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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Jury Selection, Opening Statements To Begin Sean "Diddy" Combs's Sex Trafficking Trial; Newark Airport Recovers From New Equipment Outage; Kurdish Militant Group PKK Announces It Is Disbanding; Russia Launches 108 Drones Overnight After Ukraine, E.U. Demand Ceasefire; U.S. Says Latest Round Of Nuclear Talks With Iran Were "Encouraging; Pope Leo XIV Hosts First Audience With Journalists. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 12, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Who have maintained that she was. That she was coerced.

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes, this is a really difficult task for these defense attorneys. We're hearing that Cassie Ventura is, first of all, pregnant with her third child. So you can imagine not only is she going to be a sympathetic witness, because jurors will see her being physically assaulted on this videotape that the judge says will be allowed in the videotape from that hotel lobby, but also, if she is pregnant, that's going to be very difficult for the defense to go after her aggressively.

And there was a big fight in last week on Friday about whether evidence could come in about violence or domestic violence that the defense says went both ways, meaning that Cassie Ventura engaged in violent conduct against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

It will be interesting again to see how aggressive the defense is with regards to his cross examination, because it could come off as bullying and could cause the jurors to be alienated from the defense and side with the prosecution. So it's always a delicate balance when you have a witness like Cassie Ventura on the witness stand.

SANDOVAL: He took the word out of my mouth. Delicate, no doubt. And back to that video that you mentioned, to the 2016 surveillance video that shows Combs assaulting Cassie. Obviously going to be very damaging in the case. How do you think his defense will try to. To sort of contextualize it for the jury?

MARTIN: Well, one of the things we've heard, Polo, is that this videotape that we've all seen that was aired on CNN originally, that it was somehow doctored, that the videotape was taken out of context, and that when the entire videotape is revealed to jurors, it's going to show something different than what we've seen.

Now, based on the arguments that the defense has made, I suspect that they're going to take the position that the video will show perhaps Cassie involved in some kind of physical violence against P. Diddy. But again, very difficult burden for the defense in this case. We saw what we saw. Our eyes didn't lie. And it's going to be difficult to convince jurors that what they witnessed was not physical violence against Ms. Ventura.

SANDOVAL: A major trial. It begins today. I know that you will be watching it closely. Areva Martin, thank you so much. We're so lucky to have your expertise. We hope you get a little bit of rest before things get started.

MARTIN: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: You bet. Operations, they are back to normal at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Sunday. There was yet another air traffic control outage there after a telecommunications problem at a radar control center.

The FAA stopped all flights bound for Newark. We've been here before, right? That same center had a 90-second outage on Friday. A similar incident on April 28 led five air traffic controllers to take what we described as trauma leave.

The U.S. Transportation Secretary says that it is safe to fly out of Newark Airport, but flights are being scaled back until the problem is fixed. So it might be safe, but may not necessarily. Your reservation may not be safe.

So coming up on Early Start, Ukraine's president and other European leaders told Russia no peace talks without a ceasefire. But that all changed after Donald Trump took to social media. We'll share the details after the break.

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SANDOVAL: Want to get you information now that's just into CNN. The Kurdistan Workers Party or the PKK, says that it will dissolve itself and end decades of war with Turkey. The PKK is a militant separatist group which has fought really for an independent Kurdish state inside of Turkey for nearly 50 years. And it has been a bloody war. Tens of thousands of people have died in that conflict.

Earlier this year, the group's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, asked his followers to lay down their arms in a unilateral ceasefire. From jail, he told the Kurdish people to fight for their rights with politics and not with violence, saying, quote, democratic consensus is the fundamental way.

And Ukrainian officials say that Russia launched more than 100 drones overnight. It is part of a wave of Russian air attacks that have killed at least one person and wounded 20 others in the past 24 hours or so. And it comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was ready for direct talks with Vladimir Putin.

If that happens, it would be the first time the two leaders talked since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian officials have called for a 30-day ceasefire before the talks, but U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted that the talks come without any conditions set.

Let's get the Latest now from CNN's Sebastian Shukla with more from London. Sebastian, we have waited a long time for these, for this potential meeting. What are these leaders saying?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, I think the key thing here is to say that this meeting is still only a potential. And it's come after a weekend of diplomatic brinkmanship, statesmanship and posturing that has basically led us to the point where President Zelenskyy threw down the gauntlet to President Putin and said, okay, I'm ready to meet with you.

But you have to rewind to Saturday where European leaders stood in Kyiv alongside President Zelenskyy and said there are no talks until a 30-day ceasefire is agreed beginning on Monday. So it's supposed to come into force today. And which President Putin then came out and pulled the rug from under them and said, OK, I see your 30-day ceasefire and I'll raise you the prospect of talks, direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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President Zelenskyy then came out and -- President Trump rather then came out and posted on social media and said Ukraine should agree to this immediately and at least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible. That then saw President Zelenskyy come out and throw down this challenge to President Putin. Listen to what he had to say about that potential meeting.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I will be in Turkey this Thursday on May 15th and I expect Putin in Turkey personally. And I hope that this time Putin will not look for reasons why he cannot do something. We are ready to talk to end the war.

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SHUKLA: And all of this is showing that the diplomatic negotiations around ending this conflict are increasingly topsy turvy with the president backing this European allies partner deal for this 30 day cease fire, only to break from COVID immediately. As soon as the prospect of President Putin saying he's prepared to have face to face talks. President Trump took the side of the Kremlin saying, you know, Ukraine has to agree to this.

What we are likely to see in the next few days is whether those talks will actually come to be. President Zelenskyy, as we just heard, said he will be there. We don't know if President Putin will want to go, will be able to go and if he will send another team of delegates in his stead to start these talks.

It's going to be another one of those difficult weeks as this war in Ukraine, the machinations of it really start to grind into gear and the talks continue about how a resolution to this conflict can be held. But one thing is clear is that President Trump is still trying to find and uphold his promise to that he wants to end this war as soon as he can. Polo.

SANDOVAL: A key word from you. Potential meeting. We'll certainly watch it to see if that happens. Sebastian Shukla, really lucky to have you. Thank you.

Iran, it is calling nuclear talks with the U.S. over the weekend difficult, but both sides have agreed that they will continue. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Special envoy Steve Witkoff holding the fourth round of talks in Muscat through Omani mediators.

Araghchi repeating Iran's refusal to give up the right to enrich uranium. Now that's a position that Witkoff has said is a red line for the U.S. in these negotiations. But the Trump administration called the discussion encouraging and also said that they would be looking forward to the next meeting.

Still to come here on Early Start, Pope Leo preparing to meet with journalists for the first time since his election. We'll take you live to the Vatican. The very latest on the first American born pope after his first few days.

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SANDOVAL: In the next hour, Pope Leo XIV set to host his first audience with journalists since his election last week. It comes after another first for the new pontiff, his Sunday blessing at the Vatican, where he called for an end to war, specifically addressing the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau joining me from St. Peter's Square with more. Barbie, good morning to you. I got the feed up here. I'm closely watching. I am fascinated by this. I'm curious, from your perspective, what can we expect to hear from the pontiff when he meets with those who will be covering his papacy?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, it's really interesting, his choice to meet the media before he meets a diplomatic corps, before he meets his ambassadors to the Holy Sea, and before he even has an audience with the president of Italy or the prime minister of Italy. It's going to be really interesting. But people are also dialing back, even wondering what language is he going to speak. Well, when he was elected pope, he addressed the crowd in Italian and Spanish yesterday for his mass, he sang in Latin.

And so we don't know exactly, necessarily what language he's going to use to address the crowd of journalists. We know that several journalists, including our own Vatican expert Chris Lamb, will be able to shake his hand. There's been a select number of people who are been invited to do that. And it's just really going to be interesting to see how he approaches

the media, who will be covering and who will be dissecting his papacy as it goes along. But there is nothing but enthusiasm for this man up to date since he's been elected, since that white smoke delighted the crowds. But there's also, you know, a lot of people wondering what kind of an American pope he will be, if he's just, you know, made in -- born in the USA or if he will have any, you know, American isms about him.

So there's a lot to dissect and we are all just waiting. And when we're done live here, we'll be heading into that audience as well to try to understand and take it all in.

SANDOVAL: Yes, Barbie. He's there for just a matter of days and already reminding us of the global nature of his papacy. Barbie at Vatican City. Thank you.

Well, a lot more still ahead here in Early Start, including the French Riviera. It's about to get even more fabulous. Cannes Film Festival kicking off this week. Just ahead, what to expect from this very glamorous gathering in France.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to early start this year's Eurovision contest. It kicked off on Sunday in a huge way. Check out a massive parade in Barzel, Switzerland. You can see the stream of flags and costumes there on what looks like a beautiful day. Barzel hosting the Eurovision semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday.

On Saturday, up to 12,000 fans will watch the final in person. Not to mention what's expected viewers on TV 163 million viewers worldwide watched this event just last year. This year, the group KAJ representing Sweden. They are the favorites to win.

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And Hollywood heavy hitters and the world's most glamorous going to be descending on the French Riviera this week. The Cannes Film Festival expected to kick off on Tuesday. And there is more than watch than just some of the movies. More to watch than some of the movies. I should say.

Tom Cruise, who else? He will be on hand. He will be promoting what's been billed as the final Mission Impossible film. Also, Hollywood legend Robert De Niro will be awarded the honorary Palme d'Or. 22 films they are up for the top prize at the festivals. The winner going to be announced on May 24.

And thousands in Argentina they have already been dressing up for their illustrious event of their own. Bikers in elegant attire riding across Buenos Aires on Sunday. Their goal is to raise awareness of prostate cancer, called a Distinguished Gentleman's Ride. The event also seeking to spotlight men's mental health issues, especially suicides linked to depression. It began in Sydney, Australia in 2012 and has since gone global with bikes all around the world.

All right, thank you for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval in for my friend Rahel Solomon. I will be right back in another for another hour where we start right after the break. Hope you'll join us.

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