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Dozens Injured at a Car Ramming Affecting Liverpool Fans; Israel Launches New Offensive in Gaza, Residents Forcing to Evacuate Anew; King Charles to Address the Canadian Parliament to Conclude his Short Visit in Canada; French President Defends His Wife, Dismissing Viral Video of Their Arrival in Vietnam. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 27, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: 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, a moment of celebration turns to horror as a car plows into a crowd of football fans. Police rule out terrorism, but many questions remain unanswered.

Israel is launching a new offensive in Gaza, forcing millions of displaced Palestinians to evacuate yet again.

And a terrifying encounter for a tourist in New York who was kidnapped and tortured in an attempt to steal his cryptocurrency.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.

A victory parade for the Liverpool Football Club took a horrifying turn when a vehicle plowed into fans in the city center. Dozens were hospitalized, two with serious injuries, with several people trapped underneath the car.

Emotions were running high as angry crowds converged on the grey minivan, rocking it and punching at the windows. A 53-year-old British man from the Liverpool area, thought to be the driver, was arrested. No word yet on whether his actions were deliberate, police have ruled out terrorism, but remain tight-lipped about other key details.

The Reds and their supporters have been enjoying an open-top bus victory parade to celebrate winning the Premier League Championship and the club's 20th top flight title.

CNN's Amanda Davies is following this live from London, she joins us now. Good morning to you, Amanda. So what more are you learning about this horrifying incident? AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. A day of

joy overshadowed is how the Liverpool City Mayor, Steve Rotherham, has described it this morning. As you rightly say, a day full of so much celebration for the city of Liverpool, a city that we know has football and this football club running through its DNA.

The celebration of their first Premier League title under Arne Slot in his first season in charge. And so long awaited because they weren't able to celebrate their 19th title in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So this, their record equaling 20th on a bank holiday, a public holiday here in the U.K., had seen hundreds of thousands of fans.

Individuals, families, people from across the city of Liverpool, across the U.K. and further afield here pouring onto the streets for a very long, unusually long celebratory victory. Open top bus parade with the players, the squad and the trophy.

It was a 10-mile parade which kicked off at 1:00 in the afternoon. These incredible scenes that we saw throughout the afternoon.

But then it was, we understand, just after 6:00, about 10, 15 minutes after the team had passed the area in question, where there were the reports of this grey people carrier colliding with fans who were making their way away from the parade route, driving down Water Street, one of the roads off the main route, colliding with some passengers, some people before it then ground to a halt.

Some of the pictures were very difficult to watch and the Merseyside police took what was a relatively unprecedented measure of very quickly releasing a statement saying that they were questioning and had detained a 53-year old white British male believed to be the driver, asking people not to speculate, not to share any of the videos as they carried on their investigations.

There was a huge number of emergency vehicles already in the area. They helped treat what we understand to be 27 people who had been taken to hospital, two of whom are being described as having serious injuries.

[03:05:01]

We understand that is one adult and one child. A number of people were removed from under the vehicle and then a further 20 people were treated on the scene.

There was a press conference held by the police later in the evening. They said they are seeing this as an isolated incident. They are not looking for any other individuals connected.

But as you rightly mentioned, Rosemary, they are saying they do not believe this is related to terrorism. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: Well the football community, as we know, such great rivals on the pitch when it comes to the competition. But as you would expect, a lot of messages of support and solidarity coming from the likes of the Premier League, the likes of Manchester United and Everton, sharing their sympathies, their thoughts with the City of Liverpool and the football club.

The club itself issued this statement saying they're in contact with the Merseyside police, saying "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident. We will continue to offer our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident."

We understand there are still a number of the people impacted in hospital. The investigations continue. The car is still there in place on Water Street, covered by that tent this morning.

As the investigations and the questions, we're looking for the answers for how it happened, how the vehicle ended up on this street and what the motivation was behind it.

CHURCH: So many questions. Amanda Davies brings us that live report from London. Many thanks.

The Israeli military says it's preparing to carry out what it calls an unprecedented attack on Gaza. It has now ordered Palestinians in most of southern Gaza to evacuate to a very narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It's part of Israel's stated plan to take over 75 percent of the enclave in the next two months, which would force more than two million Palestinians into roughly a quarter of Gaza's territory.

And those people are starving as aid trucks carrying flour, oil and canned food wait at the border crossing in Israel to be allowed in. Israel has begun allowing what it calls a basic amount of food to enter Gaza after its 11 week blockade. But the U.N. says there are not enough lifesaving supplies getting through and that Gaza's entire population remains at critical risk of famine.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, what is the latest on Israel's evacuation order and, of course, its warning of an unprecedented attack on Gaza?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the evacuation order is effectively for most of southern Gaza, certainly the Khan Younis area, which one of the spokespeople described as a dangerous fighting zone. It also encompasses much of eastern Gaza.

And as you say, what it will do is it will effectively force the population of Gaza into an area that is just a quarter of what they were living in before. And this is not a spacious area even before this war started.

In fact, the U.N. says that they believe at least 80 percent of the Gaza Strip has either been designated as an Israeli militarized zone or it has been under evacuation orders since Israel ended the ceasefire back on March 18th.

So it just shows how much movement is happening at this point. We've heard from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier this month, saying that he envisages the population of Gaza being in southern Gaza, saying that they want northern Gaza to be completely evacuated. So a desperate situation for people on the ground there.

We also heard from the controversial GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is this U.S.-backed aid distribution effort, which is controversial because the U.N., for one, has said that it does not believe it will work and does not want to cooperate with it.

[03:10:06]

But this is the foundation that the U.S. wants to try and avoid Hamas taking any of the aid. They say that their operations have begun in Gaza. They have issued footage of this, it's not clear if any of that aid, though, has got to those who need it, as the U.N. and other NGOs are calling for more trucks to be allowed into Gaza itself.

We also heard from Steve Witkoff, the Mideast envoy for the Trump administration, of half of the living hostages, half of those who have died, in return for a temporary ceasefire, and then there would be negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.

We did also hear from the Israeli Prime Minister regarding the hostages. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We will defeat those who seek our lives. We will bring back all our hostages. We will ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

This mission, including the mission of returning our hostages, accompanies us day by day. It occupies us night by night, including tonight. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, one Palestinian official close to the negotiations says to CNN that Hamas has, in fact, agreed to the deal, but not giving details of what that deal is.

There are a number of different scenarios that are in the public arena at this point, but Steve Witkoff actually said that he is willing to preside over the negotiations that would take place during a temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to make sure that it can become a more comprehensive ceasefire. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, many thanks for that live report. I appreciate it.

UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram joins me now to speak about the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. She is in Amman, Jordan. I appreciate you joining us.

TESS INGRAM, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON: Good to see you.

CHURCH: So, an 11-week Israeli blockade has ended, but only a very small amount of humanitarian aid has actually crossed the border into Gaza. What is the situation in the enclave right now for millions of starving Palestinians?

INGRAM: That's right. A handful of trucks is not enough to end the suffering of people in Gaza after almost 20 months of war and this blockade, which has stopped aid entirely for 11 weeks.

This trickle of aid is important. We, as UNICEF, have managed to get hundreds of pallets of nutrition supplies in, but we need to see it continue and we need to see it scale up because the situation is really dire.

We are seeing malnourished children, the number of those rising, we're seeing children dying because of malnutrition. And, of course, the bombardments continue. People are being displaced, people are dying.

And in the past, in 72 hours over this weekend, we saw reports of a number of children killed, including nine siblings from the same family as they were in their home. And then again yesterday, reports of 18 children killed after an attack on a school. So it's relentless, rows from all angles, from both the blockade and the bombs.

CHURCH: And Tess, while residents in Gaza try to find whatever food they can to survive, Israel's military is issuing new evacuation orders, warning it will carry out an unprecedented attack in southern Gaza. Palestinians are being ordered to relocate to a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. How will more than two million exhausted and starving Palestinians live and survive in this small area of land?

INGRAM: That's the million-dollar question, and we are urging for civilians not to be forcibly displaced. The amount of reasonable living conditions -- living area in the Gaza Strip has been reduced because of the enormous amount of destruction that we've seen in the Gaza Strip.

I've been there several times throughout the conflict and seen firsthand people living in and among the rubble of shelled-out buildings, living in makeshift shelters under pieces of plastic. The options are limited, and so then to force two million people into an area that's only a very small sliver of the Gaza Strip with no guarantee of safety, that's abhorrent. And it's abhorrent for two reasons. One, because there's that lack of safety we've seen over and over again, that even in so-called safe places, the bombs continue to fall and kill children. But it's also abhorrent, Rosemary, because there's no guarantee of safety of supplies in those places.

[03:15:04]

There's still limited access to safe water, a real lack of food, a lack of medicine, and access to health care. So these are not safe places for people. As you say, after almost 20 months of war, where people are exhausted, they're delusional, they're fatigued, they just want this to end.

I spoke to one mother this week, and I asked her how she was, and she said, I'm alive. I'm not okay, but I'm alive. And that's the standard for people in Gaza at the moment, is just hanging on.

CHURCH: And Tess, according to an Israeli military official, this evacuation order includes plans to occupy and hold 75 percent of Gaza within two months. What could this potentially mean for the Palestinian people?

INGRAM: This is people being forcibly removed from their land without the freedom to return. Displaced people should be allowed to move freely and voluntarily return to their homes as soon as possible. That's essential.

And we must not see people moved into smaller and smaller parts of the Gaza Strip. As your correspondent said, already nearly 80 percent of the Strip is either under evacuation orders or considered a no-go military zone that people aren't allowed to move into.

So we're almost there already, and we can't allow that to happen. We need to make sure that people retain their ability to move across the Gaza Strip, to find whatever limited safety exists, to find whatever food and water exists.

CHURCH: So what needs to happen for that to be the new state of affairs? And what should the international community be doing at this time to ease the misery of the Palestinian people caught in the middle of fighting and negotiations between Hamas and Israel?

INGRAM: It's the same thing that we've been calling throughout this conflict. We need to see the free and unimpeded flow of aid from as many crossings as possible.

And it needs to be delivered in a dignified and principled manner that the United Nations has proved that it can do to people where they are. We cannot force them to come to a certain area for aid.

We need to meet them where they are with the supplies that they need. But above all else, we need a ceasefire. We need the killing of children to stop.

We need the decimation of essential services like hospitals to stop. We need civilians to be protected and the hostages released. That's key, and we've proven that when there is a ceasefire, that is the time when hostages are released, aid flows and less children are injured.

CHURCH: Tess Ingram, thank you so much for joining us and for the work that you do. I appreciate it.

INGRAM: Thank you.

CHURCH: Still to come, President Trump's proposed tax and domestic policy bill could be dramatically reshaped by Senate Republicans this week. We will take a closer look at the budget concerns dividing the GOP.

And an update on a major jailbreak earlier this month in New Orleans. More prisoners are recaptured, but some are still on the run. We'll take a look.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Police have recaptured three more inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail. They were part of a group of ten prisoners who staged a jailbreak earlier this month. Authorities are still searching for the last two inmates who remain on the run.

They allegedly used electric hair trimmers to cut through cell walls, a source told CNN. Seven people are accused of aiding their escape, one prison worker was arrested last week for allegedly turning off water to a toilet, allowing inmates to slip through.

Donald Trump's sweeping tax and domestic policy bill heads to the U.S. Senate this week after narrowly passing the House on Thursday. The president admits Senate Republicans could make fairly significant changes to the bill, but suggests he's open to some of those changes. A number of senators have raised concerns over the bill's potential impact on the national debt.

CNN's Manu Raju has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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 afternoon, 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 in 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 or 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 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 and 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 on the right, you lose some folks in the middle.

[03:24:57]

That includes Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who told me that she believes the new work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, which would 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's one push from the middle.

Some others, even Conservative Senator Josh Hawley, has raised concerns about what he sees as a Medicaid benefit cut that was included as part of the House bill.

But the challenge for Trump will be if he gives in to those concerns about the cuts and 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 was 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 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 increase 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)

CHURCH: Russia is reacting to Donald Trump's remarks after the U.S. President criticized Vladimir Putin for a massive attack on Ukraine. We'll have details after a short break. Stay with us.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Police have arrested a man suspected of plowing into a crowd of people at a trophy parade for the Liverpool Football Club. Dozens were injured but so far no fatalities have been reported. Police say they're not treating the incident as terrorism but have yet to reveal the reason for the crash.

Israel's military has issued evacuation orders for most of southern Gaza as it prepares for what it calls an unprecedented attack. A military official tells CNN Israel plans to occupy 75 percent of Gaza within two months as part of a new offensive which would force more than two million Palestinians into a tiny strip of land.

The Kremlin's spokesperson is downplaying Donald Trump's criticism of Vladimir Putin as emotional reactions following Russia's massive aerial attack on Ukraine over the weekend. The U.S. president said he was not happy with his Russian counterpart and said he'd gone absolutely crazy. Dmitry Peskov blamed emotional overload for the comments.

Ukrainian officials say there have been more Russian strikes overnight including in the Sumy and Donetsk regions. At least two people were killed and 16 others wounded. This comes as European leaders renew calls for a ceasefire and as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke about the lifting of range restrictions for weapons delivered to Ukraine by Germany and other Ukrainian allies.

It's a significant change in approach by allies who had previously resisted Ukraine's request to use western supplied weapons deep inside Russia. The Kremlin calls the move dangerous.

Well more now from CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 he'd 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 got along with him but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don't like it at all.

[03:34:59]

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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Jill Dougherty is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, she's also a former CNN Moscow bureau chief and the author of "My Russia - What I Saw Inside the Kremlin." I appreciate you joining us.

JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROF., GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY AND FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hey Rosemary, good to be here.

CHURCH: Wonderful. So one day after President Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin absolutely crazy for targeting civilians in Russia's biggest aerial attack since the start of the war, the Kremlin is now responding saying Donald Trump may be suffering an emotional overload. So what is this signal to you and how likely is it that Donald Trump will now respond by imposing additional sanctions on Russia to get Putin to the negotiating table? DOUGHERTY: Well that comment by actually Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the President of Russia, was that this is emotional for everyone, that it's highly emotional overload is the use. So I think what they're trying to do is, you know, it doesn't look good for the president of the United States to call the president of Russia crazy. It doesn't look good domestically for President Putin to be called crazy.

So I think what they're trying to do they want to continue to talk with the United States. Putin apparently doesn't want peace now at all but they want to keep talking. So what they're trying to do is kind of smooth down you know the edges of those comments by President Trump and keep the ball rolling but, you know, not create too many problems in the relationship at this point.

CHURCH: As you point out President Trump is also criticizing Ukraine's President Zelenskyy for quote causing problems but Zelenskyy is urging America to impose more sanctions. Why do you think the U.S. or specifically President Trump has been so reluctant to do that and on what more might it take for the Trump administration to figure out how to deal with Putin and apply these sanctions or do something else?

DOUGHERTY: Well that is a huge question because I mean it's the question why does not President Trump see what's going on apparently with Putin and that I think is really Mr. Trump himself and how he views Putin.

Now what -- why does he do this? I think again getting back to that personal relationship you know President Trump is a business person and it appears that he looked at all of this as kind of like a business deal that you know you can pressure one side, pressure the other side, offer some carrots and the carrots to Russia were that you could have business back again.

That's something that Putin obviously would like. Western businesses, American businesses back investing in Russia. But that is not happening and I think that's one thing that Trump thought would work but it hasn't worked.

So it's -- that's the dilemma for President Trump. Does he really believe that the problem really is with Putin or not and if he does believe the problem is with Putin then what are you going to do about it?

And Rosemary interestingly I was looking at a piece of video of President Putin talking to some business people in Russia and he was -- it was, you know, almost the other side of the conversation. He was saying you know they tell us about democracy and human rights, etcetera, but they keep pushing toward us and then he said they forced us to do what we are doing and they blame us. They try to make us the guilty party.

[03:40:07]

I thought that was very indicative of exactly what he feels, you know that it's the West's fault and that they are trying to blame Russia and that's not a particularly good thing to have if you're trying to get into negotiations.

CHURCH: Jill Dougherty, many thanks for your analysis. I appreciate it.

Britain's King Charles will soon deliver an historic address to open Canada's Parliament. Still ahead details on his highly symbolic trip to Ottawa.

Plus was it a playful moment between a bickering husband and wife or something more? Why this viral video of the French President has become a target for Russian trolls. Back with that in just a moment.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

Britain's King Charles who is Canada's head of state will begin the final day of his two-day visit to Ottawa in the coming hours. The monarch will deliver an address to Parliament and is expected to reinforce the message that Canada is not for sale.

CNN's Paula Newton has more.

(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 was 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 those Canadians enthusiastically showing off some Canadian arts and crafts and food but also dropping a puck for a road 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 are 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)

CHURCH: As Donald Trump's trade war and erratic economic policies continue to rattle global markets, the head of the European Central Bank believes the euro could become a viable alternative to the U.S. dollar as a 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)

CHURCH: The dollar's 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.

French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to depart Vietnam for Indonesia in the coming hours. Macron has been looking to expand French influence in Vietnam, a country grappling with the threat of U.S. tariffs. He met his Vietnamese counterpart on Monday. The two countries signed deals worth more than $10 billion covering everything from Airbus jets to vaccines.

Vietnam is rapidly expanding as a manufacturing hub and is dependent on exports, leaving it vulnerable to President Trump's threatened tariff of 46 percent. It's the first trip by a French President to the former colony in almost a decade.

But it was what happened at the very start of Macron's trip that attracted the most attention. The French President apparently being shoved in the face by his wife just as he arrived in Vietnam.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne explains why Russian trolls have seized upon the viral video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SR. PRODUCER: This short video of President Macron and his wife Brigette pushing his face as they land in Vietnam is going viral and has caught the attention of Russian trolls.

[03:50:00]

Later Macron appears to offer his arm but France's first lady opts to hold the railing instead. The Elysee Palace initially denied anything unusual had happened, calling it a moment of togetherness and playful teasing in a statement. Macron later told journalists he was surprised by the attempts to twist the moment.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): There is a video now which opens, we're in the middle of bickering and rather joking with my wife and I'm surprised by how this becomes a kind of geo planetary catastrophe.

VANDOORNE: French officials say the moment will likely feed the mills of conspiracy theorists and Russian trolls. It's already become a target for pro-Russian accounts and Russian state media who viewed it as a possible opportunity to spread misinformation.

And this isn't the first time. Earlier this month prominent Kremlin officials claimed Macron was using cocaine on a train trip to Kyiv with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Frederich Merz.

French officials say a crumpled tissue was mistaken for a bag of drugs. Macron's office debunked the rumor with humor, tweeting this is a tissue for blowing your nose. Officials say these efforts are part of a wider Kremlin campaign to undermine Europe's steadfast support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The investigation into the alleged kidnapping of an Italian crypto trader in New York could be expanding. One man has been arrested and police are now focusing on a second suspect. The details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

Authorities could learn new details this week about the alleged kidnapping of an Italian cryptocurrency trader in New York. They say he was held hostage and tortured for several weeks as part of a violent scheme to get his Bitcoin password. A second suspect in the case is expected to surrender to police.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more.

(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, 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.

[03:54:58]

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 this 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 kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, criminal possession of a firearm 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 and 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 flagged 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.

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CHURCH: And thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" with Polo Sandoval at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)