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U.S. President Refines Foreign Policy Positions on Gulf Tour; Israeli Blockade Forces Gaza to Brink of Famine; Russia & Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Massive Drone Attacks Ahead of Direct Talks in Istanbul; Pressure from Higher Tariffs Raising Prices in the U.S.; Top Court Considers Challenges to Trump's Birthright Policy. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired May 16, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: U.S. President wrapping up his whirlwind Middle East tour just hours ago, if this was a trip promoted as a
pivotal opportunity to reimagine U.S.-Gulf relations while it hit the mark. We'll take a closer look at the investment deals and policy shifts that
revealed the Donald Trump doctrine on this region.
It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. This is our Middle East Programming Headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson, this is "Connect the World". Also coming
up, a deadly night in Gaza, Israel's bombardment continues as the risk of famine there worsens. And in Turkey, amid low expectations, Russia and
Ukraine end their first direct talks since the start of the war.
Stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now and stock futures indicating a positive start to the last day of the trading week, AI and
tech much the focus of Donald Trump's trip to this region. The deals inked here in the Gulf, will be providing some support for those hyper scalers.
U.S. President Donald Trump is on his way home from Abu Dhabi after a whirlwind swing through this region, he spent the past four days rubbing
elbows with royalty and basking in the lavish pageantry, and he says he wants credit for everything that he has accomplished on this trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They'll say, I did that, and everyone will say, but somebody's going to be cutting a ribbon
and well, we're going to be finished long before this. Somebody is going to be taking the credit for this. You remember press, this guy did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, here in the UAE, he helped unveil a joint project to advance AI capabilities with a new massive data center complex here in the
capital. And just ahead of the trip, the U.S. announced a weapons sale to the UAE worth more than $1.4 billion. Well earlier on the Doha leg of the
trip, Qatar signed a deal to buy at least $96 billion worth of jets from U.S. playmaker Boeing.
Mr. Trump, continues to defend his plan to accept a luxury plane as a gift from the categories to use initially as Air Force One. At the start of this
Middle East tour in Saudi Arabia, the president secured $600 billion in investments from the kingdom. He also made some major diplomatic inroads,
including announcing sanctions relief for Syria and its former jihadist leader afterwards, expressing confidence in Syria's democratic future.
Well today, on Air Force One, the president appeared to confirm reports that his special envoy has offered Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal.
Joining me now to discuss all of this is Barbara Leaf. She served as U.S. Ambassador to the UAE under the former administration, and continued in the
role for part of President Trump's first term.
Trump just finished his trip to the Middle East, and through this trip, his speeches, his approach to Syria, Iran and the broader region, we've seen
the emergence, it seems, of a sort of Trump doctrine, a new policy framework on the Middle East, one that criticizes decades of U.S. foreign
policy ambassador. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And it's crucial for the wider world to note this great transformation has not come from western interventionalists or flying
people in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.
No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders, neocons or liberal non-profits, like those who
spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul, Baghdad, so many other cities. Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been
brought by the people of the region themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I have to say, he's been roundly supported, both in this region and by many in the States for that speech, and that was only part of it.
What did you make of that?
BARBARA LEAF, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UAE: Well, Becky, it's great to be back on the program. Look, I think there's a lot to parse through in
those remarks. And I would say there are plenty of Americans on the whole political spectrum who would agree with the notion that there has been
overreach, over stretching of U.S. resources in nation building efforts, especially in the aftermath of 9/11.
[09:05:00]
But I don't think that moots the issue of promotion of our values abroad. It just may take different forms. So, I'm not sure if it's truly a new
doctrine. It is a different approach, of course, starkly different from his predecessors.
ANDERSON: You are, of course, part of the Biden Administration, and I just want to put this to you. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in
December of 2024 in foreign affairs about the Biden foreign policy doctrine. Quote, the Biden Administration strategy has put the United
States in a much stronger geopolitical position today than it was four years ago.
Do you agree with that contention that it was the Biden strategy that left the U.S. in a strong position as he was leaving office, even considering
that crisis that is the ongoing war in Gaza?
LEAF: Well, look what I would say is the following, what the approach that the President Biden, took to the region, was one of fostering integration,
integration across many divides, not just the Arab-Israeli divide, but that included and doing so through transportation links, trade arrangements and
so forth.
That work was interrupted, in a sense, dramatically interrupted by the events of October 7th and the war that continued, that broke out
afterwards. So, I think this is still something that President Trump will have to deal with. The region is fragile. So, is it stronger or not? It is
changed.
It is dramatically changed since the events of last fall changed, most especially in Lebanon and Syria. There could be a dramatic change coming
with Iran as well.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and let's then address very specifically then what we've heard from Donald Trump on this trip, as he would have us believe, many
around this region do believe that he is turning a page on U.S. Middle East policy. Let's start with Syria lifting of those sanctions, the opportunity
for the Gulf and elsewhere to get involved in recovery and reconstruction.
What do you make of that decision and his very visible decision to meet for more than half an hour with the new Syrian President?
LEAF: I think it's hugely significant. It's going to unleash a lot of energy, a lot of positive energy towards Syria, possibly within Syria, it
will certainly clear the way for Gulf countries and others to go in and begin the long, hard task of helping with reconstruction of Syria's much
depleted and destroyed infrastructure.
So, it could have a hugely stabilizing effect on a country that is really a keystone for the region in terms of security and stability. So, I think
it's very positive.
ANDERSON: And on Iran, we are just learning that Donald Trump, whilst on his way back on Air Force One, the one that he currently has, has suggested
that there is an offer on the table to Iran. Now, he keeps talking about this offer. He keeps suggesting that the offer he was aided in the offer
by, for example, the Emir of Qatar.
He says the offer is only going to be on the table for a limited period. You know, they should take it. Otherwise, he's offering, you know, pretty
stark warnings. I don't have any details, and if you have any details from sources as to what this offer might look like and how different it might be
from President Obama's original JCPOA.
But again, you know your thoughts on where the administration's head is, as far as these talks are concerned, and what success might look like.
LEAF: So, I think there have been a number of ideas traded back and forth across these four sessions of discussions between the U.S. and Iran,
mediated supported by Oman. He's taken advice. The president has taken advice from each of these three leaders that he met this week, he spoke to
this issue for the first time, confirming at his level that there was an actual proposal from the U.S.
We don't know all the details, but I will point out that in the midst of this sort of happy noise from the Gulf, from the Arab side of the Gulf, you
had a sort of interruption or breakthrough from Ali Shamkhani, a Senior Aide to the Supreme Leader, as if to say, we interrupt this program to
bring you our point of view.
[09:10:00]
And he laid out some very specific requirements for Iran. And most interestingly, I thought, said, in trade for this, we want all U.S.
sanctions lifted, and if the Americans act as they say, we're sure we can have better relations. That's a pretty big statement that goes beyond the
nuclear issue to something bilateral, which would be hugely significant. That's really where they go.
ANDERSON: Barbara, I'm going to leave it here, but very briefly, it sounds like you agree with many in this region and those in the states who say
this has been a successful trip.
LEAF: Successful, but there's an asterisk, and it's an important asterisk, and that's Gaza. Gaza rages on, and there's no end in sight. There's no end
in sight in terms of the agony of the hostages, their families. There's no end in sight for the agony of the 2 million plus Palestinians of Gaza.
So, there was -- this was otherwise a very positive looking, happy looking progress across the Gulf, but that war is raging, and there's no end in
sight. And the president took note of it at the end, saying we're going to take care of things, but it's very unclear how that will happen.
ANDERSON: Barbara, it's good to have you. It's always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed for joining us today. And we stay in Gaza, because in the
north of the enclave, more than 50 people were killed overnight in what has been a relentless week of Israeli bombardment.
You can see the rescue workers rushing to the scene there. Many of the victims were women and children. Some 250 people have been in the last 36
hours alone. Local Health officials say many more are still trapped beneath the rubble. Well CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv.
And Jeremy the children that aren't being bombed are being starved. U.N. says it won't support a new plan by a U.S. organization to deliver aid
because of their lack of neutrality. Let's just have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FARHAN HAQ, UNITED NATIONS DEPUTY SPOKESMAN: We ourselves as the U.N. have a plan, an excellent plan, that is ready to be implemented as soon as we're
allowed to do our work. We have trucks ready to go. We have more than 171,000 metric tons of food on top of other lifesaving supplies, and
they're ready to go, the minute that Israel opens the gates. With this alone, we can feed everyone in the script.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Jeremy, just walk us through the realities on the ground, please.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, Becky, I mean, this has been a very deadly week in the Gaza Strip, and of course, it
risks getting deadlier, not only because of a planned intensification of Israeli military operations, but also because of a lack of food getting
into the Gaza Strip.
First on the strikes overnight at more than 50 people were killed in strikes on Northern Gaza due to air strikes as well as artillery strikes.
And this has brought the death toll for this week alone into the hundreds of people who have been killed. One man, Rafiq al Tatari (ph), said that
his sister and 14 members of her family, all civilians were killed in a single strike that included her baby grandchildren who were killed in a
strike on a house in Northern Gaza.
The Israeli military, for its part, says that it has carried out strikes on more than 150 targets in the last 24 hours, targeting anti-missile tank
posts and militant command centers. But as beyond the air strikes, there is, of course, this worsening humanitarian crisis, as Gazans are struggling
to find food.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (voice-over): Amid the crush of bodies clamoring for food, children are being put to an unthinkable test, who will manage to fill their family
pot and who will have to wait another day to eat. This is how Gaza's children are being forced to live as Israel continues to block the entry of
food.
A total siege that is now in its 11th week. A boy burnt by the small prize of lentil soup he has managed to win. Girl scooping what remains with her
bare hands. But before it all, a search for food for them and their families with no guarantee of success. I wake up every day, then we go find
a kitchen.
If we don't find food, then we go to another kitchen and another kitchen, Mohammed (ph) explains, if we don't find anything, we go all day without
food.
[09:15:00]
Nearly all of Gaza's population now experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse with 56 percent at the emergency or catastrophic level,
meaning very high rates of acute malnutrition and large gaps in food consumption. Unless aid gets in, more than three quarters of the population
are projected to fall to those emergency levels.
TOM FLETCHER, U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk
of famine. One in five face starvation.
DIAMOND (voice-over): As this man-made crisis worsens, Israel and the United States approving a new, tightly controlled mechanism to get aid into
some parts of Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it plans to launch its operations within two weeks. Until then, it called on Israel to
allow aid in through existing mechanisms.
Israel has yet to publicly agree. A person involved in the planning said Israel has agreed to allow some aid into Gaza in the coming days, but
Israel has yet to say so publicly. The U.N. says it won't participate, saying the new plan will make things worse, facilitating forced
displacement and putting civilians at risk. In Gaza, people are running out of time, as charity kitchens like this one run out of food.
NIHAD ABU KHOUL, RUNS CHARITY KITCHEN IN GAZA: 14 pots were not enough, the manager of this kitchen says those who didn't get food will not eat
anything today and will come back tomorrow and might not get anything again. Cases of acute malnutrition are spiking, and people are being pushed
to the brink, like Reda Ahmed (ph), who fainted yesterday from a lack of food.
I swear I can't walk anymore. There is nothing to eat, she says. As for the children who stand waiting for a chance to be fed, too many are now
learning what it means to go hungry.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (on camera): And Becky, the question is, indeed now whether Israel will allow some aid in, in the interim, before this Gaza Humanitarian
Foundation actually gets up and running, a person familiar with the planning told me that yes, Israel has agreed to let some aid in in the
coming days.
We've yet to actually hear from Israel publicly on the matter. And then, of course, there's the question of how much aid will Israel allow in and to
which parts of Gaza, Becky.
ANDERSON: Jeremy is in Tel Aviv for you. Jeremy, thank you. Well, President Donald Trump says the U.S. has given Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal. He
told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran, quote knows they got to work quickly, or something bad is going to happen.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News there is urgency to reach an agreement because Tehran is fairly close to developing a nuclear weapon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: A regime like that can never have nuclear weapons, and the president has made clear they will not have a
nuclear weapon. We hope it's through the path of negotiation. We hope it's through the path of diplomacy. Steve Witkoff is doing a great job at
negotiating in a very difficult negotiation.
This will not be easy, but he's doing a great job at trying to bring about that peaceful resolution to this problem, and we should pray that he's
successful. I have confidence in him, but in the end, the decision lies in the hands of one person, and that's the Supreme Leader in Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, while both sides say they prefer a diplomatic solution, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if it fails to
reach a nuclear deal. Still to come, chaotic, confusing and now concluded. We've got a live report from Istanbul after direct peace talks between
Ukraine and Russia wrap up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Well in Istanbul, talks that look like they might not even happen have now wrapped. Russia and Ukraine sat down face to face for their first
direct peace talks in three years, and that meeting lasted a little under two hours. Neither of the country's leaders attended those talks, nor did
U.S. President Donald Trump, who says no resolution will happen until he meets with Vladimir Putin. Here's what he told reporters earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think it's time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelenskyy was going. And I said, If I don't go, I
guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go. And I understand that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do you think you'll meet president?
TRUMP: As soon as we can set it up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has now departed Turkey. He met with the Turkish and Ukrainian officials ahead of those
peace talks. Let's get to CNN's Clare Sebastian in Istanbul. We've just heard from Donald Trump, so he seems to have a sort of solution to this.
You are at those talks, or certainly reporting on those talks. You're there in Istanbul. And they ended up going ahead. What happened?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're over now, Becky, as you say, there was a little unclear characteristic of this whole affair,
whether or not they were over. At one point, the Russian state news agencies were reporting, in the last hour that they'd just taken a pause.
So, there's been a bit of back and forth on that, but we think at least for now, they're over. Expectations were extremely low, but we are getting a
sense now of just how badly things have gone. A source familiar with the negotiations telling CNN that far from the sort of compromises that Russia
claimed that it was ready to make going into these talks. It's continued to make maximalist demands, namely, demanding, according to the source, that
Ukraine give up more territory than Russia currently occupies.
Now, this is striking, not just because it tramples all over Ukrainian red lines, which I think we know we may have expected from these talks, but it
also goes across American red lines, which have been traditionally more favorable to Russia, even the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who has said
that both sides will need to cede territory in any negotiated peace in this war, has said that Russia cannot expect to have territory that it hasn't
even conquered.
So, I think that is particularly striking. And Marco Rubio leaving Istanbul, made some pretty choice comments on this. He said, we came
because we thought there was going to be a direct engagement between the Russians and the Ukrainians. That was not to be the case, he said or if it
is, it's not at the levels we had hoped it would be at.
So, he's basically saying that this didn't count because the delegations were at too low a level. Russia, you'll remember, sent its lead negotiator,
who's a senior aide to the president, a deputy defense minister, deputy foreign minister. There are many of those, by the way, in Russia, that's
not a single person.
None of these household names, none of them cabinet level. And Marco Rubio saying, because of that, it doesn't count. I think the big question now,
given how big the sort of Trump factor, the specter of the U.S. looms in all of this is what will they do about this? And if they were considering
getting tough on Russia, I think dangling the prospect of a Trump-Putin meeting is not going to do that.
This is exactly what Russia wants to resume this sort of superpower status to keep its seat at the international table. I think it remains to be seen
whether the threats of sanctions that have been put forward that President Zelenskyy was calling for again today, the threat even of walking away from
this process is still on the table for the U.S., but certainly we can expect that the Ukrainian demands for that will increase off the back of
this.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you there, Clare. Thank you very much indeed. Well ahead of those talks, both Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other
of launching dozens of drones strikes overnight. Let's get you straight to Ukraine, CNN's Chief International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, joining
us from Kyiv, Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, some breaking news to bring you and possibly a sign of the first fallout of
that extraordinary, brief and fruitless, it seems, for now, meeting between Ukraine and Russia.
[09:25:00]
We're hearing from the Ukrainian presidency that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump,
but importantly, also too, with the four European leaders that he stood alongside here last Saturday in Kyiv and demanded an unconditional
ceasefire from Russia with.
That French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and a Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.
Now that is key because of the consistent, the nature of the people on that particular call. It would suggest to me that this is perhaps a bid by the
Europeans and Ukraine to remind President Trump of the things he said last Saturday.
The assurances he clearly gave those European leaders about support in the event that Russia brushed aside the demand for a ceasefire. And indeed,
appears to have entered these talks sending very junior officials and making demands, according to the Ukrainian source close to the negotiations
that we've been speaking to, that are so maximalist, frankly, they seem to take the process back a number of months.
I mean, obviously Ukraine is not going to cede ground that Russia hasn't even conquered as part of these negotiations, just even starting. Everybody
makes Maximus demands at the beginning of talks, but this is possibly a bit of a junior delegation to potentially slow the process yet further.
So, we'll have to hear more details about this phone call, but the speed in which it's been held, the fact that Trump was part of this too, would
suggest that the Europeans, at the very least, are trying to make sure that the consequences that were threatened for Russia brushing aside these
various initiatives.
Remember, it was Putin's suggestion that these talks be held in Istanbul. That was his response to a demand for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. He
ignored that demand and said, Instead, let's have talks in Istanbul, Zelenskyy said, I'll go in person to meet Putin in person.
Trump suggested he might be an intermediary there and attend as well. And that all fell apart. So, he had this very junior, exceptionally brief
meeting. Now it appears that the diplomacy after that at a senior leadership level may be trying to move ahead. We don't know the content of
this call, we don't know who requested it, and certainly we don't know the outcome of it, indeed.
But remember, the French and the Europeans were very clear, if Russia ignores this unconditional demand, this demand for an unconditional
ceasefire, there should be, quote, massive sanctions Zelenskyy, referring to how the banking and energy sectors could indeed be hit.
Now there's complexity here too, obviously, because President Trump has been clear, repeatedly backed up by his secretary of state, that he doesn't
expect progress in these peace talks until he meets personally with Vladimir Putin. So, is he facing a decision here that he should potentially
cause these consequences to happen ahead of a bilateral like that? Might that disrupt the bilateral.
Certainly Trump's suggestion that it's only him and Putin that can move this forward may have taken have taken some of the wind out of the pressure
that the Europeans and Ukraine have been trying to apply to Russia, but this phone call, the timing of it, and the people on it, suggest to me that
obviously there's a bid to try and move this forward and perhaps bring consequences for Russia, essentially ignoring what they've been asked to be
involved in over the past week or so.
We'll have to hear more details as we move forward, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Nick. Thank you. Unless we forget, this is a war, it's a conflict and people are dying. Let's get you up to speech on
some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And Mexican authorities investigating the killing of TikTok beauty influencer Valeria
Marquez, who was live streaming from a beauty salon where a man entered and shot her to death.
Police are investigating it as a suspected femicide, the killing of a woman or girl for gender-based reasons. Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal are
among a group of famous figures to add their names to an open letter signed by more than 350 actors and filmmakers condemning the movie industry's
silence over Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
And the April killing of Gazan photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, the letter was published to coincide with the Cannes Film Festival. New York
University is withholding the diploma of student Logan Rozos, who condemned the war in Gaza while delivering a graduation speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOGAN ROZOS, NYU STUDENT: I want to say that the genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is
paid for by our tax dollars, and has been live streamed to our phones for the past 18 months. And that I do not wish to speak only to my own politics
today, but to speak for all people of conscience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, NYU taking disciplinary action over the speech, saying it violated school rules. It comes amidst the Trump Administration's crackdown
on students engaging in pro Palestinian demonstrations with NYU cited earlier this year by the Justice Department for quote in incidents of
antisemitism.
[09:30:00]
Coming up, U.S. consumers pull back on spending as higher tariffs raise prices across the book. Take a look at what that all means up next and see
how Wall Street is reacting as markets open on this Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Time here, just after half past 5 in the afternoon. You are watching, "Connect the World"
and wherever you are watching, you're more than welcome. Let's take a look at how these markets have opened.
They've been open for what about three minutes. It's a pretty mixed day, I have to say. I mean, if Donald Trump thought by taking home commitments of
over $3 trillion from his Gulf tour, would put some fire in these markets. Well, not happening today. It may be that all the data out there is
pointing to one thing at the moment, higher tariffs, raising prices in the U.S.
Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, says President Trump's trade war will cost its consumers more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG MCMILLON, WALMART CEO: We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced
levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the warning comes as we await another key economic report due out next hour, that is a report on consumer sentiment. And so far,
consumers have been relatively insulated from price hikes, businesses absorbing the costs while consumers are rushing in the U.S. at least, to
snap up products before the tariffs come into force in April.
But that is not expected to last, necessarily. Joining us now from New York is CNN's Senior Business Writer Allison Morrow, it's good to have you.
Tariff related fears kept consumers spending in March that though, as I understand, it is already changing.
ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Thank you. Yeah, that is changing. We saw consumer spending go down. It was basically flat year over
year last month.
[09:35:00]
And that's a huge change from March when we saw people rushing to buy cars, appliances, electronics, all the things that were expected to be part of
these tariff measures. So, consumers have been telling us for months now that they feel bad about the economy, that they're not confident about the
economy, and we're actually starting to see that in the hard data of spending now.
It might take a few months for the reality to shake out, but at least so far, that initial surge in spending, you know, the consumer, American
consumer, is always pretty reliable when it comes to shopping, but they are starting to feel the strain and they're worried about the future.
ANDERSON: Yeah, keep an eye on that data. It's good indication as to how Main Street is feeling. It's good to have you. Thank you. Still ahead, teen
phenomenon, Lamine Yamal helps Barcelona to clinch the La Liga title. Barcelona is now on its 28th Spanish league title. That is more than any
other club in the last 20 years. More on that is in "World Sport", and that is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We are following a major labor strike in New Jersey, causing massive disruptions for some 100,000 daily riders at one of the nation's
largest rail services. Now, engineers at New Jersey transit went on strike earlier today, negotiations between the state-run commuter rail service and
the brotherhood of locomotive engineers and trainmen failed to reach an 11th hour deal to prevent this strike.
Transit officials urging computers to commuters sorry to work from home drive will take the bus if they can. The two sides not expected to return
to the negotiating table until Sunday. The U.S. Supreme Court considering lifting a series of nationwide judicial orders blocking President Trump
from enforcing his birthright citizenship policy.
Now, the president signed an executive order denying citizenship to anyone born in the United States, to parents who were here, either unlawfully or
temporarily, that triggered protests and legal challenges, with federal judges blocking enforcement of the policy.
On Thursday, Supreme Court justices suggested those courts may have overstepped their authority. Judges wrestled with the practical
implications of allowing the policy because it appears to conflict with the 14th Amendment that states that, all persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state that they reside in.
The case, however, did not deal directly with the 14th Amendment itself, but the process to enforce it, it may take until next month the Supreme
Court to rule on this case.
[09:40:00]
Well, the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in history, of course regarded as the earliest Declaration of Human Rights, dating back to
the 1300s which is why a recent discovery made by a British historian is such a surprise. King's College Professor David Carpenter was searching for
a copy of the document in the archives of Harvard University's law school when he realized that he had stumbled upon one of seven known originals
under King Edward, the first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CARPENTER, PROFESSOR OF KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: I worked through the harbor text, word for word, back breaking, eye breaking work, comparing it
to the authorized version, Johnny, nerve-racking, actually, because I kept thinking, oh, God, it's going to fail.
But actually, no, it didn't. It flying colors, and its text is virtually identical to that found in these six other originals. And that persuaded me
more than anything else, that this was most absolutely genuine and authentic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Most remarkable, none among other things, the great charter enshrined the principle that the king was not above the law. Harvard bought
it for just get this. $27 80 years ago. Barcelona keeps adding hardware to its trophy cabinet.
They've been playing lights out and still such a young squad, they clinch the La Liga title with last night's win marking the team's 28 Spanish
league title. Let's catch up on the highlights from last night's title match. Andy Scholes as well.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Any football fan you know would dream of a couple of titles during their lifetime for the team that they support.
SCHOLES: Yeah.
ANDERSON: But 28 at this point. I mean, this is remarkable, isn't it? What a performance?
SCHOLES: Yeah, and Becky, this squad right now so young, so they're going to have a lot more titles coming their way in the future. And of course,
their young squad, highlighted by Lamine Yamal, and he had the winning goal basically in this game.
It was an incredible one, as we get to see it right here. He gets in the box, and just an incredible curler. I can watch Lamine Yamal near the box
all day long, because he just comes up with magic time after time. But this is their second La Liga title the last three seasons. And like I mentioned,
Becky, such a young squad, many more titles could be in their future.
And you know, they lost that epic semifinal to Inter Milan in Champions League. This certainly a nice way to bounce back.
ANDERSON: Yeah, I had to lean in to see that goal again. And I got to tell you, I've seen it about six times today in replay, but it's worth having a
look at again. All right, Andy is in the house. He's got "World Sport". I'm back in 15 minutes with more "Connect the World". Stay with us.
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