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Car Ploughs Into Fans At Liverpool Parade, 27 In Hospital; IDF Issues Major Evacuation Warning For Residents In Southern Gaza; Kremlin Downplays Donald Trump's "Crazy Putin" Remark; Vehicle Crashes into Fans at Liverpool Trophy Parade; Canadians Welcome King Charles to Ottawa; Iran: Compromise Possible But Won't Give Up Enrichment; ECB Chief: Euro Could Become Alternative To U.S. Dollar; Trump's Tax And Policy Bill Heads To U.S. Senate This Week; Memorial Day; Second Suspect Expected To Surrender To Police. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 27, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: From celebration to horror in an instant. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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UNIDENZTIFIED MALE: A horrific scene when their emergency workers arrived on the scene.
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VAUSE: Police rule out terrorism, but no word on why the driver of a minivan swerved into a large crowd of football fans.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: An Israeli military official now saying that Israel intends to occupy 75 percent of the Gaza Strip.
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VAUSE: Forcing more than 2 million exhausted and hungry Palestinians in Gaza to again relocate to an ever shrinking safe zone.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The victim told police he believed he was going to be killed.
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VAUSE: He was kidnapped and tortured for weeks, but he would not reveal his bitcoin password to the crypto criminals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: As hundreds of thousands of supporters of Liverpool Football Club line the streets to celebrate their premiership win, scenes of jubilation suddenly descended into chaos and terror Monday when a minivan veered off the street and plowed into the crowd.
Dozens of people, including children, were hurt. Many were taken to hospital with two people suffering serious injuries. For almost 10 seconds, the driver of the minivan appears to swerve in and out of a large group of people. Some of those hurt were trapped under the vehicle as it came to a stop. That's when onlookers surrounded the car, some punching at the windows.
Police have arrested a 53-year-old British man from the Liverpool area who is thought to have been behind the wheel. While investigators have ruled out terrorism, few other details have been made public.
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JENNY SIMS, ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE, MERSEYSIDE POLICE: What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not being treated as terrorism. We would ask that people refrain from sharing distressing footage from the incident online and please share any information directly with our investigation team.
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VAUSE: All of this happened at the end of an open bus victory parade, a celebration for Liverpool's Premier League championship and the club's 20th top flight title. CNA's Max Foster has a closer look at this incident.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was meant to be a day of ultimate celebrations for Liverpool Football Club fans as they went out in their hundreds of thousands to see their victorious side parade through the streets after winning the Premier League.
But towards the end of the parade, around 6 o' clock local time, a car somehow ended up going into the crowd and injuring dozens of people. The police announced it wasn't being investigated as a terror incident. They did say the person they detained, who they believe drove the car was a white middle aged man, a British man, 53 years old. They don't normally give such details so early in an investigation, but speculation and conspiracy theory was bubbling up online and they wanted to stop it getting out of control as it has done with similar incidents in the past.
The big question here remaining is how on earth this car managed to get into the crowd during the parade when this was meant to be a pedestrianized area. Huge questions will be asked over the coming days about that and also so much sympathy for these families that were caught up in this utter disaster when it was meant to be such a great day for Liverpool, other football clubs, even Everton, their arch rivals coming out expressing their sympathy.
It was a moment which so many people watched unfold all over the world. Liverpool is a global brand and it'll be remembered now because of how the day ended, in utter horror for so many people there. Max Foster, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Israel's military has ordered Palestinians to leave most of southern Gaza and relocate to a very narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. All part of an expected unprecedented attack by Israel, which includes plans to occupy and hold 75 percent of Gaza within two months, leaving more than 2 million exhausted and starving Palestinians with just over 90 square kilometers of land.
And while an 11-week long Israeli blockade may have ended, only a small fraction of humanitarian supplies are crossing the Gaza border. Aid trucks filled with flour, oil, canned goods going nowhere kept waiting on the Israeli side of the border in a parking lot of good intentions.
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The U.N. says those supplies are desperately needed and Gaza's entire population remains at critical risk of famine. Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting are ongoing, with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff saying a hostage release and ceasefire deal is now on the table with a pathway to end the war in Gaza. While he believes Israel will agree to a temporary cease fire, Israeli officials say there's been no progress in negotiations.
And in a speech marking Jerusalem Day on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring all the hostages home and says there'll be no temporary cease fire without the release of all remaining hostages. More Details now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond. Reporting in from Tel Aviv.
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DIAMOND: U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is denying claims from Palestinian officials close to Hamas that the militant group has agreed to a new U.S. proposal to for a ceasefire. Witkoff told me on Monday that there is a deal on the table, but that Hamas hasn't agreed yet. He says that this proposal from the United States would see the release of half of the living as well as half of the deceased hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, although he didn't specify how long that ceasefire would last.
But he did say that during that time, negotiations would unfold to end the war in Gaza and that he would personally preside over those negotiations. He told me, quote, the deal is on the table. Hamas should take it.
Now, we are right now witnessing the alternative to a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as Israel escalates its new military offensive in the Gaza Strip with deadly and devastating effect, including for civilians.
Over the weekend, Dr. Allah Al Najjar went to work at her hospital, leaving her children at home before her shift even ended, nine of her ten children were killed in an Israeli airstrike. One son survived and is in critical condition. And then overnight, we saw a strike on a school housing displaced Palestinian civilians, killing at least 31 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Israel says that it was targeting a Hamas command and control center, but the director of a hospital that received the bodies of the dead and the wounded said that a majority of those killed were women and children.
This latest Israeli offensive is threatening to intensify even further, and it is also drawing concerns from the families of hostages who worry about their loved ones also being killed in this intensified bombardment. The military also now issuing evacuation orders for almost all of southern Gaza, including the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are currently living.
There will be many more Evacuation orders to come. An Israeli military official now saying that Israel intends to occupy 75 percent of the Gaza Strip within the next two months. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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VAUSE: Yaakov Katz is a senior columnist for the Jerusalem Post, as well as a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. He's also written three books on the Israeli military, including "Shadow Strike." And he joins us again from Jerusalem. It's good to see you again.
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, JERUSALEM POST: Hi, John.
VAUSE: OK. Well, the prime minister who is speaking on Jerusalem Day, this is the day when you mark the reunification of Jerusalem back in 1967. And during that speech, he promised the war on Hamas and efforts to rescue the last of the hostages will not end anytime soon. Here he is.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are not letting go of it. If we don't achieve it today, we will achieve it tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. We are not letting go of it.
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VAUSE: So as far as a military offensive to achieve that end, Palestinians are now being told to leave most of southern Gaza for the creation of an evacuation zone which extends from the Gaza-Egypt border in the south and it appears to include the entirety of the city of Khan Younis, where many displaced Palestinians have been living. The Israeli military has told CNN that Israel plans to occupy 75
percent of Gaza within two months as part of this new offensive. My math has about 90 square kilometers are left for more than 2 million people.
So firstly, how will 2 million people who right now are malnourished, starving, exhausted at best, how are they going to be able to physically relocate and get there? Secondly, what's the point? What's left to destroy?
KATZ: Well, these are really good questions, John. And the Israeli military is trying to do best, which is to get Hamas into a position that it understands that because of this looming military operation and threat and it's already moving on the ground. But the fact that it could even escalate more to the point that Israel does take control of 75 percent of Gaza and pushes the Palestinian people into that corner, as you described it, that it is in their interest to reach a deal.
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And that's what seems to be at play at the moment. Everyone is trying to get this deal done in a way that can potentially avoid this even further escalation and bring the hostages back. And the question is whether this military operation is putting that pressure on Hamas or not.
But, but there's no question here that this only will end in some sort of political resolution slash deal that the Americans are trying to broker between Israel and Hamas. Hamas, for the time being, is not agreeing to those terms. And Israel also has its own issues that it needs to deal with -- between the Prime Minister's balancing of political considerations with the fact that, yes, Hamas is still an entity and in control of Gaza, still has at least 20 hostages that are alive in its possession. These are real dilemmas that the military is facing.
VAUSE: Well, there is also criticism of the Israeli military offensive. And the Chancellor of Germany has some questions and some concerns about what is happening in Gaza right now. Here he is.
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FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELOR (through translator): What the Israeli army is now doing in the Gaza Strip, frankly, I no longer understand what the objective is. To inflict such suffering also on the civilian population, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified on the grounds of a fight against Hamas terrorism.
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VAUSE: Italy's foreign minister says Netanyahu must halt the raids on Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas which must leave Gaza. All this comes after criticism last week from Britain, France and Canada. For the most part, it seems to be more of a change in messaging from
Israeli allies. But it won't stay that long, stay that way for long. It seems Israel is facing this diplomatic isolation which will be devastating for Israel if that actually happens.
KATZ: Israel is definitely facing a wave of not just condemnations, but John, as you described, diplomatic isolation from countries that are supposed to be its closest friends, Canada, France, Italy, the U.K. and of course Germany, with the very painful history that the two countries do share.
And we're also seeing many more reports that are coming out of emerging and daylight between Israel and the Trump administration.
So this is not something that you can sweep under the rug and pretend is not happening. With that said, I think we do have to remember what is really at the core of this conflict and that is the fact that there is still this genocidal terrorist organization in Gaza that is holding on to 20 living Israeli hostages and another 30 plus dead bodiesbodies of those hostages.
They are still committed to murdering and trying to annihilate the state of Israel. They're still firing rockets into Israel. Just yesterday, a number of rockets. And with that said, there is a way for this to end. It can end today, it can end right now, John, in an hour. If Hamas were to release the Israelis and the people that it's holding onto it were to lay down its arms and say, we're not committed to destroying Israel anymore and we're willing for there to be a change in Gaza.
But we also have to keep in mind that there is a tragedy in Gaza and it's painful to watch. And you're right, what left is there to destroy or to bomb in Gaza after so much of it has already been leveled? But we can recognize that there is this pain and suffering and tragedy in Gaza. But I would just argue that it is the responsibility of Hamas. Hamas has a way to end this. It can end this right now.
VAUSE: I don't want to speak for Hamas, but I imagine they could say the same thing to Israel. It could end right now as well. Yaakov, so just a counter point of view, but thank you very much for being with us as always. Yaakov Katz there in Jerusalem. Thank you, sir.
Flag day in Jerusalem has again turned violent and chaotic. This once little known public holiday has been hijacked by Israel's far right with thousands of extremists marching through Palestinian areas of the Old City. An act of deliberate provocation. CNN's Oren Lieberman reports.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Here outside the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, far right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir is surrounded by a crowd, having his picture taken, giving high fives to the crowd here.
This is very much his people here, a far-right, in some cases a nationalist crowd here, part of the flag march on Jerusalem Day, making their way into the Muslim quarter of the Old City. As we have stood here for several hours, we have heard some of the nationalist chants that have become associated with this event, with this flag march. This is Jewish land. We have heard Arabs are sons of bitches, we hate all Arabs. Those are the sorts of chants here.
And that is the feeling of the crowd as they make their way into the Muslim quarter here as part of the flag march and then on their way to the Western Wall in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem.
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It is not Itamar Ben-Gvir's first time in the Old City today. He visited the Al Aqsa compound earlier this morning. The Jewish Temple Mount as it's known to Jews, where he says Jewish prayer is allowed here, which would be a severe violation of the status quo. It's a claim he's made before. It is clearly a position he has openly pushed.
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office had to push back on that repeatedly, saying there is no change to the status quo. But that is very much what he has pushed and that's what we've seen pushed here by this crowd.
There was a flag here earlier today that said 1967 Jerusalem in our hands, referring to the Six Day War when Israel seized the Old City of Jerusalem and East Jerusalem itself. And then right below that, it said 2025, Gaza is in our hands.
This crowd very clearly in favor of the reoccupation and the resettlement of Gaza. We have seen also a heavy police presence around Jerusalem Day here trying to control this crowd. We have seen several people taken away. One had spit on journalists, including our producers just inside the Damascus Gate of the Old City. Another had held a flag of Lehava, a far right anti-Arab organization.
This just a part of the parade here of Jerusalem Day that will go on late into the evening. Oren Liebermann, CNN, outside the Old City.
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VAUSE: He said and then he said back. The Kremlin blames emotional overload after angry Donald Trump described Vladimir Putin as crazy. Details in a moment.
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VAUSE: The Kremlin is blaming emotional overload after a rare angry outburst from the U.S. President, which included calling Vladimir Putin absolutely crazy. Donald Trump appeared visibly angry while speaking about Russia's latest barrage of airstrikes this past weekend, the largest since the war began. And while the U.S. is trying to broker a ceasefire.
A Kremlin spokesperson downplayed the criticism and instead said says Moscow is grateful to the United States for help in opening negotiations with Ukraine.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it's clear Trump is increasingly disillusioned with Putin after the continued attacks on Ukraine. He also spoke about lifting the range restrictions for long range weapons delivered to Ukraine, a move the Kremlin has described as dangerous. More now from CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't like what Putin is doing, not even a little bit. He's killing people and something happened to this guy and I don't like it.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Outrage from the U.S. President on a weekend had begun with hope. Russia and Ukraine's largest prisoner exchange so far on Friday had hinted possible progress towards his peace initiative.
Instead, President Vladimir Putin launched Russia's biggest sustained air assault on Ukraine yet. 13 killed by Saturday, 12 dead the next night during Russia's largest air attack yet, 367 drones and missiles, prompting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to issue this warning, saying 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.
Trump responded Sunday as He often does, putting Zelenskyy down, but also aiming rare criticism at Putin, calling him crazy.
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.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Putin's response Sunday night, 355 drones killing four people. The largest ever Russian drone attack since their illegal, unprovoked, full scale invasion began 39 months ago, Ukraine says.
The Kremlin spokesman saying Putin is making the decisions that are necessary to ensure the security of our country in a situation with emotional overload. A jab at Trump. In Ukraine as rescuers crunch through bomb blasted glass. Fear is everywhere. My grandparents are in there. A woman screams. Another shouting, my mom and dad are still in there.
As Putin buys time for war, trading barbs with Trump, his bombs are tearing into the people Trump says he wants to protect. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Live to Canberra now. Malcolm Davis is a senior analyst for Defense strategy at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Welcome back. Good to see you.
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST FOR DEFENSE STRATEGY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Good to see you.
VAUSE: So on Sunday, the U.S. President seemed sort of visibly angry in a way. He described Putin as crazy. But listen to President Trump speaking on the same topic. Sort of just a week ago, here he is.
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TRUMP: I said what are we going to end this? Vladimir, I know him for a long time now. I said when are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath and I do believe he wants to end it.
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VAUSE: Russian drones and missiles have been killing civilians and targeting civilian infrastructure almost since day one of the invasion back in February 2022. So why is President Trump now suddenly so outraged?
DAVIS: Look, I can't work it out. I think the only thing I can imagine is that he's trying to avoid being targeted for any sort of responsibility for not doing enough to bring the war to a conclusion. He knows full well the sort of person that Putin is and his intentions. He would have been briefed on this by his key advisers and intelligence experts.
So there's no excuse on his part to say, oh, I didn't know what Putin was like. So my thinking is that he probably is trying to find a way out of essentially putting pressure on Putin. He doesn't want to necessarily do that, because I think Trump sees this situation in terms of ending the war somehow, but then opening up trade with Russia. And Putin is not interested in peace.
VAUSE: Here's how the German Chancellor explains what the sudden change in tone from the U.S. President might mean. Here he is.
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MERZ (through translator): Trump is obviously increasingly disillusioned with Putin due to the massive attacks on Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine over the weekend. In this respect, I hope that America stays on board. The question is whether the USA will continue to see it as its political and military duty to help Ukraine. And that is what we are trying to achieve.
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VAUSE: You touched on this just a moment ago. So it seems in a way that Donald Trump may be setting himself up for an exit here so that he can get out of this role as broker for these peace talks, which seem to be going nowhere and which he promised would be solved on day one. Clearly, that has not happened and he's struggling.
DAVIS: Exactly. And he's, you know, that realization is hitting him that Putin is not genuine about peace, that Putin sees Russia as winning militarily, and he sees Russia and himself as having greater resilience and greater willingness to outlast the U.S. and Europe and indeed Ukraine on the battlefield.
So I think Trump is trying to find a way out of this, because if he ultimately stays with Ukraine, then he has to continue to support Ukraine. Now, the Americans, along with the Europeans, have just lifted range constraints on long range weapons, which is a really positive step.
But Trump has to understand that if he really wants to stop Russia from winning, then he has to go a lot further in terms of supporting Ukraine with military assistance and intelligence support. And my guess is that he doesn't really want to see Russia lose.
VAUSE: Is there some scenario where the United States and Donald Trump actually walks away from these talks and walked away from Putin and walks closer to Europe.
DAVIS: I don't see that. I think that the most likely scenario is that the Trump administration will ultimately wash its hands if Ukraine will walk away and in doing so will cancel military assistance to Ukraine and probably cancel the intelligence support as well.
And so what that will mean for Ukraine is that they are left with support from Europe, which is important. But Europe now has its hands full preparing for the possibility of war between NATO and Russia later this decade. So that support from Europe to Ukraine might be circumscribed.
And obviously, Ukraine has its own defense industrial capacity, but that's limited as well. And what that leads to is a situation 6, 12 months down the track where Ukraine is under severe pressure from steadily advancing Russian forces. If Russia wins in this conflict, then Putin will be emboldened.
He'll have time to reconstitute the Russian military and then either take more of Ukraine or threaten NATO directly.
DAVIS: Yes, Malcolm, as always, your insights are valuable, sometimes scary, but great to have you with us. Thank you.
DAVIS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Britain's King Charles in Canada for his first visit as Head of State. In a moment, details on the historic address he'll soon deliver to the Canadian Parliament.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Police have ruled out terrorism after a minivan plowed into a crowd of football fans at a trophy parade for the Liverpool Football Club. A 53-year-old British man is now under arrest.
But this incident, which left dozens hurt, has sent shockwaves through the world of professional football.
More now from World Sport's Patrick Snell.
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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Well, what was supposed to be a joyous occasion in Liverpool with fans celebrating the Reds' latest Premier League title triumph on a bank holiday weekend all overshadowed by a car plowing into supporters during the team's trophy parade on Monday.
The incident coming as the city was filled with fans attending an open top bus parade across a ten-mile route to celebrate the iconic club's record equaling 20th top flight league title.
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SNELL: Sports stars and clubs taking to social media afterwards to give their views and reactions. Basketball superstar Lebron James, who's a minority shareholder of Liverpool saying, "My deepest thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected that attended Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade. Such a senseless act."
Meantime, Liverpool's Premier League rivals, huge rivals Manchester United saying, "Our thoughts are with Liverpool Football Club and the city of Liverpool after today's awful incident."
And crosstown rivals Everton as well sending their "thoughts to all those who have been affected by this serious incident in our city". While the Premier League also offered its condolences as well on social media.
Back to you.
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VAUSE: At a ceremony in Romania's parliament President-elect Nicusor Dan has been sworn into office. The 55-year-old former mayor of Bucharest is considered a centrist, favors both E.U. and NATO membership, says support for Ukraine is vital for Romania's own security in the face of a growing Russian threat.
Dan thanked Romanians both at home and abroad, for their support and concern for the country's direction, before heading off to the presidential palace.
Britain's King Charles, who is Canada -- who is Canada's head of state, I should say, will begin the final day of his two-day visit to Ottawa in the coming hours. Charles will deliver an address to the parliament and is expected to reinforce the message that Canada is a sovereign nation, not for sale or annexation.
CNN's Paula Newton has details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was excellent weather and enthusiastic crowds as Canadians greeted King Charles and Queen Camilla on their visit to Canada.
It is a very quick visit, less than 24 hours, but has very crucial political importance for the government of Mark Carney. He extended this invitation to King Charles and King Charles accepted, pleasing many Canadians as they have been enduring President Donald Trump suggesting that Canada, in fact, would be better off not in the commonwealth, but as the 51st state.
Now, king and queen were greeted by Canadians enthusiastically, showing off some Canadian arts and crafts and food, but also dropping a puck for a hockey game.
Tomorrow, though, will be all about opening parliament and the King -- King Charles will be uttering the words those crafted by the government of Mark Carney. Now Mark Carney himself really speaking quite forcefully about what this visit means to Canadians and saying that this historic honor matches the weight of our times.
It is important to point out that only one other time did a monarch open parliament. That was the King's mother in 1957. So this is an extraordinary event.
And for that reason, many Canadians really greeting this with a measure of admiration for the king, something that hasn't really been seen in several years in Canada.
And for that reason, it will also be important to King Charles to certainly show his importance and how much importance he places on being king of Canada.
Paula Newton, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, inching closer to a nuclear deal with Iran, laying out what is and is not acceptable from the United States. Our report from Tehran after the break.
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VAUSE: After a fifth round of negotiations for a new nuclear deal with Iran, a government official in Tehran tells CNN compromise with the United States is possible, but Iran continues to insist it will never give up the right to enrich uranium.
And while U.S. Officials have said publicly that is a deal breaker, the U.S. President is optimistic of making a deal.
Our man in Tehran is Fred Pleitgen. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISMAIL BAQAEL, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: If the intention is to make sure that Iran's nuclear program would not be weaponized, I think that's something that we could simply do it.
But if the intention is to deprive Iranians of the right to a peaceful nuclear energy, I think that would be very problematic to the extent that I think it would really challenge the whole process.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think the Trump administration and negotiator Witkoff have acknowledged that, understand that?
BAQAEL: The fact that, so far, we have continued our talks means that we understand there is certain level of understanding that Iran cannot, under any circumstances, give up its right to peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment.
PLEITGEN: How do you think a compromise can be reached?
BAQAEL: I think if really there is a will, there is ways. There is not only one way, there are so many ways to take care of that, as far as we are concerned, because we know our nuclear program is absolutely peaceful.
And we have committed ourselves to make sure that the program will remain peaceful.
PLEITGEN: President Trump also seems to insinuate that the alternative to an agreement could be military action by the U.S. and Israel. Do you feel that pressure in the negotiations and how does Iran feel about such threats?
[01:44:38]
BAQAEL: That would be certainly not helpful. You know, Iranians would not be conducive to any sort of pressure. We have proved so many times for the past century and beyond that, that Iranians would not respond positively to any sort of coercion and pressure.
So, when it comes to using that language, Iranians will come with one voice and we will certainly defend our national security.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
One of the consequences of Donald Trump's trade war, as well as his erratic, chaotic and unpredictable economic policies has been to weaken global confidence in the U.S. economy and the U.S. dollar.
And so with that, enter the head of the European Central Bank, who sees an opening for the euro to become a viable alternative to the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTINE LAGARDE, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: Any change in the international order that leads to lower world trade or fragmentation into economic blocs will be detrimental to our economy.
Sad. Yes, but with the right policy responses, there could also be opportunities. The changing landscape could open the door for the euro to play a greater international role.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The dollars role in the global economy has been in decline for years, but still makes up 58 percent of international reserves. The euro ranks second, accounting for 20 percent.
Christine Lagarde believes the E.U. could close that gap if faith in the dollar continues to weaken and if E.U. members can strengthen the bloc's financial system.
Donald Trump's sweeping tax and domestic policy bill heads before the U.S. Senate this week after narrowly passing the House on Thursday. The president admits some Senate Republicans could make fairly significant changes to the bill but he has suggested he's open to some of those changes.
A number of senators have raised concerns over the bills potential to impact the national debt.
More now on that from CNN's Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, President Trump did secure the narrowest of victories last week when he was able to push through his sweeping domestic policy bill through the United States House by a single vote. This coming after the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, moved behind the scenes to lock down support from the various factions within the House GOP, negotiating with the moderates and the conservatives and getting this bill through.
But here's the problem for Trump and the GOP is that the Senate Republican Conference has their own ideas. In fact, many Republican senators who I have spoken with over the last several days have significant concerns with the House bill and concerns that are much different than -- are really in contradiction with one another.
Just take Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, someone who believes that the bill needs to go much further in completely restructuring the federal budget and to push through even more significant spending cuts.
This bill that passed in the House has roughly $1.5 trillion worth of spending cuts, but that is far less than the tax cuts that would be part of this bill.
In fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimates it would be roughly $3.8 trillion added to the federal deficits over the next several years if that bill were to become law.
So Ron Johnson wants deeper spending cuts to offset that revenue loss. But if you go too far in the right, you lose some folks in the middle.
That includes Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who told me that she believes the new work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, which will be implemented at the end of 2026, are too onerous. In fact, she told me it's very problematic to go down that route. So that is one push from the middle.
Some others, even conservative Senator Josh Hawley, has raised concerns about what he sees is that Medicaid benefit cut that was included as a part of the House bill.
But the challenge for Trump will be if he gives in to those concerns about the cuts to Medicaid, then he could lose support from some of the more conservative members, not just in the Senate, but if it were to get out of the Senate through the United States House, where some of those conservatives fell in line last week because they believed that ultimately that the bill that would come back from the Senate would look somewhat similar to the bill that passed the House, if not identical when it comes to spending cuts.
The balancing act will be very tricky for Senate Majority Leader John Thune because he is trying to get this done over the next several weeks because there is a ticking time bomb of sorts in this bill.
There is a provision to raise the national debt limit to avoid the first-ever debt default that could occur by August if Congress does not act to raise the national debt ceiling.
If they can't get this bill through, then the Congress could be staring at a potential debt default, which is why there's a big push to get it done.
But here's another problem. There are some conservatives who simply don't want the debt limit increased as part of this bill, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
All issues that John Thune, President Trump and other Republican leaders will have to resolve in the weeks ahead.
Manu Raju, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:48]
VAUSE: Well, after a crypto trader was kidnaped and tortured for weeks, police have made one arrest with a second suspect now in their sights. Details just ahead.
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VAUSE: Monday was Memorial Day in the United States, a day to honor those who gave their lives while serving in the military. A poignant day at Arlington National Cemetery, where many gathered to pay their respects to the fallen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GN. DAN CAINE, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Welcome to this most hallowed ground on this most special day.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Let us rededicate ourselves to god and country, to our great Republic 249 years on, we stand on the shoulders of great men and on the shoulders of those great men in those graves and may we live worthy of it.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the families who have lost a son, a daughter, a husband, or a wife, to every child here who misses your dad or your mom, know that your loved one to us is a hero.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They gave everything and we owe them everything and much, much more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And a reminder of the high cost of war -- with a wall rather -- with a wall featuring 600,000 poppies, which has gone up in Washington, D.C. Each flower representing a person who died in the U.S. military service since World War I.
The memorial was first set up in 2018, also features stories of fallen soldiers.
A second suspect in an alleged kidnapping is expected to surrender this week. Police say an Italian cryptocurrency trader was held hostage and tortured for weeks to try and force him to reveal his bitcoin password.
CNN's Gloria Pazmino has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The details are honestly quite bizarre and disturbing.
Here's what we know. We know that police arrested John Woeltz, a originally from Kentucky, 37 years old, a cryptocurrency investor who was arrested by New York police officers on Friday after they say a victim who he had kidnapped and been keeping hostage inside a Manhattan apartment for days, actually managed to escape.
Now, police say that the victim actually arrived here in New York city from Italy on May 6th. And ever since he was kept inside this Manhattan apartment in the Soho neighborhood against his will.
They are accusing John Woeltz of kidnapping him and holding him hostage as part of a scheme to obtain his bitcoin password.
Now the victim, who has not yet been identified but is 28 years old, told the police that he was held there against his will and while he was held inside this apartment, he was tortured by John Woeltz.
He said that he was beaten, at one point he was shocked while his feet were in water. He was tied up with wire and, at one point dangled over a railing over his refusal to give up his bitcoin password.
Now, one thing that's not yet clear to us is exactly how the two men know of each other, what kind of relationship they have, if they are some sort of business partners, or if they had a personal relationship prior to this incident.
Now John Woeltz was arrested and charged with kidnaping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, criminal possession of a firearm.
[01:54:49]
PAZMINO: And police say that they found a lot of evidence inside that Manhattan apartment, including ammunition, cocaine, the wire that was used to tie up the victim, an electric saw that the victim says he was threatened with. They found body armor, night vision goggles, and even polaroid photos showing the victim tied to a chair with a gun pointed to his head.
Now, this went on for several days, and at one point on Friday, the victim told police he believed he was going to be killed. So he gave up the password. That gave him a brief window of time because John Woeltz went into another room to retrieve a laptop.
That allowed the victim to run out of the apartment and flag down a traffic officer who was able to get him some help. Police moved in shortly after that and made the arrest.
Now John Woeltz is being held in custody without bail. Prosecutors telling the court that he had the means to escape if he was to be let out on bail, including owning a private helicopter and a private jet.
He is being held, has not entered a plea, but is expected back in court next week.
Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: So you have a big wheel of cheese, a very steep hill, and a group of people with no self-preservation instincts at all. What you end up having is the annual Gloucestershire Cheese Roll. It's a 180- meter dash straight down a hill.
And for the competitors, there's concussion, broken bones, also bragging rights, all part of the tradition which dates back centuries.
There is, however, no trophy, just that big wheel of cheese for the lucky winner. And the women's winner this year admitted she doesn't like cheese, so she gets nothing. Good for her.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. My friend and colleague Rosemary Church takes over after a short break.
Well see you right back here tomorrow.
[01:56:49]
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