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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump: If Ceasefire Doesn't Happen, "I Just Back Away"; Trump Administration Actively Sought Qatari "Gift" Plane; Former President Biden Diagnosed With The Most Aggressive Form Of Prostate Cancer That's Spread To His Bones; Manhunt For Escaped Inmates Now Spans Seven States; Cassie Ventura's Ex-Best Friend Says Combs Assaulted Her In 2016; Edan Alexander's Parents Are Smiling Again After Their Son Is Released By Hamas. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired May 19, 2025 - 20:00   ET

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

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And they've been closed off from the rest of the world for the last five years. So, they've really kind of been unaware of the sea change when it comes to the media and influencers and how many followers they have. So, it seems as if the authorities have really been caught off guard, taken by surprise when these tourist trips, which only have a couple of minors.

You know, when we as journalists would go and we'd have like five or six minors just focusing on us. Now you have all these people with cameras producing content and just a couple of people to try to keep them harnessed together. You can see the mayhem and how they kind of been shutting things down.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Yes, incredible that it even happened, it truly is. All right, Will Ripley, thank you so much as always. And thanks to all of you, see you tomorrow. Anderson starts now.

[20:00:38]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360, the phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy were supposed to jump start the peace process. But now the President is signaling he might completely back away.

Also tonight, the Qatari 747 new reporting that it wasn't a gift at all, the administration went asking for it.

And then later, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, on former President Biden's shocking and potentially grave cancer diagnosis.

Good evening, tonight, just hours after phone calls with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, President Trump is already weighing in on a lot, including the possibility of just backing away from the peacemaking process entirely. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a strong guy, said he believes Vladimir Putin wants to stop the war because he's had enough.

He said he thought the Vatican would be a good venue for peace talks to be held, and said he would not impose more sanctions on Russia. And even while expressing optimism of a fashion about the peace process such as it is, he also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think something is going to happen. It's a very -- very big egos involved, I tell you, big egos involved. But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I'd just back away and they're going to have to keep going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So his answer there was to a question that CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked about something he said just last week, namely that no advances would be made until he and Putin sat down together. Now, just a few days later, he is raising the possibility of washing his hands of it entirely and it seems this is not just him talking off the cuff, unless the Vice-President was also just riffing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's Joe Biden's war, its Vladimir Putin's war, it's not our war. We're going to try to end it. But if we can't end it, we're eventually going to say, you know what? That was worth a try, but we're not doing it anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Vladimir Putin also weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Russia's position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So by most objective measures, the root cause of this war is that Russia invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation, as root causes go, that's a whopper. But when Vladimir Putin says that he means something different, which well get to in a second, but basically that Ukraine should not be able to pick its friends and trading partners by these flimsy justifications. Russia over the weekend launched its largest drone attack of the entire war, targeting the Kyiv area.

Tonight, President Trump explained it this way, "they're fighting a war" he said, a war it should be mentioned he once promised to end in as little as a day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want them to stop dying, and I'll have that done. I'll have that done in 24 hours. I'll have it done. I will get it settled before I even become President. If I'm President, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So far, he's been President for 119 days.

Along with perspective from CNN's Fareed Zakaria, tonight, Kaitlan Collins is covering the White House for us. Nick Paton Walsh is in Kyiv. Kaitlan, let's begin with you. You were able to ask the President about this phone call today. What did he tell you?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, and it was notable because I was thinking back to just last week when we were on Air Force One with the President, as he was making his way through that trip to the Middle East. And I asked him, you know, what was he going to do if Putin didn't show up in Turkey on Thursday, given it was really Putin who initiated those conversations to have with Zelenskyy in Turkey that was supposed to happen, but obviously never did.

And part of what he said and then later, you know, really doubled down on, John, was that he believed that he needed to be involved in these conversations, that he and Putin had to also be speaking about what was going to happen here and then he went even further later on in the week while he was still in the Middle East and said, until the two of them met, he didn't think anything would materially change in this war.

And so today, after that two-our phone call he had with him, I asked if he still felt that way, given how positive his outlook of the conversation was this morning. And here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Did you ask President Putin to meet with you?

TRUMP: About what?

COLLINS: About Ukraine?

TRUMP: Yes, of course I did. I talked to him about it. I said, when are we going to end this, Vladimir, I know him for a long time now. I said, when are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath. And, I do believe he wants to end it. But I said to him, we've got to get going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:05:09]

COLLINS: Now, what was notable about what he said in the Oval Office there, saying that something does need to change and there does need to be movement here is it sounds a lot like after every other conversation that he's had with Putin since taking office, this is now their third phone call, John. And it was just a few weeks ago when the President called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine said that they would support that. Obviously, Russia never did and never came to the table in full agreement with that. And so, there are real questions going forward about what this looks like. As the President was saying, he does think Putin wants peace, despite what we saw from the Russians yesterday striking Kyiv not that long ago -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, apparently no breakthroughs tonight. Kaitlan Collins, thank you very much. We'll see you at the top of the hour for "The Sauce."

Let's go to Nick Paton Walsh, who is standing by for us in Kyiv.

So, Nick, what are Ukrainian authorities saying about this phone call between President Trump and Vladimir Putin?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to -- it's a delicate act for him because essentially he can't be seen to deride or distance himself from any particular peace process the Trump administration wants to suggest. He is utterly, desperately in need of American military assistance, intelligence sharing and he's seen that in the Oval Office blow up. We saw just months ago how perilous if this relationship begins to falter, that could be for their war effort here.

So he's suggested, yes, he's willing to see whatever documents Russia puts forward about what a ceasefire might look like. He's mentioned the possibility that future talks, like suggested by President Trump, sounding a bit like America is less part of this, and indeed suggested by Putin as well, could take place in Switzerland, Turkey or the Vatican.

Really, he says, depending on the seniority of leadership, that could potentially attend. But listening to President Zelenskyy speak, there's a clear frustration here. Ultimately, he senses what European allies have seen and what you can really hear from listening to Putin speak that Moscow are not really interested in immediate progress towards a peace settlement. They're more looking to buy time. Zelenskyy wants what the Europeans have promised would happen, what Trump promised the Europeans. The Europeans say, would happen if they didn't go along with this process and that sanctions some kind of consequence, but that's far from happening now -- John.

BERMAN: All right Nick Paton Walsh in Kyiv, thank you very much. All right, some perspective now from Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

Fareed, what stands out to you about the way that President Trump and Vladimir Putin are framing this phone call?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Well, the two interesting things. The first is that Putin made zero concessions to Trump. There was nothing in the Trump tweet or the post which suggested that Putin had budged at all. Putin continues to kind of yes, dear Trump saying yes, yes, yes, we're moving towards some kind of deal, but doing nothing substantive, providing no concessions. Compare that to Zelenskyy, who is essentially agreed to almost everything Trump has asked for.

The second thing, John, that's fascinating to me about what Trump said in that post, is he once again raised the prospect of this enormous gusher of economic deals that are going to take place between the United States and Russia once we get past this hurdle. He is so eager to engage on this front that it's puzzling. You know, part of the puzzle about Donald Trump has always been what is his fascination with Russia? It's the only country that was not subjected to tariffs in that reciprocal tariff volley.

His former national security adviser, his own National Security advisor, General McMaster, says this was the one thing I could never figure out, in one year of watching him day after day, what is the hold that Putin has? I think this business about the economic activity may be a key. Trump thinks of Russia as this enormous productive economy with which the United States can do all these deals. Russia is, in fact, a declining state economy the size of Netherlands going down, down, down.

To give you an example, Russia has grown half a percent in the last five years. Poland has grown four percent. In other words, eight times the pace of Russia. Trump should be trying to do deals with Poland and frankly, turn Ukraine into the next Poland rather than this weird nostalgic fantasy about Russia as this great economic power. It's not. It's a dysfunctional, corrupt mafia state.

BERMAN: Now, speaking of fantasy, President Trump said again today that he believes that Vladimir Putin wants peace. What evidence have you seen that Vladimir Putin wants peace, or that he can be counted on to keep his word?

[20:10:07]

ZAKARIA: Vladimir Putin wants peace with victory. In other words, he wants to win. He wants to conquer as much of Ukraine as he can. He thinks he has an advantage, which he does, given the principal backer of Ukraine, the United States, flipped sides over the last two or three months, made a series of concessions to Russia, said, we will never have troops in Ukraine. We will not allow Ukraine to be a member of NATO.

Russia can hold on to all that territory it has. A lot of war is a battle of morale and what Donald Trump has done must have collapsed Ukrainian morale. Think of it, I mean, there are only human, right? This was meant to be your chief backer. So Putin knows he has momentum on his side. And as you say, John, the simple question is what concession has Vladimir Putin made in order to allow these peace talks to happen to further any prospect of peace, and the answer is zero.

BERMAN: And again, the language that Vladimir Putin chooses to use, referring that Russia's position is clear the main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis. What signals does it send about his intentions when he's talking about the what he considers the root causes?

ZAKARIA: Well, to him, the root cause of the crisis is that Ukraine has had the temerity to think of itself as a separate, independent sovereign state, not part of Russia's empire or not part of Russia's neocolonial sphere of influence, the root cause, and this is why he invaded don't forget, was that Ukraine signed an association agreement, not with NATO, but with the European Union. In other words, the problem is that Ukraine wants to become a western liberal capitalist democracy, not that it wants to join NATO. It is that decision to try to move closer to the E.U. that precipitated Russia's invasion in 2014.

And we have to remember, this is, Vladimir Putin is presiding over the world's last multinational empire. They've all gone right, the French, the British, the Dutch, this was the last one. And he is holding on tenaciously, but he's fighting history. The Ukrainians will not give in. They will not surrender their national existence.

They might, you know, they might be bloodied. They might be beaten. They might lose more of their territory, but they're not going to just walk away. Even if Donald Trump tells them to.

Donald Trump can put all the pressure he wants on Ukraine. It's their lives. It's their country. It's their national existence. They've been trying to get this for 300 years.

BERMAN: Yes, every day and every night. This is their fight right now. Fareed Zakaria, thank you so much for being with us, appreciate your time.

ZAKARIA: Always a pleasure, John.

BERMAN: All right much more ahead tonight, including some breaking news about the gift of a 747 from Qatar which the President would get to take with him when he leaves office, mainly the administration went asking for it.

Also, Anderson's conversation with the parents of freed Israeli- American hostage, Edan Alexander just hours after their son got out of the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADI ALEXANDER, EDAN ALEXANDER'S FATHER: It's a real really, like, a surreal feeling. It is unimaginable to see our son after 584 days walking, looked the same, tall, beautiful kid, unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:18:01]

BERMAN: So, remember that free jet the Qataris were giving us because the President was tired of waiting for Boeing to finish the new Air Force Ones -- the one he said would be stupid to refuse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: They're giving us a free jet. I could say no, no, no, don't give us. I want to pay you a billion or 400 million or whatever it is, or I could say thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, first we learned it would not be free unless up to $1 billion to retrofit is free. We also learned it would not be ready for several years. And now, we're learning that gift was not even exactly a gift, the administration asked for it.

CNN's Alex Marquardt broke the story and joins us now. Alex, White, House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said today that the plane is a donation to our country. But you're being told it was the administration who reached out first. How did that unfold?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she said it was a donation from the Qatari family. What we learned, John, is that not long, right after President Trump came into office, Pentagon officials went to Boeing and asked for an update on those two new planes that are being built to become the next Air Force Ones. They were told that they wouldn't be delivered until 2027. So, what Boeing did was give these Pentagon officials a list of the planes out there in the world that could be suitable for Air Force One, and one of those planes was this Qatari jet.

So, the Pentagon, specifically the Air Force, with the backing of the White House, went to the Qataris and said, we are interested in buying this plane. And the Qataris said, well, we could also see ourselves selling this plane to you.

Separately, Steve Witkoff, the President's Middle East Envoy, he had been tasked with putting together a list of potentially suitable planes. And because he's the Middle East Envoy, he helped set up those early meetings with the Qataris. But this story has certainly evolved. John, as you noted -- we've heard President Trump talk about this as a gesture or a contribution from the Qataris, he called this on his Truth Social website a gift free of charge. And then last week, he told the story of a senior Qatari official coming to him, saying, if I can help you, let me do that.

Now, John, this has not been denied by the Qataris, but what my colleagues, Kristen Holmes, Natasha Bertrand and I found was that the truth is a lot more nuanced and it was the U.S. that very much kick- started this process.

[20:20:16]

BERMAN: So, where does it all stand now, Alex?

MARQUARDT: Well, it's not a done deal. It's still being hashed out. The lawyers from both sides are still working through this, both the U.S. and Qatar saying that they want to do this very much by the book, legally and ethically. But of course, there are countless Democrats, particularly lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who are infuriated. You've got a number of Republicans who are also angry, seeing this as some kind of corruption.

Of course, we don't know what the final price tag is going to be in the end. But John, we have seen the Qataris over and over trying to help the U.S. curry favor with the U.S., speak with people who the U.S. doesn't normally engage with. And so, we can see this deal eventually going through. We just don't know what the final terms are going to be, John.

BERMAN: All right, Alex Marquardt, great reporting. Thank you very much.

Now, to former President Biden and his diagnosis of an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. The former President wrote about the diagnosis this morning on social media. He said: "Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support."

With us now, CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. So, Sanjay, tell us more about how doctors discovered this cancer.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it sounds like from what we're hearing, he was having some symptoms, primarily urinary symptoms, that's usually what the flag is for people to get something checked out, went to the doctor to have that checked out, and they did a physical exam, including a prostate exam. And that's where they found something of concern.

A prostate exam, basically, you're looking at the prostate, the prostate, and you're seeing if there's anything that feels abnormal in there. So like your knuckle, for example, if you feel something like that, that's usually an indication of a nodule. It might be cancer, might maybe not, usually then a biopsy is performed. Then you look at those cells under a microscope, and subsequently imaging tests are performed.

So they did all that and they came to a couple of conclusions. One is that in fact there was cancer, when they looked at it under the microscope, it was a high grade cancer, something known as Gleason nine, and also that it had spread outside of the prostate. Metastatic, people sort of know that term and in this case, it had spread to the bones, which is a place that prostate cancer often goes. So, that's sort of the sequence of events and, you know, obviously he was told that information. And I think they're now trying to figure out what to do with all that.

BERMAN: So, a question being asked and a lot of different places is why wasn't this caught sooner and why was it only diagnosed when it had already reached this aggressive stage?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, this is, I think, going to be an open question, and I don't think there's a really clear answer. First of all, just a little bit of context. About 300,000 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed every year and about five to seven percent, John, are diagnosed for the first time when they're sort of at the stage of former President Biden has. Okay, so just to give you a little bit of context, so, you know, 20,000 or so similar cases like that every year, a few reasons that might happen.

First of all, men over the age of 70, as you can see there, they're no longer necessarily recommended to get regular screening. Okay, so that's one thing. He's obviously much older than that. I went back and looked at several years, John, of his overall medical records and the notes that were given to us by the White House and there was no mention of a PSA test, a type of screening test for at least the last four years. That's one thing. Second of all, sometimes people don't develop significant symptoms until the cancer has become quite advanced.

We see that with prostate cancer and also something that we see with pancreatic cancer, sometimes symptoms are sort of late to develop, and someone already has sort of advanced cancer. And finally, you know, a lot of times people may not have much in the way of symptoms at all until the cancer gets quite advanced. So, if he wasn't being screened, he didn't have significant symptoms, sometimes the symptoms that you do have taken a while to develop. That may be why it wasn't diagnosed for a while.

But you know, we just don't know. Prostate cancer is confusing this way because the screening recommendations even vary among other medical organizations.

BERMAN: And really quickly, Sanjay, you know, what options are there for treatment?

GUPTA: There's a few options, you know, and people hear metastatic. And obviously this is advanced cancer. But there's some good options when it comes to prostate cancer.

First of all, you heard the term hormone sensitive. They say it was a hormone sensitive cancer. That basically means that testosterone and other androgens are really fueling this cancer. If you can cut off the supply of that fuel to the cancer, you can sort of start to make it stop growing or grow slowly. And then there's the other things, chemotherapy and radiation, for example, for the bones.

[20:25:16]

BERMAN: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you for helping us understand what this all means.

Next, the manhunt for seven escaped New Orleans inmates expands to neighboring states. Authorities describe them as armed and dangerous. We're going to have the latest on the investigation into -- honestly their daring jailbreak.

And later, day six of testimony in the criminal trial of Sean Combs, a former artist on combs label, says she frequently witnessed violent behavior.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:30:22] BERMAN: Hundreds of law enforcement personnel scrambling tonight to track down seven inmates after a daring jailbreak in New Orleans. They're considered armed and dangerous. Several are accused killers.

So early Friday morning, 10 inmates escaped by breaching a wall behind a cell toilet. Authorities released this video showing inmates breaking into that cell, then running out onto a loading dock carrying blankets, which they used to scale a fence. That's just incredible.

The escape was not discovered for more than seven hours. Investigators believe the inmates had help from the inside. Three jail employees have been suspended without pay.

With us now is Lenny DePaul, former Commander of the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force for New York and New Jersey. Lenny, thanks so much for being with us. This manhunt has now expanded to several states. We're talking about seven violent individuals who may be receiving help. Do you believe the authorities are going to find them?

LENNY DEPAUL, FORMER CMDR., U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE REGIONAL FUGITIVE TASK FORCE FOR NY AND NJ: Well, good evening, John. And yes, I do. I mean, my former agency, the U.S. Marshals, the premier agency in this country, is working this case with their, of course, their partners, federal, state, and local. But they hit the ground running. It's an intense manhunt, but there's also a fugitive investigation going on behind the scenes, John.

They're flipping their worlds upside down. I mean, that digital footprint's important. They're not just focusing on the fugitives either. They're looking at who we call who's who in the zoo. They're looking at everybody. They trust a circle of friends and whatnot. So they're trying to connect the dots and put that puzzle together.

BERMAN: I want to play something that the Orleans Parish District Attorney said at a press conference today about one of the escaped inmates.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JASON R. WILLIAMS, ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I am personally afraid, not just for myself, but for my lawyers who tried the case against the individual twice. We were asking for a life sentence of this man, and he is now at large.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN: So how concerned should witnesses, victims, their family members be tonight with seven violent individuals on the loose?

DEPAUL: No, they should be very concerned, victims, family members, witnesses, as you said. You know, these guys are not turnstile jumpers. They're in jail for murder and assaults and whatnot, weapons violations. So, you know, and they don't want to go back to jail.

So the public needs to remain vigilant. Thankfully, social media is fired up. Their face is plastered everywhere. More importantly, you got a nice reward money out there. And we all know the streets talk, John.

So did somebody help them? Possibility. But, you know, God help them. I mean, that's aiding and abetting and harboring a fugitive. And they'll be prosecutable as well. So, you know, hopefully it's a matter of time. But the bigger question, John, is what happens once that noose starts tightening and they get a perimeter set up on these guys?

You know, what's their mindset? Is it suicide by cop? Is it a barricaded suspect? You know, hostage situation. That's important. And I hope this thing goes -- they put this -- I hope they put this to bed before, you know, anything happens without incident.

BERMAN: I do think maybe that noose, as you put it, is tightening a little bit. We're just getting word that I think one of the prisoners has been apprehended. So that means four of the 10 at this point with six still on the loose.

Very quickly, you heard the sheriff mention that maybe people in the department aided in the breakout. Could people, these same people, still be providing support?

DEPAUL: I mean, anything's possible. That's the billion-dollar question. But it will be interesting to see when the dust settles and the smoke clears what's going on with that investigation at the jail. But as I always say, John, you can run, but you can't hide. And when you run, you only go to jail tired or, in this case, back to jail.

BERMAN: Well, we will see, again, one more of the inmates caught at this point. Six still on the loose.

Lenny DePaul, thank you very much.

Meanwhile in New York, testimony resumed today in Sean Combs' federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial. Dawn Richard, a former member of a girl group formed by Combs, was back on the stand. Ventura's -- Cassie Ventura's former best friend, Kerry Morgan, also testified. And the day ended when one of Sean Combs' former assistants took the stand.

CNN's Kara Scannell, who has been in court from the very beginning, joins us now. What were some of the key moments in testimony today?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So a lot of the testimony was focused on the physical assaults that Dawn Richard and Kerry Morgan said that they witnessed firsthand. Richard said that she'd seen a number of assaults, him kicking her, smacking her. And Morgan described in great detail two assaults.

One was in Jamaica when they were on vacation. She testified that they were at a bar. Ventura went to the bathroom. Combs thought she was taking too long. And then Morgan said the next thing she heard was guttural screams that was from Ventura.

[20:35:05] She went to the hallway, saw Combs dragging her down the hallway by her hair. She said then they went outside and she saw Combs push Ventura to the ground. Ventura hit her head on the brick floor. And she thought Ventura was passed out.

She said -- she was arguing -- Morgan was arguing with Combs. Ventura got up and ran into the woods. And she -- Morgan eventually found Ventura. And they were hiding in a ditch while Combs and another friend was looking for them. So that was the most vivid testimony of the day.

There was also testimony just about the control aspect of this, which both Morgan, Richard and Combs' assistant David James testified that they had conversations with Ventura. And she said she couldn't leave because Combs was in charge of her career, of her finances, her car, her apartment. And so that was testimony that the jury heard really for the first time today, something that specific.

BERMAN: So how does this correspond to the testimony we heard in really dramatic fashion from Cassie Ventura? And how do you think that the prosecution wants jurors to hear this in terms of what it means to the actual charges that Combs is facing?

SCANNELL: So these jurors are backing up what Ventura said about a violent relationship. They can't tie it to the freak-offs, which is part of the sex trafficking charge. But they are providing additional examples and, in Morgan's case, corroborating what Ventura had already told the jury about following the hotel surveillance video fight that was captured.

And what happened back at her apartment where Morgan testified today, Combs showed up with a hammer, was banging on the door. She said she was terrified, and she said Ventura was sitting on the couch numb, as though she didn't care if Combs even broke in and killed her. So they're providing additional context.

The other thing, hearing from this personal assistant of Combs, he's testifying both about the Cassie and the sex trafficking. One thing he said he overheard was Combs saying, "I got her right where I want her. She's young, very moldable" -- Ventura. And then also testifying about when he was interviewing for the job, he met with someone from H.R. and the H.R. woman pointed to a picture of Combs on the wall, and it said, this is Mr. Combs' kingdom. We're all here to serve him.

This witness choked up when he was recounting that testimony. And this is where I think prosecutors want to get to the racketeering charge as well, just that this was an enterprise of people. Combs was in charge of his security detail, his assistants. And people looked the other way when there was abuse happening before them.

BERMAN: All right, Kara Scannell, as I said, you're in the court each and every day. Thank you so much for telling us what you see and hear.

So after 584 days, Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was released from Hamas captivity. His parents flew from the U.S. to reunite with him. They spoke with Anderson about what it was like to see their son again.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ADI ALEXANDER, EDAN ALEXANDER'S FATHER: I was absolutely positive we will see him again. And we fought for him. He saw that, and it gave him a lot of strength down there.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:39]

BERMAN: Israel has launched a new ground offensive in Gaza after days of heavy airstrikes. Health officials there say the operation killed more than 100 people overnight and is making a humanitarian crisis that much worse. Israel had been warning about the operation called Gideon's Chariots for weeks. It is aimed, they say, at defeating Hamas and securing the release of all hostages. Fifty-eight are still being held in Gaza.

Last week, the final Israeli-American hostage believed to be alive, Edan Alexander, was released and reunited with his family. Now, Anderson spoke with Edan's parents, Yael and Adi, hours after he was discharged from the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I first met you on a street on October 12, 2023, and it was --

YAEL ALEXANDER, EDAN ALEXANDER'S MOTHER: Yes.

COOPER: -- incredibly emotional. And I've thought about you and your family every day since then. And it is such a joy for me to talk to you under these circumstances. How are you?

Y. ALEXANDER: Well, we are wonderful, you know, wonderful. I cannot stop smiling.

COOPER: I think this is the first time I've seen you guys smile since then.

Y. ALEXANDER: All right. We look different. Hope better.

A. ALEXANDER: Yes, it's a real -- really like a surreal view and feeling. It's unimaginable to see our son after 584 days walking, look the same, tall, beautiful kid, unbelievable.

COOPER: Did -- you never gave up hope, either of you, did you?

Y. ALEXANDER: No, we never -- we never.

A. ALEXANDER: One of the first questions Edan asked me, if I thought he's going to die and I'm never going to see him again. And I told him never, never in my life. I never thought that. I was absolutely positive we will see him again. And we fought for him. He saw that. And it gave him a lot of strength down there.

COOPER: I just want to play for our viewers again, Yael, the moment when you were reunited last Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

(Speaking in Foreign Language)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[20:45:03]

COOPER: I mean, is it -- I mean, you must have thought about that moment for a long time or maybe you didn't allow yourself to, but you must -- maybe you thought about it for a long time. It's got to be impossible to describe what that felt like.

Y. ALEXANDER: So I was imagining this moment, I think, million times. I had dreams about this moment. But you know what? When it happened, I was like, oh, my God, I just started running and screaming. And we almost fell because I came in full power to Edan and I was crying and he was crying. And it was so amazing. I couldn't ask for more, you know, from this moment.

COOPER: I know it's got to be a complicated process in these days. I'm sure people have talked to you about how to kind of navigate the coming weeks. Do you ask Edan questions about what happened? Do you just let him tell you what he wants? How do you handle this?

Y. ALEXANDER: So he's just telling us whatever he wants. We cannot tell him what to do. We're giving him options and we are looking for answer that he would love to do, you know.

COOPER: When do you think you will bring him home to New Jersey? I mean, I can't imagine what that reception is going to be like.

A. ALEXANDER: He suffered some injuries on October 7 and some more injuries in the captivity. But -- and it needs to be taken care of here. So hopefully in a couple of weeks from now and that's our hope, and this is what we will be pushing for.

COOPER: Did you guys know the strength that Edan has? I mean, did you know -- you know, he's -- he was -- he's 21 now. He was, you know, not even 21 when he was taken. Yes, did he surprise you?

Y. ALEXANDER: He's our hero. We know our son. And that's why we had such a strong hope that he's surviving and he's strong because it's Edan, you know, he's so tough. And he's also encouraging people inside captivity. That was the testimonials that we got from people that released you from the first release, the second release.

Everyone that saw Edan told us how encouraging he was and how optimistic he was. And it was amazing to hear.

A. ALEXANDER: I never got a doubt.

COOPER: You didn't have a doubt?

A. ALEXANDER: No, absolutely. He's an athlete. We consider ourselves like super lucky.

Y. ALEXANDER: Yes.

COOPER: I understand Steve Witkoff and certainly should acknowledge, you know, President Trump's incredible role in making this happening. I understand Steve Witkoff gave your son a Star of David necklace, which had belonged to his son, Andrew, who I understand died, I think, in 2011. It seems like this was very personal for Mr. Witkoff.

A. ALEXANDER: He was totally obsessed about releasing our son. I'm forever grateful to Steve Witkoff and President Trump and Adam Boehler and all the NSC team.

Y. ALEXANDER: Yes.

COOPER: And I know as much joy is in your hearts over the release of your son, I know also your hearts are with all the other families who are still waiting and all those families whose sons and daughters will never come home.

Y. ALEXANDER: We are going to continue to fight to bring all the 58 hostages that are still in Gaza. And this is also our mission, like --

A. ALEXANDER: Yes, we'll use our influence and our voices to advocate for the release of everybody. And the fight is continued.

Y. ALEXANDER: Exactly.

COOPER: Yael and Adi Alexander, thank you so much.

Y. ALEXANDER: Thank you so much.

A. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Anderson.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BERMAN: Amazing. We wish the Alexanders all the best tonight.

Coming up, both online and on stage, a sign of the changing times, comedy and right-wing comedians in the age of Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:54:06]

BERMAN: The return of President Trump to the White House has also led to a surge in the popularity of right-wing comedy. One rising star in that world, Theo Von, was the opening act for President Trump when talking to U.S. troops in Qatar.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

THEO VON, COMEDIAN AND HOST, "THIS PAST WEEKEND": One of the most famous suntans in the world is here today, Donald Trump. So, oh yes, that dude's got the best one.

(APPLAUSE)

VON: Hell, yes.

(APPLAUSE)

VON: Oh, he's got a tone of his own, man. That guy, he's sunbathed in a Sherwin-Williams, dude.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN: So here's Elle Reeve on comedy's rightward swing, and the face is at the forefront of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any friends in L.A., I'm just friends with RFK and his wife. And that's all I need, that's all I need. Yes, they're amazing.

(APPLAUSE)

[20:55:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His wife Cheryl is the actress from "Curb Your Enthusiasm, she's so sweet and optimistic. And, you know, he's less optimistic because the CIA killed his whole family.

(LAUGHTER)

VON: I don't do it anymore, man, and I'm not doing it.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're way up with cocaine more than anything else you can think of.

VON: Cocaine will turn you into a damn owl, homie, you know what I'm saying? You'll be out on your own pork, you know?

TRUMP: Yes.

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Comedy has changed. There's a hugely influential group of comedians with a kind of frightening countercultural vibe. Tim Dillon, Andrew Schulz, Tony Hinchcliffe, Shane Gillis, Theo Von.

They're friends, they're in Joe Rogan's orbit, and they podcast. Some of them with very powerful people.

VON: Do you drink coffee, man, or no?

MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO OF META: No.

VON: Really?

REEVE (voice-over): These guys all have Netflix specials, but most of their work by volume is podcasts. Endless hours of podcasts. They talk about current events in part, Tim Dillon said, because the YouTube algorithm rewards it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These tariffs are for the Oompa Loompas.

MATT SIENKIEWICZ, CO-AUTHOR, "THAT'S NOT FUNNY: HOW THE RIGHT MAKES COMEDY WORK FOR THEM": There's a number of these rising star new media comedians who have decided to throw their hat in directly with the right side of the American political spectrum who are ascendant. I don't think you can deny that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans are the party with a good sense of humor.

REEVE (voice-over): Trump's campaign did see potential in their audiences, and he had a strategy of reaching young men on YouTube through a significant podcast tour. More did vote for him in 2024 than in 2020.

ANDREW SCHULZ, COMEDIAN AND HOST, "FLAGRANT": Barron is 18, he's handsome.

TRUMP: Yes.

SCHULZ: He's tall.

TRUMP: Yes.

SCHULZ: He's rich.

TRUMP: He's got the whole ball game, that kid.

SCHULZ: He's unleashed in New York City.

TRUMP: That's --

SCHILZ: Are you sure you want to reverse Roe v. Wade now?

REEVE (voice-over): Dillon hosted JD Vance just before the election.

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: OK, yes. Kamala Harris is the person who, when you tell a really funny joke --

TIM DILLON, COMEDIAN AND HOST, "THE TIM DILLON SHOW": Yes.

VANCE: -- she, like, says, well, that was kind of offensive.

DILLON: Right.

VANCE: Right?

DILLON: Yes.

REEVE: Did you find him to be authentic?

DILLON: I found him to be a politician. These are not the coolest people in our world. They're like dork politicians.

REEVE: Yes, but they want you to make them look cool.

DILLION: I think they want to tell people who they are, and it's a version of who they are that wants a job.

REEVE (voice-over): He invited Bernie Sanders on his show, but the senator's staff hasn't been able to schedule it yet. Dillon says he invited on Tim Walz during the campaign, but didn't hear back.

VANCE: Who's been the candidate of stopping the stupid wars? Basically nobody in 40 years, with the lone exception of my running mate, right, of Donald J. Trump.

DILLON: What attracted me to a lot of what Vance said in that interview was that he was saying things like, we don't want to run the American economy on permanent war, and we don't think it's a good thing.

REEVE: But the wars continued.

DILLON: That's why I'm disappointed.

REEVE (voice-over): There's this slang in internet debate, to steal man, which means to use a very strong version of an argument. Dillon and I used it when talking about criticism of his interviews.

REEVE: Can I make the steal man --

DILLON: Yes.

REEVE: -- case for you being bad?

DILLON: Yes, absolutely.

REEVE: The steal man case for you being bad is --

DILLON: Of course.

REEVE: -- you --

DILLON: Helped.

REEVE: -- rolled out the red carpet for JD Vance to make his case that he's just like you, man, he likes jokes, he hates war, and then that enables him to get in office and deport people on college campuses for saying this war is bad.

DILLON: Do I criticize that? I absolutely do. Your case makes sense. If I go on my show and I go, JD made me, I realize something's different, and they should be deported, and we should do this. If I went along with it, I'm bad.

I'm saying I don't agree with it. Don't deport these people. It's absurd. So if JD Vance wants to come on my show and goes, hey, I believe this, that, and the other thing, and I go, that sounds good, but then in practice, he does the opposite thing, I call him out. And if you don't call them out, that's when you suck.

SIENKIEWICZ: If you can both be attaching yourself to a wildly famous person like Donald Trump and also be labeling yourself as countercultural, even as you ask, frankly, not very challenging questions, that's a real sort of combination. It's kind of a magic trick that they've pulled, but it's a good business model.

REEVE (voice-over): But they don't back every Trump policy. There are some cracks in this loose coalition, especially over the idea of war with Iran and the war in Gaza.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's one thing that Trump said. If I get in there, 24 hours, the war's over.

DILLON: Yes, that's a tough one. 24 is tough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's obviously.

DILLON: But hopefully they figure it out, because it is -- it's unfortunate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's fucking crazy.

DILLON: The human toll is unreal.

VON: Like, I'm kind of conflicted about Trump, like, with his stance on Gaza, right? To me, that's, like --

CANDACE OWENS, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: I totally disagree with him on it, and it's, like, it's hard to reconcile it in many ways.

REEVE: I guess I'm curious whether you think or expect or hope that just as these politicians have seen something to gain in your audience, do you think they'll listen at all?

DILLON: Will politicians listen to their constituents?

REEVE: Yes.

DILLON: What a great question with an unknowable answer. I mean, I think a lot of people elected Donald Trump hoping that we were not going to continue foreign wars and spending American money for foreign wars. This is the whole thing. Everybody campaigns on a laundry list of things they're going to do, and are they going to do them, and are they going to listen? I mean, it's a great question.

REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BERMAN: Great work by Elle.

The news continues. "The Source" with Kaitlan Collins starts now.