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The Situation Room

Any Moment, Trump and Putin to Hold Phone Call Over War in Ukraine; Biden on Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, Cancer Touches Us All; Investigators Searching for Motive in Fertility Clinic Explosion. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 19, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, crucial phone call. At any moment, President Trump is set to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, but it comes just one day after Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the war began more than three years ago.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Quote, cancer touches us all. That's what former President Biden is saying after being diagnosed with what's described as an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

We begin this hour with breaking news. At any moment, President Trump is set to speak by phone with Russian leader of Vladimir Putin to push for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. President Trump has said he believes peace isn't achievable without the two men speaking directly. Yet over the weekend, Russia unleashed its largest drone attack on Ukraine since its illegal invasion more than three years ago.

After the Putin phone call, President Trump is due to speak with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then some NATO leaders as well.

Let's go live right now to CNN White House Reporter Alayna Treene. Alayna, realistically, what is President Trump hoping to accomplish in these phone calls?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Like, I mean obviously the ultimate goal here, Wolf, would be to eventually get both sides to agree to a ceasefire. But in the near term, the question really, and this is increasingly what I'm hearing from Trump administration officials, is to figure out whether or not something like that is even possible, whether or not Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, is actually serious about getting to a point where he is willing to try and begin the beginning of this process to find peace.

Now, that is essentially what is going to be the key question today at 10:00 A.M. when the president actually speaks with Putin by phone, according to Vice President J.D. Vance. Listen to how he put it though when asked this directly by reporters.

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J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The president's been very clear. This is not the United States is going to -- is not going to spin its wheels. We want to see outcomes. The talks have been proceeding for a little while. We realize there's a bit of an impasse here and I think the president's going to say to President Putin, look, are you serious? Are you real about this? Because the proposal from the United States has always been, look, there are a lot of economic benefits to thawing relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you're not going to get those benefits if you keep on killing a lot of innocent people. So, if you're willing to stop the killing, the United States is willing to be a partner for peace. That's been the proposal to the Russians, to the Ukrainians, and, frankly, to nations and other hotspots around the world.

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TREENE: Now, Wolf, what's been very clear as well is that Trump administration officials and the president himself are growing increasingly frustrated with how Putin is responding. You could kind of hear that in the rhetoric that Vance was using.

And so that's the big pressure point today for this call. And, essentially, if talks don't go well, another key question is how will the president react? Because we know a lot of people, Republicans and Democrats alike, are putting pressure on this White House to agree to more aggressive sanctions on Russia to try and get some sort of leverage. All of that, hopefully we'll learn more from after this call wraps.

BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene over at the White House for us, Alayna, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Well, new this morning, Wolf, former President Biden is speaking out for the first time since his cancer diagnosis. Biden's office announced yesterday that he's been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones. That diagnosis came just days after the former president, whose health has been under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks, was examined for a small nodule on his prostate.

For the latest on this, CNN Correspondent Arlette Saenz joins us. So, what is Biden saying, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are hearing for the first time from former President Joe Biden. He spent the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, after learning of this diagnosis and he and his family and his team of doctors are working to determine what the treatment steps will look like going forward.

But on social media this morning, Biden posted a photo of himself and his wife, former First Lady Jill Biden, and he wrote, cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. [10:05:04]

Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.

Now, his office said that Biden was recently evaluated for a small nodule that was found on his prostate. He had been experiencing an increase in urinary symptoms. And it was on Friday when doctors gave him that diagnosis of an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones.

Now, medical experts who aren't working with the Bidens at this time have offered different possibilities for the types of treatment he could pursue, like hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation.

But all of this comes at a time when there has been a lot of extra or added scrutiny on Biden's time in office, particularly relating to his physical and mental capacity. Our colleague, Jake Tapper, is set to release a new book tomorrow, which details some signs of decline in Biden on both the physical and mental level while he was in office.

So, this is something that Biden has already been grappling with in recent weeks and now has this added cancer diagnosis, which very sadly came two weeks before the family was set to mark the ten-year anniversary of Beau Biden's passing from brain cancer at the end of May.

BROWN: Yes, I mean, and just our thoughts, prayers are with him and his family, and as he said, cancer touches everybody and now he's dealing with it himself.

Thank you so much, Arlette Saenz. Wolf?

BLITZER: And we all wish him a speedy, speedy recovery to, be sure.

For more on all of this, I want to go live right now to CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell. Meg, walk us through this diagnosis and some of the possible treatments.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. I mean, it is a more serious diagnosis, a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. But doctors who work in this space point out really advances have been made that make this a better prognosis than it would've been even a decade ago.

And so prostate cancer is really staged by something called a Gleason score, and President Biden has a high score there, nine out of really a scale that we look at from six to ten, meaning the cells look pretty abnormal, marking this as a more aggressive cancer. And, of course, they also noted it had spread to his bones.

They also pointed out though the cancer appears to be sensitive to hormone treatment. Doctors we spoke with said this is typical. When you're starting treatment for prostate cancer, usually, the cancer is responsive to blocking the male hormones that kind of allow the cancer to grow. A key question will be, do those treatments continue to work for President Biden and all of that, how he responds to that will inform whether he goes on to other kinds of treatment, including possibly chemotherapy, or radiation as well.

We should note prostate cancer is a very common cancer for men, particularly as they age. One in eight men are estimated to have a diagnosis of prostate cancer in their lifetimes. Often, this can be a very slow moving cancer, but the president does have a more aggressive form.

The National Cancer Institute estimates more than 300,000 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed this year alone. More than 35,000 people are estimated to die this year from the disease. But a lot of folks are living with prostate cancer, 3.5 million men in 2022.

And, guys, a lot of questions here about screening for prostate cancer, should this have been caught earlier before it spread, for example? The guidelines actually say for men over the age of 70, it's not recommended to get routine blood tests screenings for prostate cancer unless you're at higher risk. So, that's something to check in with your doctor about. Guys?

BLITZER: Why do they recommend that, Meg? That's still unclear to me. If you're over 70, why stop getting those PSA tests?

TIRRELL: You know, it can be controversial, but looking at the studies that have been done on whether outcomes change from getting that universal screening, multiple studies have shown they don't necessarily. And so there are trade-offs. You know, do you catch something that you know you shouldn't actually treat? And by treating it, do you cause more problems? So, those are things that go into considerations, and it really can be a personal decision based on your own risk factors.

BLITZER: All right. Meg Tirrell helping us, I appreciate what's going on. Thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Glad you asked that. I was wondering the exact same thing too, Wolf.

All right, right now, the FBI is going through what it calls an anti pro-life manifesto believed to belong to the 25-year-old suspect in the explosion at a fertility clinic in California. He was the only person killed in the blast.

Let's go live to CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell in Los Angeles. Josh, the FBI says it's treating this as an act of terrorism.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And we are learning more about that suspect. Officials identified him as 25-year- old Guy Bartkus, who lived about an hour away from Palm Springs. Authorities released a photo. They want the public to provide any information that they may have of the individual.

And what's interesting, as I was talking to a law enforcement source who said that they're aware of an audio recording that is out there of a man who was planning to bomb an IVF facility. It was very rambly, aired all these different grievances. And so they're digging more into him. But as you see on your screen there, they also are digging into this massive crime scene at this fertility clinic. I'm told that that is being processed still at this hour. Take a listen here to the top FBI agent in Los Angeles describing this massive explosion.

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AKIL DAVIS, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE, LOS ANGLES FIELD OFFICE: This is probably the largest bombing scene that we've had in Southern California. This does eclipse the bombing matter in Aliso Viejo. It's that big. And just for reference, to throw pieces of vehicle hundreds of feet in the air and then several blocks away, you can use your -- imagine how big that bomb device was.

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CAMPBELL: Now, I want to end with this. We often don't get to talk about good news in these types of situations, but you're looking here at photos that were posted by Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills. These are two of the first responders, FBI Agent Chris Meltzer, Assistant Fire Chief Greg Lyle. The police chief honoring them, saying that as that building was still smoldering, these two men rushed into the building, realizing that these embryos were inside and, you know, so much was at stake for family members. They quickly got the electricity back up. They rushed to another part of the collapsed building in order to get medical records that they could give to family members that are continuing their treatment. Because of their efforts, the police chief says that all of the embryos in that facility were saved.

BROWN: Thankfully that is the case for those families, right, who had those embryos there.

Josh Campbell in Los Angeles, thank you.

BLITZER: Happening now, a team from the NTSB is on site investigating a Mexican navy tall ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend.

The navy training ship was on a Goodwill tour when it hit the bridge, killing two people and injuring several more.

Let's go live right now to CNN Correspondent Gloria Pazmino. She's in New York watching the investigation begin to unfold. What are the investigators focusing on, Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, NTSB investigators started to arrive here yesterday afternoon. The Cuauhtemoc was towed here to this pier right behind me. And we have been watching throughout the morning as the remaining crew that's still on board has actually been doing some work on the ship. We are told that the majority of the crew actually flew back to Mexico late last night. About 180 cadets flew back home after this horrible accident that killed two of their fellow crew members. Now, the NTSB is expected to provide a briefing later this afternoon where we are hoping to learn more about exactly what happened here. But we do know that the captain of the ship reported a loss in power during -- while the ship was making its trajectory out of the New York Harbor. Once you have a loss of power, the captain said that he did not have access to the rudder. Not having access to the rudder means that you cannot steer the ship.

And then there were the very strong river currents that likely played a role in helping to push the ship in the wrong direction. That's why we see the ship striking the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge and some of that social media and bystander video that we have been watching over the last several days, just so striking to see how quickly it all happens.

Now, Wolf, we've also learned that two victims have been identified. Their names are America Yamilet Sanchez, and Adal Jair Maldonado. We have heard from America's family back in Mexico they are waiting for answers on this investigation, also waiting for an update to see when they will be able to have their loved ones' remains back in Mexico. Wolf?

BLITZER: Our hearts go out to those families as well.

Gloria Pazmino, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Breaking news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel plans to take control of all of Gaza. This comes shortly after Israel launched an extensive ground operation and intensifying airstrikes in the territory.

Let's go live now to CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, what more is Netanyahu saying about Israel's plan there in Gaza?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli prime minister is making clear that his ultimate goal with this new expanded military operation is indeed to take over all of the Gaza Strip and to occupy it for the foreseeable future. The Israeli prime minister contrasting this latest operation with previous Israeli military offensives where the military has gone into certain areas, cleared the area of Hamas militants only to then pull out and see Hamas reemerge.

And so now there are tens of thousands of Israeli troops who are mobilized in the Gaza Strip right now beginning the early stages of this expanded ground operation. And we've already seen how this could be one of the deadliest chapters of this war, as just over the last few days, more than 300 people have been killed in the initial moves of this expanded operation with airstrikes killing civilians, in addition to Hamas militants throughout the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli prime minister in conjunction with this expanded offensive also announcing that Israel will allow limited quantities of aid into the Gaza Strip after blocking all food and medical supplies to Gaza for more than 11 weeks now.

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A small number of aid trucks are indeed set to go into Gaza this week to avoid a famine that has been looming over the Gaza strip.

Now, it's not clear exactly how many food trucks will be allowed into Gaza, or whether or not it will be enough, but this comes as the Israeli prime minister acknowledged mounting international pressure over the matter. Pam?

BROWN: Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And there's more news unfolding right now. The House Rules Committee has set the date for its key vote on President Trump's domestic agenda bill. That vote will take place Wednesday 1:00 A.M. Eastern. The measure narrowly passed the budget committee late last night after four Republican hardliners switched their votes to present, including Congressman Chip Roy of Texas. But Roy says there's still more work that needs to be done.

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REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): I'm not going to talk about all that stuff publicly. That's for the speaker to sort out. We made progress this weekend, but as you'll see in my statement, we didn't get nearly far enough.

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BLITZER: Let's go live right now to Capitol Hill and CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju. Manu, you have new reporting, I understand, about discussions happening within the Republican Party right now. What are you learning?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. Major sticking points unresolved at this moment between the House Republican leaders and conservative hardliners and some more moderate members who are making conflicting demands and changes to the bill. And the speaker has the narrowest of majorities here in the United States House, which means he has a lot to resolve before his goal to pass this bill out of the House by Thursday.

This bill, massive in its scope and its size, it includes a significant overhaul of the United States' tax code and deep spending cuts. But underneath that are a whole host of unresolved issues, one of which would be new Medicaid work requirements for beneficiaries, when those would kick in. Some of those hardliner want to make that kick in much sooner than the proposed date of 2029. That is causing those some pushback from more moderate members. There's also a push by those conservative hardliners to lessen the amount of the federal government pays into state-run Medicaid programs.

There are also a push, Wolf, by those moderate, those conservative members to include a quicker phase out of green energy tax credits, even though moderates like a lot of those tax credits and their constituents have jobs that rely on those tax credits continuing. And then there's a push by some of the northeastern Republicans, particularly from New York, to increase the amount that taxpayers can deduct from the state and local taxes they pay, but the conservative hardliners don't want to increase that cap, Wolf, because they're concerned about the impact on the price tag.

All of which is raising concerns about the deficit, Wolf, and whether how much this will ultimately impact the deficit and debt. And that's what I'm hearing about concerns from both Republicans in the House and also in the Senate.

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REPORTER: What do you still need to get you to a yes?

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): Well, we've been downgraded three times. We have problems with the money in this country, the debt.

RAJU: It's fair to say you wanted some serious changes to this House bill.

SEN. JOHN CURTIS (R-UT): Yes, $2 trillion more per year, right? We don't do that in Utah. It's not the way we run our government there. It's not the way we run our families. It's not the way we run our businesses.

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RAJU: But the Congressional Budget Office, Wolf, which provides that official analysis of how much this could impact the debt and deficit, has yet to put out a final estimate on the overall bill here, Wolf. The question is, will they do that before Thursday and how Republicans will vote if that information is not present.

But the deficit concerns are still driving a lot of the angst among Republicans, as the speaker tries to get this bill out of the House this week, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, lots at stake, to be sure. Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill, thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Still ahead, Wolf, right now, a former member of the musical group, Danity Kane, is back on the stand in the criminal trial against Sean Diddy Combs. We're breaking it all down with our legal experts up next.

You're in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Happening now. Dawn Ricahrd, a former member of the pop group, Danity Kane, is back on the stand in the Sean Diddy Combs criminal trial. The defense has just begun cross-examination. On Friday, she testified that she witnessed the music mogul physically abuse his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura back in 2009. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including sex trafficking. On the left side of your screen, you'll see information from our reporters right inside that courtroom.

And we are joined now by CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney Joey Jackson and Entertainment lawyer Lisa Bonner.

All right, Joey, let's kick it off with you. So, tell me about the testimony today and what seems to really stand out to you from what we've heard so far from her and what's going on now.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Pamela, good to be with you. I think what the prosecutor's doing is having her corroborate that it support the allegations that Cassie made concerning his abuse, that is Sean Combs, concerning his physical nature and just concerning just the tumultuous nature of the relationship, so that's important.

I think what the defense wants to do is have the jury keep their eyes on the prize. This is not a federal domestic violence case. This is a federal racketeering case. And so to the extent that she furthers the interest of the government with regard to coerced sexual activity or has knowledge and understanding of prostitution, that's relevant and important, not that all of the other stuff is not, Pamela, but I think the defense is going to hone in on that with regard to it being a consensual relationship, with regard to it being a loving relationship, with regard to being tumultuous.

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But that doesn't get you if you're the prosecutors where you need to be. So, that's what they're going to focus on in cross-examination.

BROWN: So, Lisa, to bring you in, how credible of a witness is Richard?

LISA BONNER, ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER: Well, hi, Pamela. Richard is a -- in my legal opinion, I think she's a very credible witness. She was signed to Bad Boy Records and she has cut several albums with Combs. She was on his reality show, so she has insight not only from a professional standpoint, but from a personal standpoint. And she also will lend herself to give other testimony about her allegedly being locked into a car, which does lend itself to the RICO case in terms of kidnapping and all of the things that the government is trying to establish.

So, she has a very strong case in terms of her being a credible witness. I think she's going to make this a home run for at least in terms of her testimony and how this relates not only to Cassie but also to other charges that that are encapsulated in the RICO count.

BROWN: All right. So, Joey Combs' former girlfriend, as we know, Cassie Ventura, she was the key witness for the prosecution. Now her mother and former best friend are expected to testify sometime this week. How does the prosecution need to handle these witnesses in order to prove their case of the sex trafficking and the racketeering charges against Combs? JACKSON: Yes. Cassie checked a lot of boxes, right? I mean, there's obviously the nature of the coercion that and the coercion is important. And why did they spend so much time on that, right, her being coerced by Mr. Combs? Why? Because that gets you to sex trafficking. If this is just a consensual relationship, we're in may be freaky in nature and maybe be adverse to what other people will do, then it's just a freaky relationship. If it's coerced, it's another story.

And so what might the mom know? She might know issues relating to what we call recent outcries, right? What was Cassie -- you're not going to testify as to things we call hearsay. Cassie told me that. Unless it goes to an issue of, right, in the case directly of she couldn't believe what she had to do. Oh my goodness, this is outrageous. I can't believe what he's doing to me. I'm being controlled. I'm being manipulated.

And so that's really important to the sex trafficking issue. And anybody in her orbit who's close to her is going to give testimony into that in addition to all the other things that Combs was doing with this alleged criminal enterprise.

So, that's going to be significant testimony. How again, the defense whittles away on it is going to be important as to whether prosecutors are able to prove their case.

BROWN: All right. Lisa Bonner, Joey Jackson, thank you both. Wolf?

BLITZER: Up next, we'll be joined by a retired FBI special agent as investigators look into the suspect behind a bombing at a California fertility clinic. What online posts and a suspected manifesto could tell them. We have details, that's next.

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