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Trump Extends E.U. Trade Talks; Trump Criticizes Both Putin and Zelenskyy; Gaza Facing Catastrophic Hunger Levels, Man Accused of Attacking U.S. Embassy in Israel, and Israeli Strike Kills Nine Children of Doctor; New COVID-19 Variant Seen in China Now in the U.S., FDA May Restrict COVID-19 Shots; Trump Wants Names, Countries Of Harvard's Foreign Students; Torrential Rain Leads To Deadly Floods In Australia. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired May 26, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, another delay on tariffs. Donald Trump says he will give the European Union more time to negotiate a trade deal.

Russia bombards Ukraine with its largest aerial assault since the start of the war. And the U.S. president is ramping up his rhetoric against Vladimir Putin.

And more than two years after the COVID pandemic was declared over, the U.S. is still averaging about 350 deaths a week from the virus. We'll look at some of the new concerns surrounding the disease.

Good to have you with us. Well, in the latest instance of Donald Trump's tariff whiplash, the U.S. president is walking back threats on the European Union. He has announced he is delaying a 50 percent tariff on European goods until July 9th. As recently as Friday, President Trump said he was not looking for a deal with the E.U. and that their tariff rate would go into effect next Sunday.

Now, he says, after a very nice call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, trade talks will begin soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We had a very nice call. Then we moved it from June 1st to July 9th and I agreed to do that. And that she said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Von der Leyen also praised the call, saying Europe is ready to negotiate. She posted on X quote, "The E.U. and U.S. share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship." She added that they need the extra time to reach a good deal. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more now from the White House.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump made this decision to delay new tariffs on the European Union after a telephone call with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. And this was a significant phone call, even amid all of these trade tensions between the United States and the European Union. This is the first time that these two leaders have spoken since Trump came into office. And so it was an important moment to get at some of the differences between the two sides on this very critical issue.

And there are some significant differences. You know, European officials have been in Washington trying to negotiate a trade deal for the last several weeks, but the process has been painstaking. There has been no real breakthrough. From the European perspective, there has been a degree of confusion about what exactly President Trump and the White House are looking for from these talks.

White House officials on the flip side had been concerned that European officials were not coming to them with serious enough offers for a trade deal. And that is part of what led to President Trump on Friday, saying that he would impose a 50 percent tariff on the E.U. starting on June 1st, saying that the talks were going nowhere, that the E.U., in his words, had been very difficult to deal with.

You also heard from the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, saying that the offers from the E.U. had not been, quote, "of the same quality as other nations' proposals." Essentially, in the words of one White House official, trying to light a fire under the E.U. to try and jumpstart these talks. And that is part of what led to this conversation on Sunday between President Trump and Ursula von der Leyen.

The European Commission president describing it as a good conversation, saying the E.U. and U.S. share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship. She says that Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively, but that in order to reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9th. The president agreeing to extend those talks.

Now, we should say July 9th was the original deadline. You know, President Trump, you'll remember, announced these reciprocal tariffs on what he called Liberation Day. He lifted those tariffs and put in place this 90-day period to negotiate new trade deals. That period is set to expire on July 9th. Now, President Trump essentially reverting to the original deadline as these talks with the E.U. proceed. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

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CHURCH: President Trump's former economic advisor, Stephen Moore, spoke to CNN earlier. He says the pause on E.U. tariffs is good news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEPHEN MOORE, FORMER TRUMP ECONOMIC ADVISER: I do think this is an olive branch by the Europeans and Ursula to come to the negotiating table, which is what Trump wanted. And the significant thing, I think the stock market, when it opens on Tuesday, I think investors will be happy to hear this news because it means that these tariffs that were supposed to be imposed as early as next week. Now, if I heard the president correctly, it's going to be another month delay on those. That gives some time for negotiation and so that's good news for everybody. And nobody wants to see those 50 percent tariffs applied. It is true that the Europeans do apply more trade barriers on our products than we do on theirs. So President Trump wants a level playing field. But I feel very good news about these latest developments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.S. stock market is closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. But following news of President Trump's E.U. tariff delay, stock markets in Asia have been mixed. You can see here Japan's Nikkei is up slightly there, nearly one percent. And in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng down more than one percent.

U.S. President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin has gone, quote, "absolutely crazy" after Russia unleashed its largest ever aerial assault on Ukraine. Mr. Trump's comments on social media followed earlier criticism of the Russian president in front of reporters.

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TRUMP: I'm not happy with what Putin's doing. He's killing a lot of people. And I don't know what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time, always gotten along with him. But he's sending rockets into cities and killing people. And I don't like it at all. Okay. We're in the middle of talking and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.S. president was also critical of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he said isn't doing his country favors by quote, "talking the way he does." Trump clearly reacting to comments from the Ukrainian president who blasted the silence from some around the world as the war drags on. Zelenskyy said, quote, "the world may go on vacation, but the war continues despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. America's silence and the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin."

That reaction after Russia hit the capital and other regions across Ukraine overnight on Sunday, with missiles and drones killing at least 12 people, including children. The assault coming despite the largest prisoner swap of the war being completed on Sunday. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all the developments from Abu Dhabi.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have seen a weekend of superlatives at the same time as seeing the largest aerial assaults from the Russian military on Ukrainian cities. We're also seeing the largest prisoner exchange between the two countries.

Now, starting with the positive, we did see over three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a total of 2,000 prisoners being released, 1,000 Russian, 1,000 Ukrainian. Now, this did happen, as I say, over three days. We have been seeing some very emotional reunions, some very emotional images on the Ukrainian side, as those coming off from buses draped in the Ukrainian flag are reunited with their loved ones.

In some cases, they have been held prisoner for a number of years. Now, we did hear from the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thanking everybody involved in this process.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): The task is to bring home absolutely everyone who is currently held in Russia. And this is a joint task for our intelligence services, for our diplomats, for our entire state. Clearly, it's not an easy task, but it must be accomplished. I'm grateful to everyone around the world who is helping us.

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HANCOCKS: Now, according to the Ukrainian Prisoner of War Center, this is the sixth prisoner exchange that we have seen this year alone, and it is the 65th overall. And yet, at the same time as seeing something as positive as this, we also saw a devastating weekend when it came to the aerial assaults on Ukraine. We saw from the Ukrainian Air Force saying that Saturday into Sunday, there were almost 70 missiles, almost 300 drones.

Now, many of them, they claim, were intercepted, but those that got through were deadly. We know the children were among the dead and injured.

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Now, they say there were drones, there were cruise missiles, ballistic missiles fired from both ships and planes. According to the Ukrainian leader, rescuers were working in well over 30 cities and villages across the country. Now, there were some 13 different districts that were impacted. But certainly, what we saw in the capital, in Kyiv, in the early hours of Sunday morning, was that the air raid sirens were blaring for hours.

Residents were told to stay in shelters in the early hours of Sunday morning. And over the weekend, one parliament member speaking to CNN said it felt like Armageddon. So, a very devastating and deadly weekend in a number of Ukrainian cities. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

CHURCH: Still to come, desperation in Gaza, Israel's strict limits on humanitarian aid are pushing more people to the brink of starvation. That's next.

Plus, COVID-19 is back in the conversation. I talk to an expert about why this year's vaccines could be restricted to certain people.

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CHURCH: Palestinian health officials say more people in Gaza are dying from malnutrition, as Israel keeps strict limits on the amount of aid entering the territory. Israel blocked deliveries of humanitarian supplies in early March. The Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health says that since then, 58 people have died from malnutrition and 242 died due to shortages of food and medicine. Last week, Israel opened that blockade slightly.

On Sunday, Israel says it let 107 trucks into Gaza, but the U.N. says it's not nearly enough. Meanwhile, humanitarian groups are having difficulty delivering that limited aid to the people who desperately need it. The World Food Program is stopping production of bread at bakeries at Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, citing the, quote, "deteriorating security situation and the high likelihood of staff being exposed to risk."

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is in Israel. Her visit comes days after two Israeli embassy staff members were shot and killed in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating it as an act of terrorism and a hate crime. Noem also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She expressed the United States' quote, "unwavering support" for Israel and its great appreciation for Netanyahu's quote, "conduct of the war in Gaza."

An American citizen is charged with plotting to firebomb the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Justice Department unsealed the charges on Sunday. CNN's Julia Benbrook has details.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are getting new information on this. The Department of Justice unsealed charges against a dual American and German citizen who they say plotted to throw Molotov cocktails at the United States embassy in Israel. The man, 28-year-old Joseph Neumeier, was deported from Israel to the United States on Sunday and arrested at a New York airport. According to the DOJ, Neumeier arrived at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv early last week and spit on an embassy guard unprovoked.

He was not detained at the time, but left behind a backpack. And when they searched that backpack, they found three Molotov cocktails. Now, authorities then went through social media, believed to be Neumeier's, and found a post saying that he had plans to burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. It also said, death to America, death to Americans. Other posts also revealed threats against President Donald Trump.

Now, here's what Attorney General Pam Bondi said about the case. She said, quote, "This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans and President Trump's life. The department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law." If convicted, Neumeier faces a minimum of five years in prison. The FBI Washington field office is leading this investigation with assistance from the FBI New York field office. Reporting in New Jersey, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

CHURCH: Gaza officials say an Israeli airstrike killed nine children on Friday. Their mother, Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, was working in the emergency room at Nasser Hospital when their bodies were brought in. Her only surviving son and her husband were badly injured in the attack. Over the weekend, she watched over them in the hospital.

On Friday, her husband Hamdi al-Najjar dropped Alaa off at work and was returning home after searching for food. That's when he saw an Israeli missile hit their house. When the first failed to detonate, a second missile followed. His sister described the chaotic scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: The area was full of smoke and the bombing was very intense, so I found my entire family's house collapsed. My house is on the street behind them and they are on the main road. I started asking, where is Hamdi? Where are Hamdi's children?

[02:19:59]

My other brother was coming to get me. So Hamdi's wife told me that her children have died. I couldn't bear to hear what she was saying, nor did I comprehend what was happening to us because we were in a state of extreme fear and panic. It's indescribable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Israeli military told CNN that its aircraft, quote, "struck a number of suspects" who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops. Israel says it's reviewing the claim that civilians were killed.

Health experts are still warning about the threat of coronavirus as the Food and Drug Administration is set to change how it approves COVID vaccines for Americans. The move may limit who has access to the shots. That means this fall's updated vaccine could be restricted to adults 65 and older and those with underlying conditions. This comes as about 350 people died per week last month from the infection. That's according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And a new variant is being detected in the U.S. The CDC has reported multiple cases of NB181 through its airport screening program. And this is the same variant that's on the rise in parts of Asia.

Dr. Ashish Jha is Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. He also served as White House COVID-19 response coordinator appointed by former President Joe Biden. Thank you, doctor, for joining us.

ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thank you for having me back, Rosemary. CHURCH: So COVID is back in the headlines with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detecting a new COVID-19 variant called NB181 in arriving international travelers. Apparently, the same variant behind a surge in COVID cases in China. So what can you tell us about this?

JHA: So first of all, Rosemary, we don't know a lot about this variant. I mean, we expect variants to continue to develop with this virus. Again, COVID is not gone. Thankfully, we have so much population immunity that it is unlikely, though not impossible, but unlikely that any new variant is going to cause any massive surge of serious illness. But we are seeing this new variant causing a lot more infections in China and Hong Kong.

And we're going to have to monitor this closely in the U.S. and elsewhere to see, is it causing serious illness? Is it causing deaths? And obviously, if it's causing those things, then that'll be a cause for concern.

CHURCH: And doctor, as this is happening, we are learning that the FDA may restrict COVID vaccines. So, who will and won't be able to get these shots, and why are we seeing these restrictions to getting COVID vaccinations when so many people died during the pandemic?

JHA: Yeah, it's disappointing to see the FDA doing this because their argument is they want to see better evidence. But there's no evidence that differentiates. There's not better evidence for older people versus younger people. We do know older people benefit more from vaccines in general. Their decision to restrict vaccines to adjust older people, I think is a mistake. My general view has been that they should make it available to everybody.

Obviously, it's always recommended more for high risk people like older people or people with chronic disease. But I don't think they should be restricting vaccines right now. And they just haven't given much of a scientific basis for that decision.

CHURCH: Right. And perhaps with this new variant, could they change that guideline anyway?

JHA: They might. And again, I always think these things should be driven by decisions based on scientific evidence and data to the extent that they are making these decisions, they should make the science and evidence very clear. Obviously, if this thing causes a major surge in infections, my hope is they're going to make the vaccines available to everybody.

CHURCH: And doctor, some good news. The World Health Assembly has adopted an historic pandemic agreement to make the world a safer place. How significant is all this, particularly at this time?

JHA: Yeah, so look, I think there's been a lot of effort behind the pandemic agreement for three years. Rosemary, I will tell you that personally, I was disappointed in what the final agreement is. It doesn't really do as much as I think its proponents would like to see. The goal behind it is we want to make vaccines more widely available and equitable, a very laudable goal. Unfortunately, I don't know how much this pandemic agreement really moves that ball forward.

I'd like to see real actions on manufacturing and on building up scientific capability in low-income countries. That's what's going to be necessary to make progress.

CHURCH: All right. We'll see what happens with that. Dr. Ashish Jha, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

JHA: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: When we return, what President Trump is now demanding from Harvard University amid their heated battle over international students.

Plus, memorials across the U.S. marked five years since the police killing of George Floyd.

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Coming up, how his family and supporters are rallying to make sure his legacy is not forgotten.

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CHURCH: President Trump is escalating his attacks on Harvard University. He is now demanding the names and countries of thousands of international students at the Ivy League school.

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Mr. Trump suggested that foreign countries, some of which he says are hostile to the U.S., should contribute funding to educate their students.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are 31 percent, but they refuse to tell us who the people are. We want to know who the people. Now, a lot of the foreign students we wouldn't have a problem with. I'm not going to have a problem with foreign students, but it shouldn't be 31 percent. It's too much because we have Americans that want to go there, and to other places, and they can't go there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: His comments come just days after a federal judge temporarily halted his administration from banning Harvard's international students.

CNN media analyst Sara Fischer discussed all of this with my colleague Omar Jimenez earlier, and she explained why she believes the president is bullying Harvard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: It's part of a broader attack on Harvard that Donald Trump can leverage in the absence of having power to sway the courts. You'll recall Donald Trump recently got into an entanglement with Harvard and basically said that he was going to block students, international students, from going in. The Harvard university folks sued. A judge issued an injunction, basically siding with the university.

And so, anytime you hear this type of rhetoric coming from the president, I believe it's to bully the university with because he doesn't have the presidential power, quite frankly, and he doesn't have the power and the support through the courts to be able to sort of rule in his favor.

I also think one of the interesting things that he's arguing here is that these international students, which I believe it makes up closer to 27 percent, not 31 percent, as the president said are, you know, blocking the spots of U.S. students. You know, one way to think about it and sort of critics of the president would argue that the international students often are not getting aid, and as a result, they're paying full tuition. So that full tuition is often what's helping to supplement U.S. students who rely on aid to be able to go to the university.

Now, proponents of what Trump is saying say that, hey, this would open up spots for U.S. students no matter what, but expect this again to continue to go down in court battles, because there's no way Harvard goes down without a First Amendment fight here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Harvard notes on its website that foreign students are not eligible for any federal funding.

Family, friends, and supporters of George Floyd are remembering his life and legacy. Five years after he was killed by a white police officer. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of state murder charges in Floyd's death after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. Crowds gathered Sunday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at a memorial marking the site where Floyd died. The murder sparked nationwide protests and efforts to implement policing reforms, but last week, those initiatives came to a sudden stop as the Trump administration announced it was ending federal oversight of those reforms.

While attending an anniversary event at Floyd's gravesite in Texas, civil rights advocates vowed to keep fighting for racial justice.

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REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Police reform and justice for the George Floyds of the world will not be trumped. We're going to keep fighting.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: We are not deterred. We are recommitted. So do whatever you're going to do with the Department of Justice. We will not turn back. Justice for George Floyd. Say his name! CROWD: George Floyd!

CRUMP: Say his name!

CROWD: George Floyd!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A New York man has been arrested and accused of torture as part of an alleged plot to steal bitcoin. Thirty-seven-year-old crypto investor John Woeltz is charged with kidnaping and several other related counts. Police say he held the victim hostage for weeks in an upscale Manhattan apartment.

The victim has not been identified, but he reportedly came to the U.S. from Italy earlier this month. He told investigators he was drugged, shocked and threatened with death if he didn't share his bitcoin password. Prosecutors say he was able to escape on Friday and flagged down a city traffic officer for help.

Record rain has left Australia under water. Coming up, why officials warn the problems with rising water may not end when the rain stops. We'll have details on the other side of the break.

Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Parts of Australia are dealing with deadly flooding caused by torrential rains. Several months' worth of rain hit the southeastern part of the country in just a matter of days. It caused rivers, creeks and streams to swell to record levels.

Emergency crews performed nearly 300 swift water rescues in New South Wales. Officials say that even after the rain stops, the water may keep rising. That's because it takes time for the water to drain or flow into other bodies of water.

One of the world's most active volcanoes is erupting right now. This is a live look at Kilauea volcano on the big island of Hawaii. The U.S. geological survey reports that the eruption began on Sunday. Some of the lava fountains rose more than 1,000 feet into the air, and as the lava rose higher, the USGS says seismic tremors increased.

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This eruption is happening in a closed part of Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park.

Well, a flight from Japan to Texas was diverted to Seattle on Saturday after a passenger tried to open the planes exit doors during the flight. Crew members and passengers restrained the person, and the All Nippon Airways flight landed at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The unruly passenger was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation. The FBI says a second passenger, frustrated by the flight diversion,

punched a bathroom door. That person was also removed from the flight.

I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

"WORLD SPORT" is coming up next. Then I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please stick around.

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