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Warren Buffet Announces Plans To Retire, Criticizes New Tariffs; New Tariffs On Imported Auto Parts In Effect; How The "Trump Effect" Changed Australia's Election; How The "Trump Effect" Changed The Australian Election; Sen. Cantwell: Near Miss At Reagan Airport "Outrageous"; Jury Selection Starts Monday In Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 03, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:42]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And we begin with breaking news as legendary investor Warren Buffett announces he will step down from his long held role as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year. This marks an end of an era in American capitalism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN BUFFETT, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: The time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at yearend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The 94-year-old got a standing ovation following his announcement. He's led Berkshire Hathaway for nearly six decades, becoming known as the Oracle of Omaha, and at that same shareholders meeting, Buffett made more headlines, this time because he was offering his most direct comments yet about President Trump's tariffs, calling the use of trade as a weapon a big mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUFFETT: Trade should not be a weapon. I do think that the more, the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes it won't be at our expense. The more prosperous it will become and the safer we'll feel and your children will feel someday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: I spoke earlier with Dan Ives, the global head of tech research at WedBush Securities, about Buffett's long awaited comments on tariffs and his legacy on the financial world. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN IVES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TECH RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: He's been foundational to the market. I mean, you go through any of the periods over really the last 40, 50 years, I mean, Buffett played an instrumental role. Financial crisis, you go back to things that we saw in the '90s. I mean, any crisis moment, the red phone, you call Buffett. And ultimately it was really what Buffett said.

And I think that he changed the way that investors view the market. And he's the original GOAT when it comes to the market. And that's why, you know, he will never be replaced. It's an end of an era.

When he talks, everyone listens. That was a shot across the bow. I mean, that's about as negative as you're going to see Buffett in terms of what he's seeing in terms of the tariff trade war. And I think those words you're going to hear throughout the week, because that -- everyone was waiting to hear what Buffett said about the trade war.

And even though obviously, you know, retired at the end of the year, I mean, that -- those are words that will be heard around the world and around the market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And again, our thanks to Dan Ives for that.

A new round of tariffs in the meantime is expected to hit the auto industry hard. That's starting today. Nearly all imported auto parts will come with a 25 percent tax. Now that does not -- that levy does not protect cars made in America. Not one of the 10 million cars to come out of the U.S. plants last year was built without at least some imported parts. And while Americans may not see price hikes right away, experts do estimate the tariffs could ultimately add about $4,000 to the cost of any vehicle.

I want to go now to CNN's Julia Vargas Jones, who is joining us from the port of Los Angeles.

Julia, how soon do analysts expect that we might see the impact of these new tariffs? And what are you seeing there at the port where so much of these imported goods come into the United States?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that depends, Jessica. You know, for those who are shopping for a brand new car, it might actually take a while for the trickle down of those tariffs to make it into the parts and into the full cost of new cars, like you mentioned, $4,000 to $5000. But there are estimates that that new tariff could add tens of billions of dollars to this new industry. And if people are shopping for parts for their car, if they need a repair, that's where consumers might be able to feel the price hikes a little bit sooner.

Here in the port of Los Angeles, you know, the largest port in America, a lot of what's coming from China will enter the country through this port. They're already seeing about a 35 percent drop in imports for next week compared to the same time last year. That's because a lot of these importers, they're saying we're going to wait and see what actually happens with these tariffs, hoping, betting on these talks, potential talks with China actually yielding some results -- Jessica.

[19:05:01]

But so we went to visit a warehouse nearby the port here that is very special because it acts as a bit of a loophole for all of these tariffs, not just automotive tariffs. Here we're talking about the tariffs for China, 145 percent on all kinds of merchandise. We saw things like strollers, spatulas in the kitchen, things like guitar parts, really all sorts of different products that will be used to assemble products that will be made in America.

This allows for importers to hold their merchandise in American soil without paying those tariffs until they withdraw the product. Take a listen to what that business owner had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: What are we looking at here?

JENNIFER HARTRY, PRESIDENT, HOWARD HARTRY, INC.: So this is a container that just came in. It's a shipment that just came in. This is the first big shipment, one of two containers, 40 foot containers that came in, product from China that we're offloading. And we're going to put it that side of our warehouse as the bonded side. And so we can't go in that side. This part is called a tax paid side. So all this product is subject to taxes and duties.

They're going to put it all on pallets so it comes in on -- just in boxes on the floor of the container. They put it on pallets. Take it back. They're going to stack those pallets as high as we can get them. And then we wait for our instructions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So for the consumer, Jessica, that might mean that those goods are actually being stored as business owners wait out these tariffs as opposed to being on the shelves in stores. So that could cause a whole host of other problems. But again, these business owners just betting on the fact that perhaps these tariffs will go down and they'll get a better margin by the time that they do find a buyer.

DEAN: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, for us there at the port of Los Angeles. Thank you for that reporting.

Bloomberg White House correspondent Akayla Gardner and Politico White House reporter Jake Traylor joining us now.

Guys, thanks for being here on this Sunday evening.

Jake, this is one of -- I'm going back now to Warren Buffett, one of the titans of business. Maybe the, as one person said, the GOAT of being a titan of business, weighing in on President Trump's policies. We know President Trump has pitched himself to the American people as a businessman, but we have someone like Warren Buffett saying what he said today on this same day that we're hearing the president acknowledge that you're kind of at least shrug off the possibility of a recession.

How significant is it that we're having all of this happen today?

JAKE TRAYLOR, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, POLITICO: Yes. We're seeing Warren Buffett, arguably one of the most if not the most influential figure on Wall Street and has been for decades, sign off from his career and at the same time, finally weighing in on these tariffs that have kind of plagued the country over the past couple of months now.

I've spoken with dozens of Wall Street individuals who have expressed very similar sentiments to what Buffett shared today. I think if anything, we saw Buffett fall in line with what many are saying on Wall Street. And I know, I know, we played some of the sound earlier at the top of the show, but Buffett saying that we should do what we do best and they, being the other countries, should do what they do best.

I think that right there, in reference to trade and the importance of trade, sort of encapsulates what we've heard from folks on Wall Street, from consumers across the markets. And as you said, we're seeing this play out in real time, a couple of days ago tariffs for fast fashion are hitting. Now car parts entering the United States. Those tariffs coming into full force. Trump in an interview airing tomorrow, fully dismissing some of the growing concerns around some of these economic policies.

So Buffett is perhaps the most powerful voice here when it comes to voices on Wall Street and on financial markets. And the question now is, with this added weight on Donald Trump's back, as consumer tension continues to rise, does this impact the way that he treats some of these countries, some of these tariffs that he's implied?

DEAN: Yes. And Akayla, I think we are looking to see kind of what is his pain threshold on all of this. On Friday, we had a better than expected jobs report. We know that the stocks have bounced back to kind of where they were before April 2nd. So there are a couple of good pieces of economic data that they got yesterday. At the same time, as Jake notes, like there are all these other undercurrents.

AKAYLA GARDNER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: And so how would you say they're dealing with that, kind of taking all of that in? Does it embolden them to keep pressing forward, or are they listening and watching externally to these concerns that Wall Street, but also a lot of Americans have?

I mean, speaking of economic data, we had the U.S. growth retracting for the first time in years, and that was a huge signal I think to Wall Street and broadly, and also to the White House, how this economy is really impacted by these really massive and aggressive tariffs campaign that we've seen the president enable.

And something that was interesting about Buffett's comments is he was really critical of almost the protectionist or isolationist attitude that Trump is going about this with, with that America First mindset.

[19:10:07] And that has really caused a lot of countries to have tensions with the United States. And yet we're still seeing the White House prioritize relationships with what they call important trading partners like India, South Korea, Japan. And so those are some of the deals that we're watching really closely to potentially come to fruition.

But I think the question is, what direction will the president ultimately go? Will he rely on people like Peter Navarro, who's the staunchest supporters of tariffs, or will he side with more people like Bessent and even Elon Musk, who has been very critical of these tariffs, and folks, frankly, who want to see the economy thrive and are really concerned about how this could impact everyday business owners and American consumers.

DEAN: Jake, the administration has been teasing out deals or a deal coming soon. The Treasury secretary suggesting that perhaps that deal could be with India, saying to watch this space. What are you hearing in terms of a deal transpiring? But also just how critical -- I mean, obviously, if you're talking to somebody like Scott Bessent, he understands what a deal would do for the economy, but also more broadly, the president and his full administration.

TRAYLOR: Yes. So I'll tell you a couple key things that I've been focused on is one is, and speaking with White House administration officials, they're very aware right now of how important and crucial a coming deal, how much that would benefit their administration, how much that would immediately benefit the U.S. economy when there has been any resistance, or rather, taking a back of some of these tariffs, we've seen an immediate boost in the economy over the past couple of weeks.

And so the Trump administration and the folks that I speak with, they're aware that a deal of this size, of course, a deal with India, of course, a deal with China and some of these largest economic proponents would ultimately be something that they're seeking very heavily. I think what is notable, though, is there have been many occasions over the past couple of days where reporters have gotten into the room with Donald Trump, with Bessent, with Navarro, some of these individuals, and asked about these deals, and they've not been able to offer up anything yet.

And so I'm sure behind very closed doors, there are some talks that are underway. We've seen Trumps resistance to talking about just getting on the phone with President Xi of China and making something happen, being very careful to say he's not going to be the one to make the first move. So the White House is aware of how big one of these deals would be for the U.S. economy for sustaining some of some American consumers forward.

But it doesn't appear that they have one close to tied up, bow tied, ready to present to the American public just yet.

DEAN: And Akayla, another big piece of news that came out of the White House this week was that Mike Waltz would be ousted as National Security adviser, and that they would instead nominate him to be ambassador to the U.N., and that Marco Rubio, the current secretary of State, would take on this other big job that is traditionally been meant for, you know, two jobs for two people.

What are you hearing about how this is going to proceed? And what does it do for Marco Rubio and his standing within the administration?

GARDNER: Well, one of the reasons why this was so significant is, is this the first major departure that we've seen out of the White House that was something that was very pertinent during the first Trump term, where you saw people constantly coming in and out of the White House. So this is certainly something that this White House has really tried to avoid by installing loyalists. And yet we saw that first high profile departure with Mike Waltz this week.

And now we see Marco Rubio with multiple jobs in the administration. And really there's questions about how, especially taking that role on a secretary of State and National Security adviser, how he will be able to balance that. The only other person, really, who has done that in modern history was Henry Kissinger. And that notably did not work out well.

So there's (inaudible) about how he's going to manage that. But more broadly, if there's other folks that the Trump administration and the president himself is eyeing potentially to cut down the line, we saw this departure happen much weeks after really this Signal fiasco. And so it certainly says that the president is watching his officials very closely, his top aides, and he's willing to make those decisions if and when necessary.

DEAN: All right, Akayla Gardner, Jake Traylor, our thanks to both of you. We appreciate it.

And still to come, why two commercial planes had to abort landings at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan airport this week. But first, how anti-Trump sentiment may have swayed another election for one of America's allies, this time in Australia.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:19]

DEAN: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was reelected in the early hours this morning, defying the odds of last year's incumbency curse, in a landslide victory. The final votes are still being counted, but the country's center-left government is set to dramatically increase its majority.

It may be thousands of miles away, but Trump and his policies did loom over that election. And CNN's Harry Enten is here to run the numbers on this.

Hello, Harry. Nice to see you.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hello. DEAN: Just how much of a comeback was this for Australia's Labor

Party?

ENTEN: Yes. It's a tremendous comeback. I think that's the only way you can view it. That's a statistical term for you. Tremendous. Huge as perhaps the president of the United States might say. Take a look here.

[19:20:01]

The chance that Australia's Labor Party wins a majority in the 2025 election. You go back to February, before the tariff war, look at this. It was just a 3 percent chance. Just a 3 percent chance. And as we know, well, now it's 100 percent chance that they win the majority. And not just that, they expanded the majority. Back in February indeed, it was most likely going to be a hung parliament where the conservative coalition was likely to get the most number of seats in that parliament.

But at the end of the day, in the Lower House, Labor crushes with an expanded majority. Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, elected to another term.

DEAN: That is wild to go from 3 percent to winning.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: How much of this could be attributed to the Trump factor?

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, look, we mentioned the 3 percent pre-tariff war. But we can dig into the data a little bit more. That's what I like to do, Jessica Dean. I like to dig into the data a little bit more. That's why you have me on. It's not just because of my good looks.

All right. Australians who say Trump's election was bad for Australia. Look at this. When Trump was elected back in November of 2024, it was 40 percent. Look at where it was right at the end of the campaign, 68 percent. Two-thirds of Australians said that Trump's election in the United States was bad for Australia. Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party. Of course, the leftist part of that country, they hammered, hammered, hammered, hammered the conservative coalition over Donald Trump.

And not only at the end of the day did the Labor Party win, and not only did they get a majority, they expanded their majority, but also the head of the conservative coalition actually lost his seat. That is how big this Labor movement was. And it was supercharged by Donald John Trump. Australia, no bueno on Donald Trump, as these numbers indicate, and the election results from Australia indicate -- Jessica.

DEAN: So we have this outcome. And also earlier this week we saw another big comeback for a center-left party.

ENTEN: You got that right. Just north of the border in Canada, right, we were talking about it last weekend. I mean, look here, chance Canada's Liberal Party wins the most seats in the 2025 election, on January 19th, just before inauguration in the States, it was less than 1 percent. Hello? Well, that April 28th result, 100 percent chance. Of course, now that the Liberal Party up in Canada was able to maintain its place as the largest party in Canada's parliament.

Again, you don't have to be a mathematical genius to see less than 1 percent jumping to 100 percent just before Trump's inauguration. Now, something very much clearly happened in Canada, and I wonder what it could be -- Jessica Dean.

DEAN: It sure did. So how much was that because of Trump? What does the data say?

ENTEN: Yes. So what does the data say? So we have the odds jumping here. But of course, as I said earlier on in this segment, I like to dig on into the data. Well, get this. Why did Canadians switch their votes to liberal? Well, 48 percent of those who switched their votes said a top reason was Donald John Trump. So it is not just way out there in the east or west, depending on which direction you want to go in down in Australia.

But it was just north of the border as well, where Donald Trump supercharged those center-left in that country and turned what looked like was going to be a loser for the center left party and all of a sudden made him a winner.

DEAN: Wow. And Australia and Canada are not the only places where left-leaning parties are benefiting from this reaction to Trump.

ENTEN: No, no, it isn't. So were talking north of the border. How about we go south of the border? I've always been a fan of the great country of Mexico. So Mexico's president's net approval rating, Claudia Sheinbaum, I mean, hello, look at this. Her net approval rating up 22 points since November. Of course, she's been one of the main opponents of Donald Trump. Her overall approval rating now in Mexico, get this, is north of 80 percent.

When was the last time there was any national politician in the United States who had an approval rating north of 80 percent? I think you have to go all the way back to George W. Bush at the beginning of this century after 9/11. The bottom line is, whether you look in Australia, Canada or Mexico, the center left or the left, competitors to those right parties, the opposition to Donald Trump, the opposition to the conservatives, as I have said, have been supercharged by Donald Trump being the president of the United States and his tariff wars have absolutely caused conservative parties worldwide to see massive recessions in terms of their popularity in those different countries.

DEAN: It is truly fascinating to see it all laid out, you know, with the data like this. Would you say then that this is a global backlash to the United States under Trump?

ENTEN: I would say so. I mean, we mentioned the three countries already, but let's expand instead of three countries, why don't we talk about 29 different countries? OK. 29 is a bigger number than three. Say the U.S. will have a positive impact on world affairs, this is April versus pre-2024 election,. [19:25:06]

Look at the number of countries in which that percentage has declined, the percentage we say the U.S. will have a positive impact on world affairs. It has declined. And get this, 26 out of 29 countries nearly unanimous. It doesn't basically matter where you go. Yes, there's maybe a country here or there that like the United States better, but the vast majority of countries that are polled hold a lesser view of the United States now versus before Donald Trump was elected.

The bottom line is, as I said earlier, this has caused liberal leftist parties worldwide a massive upswing in their popularity and has caused a downgrading in the minds of many different folks throughout the globe, perhaps not in the United States, however, but many folks throughout the globe to see the United States as a lesser than they did before Trump was elected. The bottom line is, Donald Trump hasn't just shaped the politics in the United States. He has shaped it worldwide, oftentimes to the detriment of conservative parties and to the benefit of leftist parties worldwide -- Jessica.

DEAN: And then unrelated, we do want to know if your horse won the Kentucky Derby today. Obviously you had a favorite.

ENTEN: Of course I had a favorite. They're all my favorites because the bottom line is I just love animals through and through. And I'm fortunate, though, that I wasn't out there because I don't think I could quite run in the rain. The real question is, could I run inside? I'm not really quite sure. I will say my girlfriend is a far better runner than I am. She has completed three marathons. I'm lucky if I can complete a night of sleep without waking up.

DEAN: Well, set the bar high. You know?

ENTEN: I have to set the bar -- I'm much better talking than I am running. Closing my mouth that would be a marathon that I perhaps could try to complete, although even that I'm not quite sure I could actually do -- Jessica.

DEAN: Fair enough. Harry Enten, good to see you. Thanks for walking us through all of that.

ENTEN: My pleasure. Nice seeing you.

DEAN: And joining us now is Australian journalist Peter Hartcher. He's the political editor of "The Sydney Morning Herald."

Peter, good morning to you where you are. And good evening from here in the U.S. Thanks so much for being here with us. I do want to play a moment from Albanese's victory speech last night, and then get your reaction on the other side. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: In this time of global uncertainty, Australians have chosen optimism and determination.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

ALBANESE: Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: We heard him there mentioned a time of global uncertainty. He talked about looking after each other, building for the future. How much of a factor was Trump in this election?

PETER HARTCHER, POLITICAL EDITOR, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD AND THE AGE: Jessica, Trump was a huge factor in this election. He dominated the news cycle before the campaign, during the campaign. He has been looming over this election like a tangerine titan. And the influence has been increasingly negative for the Conservative Party, increasingly positive for the Labor Party, which has, as we just saw, now reclaimed power for a second consecutive term.

Now, that's a transformation from the picture of a couple of months ago. In fact, the moment Trump was inaugurated, there was a drift away from the Conservative Party here because it looked as if at that point the Conservative Party was going to take power from the Labor Party, the center-left party. But the drift began back to Labor just after Trump was inaugurated. But then the drift became an absolute stampede the moment those so-called liberation day tariffs were announced.

That was a real shock. And Australians have been profoundly unsettled by Trump. Often he's not named. And you just saw in that clip you played, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese only indirectly referred to Trump. You know, because Trump hasn't threatened and shocked Australia as overtly as he did Canada, the whole Trump factor has been less obvious and a little more understated. But it was very real.

DEAN: Yes. It's just so shocking from -- as an American who covers American politics, to see that shift, that sort of shift from their chances that Harry Enten my colleague just walked through, the Labor Party's chances just a few months ago, as you noted, to what ultimately ended up happening. It's so rare to see something swing like that in politics in such a dramatic way. Were you surprised, as someone who's covered this for years?

[19:30:00]

HARTCHER: Yes, the polls did capture the change, but not the extent of it and it's very rare for an incumbent government to get an increased majority at an election, but that's exactly what happened.

The swing in favor of the government was about two percentage points on the nationwide vote, about four percent against the opposition leader. And in terms of the number of seats, it was a landslide and the labor party ends up with many more seats than it started with.

One really interesting factor that we can quantify here, Jessica, is that the percentage of Australians telling pollsters that they think Donald Trump is quite bad for Australia is 68 percent, so seven out of ten Australians think that Donald Trump is bad for Australia, but they distinguish -- Australians distinguish between Trump and America and the percentage of Australians saying that they support the alliance, the Australia-U.S. alliance remains very high, like around 80 percent.

So, there's a clear distinction. Australians are still putting some hope in America and in the alliance, but are profoundly, profoundly disturbed and upset and worried about Donald Trump. The alliance with America has been a constant, a foundational, and solid rock of Australian public life for as long as any of us have been alive, that's gone.

America is now seen as hostile to its allies, disruptive to the world economy, a source of disturbance and potential threat rather than the reassurance its always been and yet Australians are still holding out hope that maybe on the other side of Trump, we're going to get America back again.

DEAN: Wow, really, really interesting to hear -- to hear from your point of view and what you've been seeing. Peter Hartcher, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

HARTCHER: Pleasure, Jessica.

DEAN: Good to see you.

Up next, why the FAA says a busy New Jersey Airport has dealt with nearly a week of unprecedented delays. We'll take you there.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:30]

DEAN: Some breaking news now as a small plane has crashed into two homes north of Los Angeles, killing one person. This happened around just after 2:00 P.M. local time in Simi Valley. Officials say the crash sparked a two alarm fire, but that was put out successfully. Everyone in the homes was able to get out safely.

Officials are investigating the aborted landings of two commercial flights at Reagan National Airport on Thursday.

This new video shows a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter flying around the Pentagon nearby. When it came dangerously close to one of those passenger jets. CNN's Pete Muntean joins us from Washington, D.C. now with more on this -- Pete.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Helicopters near Reagan National Airport have faced intense scrutiny since the January 29th mid-air collision that killed 67 people. And this latest incident is eerily similar because it involves another Blackhawk helicopter from the very same Army unit involved in that crash, and two commercial flights coming in to land at DCA. Thankfully, the FAA says air traffic control called off those flights

landings, avoiding collisions. But an early incident report shared with members of Congress says this was way too close.

The first flight, Delta 1671, was 0.89 miles from the helicopter and separated by 400 feet of altitude. The second flight, Republic 5825, came within 0.4 miles and 200 feet according to that preliminary data.

The Blackhawk helicopter from the Army's 12th Aviation Battalion was about to land at The Pentagon. The preliminary report, shared with members of Congress, says it appeared the Blackhawk "did not proceed directly to The Pentagon heliport" and instead, "took a scenic route around The Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west."

Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee overseeing the FAA, says this incident occurred only a week since the Army battalion resumed flights in the D.C. area. She called the latest incident outrageous and called on the FAA and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to intervene before another disaster happens.

By the way, both Delta Airlines and Republic Airways say they are cooperating with the NTSB's investigation that is just beginning.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Pete, thank you for that.

Meantime, delays and disruptions continue for the sixth consecutive day at Newark Airport, just outside New York City. United Airlines is now cutting 35 daily flights from that airport, blaming a shortage of air traffic control staff and technological failures for the travel chaos.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded since this all began on Monday.

It is Kentucky Derby Day who came out on top after a very muddy race at Churchill Downs.

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[19:44:16]

DEAN: A rain soaked day at Churchill Downs for the 151st Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty has won the first leg of the triple crown. CNN's sports anchor, Patrick Snell is joining us now.

Patrick, how did things shake out in Louisville today?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hi there Jessica. Yes, the greatest two minutes in sports. Always massive interest around the Kentucky Derby, one of the most famous and prestigious horse races in the world. I'll tell you what, it was wet. It was soggy. It was muddy. But that

didn't deter the over 147,000 in attendance there in Kentucky at Churchill Downs.

Now, the big race itself, just an absolute quagmire in terms of the conditions. Look at that, 19 horses taking part. The early pace set by Bob Baffert, Citizen Bull, but in the end it would be Sovereignty powering forward to the finish line to seal the victory there.

Sovereignty ruling the roost, finishing clear of the pre-race favorite Journalism in second. Journalism coming off three straight victories. But the horse would be denied here in the end, the three-year-old Sovereignty, what a story, trained by Bill Mott, entering the race as one of the favorites at nine to one odds for the victory and a really special moment as well for the winning jockey, Junior Alvarado from Venezuela.

This win will mean the world to him and his family. Alvarado's first Kentucky Derby victory as well.

Now, much of the focus ahead of the big race on the legendary trainer Bob Baffert, who until last year was banned from running horses at Churchill Downs after his horse, Medina Spirit failed drug test back in 2021. Baffert has trained six Kentucky Derby winners and his horse is here. As I mentioned, Citizen Bull there off the top in the end, settling for a 15th place finish.

A busy, busy, eventful weekend in Kentucky. I can tell you, Jessica, as I send it back to you, we've got the Preakness Stakes next up later on this month in terms of the bid for the Triple Crown.

Back to you.

DEAN: Yes, hopefully better weather.

SNELL: Hopefully.

DEAN: It did look really muddy.

All right, Patrick Snell, thanks so much. We really appreciate it.

Still ahead, the federal sex trafficking trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs gets underway Monday. What we know about the witnesses set to take the stand in this high profile case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:59]

DEAN: The criminal trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs is set to begin Monday in New York, and while we don't know the names of everyone who will be called to testify, sources tell CNN they expect the witnesses to include his former sexual partners, a business associate and a male sex worker.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including sex trafficking, and has denied all allegations against him.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more on who may take the stand.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: We are getting some new details on the criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, which is set to begin on Monday with jury selection.

Now, while the witness list has not been made public by the court, sources have given me an indication of some of the individuals that we may see take the stand during this trial. Cassie Ventura, who is the ex-girlfriend of Sean Combs and the musician -- she is going to be the star witness in this case.

Now, Cassie Ventura is the only alleged victim who has decided to testify under her real name, but the judge has allowed other alleged victims to testify under pseudonyms so that their identity will be protected. I hear that in addition to Cassie Ventura, the government has three other key witnesses, so a total of four key witnesses who will take the stand to discuss their allegations against Sean Combs.

Now, of course, there will also be corroborating witnesses who will take the stand, either to corroborate some of those other key witnesses or to add some relevant information.

I'm hearing that one of those witnesses will be a friend of Cassie Ventura's. I am hearing that another one of those witnesses will be a male sex worker, and I hear from a source that it's possible that additional male sex workers may also take the stand.

Now, at the center of the government's case in the indictment, they said, are these so-called freak offs which the government has described essentially as drug fueled sex parties, where Combs and others allegedly forced women into sex acts, oftentimes with male sex workers, so that could possibly give some indication of the testimony that we may hear from that sex worker.

Now, this trial is anticipated to run up to two months. Sean Combs faces five different charges including racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. And remember, Combs is also facing more than 60 civil suits. Those civil suits are completely separate from this criminal case. But I do hear that many of the accusers who have already come forward with civil claims against combs will be testifying in this trial.

Back to you.

DEAN: All right, Elizabeth Wagmeister with the latest on that. Thank you very much.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:58:30]

DEAN: This week on "Searching for Spain," Eva Longoria takes viewers through the region of Andalusia and the City of Seville, exploring the birthplace and cultural importance of flamenco, bullfighting and, of course, tapas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND FILM PRODUCER: Oh, wow. Who's that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's Joselito "El Gallo".

LONGORIA: That's Joselito.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he's one of the youngest and most important bullfighters of the last century. He was a gypsy, and he was my "tio abuelo."

LONGORIA: Your great uncle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and he was killed by a bull when he was very young.

LONGORIA: How old was he when he died?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think 25.

LONGORIA: Huh, he's a baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very young, yes. So, he died in the plaza. In the bullring.

LONGORIA: In the bullring.

LONGORIA (voice over): Three hours of slow cooking later, the bull's tail is perfectly tender and ready for Clara's family.

LONGORIA (on camera): This is beautiful, it came out so well.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

(FAMILY speaking in foreign language.)

LONGORIA: Oh wow, it's falling off the bone. It's so soft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in. It's a new episode of Eva Longoria's "Searching for Spain." It airs tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN.

Thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm going to see you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern.

"Real Time with Bill Maher" is up next. Have a great night everyone.

[20:00:21]