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One World with Zain Asher

U.S., Iran Working To Resolve Language Disputes On Nuclear Issues And Sanctions; Trump Urges Middle Eastern Countries To Sign Abraham Accords; AAA: Record 45M Americans Traveling This Weekend; Pope Leo Takes On A.I. In His First Encyclical Letter As Pontiff; U.S. And Iran Signal Progress In Negotiations To End War; Thousands Attend Tribute For NASCAR Racing Legend; Aired 12-1p ET

Aired May 25, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:52]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. Bianna is off today. You are watching the second hour of "One

World."

We begin with the most solemn of holidays here in the United States, Memorial Day. President Trump is getting ready to lay a wreath at the Tomb

of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States, for their country. He's

set to deliver remarks shortly afterwards. We'll bring you this live as soon as it happens.

U.S. President Trump is also adding a new demand to propose peace deal with Iran. He's now calling on Gulf nations to sign the Abraham Accords, a move

that would establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

It comes shortly after Iran's foreign ministry acknowledged that a degree of understanding with the U.S. had been reached on a framework agreement to

end the war in Iran, but stressed that an agreement is not imminent.

Meantime, Iran's chief negotiator is in Qatar for more talks. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that a deal could be reached as early as today,

while emphasizing the president is in no hurry to get it done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Every country that we've walked through it, understands it's very -- not just very reasonable, but it's the

right thing for the world to get done. As the president said, he's not in a hurry. He's not going to make a bad deal. And the president is not going to

make a bad agreement. So let's see what happens. We're going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we -- we explore the alternatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now at the White House.

So, Kevin, just talk to us bit more about the state of negotiations.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The president, for his part, says he is in no rush.

But I think after a weekend when it seemed a various point like a deal was imminent, it does seem now as if the two sides have gotten bogged down on

some of the language, you know, some of the wording that's contained in this memorandum of understanding.

I will say U.S., you know, officials do view that Iranian delegation that is in Qatar today as a positive sign as perhaps an indication that some of

the Qatari mediators might be able to break some of this logjam, but what they say is that it just takes time, you know, for the supreme leader of

Iran to sign off on every word that is changed in this agreement can take potentially days and days because he's essentially in hiding.

And so this is a process they say that it could take several days longer potentially. The memorandum of understanding that's being debated right now

would end the hostilities and lift all of the constraints that are currently on the Strait of Hormuz, but it would push off until later

negotiations some of the thorniest issues when it comes to Iran's nuclear program.

And what you've seen, just over the last 24 hours, is essentially clashing explanations from both sides about what exactly has been agreed to. So you

have the United States, a U.S. official saying that Iran has agreed in principle to dispose of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The Iranians have said that they are not discussing any details of their nuclear program. The Iranians, meanwhile, want to get more specifics from

the U.S. about sanctions really about what assets of Iran's might be unfrozen as part of this process.

But what the U.S. says is that any financial relief from Iran would only come after some of those nuclear issues are resolved. They're using the

phrase no dust, no dollars, dust referring to the stockpile of highly enriched uranium. So, it's clear that there are still some issues to be

bridged here.

President Trump, this morning, has been very eager to tamp down on any comparisons between this deal and the Obama era Iran nuclear deal that he

has been so critical of and that he withdrew from.

What he wrote on Truth Social this morning was that quote, it will only be a great deal for all or no deal at all. And he says, if that happens,

quote, back to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before.

You also mentioned he's calling on some of these Gulf countries to join in the Abraham Accords, which is the normalization agreement between some of

those Arab Gulf countries and Israel, but that seems not really a feasible option for now, but the president certainly throwing it out amid all of

these other negotiations.

[12:05:10]

ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak live for us there. Thank you so much.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen was the only U.S. network reporter in Iran after the war broke out. He actually joins us live now from Berlin.

So to that final point that Kevin was just talking about, this idea that President Trump is now tying the Iran sort of peace deal with getting more

Arab and Muslim countries to join the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel, just explain what we may or may not know of the

president's sort of geopolitical strategy here.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly is something that I think is being seen with lot of interest in

the region. One of the things that we picked up, Zain, on that Truth Social post that the president made was that he also said that it would be

remarkable if Iran, at some point, joined the Abraham Accords as well.

Of course, it's very far from any of that happening right now. Of course, the two sides is still working towards trying to end the war with one

another, so definitely a very serious situation that is still going on.

But it's certainly something that the U.S. has been pressing for to try and make sure that any agreement that happens with Iran to end the war between

Iran and the United States, of course, with Israel also very much being part of that, to have that be a broader agreement that would bring more

stability and more peace to the entire Middle Eastern region.

Now, the Abraham Accords were really never part of that equation, at least not to my knowledge so far, as far as those discussions had been concerned.

But certainly the president now seems to be throwing it out there, whether or not there is some sort of internal pressure that leads him to do that

with many people saying, look, this would be better for Israel if all these nations joined the Abraham Accords, or if that's something that he himself

has come up with is really unclear.

But certainly, the U.S. has, over the past couple of years, been pushing for nations to join the Abraham Accords. And one of the things the Trump

administration is saying and certainly President Trump said also in his Truth Social post earlier today that he believes that at least,

economically, it has been very good for the nations that are part of the Abraham Accords, so far, which I think is Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates

and, of course, Israel as well. I think Sudan might also be part of it.

And so that's what the president is trying to push whether or not that's really going to have to be part of any sort of agreement that has anything

to do with Iran, of course, is very much some that the Iranians certainly aren't up for, but this is definitely something that the president has been

pushing for quite some time for more countries to join the Abraham Accords.

ASHER: And just in terms of the supreme leader there in Iran, I mean, obviously he has issued statements that have been read out loud on T.V.

networks, but we haven't actually seen him. And now, we're learning that he in fact likely did sustain significant injuries during that attack that

killed the ayatollah uh on February 28th.

PLEITGEN: Yes. Significant injuries, however, not as significant as some had been talking about over the past couple of months, at least as far as

what we're hearing now from the Iranians saying that there were superficial injuries to his face, his head, and apparently his -- his legs as well.

Of course, there had been information or rumors out there that he had possibly had have limbs amputated, that his face might have been

disfigured. It seems as though the Iranians are saying that certainly isn't the case and that he certainly is the supreme leader very much involved and

very much on top of the negotiations that are taking place.

It is definitely the case, the Iranians acknowledge that, that any communication with the -- with the senior leadership, with the -- with the

supreme leader, but also with other senior leadership has become a lot more difficult after that real campaign of assassinations that was carried out,

especially by the Israelis as that sort of hot shooting phase of the war was still going on. So the Iranians saying they certainly aren't taking any

chances with all of that.

However, the Iranians also saying that the supreme leader is very much involved in the process, on top of the process, and that no decision is

going to be made also as far as this memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States is concerned without the blessing of the supreme

leader.

And some of the signals that we've been seeing over the past couple of weeks certainly seem to indicate that the Supreme Leader is increasingly

involved in this process.

We had the president, Masoud Pezeshkian, saying that he visited the supreme leader not too long ago, some of the top generals as well. So, it certainly

does seem as though he is taking more of an -- a role than he had a more active role than maybe he had been at the beginning when he took over that

office, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

All right. The war in Iran is sending gas prices soaring, but that has not stopped millions of Americans from traveling this holiday weekend. The U.S.

national average for a gallon of gas is about $4.50, making this the most expensive Memorial Day in four years.

AAA estimates that a record-breaking 45 million people are on the move. Most of them are driving, but nearly four million are actually flying.

We have reporters covering multiple angles of the story. We've got CNN Pete Muntean, who's joining us live now from Reagan National Airport. That's

just outside of Washington, D.C.

[12:10:08]

But first, I want to go to Anna Cooban in London for the latest on oil prices. I mean, oil prices are overall been very high since the war

started, but there are hopes that this new deal could actually lead to a cessation of hostilities, either temporarily or permanently, and so we're

seeing oil prices dip slightly, Anna.

ANNA COOBAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, they're down pretty, pretty sharply today, you know. And we have to remember that Brent, the global oil

benchmark, that was at around $104 a barrel on Friday at market close.

WTI, the U.S. benchmark, $97 a barrel. So we are a long way down from that point. And over the weekend, we saw some real movement, quite literally, of

more tankers getting through that all-important Strait of Hormuz, around 21 got through, that's according to MarineTraffic.

So we're seeing perhaps light at the end of the tunnel with this. But, you know, not to be a Debbie Downer, but even if this conflict is to end very

quickly, it is still going to be a matter of weeks, probably months to really get back to where we were, both in terms of the physical global oil

supply, but also prices.

And so just some of those issues include, firstly, unwinding the backlog of ships, those ships that are in the Persian Gulf, getting them out, getting

new ones back in to load up with -- with fuel, with fertilizer to come back out again. That's going to take a while.

And then you've got the repairs that are needed for all of this infrastructure, these LNG facilities, these oil refineries, which have been

severely damaged because of this conflict. And you've got to restart production, Zain. And that is not like flipping a light switch on and off.

It can take weeks, months to really get oil pumping from the ground again.

There's 15 million barrels per day that are currently shut out of production. That's across Saudi Arabia and Iraq. And it takes time to get

that all moving again.

So, yes, if this conflict ends very soon, we are still not out the woods in terms of where the global oil market is right now.

ASHER: Anna, I'm so sorry. Anna, I have to interrupt because we actually have to go to Arlington National Cemetery, obviously, outside of

Washington, D.C., where President Trump is participating in a wreath-laying ceremony in observance of Memorial Day. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INSTRUMENT PLAYING)

(WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY FOR MEMORIAL DAY AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:15:34]

ASHER: All right. President Trump there participating in one of the oldest military traditions here in the United States. The president essentially

laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

This is a tradition that dates all the way back to the Civil War in this country and is really just about honoring, honoring all sort of the fallen

soldiers, all the people who have lost their lives, all the servicemen and women who have their lives in combat, who have given the ultimate sacrifice

for their country.

And really what's interesting, I think, this time is that this is taking place in the backdrop of an active war. Obviously, the U.S. and Israel are

at war with Iran right now. And we know that at least 13 American servicemen have been killed during this conflict.

So this is not necessarily about past wars. It's about very much an active war that is still ongoing. We know that at least 380 people have been

wounded in this.

All right. We'll be right back after this short break with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:16]

ASHER: All right. Pope Leo is taking on the rapidly advancing world of A.I., issuing a stark warning to both the Catholic Church and the global

community.

In his first papal encyclical, he warns that A.I. must not be controlled by a few and should face the most rigorous ethical constraints, especially in

warfare. The Pope says that A.I. must protect human dignity, jobs, and social justice while calling for stronger legal and independent oversight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Let's not fear artificial intelligence, but constantly keep the question of the human in play. We

cannot be careless with our most powerful technical instruments.

Only together, those who design systems and those affected by them, richer countries and poorer ones, institutions and individuals, power centers and

peripheries, will we be able to build a future, not for a privileged few, but for the entire human family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Father Tom Reese is a senior analyst at the Religion News Service. Father, thank you so much for being with us.

So, what an encyclical actually is, is basically the pope essentially saying that this issue is so important to Catholics around the world,

actually the entire world, that I really want everyone to sort take a moment and think about it. What does that tell us about the priorities of

Pope Leo?

REV. TOM REESE, SENIOR ANALYST, RELIGION NEWS SERVICE: Well, I think it shows that he wants to start a conversation about the impact of A.I. on

society, on real people. And he worries that A.I. is going to be directed by a desire to -- for greater efficiency, greater control, greater profits,

and not be oriented towards the common good, the good of ordinary people.

So, he's concerned about the impact of A.I. on workers, on society, on -- on political discussion, on information, all of these things. And he feels

that this should not simply be under the control of a few billionaires, but rather should be something that the entire community has a say in.

ASHER: And what's interesting, as I understand it, is that the Pope was very much personally involved in all of this. In fact, it was actually co-

written by a founder of Anthropic. Just explain what we should glean into that.

REESE: Well, I wouldn't say it was co-written by someone from Anthropic, but certainly the Pope wanted input, wanted to listen to the experts. I

mean, the experts even admit they don't know how A.I. works.

[12:25:08]

And some of them are very concerned about the impact that it could have on society as a whole. You know, is it going to simply turn human beings into

cogs in a machine? Is it going to exploit creation rather than treat it with respect?

The Pope wants the -- the Pope wants to bring Catholic social teaching as a lens to look at this problem, because it stresses -- Catholic social

teaching stresses the importance of human dignity, the importance of human rights.

And this is the kind of discussion that we need around A.I., not simply what it's going to do to the stock market.

ASHER: You make a very good point. What should the church's role actually be in this kind of issue, Father?

REESE: I think the church's role is to raise ethical questions to realize that any technology can have an impact on people and -- and should

therefore be looked at through an ethical lens.

Who does it help? Who does it hurt? Does it contribute to the common good? Or is it just increasing the wealth of a few people? Does it damage the

environment? Does it respect human dignity? These are the ethical questions that need to be raised.

And I think what Pope Leo wants to do is bring everybody into this conversation. He says he doesn't have all the answers, but we should bring

in scientists, academics, ordinary people, people who are workers, people who, you know, are going to be impacted, people throughout the third world.

I mean, there are a lot of children working in Africa to get the rare minerals that are going into this product. And we should be worried about

that and the impact this is having on people around the world.

ASHER: I'm so glad that you raised that very important point. Just in terms of how much weight, you know, this particular encyclical carries. I mean,

obviously the Pope wants it to go out to not just Catholics but also non- Catholics as well.

How much influence do you think the Pope actually has in this arena?

REESE: Well, I think there's a lot of excitement around this topic. People at the parish that I said mass at yesterday were all talking about it. A

couple of people in the congregation who actually work in A.I. are looking forward to it.

I think it's the importance of this encyclical is not that it's going to give us all the answers, but at that it's going to start the conversation.

It's going to raise the questions that we need to ask when dealing with A.I., and not simply say, oh, well, we can trust the developers. We can

trust the owners of A.I. to -- to make it work for our benefit.

I think we have to ask serious questions.

ASHER: All right. Father Tom Reese, thank you. Thank you so much for that. We appreciate it.

All right. Gisele Pelicot is speaking out about finding love again. Years after her then husband was convicted of coordinating her rape dozens of

times by various men over a decade, the 73-year-old emerged as a global feminist hero.

Years ago, she turned the horror she experienced into a public battle against rape culture. At the Hay Festival in Wales on Saturday, she

described learning to trust and love again with a man she identified as Jean-Loup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GISELE PELICOT, RAPE SURVIVOR (through translator): It's true. It's something that I didn't think, I didn't think that could happen, especially

at my age. First of all, I didn't really want to, to either fall in love, but life decided otherwise.

And so we met. Our trajectories crossed at one moment. And I met this young man of 73.

I didn't think that I'd be able to trust a man, but it's what happened to me. So you can see that everything can be allowed in life. You must never

despair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Gisele Pelicot is promoting her new memoir titled "A Hymn to Life."

"One World" continues after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:37]

ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.

For more than a decade, President Trump has attacked former President Obama's Iran nuclear deal. In 2018, he pulled out of the deal, calling it

defective.

Now, eight years later, the U.S. needs a new agreement to end the Iran war. Trump claims that negotiations are proceeding nicely. He says that if he

strikes a deal, it will be, quote, the exact opposite of President Obama's.

For now, the war's timeline remains unclear, including how long it will take to end the global energy crisis. And this moment appears to be testing

lawmakers' patience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): This war has been a blunder from the very start. It sounds to me like what this agreement will do is take us back

really to the pre-war status quo.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): We were told about 11 weeks ago by Hegseth and -- and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran's defenses.

And it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material.

Now, we're talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. Let's bring in Joey Garrison joining us live now. He's a White House correspondent for "USA Today."

I do want to talk about the Abraham Accords, but just to this point, this idea that, you know, basically Trump is saying that, look, I want to make

sure that whatever deal we sign with Iran is going to be very different from the Obama era deal, the JCPOA.

But the problem is that any deal you have with Iran always runs into the same sort of core issues, be it limits on uranium enrichment and Iran

wanting economic relief, sanctions relief in exchange.

Therefore, it really is going to be up to Trump to sort of brand this very different, politically, so that it doesn't seem as though the U.S. just

went to war with Iran for no apparent reason, only to end up with a deal that was similar to the one that the Americans had basically a decade ago.

Your thoughts on that.

JOEY GARRISON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, USA TODAY: Yes, exactly. I mean, no matter how this deal ends up, you're going to hear President Trump say

this is drastically better than the deal he, of course, threw out during his first term, Obama's deal.

But -- but it's going to be interesting to see whether that is, in fact, the case. Of course, that deal was essentially sanctions relief for Iran in

response to you -- you know, Iran limiting its nuclear program and what we've been able to decipher so far about the deal that hasn't been signed

yet.

[12:35:07]

So again, we're kind of just piecing together what we've gotten from both the U.S. side and the Iran side is that there could essentially be a

deferral for 60 days right now of -- of sorting out continuing negotiations on -- on the enriched uranium component of this as well as the -- the

nuclear program, Iran's nuclear program.

And so what you saw in the last few days was Republican senators, people who were supportive of President Trump push back and say, hey, you have to

really show us something here that Iran has committed not to pursue a nuclear weapon and to dispose of their enriched uranium. That needs to be -

- that, of course, is what Trump has said all along is the focus, goal in military -- in -- in this war in Iran.

And so if that isn't deliverable on the front end, Trump is going to really face a lot of pressure of -- of that question of why did the United States

engage in this operation to begin with.

ASHER: And just in terms of the other sort of major news we got, which is the Abraham Accords. This idea that Trump is tying any kind of deal reached

with Iran to try to -- try to get basically other Muslim and Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel.

I mean, just walk us through what message he wants to send to his base, the domestic audience here in the United States.

GARRISON: Yes. I mean, first of all, it's unclear how that would -- how we would achieve that through this Iran deal. Now, he -- he isolated the --

the six Middle East countries, to begin with, that he wants to join as part of the signing of the Iran -- a deal with Iran. And then, of course, he

says Iran itself should be a part of this. Of course, he wants to improve the economic relations between these Middle Eastern nations and -- and

wants more Arab nations to recognize the State of Israel.

And again, this is a new development that he kind of has brought up here, and perhaps it is part of these negotiations. But whether this is something

that, you know, Iran would have to agree to as part of the deal, that's unclear whether he's sort of -- he's often touted these -- the Abraham

Accords.

Of course, that was one of his biggest foreign policy achievements of his first term. And so, you know, here he has mentioned it again in calling for

a larger Middle Eastern alliance, but how connected that is to this Iran deal remains to be seen.

ASHER: Talk to us about the likely frustrations of Israel in all of this, because they sort of see Iran posing an existential threat to their

country. And here you have President Trump signing a deal, potential deal, I should say, with Iran.

Just give us your take on -- on what sort of changes that would mean for Netanyahu's relationship with Trump going forward. Obviously, Trump said a

few days ago, listen, Netanyahu will do --

GARRISON: Yes.

ASHER: -- whatever tell him to. But -- but give us your take on that.

GARRISON: Yes. I mean, just the broad contours that we've heard about this deal. I mean, it's not something I would think Israel and Netanyahu would

be too fond of.

And I think some of the criticisms you've heard from Republicans in the Senate and the United States from, you know, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham

and Roger Wicker, I mean, I think Israel has those same concerns namely, you know, does this deal prevent Iran from -- from having a nuclear weapon

down the road? And that is -- is the big question.

I mean, essentially what this deal does is it kind of, from again, the -- the -- what we've -- we-- we don't have everything right in front of us to

analyze but from this memorandum of understanding that's been reported out.

I mean, it kind of handles or it tries to the political problem for the president on the front end. And that's right now in the United States with

gas prices, you know, still way above they were a year ago.

So by opening up the Strait, getting the flow of oil, you know, that -- that seems to be sort of an immediate way to try to address that. But it

puts on the backburner the part that's always been so challenging, you know, how -- do you get Iran to stop their weapons program, the -- the

enriched uranium that is in the country? And so for Israel to see that kind of pushback is a point of frustration for them.

ASHER: All right. Joey Garrison, live for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Tens of thousands of NASCAR fans honor the late two-time NASCAR Cup champion, Kyle Busch on Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

CNN's Rafael Romo was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[12:40:02]

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was a somber and solemn moment of silence before the race started here at the Charlotte Motor Speedway,

followed by bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace" for the crowd of nearly 100,000 gathered here for the Coca-Cola 600 race that Kyle Busch would have

participated in.

NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell spoke publicly here at the race track sharing words of encouragement for Samantha Busch, Kyle Busch's widow, and their

two children, Brexton and Lennix, aged 11 and four. This was his heartfelt message to the grieving family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE O'DONNELL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NASCAR: You and your children are NASCAR family forever.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And Brexton and Lennix, your dad loves you with all his heart.

ROMO: There have been many emotional tributes here at the Charlotte Motor Speedway from officials, fans, and fellow race drivers like Tyler Reddick

who said that, quote, wherever the bar was, Kyle was constantly racing it.

We also heard from a foreign driver, Mexico's Daniel Suarez, who told reporters that in his 2015 season, Busch would call him every week just to

make sure he was doing OK, which made him respect him to a whole different level.

As a driver, Busch often reveled in playing the villain and was given the nicknames rowdy and wild things, something that fans we spoke with were

remembering here at the racetrack.

HUNTER TEETER, NASCAR FAN: Kyle Busch was so good you loved to hate him, especially coming from fans that, you know, didn't really pull for him. But

like you said, the way he raced, I mean he is -- and as all the cup drivers said, everybody in the garage has said, he is one of the best to ever do

it.

MICHELE MUHRS, NASCAR FAN: The fans are here to, you know, honor him. Even those that disliked him, everyone's going to honor him because he was such

a great driver, you know. I mean, the most winningest in the history. Future Hall of Fame, I mean, what's not to love?

ROMO: In a post on X, NASCAR published a photo of an empty seat with a sign inscribed with the name of Kyle Busch, who today would have been sitting

there with fellow drivers for a pre-race briefing. The caption for the photo read, "A seat that simply cannot be filled."

Kyle Busch's legacy was also honored and recognized today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on lap 18.

Rafael Romo, CNN, on Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. And that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. "African Voices" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AFRICAN VOICES)

ASHER: All right. President Trump is giving a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Light on Earth so that the sublime light of American freedom will shine forever and ever. This

Memorial Day, we salute them, we exalt them, and we thank them for all that we have and for all that they gave. They gave everything.

God bless our fallen heroes. We're joined today by some of those they left behind, our incredible Gold Star families, incredible people. To every

person here and across America who holds tight to the memory of a warrior taken from them, we will never, ever forget the ones you loved. Gold Star

family members, please stand. Receive our thanks, please. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Thank you very much. My honor. Less than six weeks from now, our nation will reach a historic milestone, 250 years of majestic American

independence, something.

But it's only right that, first, we remember the immense sacrifice that has been brought to us in this momentous anniversary year. That's what it is.

It's a momentous year. Before we hail the founding, we honor the fallen. Before we celebrate the triumph, we pay the tribute. Before we crown the

victory, we count the cost.

Today, we are reminded that there could be no Fourth of July without America's Armed Forces. And there could be no Independence Day without

Memorial Day.

We owe our liberty, our self-government, the glories of our history, and our very nation itself to the generations who paid for it with everything

they had, the ultimate sacrifice.

The first Americans to give their lives in battle fell on April 1775, when eight patriots were cut down by redcoats. Those guns. They were shot on

Lexington Green. They had answered the call to muster against the force five times their strength. They said at the time, the greatest in the

world, in defense of their cherished rights and their cherished liberty.

As the British approached the Massachusetts, militiamen summoned destiny itself, saying, if they mean to have a war, let it begin right here.

Caleb Harrington was 23 years old when he accompanied his father to the green that day, torn apart from each other in the chaos of combat. That

American son died trying to fight his way back to his father. He wanted to get back to dad. Caleb's cousin, Jonathan, was struck down at age 31, shot

within the side of his home. His young wife and child who awaited his return.

Jonathan crawled, bleeding back to them to die on his own doorstep for a final, terrible but beautiful farewell. His widow and orphan were perhaps

the very first Gold Star family in a long and broken chain that reaches up through the ages to us right here today.

When our founding fathers put the ideas of the Declaration of Independence to paper in Philadelphia, they signed and sealed an oath that had already

been written in blood by patriots at Lexington Concord and Bunker Hill. Their sacrifice birthed the most incredible and exceptional nation in all

of history.

And our nation is doing better today than it's ever done before.

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