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One World with Zain Asher
Trump In Qatar On Second Leg Of Middle East Tour; Trump: Putin "Would Like Me To Be There" For Talks; Source: Israel Targets Mohammed Sinwar In Strike In Southern Gaza; House Meetings Turn Into Fiery Debate Over Medicaid; U.S. Drug Overdose See Unprecedented Drop in 2024; Trump Receives Lavish Welcome On His Arrival In Doha; Sean "Diddy" Combs' Ex- Girlfriend Back On Stand; Damaging Impacts Of Alcohol On Sleep; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired May 14, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:30]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Six months -- six months ago, excuse me, there was a $10 million bounty on his head. Today, he's shaking hands with
the president of the United States.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: "ONE WORLD" continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will be dropping all of the sanctions on Syria, which I think really is going to be a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: About-face. Why Donald Trump is suddenly welcoming the Syrian president with open arms.
ASHER: Also ahead, fighting over health care for the poor. U.S. lawmakers spar over Medicaid into the early hours of the morning.
And later --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can I get a Grey Goose martini, very dry with a lemon twist?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Good. That's a fun assignment. Could a happy hour also be healthy hour? CNN investigates the ins and outs of a nightcap.
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I am Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching the second hour of "ONE WORLD."
It's money, not mediation. That's the focus of Donald Trump's Middle East trip now in its second day.
ASHER: Yes. The U.S. president is in Doha, where a short time ago, he announced what he's calling a $200 billion jet deal with Qatar. But it's
what happened in Saudi Arabia earlier that is grabbing headlines.
In Riyadh, Trump met with the Saudi Crown Prince and Syria's new leader and said the U.S. would lift sanctions on the Islamist-led government of Syria
and move to normalize relations.
That surprise announcement led to celebrations and fireworks from the streets of Aleppo.
GOLODRYGA: It also resulted in a standing ovation led by the Saudi Crown Prince. U.S. president clearly enjoying the response.
Later, he had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: That was the thing. They got the biggest applause from the room. We had a very crowded room with thousands of people. And the statement they
got the biggest applause was dropping the sanctions in Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Alex Marquardt joins us now live in Washington.
You can't overstate the significance here in the reversal in U.S. policy, Alex, as we noted at the top of the show. Just six months ago, there was a
$10 million bounty on al-Sharaa's head. There was, over the last few months, a lot of debate over whether or not to raise these sanctions and
lift them by a number of Western allies.
I can't say that many people expected the president of the United States to lead the way, though, with this trip. What more are we learning as to what
led to it?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Bianna and Zain, I know we're only on day two of this trip and he still has another
stop at the Emirates, but I think this will go down as the moment of the trip. It is absolutely stunning to see President Donald Trump meeting with
Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The rest of the trip was -- is designed for all these financial deals. It was very choreographed. It's -- it's -- we -- we knew the optics that were
going to come out of this. This really was the surprise. There had been some speculation about this happening. And they went beyond just the
meeting in announcing that these U.S. sanctions would be dropped against Syria.
Now, the U.S. had issued what are called general licenses to kind of loosen the sanctions and -- and give Sharaa a -- a bit more access to capital than
Bashar al-Assad had had. But the U.S. was moving slower than the European Union, for example.
Now, Trump clearly bending to pressure and request from the Turkish president, Erdogan and MBS, the Crown Prince. But rather remarkable
statements from Trump following that meeting, praising Sharaa, saying that the lifting of sanctions would give him a real shot at the -- at, you know,
the -- for the -- for the future of Syria, and then saying, telling reporters that he is a young, attractive, tough guy with a strong past.
And that really sticks out, Zain, Bianna, because Sharaa was someone who went to fight in Iraq more than 20 years ago against U.S. forces. He was in
a U.S. run prison in Iraq called Camp Bucca. He then went back to Syria and led a group called Jabhat al-Nusra, which was linked to al-Qaeda. So now to
see someone with that kind of past meeting with President Trump is nothing short of extraordinary.
Now, the U.S. side did make several requests of Sharaa, five bullet points to be specific. First, that Syria sign on to the Abraham Accords. So
normalized relations with Israel. Tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, kick out what they call Palestinian terrorists, help the United
States present -- prevent, rather, the resurgence of ISIS in Syria, and then resume responsibility for those prisons, those detention centers in
Northeast Syria.
[12:05:20]
But to see Sharaa, again, as you say, someone who was designated years ago as a global terrorist by the United States with a $10 million bounty on his
head, to see him posing with President Trump is so incredible.
And then on top of the fact that President Trump is not making a stop in Israel and not meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu really tells us so much
about President Trump's visit to the Middle East.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, of course, the Israelis had been quite skeptical, warning the administration to tread lightly around Sharaa, obviously, an
opportunity perhaps for a reset with Syria.
But still given his past and given the tensions between those two nations, this clearly must have come as a surprise for the Israelis as well, one
would imagine.
Alex Marquardt, thank you so much.
MARQUARDT: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Donald Trump says, he would be willing to go to Turkey to take part in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on Thursday.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Trump says, the best way to convince Vladimir Putin to attend the talks is for the U.S. President to be there.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his participation is dependent on Putin's attendance. Zelenskyy doesn't see a reason to meet with anyone
else on the Russian side.
ASHER: For the Russian perspective on all this, we're joined by CNN's Fred Pleitgen.
So, Fred, if we don't see Putin attend, it will only add fuel to the fire just in terms of the Ukrainian perspective that Putin has zero interest,
zero real interest in peace.
But walk us through Putin's calculation here. What is he weighing as he decides whether or not to attend these talks?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, he's the one who announced that he believes that these direct
negotiations took -- should take place on the 15th of May in Turkey. That was last Sunday at a press conference that happened really late.
And the Russians were saying that for them, they believe that an immediate ceasefire is not something that's in their interest, but they do believe
that direct talks are very important.
And of course, it was then Volodymyr Zelenskyy who seized on that opportunity and said that he would be waiting in Istanbul for Vladimir
Putin. And that if Vladimir Putin didn't show up, that it would mean that he is not interested in reaching a peace agreement with the Ukrainians that
isn't interested in negotiations in general.
Now, the Russians are saying that that's absolutely not the case. However, they have still not announced who from the Russian side is actually going
to be going to Istanbul to then speak with the Ukrainian delegation. And it's really unclear at this point in time.
Just to give you an idea, Russian media is obviously also talking about this as well. So several top-level Russian officials have been asked
whether or not the president is going to go there, including the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who says that right now it's absolutely unclear whether or
not the Russian president is going to be going, who's going to be attending there for the Russian side.
Also senior Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov (ph). He was asked just a couple of hours ago about all of this. And he said that also they only have, from
Vladimir Putin, saying that there is going to be a Russian delegation there. But he also said that several technical questions still needs to be
addressed as well.
And the interesting thing for the Russian side is that for Vladimir Putin to attend would certainly be a big leap, because of course one of the
things that we have heard from the Russians over the past years really is that they say that they are calling Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of
Ukraine, illegitimate president, because there have not been elections in Ukraine yet.
So it would be very difficult for Vladimir Putin to then go ahead and sit at the same table with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, the Russians not ruling that out, but they're also saying that to them, the negotiations themselves, they say, are the important thing. They
believe that the root causes, as they put it, of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine need to be addressed.
And obviously for the Russians, they believe that a delegation could do that just as well as the Russian president.
Of course, the Ukrainians are saying, no, Vladimir Putin needs to be at the table. It needs to be a top-level discussion to make sure that anything
that is agreed upon is then really also put into practice.
However, the Russians really being very coy about this at this point in time, not announcing who is going to be traveling there for the Russian
side. And, you know, it's just a couple of hours until those talks are supposed to take place, and we still have no idea who the Russians are
planning to send.
ASHER: All right. Fred Pleitgen, live for us in Moscow. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: To the Middle East now, where Israel pounded northern Gaza today. Health officials saying more than 50 people were killed. Many were
women and children from the Jabalia refugee camp, a nurse telling CNN.
ASHER: Yes. Hours earlier, Israel launched a strike at a hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. And as Israeli official says, the target was
Mohammed Sinwar, the de facto leader of Hamas. This video of Sinwar traveling inside a tunnel was provided by the IDF. The Palestinian Health
Ministry says 28 people died in this strike. Jeremy Diamond has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[12:10:08]
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israel targeted Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in an air strike on a hospital on Tuesday,
according to a senior Israeli official.
The Israeli military said it struck an underground command center beneath the hospital. It has not yet confirmed whether Sinwar was killed.
One hospital official told CNN it was a, quote, catastrophe with people buried under the rubble. Sinwar is believed to be one of the main planners
of the October 7th terror attack on Israel. He became Hamas's de facto leader in Gaza, after his older brother, Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, was
killed by the Israeli military last October. Both leaders had remained elusive during much of the war.
The strike comes as the U.S. had expressed optimism about upcoming negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a new ceasefire. But the
targeting of Sinwar means Israel just attempted to kill Hamas' key decision maker needed to seal any potential agreements.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: For more on the Israeli strikes, let's bring in Michael Milshtein. He is the head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe
Dayan Center for Middle Eastern African Studies at Tel Aviv University and one of the leading experts on Hamas.
Michael, welcome back to the program.
So just walk us through the significance of who Mohammed Sinwar is. Obviously, he is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, who was the leader of
Hamas' military unit until he was killed last year by the IDF.
Just talk about his role in the organization now. And I also want to follow up because Brett McGurk, who had been a Middle East advisor for President
Biden this morning, and he had participated in a lot of these mediations as well, this morning, said that he was actually an impediment to a ceasefire
hostage deal.
So if he in fact was killed, what is the significance there?
MICHAEL MILSHTEIN, PALESTINIAN STUDIES FORUM, TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY: Hello, Bianna. Hello, Zain. And, you know, first of all, we must emphasize that
till now we don't have really clear indications about what happened to where Mohammed Sinwar. Of course, no way Israeli announcement and no -- no
Hamas announcement about it.
Regarding this figure, I mean, Mohammed Sinwar Abu Ibrahim. Of course, you mentioned that he is the young brother of Yahya Sinwar, and he replaced him
in the -- in the leadership of Hamas in Gaza after he was killed half a year ago.
But there are two points. There are two differences between Mohammed Sinwar and Yahya Sinwar. First of all, Mohammed Sinwar is very much focused on the
military level, in military affairs in contrary to Yahya, who was also involved in strategic and political issues.
Second, no one really knows Mohammed Sinwar in Gaza. I mean, he's a kind of -- of a ghost acting in the shadow. And actually, he doesn't appear
publicly.
And when you are speaking with people in Gaza, they don't really know who is this person. They do know that he controls Hamas. And he's actually the
head of the military wing of Hamas, not of all the movement in Gaza, but no one really knows him.
Regarding the question, Bianna, about -- about his role in the negotiations, so, yes, many people also here in Israel, they consider him
Mohammed Sinwar as an obstacle that really made the whole negotiations much tougher.
But I must admit that I'm not sure about this point, because first of all, I do not -- I don't think that his basic political color or his basic
positions regarding the -- the deal are much different from the others. I mean, all the rest of Hamas leaders in Gaza and in the outside.
And second, then this is very important for the decision makers in Israel. Even if Mohammed Sinwar was killed, it doesn't mean that the basic
positions or the basic opinions of -- of Hamas will be more flexible regarding the deal.
There are two basic red lines from Hamas point of view that they will not give up about them. First, to announce about the end of the war. And
second, to commit full withdrawal from Gaza. And it seems that right now this is -- this is the obstacle between the two sides.
ASHER: And, Michael, when you think about just how many political leaders or how many different leaders in general of Hamas have been killed in
recent months and years, when you think about Mohammed Deif, if you think about Ismail Haniyeh, obviously, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar, the list
goes on, Hamas can't replace all of them.
Just talk to us about how that affects Hamas' operational capabilities, just having so many leaders in such a short space of time since October
7th, 2023 be -- be killed.
[12:15:08]
MILSHTEIN: Yes. You know, Zain, this is a very important question, many people in Israel are asking -- are asking today, because there is no -- no
doubt that the damage that was caused to Hamas also yesterday, if Mohamed Sinwar was killed, is very severe.
But, you know, there is something deeper which we -- we must understand. Hamas has a very unique DNA -- political DNA. Even after severe damage,
they still survive and they sometimes can recover and actually continue even with other figures or even weaker figures than the-- the -- the one
who were killed.
So, you know, I -- I do think that no doubt at all that many prominent figures like you mentioned, Haniyeh and Deif and others, they're, you know,
they were symbols of the movement.
But the basic fact that we must face and we must understand is that even after this -- this severe damage, Hamas is still -- is still - is still
stable. And unfortunately, right now, they, Hamas, they are the dominant player in Gaza. There is no vacuum and there is no alternative to Hamas.
And this is a very tough and even a kind of a sad -- sad news, but we must, you know, be -- be frank enough and admit this -- this fact.
GOLODRYGA: And no alternative, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu's critics would say in part because of his refusal to accept other alternatives,
namely the Palestinian Authority to step in after Hamas leaves power.
Michael Milshtein, always good to see you. Thank you so much for your expertise.
MILSHTEIN: Thank you. Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Coming up --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): It was a terribly disrespectful comment. And I will not yield to disrespectful men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Heated debate, as lawmakers discuss key pieces of Donald Trump's agenda. Why cuts to Medicaid is one of the biggest sticking points.
GOLODRYGA: Plus, a new report says drug deaths in America are declining. What will federal spending cuts mean for the fight against overdoses?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:58]
GOLODRYGA: Long hours and fiery debate, as U.S. lawmakers try to advance President Trump's sweeping tax and spending cuts package. The House Energy
and Commerce Committee held a marathon session overnight debating slashes to Medicaid.
Medicaid is the healthcare program for low-income Americans, and Trump's plan could contribute to a loss of coverage for millions of people.
ASHER: It was a really contentious moment as well between Republican Representative Randy Weber and Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, after she addressed the camera instead of the panel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to make the point that we'd like for you to address the Republicans and let's have a dialogue this way and not to a
camera. Ms. Chairman, I yield back.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: There are 13.7 million Americans on the other side of that screen right there. And they deserve to see what is happening here because
there are plenty of districts, including Republican ones, where 25 percent of your constituents are on Medicaid. Forty percent of your constituents
are on Medicaid. And yes, I am talking
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the gentlelady yield?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I am talking to them. And I will not yield because it was a terribly disrespectful comment. And I will not yield to disrespectful men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Slashing Medicaid spending is a controversial proposal. The government program is popular on both sides of the aisle.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten -- he is on the show. I know this morning you were joining us.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: You lied to me.
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: You just made our day, Harry. What a great surprise.
Harry, you talk about Medicaid being popular for both Democrats and Republicans, and it's not just lower income Americans. Obviously, it's
disabled Americans too who rely on it.
Just talk to us about where they stand on this issue.
ENTEN: Yes. Let me just ask you a question before we begin. Have either of you ever seen the movie "Clue" Made in 1985?
ASHER: I have not.
GOLODRYGA: I think --
ENTEN: OK.
GOLODRYGA: -- I probably have, but I don't remember it, Harry.
ASHER: But you're so much more embedded in pop culture than we are. Because we were born in the --
GOLODRYGA: I'm older than you.
ENTEN: Where are you going with this? I'm younger than both of you.
GOLODRYGA: Where are you going with "Clue," Harry?
ENTEN: Yes. OK. The reason -- Mrs. White, who is in that movie, she had a quote, and I'm going to get it right, "Flames on the side of my face." And
that to me is how I feel when we talk about Republicans potentially cutting Medicaid, because when it comes to the American public, I can't think of an
idea that is more unpopular than this one that is actually being floated out there.
What am I talking about here? Well, let's take a look here. Major spending cuts to Medicaid. Look at this. Just 24 percent favor this idea. The vast
majority. Oh, my God. Seventy-six opposed.
To put that 76 percent in perspective, George Washington's favorable rating among Americans right now is 78 percent. So basically an equal number of
Americans oppose major spending cuts to Medicaid, as have a favorable view of our first president who is on our $1 bill.
Now, you talk about this 76 percent. How do you get to such a high number? You guys were hinting at it, right? Let's take a look at this broken down
by party.
Oppose major spending cuts to Medicaid. We spoke about that 76 percent among all adults, but then we can go from left to right on the political
spectrum among Democrats, 95 percent, 79 percent of independents.
And yes, even 55 percent of Republicans, the majority of Democrats, independents, and Republicans all opposed to the idea of major cuts to
Medicaid. You rarely ever see a majority of each side of the political aisle actually agreeing upon something, but they do on this. That is that
they oppose major cuts to Medicaid on the federal level.
Now you might be asking yourself, why is that? Why do Republicans, independents, and Democrats all agree on this issue? And it comes down to
knowing somebody who is or has been on Medicaid.
Let's take a look here. All right. Has been or is on Medicaid me or someone close to me. That could be a family member. That could be a close family
friend. Look at this. It's 62 percent of Democrats. And then hello, it's 62 percent of Republicans.
Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to know someone who is or has been on Medicaid. And that is why the majority of Democrats, independents,
and Republicans all oppose this.
I have to say, you know, I look at polling all day long. My head is in the spreadsheets. I love the numbers. I was talking to producer Gabby (ph)
beforehand about how I love the numbers. I've rarely ever seen something as unpopular as this, guys.
GOLODRYGA: It is the Holy Grail. I mean, touching entitlement programs is something no American --
ENTEN: No.
GOLODRYGA: -- is, you know, hoping this administration will do. And obviously that has always been the looming question as to how you crack the
deficit, you know, is going after entitlements. We'll see where this lands.
Harry Enten, thank you so much.
ASHER: Harry, should we watch that movie that you mentioned, "Clue"?
ENTEN: Please do. Please watch. It's great.
ASHER: Good one. You recommend it?
GOLODRYGA: On a VHS?
ENTEN: Yes.
ASHER: My time is limited, so --
ENTEN: There are three different endings.
ASHER: -- I'm going to trust you with this one. OK.
ENTEN: Yes. It's going to be good. Report back.
[12:25:02]
GOLODRYGA: We'll get the popcorn. OK, Harry. Thank you.
ENTEN: Bye.
ASHER: All right. Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. saw an unprecedented drop in 2024, but federal cuts to spending could derail that momentum.
That's according to a new U.S. government estimate released today.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. During the COVID pandemic, overdose deaths surged to record levels, but declined again towards the end of 2023. Experts say it's good
news, but cannot be taken for granted.
CNN's Meg Tirrell takes a closer look at the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is really a major decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States. It's a trend we
started seeing in 2023 and has really solidified in these most recent numbers, a 27 percent drop in drug overdose deaths in the United States in
2024 to about 80,000.
Now, that number is still obviously unacceptably high, but it is the lowest level of drug overdose deaths we've seen in five years since before the
COVID-19 pandemic.
A majority of these deaths are still being driven by powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl, but there we saw an even bigger drop, 37 percent
between 2023 and 2024.
Now, experts point to an array of reasons that may be driving this decline. More people may be finding treatment that works for them. Disruptions
potentially to the fentanyl supply that started in 2023.
Also a change in the characteristics of the illicit drugs that are available out in the market, perhaps making them less appealing to folks
and causing some to seek treatment.
Also, opioid settlement funding from the lawsuits over opioid painkillers that are now being distributed to communities, possibly supporting more
access to treatment and also to drug overdose reversal drugs like naloxone or Narcan.
Experts point out, these efforts all need to continue to keep the pressure on to continue to lower drug overdose deaths numbers in the United States.
And there are concerns because of cuts both to personnel and funding at the federal level that these efforts could be hampered.
The Trump administration has said, this is a key priority of theirs, particularly lowering deaths from fentanyl. But people are watching the
budget process very closely to see where that works out to ensure that these resources can continue and hopefully the progress will continue to
show lower numbers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Meg Tirrell for that.
And still to come for us, a lavish welcome for the U.S. president in Doha today. We'll go live there for a look at what deals Donald Trump could
negotiate.
ASHER: And Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-girlfriend on the stand for a second day in his federal sex trafficking trial. She says she feared for her career
and her family. More of her testimony, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:18]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "ONE WORLD." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
President Trump's three-day Middle East trip has led him to an extraordinary meeting with interim Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Trump
urges the Syrian president to improve relations with Israel.
The President praised Sharaa as he looks to normalize diplomatic relations with Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Great, great. I think very good. Young attractive guy. Tough guy. You know, strong past. Very strong past. Fighter. But he's got a -- he's
got a real shot at pulling it together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A change of tune from six months ago when the U.S. had a $10 million bounty on his head.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The one's jihadist, Sharaa, previously founded a militant group which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda. But in 2016, he broke away from
the terror group according to U.S. intelligence.
Sharaa has transformed himself from Al-Qaeda militant to Syrian President in a dramatic political rise after the toppling of Assad. He has, however,
had a tough time getting the country under control. But his meeting with the U.S. President and the announcement that the U.S. is lifting sanctions
against Syria is a huge win for the jihadist-turned-president.
ASHER: All right. Time now for "The Exchange." Joining me now live is the senior managing director for TRENDS US and an associate fellow at Chatham
House, Bilal Saab.
Bilal, thank you so much for being with us. I just want to talk about, before we get to the sanctions, just how much al-Sharaa has sort of
transformed himself, not just in terms of, you know, going from having this $10 million bounty on his head to, obviously, shaking hands with the U.S.
President, but really, just as somebody who, in the past, obviously, has had links with Al-Qaeda and, of course, the Islamic State, to trying to
really try to sort of bring together all the different sects within Syria, just to try to sort of build very much inclusive society, he has really
marketed himself as an able diplomat within Syria.
How has he done that?
BILAL SAAB, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRENDS US: I promise you that no one has definitive answers about Ahmad Sharaa. He's quite the enigmatic
president. He is someone who's been saying the right things and doing some right things as well, but a lot of those actions are ad hoc, frankly, and
we just still don't know whether he's speaking softly, wearing a suit, because of political expediency.
I think we need to judge him on the basis of actions that show some longevity, show some legality, and that means codifying those words, and
some accountable institutions, legal documents, of course, culminating in a new Syrian constitution.
That, to me, is the most important metric to judge the inexperienced and quite enigmatic Syrian leader in Damascus.
And, boy, did he just receive a huge boost in terms of legitimacy from the leader of the free world?
GOLODRYGA: No doubt. And no doubt that the sanctions, over the last several years, have been quite crippling since the start of the Civil War. And now
the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, the country basically turned into a narco state as it was using profits from narcotics, about $6 billion a year to
fund the government.
But, Bilal, I'm wondering what questions you have that continue to loom about these sanctions being lifted. Did they come with any preconditions?
And given that there isn't a constitution in place, you may be saying all the right things, but we don't know if, in fact, even has full control over
the country, is there any way that they can be tempered to perhaps having certain thresholds to meet before they're all lifted? I mean, there clearly
are so many unknowns right now.
[12:35:06]
SAAB: Yes. Great set of issues you raised and all very important questions. So listen, the president said that he's going to remove sanctions. That
doesn't mean that we know what sanctions he's actually removing and when he's actually going to remove them. So there's nothing official yet.
If I understand correctly, he's got executive privileges to actually suspend some of those sanctions, but many others he's going to have to go
to Congress. Now I'm not saying that's an obstacle. He'll probably get the support he needs from Congress, but that has to be done, right? He cannot
remove all of them by executive order on his own.
Look, I am of the view that a lot of these sanctions should be eased gradually, frankly, depending on once again, verifiable actions on the part
of this leader. I am sort of sympathetic to the view of the French with the French President, Macron, who actually met with the Ahmed al-Sharaa just a
few days ago, when he said they were going to ease those sanctions gradually.
But, you know, this came out of left field, let's be very honest. Not a single Syria expert or observant that I know knew that this was going to
happen. Nobody saw it coming.
So now, it comes down to the details, like what are we actually removing? When do we remove them? And what are we expecting from him to do so that we
feel confident about this new policy measure?
ASHER: And, Bilal, just in terms of Israel here, just sort of watching from the sidelines, Israel has carried out, obviously, a number of strikes
within Syria. At first, they were very concerned after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. They didn't want the weapons to get into the wrong hands. They
also talked about protecting the Druze minority there.
But President Sharaa has also talked about, perhaps at some point, improving relations with Israel. Walk us through what this president, the
fact that he's leading this country, at this particular point in time, and how much he's changed, going from somebody who had strong ties to
terrorists, to being this sort of able diplomat, what that means for the future of relations between Israel and Syria.
SAAB: Yes. Well, I'm glad you said improve and not normalize, because people are jumping the gun when they say, let's normalize relations between
the Syrians and the Israelis.
There is an actual state of war between the two. There's a conflict. And there's Israeli occupation of Syrian territory. So this is not like, you
know, a normalization agreements between the UAE and Bahrain, who clearly had friendly relations with the Israelis. This is an actual peace deal in
the traditional sense of the world, right?
So I'm not saying they can't get there, but there are certainly a number of hard issues to settle before you actually talk about normalization.
So look, you got to also remember the fact, which is a very important one, that the Syrian leader doesn't control all of Syria, right? And so you got
to consolidate power first and foremost, and then speak on behalf of all Syrians, and then consult with them whether actually they want to pursue
something like this in terms of improving relations with the Israelis.
My guess is, I don't have a ball in front of me here, but my guess is that most Syrians would be perfectly fine with a peaceful relationship with the
Israelis, but you got to go to your own people first and foremost before you embark on such a major initiative of, you know, normalizing and
reaching a peace deal with -- with Israel.
So there's a ton of homework that needs to be done by the Syrians first, before you broach such a complex and sensitive topic like this.
And, oh, by the way, maybe Israel also could stop bombing the country before you actually have that conversation of normalization.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. That was even acknowledged by President Trump, saying that the Syrian leader backs Israel ties, but quote, has a lot of work to do
before getting to --
SAAB: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- any sort of normalization and joining the Abraham Accords.
Can I just ask you, Bilal, just the takeaway, your perspective on this reportedly coming from pressure, from the Saudis and from Gulf states to
meet with the new Syrian president and to lift these sanctions as opposed to obviously concern from a fellow ally like Israel and even some of his
top advisors and cabinet officials that had been worried about doing this so quickly. What does that tell you?
SAAB: But just so I understand your question, pressure on the part of the Saudis and others to --
GOLODRYGA: Pressure on the --
SAAB: -- President Sharaa to meet with the American president?
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The ask coming from the Saudis and Gulf States for this to happen as opposed to some hesitance and concern from other allies like
Israel and then obviously even from within his own administration.
SAAB: Well, this is a quite an unpredictable, you know, commander in chief. I mean, this is the understatement of the year, right? And a lot of this
stuff is driven by instinct. A lot of this stuff happens sort of last minute with very little coordination or frankly, the typical interagency
process that we see in the U.S. government.
[12:40:02]
So, like I said before, this came out of left field. It doesn't mean that it doesn't come with a certain risk. But this is the president with, you
know, with the approach that could be sort of described as high risk, high reward, right?
And now it's up to the Syrian leader to see how he can capitalize on something like this. This is no small deal. I mean, I know it's only half
an hour, but every minute counts with the president of the United States.
And so for him to offer this major olive branch of removing those sanctions and facilitate something that is so detrimental for all Syrians, which is
to reconstruct the country, I mean, time to step up as the president.
ASHER: All right. Bilal Saab, live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Bilal.
Well, as we've said, President Trump is in the Middle East with the goal of drumming up deals and investment pledges as well.
ASHER: And as CNN's Kyung Lah takes a closer look at President Trump's longstanding business ties to the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A close look at the Trump Organization portfolio finds the Trump family's business
ties to the Middle East have more than tripled since his first term in office, according to a CNN tally.
Even after Trump retook office, the Trump brand has been out promoting flashy new construction projects in countries President Trump is visiting
this week.
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: On behalf of my family. We love Dubai. We love the Gulf.
LAH (voice-over): In Dubai, a new Trump International Hotel and Tower; in Saudi Arabia, a new Trump Tower in Jeddah and two projects in Riyadh.
E. TRUMP: We are going to redefine luxury anywhere in the world.
LAH (voice-over): His sons sealing deals for projects around the Middle East.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The project, unlike any other.
LAH (voice-over): In Oman. Don Jr. and Eric Trump met with the Crown Prince last summer about a Trump branded resort being developed with the nation's
tourism arm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump International Hotel Oman.
LAH (voice-over): In Qatar, a Trump branded golf club announced just last month, involves a firm that's headed by a Qatari official and backed by
Qatar's Sovereign Wealth Fund.
A Trump organization spokesperson says the company does not conduct business with any government entity, adding the Trump branding agreement on
the Qatar project is with a builder, a separate company.
Eric Trump, is currently in charge of Trump Org decisions and has promised to keep them separate from his father. But the President still owns the
company, so he stands to make money on any successful deal, whether he's involved or not. The Trump Organization has said Trump would put his assets
in a trust managed by his children.
E. TRUMP: We'll make sure that there's no conflicts and we'll have those signed off by the best legal teams in the world.
LAH (voice-over): During his first term, Trump's company pledged to make no new deals overseas, but not this time around. And it's not just Trump's
real estate deals.
An Abu Dhabi backed fund is using a cryptocurrency from the Trump family crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, for a $2 billion investment.
Critics say the result, the public can't separate Trump the President from Trump the businessman.
NOAH BOOKBINDER, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON: Is he making the decision from the basis of what's in the United States'
interest? What's in the American people's interest? Or is he looking to benefit his business partners, his own business, his own bottom line?
LAH (voice-over): The White House rejects those questions.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing
anything for his own benefit.
LAH (voice-over): Trump says his business relationships aren't just for the billionaires, but for Americans.
D. TRUMP: It's an honor to have such a great investor investing in our country.
LAH (voice-over): One publicized early win came from this Emirati billionaire, Hussain Sajwani. He built a Trump branded golf course and
villas in Dubai years ago, and spent New Year's Eve at Mar-a-Lago. He's promising to invest $20 billion in U.S. data centers. I sat down with
Sajwani earlier this year.
LAH: The election of Mr. Trump impacted the decision to invest.
HUSSAIN SAJWANI, CHAIRMAN, DAMAC PROPERTIES: Yes, impacted from the point of view that we think it's going to be more pro-business. And if that
happens, of course, we'll invest.
LAH: How important is the Trump name to your business, to your brand?
SAJWANI: It's very important, those villas we have done. We made money out of them, you know, and customers are happy and we are happy and he's happy.
LAH: President Trump says, in this trip to the Gulf, he is going to be able to bring more investment into the United States. The president is telling
reporters that based on his meetings with business leaders in the Gulf this week alone, he believes he'll be able to create some two million American
jobs.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[12:45:12]
GOLODRYGA: The trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs is now on a lunch break. The music mogul's ex-girlfriend has been testifying for the second day now in
New York City.
ASHER: Earlier today, Cassie Ventura testified that Combs often threatened to release videos of graphic sexual encounters when he was angry. She says
she feared for her family and her career. Combs has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
CNN reporter Lisa Respers France has been following the trial and has a look at Ventura's journey to the witness stand.
I mean, you know, I moved to New York in the early 2000s and I remember during my -- the theme song of my time at grad school here that Cassie
Ventura's "Me and You," like, that song takes me back and, like, a lot of people, you know, when I hear that song now, it's really chilling because
you then think about everything, all the horrors that she endured, that none of us obviously had any idea about.
And just talk to us, Lisa, about the level of courage. You know, this woman is visibly pregnant. She's about to give birth any day now. The level of
courage and also the fear of victim shaming, you know, what she has to overcome to be able to share this story publicly. I mean, it's a lot. It's
no small thing.
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: No small thing at all, I agree. And unfortunately, we see this happening time and time again whenever you have
a woman who is making these types of allegations against a powerful and wealthy man, immediately what she's being accused of is doing it for fame,
for fortune, for attention.
And Cassie Ventura had to really, you know, battle through any fears of that in order to take the stand because she is sharing some incredibly
horrifying allegations. And I mean, just the stress that she talks about that she says her body underwent with these Freak Offs, which of course
were, you know, which are being described as these sexual encounters that she says that Sean "Diddy" Combs forced her to have with him and other
people.
And so in her testimony today, she talked about things like having, you know, multiple urinary tract infections, sores in her mouth. She has said
that they had to get IVs, you know, because they were so dehydrated from these encounters, massages.
She talked about things that she had to do to, you know, physically get herself together. And also, as you mentioned, the fear that she felt that
these videos were out there and that he would get angry at her and he would threaten that he was going to release them.
But right down to her concern that there were so many people that worked for him that they might have access to those videos, she did not want the
world to see that. And now she has to tell the world what she says happened in those videos.
And it's -- it's pretty disturbing, pretty graphic, and a lot of people are on social media offering sympathy for her because, as you mentioned, she's
due to give birth in, as far as we know in a couple of weeks that she's very visibly pregnant.
[12:50:04]
And so I just cannot imagine the level of stress that she's under having to share these extremely painful memories with the world and letting people
know what she says happened to her.
ASHER: Yes. The level of bravery, you know, just in terms of what that takes.
Lisa Respers France, live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: And if you or someone you know is struggling with an intimate partner violence, there are resources available, including the National
Domestic Violence Hotline. You can contact them by going online to www.thehotline.org.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: An alcoholic drink like a glass of wine or a cold beer, may help you fall asleep quickly, but sleep, especially this one, it is not a good idea.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. CNN's Randi Kaye traveled to the University of Michigan's sleep lab to see what happens after a drink or two.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I came to this bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan with one assignment.
KAYE: Can I get a Grey Goose martini, very dry, with a lemon twist?
KAYE (voice-over): To see how alcohol can impact sleep.
KAYE: Cheers.
KAYE (voice-over): My sleep.
KAYE: To science, to research.
KAYE (voice-over): After my martini, I'm destined to be a lab rat at the University of Michigan's Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory.
KAYE: .06. I told you. I am a lightweight.
KAYE (voice-over): It's run by Todd Arnedt.
J. TODD ARNEDT, PH.D., DIRECTOR OF BEHAVIORAL SLEEP MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HEALTH: Even a couple of drinks close to bedtime will have an
adverse effect on your sleep.
KAYE (voice-over): In order to assess my sleep, the team wired me up. And then it was time for bed.
KAYE: So I give that to you.
KAYE (voice-over): Now for comparison, I'd done this exact same thing the night before. But that first night, I hadn't had any alcohol to drink.
KAYE: Good morning.
ARNEDT: How are you?
KAYE: I'm ready for my results.
ARNEDT: You ready?
KAYE: Yes. How are you?
KAYE (voice-over): As Todd explained, the screen on the left showed my results from the night I did not drink. On the right was the night I did
drink.
KAYE: I definitely fell asleep faster on the alcohol night.
ARNEDT: You did. You fell asleep a little bit faster. We've got more deep sleep here toward the beginning of the night with alcohol compared to deep
sleep here on your first night in the lab without alcohol.
KAYE (voice-over): Deep sleep sounded good to me, but I was in for a rude awakening. Todd pointed out when what he called my sleep architecture began
to crumble all because of the alcohol I drank.
[12:55:04]
KAYE: But this shows that the sedative effect of alcohol ends about 2:00 A.M. for me.
ARNEDT: Exactly. Yes.
KAYE: And then I have much lighter sleep.
ARNEDT: Yes. You have much -- you have a lot more yellow, which is that really light stage of sleep, not restorative.
So the rule of thumb I use is one drink takes about three hours to be fully metabolized. And by halfway through the night, alcohol has left your body.
You've fully metabolized it. And so the second part of the night, you're really in a state of withdrawal from the alcohol leaving your body.
KAYE (voice-over): Todd says if you have a hankering for an alcoholic beverage, finish it three hours before bed or more. Happy hour seems a
better idea these days.
Todd also said there was a reduction in airflow to my brain and my heart rate was 10 points higher. That's more stress on my heart.
ARNEDT: Your rapid eye movement sleep on the alcohol night was significantly delayed compared to the first night. And that's common with,
again, with the acute effects of alcohol that it suppresses dream sleep early in the night.
REM sleep, that's thought to be associated with memory consolidation, emotion regulation.
KAYE: And so someone who hasn't slept well from alcohol, how do they feel in the morning?
ARNEDT: They might feel like they're fatigued. They just feel sometimes unwell. I mean, sometimes people can feel sick to their stomach.
KAYE: How pervasive or urgent of a problem is this in your opinion?
ARNEDT: It's --it's a major problem, I think. And using alcohol for sleep difficulties can be a pathway to alcohol use disorders or more significant
alcohol misuse problems.
KAYE (voice-over): The message is clear. Don't count on alcohol to get you counting sheep.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Our thanks to Randi Kaye for that report. That does it for "ONE WORLD." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
