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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Recommends "Straight 50 Percent Tariff" on Goods from the EU; U.S. and Iran Hold Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks; Trump Administration Escalates Battles with Columbia & Harvard University; Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Foreign Student Ban; Newark Airport Faces Major Test During Busy Holiday Weekend; U.S. Judge Blocks Trump from Stopping Harvard Enrolling International Students. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired May 23, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, President Trump is escalating his trade war. "One World" starts right now. Trump threatening to hit the
European Union with a 50 percent tariff on all imported goods, saying negotiations are not making any progress.
Plus, the U.S. and Iran are sitting down for high stakes nuclear talks in Rome today, with both sides far apart and digging in their heels. We'll
take a look at the chances of a deal. And the Harvard University firing back at the president's latest move to bar the school from enrolling
international students, we'll speak to one student who says there are real people and fates behind this.
All right, we're live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. My colleague, Bianna Golodryga, is off today. You are watching "One World".
President Trump is reigniting his trade war. His latest targets European countries and Apple. He's threatening a new 50 percent tariff on goods from
the European Union, starting in a week because of what he says is lack of progress in trade negotiations.
Let's take a look and see how U.S. markets are reacting to the news. The DOW is down about 1 percent or so. Let's take a look and see how European
markets are reacting. They fell sharply as well, almost 2 percent if you're looking at the CAC today and the FTSE.
The threats didn't stop there. Just before that post, he also put Apple CEO Tim Cook on notice as well, demanding that Apple make its iPhones in the
U.S., or face a 25 percent tariff as well. For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Phil Mattingly from Washington, we've also got Melissa Bell joining
us live now from Paris.
Phil, let's start with you. We're talking about 50 percent tariff. Donald Trump is threatening this June 1st, being the deadline. That's only about a
week or so away, and that is double the amount just in terms of the reciprocal tariffs that had been on pause. Walk us through what the
president is threatening here.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF U.S. DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you didn't think we'd have a slow Friday. Zain that's not --
ASHER: -- we can do would have thought, right?
MATTINGLY: I think that that's actually an interesting baseline to start with, which is trade warfare had dissipated a little bit, or at least in
the midst of the negotiations during this 90-day pause to those reciprocal tariffs. I think the clear sabre-rattling that the president has utilized
throughout his first four or five months in office had been drawn back.
Because of those negotiations, bilateral negotiations with 18 countries, obviously the China negotiations on a separate track as well. And the EU
this week presented a new proposal to the U.S., which, according to diplomats I was talking to, were -- they're actually optimistic that it was
a good proposal that hit some of the issues that the U.S. had been raising.
This makes very clear it did nothing of the sort. And I think that is critical to understand, given the fact there's so many negotiations going
on, how the EU is being viewed right now in what they're putting on the table. As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put it this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: The 90-day pause on the April 2nd tariffs was based on countries or trade blocks coming to us and negotiating
in good faith. And I believe the president believes that the EU proposals have not been of the same quality that we've seen from our other important
trading partners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Zain, it's worth noting. It's no secret there is a long-standing beef between the President and the EU and his view of their trade policies.
So, there's an element of that in this right now. But I also think the deadline and the sheer scale and magnitude of what he's threatening here is
in large part a negotiating tactic.
It's always tough to tell which is which in his strategy, but trying to spark agreement or further concessions from the EU. We should note that the
EU Trade Chief and USTR Representative, the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, expected to have a call soon, until perhaps even this hour,
to start talking through things.
But those negotiations will obviously be ongoing, and obviously on a singular company basis, there's some new warfare on that front as well.
Interesting because Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, actually got a carve out, or helped get a carve out for Apple products from some of the tariffs earlier
this year.
They have met the President and Tim Cook several times, including as recently as a couple days ago. Clearly, the relationship has taken a turn.
We'll see how this goes, still waiting for the company, but also, perhaps most importantly, the White House, to respond on what this all actually
means going forward and what the president needs to see from Apple?
ASHER: Yeah, and as you're speaking, Phil, we're just looking at what the Apple stock is doing right now. It's down about 2.5 percent, Melissa Bell,
let me bring you in, because Phil brought up some really important points. Firstly, that Trump is essentially saying that the Europeans are not
negotiating in good faith.
But also, the unrealistic deadline, and you come on June 1st that's literally nine days away. Clearly, I mean, Phil was saying this, clearly,
this is some kind of scare tactic, negotiating tactic. Walk us through what the Europeans are saying here.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's exactly what the Europeans are trying to figure out. Remember, that these
trade negotiations, as Phil just outlined, are ongoing, and from the European point of view, continue. In fact, we've just been hearing from the
French Trade Minister tweeting that it is these sorts of threats are not helpful, even as these negotiations continue, reminding everyone that these
negotiations are ongoing.
That call that was meant to take, that is going to take place between the European Trade Commissioners American Counterpart, Jamieson Greer had been
due to take they were due to speak anyway today, in light of the latest round of proposals that the European Commission had made, and I think
there'll be a great deal of surprise here in Europe.
We haven't heard from the commission officially yet about the way this has been handled. After all, the channels are open. The conversations are going
on. These negotiations are ongoing because that 90-day pause had allowed for them to happen.
And as Phil just outlined, there, there is a brutality to this. The size of the threat being made that 50 percent far above the 20 percent that was
first threatened on Liberation Day back in April. And the European Commission had felt that progress was being made. It felt that it was
addressing some of those issues that the American administration wanted to see addressed.
And what we understand and starting to understand here in Europe is that, in fact, the administration wants more unilateral concessions to be made by
the European Union, rather than the sorts of compromises that negotiators had been working on.
So how the commission takes this forward and how it responds will be really interesting, officially? For now, as I say, we're just getting comments
from people like the Irish Prime Minister speaking about their disappointment about this latest round of threats.
ASHER: All right, Melissa Bell, Phil Mattingly, live for us there. Thank you both so much. All right, conflicting red lines and opposing agendas, a
fifth round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran is taking place in Rome right now. While the stakes are exceedingly high, expectations are
indeed quite low.
Even before the discussions began, sources told CNN that Tehran doubts a nuclear deal is likely. The U.S. is now insisting that Iran dismantles its
entire uranium enrichment program, saying that the Islamic Republic is calling a non-starter that could cause negotiations to collapse.
Washington, for its part, is offering to scale back crippling sanctions on Iran in exchange for denuclearization. It's worth noting that during his
first term, Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal reached under the Obama Administration. Let's go now to Ben Wedeman who
joins us live now from Rome. So, Ben enrichment is really emerging as the key issue. Walk us through what we can expect this weekend?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's hard to say what to expect. Certainly, expectations seem to be low on the Iranian side,
but all we've heard out of them, they're very unhappy with what they say are mixed messages from the United States.
The Chief U.S. negotiator in these talks, Steve Witkoff, had previously said that the United States would not be opposed to some limited, low-grade
enrichment of uranium by the Iranian nuclear program. But then he changed his tune and said it would not be any form of enrichment. Not even 1
percent would be tolerated.
Now under the JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that was worked out under the Obama Administration in 2015 Iran would only enrich uranium
to 3.67 percent. Now, after President Trump in 2018 pulled out of that agreement, which also included, by the way, the permanent members of the
Security Council, plus Germany.
Iran has been enriching uranium up to 60 percent, 90 percent in fact, is what is the threshold for the protection of weapons grade uranium. So
certainly, the what we've seen is, as a result of the cancelation of the JCPOA, Iran's enrichment act of activities of uranium have skyrocketed.
So certainly, that didn't accomplish anything. Now the Iranians want the Americans to basically come to a deal. We heard from Abbas Araghchi, the
Iraqi -- the Iranian Foreign Minister, before he left Iran, he tweeted, and I'm reading here.
Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science he wrote. Zero nuclear weapons equal we do have a deal. Zero enrichment equals we do not
have a deal. And certainly, it appears that the Iranians, who have invested billions of dollars in developing their nuclear program, which they insist
is peaceful.
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And they pointed out that they are signatories to the nuclear non- proliferation agreement, which allows for civilian use of nuclear technology that they simply that is their red line. They are not going to
accede to American pressure to simply end nuclear enrichment altogether Zain.
ASHER: Ben Wedeman, live for us there, thank you so much. Let's bring in Trita Parsi the Executive Director or Executive Vice President at the
Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He's also the Author of "Losing an Enemy". He joins us live now from Washington.
Trita, thank you so much for being with us. As Ben Wedeman was just saying, there both sides, the U.S. and Iran are incredibly far apart. The Americans
are essentially insisting that Iran dismantles its entire uranium enrichment program, which effectively, for the Iranians, is a non-starter.
So based on that, based on the fact that there's so much daylight between both sides. I mean, how do negotiations really get off the ground here in
Rome this weekend?
TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE VP, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: What I think is really interesting, and I think Ben alluded to it as well,
the reason why there actually was a lot of optimism and progress, in fact, more progress in three months under Trump than under Biden for four years
is precisely because Trump did not initially adopt the zero-enrichment objective. Instead, he had a much more reasonable and effective red line,
which was no weaponization.
As long as that was the case, we saw a tremendous amount of progress. This is almost self-sabotage by the Trump Administration for reasons that remain
somewhat unclear. They were so close to actually being able to not just get a deal, but potentially a better deal than Obama actually had secured if
they continued on the same path as before.
But now they shifted gears, and now we're at a crisis, and if this is not resolved in the next round or the round after that, it's difficult to see
whether the talks will lead anywhere at all. And then Trump will be faced with the worst of options, the thing that clearly neither he nor his base
wants, which is yet another war in the Middle East.
ASHER: It's interesting because, you know, Steve Witkoff had initially talked about enriching uranium to up to 3.67 percent which is what our Ben
Wedeman was saying there. And there, and then sort of backtrack and changed his mind, and the Americans developed a much harder stance against Iran
here. What has been the Iranian reaction to that?
PARSI: Well, the Iranian reaction so far has been not to overreact under earlier circumstances and episodes, you could see the Iranians just
completely walk out. They haven't done it, and I suspect that that is the case because they believe that Trump hasn't finally made his decision.
He's toying with various negotiation tactics and strategies, testing whether he can get more by taking this very excessive maximalist position,
and as a result, they've been careful not to overreact -- recognizing that perhaps there's a path for both sides to walk towards a more reasonable end
state.
But at the same time, time is really short, because you have snapback sanctions at the U.N. that expire in October, the Europeans are very likely
to trigger them sometime in August. If that happens, the Iranians have counter threatened by walking out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty
altogether.
That would not just be a major escalation. That would be a crisis that is really not conducive towards getting a deal. So, if a deal and avoiding a
weapon in Iran, and avoiding war with Iran is really the end game. There is a much better path. It's the path that Trump was on in the beginning. He
should shift back to that, I think.
ASHER: Just in terms of Iran's economy, how dependent is the Iranian economy on the lifting of sanctions? You think about the fact that the
value of the Iranian currency, the rial has plummeted dramatically. Also, this idea that potentially the government might end up increasing costs.
The costs of subsidized gasoline in the country, which is obviously really devastating for ordinary Iranian citizens. Just explain to us how the
Iranian economy is holding up? And what the lifting of sanctions would mean for it, just in terms of economic relief?
PARSI: The Iranian economy is really not holding up. It's a devastating situation. The middle class has shrunk. Almost a third of it has moved into
poverty. Prospects, economic prospects and optimism is at an all-time low, in many ways, worse than it was during the time of the Shah, right before
the Iranian revolution in 1979.
On the other hand, prospects of a deal to lift sanctions is very valuable to the Iranians, but granted that, it is something that they can actually
rely on. And here is where Trump actually had a much better chance of getting a deal than other presidents. Because he was willing to offer more
in terms of lifting primary sanctions and allow American companies to enter the Iranian market.
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And for the first time, the Iranians were saying that they were willing to have American companies come back into the Iranian market. So, there was a
very positive development on that front that now has essentially been that window has been shut close because of this insistence on zero average.
ASHER: You've also got the sort of some of the negotiation pressures that Donald Trump has a habit of imposing. I mean, this idea of perhaps striking
Iran's nuclear program if a deal isn't reached. And obviously you've also got Israel also threatening to strike Iran's nuclear sites as well.
For the Trump Administration, it's clear that -- you know there is a negotiation tactic here that is at play, but explain how the from the
Ayatollah on down, what the response to that has been as well.
PARSI: Well, the Iranians don't necessarily react particularly well to threats few countries do. But I think they were seeing a major opportunity
in Trump, because they recognize he really wants the deal, and he was willing to put more sanctions relief on the table.
But there's a difference between -- and this enables then Trump to ask for more, and I absolutely think that he should, and there's many different
variables in which he can strengthen the deal that does not entail this maximalist position of zero enrichment, because there's a difference
between asking for more and asking for everything.
If the Iranians ask for everything, the U.S. would say no. When the U.S. is asking for everything, the Iranians are very likely to say no as well.
ASHER: Just in terms of how isolated Iran is, sort of politically, you've got the fact that a key ally Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, his
government obviously collapsed. He fled the country almost immediately. You've got the fact that some of its allies in the region have repeat --
have faced repeated attacks from Israel, and of course, have been thoroughly weakened by that.
From that perspective, how desperate is Iran for some kind of deal with the U.S., just because it's increasingly isolated politically and militarily as
well.
PARSI: So militarily, there's absolutely no doubt that the Iranians within the region have suffered some tremendous blow and are in a weaker position.
The Iranians insist that they're not. I don't think that is convincing to anyone outside.
But I think there's a difference between Iran's regional position, which has been weakened, and Iran's core defenses, which is primarily based on
its drone and missile technology. There we have not seen a weakening. On the contrary, some of the exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran reveal
that the Iranians had better capabilities than expected, and also revealed that the air defenses of Israel were not as strong as expected.
And as a result, a war with Iran actually would look very, very bad, despite the fact that they have lost in Syria and have lost elsewhere. So,
and I think from Trump's perspective, he really has good instincts about the lack of utility of going down the path of war.
And even more so, perhaps amongst his core base, the America Firsters, who really are very tired of getting into any unnecessary wars in the Middle
East. And in this case, it's so utterly clear that it would be unnecessary, because there is a deal that can be had, granted that all sides adopt a
reasonable and not a maximalist position.
ASHER: All right, Trita Paris live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, a major prisoner swap is underway between Russia
and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that almost 400 Ukrainian prisoners were released from each side Friday, confirming an
earlier statement from Russia's Defense Ministry.
Both sides say the exchange will continue in the coming days. It's part of a deal reached at recent talks in Istanbul, the first time Russia and
Ukraine have held direct talks at any level in three years. International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson joins us live now from London. So just in
terms of this prison exchange, you've got the fact that Trump is essentially saying, you know, this could lead to something big. But if past
is prologue Nic, could it?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there's a lot of past here, isn't there. And just to kind of separate all of that out, this
is big. It is -- you know, expected to be 1000 each side released 270 soldiers, 120 civilians on both sides released today, both sides saying
that this will continue over the coming days.
And it was agreed at the first face to face talks since Russia's illegal, unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine 39 months ago. So, there's a
significance there. But it passed his prologue, as you say, and you know, to that point, there's been five exchanges. So, prisoner exchanges so far
this year. There's been 64 since the beginning of the war.
Russia has so far released more than well. Now it's around about 5000 Ukrainians, vast majority of them troops. But look at where we are at the
moment. You know, two months ago, more than President Trump was pushing President Zelenskyy to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire he did.
President Trump has continued since then to try to push President Putin to do the same.
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Although perhaps not pushed publicly, at least quite as hard as he has on President Zelenskyy. And President Putin has resisted to the point that
these low-level talks last week in Turkey that led to this prisoner exchange came about only because -- you know as Ukrainians will see another
prevarication by President Putin not agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire, only agreeing to get into more talks.
So, you know, when President Trump sort of touts that this could lead to something much bigger, I think a lot of Ukrainians really see prisoner
exchanges, albeit this is big. This is significant maybe they see it as part of the cycle of war and not -- you know, an indication that they're
coming to the end of it.
ASHER: All right, Nic Robertson live for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right up next, a big escalation Donald Trump's battle with Harvard
as he tries to block the school from enrolling any international students. Harvard's response when we come back. And a man accused of ending the life
of a young couple made his first court appearance, we'll look at what his fate may be and the lives he literally touches thoughts as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. The most prestigious university in the world is taking on the most powerful man in the world. This morning, Harvard University filed
a lawsuit against Donald Trump and his administration. The suit seeks to stop Trump from enacting a ban on foreign students attending Harvard.
The Trump Administration revoked Harvard's ability to enrol international students on Thursday, the latest salvo in an escalating battle between the
president and institutes of higher learning that the say turns a blind eye to anti-Semitism on campus. Harvard's Spokesperson said, quote, this
retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard Community and our country and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny is tracking this story for us. So, Jeff Harvard has fired back with a lawsuit. I think the big question a lot of people have is, what
happens to the international students who are already at Harvard in the interim while this is being decided in court?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Zain, that is a central question, and there is no answer for that, at least at the moment.
Harvard said they will work to find accommodations and to protect and guide the international students that make up some 27 percent of the student body
at Harvard about 6700 international students in this most recent academic year.
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So, it's not a small number of people we are talking about, but Harvard is pushing back dramatically against this Trump Administration action against
asking for immediate legal relief, asking for a temporary injunction on this to block this action.
Of course, it all stems from a letter yesterday that Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem sent to Harvard, and she said they were immediately
revoking the Student and Exchange Visitor Certification Program. What that means, basically, is the auspices under which students get student visas,
and saying that simply would not be possible. They must transfer to a different university or lose their status here. Secretary Nome explained it
like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: There should be a warning to every other university to get your act together. Get your act together,
because we are coming to make sure that these programs that you are facilitating an environment where students can learn, where they're safe
and that they're not discriminated against based on their race or their religion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So, the White House has been in this ongoing fight with Harvard University, really, for several months. First, it was withholding and
freezing some $2 billion in federal funding for research programs and the like. And they've been saying that Harvard has been fostering this anti-
Semitic and offensive. And in some instances, dangerous atmosphere for students.
Harvard, of course, has pushed back against that. But they've also been standing up to the White House, the administration, unlike other
universities have. But the bottom line the White House is not really discussing here is the longer-term fallout from all of this, the
reputational damage for -- you know, a lot of companies, a lot of big thinkers. Harvard University is a beacon to the world.
There is no doubt about that. And think how many startup companies have sort of sprung from the student environment there? And what happens with
the medical research and other things. So, this is a political move, there's no doubt, but the fallout from it, Zain is far, far, far beyond
politics.
It could affect the economy and certainly the eyes of the United States, for people around the world. So, a fight that we certainly are just hearing
the beginning of, definitely not the end of yet Zain.
ASHER: Yeah, I think for a lot of international students. I mean, the first question is, why on earth would you want to study in the United States,
given the climate here?
ZELENY: Right.
ASHER: But also, just to sort of play out the game of chess here, if a judge does end up blocking the Trump Administration from banning
international students, we all know the Trump Administration has a history, a recent history of not necessarily following the rule of law.
So, what does that mean? I mean, I know that it's anyone's guess at this point, Jeff, but just what does that mean for students on campus, even a
lawsuit, even what ends up happening with this lawsuit, might actually not end up protecting them?
ZELENY: It is a great question. I mean, the bottom line the State Department and the government affords international students the ability to
study here in the U.S. with student visas and permits and things like that. So, Harvard can certainly challenge this.
But I guess the question would be for students, do they feel safe coming here? Do they feel safe staying here? We've seen so many instances of ICE
rounding people up and whatnot. So, we do not have any reason to believe that that would happen imminently, but it certainly puts students in peril.
There is no doubt. And again, just imagine the stain that this sort of looks like around the world, where Harvard is a beacon of knowledge, and
now it is at the center of a fight that it did not create unnecessarily. But the White House is standing firm on this. They believe it.
It sends a warning to other universities. You heard the Secretary of Homeland Security saying it right there. It's quite blunt that they are
sending a message to other universities here. So, we will add this to the long list of lawsuits and legal action facing this administration.
ASHER: Yeah, I mean, I think until this year, a lot of people thought that -- you know, if you had a green card in the United States, that you were
100 percent safe, and we learned this year that that's not necessarily the case. You've seen a number of green card holders who have been rounded up
on college campuses for simply exercising their First Amendment rights.
So, who knows what's going to happen with the international students? Jeff Zeleny, live for us there. Let's leave it there. Thank you so much. All
right still to come, the Trump Administration drastically, dramatically expands its pressure campaign on Harvard by targeting international
students, as you were just talking about there with Jeff Zeleny.
We're now going to actually speak going to actually speak to one international student at Harvard about what's happening and what may come
next for him?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One world". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some headlines we're watching today. A fifth round of nuclear
talks between the U.S. and Iran are taking place in Rome right now. But sources tell CNN Tehran doesn't believe a deal is likely because of U.S.
insistence dismantle its uranium enrichment program. Iranian officials say that's a demand that would cause negotiations to collapse.
Russia and Ukraine confirmed that a major prisoner swap is underway. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that almost 400 Ukrainian
prisoners were released from each side on Friday, confirming an earlier statement from Russia's Defense Ministry, both sides say the exchange will
continue in the coming days.
Stark video from Gaza shows people climbing over each other to grab bags of bread at a reopened bakery. Humanitarian aid was allowed back into the
Enclave Wednesday, the first time since Israel imposed a complete blockade beginning March 2nd. The U.N. says the aid trickling into Gaza is only a
drop in the ocean.
Harvard University is suing the Trump Administration over its foreign students ban. The prominent Ivy League school is asking a judge to
immediately block an order by the Homeland Security Secretary on Thursday. The White House announced its revoking Harvard's ability to enrol
international students.
Emil Sondaj Hansen is a Danish Student currently studying at Harvard Kennedy School, and he joins us live now, from Paris. Emil, first of all,
thank you so much for making time to talk to us on what I can only imagine must have been really difficult, crazy 24 hours for you. This news happened
yesterday.
We found out yesterday afternoon where I am, but you're six hours ahead of where I am in Paris, so it would have been late in the evening where you
were when you read about this. Just walk us through what your initial reaction was when you saw the news?
EMIL HANSEN, HARVARD STUDENT: Yeah, no. Great to be with you. I think within half an hour, I had 100 messages on my WhatsApp, people panicking,
making contingencies.
[11:35:00]
Today, there's been a lot of sorts of back and forth about people entering the country again. Is it safe? People have been the same at the border as
well. It's crazy. And I think a lot of us didn't think it was going to come to this. It looked like for a while the harlot had complied with the
demands of the administration. So, this really hit us as a shock, and I'm just devastated and in shock.
ASHER: So, Emil, when are you planning to come back to the United States?
HANSEN: That's a great question, I suppose I'm not at this point. I mean, look --
ASHER: All right, when were you planning to come back?
HANSEN: Well, I have flights in two weeks. I was going to go back to Boston then, and I was going to start looking for jobs. I've been applying for the
work permit that comes with the F1 student visa, and that's just not looking uncertain. It's looking unlikely that that would go through at this
point.
So, I guess I stay in Europe and figure things out. But I came to Harvard hoping to stay in the U.S. and make a career there. And that's just not the
case now. And I think it's easy to think that that sort of Harvard students is privileged. They'll be fine, and I'll be OK. I'll be in Europe. I'll be
in Denmark.
But a lot of my friends from low-income countries took huge amounts of debt to go to pursue their dreams, expecting to pay those loans back on American
salary. I truly don't know what they're going to do now.
ASHER: Because Harvard is so much more expensive if you're an international student -- you know, obviously, if you're American, you do have access to
student loans in this country where I am. You know, I'm based in New York. But if you're an international student, you don't, and so you have to pay
the full price tag, and it is really expensive.
Just in terms of what you've heard. I'm not sure how many other students your friends with who are currently out of the country. Are they being
asked questions at the border? Because I imagine, you know, they show up at the border, re-entering the United States. They, of course, have a student
visa.
I'm wondering whether they're being asked, what college do you go to? Are you a student at Harvard? Are you hearing anything from some of your
friends who might be overseas at this point, who are trying to get back to Boston?
HANSEN: It's very unclear. I've definitely heard stories of people being detained up to three hours, having their phones confiscated, having their
smart watches devices confiscated. I'm not sure about the specific questions about Harvard, but it's definitely a fear, and I think the fear
of those questions is enough to regulate behavior.
I mean, I've never felt so constrained in what I say and what I write as I've been the last few months at Harvard, just because you see people being
detained for signing open letters, for writing in university newspapers. I mean, you had J.D. Vance a couple of months ago say that we don't have
freedom of speech in Europe, but people don't get detained for saying what they believe back here.
ASHER: And we're seeing -- I was just mentioning one of our reporters who I just spoke to literally five minutes ago. It's green card holders that are
being detained. I mean, we're not even talking about, you know, people who are on F1 visas or J1 visas. We're talking about literally green card
holders.
I mean, a lot of people who have green cards in the U.S. assume that they're safe and, of course, that their First Amendment rights are
protected. But as you point out, simply for participating in protest, simply for signing petition letters they are being detained.
So just in terms of your options right now, I mean, you mentioned that you were planning to come back to Boston in about two weeks or so. I assume you
are going to apply for the OPT visa, the sort of one-year visa you usually get. I was an international student, so I know a thing or two about this.
But you usually get a one-year visa that allows you to work in the U.S. You are going to apply for that, and that looks unclear. So, what are your
options at this point?
HANSEN: I'll stay in Europe for a couple of months and figure something out. I mean, I think America is a great place. I think there's great
opportunities. I would love to contribute to project that is America, and that just won't happen at this point. And that's the case for a lot of my
friends.
And I'm lucky that I was done with my program at this point, but a lot of my friends who are doing the PhDs, who've been working for four or five
years, they've said goodbye to America at this point, and that's just incredibly sad.
ASHER: Yeah, I mean, a lot of people have been talking about the fact that it does tarnish the U.S.'s reputation around the world. And not to mention,
you know, people who are considering coming to the U.S. to study are going to have to think twice, you know, because they -- you know, obviously it
becomes extraordinarily difficult to sort of weigh your future and not know what the future holds for you, if your visa is going to be revoked one day
or not. So much uncertainty here for international students.
Emil Sondaj Hanson, thank you so much, and I really hope that this situation gets resolved soon enough, and that there is a bit more clarity.
Appreciate you joining us.
HANSEN: Thank you very much.
ASHER: All right, an orgy of corruption that's what Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling an event Thursday night at Donald Trump's Golf
Club just outside Washington. The event was a private dinner with Trump. The invitees were the top holders of his Crypto Meme Coin. Collectively,
it's estimated that they paid nearly $150 million to invest in the Trump Coin, and this dinner with the president was their prize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This not for sale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Destroy Crypto.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go to jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:40:00]
ASHER: Protesters gathered outside the Trump Golf Club to jeer as the guests arrive. The names of the attendees have not been released, but it
has been reported that many of them are from overseas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This is corruption, old fashioned corruption, but out in the open for everybody to see. And I wish we knew who was there. I
wish they would release that list.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president. And I
think everybody, the American public, believe it's absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: We'll have more on the ethics behind this event and other recent actions by Donald Trump in the next hour. All right, the man accused of
killing a couple outside a Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., could face the death penalty. Federal prosecutors have charged Elias Rodriguez with
murder as investigators are looking at it as both terrorism and a hate crime. Investigators are focusing on things he may have posted online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN J. JENSEN, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE: We are also executing search warrants for his electronic devices, reviewing his social media
accounts and all of his internet postings. Regarding some internet postings, we are aware of some writings that are purported to have been
authored by this subject. We're actively investigating to determine both the authorship and the attribution of these writings, if they belong to
this subject or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: We're also learning more about the moment when Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim lost their live. Surveillance video reportedly shows the
gunman shooting them from behind and then leaning over them and firing again. The couple, both Israeli Embassy Staffers, were leaving a
humanitarian event at the Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday night, when they were gunned down. We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, it's the start of a holiday weekend here in the U.S., which means heavy traffic and long lines at the airport. AAA is predicting
more than 45 million Americans are expected to fly or drive for the Memorial Day Holiday. Transportation Security Administration says it's
preparing to screen 18 million travelers between now and next week.
A crucial test for New Jersey's Newark Airport, which has been plagued by the recent outages and air traffic control shortages. Our Brynn Gingras is
that Newark Airport with a look at how things are going?
[11:45:00]
Brynn, I just flew out of Newark Airport last week, so I got to see and experience firsthand how the shortages are affecting delays. No, my plane
was delayed, of course, and I knew it would be, but it was. I got there very early. I had an 08:00 a.m. flight, and I did that deliberately so it
wouldn't be delayed too much. But I can only imagine what people are experiencing there today, the busiest days of the year.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean Zain look, there's a lot of finger crossing, there's a lot of knockdown wood happening
when people come here to Newark. I will say we're not seeing craziness, at least at this terminal. And if you actually look at the big board, which
shows departures, at least, out of Newark Airport for every one of the terminals, A, B and C, it doesn't look so bad.
Actually, it looks like flights are taking off on time. Now remember the FAA was trying to sort of help alleviate some of the congestion at Newark
Airport, because of all those issues that people have been experiencing have been plagued with. We know about the air traffic control shortage.
We know that there were major technical glitches happening in air traffic control. That runway is shut down until the middle of June. So, there's a
lot of conversation that was had cancellation of flights to pre-emptively prepare for this busy holiday and the continuation of the summer holiday
travel.
So not bad yet. We did talk to travelers like yourself, Zain, who were coming in and out of Newark and talking to them just really, how do they
feel about that? Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: Were you nervous about flying out of Newark?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, very much.
GINGRAS: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard a lot of stories about many delays, and we're have many kids with us. Yes, yeah, we'll be OK.
GINGRAS: So, did you ever once think maybe we should switch to a different airport?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We booked, what about two months ago, and then when the news broke about everything, I was like, this could end bad, but we're
going to hope and pray.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: Yeah, and Zain I actually know three people in my own personal life that had flights for this weekend out of Newark, and just decided --
you know what, I'm not even going to roll the dice, and they've decided to go to a different airport. So hopefully that is also helping the situation,
at least here at Newark.
Of course, across the country, the situation may vary. As we know, this is one of the record-breaking weekends. 45 million people, as you said, are
going to be traveling for this holiday weekend. A majority of that those Zain, as you know, is going to be in the car. People traveling definitely
need to be patient getting to where they need to go safely, Zain.
ASHER: Yeah, they offered me a flight out of Philly. I just decided, like Philly, that's way too far. Oh my gosh, so I just decided to bite the
bullet. Yes, I got to my destination --
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRAS: -- no matter why?
ASHER: -- eventually. Brynn Gingras live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GINGRAS: Yeah.
ASHER: All right, still to come --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. WALTER WILLETT, HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITIONIST: Without additional funding, we're talking about really, literally weeks for keeping
the nitrogen flowing in our freezers. We're going to be scrambling to see if we can maintain the most critical parts of it, but we don't have that in
hand right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: From the benefits of a Mediterranean diet to the dangers of trans fat, Trump Administration has cut funding for two critical nutrition
studies at Harvard. The impact all that might have just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ASHER: All right, the Trump Administration has already frozen more than $2 billion in federal grants to Harvard. The cuts affect key programs,
including two of the largest ongoing nutrition studies. It comes even as the Make America Healthy Again Commission says that more research is
needed. CNN's Meg Tirrell tours a Harvard Health Facility on the verge of losing research that could take decades to recreate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. WILLETT: So, this is our rooftop freezer farm up here.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at a liquid nitrogen freezer farm powering one of the biggest and longest
running studies on women's risk factors for chronic disease in history. Here at the Harvard School of Public Health.
TIRRELL: How many people samples are stored in these freezers?
DR. WILLETT: These specific freezers, it's tens of thousands.
TIRRELL (voice-over): The Nurses Health Study has more than 280,000 participants over three generations. They've shared samples of blood,
urine, DNA, about 1.5 million samples in this freezer farm alone, even toenail clippings.
DR. WILLETT: These little envelopes are toenail clippings. We collected these back in 1982.
TIRRELL (voice-over): And tumour samples.
DR. WILLETT: These are actually the individual tumour samples from participants who have developed breast cancer. These are really unique and
invaluable.
TIRRELL: All to help scientists like Dr. Walter Willett make discoveries about our health.
DR. WILLETT: We can go back many decades later, long before someone developed a cancer or a heart attack, and look at what were their hormone
levels? What were the blood nutrient levels? Of course, we can look now at their DNA. We couldn't do that when they first collected the sample.
TIRRELL (voice-over): Paired with detailed questionnaires the participants faithfully fill out every few years, the study has yielded major
discoveries from the benefits of a Mediterranean diet to the dangers of trans fat.
DR. WILLETT: The first thing that popped out when we looked at heart disease was trans-fat, and the association was really quite strong.
TIRRELL (voice-over): Trans-fat was ultimately banned from foods in the U.S. in 2021.
DR. WILLETT: We continue to follow our participants, and that finding was sustained over time.
TIRRELL (voice-over): But earlier this month, Willett and his team got devastating news.
DR. WILLETT: There it is. It says you are receiving this email because one or more of your projects have been terminated per notice from the federal
funding agency.
TIRRELL (voice-over): The Trump Administration has said it's cutting upwards of $2.6 billion in federal funding to Harvard, saying that the
university hasn't done enough to combat anti-Semitism on campus.
LEAVITT: And we certainly should not be funding a place where such grave anti-Semitism exists.
TIRRELL (voice-over): The university has filed a lawsuit to fight back the funding cuts affect both the Nurses' Health Study, which is focused on
women's health, and a counterpart focused on men. It's research that would take decades to recreate if lost.
TIRRELL: How much longer can it keep going?
DR. WILLETT: Without additional funding, we're talking about really, literally weeks for keeping the nitrogen flowing in our freezers. We're
going to be scrambling to see if we can maintain the most critical parts of it, but we don't have that in hand right now.
TIRRELL (voice-over): The liquid nitrogen alone to cool the freezers will, it says, runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and this comes as
the work is reaching a pivotal milestone.
DR. WILLETT: The older participants, some of those, are reaching 100-year mark during the next 5 or 10 years, we have a very good opportunity of
looking at how what people were doing, 30, 40, 50 years earlier is related to healthy aging.
TIRRELL (voice-over): These major nutrition studies are losing funding from the National Institutes of Health, just as the Trump Administration's newly
released make America Healthy Again Report on Children's Health decries. How little the NIH spends on nutrition research. It's attention not lost on
Willett.
DR. WILLETT: If someone really believes that we want to make America healthy. This is something that should continue. There's still a lot more
to learn.
TIRRELL (voice-over): Meg Tirrell, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, some breaking news to bring you just into CNN. U.S. Judge has just blocked the Trump Administration from revoking Harvard's ability
to enroll foreign students. We're now waiting for a response from the administration. The tit-for-tat between President Trump and Harvard is
continuing.
[11:55:00]
Well, actually going to be speaking to a constitutional lawyer who went to Harvard in the next hour of "One World". So, we'll see what he says about
the latest development. Stay with CNN. We'll have much more, "One World" after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
