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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Agrees To Pause Tariffs On Mexico For One Month; USAID Staff At Washington HQ Told To Stay Home Monday; CNN Speaks To Brother Of Freed Israeli Hostage; Rwandan's President Tells CNN He Doesn't Know If His Country's Troops Are In DRC; Uncertainty Over The Phase Of Gaza Ceasefire Talks; How Genetic Testing Can Change Your Life; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired February 03, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:27]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: A threat, a tumble, and now a pause.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: ONE WORLD starts right now. We'll have the very latest on the Trump tariffs from Mexico City to Ottawa to Washington,
D.C.
ASHER: Also, taking aim at USAID. Elon Musk saying President Trump wants to shut down the agency.
GOLODRYGA: And while the second phase of negotiations remains uncertain, the fruits of the first phase are tangible. We'll speak to the brother of
one of the Israeli hostages released this past weekend.
All right. Hello, everyone, live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. It's been awhile.
ASHER: And I'm Zain. It's been at least six weeks since we've been together. I'm Zain Asher. You are watching ONE WORLD.
For the time being, Mexico has escaped Donald Trump's punishing tariffs for one month, that's according to both presidents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): At the end, he asked how long we could put the tariffs on hold, and I told him, let's put
them on hold permanently. He then asked, well, for how long? I responded, let's pause them for a month. And I'm confident that in a month, we will
deliver results for both his people and Mexico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, U.S. President Trump announced tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, set to begin in exactly 12 hours from now. He says he
put the tariffs in place to curb the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the U.S.
ASHER: Canada has already come back with its retaliatory tariffs, but the prime minister is set to make a second call to Mr. Trump in a few hours.
China, meantime, has not announced its countermeasures, but says that they are coming.
GOLODRYGA: Global markets, meantime, did not like the turmoil overnight, and now that it seems Mexico has found a way to come back from the edge,
even if for a short time. We've seen U.S. markets recovering some of those early losses.
ASHER: Our CNN business editor-at-large, Richard Quest, joins us live now with his take on the delay to tariffs on Mexico. So, Richard, just take us
through this. Claudia Sheinbaum essentially saying, listen, we understand your concern about fentanyl. We understand your concern about illegal
migration into the U.S. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to give you 10,000 additional Mexican troops on the border with the United States.
Please delay the tariffs.
Walk us through that method of appeasement compared to what Canada is doing. A smart strategy by President Sheinbaum. Your thoughts, Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: It is a smart strategy, but then she's got more to be strategic about in a sense. The fentanyl is
coming across the Mexican border in far greater numbers and the immigrants are -- well the migrants are too.
Canada doesn't really have much it can offer in that sense. And indeed Justin Trudeau, at the weekend, outlined the measures that's been taken.
This is really -- let's not get ourselves bogged down in who's offered what, where, when and why. What this really comes down to is whether he was
negotiating or whether he was threatening or a bit of combination of both.
At the weekend, he was asked, the president, Mr. President, is there anything Canada, Mexico, China can do to forestall your implementation of
tariffs tomorrow? No, nothing. Not right now, no. So this is not a negotiating tool. No, it's not, no. Well, it was.
Now, you can -- the next question becomes, did the Mexican president know all this along and decide, you know something, let's keep fighting 10,000
troops. We'll offer it up. It's really impossible to know.
What's happened here is that we've gone into a realm that we just don't know. We've no idea what's going to appease him. We've no idea what threat
he's going to make next. If it's a negotiating tool, if it's not a negotiating tool. We just don't know.
ASHER: And we'll see whether or not the 10,000 additional troops actually makes a difference when it comes to the fentanyl and the illegal migration
and what happens after a month's time.
But, Richard, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much. We're going to have much more on these fast-moving developments in about 20, 30 minutes
time from now. Richard, we appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: As -- yes. As well as the upcoming call, again --
ASHER: Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- between President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau.
Meantime, the new U.S. Secretary of State has just arrived in El Salvador. It's the latest stop on his first trip in this new post.
ASHER: He went first to Panama. He warned the country's president to end China's influence around the Panama Canal or face what he calls powerful
action.
Panama's president says that Rubio made no real threats, but he will not renew a key deal with China when it expires.
He also warns President Trump that his country's sovereignty over the canal is not up for discussion.
[12:05:00]
One other big story we're covering here, the world's richest man says he's in the process of shutting down the U.S. agency responsible providing
billions of dollars of aid to some of the world's poorest people.
ASHER: USAID's headquarters in Washington is closed right now after employees were told to remain at home in an early morning email.
Elon Musk, who heads up a task force designed to cut government spending, posted on his platform that USAID is now going into, quote, the wood
chipper with the president's approval. And here's how Donald Trump described the world's largest provider of food assistance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out. USAID, run by radical
lunatics. And we're getting them out, and then we'll make a decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: USAID is an independent federal agency. And democratic lawmakers say President Trump lacks the constitutional authority to shut it down.
CNN's Jennifer Hansler joins us now live from the U.S. State Department. Jennifer, so where is Congress in all of this process, if this is, in fact,
an illegal move by the president to do unilaterally?
And we're also getting reports, ABC News is reporting that he's made the Secretary of State Rubio the acting administrator of USAID, essentially
following through on their threat, both his and Elon Musk's over the weekend to incorporate it into the State Department.
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Zain and Bianna, we're still waiting on answers from the State Department on whether Rubio
has taken over authority of USAID. But Democrats are sounding the alarm saying this is not constitutional, this is not legal because USAID was
established under law as a federal agency.
We were expecting a meeting from Senate, some Republicans and Democrats today. Senator Shaheen said she would be convening that meeting.
And we also expect a number of democratic members of the House of Representatives to gather in front of USAID later today to discuss this
alarming issue.
More broadly, we are looking at thousands of people being shut out of their e-mails overnight who were working for USAID. There is a lot of confusion
about what is happening next among the workforce who are sounding the alarm that this could have really broad implications for national security.
What we've heard across the board is that USAID's work is essential and it goes beyond just disaster relief and food assistance and things of this
nature. They are also working as a soft power tool United States government to foster relationships on the ground, to foster trust with the United
States.
And officials are warning that other countries like China or other groups could step into the vacuum that is left with USAID being shut down.
Now, of course, we have heard from the Trump administration demonizing the agency. You heard those comments from the president overnight. But I should
note that a lot of the workforce is career federal officials.
These are not radical officials, as the president is accusing them of being. These are people who have worked for the U.S. government across
Republican and democratic administrations for years and years. So there is a lot of confusion and a lot of chaos. One official described it as
apocalyptic today. Zain, Bianna.
ASHER: Let's talk about Marco Rubio because right now he is -- he just touched down, I should say, in El Salvador where he is trying to sort of
persuade that country to take in foreign deportees from the U.S. Prior to that, though, he was in Panama. And part of the goal there was to
essentially talk to the Panama president about resisting Chinese influence over the Panama Canal.
Just explain to us what came, what sort of tangible, what tangible effects actually came from the meeting between the U.S. Secretary of State Marco
Rubio and the Panama President.
HANSLER: Well, Zain, it does seem like they were able to make progress on some of those U.S. concerns about Chinese influence over this key waterway.
U.S. officials have argued that it's a matter of national security, the fact that there are Hong Kong companies that are controlling this Panama
Canal.
And after that meeting, the Panamanian president came out and said that they do not intend to re-sign a Memorandum of Development with the Chinese
government, this Belt and Road Initiative. And he's even floated the possibility that Panama could end its participation in the agreement
earlier.
However, we heard the president last night come out and re-assert that he wants the U.S. to take control of the Panama Canal. He came out and said,
they would take control. And he warned that if there wasn't an agreement to have the U.S. reassert its authority over this canal, something that the
Panamanian president said it's their sovereign property, he -- Trump warned that there could be consequences.
Now he did not go into the details of those consequences, but it seemed to undermine this diplomatic work that Rubio had done on the ground.
ASHER: Jennifer Hansler, live for us. Thank you so much.
All right. I want to turn now to the Middle East where freed Israeli hostages and their families are celebrating their release, but are also
pushing for the Israeli government to reach a lasting deal to free others who remain in captivity.
Protests were held over the weekend outside Israel's defense ministry and at Hostage's Square in Tel Aviv. Hamas released three Israeli hostages on
Saturday. Hamas and its allies have released 18 Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect on January 19th.
[12:10:16]
GOLODRYGA: The Israeli government has released 583 Palestinians held in detention as part of this deal.
Well, let's bring in Lee Siegel. His brother, Israeli-American, Keith Siegel, was released Saturday after being kidnapped on October 7th, 2023.
Keith's wife, Aviva, was freed during a week-long ceasefire back in November of 2023.
Lee, the last time I saw you was just outside of your home as you and others there gathered to protest, as you had almost every weekend for the
release of your brother and all of the other hostages.
It is so good to see you from even thousands of miles away now that you have finally been reunited with your brother.
When I spoke with you, you said you couldn't let your hopes get ahead of you in the moment, given how long it's been since you saw your brother,
just anticipating what that reunion may be like.
The anticipation is gone, my friend. It already happened. You reunited. You saw your baby brother. Tell us about that moment, what it felt like.
LEE SIEGEL, BROTHER OF RELEASED HOSTAGE KEITH SIEGEL: Thank you, Bianna. Yes, I'm pretty sure from thousands of miles away, you can see that I am a
different person. I can't remember what I was on the Thursday evening that we spoke, face-to-face, but I'm a different person. I've learned to smile
again. I can say good morning, good afternoon, good night. It was only morning, afternoon, night up until Saturday.
There aren't words. For 15 months, we would tell everyone there are no words to describe what we're going through. This is a different, there are
no words, but ecstasy, love, excitement, dreamlike, but it's not luck. We are fortunate and we will continue to bring good fortune to 79 hostages
that are still not home. That's what we're going to be doing.
ASHER: I mean, essentially, Lee, this is Zain here, your life has been put on hold, right, for the past 15 months. It's been torture, you know, not
knowing how your brother is doing, how your baby brother is doing, not knowing if he's alive, if he's -- if he's going to be released at all.
Just, you know, and the moment of ecstasy, of course, of finally getting to see him again. I mean, I can't even imagine. Just talk to us about how he's
doing at this point. I mean, in the -- in the videos we've sort of seen of his release, you sort of see him, obviously, walking on his own, but he
does seem a bit pale.
Just explain to us, you know, how he's doing both mentally and physically based on what you know.
SIEGEL: Well, I have to say that being a hostage for almost 500 days in Gaza, I don't know that anyone would come home not looking frail and not
looking pale. He's strong. He has inner strength. He's resilient. He's very eager to see everyone to catch up on what went on for 15 months.
And to begin a new chapter for him, for us, for his family. He's seen his grandchildren. He's hugged his grandchildren. It's something out of a
movie, but we're living it. He is -- he's Keith. Keith and Aviva were taken on October 7th. Aviva has come home, and she is Aviva. And Keith has come
home. And very quickly now, we see Keith. Our youngest brother, we're four siblings, and my brother and sister who live in the United States will be
here this week.
And I've told them, you will come, and you will see Keith. It's Keith, with everything that means. Very strong person.
GOLODRYGA: You know, with all of these reunions, and God willing, there will be more, it's so fascinating to see the family dynamics play out,
where you see reunions between spouses and then with their children and with you and Keith as siblings.
And I was thinking of Ofer Calderon, also released over the weekend. And the fact that he and his brother found time for a bit of humor, his brother
telling him, I love you, and Ofer saying, really, it took me being in Gaza for over 15 months for you to finally say I love you.
And without getting too personal with you, Lee, I'm just wondering what those few moments, those few exchanges. I know there was that long, long
emotional hug between the two of you that we saw. But what if you are willing to share, what were some of the words that you spoke to each other?
[12:15:05]
SIEGEL: Wow. That was humor. Very quickly, Keith held onto his sense of humor. He was prepared to joke about some of the things over the last 15
months. And we were prepared to joke with him about some of our 15 months.
Exact words, there was a lot of I love you, a lot of wow. You're really here? I'll tell you, for me, it was more difficult to take in that Keith
was here than I think maybe even for Keith to take in that he was home.
He never gave up hope. He, day by day, every single day, kept himself grounded, knew where he was, knew what day it was. And we, here on the
other side of those 15 months. We're counting every day, not knowing anything about him pretty much, other than the video clip that Hamas put
out in April of last year.
We did have, you know, a family -- a very solemn family moment event when our mother passed away two months ago. Keith was not aware of that. He
became aware of that once he was back in Israel on his way to the hospital.
He took it in. We took it in together with him. And our mom is in a better place now. And we hold on to that love very strongly.
ASHER: What do you even say to that? You know, obviously, it's just incredibly difficult, obviously, for Lee, not just the 15 months, but then
for his own mother to pass away while he was in Gaza, not know about it, and then, obviously, filled with so many emotions, and so many joyful
emotions as he's reunited with his family, but of course, coming to terms with that really painful sad loss, losing his mother.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, Lee, I know that as you've said, I'm sure the same goes for Keith. The fight continues. The prime minister is meeting with the
president this week in D.C. And I know from every Israeli I spoke with that there's cheers of joy when they see hostages come home, but they will not
stop until every single hostage is back home.
And we appreciate --
SIEGEL: Keith has already asked, what can I be doing to help the other 79 hostages at least? I will say that with the sadness of our mother's
passing, we've also had -- Keith now knows that a great nephew was born during that time, a great niece was born during that time. Also happy times
that he's able to catch up on.
GOLODRYGA: So much for him to catch up on. Lee, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm really thrilled that you and your brother are
reunited again.
ASHER: As of mine. Thank you so much, Lee.
SIEGEL: Thank you very much.
GOLODRYGA: Well, still to come -- still to come for us, as we mentioned, the Israeli Prime Minister is in Washington as his office remains silent
about the next phase of Gaza ceasefire talks set to begin today. We'll go live to Jerusalem with the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:10]
ASHER: United Nations experts believe thousands of Rwandan soldiers are in the Democratic Republic of Congo supervising and supporting the M23 rebels
there. The Congolese city of Goma fell under rebel control a week ago.
Now, in an exclusive interview with CNN, Rwanda's president says, he doesn't know if his country's troops are actually inside the DRC.
CNN's Larry Madowo is in Kigali for us. I mean, Larry, this is extraordinary. The fact that the president of his -- a country does not
know where his troops are. He has no idea if his troops -- if random troops are supporting M23 rebels in the city of Goma. Just explain to us what he
had to say. Can you hear us, Larry?
GOLODRYGA: We may have an issue with Larry's --
ASHER: OK. Obviously --
GOLODRYGA: -- audio.
ASHER: -- Larry lost audio there.
Let's try again. So, Larry, can you -- can you hear us? I was asking about Paul Kagame not knowing if Rwandan troops are in the DRC or not.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Which it is. Zain, it's extraordinary to hear that from President Paul Kagame that he doesn't know if his troops are
there when he's the commander in chief. He says there's a lot of things he doesn't know. And this interview is already getting reaction from South
Africa and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I'll get to both of those in a second.
But first, I want you to hear directly from President Kagame, who says he did not cause the problem in the eastern DRC. This problem was caused by
Congolese people, and President Tshisekedi has to speak to the M23 directly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL KAGAME, RWANDAN PRESIDENT: This war, this fighting that has been going on, from its inception, was caused by DRC, not by war. These same people
who are fighting, right, for their rights didn't come from here.
MADOWO: So let me ask this directly, Mr. President. Today on the 3rd of February, does Rwanda currently have any troops at all in eastern DRC?
KAGAME: I don't know.
MADOWO: You're the commander in chief.
KAGAME: Yes. There are many things I don't know. But if you want to ask me, is there a problem in Congo that concerns Rwanda, and that Rwanda would do
anything to protect itself, I'd say 100 percent.
MADOWO: Does this risk a war in the region?
KAGAME: I don't know. I don't think anybody's interested in war. I even don't think Tshisekedi is interested in war himself. But he has been
encouraged in that direction by people showing up to fight for him his wars.
MADOWO: Rwanda exports coltan for instance which does not exist here, it's smuggled from DRC.
KAGAME: Please, I invite you, we show you where we mine coltan. But what --
MADOWO: Does Rwanda exports any other minerals that are smuggled from eastern DRC?
KAGAME: I don't know about that because that, in any case, can't be the problem. People who are benefiting from minerals of Congo, more than
anybody else, are South Africa. And these are the Europeans who are making noise about it.
MADOWO: The comparison has been made that you are the Vladimir Putin of Africa, that he attacked eastern Ukraine claiming to protect the ethnic
minority while having an eye on the minerals there.
KAGAME: I may be called anything. What can I do about it? But I am what I am. I have to be who I am. That's it. And we have to do what we have to do.
I have explained enough of that. So that you have to make sure we survive any storm that blows across our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:25:01]
MADOWO: President Kagame confirmed to CNN that he will attend the joint meeting of East African and Southern African leaders that's set for this
Saturday in Tanzania. But we're already hearing swift and sharp responses from both the DRC and from South Africa.
I want to read first for you the response from the spokesperson for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who said, told CNN that
Rwanda's military presence in DRC is documented and that Rwanda walked away from peace talks and its role in illegal mineral is well established. The
DRC, quote, said, the international community must act accordingly.
President Kagame also said that South African troops are also in Eastern DRC to secure the minerals which the Rwandan -- which the South African
government has now responded to. A spokesperson for South Africa's presidency said, South African soldiers are in the DRC as part of the
Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC, and the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission, or MONUSCO in the Congo.
Any of the suggestion is, quote, purely disingenuous and devoid of any facts. So this interview will likely lead to more a war of words on both
sides, as you're already seeing. President Tshisekedi's team, President Ramaphosa's team are not happy about this.
President Kagame told me that in his last call with President Ramaphosa, the statement that came out of South Africa was completely different. He
felt that President Ramaphosa misrepresented what he said, and he had to set the record straight.
So maybe that meeting on Saturday could help unlock this deadlock. But so far, it seems that the positions are still very far apart in this quite
some daylight between Rwanda and its neighbor in the DRC.
ASHER: All right. Larry Madowo, live for us there. Thank you so much.
The mayor of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin is comparing the Israeli military operation there to the war in Gaza and calls the violence an
attempt to forcibly drive Palestinians off the land.
On Sunday, the IDF set off a series of simultaneous explosions in a densely populated refugee camp. Palestinian media report around 20 buildings were
leveled. Israel says the attacks are aimed at eliminating terrorists and terror infrastructure.
GOLODRYGA: Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, has requested an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to, quote, stop the ongoing
Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
Meantime, there's uncertainty over the next stage of talks to extend the fragile Gaza ceasefire.
Under terms of the initial agreement, talks on the second phase of the deal were supposed to start by today. But the Israeli prime minister is in
Washington, and his government has not unveiled the negotiating team for the talks.
Benjamin Netanyahu is set to discuss Israel's positions with U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, today.
On Tuesday, he meets with President Donald Trump, becoming the first foreign leader to have an in-person meeting with the new U.S. president.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now from Jerusalem. A lot at stake with this meeting, Jeremy. We also know that the prime minister has extended his trip
through Saturday, which would be the day when we are hopefully going to see another hostage release.
Talk to us about what's at stake here from the prime minister's standpoint, why this is coinciding with the delay in the resumption of talks for phase
two and why he may be met with a bit more resistance than he's hoping for from this new administration.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, I think you get it right there. And I think the key point today is looking at the kind of
split screen of Netanyahu on the one hand not sending negotiators to go and resume negotiations with Hamas over the next phases of the ceasefire
agreement, but on the other hand, sitting down with the Trump administration to discuss the ceasefire agreement and regional developments
at large.
And that just gives you a sense of where the prime minister's priorities are and where he views that ultimately his power and his ability to move
forward or not move forward with the ceasefire is ultimately going to lie.
The prime minister, over the weekend, deciding not to send that delegation to resume negotiations with Hamas about getting to phases two and three of
this ceasefire, saying that he would wait until after he had sat down with President Trump himself to be able to make that determination.
We understand that today, he's going to be sitting down with Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and tomorrow with the president himself in the
Oval Office. And from my conversations with the families of hostages who've spoken with Steve Witkoff, they get the sense that the Trump administration
is going to try and push Netanyahu to go into the next phases of this ceasefire agreement.
But we know that Netanyahu has his own tricky right-wing politics at play here in Israel that may prevent him from going past that six-week
ceasefire.
And so one of the things Netanyahu is obviously going to be looking for here is, first of all, how much the Trump administration is actually going
to push him. Are they going to put him in a corner on this?
And secondly, what else can he get out of this? We know that there's talk of Saudi-Israel normalization that could be at play, could be linked with
this ceasefire agreement. And then, of course, there are the regional goals that Netanyahu himself wants to accomplish, such as preventing Iran from
getting a nuclear weapon and, of course, potentially action regarding settlements in the West Bank as well. Bianna, Zain.
[12:30:07]
GOLODRYGA: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.
ASHER: All right. Let's dig deeper into these crucial ceasefire talks. Amir Tibon is a senior correspondent for the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz." He
joins us live now from Haifa, Israel.
Amir, always good to see you. So, of course, Donald Trump wants this war to end. He said that several times. Netanyahu, though, politically, I think
it's obvious to a lot of people, he does, you know, it's likely that he needs this war to drag on for as long as possible. And there's many reasons
for that.
How does he navigate the sort of differences between himself and Trump? What does he need to say to Donald Trump here?
AMIR TIBON, SENIOR COLUMNIST, HAARETZ: So what the prime minister will try to do in Washington is to convince President Trump to let go of his own
ceasefire and hostage release deal.
This is a deal that Trump, and I give him most of the credit together with his senior envoy, Steve Witkoff, achieved even before entering office. He
secured this deal that ended the war in Gaza and allowed for the release so far of more than 10 hostages, even before he entered the White House.
But as we all know, this deal is very complicated and is built of several phases. And the next phase, the second phase, perhaps the most complicated
one, includes the release of another 20-something living hostages, among them, by the way, a neighbor and personal friend of mine, Omri Miran. And
it also includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an official end of the war.
And while Trump wants this because it would be really, you know, an incredible achievement after everything that happened since October 7th,
Netanyahu is afraid that this will cause his governing coalition in Israel to disintegrate.
So he's coming to Washington with one purpose, to convince Trump, to allow him to renew the war, which is, again, completely opposed to what Trump
just achieved. And by the way, it could also harm Trump's broader Middle East agenda, which is to promote peace and an agreement between Israel and
Saudi Arabia, and not another war in Gaza after succeeding to stop the one we just fought for the last 15 months.
GOLODRYGA: So, Amir, what leverage, if any, does Prime Minister Netanyahu have over President Trump? If President Trump ultimately wants to see this
war come to an end, as he campaigned on, as he has said to this day, as Steve Witkoff has also said, then what, if anything, can Prime Minister
Netanyahu present to him that you think could change his mind?
TIBON: In terms of leverage, it's a one-sided relationship. Trump has all the leverage. Netanyahu needs Trump. Without Trump's support, Netanyahu
would come back to Israel politically injured because the Israeli public appreciates President Trump much more than Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Most Israelis give President Trump and Steve Witkoff the credit for the release of the hostages over the past two weeks, not Prime Minister
Netanyahu, who is seen by many Israelis as the man responsible for the delay in getting to this point.
And so in terms of leverage, all the power is in President Trump's hands. But Netanyahu is a smooth talker and can be very persuasive and knows how
to give speeches. And he and his right-hand man, Ron Dermer, are going to try to push all the buttons of flattery and the grandiose plans to try to
get Trump on their side.
I don't know what will happen. Obviously we cannot tell the future, but this is a dramatic meeting. It's dramatic for Israel, for the Middle East,
and perhaps more than anyone else, for the hostages and their families.
Because if President Trump stands firm and says, I want this deal to continue until the last hostage comes back alive to their family and all
the hostages who had died in captivity, coming back to be buried in Israel, this is most likely what will happen.
If he gives in and becomes convinced by whatever excuses he's going to hear there, then obviously things will look very differently.
I want to just give one example to clarify this. The whole issue of Netanyahu losing his coalition if the deal comes through, which we hear all
the time. It's true, the extreme far-right elements will leave Netanyahu's government if he goes forward with the deal.
But the opposition parties in Israel have already stated, including today, that if Netanyahu continues the deal, they will give his government a
lifeline that could last several months so that the hostage deal can be completed, because nothing is more important to most Israelis today than
the return and the release of our hostages.
This is the most important priority, and it should be above politics. And if Netanyahu is afraid of the political ramifications, and he's going to
use that in the conversation with President Trump, then President Trump and his team should know that this is not true, that the Israeli opposition
will give him a lifeline to complete the hostage deal.
[12:35:14]
GOLODRYGA: I believe the opposition already let the White House know of that as well.
Amir Tibon --
TIBON: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- always good to see you. Thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Amir.
GOLODRYGA: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just confirmed what we had reported, that he has taken over control over USAID. This is big news.
Speaking in El Salvador on his first foreign trip, he said he'd been frustrated with the vital international aid program ever since he was a
senator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm the acting director of USAID. I've delegated that authority to someone, but I stay in touch with him. And
again, our goal was to go in and align our foreign aid to the national interest.
But if you go to mission after mission and embassy after embassy around the world, you will often find that, in many cases, USAID is involved in
programs that run counter to what we're trying to do in our national strategy with that country or with that region. That cannot continue.
USAID is not an independent, nongovernmental entity. It is an entity that spends taxpayer dollars, and it needs to spend it, as the statute says, in
alignment with the policy directives that they get from the secretary of state, the National Security Council, and the president.
And it's been 20 or 30 years where people have tried to reform it and it refuses to reform, it refuses to cooperate.
When we were in Congress, we couldn't even get answers to basic questions about programs. That will not continue. That's not going to continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A lot of people are concerned about what the potential closing of USAID is going to mean for international development and also foreign aid
as well.
All right. Still to come, how Mexico managed to avoid crippling tariffs from the U.S. just hours before they were going to go into effect. We'll
explain after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:40:29]
ASHER: Hello. Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. We return now to our top story. Donald Trump's stunning change of heart on tariffs.
ASHER: Yes. He spoke to Mexico's president a short time ago and the two leaders emerged with a deal.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Mexico has agreed to send additional National Guard forces to police the border with the U.S. And President Trump has agreed to pause
for one month his 25 percent tariff on all imports coming from Mexico.
But the U.S. has not cut a deal yet with China or Canada, two other nations with tariffs hanging over them.
Time now for the exchange. Joining us is Gillian Tett, a columnist and editorial board chair for the "Financial Times." Dizzying array of
headlines just in the last few hours, Gillian, and the market responding accordingly. Here we have at least a one-month freeze in tariffs on Mexico.
I'm wondering, in your view, is this the off-ramp that perhaps both sides, Mexico and the Trump administration were looking for? And what, if
anything, do you think Claudia Sheinbaum was able to achieve that Justin Trudeau, at least until now, because we know they have a phone call
scheduled, another one, the second for the day in just a couple of hours, that he wasn't able to agree to with President Trump?
GILLIAN TETT, EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, there's a couple of points to make. Firstly, this was the off-ramp that investors in
the financial markets were expecting. Because, in fact, the market reaction to the announcement of Trump's tariffs yesterday was not that dramatic. And
I think many investors were saying, this is all bluster and show, and he will eventually climb down and cut deals with people.
And so we don't know exactly why Trump agreed to this. It may be because he wanted to show that actually when other countries come and bring tribute,
i.e. do things that he wants them to do, he gets a lot more easy to deal with.
I often think that Trump is running his government a bit like Louis XIV in Versailles, the Sun King, or King Henry VIII in the Tudor royal court. He
wants to see his courtiers and other people and miscreants from other countries come and kiss the ring and bow their knee and offer a tribute.
So the fact that Claudia Sheinbaum basically offered to send troops to the border is obviously what he was looking for. We'll see whether this
agreement sticks or not.
But, of course, the next question is, he's now going to be dealing with Canada. He's threatening Europe, the European Union. The gossip is that
there's going to be 10 percent tariffs announced against the E.U. soon.
And so this game is going to continue, which, of course, is desperately destabilizing for financial markets and also very, very destabilizing for
any businesses trying to plan investment.
ASHER: Yes. The markets hate uncertainty. Just in terms of American businesses operating in Canada, Justin Trudeau is telling Canadians,
listen, you have to choose Canadian products over American products.
As you point out, though, this could just be about Donald Trump expecting foreign allies to essentially just sort of kiss the ring. It could just be
much more about dominance.
In terms of his phone call with Justin Trudeau, I mean, Justin Trudeau is basically on his way out. He's not going to be prime minister for that much
longer. What does he do? Does he opt for the sort of appeasement route, just like Claudia Sheinbaum?
TETT: Well, it's a very interesting question because there are two things to realize. Firstly, on the side of the Trump group, I asked one of them
quite recently, why are you going after Canada? Canada is not sending lots of fentanyl south of the border. You don't have hordes of immigrants coming
from Canada. Why on earth are you picking on Canada that's supposed to be a friend?
And what this person told me who's close to Donald Trump is, it's just sport. We're showing who's boss. We're showing who's in charge in our
backyard, if you like.
And so a lot of the reason why they're picking on Canada is because they know that the government is weak. They know there's a tremendous amount of
criticism of Trudeau already in Canada, and now we know he's on his way out. And he's on his way out, partly because of the crisis caused by the
original Trump flex, as they call it. So in many ways, they've already won half their battle.
As for what Trudeau does, I mean, he tried kissing the ring. He went down to Mar-a-Lago. He was heavily criticized inside Canada for doing that, not
just by the opposition parties but by also by people within his own camp like Chrystia Freeland.
And so it's going to be very interesting to see what happens next, because you do have people like Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland who are vying to
replace Trudeau, trying to take a tough stance and really stand up to Trump.
You have a lot of emphasis on we must all pull together as Canadians. And yet, you also have an opposition party in Canada who are quite Trump-
focused and have echoes of the Trump approach to the way they conduct themselves. So it's going to be very interesting to see what happens.
[12:45:07]
ASHER: Yes. Even just sort of taunting Canada and labeling as the -- as the 51st state, I mean obviously, it is clearly about showing who's boss, as
you point out, Gillian. We have to leave it there. We are out of time. Always good to see you though. Thank you so much. Gillian Tett from the
"Financial Times."
TETT: Thank you.
ASHER: Appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Well, still to come for us, she's won more Grammys than anyone in history. And now she finally has the biggest, I would argue most well-
deserved prize in music world, a complete Grammy wrap, when ONE WORLD continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: In Africa, a transformation in healthcare is underway. BioCertica, a company based in Cape Town, is using DNA sequencing to map patients'
genetic blueprints.
GOLODRYGA: And South African rugby legend, Jean de Villiers, helps explain how genetic testing can allow healthcare to be tailored to the individual.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN DE VILLIERS, FORMER PROFESSIONAL RUGBY PLAYER: I'm Jean de Villiers, former professional rugby player.
What is genetic or how has genetic testing changed my life? Well, I've really benefited from it. You know, going through a professional career of
17 years, training really hard. And, you know, when you're in that environment, I suppose you get results.
But understanding that you can actually get far better results, if you know exactly what's going on inside of your body, and that you do by doing
genetic testing.
GERT VAN WYK, FOURNER, BIOCERTICA: BioCertica is a biotechnology company. And we really aim to create a genetic blueprint of our clients and enable
them to know exactly what exercise to do, what medicines to take, and what foods to eat to enable them to live a healthier life.
JAMIE FERNANDEZ, GENETICIST: We specifically look at a range of health and lifestyle traits, anything from how you are likely to process certain
vitamins and minerals to your genetic predisposition to certain diseases like autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
ANCOIS BOTHA, DIETITIAN: Have you done this before?
DE VILLIERS: I have actually, yes.
MAURITZ VENTER, SCIENTIST, GENETICIST AND BIOTECH ENTREPRENEUR: Polygenic risk scoring is a method combining information from multiple genetic
variants to estimate an individual's likelihood to develop a disease.
[12:50:01]
And the process is quite powerful as it's based on multiple genetic variants and it kicks out a final score and that score indicates an
individual's genetic predisposition to a disease.
FERNANDEZ: How it all works is that you do a saliva sample kit and then we extract DNA from the cells, from your cheeks. And then here, we process
that DNA, and then we can develop your genetic testing from there.
ARNO SMIT, CO-FOUNDER, BIOCERTICA: There's quite a big gain in terms of making sure that you can take the right medication, you can get more people
out of the hospitals, and you can bring healthcare to people that need it at the right time.
BOTHA: When someone has done a genetic test, you can look at predisposed medical conditions that might have an impact on their health later on.
VENTER: There are many genetic tests on the market, and not all incorporate complex systems and analysis and tools like BioCertica. So the risks are
still the potential wrong interpretation of results, you know, false positives.
It provides another layer of confidence. And it's a confidence level that you are looking for in a test like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Before we go, while the Grammy celebration honored some of music's biggest stars, it was Queen B, of course, who dominated the
awards, much like she does everything else.
Check out Beyonce when she hits center stage here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Grammy goes to "Cowboy Carter."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Now despite being nominated four times previously for album of the year, this was her first win in that top category. Beyonce also became
the first black woman to win the Grammy for best country album.
While accepting that award, she had a message, very powerful message for all artists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE, AMERICAN SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Wow. I really was not expecting this. Wow. I want to thank God. Oh, my God. That I'm able to still do what
I love after so many years.
I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists. And I just want to encourage people to do what they're passionate about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:55:11]
ASHER: Kendrick Lamar was also a big winner with his chart topping trap, "Not Like Us." He swept all the categories he was nominated in, taking Home
Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Music Video.
Chappell Roan was also crowned best new artist. In her acceptance speech, she called on the music industry to reform its healthcare coverage for
emerging artists.
GOLODRYGA: Although California wildfires played a role in the night's itinerary as well, the show started with host Trevor Noah telling everyone
that the ceremony would be a celebration of the humanity and spirit of survival.
The whole night the Grammys honored emergency workers well deserved to help raise $7 million for charities involved in wildfire relief. Wow. What a
great cause. That state really needed that last night coming together.
That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. "AMANPOUR" is up next. You're watching CNN.
GOLODRYGA: Reunited.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END