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Trump Returns as Domestic Problems Loom; Israel Launches New Major Military Offensive in Gaza; U.S.-Israel Backed Group to Deliver Aid to Gaza; Hardline Republicans Threaten to Sink Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill"; Ceasefire Remains Elusive after Russia-Ukraine Direct Talks; Mexican Officials Search for Killer of Social Influencer; Threat of Tariffs Looms over Foreign-Made Films; The Sports-Loving Pope Leo. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired May 17, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Donald Trump returns from the Middle East after meetings with foreign leaders. We will take a look at the successes he's touting. But he still has a way to go before he gets that big, beautiful bill he wants back home. Why Congress is so divided over the latest budget proposal.
Plus a jailbreak in Louisiana caught on camera. How many inmates are still on the run and what police are doing to catch them.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: President Donald Trump is back in the United States, though he may be wishing his trip to the Middle East could have lasted a little longer. He returned late Friday after a busy trip where he announced billions of dollars in several investment deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
He appeared to get along amiably with the leaders of those regional allies during his first major international trip of his second term. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're closer now to them than ever before. You could see the relationship. You could you could get a body expert and pay them a lot of money. And they can tell you, you know, there's just a relationship that I have with all three that's just, you know, very extraordinary.
I was even saying, you know what I mean, we're, like, so friendly. Not a normal situation where you, you know, you're OK with a leader or whatever but this is a very important region. This is the energy capital of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Things at home not quite so rosy. Trump is facing deep concerns about the economy among U.S. consumers, driven by his ongoing trade war. And his mega bill has suffered an initial defeat in the Republican controlled House. We'll get to all that in a moment. But first, CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more on president Trump's Middle East tour.
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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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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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BRUNHUBER: Israel has begun a major new military offensive in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces say they've launched extensive attacks and mobilized troops to seize strategic areas in the enclave.
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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. Now that death toll doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the U.N. and other agencies say the majority of those killed are women and children.
Many Palestinians have been trying to flee Jabalya in northern Gaza, as Israeli strikes have focused on the area in recent days, killing dozens of people. Now president Trump says he isn't frustrated with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as the war grinds on and the humanitarian crisis deepens. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, look, he's got a tough situation. And you have to remember, there was an October 7th that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world.
When you look at the tapes and the tapes are there for everyone to see. So he has that problem. That problem should have never happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: 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 shouldn't be wasted on another plan when they already have a network in place with 160,000 pallets of aid and trucks ready to go.
The group, backed by the U.S. and Israel, is called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The group's executive director spoke to CNN about their plans. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. and Israel say their plan is designed to prevent Hamas from stealing humanitarian aid but the U.N. and other age groups reject that claim, saying there's no evidence of any significant diversion of aid.
Major aid organizations are refusing to participate in the plan, warning it risks further displacement of Palestinians and would fail to meet the needs of the people.
All right. I want to bring in Alon Pinkas. He's the former Israeli consul general in New York and he joins me live this hour from Tel Aviv.
Good to see you again. Thank you so much for being here with us. So the fact that Israel has launched a the first stages of a major offensive in Gaza, the same day that president Trump leaves the region with no deal.
What does that say about the state of the war right now?
And any hopes for a ceasefire?
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL, NEW YORK: Well, good morning, Kim. The attack was seen as -- well, it could be interpreted -- let's put it this way, almost as an act of defiance against Trump's visit to the to the Arab Gulf.
Particularly because Mr. Netanyahu felt insulted, demoted, relegated and marginalized by the fact that president Trump didn't come here.
Now the one thing -- I mean, probably the only thing that president Trump and I have in common is that neither of us seem to understand what it is exactly that Israel is trying to achieve or what are attainable objectives. This war has been going on for 19 months.
What could possibly be achieved by another by another military offensive?
And this comes against the background of Israeli bitterness and indignance that that Trump, or the Trump administration rather, were speaking directly to Hamas and the Uri (ph) recognizing Hamas through the release of that hostage last week, Edan Alexander. So right now I don't see a ceasefire happening unless president Trump puts his full weight into this. And I don't know if that will happen.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, we'll see. But despite the fact that there's been no movement in terms of you know, peace negotiations here, we saw a bit of a shift in tone from president Trump about Gaza. Here he is.
PINKAS: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: People are starving. You know, you see what's going on right now. People are starving. One of the things that one of the three great leaders that I saw two nights ago said to me, please help the people, the Palestinians.
I said, other than the obvious, what do you mean by that?
He said, they're starving. And he meant it with his heart. They're starving. So I've already started working on that. It's a deep problem but we'll get it solved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: So I mean, it sounds a little bit like he has a bit more empathy there but he also said he wanted to turn Gaza into a freedom zone, whatever that might mean.
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So what's your take on whether you think his visit with these Middle East leaders might have changed his outlook at all on Gaza?
PINKAS: Well, there's no question, Kim, that, particularly in Saudi Arabia but also in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Trump was put under pressure. Now I'm not saying -- and I have no proof that they made those huge deals, you know, $142 billion of weapons purchases.
That's the Saudis, reportedly $200 billion jet buying from acquisitions from Boeing by Qatar and so on. I'm not saying they made -- they made those deals contingent on president Trump reengaging.
But you cannot ignore the fact that he said what you just showed in that footage, that he's reengaged.
Now let's go back for a moment to February 4th. He's at the White House with Mr. Netanyahu sitting next to him. And he announces, you know, a lot of rich and glitz. I'll take over Gaza. I will turn Gaza into a beautiful place. A lot of resorts, in fact, a Riviera.
And then he went on to Greenland and Ukraine and imposing tariffs on the entire world and more or less forgot about Gaza.
By March, Israel reneged on the ceasefire and violated it. And you heard basically nothing from the U.S. Now he's saying, let's turn this into a freedom zone. Now if that indicates a reengagement or a recommitment or a
seriousness about doing something about Gaza, look, I saw a report last night that he's negotiating or his administration is negotiating with Libya to move 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.
It made no mention if that is a temporary thing in order to reconstruct Gaza. But the one thing I am sure, Kim, is that, from those three countries that he visited, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, he did get pledges that money is not the issue when it's going to come to reconstructing Gaza.
But remain -- what remains an obstacle to that is Israel's de facto military presence and de facto military occupation of, I'd say, 75 percent of Gaza. So that is where Trump's seriousness will be tested.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's hard to know what to make of his comments, whether it represents a serious change or, as you say, whether it's just, you know, he'll go on to the next thing tomorrow and, you know, forget about Gaza. We shall see.
Alon Pinkas in Tel Aviv, thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.
PINKAS: Always. Thank you. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right.
The Supreme Court has handed president Trump a significant, if temporary, defeat in his immigration crackdown. In a 7-2 decision, the court blocked the administration from moving forward with deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
But the justices sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to decide the underlying legal questions, including whether the effort is indeed legal. Trump slammed the ruling on social media, writing, that the nation's top court, quote, "is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do."
Well, 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 downgraded the rating to a notch below that, 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 ratios. Rana Foroohar, CNN's global economic analyst, digs deeper into the impact of all of this.
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RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: What credit ratings really mean is trust.
Do you have trust in the U.S.? Do you trust that the U.S. will be able to grow, to pay its bills and to be a part of the world economy, really a distinctive part as it has been in the past?
And Moody's now is saying we think that that's a little bit less likely. So there will be market impacts. But they're going to take time to play out. But really this is about saying we're putting a little bit of a negative vote of confidence on the U.S. at the moment.
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BRUNHUBER: The House Budget Committee plans to meet Sunday evening as a group of Republican hardliners move to block a package of tax breaks and spending cuts. President Trump calls it his big, beautiful bill. It's a key part of his domestic agenda.
But the five conservative lawmakers say they're ready to tank it unless major changes are made. They're demanding much stricter overhauls to the nation's Medicaid program. Tom Foreman looks at what Medicaid is and how heavy cuts could impact scores of Americans.
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you talk about Medicaid, it is a government health insurance program for low income and disabled Americans, including children.
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It's not Medicare, which is generally for older people, Medicaid for people who are struggling.
72 million people, they pay little, if any, out of pocket for their care, as established 1965, by Congress. Who's on it?
4 out of 10 children in this country, 1 out of 6 U.S. adults, people with a median income of $36,000 a year, so not much at all. What does it cover?
Usual stuff, births, hospital stays, nursing home, home, health care, vaccinations, prescription drugs.
This is where it gets sticky. When you get to the cost of it. It is paid for more by the federal government, $606 billion in funding a year less by state governments. But it is a mixed program out there. It is not the most expensive entitlement program, about 9, 10 percent of the budget.
The work requirement question, interesting. 64 percent of the people who are getting it right now already work full or part time, not working because of care giving. That's about 12 percent if you're a parent and it costs more for care for your children or for your parents than you can make in a job.
Well, then this is the right decision, economically for you, at least not working due to illness or disability. 10 percent not working because they're in school trying to get a better job make more money. 7 percent and 8 percent are either retired or they just can't get a job for some other reason.
And importantly, when these lawmakers look at it. Everyone has skin in this game. Look, if you look here, the lightest states have the least number of people enrolled by a percentage. The darker it gets, the more it's enrolled. But yes, would this hit big states like California and Oregon that tend to vote blue, absolutely.
But there are a ton of red states in here with a tremendous number of people, on average, 28 percent, there's not one lawmaker who can touch this without having a significant part of his base feel the pain.
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BRUNHUBER: 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. Then they left through a door used to bring in supplies, scaled the wall and ran across the highway. Investigators believe the inmates may have had help from inside the sheriff's department. The FBI's New Orleans field office is assisting local authorities in the search.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have approximately 200 agents, officers out there. People are talking. We appreciate that. We want to remind people to call Crime Stoppers at (504) 822-1111.
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BRUNHUBER: At least five people were killed and 10 others injured as storms swept across the U.S. Midwest and Great Lakes.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a tornado, man. We're in the tornado.
Oh, (INAUDIBLE).
Oh, (INAUDIBLE).
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): You see the dramatic footage there showing that tornado ripping off the roof of a building in Missouri, where millions are under the threat of strong tornadoes and violent winds.
The mayor in St. Louis says several buildings have collapsed and many roofs are missing. One man was pulled from a home that was devastated by the storm and a bar completely collapsed in the city.
CNN affiliate WKYT is reporting that a possible tornado left multiple dead in southeastern Kentucky overnight. The National Weather Service reports that radar confirmed a large, extremely dangerous tornado swept across the region.
Extensive damage and downed power lines were seen in one town in Kentucky, where officials are warning residents to stay indoors.
Now in Wisconsin, Dodge County was hit hard, leaving significant damage and injuring at least one person there.
The powerful storms left thousands of customers without power in Missouri, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana and the storms are part of a widespread severe weather that will extend into early next week.
Talks in Istanbul failed to get Russia and Ukraine any closer to a ceasefire. Well, now the U.S. president says it's up to him to pick up the mantle with the Russian leader. We'll explain that.
Plus, we'll take a pulse of Moscow's view of its first direct talks with Ukraine in more than three years. That and more coming up. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says at least nine people were killed in a drone strike just hours after its direct talks with Russia. Now a warning, the video you're about to see is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Seven others were reported injured as a Russian drone hit this bus in the northeastern Sumy region. Russia's state news agency claims Russian troops targeted a staging site for Ukrainian equipment.
The attack comes after the two countries sent their negotiators to Istanbul on 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 unconditional ceasefire, a main request from Ukraine and its allies. U.S. president Donald Trump said before the talks that there would be no progress anyway until he met Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
(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)
BRUNHUBER: Fred Pleitgen has more on Moscow's take on the meeting in Istanbul.
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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.
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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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The shocking murder of a popular social media influencer in Mexico wasn't isolated. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Mexico's dismal record of suspected cases of femicide, the intentional killing of women because they're women.
Plus, 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. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. Let's check some of today's top stories.
Israel has begun a new major military offensive in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces say they have launched extensive attacks in the enclave. It's part of the opening move of what it calls Operation Gideon's Chariots and the expansion of its military campaign.
U.S. president Donald Trump says he isn't frustrated with Israel's prime minister as the war in Gaza grinds on. He said in an interview with FOX News that Benjamin Netanyahu is in a, quote, "tough situation" following the Hamas attacks of October 7th, 2023.
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He says he wants the U.S. to help and that he expects progress to be made in the next month.
The Supreme Court has handed the president a significant, if temporary, defeat in his immigration crackdown. The court blocked the administration from moving forward with deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.
The case was sent back to an appeals court to decide the underlying legal questions, including whether the effort is indeed legal.
BRUNHUBER: Prosecutors in Sean Diddy Combs criminal trial say they plan to call the mother of his former girlfriend to testify next week.
On Friday, a former member of a 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 Kara Scannell has more.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cassie Ventura, the government's star witness in Combs' sex trafficking trial, capped a week of testimony with hours of grueling cross-examination. Combs' attorneys tried to find inconsistencies in her statements and one thing that they focused on was her potential financial incentive.
They asked her if the $20 million she received from Combs to settle her civil lawsuit was why she canceled a tour. She said that it wasn't. And this was something that the prosecution brought back up again to give Ventura the final word on this.
And in an emotional moment on the witness stand, Ventura was asked if she would give back that $20 million if she didn't have to endure any of the freak-offs.
She testified, "I'd give that money back if I never had to have a freak-offs. If I never had to have freak-offs, I would have had agency and autonomy."
That is when Ventura broke down crying.
She added, "And I wouldn't have had to work so hard to get it back," referring to her agency and autonomy.
Now after court, her attorney, Douglas Wigdor, spoke to reporters and he read part of Ventura's statement. Here's what he said.
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DOUG WIGDOR, CASSIE VENTURA'S ATTORNEY: This week has been extremely challenging but also remarkably empowering and healing for me. I hope that
my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from abuse and fear.
For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember and the more I can remember, the more I will never forget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCANNELL: Prosecutors also called Dawn Richard, a singer who testified she saw Combs attempt to hit Ventura over the head with a skillet of eggs. She said that Ventura was then dragged upstairs by Combs. She said that she heard screaming and glass breaking. Her testimony is expected to continue on Monday -- Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
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BRUNHUBER: Mexico's president says her government is determined to find 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 hardly unique. Mexico recorded hundreds of cases of suspected femicide last year alone.
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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)
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BRUNHUBER: And for more on this, we're joined by Susana Medina Salas. The program implementation lead for Fos Feminista, a women's reproductive rights alliance. And she helps create and implement evidence-based solutions on reproductive and gender justice. And she's in Barcelona.
Thanks so much for being here with us. So it's, unfortunately, a deeply entrenched issue. But first, just on the two most recent cases that we just heard about there, especially the killing that was streamed live, how much shock and horror has there been in Mexico over that case?
SUSANA MEDINA SALAS, PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION LEAD, FOS FEMINISTA: Thank you.
First of all, I want to express my solidarity with Valeria's family for the tragic feminicide, which is a serious, heartbreaking and very sad reminder of the gravity, the crisis is in Mexico and across the globe.
Violence against women and girls and its most extreme expression, feminicide or violent death of women due to gender reasons, occur systematically and persistently at a global level.
It is important to highlight that feminicide are not isolated incidents but rather the culmination of preexisting forms of gender- based violence that affect all regions and countries across the globe.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. I want to ask you about the global aspect in a second.
But just about the word itself, femicide, I mean, can you explain that any legal distinction between homicide and femicide and why this distinction matters in terms of addressing violence against women?
SALAS: Yes. Feminicides or gender related killings of women and girls are committed in different settings within the private sphere and beyond.
What defines feminicides are the gender-related motives, which are deeply rooted in social norms and stereotypes that consider women to be subordinated to men, as well as in the discrimination toward women and girls' inequality and unequal power relationship between women and girls.
So gender-related motives characterize the context in which these crimes are committed, which also distinguish them from other intentional killings of women and girls unrelated to gender motive.
The majority of feminicides are perpetrated by intimate partners or the other family members. So a strong and consistent evidence suggests that the most -- the home remains as the most dangerous place for women and girls in terms of the risk for their life.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BRUNHUBER: However, I just want to jump in if I could, because the report talks about Mexico having a poor record of bringing perpetrators to justice.
Why?
Why is that?
Why is it so hard?
SALAS: Yes, the lack of data and the lack of mechanisms to track the data is one of the reasons why it is it is complex.
Despite the efforts of women's rights movement to demand justice and accountability, there are other factors that affect, which are mainly rooted in the gender norms. So it is -- the solution, it is not about policy. Mexico has the mechanisms to investigate what happened in this case of
feminicide and to, of course, implement the measures to ensure that it might -- it don't happen -- it doesn't happen again.
And something important here is that it's important to highlight that there are international frameworks and international statistical framework to ensure that countries can track and monitor.
(CROSSTALK)
BRUNHUBER: Sorry, I'm going to jump in again, because you mentioned the international aspect of this. And you know, we know cases have been going up in parts of Mexico.
But in terms of globally, I mean, statistics aren't super reliable here because of reporting problems.
But from what I've seen, femicide rates have decreased as an average worldwide but they've increased in low and medium income countries. So there's been, you know, sort of progress overall. But the situation seems to be getting worse in poorer countries.
Do you know why that is?
And also just, you know, in terms of solutions, what can be done, what works?
SALAS: Yes. The solution, as I said, is not only about policies. What happened in low and middle income countries is -- are the complexity of factors that intersects with gender-based violence. We are talking about age.
For instance, young women have higher rates of probability to be killed. We are talking about economy, what happened with the vulnerable families that depend on some relationships that put them on risk.
[05:40:00]
And, of course, the lack of access to education, the lack of access to economical development are critical factors that reduce the possibilities for women to take care about them.
Of course, the policy is not enough but we need also regulations, budget allocation to ensure that the law is implemented. And, of course, social information. Access to information, access to services can generate more support not only for victims but also for families of victims.
BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there. But such a huge problem and as you say, no easy solutions. Susana Medina Salas, thank you so much for speaking with us.
SALAS: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: And stay with us here on CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.
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BRUNHUBER: Celebrities walked the red carpet for the annual Cannes Film Festival this week. The 12-day event welcomes actors, directors, producers, influencers and more to the French Riviera, not just to promote their latest feature film but also to turn heads.
The 78th year of the festival comes with a change in the official dress code, including bans on nudity and voluminous outfits with large trains.
Now Cannes is a showcase for films from around the world and now U.S. president Donald Trump has them in his crosshairs. He's threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside the U.S. because, he says, they're a national security threat.
CNN's Anna Stewart looks at what it could mean for a British business with a long tradition of working with Hollywood.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, this looks fun. I can see bonnets already.
STEWART (voice-over): We're stepping into another world, certainly a different era.
OLIVIER STOCKMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SANDS FILMS: This is the Marie Antoinette, used the famous pink dress in the Marie Antoinette.
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STEWART: Wow. That's beautiful.
STEWART (voice-over): From Marie Antoinette to Les Miserables and more recently, Snow White, British company Sands Films has been making period costumes for films like these for some 50 years.
STEWART: OK. Well, looking through the endless rows of costumes, this is one you may recognize. This was in the movie, "Little Women."
Now clearly, this is based on an American novel. It was produced by an American company, Columbia Pictures and it was largely filmed in Massachusetts but the costumes were designed and made here in South East London.
STEWART (voice-over): Some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters are made in Britain, like the latest Mission Impossible, whether it's the location or in the case of Barbie, the Warner Bros. Studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. Last year, Hollywood spent more than $1.8 billion in the U.K.
employing hundreds of thousands of people in the industry and President Trump isn't happy about it.
TRUMP: They have the nice sign and everything is good but they don't do very much.
STEWART (voice-over): His threat to slap tariffs on foreign-made films has its skeptics.
STOCKMAN: I would say it's impossible to put a tariff on the film because the film is a non-tangible asset. That is the -- that's the issue at stake.
That's what they want to do, is to bring back employment in Hollywood. Now to do that, they would have to make the financial environment for the film
production to find it more attractive to do in Hollywood than to do it in Pinewood or in Hungary or in Australia, for that matter.
STEWART (voice-over): Businesses like Sands Films aren't worried. They plan to be making costumes for all the eras and sizes for decades to come -- Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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BRUNHUBER: The world's top golfers are battling it out for the PGA championship. Coming up, more on the Venezuelan holding the lead following the tournament's first two rounds.
Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Well, something of a surprise; after two rounds at the Professional Golfers Association championship, Venezuela's Jhonattan Vargas wasn't 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.
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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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BRUNHUBER: The NBA playoffs will soon be down to the last four teams. The reigning champion Boston Celtics were knocked out of the contention on Friday by the New York Knicks. The Knicks won, 119-81, taking the series 4-2. They'll face the red hot Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
And on Sunday, it's win or go home for the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The winner will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals.
This Sunday in Rome, the Vatican will celebrate an inaugural mass that officially begins the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. And in his hometown of Chicago, the Cubs will host the White Sox at Wrigley Field.
Now both teams are looking to claim the new pope for their own. Whitney Wild has more on how Chicago celebrating the Vatican's number one sports fan.
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WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One week after being named the head of the Catholic Church, the world is meeting Pope Leo XIV through both his homilies -- and his hobbies.
Pope Leo is an avid tennis player.
Just days ago, meeting the top men's singles player in the world, Jannik Sinner at the Vatican, who gave him a racket.
ANGELO DI BERNARDINO, FORMER AUGUSTINIAN SUPERIOR AND FRIEND OF POPE LEO XIV: He loves tennis. Even now, until a few days ago, he would play tennis if he could.
WILD: And after living in both Peru and Rome, he developed a love for soccer and the Italian league club in Rome, AS Roma.
Pope Leo is a South Side Chicagoan by birth, a White Sox fan, according to his brother, who showed up in the World Series broadcast in 2005.
What do you think it means for the organization?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that this is, you know, first of all, just the fact that its like a historic global moment but I really think its making our White Sox fans have that little boost of pride.
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Which, quite frankly, we could use.
WILD: And where did he sit during that game?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we are. Section 140, row 19, seat two.
WILD: So this would have been his view at that World Series game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not a bad view, huh?
WILD: The White Sox have retired number 14. No player will wear the pope's digits on the field.
But Stephanie and Josh Ganal are making sure 14 shines in the stands.
How many orders for Pope Leo jerseys do you have?
STEPHANIE GANAL, OWNER, GRANDSTAND: At this point, we haven't had a chance to count them all but I definitely would say over 100 of them already.
WILD: Stephanie's parents started Grandstand in 1989 when she was just three years old. The high school sweethearts now run the family's store a few blocks from where the Sox play.
GANAL: It means a lot to us to have something fun and a good blessing. Like this on the South Side is something that we drastically need.
WILD: According to the online betting site, BetMGM, lots of folks are putting their money on Chicago teams and banking on divine intervention.
MATT PREVOST, CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, BETMGM: The Bears in Chicagoland have been the biggest recipient of pope enthusiasm. So we have seen the -- mostly the Chicago faithful lean in to betting on Chicago teams since the pope announcement.
WILD: After Leo was named pope, the White Sox snapped a four-game losing streak taken by some Chicagoans as a sign prayers were answered -- Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
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BRUNHUBER: Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
