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Trump Returns as Domestic Problems Loom; Ceasefire Remains Elusive after Russia-Ukraine Direct Talks; U.S.-Israel Backed Group to Deliver Aid to Gaza; Israel and Syria Hold Rare Direct Talks; SCOTUS Temporary Stops Alien Enemies Act Deportations; Sean Combs' Ex Cassie Ventura Wraps Up Four Days of Testimony; Sweden's KAJ Favored to Win 2025 Eurovision; Jhonattan Vegas Tops PGA Championship's Second Round. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 17, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us from all around the world and streaming us here in the U.S. on CNN Max, great to be with you. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Just ahead, a prisoner swap but no ceasefire, at least not yet from the Ukraine-Russian talks in Istanbul.

U.S. president Donald Trump returns home from the Middle East with deals in hand but domestic problems still to be tackled.

And Eurovision gears up for its grand finale. Later today, we're going to go inside the excitement in the city.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: We begin with reports of a deadly airstrike in Ukraine, just hours after it had face-to-face talks with Russia. Ukrainian officials say nine people were killed when a Russian drone hit a bus in the northeastern Sumy region. Seven other people were injured.

Ukraine's national police quoted a cynical war crime. Russian state media reported that Russian forces had targeted Ukrainian troops who were staging equipment in Sumy.

Now this attack comes after the two countries sent their negotiators to Istanbul Friday, where they made some progress on a prisoner swap and possible future talks. But a Turkish official says Russia shot down the idea of an unconditional ceasefire, a main request from Ukraine and its European allies.

U.S. president Donald Trump said before the talks that there would be no progress anyway until he met with Russia's president. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He is at the table and he wanted this meeting. And I always felt there can't be a meeting without me, because I don't think a deal is going to get through.

There's a lot of hatred on both sides. I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal. We have to get together and I think we'll probably schedule it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies held a phone call with Mr. Trump from a summit in Albania. Mr. Zelenskyy called for more sanctions on Russia if it keeps saying no to a ceasefire. And he suggested that Moscow was not serious about the talks in the first place.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: And I was ready for a direct meeting with Putin, whether in Ankara or in Istanbul. And not just for a meeting but to resolve all the important, all the important issues to my mind.

But he didn't agree to anything. I mean, Putin. And you can also see that the Russian delegation that came to Istanbul is of a very low level. None of them are people who actually make decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, CNN correspondents are covering this story from all angles. Clare Sebastian will have the details from Istanbul, including what Russia reportedly demanded during those negotiations.

But first, I want to go to Frederik Pleitgen, who reports on Moscow's take on the talks.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Moscow says it is satisfied with the way that the talks went in Istanbul between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine. The chief Russian negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, coming out and saying that the two sides had essentially agreed to three points.

On the one hand, it was a prisoner swap. He also said that the Ukrainians had been asking for a direct meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and that the Russians would bring that to the attention of Vladimir Putin and allow him to make a decision.

And that also that the two sides are going to now formulate what they see as the path forward to a ceasefire, to then meet again for further negotiations, to try and find a path forward. Now as far as president Trump's comments, that he believes that this

conflict can only be solved through a direct meeting between the U.S. leader and Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Russians, they are saying that they also believe that such a direct, face-to-face meeting is of the utmost importance.

However, they believe that such a meeting is not necessarily as imminent as president Trump seems to think. The Russians are saying such a meeting needs to be carefully prepared, because it would deal with some of the most important questions in the world; of course, first and foremost with trying to solve the conflict in Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, even before they started, it was clear the talks here at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace were on Russia's terms, not Ukraine's. Despite urging during the week from President Zelenskyy and Trump for Putin to turn up himself, he sent a low-level delegation.

[03:05:04]

And the results we got, well, it's not clear that they moved the needle toward peace in any way. The only concrete one was the promise of a prisoner swap involving 1,000 prisoners on each side, a very large number.

But we've seen many of these throughout the war. They also discussed that the next steps would be a meeting between the two leaders, Zelenskyy and Putin, and they discussed what a ceasefire would look like.

And here's where the reality sets in. According to a Turkish official, Russia stated that, if Ukraine wanted the guns to fall silent, it needed to withdraw from all of the four regions that Russia has illegally annexed, even though Russia does not fully occupy those regions.

Now this is a red line not only for Kyiv but also for the U.S. Now it was only a week ago, remember, that Ukraine and its allies were telling Russia that they would ramp up the pressure if it didn't sign on to a ceasefire.

President Zelenskyy trying to get back to that point today in a phone call with president Trump, joined by several of those same European allies.

So what we got here today at the very best was an anti-climax, especially for the press, who've been camped out here for the best part of two days. At worst, it's a setback. Russia allowed to call the shots here and still no ceasefire in place -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, in Istanbul, Turkiye. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, for more analysis, we're joined by John Lough, the head of foreign policy at the New Eurasian Strategy Center. He's in Tallinn, Estonia.

Thanks so much for joining us.

JOHN LOUGH, HEAD OF FOREIGN POLICY, NEW EURASIAN STRATEGY CENTER: Good morning.

KINKADE: So Vladimir Putin suggested direct talks. Then he didn't bother to turn up and neither did Trump. Yet Donald Trump somehow turned on Zelenskyy, seemed to blame him yet again. I just want to play some sound from an interview he did with FOX.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Look, I had a real rough session with Zelenskyy because I didn't like what he said. And he was not making it easy. And I always said he doesn't have the cards and he doesn't have the cards.

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KINKADE: John, can you explain for us what you believe is the strategy here from Donald Trump?

Why would he do that?

LOUGH: Well, I think president Trump understands that President Putin wants to deal with him directly, to try to bring this war to an end. And he sees that neither Ukrainians nor the Europeans have much to bring to the table on their own and that this is a negotiation that then has to take place at the level of the two presidents.

Now that suits Putin's goals perfectly, because he believes that you bring the war in Ukraine to an end by renegotiating the arrangements for European security. This is what he refers to as the primary reasons for the war. And he believes that that conversation has to take place to the U.S.

So you could say that president Trump, by taking this position, he's actually playing into Putin's hands. So to me, it was absolutely no surprise that Putin didn't show this week in Turkiye because the invitation came in fact from President Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy really sort of threw down the gauntlet and said, you've got to come here and meet with me.

And no way was Putin going to cede to that. So I think looking at the scenario where the U.S. and Russian presidents will eventually get together. And Putin will have a go presumably at trying to put those terms that Trump will agree to.

The problem that president Trump will then have is that he will have to sell this both to the Ukrainians and to the Europeans and they may simply not accept it. KINKADE: Yes. And speaking of the Europeans, of course, Putin

proposed these talks are in a way, potentially to sidestep this ultimatum from Ukraine, from the E.U. allies, to sign up to an unconditional, 30-day ceasefire or face major new sanctions.

Russia's objective seems clear and it seems this strategy worked.

The question is how should Europe respond now?

LOUGH: Well, I think it's partially working because Putin can't exit this diplomatic process. He's got to play along now. Otherwise he will, I think, annoy president Trump. But it's a question of the pace at which he does this.

And for now, we can see that he wants to carry on fighting. He's not sure what he can get from the diplomatic process. And equally, he's not sure what he can get actually from fighting in Ukraine because the Russian army is making very, very limited progress. So I think we'll see another effort at trying to agree a ceasefire.

It is significant, by the way, that the two sides met yesterday, even if they only talked for a couple of hours. And even if they really only committed, actually, to make this prisoner exchange. But they have said that they will -- each side will come forward with its ideas for a ceasefire.

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And I suspect this is just going to take a long time. Putin is going to try and drag this out. And in the meantime, he's going to try to make further progress on the battlefield.

KINKADE: And in terms of the sanctions that have been placed on Russia, what have been most effective, what have hurt Russia the most?

And what other pressure can be applied at this point in time?

LOUGH: Well, I think the sanctions that have probably hurt the most have been financial sanctions and equally the Russia's inability to access certain technologies from Western countries that are having to now to rely greatly on China for that purpose.

So there's no question that the Russian defense industry, for example, is facing, I think, some quite serious problems at the moment, not least because it can't access, for example, advanced machine tools from West, to Western countries.

Otherwise, the efforts to restrict oil and gas exports have not been particularly successful because Russia has been able to divert these to Asia. So for the moment, the impact of sanctions is, I would say, rather modest in terms of trying to stop the Russian war machine.

KINKADE: All right. We appreciate your analysis. John Lough, thanks so much for your time.

LOUGH: Thank you. KINKADE: Well, president Trump returned to the White House Friday

after wrapping up the first big trip of his second term in office. He came back from the Middle East with some new investment deals in hand but is still facing a number of diplomatic challenges. Our Jeff Zeleny has more.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: U.S. president Donald Trump returning to Washington after a whirlwind week in the Middle East, traveling from Saudi Arabia to Qatar to the United Arab Emirates, making deals along the way.

Also offering some signs of diplomacy, trying to build relationships with many leaders and business leaders in the region. The president also offered a glimpse of his globalist view on foreign policy.

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TRUMP: I have never believed in having permanent enemies. I am different than a lot of people think. I don't like permanent enemies. But sometimes you need enemies to do the job and you have to do it right. Enemies get you motivated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Unclear which enemies president Trump is speaking about there. But with his return to power, old alliances have been unsettled and some old foes have been embraced by president Trump.

Now there is no doubt a series of deals were reached on this trip, some $600 billion of investment announced by Saudi Arabia; a major Boeing investment announced by Qatar Airways, buying some 200 Boeing planes for about $100 billion or so.

And perhaps the biggest piece of investment right here in Abu Dhabi with a major artificial intelligence investment that could really shape this technology for the next decade to come.

But the bottom line is, for all of these numbers, the White House and the president were touting trillions upon trillions. Some of these deals had been announced earlier on. Some of them may never come to pass.

But perhaps one of the biggest foreign policy developments on this trip is a new U.S. policy toward Syria. Donald Trump meeting with the Syrian leader for the first time after lifting sanctions, the first time that the two leaders have come together from the two nations in some 25 years.

But going into the weekend and into the next chapter of this Trump presidency, perhaps the biggest unknown is the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, of course, declining to travel to Turkiye to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The U.S. president suggesting he may travel there and personally mediate. Of course, he did not do that. So Trump is essentially awaiting a call

from Vladimir Putin. Many of the balls now are in Moscow's court, so that remains one of the biggest foreign policy challenges for Donald Trump as he heads back to the United States and continues focusing on domestic priorities -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

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KINKADE: Well, Israel has begun a major new military offensive in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces say they have launched an extensive attack and mobilized troops to seize strategic areas in the enclave over the past 24 hours. It's the opening move of what Israel calls Operation Gideon's Chariots and the expansion of its military campaign.

On Friday, the Palestinian ministry of health said Israel's offensive in Gaza since October 2023 has killed more than 53,000 people. That death toll does not distinguish between militants and civilians. But the U.N. and other agencies say the majority of those killed are women and children.

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The U.N. is pushing back against a new alternative plan, backed by the U.S. and Israel, to deliver aid to Gaza. The U.N.'s aid chief says time should not be wasted on yet another plan when they already have a network in place with 160,000 pallets of aid and trucks ready to go. The head of the controversial new plan spoke with CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: A new U.S. and Israeli approved mechanism for getting aid into Gaza is expected to be operational by the end of the month, following a nearly 11-week total blockade of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli government.

But what about until that group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?

What about until it is up and running?

I spoke with the foundation's executive director, Jake Wood. He told me that Israel has agreed now to allow some aid into Gaza temporarily through existing channels.

JAKE WOOD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GAZA HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION: The situation on the ground is clearly urgent and we can't afford to wait. We are committed to being operational with our plan by the end of the month, ideally in advance of that.

But, you know, no time like the present to move aid in under existing mechanisms. The Israelis have agreed to that operational condition. We don't yet have final details as conversations are ongoing about what precisely that means and when. But we do expect to have some positive updates on that in the coming days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: There are still a lot of question marks hanging over the ability of this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to actually operate and provide enough aid for the totality of Gaza's population of 2.1 million people.

A lot of that stems from the fact that the United Nations' top aid agencies have so far said that they will not participate in this new mechanism, raising concerns that it will facilitate the forced displacement of Palestinians and make the situation on the ground even more dangerous for Gaza's civilian population.

The U.N.'s top humanitarian relief coordinator, Tom Fletcher, just this past week said that this new mechanism is a, quote, "cynical sideshow." I asked Jake Wood about those criticisms. Here's his response.

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WOOD: I want to stress this plan is not perfect. But this plan will be feeding people by the end of the month in a scenario where no one has allowed aid to be in over the course of the last 10 weeks.

Ultimately, the community is going to face a choice. This is going to be the mechanism by which aid can be distributed in Gaza.

Are you willing to participate?

The answer is going to be, you know, pretty critical to whether or not this ramps up to sufficiently feed 2.2 million people in a very desperate situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And that appeal is obviously going to be critical to determining the success of this new mechanism and its ability to cover the entire population of Gaza.

Because when I asked Wood whether or not he feels confident that this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation can cover the needs of the entire population of Gaza without the food stockpiles, trucks and distribution networks of these U.N. aid agencies, he told me that it is, quote, "hard to say."

Now once this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation gets up and running, it will initially have four distribution sites in Gaza. Three of them will be in the southern part of the Strip, one in central Gaza.

But much of Gaza's population is currently in central and northern Gaza. Wood told me that he has asked and has received permission from the Israeli government to ramp up to get two more distribution sites in the northern part of the Strip.

But again, so much uncertainty hanging around this new mechanism. Now the only reason that this new aid mechanism is necessary is because the Israeli government has carried out this total siege of Gaza for nearly 11 weeks and has insisted on a mechanism that it says will prevent Hamas from getting its hands on aid that goes into Gaza.

Now most humanitarian aid organizations insist that the overwhelming majority of the aid that gets into Gaza goes to civilians that need it. I asked Jake Wood about those claims from the Israeli government and whether he's seen any evidence to back up this idea that Hamas is stealing significant amounts of aid.

He told me that he, frankly, doesn't think it matters. He said that he is here to do a job and that is to get aid to the people of Gaza via the only mechanism that is possible -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Israel and the new Syrian government have recently held rare direct talks, according to an Israeli source familiar with the matter. The talks come as Israel has expanded its military presence in Syria since the ouster of the Assad regime in December. They were held in Azerbaijan and in the presence of Turkish officials.

The source didn't disclose the topics at that meeting. Earlier this week, U.S. president Trump met with Syria's new president, a former jihadist. Mr. Trump pledged to remove crippling U.S. sanctions and encouraged the Syrian leader to take a series of measures, including normalizing relations with Israel.

[03:20:09]

Well, still to come, the U.S. economy is facing another setback. When we return, why Moody's says it's downgrading America's perfect credit rating.

Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court hands the Trump administration a significant setback in its immigration crackdown. But it may only be temporary. We'll have that story next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

The U.S. has now lost its last perfect credit rating from Moody's, which could rattle the markets and push up interest rates. Moody's held a AAA rating for the U.S. since 1917 but now it's downgrading that rating to one notch below, which is AA1.

Moody's says the decision was based on America's growing government debt and interest payment ratios that are significantly higher than other countries with similar ratings.

The Supreme Court has handed president Donald Trump a significant but temporary defeat in his immigration crackdown, blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

[03:25:00]

The justices sent the case back to the appeals court to decide the underlying legal questions. CNN's Paula Reid reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is keen to speed up deportations and is trying to use every tool at an advantage in this pursuit. One of the things he has tried to use is the Alien Enemies Act.

This is a wartime act that has rarely been invoked. And using that to facilitate deportations with less due process is something that has set off litigation across the country.

And on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that he still could not. He is blocked from moving forward with deportations under this act, specifically for a group of immigrants in northern Texas.

So he is siding with a group of Venezuelans in Texas who said that they were poised for imminent removal and did not get enough notice or process of their removal. So the justices, they're not saying at a high level whether it is constitutional or not to use this act.

Instead, they are sending it back down to an appeals court to look at some underlying questions about exactly how much notice and process that these individuals received. So this is a significant loss for president Trump.

But it is not the final word. This will just go forward like many other cases and the rest of the litigation in this country looking at Trump's controversial use of this act -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

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KINKADE: Well, former FBI director James Comey was interviewed by Secret Service agents on Friday afternoon over a social media post showing shells on a beach spelling out 8647. The numbers have become a popular social media code for removing Donald Trump from the presidency.

Comey appeared voluntarily and was not in custody. Mr. Trump and fellow Republicans have demanded an investigation into that post. But experts say legal action would stand little chance because of court decisions that have expanded free speech rights in recent years.

Sean Diddy Combs' former girlfriend has wrapped up four days of testimony in his criminal trial. We'll have the details of her final day on the stand when we come back.

Plus, the shocking murder of a social media influencer in Mexico was not isolated. Ahead, Mexico's dismal record of suspected cases of femicide, the intentional killing of women because they're women.

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KINKADE (voice-over): Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's check today's top stories.

A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is no closer after the two nations held their first direct talks in more than three years. At a meeting in Istanbul Friday, they agreed on a prisoner exchange and possible future talks. But they made no progress on an unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine and its allies want.

U.S. president Trump has returned to Washington after wrapping up his visit to the Middle East. He signed investment deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE that could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. But it's not clear whether all of them will come to pass.

Prosecutors in the Sean Diddy Combs criminal trial say they plan to call the mother of his former girlfriend to testify next week. A former friend of Cassie Ventura is also expected to be called to the stand.

Prosecutors say they don't want to disclose the order of their witnesses in advance because they're concerned about witness tampering or obstruction.

On Friday, a former member of the musical group discovered by Combs testified that she saw him attack Cassie Ventura in 2009. Dawn Richard testified for the prosecution after Ventura wrapped up nearly 20 hours over four days on the stand. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a second day in a row, the government's star witness, Cassie Ventura, facing tough questions from Sean Combs' defense team.

Who suggested Ventura still wanted to stay in a relationship with Combs even after this 2016 assault, which Ventura said happened when she tried to escape a freakoff, a drug-fueled sex session with Combs and a male escort.

"Not a good vibe. We need a different vibe than Friday," Ventura texted.

"Eff Friday, LOL," Combs replied. "I don't even want to do that again."

"LOL. True," Ventura said.

When Combs said he loved her, Ventura replied, "Love you."

The 2016 hotel assault allegedly happened just a day after Ventura promoted her latest movie, telling CNN:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIE VENTURA, ACTOR AND SINGER: When it comes to relationships, I think that you always need to be confident walking into the situation. And if you're not happy, it's not the place for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But Ventura stayed with Combs as the defense highlighted Combs was intoxicated during the assault.

"When you get effed up the wrong way, you always want to show me that you have the power and you knock me around," Ventura said to Combs, in a message read in court.

"I'm not a rag doll. I'm someone's child."

Ventura's husband, Alex Fine, left the courtroom before the defense challenged her claim that Combs raped her in Malibu following a dinner in 2018.

Ventura also confirmed she voluntarily saw Combs the next month at a friend's party and had consensual sex with him, even though she was dating her future husband.

Later that year, after the memorial for Combs former partner, Kim Porter, Ventura wrote Combs, "You posted that Kim was your soulmate.

"What was the 11 years all about?"

The prosecution downplayed loving exchanges between Ventura and Combs.

"Were there periods during which Sean was kind and loving?"

"Yes," Ventura said.

"Did those periods ever last?"

"No," Ventura said, adding that, Combs' mood swings "affected my whole life, my career, my self-worth. I was basically a sex worker," she said.

In wrapping its cross-examination, the defense highlighted Ventura's canceled 2023 music tour and the $20 million settlement Ventura got from Combs a day after filing her civil suit against him.

"As soon as you saw that you were going to get the $20 million, you canceled the tour because you didn't need it anymore, right?"

"That wasn't the reason why," Ventura replied, later saying she felt overwhelmed and wanted to be with her kids.

Combs attorney asked, "Do you hate him now?"

"I don't hate him," Ventura replied. [03:35:00]

"I have love for the past and what it was."

WAGMEISTER: After Cassie Ventura finished her four-day testimony, her attorney came just out here outside of the courthouse to praise his client and how proud he is of her. He also read a statement from Cassie Ventura.

She said that this week was challenging and that she is glad to put this chapter of her life behind her but she also says that she hopes her testimony gives power and strength to other survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Now next week, we are expecting to hear testimony from Cassie's mother and also from a former best friend of Cassie's, who came up in a lot of her testimony. So we can anticipate that she will corroborate much of Cassie's account -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Mexico's president says her government is determined to find out who killed a prominent social media influencer; 23-year-old Valeria Marquez was shot to death while hosting a live stream in her beauty salon.

As CNN's Gabriela Frias reports, the case is not unique. Mexico has recorded hundreds of cases of suspected femicide last year alone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABRIELA FRIAS, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR (voice-over): Valeria Marquez giggling just seconds before she was shot dead during a live stream on

TikTok.

The 23-year-old beauty influencer was addressing followers when a male intruder entered her beauty salon in the city of Zapopan, state of Jalisco

in central Mexico. Authorities are now investigating it as a suspected femicide, the killing of a woman or girl for gender based reasons.

We are working to find those responsible and determine the motive behind this situation, Mexico's president said. Obviously, we express our

solidarity with the family during this unfortunate situation.

Earlier on in the live stream, Valeria, who came on the scene after winning the Ms. Rostro or Ms. Face beauty pageant in 2021 shares with fans that

someone had come to the salon while she was out with, "An expensive gift for her."

Were they going to take me or what?

She asks.

The state prosecutor said it was that same man who returned later and killed the young woman who was buried Thursday.

The Jalisco Attorney General's office says they're investigating the case as a possible act of gender based violence, another heartbreaking example

as Mexico continues to grapple with attacks targeting women.

Just two days earlier, another woman, Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, a major candidate from the ruling party in the state of Veracruz, was also gunned

down during a live stream, alongside three other people.

Two murders that have sent shockwaves through a country with one of the highest femicide rates in the world, with 847 reported cases nationwide

last year alone and a poor track record of bringing perpetrators to justice.

Gabriela Frias, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the man who attacked author Salman Rushdie three years ago has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. That's the maximum allowable by law.

Hadi Matar was convicted of attempted murder and assault in February for the brutal stabbing, which left Rushdie blind in one eye.

Rushdie's book, "The Satanic Verses," published nearly 40 years ago, sparked protests in the Muslim world over its controversial depiction of the Prophet Muhammad. Authorities said Matar was trying to carry out an edict, a fatwa, first imposed and later rescinded by Iran, calling for Rushdie's death.

Well, seven men are still on the run after 10 prisoners made a daring escape from a New Orleans jail in the early hours of Friday.

The Orleans Parish sheriff says three escapees have already been caught. The inmates escaped the Orleans Justice Center through a wall behind a toilet. They then left through a door used to bring in supplies, scaled a wall and ran across a highway.

Officials believe the inmates may have had some help from people inside the sheriff's department. Three employees have been suspended without pay pending an investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: I think someone noticed. I think someone didn't sound the alarm. This has all the indications of, as they've already admitted, an inside job because you don't get eight or 10 people all at once to say, hey, let's see if this works.

They've already tested it. They've already gone through all the -- all the what ifs. This had every indication of something that was long planned and well coordinated with the people that they would need to help them get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, later today, Eurovision grand finale is sure to be filled with showstopping performances.

[03:40:04]

Coming up, the latest on the favorites who are capturing the spotlight this year.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

The countdown has begun to today's Eurovision grand finale. The often quirky song competition launched megastar performers like ABBA and Celine Dion.

Well, this time, participants from 37 countries have been whittled down to 26 finalists. And on Friday, fans gathered in the host city of Basel, Switzerland, to watch rehearsals and get into the mood for fun.

Well, bookmakers favor the Swedish band KAJ to win but experts say the results don't always match the algorithms. Artists from Austria, France, the Netherlands and Finland have also shown promise heading into the final.

Well, joining us now from Basel, Switzerland, is Dean Vuletic, who is considered the world's leading academic authority on the history of the Eurovision song contest.

Great to have such an expert with us. Welcome.

DEAN VULETIC, EUROVISION HISTORY EXPERT: Thank you. Lynda. Greetings from Basel, the Eurovision capital for one more day.

KINKADE: Yes, we are excited about this grand finale. We're hearing there's going to be topless performances and political songs and some pretty racy lyrics.

How does this year's lineup compare to previous ones and how would you describe the atmosphere there in the city as it prepares to host this big show?

VULETIC: Well, the lineup this year is less political than in recent years and this is because the European Broadcasting Union, the organizer of Eurovision, has tried to clamp down on the politicization of the contest, especially because last year there were a lot of protests regarding Israel's participation in Eurovision.

This year there have been protests but they've been much smaller than what we saw in Malmo in 2024.

[03:45:00]

When it comes to the songs, we have 26 in the grand final tonight. And the way that they stand out actually this year is that most are not in English, which is quite unusual for Eurovision.

In 1999, the rule that languages in -- from the countries, sorry -- the rule that entries had to be performed in the languages of the countries that they represent was changed, meaning that most entries ended up being sung in English.

But now we have 20 languages represented in Eurovision this year. There are songs full of sexual innuendo from Malta, from Finland; the Swedish song about taking a sauna; a very powerful Spanish song, pop with Latino influences. It's also one that gets the live audience dancing.

KINKADE: Yes, there's certainly a lot of variety. You did mention Israel. We know that a survivor of the Hamas terror attack is going to sing "A New Day Will Rise." It's not the first time Israel has performed a song with that kind of message but it is the first time that both Israeli and Palestinian flags will be flying inside the arena.

Right?

VULETIC: It's not the first time. The European Broadcasting Union has in the past tried out different flag policies. This year, it's allowing audiences to take in whichever flags they like, as long as they are approved by Swiss law. The artists, though, are not allowed to display any flags apart from the flags of the countries that they represent.

KINKADE: And you mentioned the Swedes, who, of course, love a sauna. They're going to bring it on stage this year. And their song even has the endorsement of a president, though not their own president, right, another competing country.

VULETIC: Finland?

KINKADE: Yes.

VULETIC: Yes, exactly, because this is a trio of men from Finland but they're Swedes. So this is a Swedish-Finnish performance. And it demonstrates how Eurovision also connects different European countries. And Sweden is one of the biggest powers in Eurovision, I should point

out. It's a huge trendsetter when it comes to the contest. So that's another reason why there is a big focus on the Swedish entry, why it's predicted to win.

But you know, let's not believe the bookies. Last year they predicted that Croatia would win but it ended up coming second. Switzerland won, which is why Switzerland is hosting this year in Basel.

KINKADE: Switzerland, as you say, is hosting. There's been a lot of talk that they've got a strong chance of winning again.

But given that they won last year, is there a rule stopping them from winning two years in a row?

VULETIC: Not at all. Other countries have in the past have won more than one year in a row. Iceland famously in the 1990s, for example, won around four times, which was quite an expensive achievement, I have to add. We've seen this in the past, so it would be nothing new if Switzerland were to win again this year.

KINKADE: And so, Dean, just finally, who is your pick to win?

VULETIC: This is so hard to say this year. I'm a historian, not a prophet, so I'm looking forward to a very fun night tonight in the arena and to seeing who will actually win, because it's not very clear this year.

KINKADE: All right. We will indeed tune in. Dean Vuletic, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

VULETIC: Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: Well, still to come, the world's top golfers are battling it out for the PGA championship. Coming up, more on the Venezuelan holding the lead following the tournaments first two rounds.

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KINKADE (voice-over): Passionate Barcelona fans. They're coming together to celebrate their team's domestic treble on Friday. Barcelona clinched their 28th La Liga title on Thursday after a 2-0 victory against Espanyol.

Yesterday, the team went on an open top bus parade throughout the city. Their latest La Liga title marked a trophy-laden first season that includes the team's Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup triumphs.

Well done.

World number one tennis player Italian Jannik Sinner bested American Tommy Paul at the Italian Open on Friday. Sinner fought back from a setdown in the men's singles final in Rome, beating Paul in the final two sets, 6-0, 6-3.

Well, now Sinner is set for a final showdown against third seed Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Alcaraz is the last player to beat the Italian before he begins his -- before he began his now 26-match winning streak. And it will be the first time an Italian has reached the finals in Rome since 1978.

Well, something of a surprise after two rounds of the Professional Golfers Association championship. Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas was not a favorite but right now he tops the leaderboard by two strokes. CNN's Patrick Snell has the latest on the second major tournament of the year from Charlotte, North Carolina.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jhonattan Vegas is the remarkable story that keeps on giving, making history everywhere he turns. He was already a history maker by becoming the first man from Venezuela to win on the PGA tour -- and not just win, either.

He's a four-time winner and now he's the first man from his country to be leading a major golf tournament, a story made even more remarkable when you consider how he actually learned the game back in his homeland, practicing golf with a broomstick and a rock.

After his round on Friday, I asked him what this whole new experience of leading a golf major for the first time ever, what it all means to him.

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JHONATTAN VEGAS, WORLD NUMBER 70: Well, it means a lot, right?

I mean, this is kind of what we put all those hours for. You put all those hours to give yourself in chances like this. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do it throughout my career but you never know, you know. You just got to keep

the pedal down. Keep your head down and keep working hard and, you know, you never know when things are going to turn your way. So I just got to do what I do. So -- and, you know, good things could happen.

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SNELL: Vegas remains the man to beat and he'll take that lead into Saturday's third round. But a chasing pack has formed a pack that includes world number one and two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, no less. He's just three shots back at five under par. And Rory McIlroy, the

recently crowned Masters champion. He did make the cut but he finds himself nine shots adrift -- Patrick Snell, CNN, Charlotte, North Carolina.

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KINKADE: Thanks to Patrick.

And in a challenging political landscape, an AI generated video of world leaders has drawn some laughs at a European summit.

The video shows leaders as babies, saying welcome to Albania in their native language. It was part of the opening celebrations at the European Political Community summit in Tirana on Friday.

European leaders went on to discuss some more serious topics, including security, democracy and mobility across the continent.

A baby with a mullet (ph).

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Stick around. CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber continues in just a moment.