in those talks, the indirect talks, of course, with Hamas here?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Well, the progress that we have achieved by releasing Edan Alexander, the Israeli American citizen, the day before yesterday, from our perspective, we were seeing it as a breakthrough that will help bring back the talks on track and bring us a ceasefire and opening up a humanitarian corridor for the humanitarian assistance to come to the people of Gaza.
Unfortunately, Israel's reaction to this was a mass bombing the next day while sending the delegation and statements coming out of the Israeli government that this delegation is coming to negotiate a hostage deal without ending the war, which is basically sending the signal that we are not interested in negotiations. This was a bad signal.
And we have highlighted this concern to the Israelis and we told them that we need to engage in a meaningful negotiations that making sure that returns all the hostages safely and ending the war in Gaza and making sure that the humanitarian suffering is lifted from Gaza.
Right now, our teams are engaging with both parties. We hope to see some progress. I'm not sure if this progress will be something seen very soon with this continuing behavior.
ANDERSON: Before I let you go, this is my final question. The U.S. is in talks with Iran. Donald Trump has said the time is -- the time to choose is now. This is not an offer that will last forever. He said he'd discussed Iran with the Emir today. Did he share what that U.S. offer to Iran looks like? Are they close to a deal? And he talked about how the emir has been a great help. So what's Qatar's involvement here?
SHEIKH MOHAMMED: Well, actually, we had a very good and very productive discussion between His Highness the Emir and the president about the negotiations on the Iran nuclear program. We strongly believe that this can be only solved diplomatically. And we believe that escalation is not in the interest of any party.
We are trying our best to support that effort. Our colleagues in Oman is doing an outstanding job in mediating the conflict between them. And any kind of support that we are able to provide when we are reaching out to the parties, we are doing our utmost.
The discussion basically between His Highness and the president is just highlighting the risks of not having a deal.
[01:15:00]
And what would be the best way to mitigate those? Through finding a compromise between the U.S. and Iran that can bring us to a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Still ahead on CNN, Ukraine and Russia expected to hold their first direct talk since just after the war began, but it appears some of the key players will be no shows.
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VAUSE: For the first time in more than three years, Ukrainian and Russian officials are expected to sit down shortly for direct talks to try and end the war. For weeks now, ceasefire negotiations appear to have stalled until this meeting in Istanbul, which was first suggested over the weekend by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
[01:20:08]
But now comes word from the Kremlin that the Russian president will not be in Istanbul. In fact, no senior government officials will be there with the Russian delegation made up of mid or low level diplomats and other officials.
Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to be there and says he'll only speak with the Russian president and only the Russian president. And after hinting he may attend, President Trump is now confirmed no show. Other senior White House officials will be there, but only to observe.
Robert English is the Director of Central European Studies at the University of Southern California. He joins us live this hour from Los Angeles. Welcome back.
ROBERT ENGLISH, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Glad to be here.
VAUSE: So, ahead of these talks in Istanbul, the President of Turkey had some high hopes there would be progress towards a ceasefire. Here he is.
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RECEP TAYYIP ERGODAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): We see a new window of opportunity has been opened. We believe that, God willing, this time the opportunity that has arisen will not be squandered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But once that Russian delegation was announced by the Kremlin, which the Hill described as a low level diplomatic team that included deputy ministers in the foreign affairs and defense departments, in addition to an aide to Putin, and with Putin himself no show, does that effectively end any expectations, either real or imagined, that these talks could see some kind of breakthrough? Or was it always just a mirage to begin with?
ENGLISH: It was probably always a mirage to begin with. They're playing musical chairs. I'll go if you go, but if he doesn't come, I won't come. And this is not a serious approach to important negotiations. But there's always a chance that without the principles there.
You know, Zelenskyy, Putin, and especially Trump, they all have a tendency to go onto social media, to leak, to upstage each other. And it actually might be possible that lower level professional officials could get more done because they tend to stay out of the public limelight and avoid publicizing everything in that fashion. If there was the will to seriously compromise. And of course, that may be insufficient at this point.
VAUSE: In a bizarre way, this is how things are meant to be done when it comes to these kind of ceasefire negotiations in the peace process. You start at the lower level, you wake way up.
ENGLISH: Exactly, exactly. And something strange has happened. We're sort of only waking up now to how much we've all been overtaken by this world of social media, 24-hour news and constant blogging and podcasting. And it doesn't give the diplomats the space and the quiet to do the work. And in the past, that's how wars have ended and ceasefires have been hammered out, trade deals struck, without this constant public scrutiny, which leads officials to play the game of one's up and ship, it does not help.
VAUSE: Last report, the Ukrainian president was still reluctantly planning, apparently on being in Istanbul. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I'm waiting to see who will arrive from Russia and then I will determine what steps Ukraine should take. A week can truly change a lot, but it may or may not. Right now, it's all being decided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This seems to be a bit of showmanship, if you like, by the Ukrainian president. He's turning up for talks which Putin never said he would actually attend. So how much of this is being directed at the Europeans who put their plans for new sanctions on Moscow on hold because of these negotiations?
ENGLISH: You know, all of this, including the background threat of new sanctions, private talks between Zelenskyy and the Europeans, point up just how fractured, especially the Western side is in this. Right. There's clearly a divide between the Americans, the Trump administration and the Europeans.
Trump came to office and starkly through his officials said Ukraine will not join NATO. Ukraine will have to give up most of this territory. They laid that out at the beginning. The Europeans began quietly and then more openly working to support Ukraine and encourage Ukraine to hang in there.
In other words, directly contrary to Trump's line and even within the Trump scene, the Trump team. We've seen some officials take one position. Kellogg and Rubio seem to be more hardline on Russia, but Witkoff and others softer. So even within one delegation, much less the United west, it's disunited.
How can we go into a negotiation with Russia and expect them to compromise when we don't know what we want and how far we're willing to go.
VAUSE: That's a good point. We have this report from the Washington Post that a new round of E.U. sanctions was approved Wednesday targeting the so called shadow fleet used to skirt an embargo on Russian oil. Goes on to report the hope and discussions with Washington had been for broader European and U.S. sanctions to send a warning to the Kremlin against stalling, which the Kremlin has been doing for quite some time.
So just to recap here, these talks in Istanbul proposed by Putin, which seems to be yet another possible stalling tactic, ended up delaying European sanctions, which were intended to punish Moscow for stalling.
[01:25:05]
And that might now be derailed altogether because the U.S. may not be, may actually be reluctant to back those EU sanctions now, is that we're right there?
ENGLISH: You made my point better than I could have about our -- this merry go round and this internal contradictions which make it impossible to advance a unified line. And again, why would Putin do anything except wait and stall and watch his adversaries bicker among themselves? It only strengthens his hand. So until there is a unified Western position, and maybe that would include a unified stance on serious sanctions. Right. Those might be secondary sanctions on the countries that continue to do business with Russia, continue to circumvent, to squeeze Russia.
Until that happens, it's not clear that anything will induce Putin to stop the steady advance on the battlefield and agree to a ceasefire the necessary first step. We are fractured.
VAUSE: That has been Putin's desire all along, and he's making the most of it right now. Robert, always great to have you with us. Thank you, sir.
ENGLISH: Quite welcome.
VAUSE: Well, top U.S. historians are raising the alarm over what's happening with civil liberties under the Trump administration. We'll hear from one Yale professor who's giving up his job, leaving the United States, moving to Canada.
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[01:31:40]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
A scholar at Georgetown University who's supported Palestinian causes has been released from federal detention in Texas on a judge's order. Badar Khan Suri, who is from India, spent two months behind bars accused of having ties to Hamas.
But Wednesday, a court ruled that prosecutors had failed to provide any evidence in support of his continued detention.
Other international students and faculty members have been arrested in the United States after speaking out in support of Palestinians.
Now, the Trump administration is considering a move to prevent them from going to court in the first place. This would involve suspending the so-called habeas corpus, the procedure which allows people to challenge their detentions in court.
The Constitution allows that to be suspended under very narrow circumstances. But on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Congress she believes those conditions have been met.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELI CRANE (R-AZ): Are you familiar with Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution that covers the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus?
KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Yes. CRANE: It says that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended
unless when cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
You testified under oath, I believe that the Biden administration allowed an invasion into our country. Is that correct?
NOEM: That is correct.
CRANE: So do you think it falls under the constitutional guidelines that I just read to you?
NOEM: Ok. I'm not a constitutional lawyer, but I believe it does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The attack on academic freedom, as well as detention of foreign students, often snatched from the streets by masked men, has sent shivers through many academics in the U.S.
Among them three Yale university professors who announced they're leaving the U.S., giving up prestigious positions at the famed university and moving to Canada. They say they want to do their job without fear of being punished and warned universities are often the first places targeted during the rise of fascist regimes.
And they should know. All three have written multiple books about fascism, dictators and the rise of autocracy.
One of those three professors, Jason Stanley, joins us now from New Haven, Connecticut. He will soon be a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. He's also the author of "Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. Thank you for being with us at least for now.
JASON STANLEY, PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR, YALE UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me join The show.
VAUSE: Ok. Now, a few moments really seem to stand out to me in that video, which you made for "The New York Times". One of them was this statement by professor Marci Shore. Here it is.
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MARCI SHORE, PROFESSOR: The lesson of 1933 is you get out sooner rather than later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To me, that was chilling because, you know, it's a question which is asked a lot. Why didn't the Jewish population of Nazi Germany get out while they could, get out sooner?
Your grandmother, your father fled Berlin in 1939. I'd like you to talk to that in a moment. But also, is the decision you're making to leave the United States now based on current factors, or rather, your expectations of how bad things will get?
STANLEY: It's definitely based on my expectations about how bad things could get. Or better put, it's a bet.
[01:34:49]
STANLEY: At a certain point, there's a probability that things will get bad enough and just that probability is worrisome enough that if you have another opportunity, it's rational to take it.
VAUSE: And how does your history, your family history affect this decision you're making now?
STANLEY: Well, my grandmother writes in her autobiography that even in 1937, German Jews didn't realize the danger they were in.
Now, I don't think I would ever be in that kind of danger, but I don't think -- when I look around me and I see immigrants being separated from their kids and deported, when I see people being taken off the street in unmarked vans, when I see the kind of lawlessness that this administration has engaged in, their attacks on the press and the universities, you know, I worry that people are just not taking this seriously enough.
VAUSE: One of the many election promises that Donald Trump made was the crackdown on illegal immigration. And on Tuesday, there was an announcement that hundreds of extra federal agents will be deployed as part of a ramped-up enforcement on illegal immigration nationwide.
And that seems to dovetail with the comment, also by Professor Shore, referring to the PhD student from Tufts University who's in the United States on a student visa, was grabbed by masked men from the street. Those men later turned out to be federal agents.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHORE: I thought, what would I do if guys in masks tried to grab my student? Would I scream? Would I run away? Would I try to pull the mask off? Would I try to videotape the scene? Would I try to pull the guys off of her? Maybe I would get scared and run away.
The truth is I don't know. Not knowing terrified me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The point here is that the State Department has very wide authority to revoke student visas. The normal process is to usually write to them, say they have a number of days. I think it's 30 days, to leave the country.
But that doesn't quite sound out the same message as when you send out masked men to snatch young women off the street. So speak to that.
STANLEY: Yes, I mean. If the State Department exploited its wide authority to revoke student visas on the basis of people criticizing the actions of the state of Israel based on the horrors now happening in Gaza, then why would anyone send their kids to universities in the United States?
People come to universities in the United States because of the very broad freedom of expression that we have in our universities and our society at large.
The state, the -- Rubio our Secretary of State says you can only come here if you adopt the values of the United States. But the primary value of the United States is freedom of speech.
VAUSE: And the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador without due process, has become symbolic in many ways of how the Trump administration operates. And that goes for supporters and opponents alike.
Recently, to try and prove he was a member of a violent criminal gang, the White House released photos which had been altered, showing tattoos on his fingers that claiming this was evidence of his gang membership.
The Secretary of Homeland Security was questioned about that Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Secretary, I have a seven-year-old, a six- year-old and a three-year-old. I have a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) detector. I'm just asking you, is this doctored or not doctored?
NOEM: Sir, the protocols and the case built against Abrego Garcia --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you answer the question?
NOEM: -- were exactly the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Secretary --
NOEM: I don't have any knowledge as to that photo you're pointing to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How does a suspension of disbelief and reality sort of fit into your concerns for American democracy overall?
STANLEY: Yes. So much of what we're seeing is -- kind of show, right, it's kind of fascist spectacle. Sweeping students off the streets into unmarked vans. Sending them into an El Salvadoran gulag. The absolutely horrific -- I don't even know what to call it -- concentration camp they set up there. President Trump saying that homegrowns are next to the president of El Salvador.
All of this is kind of a stochastic (ph) terrorism against the American people, you know, and immigrants. And immigrants face a kind of terror, a kind of real horror that is really -- that's the point, you know as Adam (INAUDIBLE) said during the first Trump administration, the cruelty is the point.
VAUSE: Thank you very much for being with us, sir.
STANLEY: Thank you.
VAUSE: Luxury retail has often been considered recession-proof, ever expanding revenue from sales, which never seemed to decline.
[01:39:51]
VAUSE: But that was before Donald Trump's tariffs in the U.S., which are having a high -- sharp impact rather, on sales of high-end designer clothes.
As CNN's Jason Carroll reports, some now fear their businesses may be forced to close.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fashion designers are already shooting next year's collections. But given the current trade climate, this is the first time in 30 years of business Deirdre Quinn is seriously doubting if she can keep her company for another year.
Are you confident you'll be around for Resort (ph) 2026?
DEIRDRE QUINN, CO-FOUNDER/CEO, LAFAYETTE 148: No.
CARROLL: Quinn is co-founder and CEO of Lafayette 148, a luxury label that has become a fixture in the fashion industry worn by the likes of Julia Roberts, Viola Davis, the former speaker of the house, and the first lady.
It's a brand now struggling. Despite the rollback on Chinese tariffs, Lafayette 148 is straining under the tariffs still in place.
So what do you do? What is your strategy then going forward?
QUINN: Well at the moment it's to speak out.
CARROLL: So far, Quinn has paid some $2.8 million in tariffs this year, paying 30 percent. While certainly better than the 145 percent that was previously in place, still means she needs to pay an additional $2.3 million over the next 90 days.
QUINN: You know, we're in a tough position right now.
CARROLL: Tough, because if she were to pass on the current total tariff costs to her customers, a blouse from her collection, currently costing about $600, would be more than 700.
It's a shift the entire industry is feeling. The U.S. receives 97 percent of its clothing and shoes from other countries, primarily China and Vietnam.
In Quinn's case, 95 percent of her products are made in China. Right now, she stays afloat by shipping only what has already sold without passing the total cost onto her customers. Meanwhile, most of her inventory is still sitting in China.
QUINN: I can't afford to have my entire cash flow go to the tariffs, and that's what's happening.
CARROLL: Independent jewelry designer Presley Oldham is doing what President Trump has been advocating for. His product is made in the United States.
PRESLEY OLDHAM, JEWELRY DESIGNER: They're really a beautiful color.
CARROLL: He still needs fresh water pearls, which come primarily from two places in the world, China or Japan. At a recent show, he says retailers from Canada and Mexico who wanted to avoid tariffs refused to buy because he's a U.S.-based designer.
How much revenue do you think you've lost so far?
OLDHAM: Easily upwards of $40,000. As an entrepreneur, I'm really searching for this sort of ground to stand on right now. And I don't know what that looks like.
CARROLL: Repercussions already being felt on the sales floor at Lafayette 148 boutique in Soho.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our clients are walking in and asking if we're ok.
CARROLL: What do you tell them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're looking for a ray of hope that this is all just a bad dream, and it's going to go away.
CARROLL: The real worry is if the tariff nightmare doesn't go away in short order. Deirdre Quinn says her life's work and all she has built may soon be gone.
How long do you think realistically, you can keep doing this?
QUINN: No, I won't make it to Labor Day.
CARROLL: So many businesses in the fashion industry are now in this 90-day holding pattern. They are hoping that the administration will either work something out where the tariffs are reduced, or they simply go away.
In the meantime, all this uncertainty is continuing to hurt their bottom line.
Jason Carroll, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: In a moment, disturbing testimony about physical abuse from the former girlfriend of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs in his criminal trial. We'll have details of her second day on the stand in a moment.
[01:43:46]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: A day of reckoning of sorts in New Zealand's parliament for three lawmakers who performed the haka during last year's vote on a controversial bill intended to reinterpret the founding treaty between the British and the indigenous Maori population.
(NEW ZEALAND LAWMAKERs DOING THE HAKA)
VAUSE: Both song and haka are allowed in parliament, but a parliamentary committee wants all three lawmakers suspended because they were not given permission to perform the dance during the reading of the bill. The vote to suspend all three is expected to pass.
After days of 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 on the witness stand, Cassie Ventura described the issues and -- injuries rather, 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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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Cassie Ventura. Looking glamorous at a Hollywood premiere. But she says the public couldn't see her mental and physical pain.
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WAGMEISTER: 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, EX-GIRLFRIEND OF SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS: 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.
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.
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VAUSE: We have a short update now. Very quick update on those direct Russia-Ukraine talks set to begin in Istanbul shortly. The Russian president was not listed as part of the Russian delegation.
And for those who are hoping that maybe there would be some kind of surprise appearance by Vladimir Putin, the word from the Kremlin spokesperson is "nyet". He will not be there. He will not be going to these talks in Istanbul.
There have been some talk about maybe. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't.
The Ukrainian president will be there. The Russian president will not.
With that, we'll take a short break. You're watching CNN. Back in a moment.
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VAUSE: French interior minister will hold an emergency meeting Friday with cryptocurrency executives to discuss a string of recent attacks targeting people with ties to the industry.
The latest happened on Tuesday. The daughter of a crypto CEO narrowly- escaped a kidnaping attempt in broad daylight.
Four masked men attacked the daughter of the head of Paymium, along with her partner and their child. The three fought back with the help of bystanders and suffered minor injuries.
Authorities in Mexico are investigating the murder of Valeria Marquez, a TikTok beauty influencer killed in her beauty salon as she was live streaming.
CNN's Gabriela Frias has details.
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GABRIELA FRIAS, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR: A TikTok livestream ended in terror when a 23-year-old beauty influencer was shot dead on camera at her salon in western Mexico.
Valeria Marquez had thousands of followers on social media where, just moments before her death, she showed off a stuffed animal that was delivered to her.
Then, in her final few seconds, she is seen looking into the distance right before she is shot dead.
Jalisco state authorities said a man entered her salon and fired at her and she had no vital signs when medics arrived. The suspects have yet to be identified, but the case is being investigated as a suspected femicide. A rampant problem in Mexico, a country that has seen staggering levels of violence against women and girls.
Gabriela Frias, CNN -- Mexico City.
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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. Rosemary church takes over after a short break.
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