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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: Trump And Putin Speaks For About Two Hours; Zelenskyy Calls For New Russian Sanctions; Israel Will Control The Entire Gaza Strip; Deportation Protections For Venezuelans Can Be Lifted By Trump; "Take It Down" Act Signed Into Law; Desperation Mounts In Gaza; Biden Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 19, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching

"The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, President Trump and Putin speak for about two hours regarding ending the war in Ukraine. No timeline for a deal, certainly no

ceasefire. First Lady Melania Trump backs a bipartisan bill now signed into law. It protects victims of revenge and deep fake pornography, helps them

remove content from online platforms. A trickle of aid trucks has finally entered Gaza today after an 11-week blockade. We hear from a documentary

filmmaker who's given those inside Gaza a voice. That conversation and plenty more coming up.

First, we go to that phone call between Putin and Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin, and I think some progress has been made. It's a terrible

situation going on over there. 5,000 young people every single week are being killed. So, hopefully, we did something. We also spoke to the heads

of most of the European nations, and we're trying to get that whole thing wrapped up. What a shame that it ever started in the first place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The U.S. president said, quote, "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and more importantly, an

end to the war," but no announcement of a ceasefire that Trump has demanded himself for weeks now. After the call, his Russian counterpart is said to

have called the conversation frank and substantive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: The U.S. president expressed his position on the secession of hostilities, ceasefire. And from my end, I

emphasize that Russia also stands for a peaceful resolution of Ukrainian crisis. We must simply determine the most effective paths toward peace.

The question, of course, is that the Russian and Ukrainian side should show maximum desire for peace and find compromises that would suit all parties.

At the same time, I'd like to note that in general, Russia's position is clear, the main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this

crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Yes. Notable language there from the Russian president. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he spoke to President Trump twice today,

once before the call with Putin and once after. Just a short time ago, Trump spoke once more about that phone call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I said, when are we going to end this, Vladimir? I'd known him for a long time now. I said, when are we going to end this bloodshed? This

bloodbath? It's a bloodbath. And I do believe he wants to end it. They got a problem. It's a big, big problem. It's a terrible war. It's a very hard

to extradite themselves away from what's taken place over there. The amount of anger, the amount of hate, and the amount of death, it's very hard. Very

tough situation.

But I said to him, we got to get going. And I did say also, if I thought that you couldn't do it, I'd step away because of what are you going to do?

We don't have boots on the ground. We wouldn't have boots on the ground. But we do have a big stake. And the financial amount that was put up is

just crazy. It's crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Remember just last week, president Trump said that if he were to speak or meet with Vladimir Putin, they could end the war. It certainly

didn't happen today. He also did not say that he would boost sanctions on Russia, even though European leaders, including the Ukrainian leader, say

those sanctions are necessary now. Trump says he's not doing that, quote, "because there's a chance of progress." Nick Paton Walsh has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Three presidents who didn't meet last week in three very different moods after one not very fruitful phone call.

First up. Russian president Vladimir Putin taking the most important call of his war casually from here. A music school by the sea, a ceasefire might

come with the right paperwork, he said, and President Trump knows Russia wants peace, but no substantive change from three months ago.

[18:05:00]

Russia's position is clear, he said, the main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis.

Flash across the Black Sea to Kyiv, where Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has got through a weekend of record drone strikes, nine killed in

one on a mini bus. To see this supposed breakthrough moment for diplomacy just heat, frustration on frustration. They don't even know who will meet

next or where.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Such a meeting could take place in Turkey, in the Vatican or in Switzerland. We

are now considering these three venues. The question is, who will be able to organize this with the appropriate result.

WALSH (voice-over): And the most positive spin from President Donald Trump.

TRUMP: We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin.

WALSH (voice-over): Who five days ago wanted to personally intermediate between two enemies. But now, seems tinged with a sense he might be

stepping back. And Ukraine and Russia can talk about a ceasefire alone, maybe in the Vatican. The conditions for that he wrote will be negotiated

between the two parties as it only can be because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Nick joins us live. And I wonder, Nick, as you speak to Ukrainians following this call, if Ukrainians have the impression that Trump is

willing to put far more pressure on Ukraine, you'll remember when his perception was that Zelenskyy was not signing onto the ceasefire quickly

enough, there were immediate consequences, including the suspension of U.S. intelligence sharing. Yet here, again, Putin punts on a ceasefire and yet

no new sanctions.

WALSH (on camera): I think it's essentially because Trump has misread the nature of his relationship with Vladimir Putin, and that becomes

potentially more apparent today with what you can sort of read between the lines of that Truth Social post, essentially Trump saying, well, look, this

is something that Ukraine and Russia has to sort out amongst themselves. Maybe the Vatican could be a good venue for that.

Asked by our Kaitlyn Collins earlier on quite how he felt about the lack of sanctions, he referred to this as a European problem. And so, I think we're

seeing some slow distancing by the Trump White House. They clearly over promised at the early part of this presidential term of what they could

indeed deliver. And they've met with Vladimir Putin, who is very clear that he just isn't interested in anyone else's timetable or peace negotiations.

He's brushed aside the original U.S. proposal backs by the Europeans here on last Saturday for an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire. He's

turned down a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy that Trump personally offered to be a mediator in.

And indeed, he's taken this long heralded 10:00 a.m. phone call with Trump. And essentially said, when he emerged from that, that he's willing to

exchange paperwork about a ceasefire. It was a good call, but ultimately, the root causes of the war need to be addressed. That's almost stepping

backwards, frankly, from the last weeks of his own diplomatic team.

So, absolute intransigence from the Kremlin, because, Jim, they don't want anything apart from victory here, and I think that's the misreading in this

White House. They felt that the Kremlin wants peace and that they can play on that particular idea. But I think it may simply be that Trump wanted

peace and felt that he could negotiate somebody else with a different mindset into that position. And at this point he's not got there. Jim.

SCIUTTO: I wonder, Nick, if there's any worry in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine that -- and you hear Trump saying, listen, if there's no peace,

then I might just back out. I might wash my hands of it. Are they concerned that would also mean the U.S. withdrawing military support for Ukraine?

WALSH: And that has been the strange threat that we've kind of heard from this administration. They've sort of been saying for weeks now, well, if we

don't go, we want out of Russia, we'll just walk away. Well, that's exactly what the Kremlin wants. There is no better outcome for them than seeing all

diplomatic efforts on the United States part stop and possibly, also the military aid that Ukraine depends upon. Also, very importantly, the

intelligence sharing that was briefly interrupted after that Oval Office spat back a few months ago now.

So, it's a hollow threat and it's a threat actually that feeds entirely into the Kremlin's own objectives. And that, again, may be a misreading of

the Kremlin's intentions here. And also, too, potentially the role the United States has in all of this. I mean, it's clearly -- if you listen to

Vice President J. D. Vance, a different tone that he said speaking recently.

But there is certainly a feeling in this White House, you can hear that this isn't really their problem. But ultimately, it will become their

problem if their European allies find themselves fighting a war that they desperately need U.S. assistance for, that they've geared up their entire

security strategy in the continent for -- with American backing.

[18:10:00]

So, yes. I mean, we're into a very messy moment, partly because, Jim, Putin is playing for time for a very specific reason. There are key signs along

the front lines here in the east that there are amassing troops potentially for a summer offensive. That could be weeks, days away. And that explains

all the failed diplomas we've seen over the past months.

SCIUTTO: No question. And certainly, it does not indicate a nation or a leader interested in genuine peace talks. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.

Joining us now, Mara Rudman, the James Schlesinger distinguished professor at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. Also, a former deputy

assistant to President Clinton. Thanks so much for joining.

MARA RUDMAN, JAMES R. SCHLESINGER DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, MILLER CENTER: Thanks. Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: So, I wonder, as you watch and listen to President Trump's comments here and Vice President Vance, are you seeing an administration

that is coming to see now that Putin may not be interested in peace negotiations?

RUDMAN: I'm seeing an administration and a president that clearly has badly miscalculated his relationship with President Putin and his ability to get

things done there, has vastly overstated what he, President Trump, can do. And at the same time, I'm seeing a President Putin who I think had played

President Trump from the beginning and knew he was doing so.

SCIUTTO: Yes. To Nick Paton Walsh's point, just prior there, an outcome where the U.S. removes itself from the negotiations, perhaps from the war,

we don't know if they go so far as to remove military assistance, is actually a good outcome for Putin. Is it not?

RUDMAN: Oh, absolutely. That's not a threat to Putin. That's a threat to Ukrainian -- to the Ukrainians and to Europe. And I've got to believe even

President Trump recognizes that, or when he's issuing that threat.

SCIUTTO: Yes. So, tell us what happens then. And Europe is clearly stepping up, in terms of aid, military aid, et cetera, and also unity in backing

Ukraine, right? They have said quite publicly they're not going to pressure Ukraine into a deal that it gives up too much, right? Where the concern is

that President Trump might have done that. In a world where the U.S. is not involved, can Europe and Ukraine together hold out against Putin and

Russia?

RUDMAN: If the United States is not involved at all, no, they cannot. And with obviously terrible implications for Europe, for United States

security, for NATO it's not just staying in Ukraine and it's not just staying in Europe.

The United States could take a backseat but still provide some degree of security guarantee that would bolster Europe as they step up, which they

have been doing. And it's -- but it's so unclear what President Trump is willing to do or not willing to do and he is so inconsistent in what he's

saying at any given moment, that it's a terrible predicament. And it doesn't end in Europe because Xi and China is watching this closely, as are

the people of Taiwan and countries in the Asia Pacific.

SCIUTTO: No question. I consistently hear that from folks watching the Taiwan space, that their eyes are very much focused on Europe as well. Mara

Rudman, thanks so much for joining.

RUDMAN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, now to Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, his country will, quote, "take control of the entire Gaza Strip." Have a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Eventually, we will have an area fully controlled by the IDF where Gaza's

civilian population can receive aid while Hamas gets nothing. This is part of the effort to defeat Hamas alongside the intense military pressure and

our massive incursion, which is essentially aimed at taking control of all of Gaza and stripping Hamas of any ability to loot humanitarian aid. This

is the war plan and the victory plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, there are questions about that plan even within Israel. And yet, Israel continues to ramp up attacks on Gaza in recent days, killing

hundreds of people according to Palestinian officials. After now an 11-week total aid blockade, Israel says it will allow a basic amount of aid in Gaza

where there is need, like you're seeing right there before you.

The U.N. says only nine aid trucks were cleared. That's a drop in the ocean compared to what's needed. Jeremy Diamond has more from Israel. We have to

warn you, as we often do that these images from a place such as this are disturbing to see.

[18:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (through translator): The next chapter of Israel's war in Gaza is now underway, and it could be the

deadliest yet. Over the weekend, the Israeli military launching operation Gideon's Chariots, striking Gaza with devastating force. Tens of thousands

of troops now mobilized for the offensive with a new mission from the top.

NETANYAHU (through translator): We have intense, massive fighting going on, intense and immense. There is progress. We are going to take control of the

entire Gaza Strip. That's what we are going to do.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli strikes have killed more than 300 people since Friday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The toll on

civilians is once again rapidly mounting. Among those killed is Ailul (ph) taken from this world just four months after she was born into it. Her

small body now lies on her father's chest while her family searches for words to make sense of it all.

They were all asleep, a mother, father, and their four-month-old daughter, all targeted in their bedroom. Ailul's (ph), uncle Omar says. I don't know

what to say anymore. We've spoken a lot. No one is looking after us. Not Arabs, not Muslims. No one.

In Khan Younis, mattresses and belongings are piled high once again as Israel's new offensive triggers Gaza's latest mass displacement. The

Israeli military ordering hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, declaring the area a dangerous combat zone.

In that same city, anger and frustration boiling over, including at Hamas. Hundreds of Palestinians taking to the streets in a rare protest, calling

for the war to end, and for Hamas to get out.

After pushing Gaza to the brink of famine, Israel now agreeing to partially lift its 11-week blockade.

NETANYAHU (through translator): We need to provide a temporary bridge, minimal basic aid to prevent starvation. That's the current situation we

are in.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli government says several dozen aid trucks will be allowed into Gaza this week until a new Israeli approved mechanism

for aid deliveries becomes operational later this month. Thousands more ready to go. Aid trucks will continue to be blocked. Amid the destruction

of another airstrike in Central Gaza, residents are paying close attention to ceasefire negotiations in the Qatari capital. But here, flickers of

progress lead only to another body that must be wrenched from the rubble.

We went to sleep with hope that tomorrow will be better. And suddenly, everything turned upside down. Raed Abu Elek (ph) says. My message is, look

at this. Stop this war.

More men eventually join Raed (ph) to pull out their neighbor's body and carry him out of the rubble. Signs of hope now seem far away once again.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: One of hundreds of bodies in recent days. Our thanks to Jeremy Diamond there. Just about 30 minutes from now, I'm going to speak to the

director of a new documentary filmed inside Gaza. It's an important eyewitness testimony.

Well, the Supreme Court is giving the Trump administration the green light to potentially deport hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. The court

ruling would bring an end to temporary deportation protections for more than 300,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. Another 250,000 are scheduled to lose

their protected status in September.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has led the push to end those protections. Legal challenges to the ruling however, are expected.

Romania's pro-E.U. candidate has won the country's presidential election in what was a surprising turnaround. Nicusor Dan is a strong supporter of

Romania's membership in NATO and is pledged to continue providing aid to Ukraine. He defeated a hard right candidate who is a fan as it happens of

President Trump.

In Portugal, the country's ruling center right alliance won a snap election. However, it did fall short of a majority. The far-right party

there made record gains and will be the main opposition. In Poland, the nation is now set for a second round of voting for a new president coming

up in two weeks. Warsaw's centrist mayor did win though a narrow victory with about 31 percent of the vote against the Nationalist party candidate,

a far-right party candidate in Sunday's election. That candidate performing better than the polls had indicated.

[18:20:00]

Still ahead, the fight against internet deepfakes. President Trump signs legislation battling one of the most harmful and fastest growing online

trends. We'll take a look, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." On Wall Street, U.S. stocks ended Monday sessions with modest gain. Stocks opened the session lower in

reaction to late Friday's U.S. credit downgrade by the investment firm Moody's. Bond yields also rose. Markets, however, rebounded stock markets

lease later in the day. Moody's citing rising U.S. debt levels and Washington's budget battles blames both of those for the downgrade, it was

the last of the big three ratings firms to strip the U.S. of its pristine AAA rating. It's remarkable.

Over the weekend, the House Budget Committee voted to advance President Trump's legislative agenda, which includes trillions of dollars in new tax

cuts without the necessary spending cuts on the other side. Critics say it will worsen U.S. debt levels. The bill faces a tougher fight in the House

Rules Committee however later this week.

At the White House on Monday, President Trump along with the first lady, Melania Trump, signed into law the Take It Down Act. That new legislation

passed by Congress criminalizes the sharing of deepfake images posted online without people's consent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: With the rise of A.I. image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfake and other explicit images distributed against their

will. This is the wrong -- and it's just so horribly wrong. And it's a very abusive situation, like in some cases people have never seen before. And

today, we're making it totally illegal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The law also requires tech platforms to remove offensive deepfake images within 48 hours of receiving notification of them. Clare Duffy joins

me now. This is one of those kinds of gross internet phenomena, right, that's out there and it's been out there for some time. This is important

bipartisan support. Can you explain how it would work?

[18:25:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes. So, this law really takes on two important protections for victims of this kind of harassment. It is going

to criminalize the sharing of explicit non-consensual images, whether they're real or created by A.I. so that victims could go after the people

that are spreading these images.

It's also going to require that the tech platforms remove these images within 48 hours of being notified of them. So, the criminalization piece

goes into effect immediately. The tech platform piece, the platforms are going to have a year to figure out how to allow victims to notify them that

these images are spreading, and then to figure out how to remove them within that 48 hours, before the FTC starts to enforce this law.

But really significant, right? Because we have seen, especially the use of A.I. generated deepfakes to target not only, you know, prominent figures

like Taylor Swift, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but also high school girls, you know, across the country. This is growing as a form of harassment. This

is also interestingly, one of the first new pieces of legislation that we've seen that is regulating how A.I. generated content can be used.

It was passed with bipartisan support, and I spoke with Ilana Beller. She's an organizing manager at Public Citizen, which is a nonprofit that

supported this legislation, about why there was so much consensus that this legislation was important. She said, A.I. is new to a lot of us, and I

think we're still figuring out what is helpful to society, what is harmful to society, but non-consensual, intimate deepfake are such a clear harm

with no benefit, and I think that really gets at the core of this. There's lots to figure out when it comes to A.I., but this was one area where the

risk was just so clear, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this, because Donald Trump, he hasn't shared the kind of revenge quality stuff, but he has used A.I. generated images

before. He's also used the A.I. excuse at times claimed deepfakes targeting him as a kind of putative excuse for controversial -- for controversy, et

cetera. In the movement, as it were, among advocacy groups, is he considered a reliable partner in all this?

DUFFY: Yes, it's really interesting, right, because he has shown, you know, the power, for better or worse, of using these kinds of A.I. generated

images. And there certainly are a lot of people in the tech space who are worried about the possibility that beyond the explicit deepfake that are

used to harass people, that other kinds of deepfakes could be used to confuse people, to mislead people.

You know, First Lady Melania Trump really got behind this Take It Down Act and supported the passage of it. She lobbied house lawmakers last month.

I'm sure she has had conversations with the president about it. But when it comes to these deepfake that could be used to mislead people, we are

hearing calls for advocates from potentially legislation or sort of regulatory guidelines that would require the tech platforms to include some

sort of watermark, digital watermark that would let people know either by looking at it or by clicking through the image to see the metadata that

A.I. was used in the creation of that to avoid these future instances where people be -- could be confused by these kinds of images.

We don't, at this point, know where the president stands on that kind of proposal, but I think it is an interesting question.

SCIUTTO: Yes. No question because it has a role, not just in personal attacks, but also in disinformation sadly, a cancer on our information

society these days. Clare Duffy, thanks so much for joining.

DIFFU: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: And we'll have more news right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are more international headlines we're watching today. U.S. President Donald Trump

held two separate high-profile phone calls today. First, he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, followed by a nearly two-hour long

conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Trump says Russia and Ukraine will, quote, "immediately" start negotiations towards a

ceasefire and more importantly, an end to the war, but no announcement of a ceasefire now.

The federal criminal trial of Sean Diddy Combs continues in New York City. The jury heard from Combs' former assistant. He testified about Combs'

relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, saying Ventura told him she felt she could not leave. Ventura testified last week accusing

Combs of sexual and physical abuse. Combs has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

A deadly storm system tore through the Central U.S. over the weekend killing at least 28 people. The storm spun up tornadoes, like the one you

see here. Tossing vehicles, just destroying homes. And that severe weather is not going away. Millions of people are currently under the risk of

tornadoes and thunderstorms.

We are learning new details about the ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York over the weekend. Two crew members were killed, more

than a dozen injured when this happened. That's a Mexican Navy training vessel crashing into New York's iconic bridge. The National Transportation

Safety Board gave an update in just the past few hours saying the ship was, well, sailing in the wrong direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN YOUNG, MARINE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: Our recorders group once getting aboard the vessel will make

a full assessment of any recording devices and we will capture that information and retrieve it. And the other question was, it was

approximately five minutes from the time the vessels started coming a stern to this time they struck the bridge. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Gloria Pazmino is following the story in New York. So, if I hear this correctly, it was sailed backwards. In other words, it was under power

heading backwards towards the bridge?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. It is definitely part of what this investigation appears to be focused on. Why was the ship going

in the direction that it was going in when it was supposed to be heading out of the harbor, and certainly not towards the Brooklyn Bridge where it

stuck the bottom portion, as we see in the video.

I do want to show you first before we get to the details of that briefing, just a short while ago, what we are seeing here, because there's a memorial

that has started being put together here, and these are members of the Mexican community here in New York City. They have been praying. They just

sang a song in honor of the people who were killed.

And we have been watching throughout the day as dozens of people have come to pay their respects. They bring flowers, they bring candles. They have

been putting up signs, expressing their condolences for the two people who were killed.

Now, we've learned that a majority of the crew of the Cuauhtemoc is actually backing Mexico. Many of them headed home last night. But 94 of

them remain aboard the ship at this hour. Those are going to be critical people that the NTSB is going to have to interview as part of their

investigation to try and get some information and piece together the details of what happened here.

[18:35:00]

One thing that is really striking from what the officials told us earlier today is just how quickly all of this happened in this span of four to six

minutes, from the point that the ship left Pier 17, started heading out towards the harbor and then and they ended directly heading towards the

Brooklyn Bridge.

There's a few things that the NTSB appears to be focused on right now. First, whether or not there was a loss of power. Second, the speed that the

ship was sailing at the time of impact, and also the role of the tugboat and the operator of that tugboat and whether or not it was operating as

expected.

NTSB officials told us earlier today that they are still working to interview all of those people. Take a listen to the NTSB officials just a

short while ago talking about how fast the ship was going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: We do have a bit of time where it was maintaining a constant speed of about 2.3 knots, and then the speed began to increase, and that's

something we will be looking into as part of our engineering assessment of the operation of the engine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Jim, also critical to point out here that the Cuauhtemoc, which you can see behind me obviously has been damaged. Its masts were broken

when it hit the bottom, the underside of the bridge. And we have been watching throughout the day as the crew members that are still aboard the

ship have been trying to secure the masts and the sails that are tangled around the broken wood and the mangled metal.

We are told that they have to secure those damages before the ship can be moved to the Brooklyn Navy yard, where it will be repaired so that it can

eventually be sent back to Mexico. Jim, the last thing I do want to mention, we learned that Mexican authorities are also working with local

officials here in New York City to make sure that the bodies of the two people who were tragically lost in this incident can be sent back to Mexico

as soon as possible so they can go home to their families. Jim.

SCIUTTO: Man, what a sad event all around. Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much. Well, former U.S. President Joe Biden has been known throughout his

political career as a fighter. Now, he will face one of his toughest battles yet. Biden and his family are weighing medical options after the

82-year-old was diagnosed with what they described as an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which they also said has spread to his bones. Donald Trump

spoke about that diagnosis just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it's very sad, actually. I'm surprised that it wasn't -- you know, the public wasn't notified a long time ago because to get to stage

nine, that's a long time. I think that if you take a look, it's the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine. There was nothing wrong

with him. Well, he said, if it's the same doctor, he said there was nothing wrong there, and that's being proven to be a sad situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Our Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell has more on Biden's condition.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, and many times it can be very, very slow growing.

But the way it's characterized is by something called a Gleason score. And we learned from President Biden's office that his cancer has a Gleason

score of nine. And typically, that describes essentially the way the cells look under a microscope and lower numbers closer to six show that the cells

look closer to normal. A higher number, closer to 10, suggests they look more abnormal and suggests it is a more aggressive form of cancer.

And we know from President Biden's office that the cancer has spread to his bones. They say also that the cancer is sensitive to hormone therapy, and

that's a good thing. Doctors we spoke with said that that is typical, when you first start to treat prostate cancer, often you do see it respond well

to therapy that blocks male hormones.

And a question will be, does that continue to work for the president? And they say that will guide really future treatment options, which could

include things like chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy. So, we understand that the president is working with his family and doctors to

think about treatment options now.

Now, a lot of folks might be asking, you know, how did this only get caught after it had already spread to the president's bones? And doctors say,

that's a complicated question, because if you look at the screening guidelines for prostate cancer in the United States, for men below the age

of 70, it's really an individual decision with their doctors whether to screen routinely for prostate cancer based on just how fast the cancer

often is growing, if it's caught at that stage in the outcomes that change, whether you're screening or not.

But for men over the age of 70, the recommendation isn't to routinely screen using PSA or prostate specific antigen testing for prostate cancer.

And so, while it's unclear if a president would be getting different treatment than the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines, it's

typically not recommended for men over the age of 70 to be routinely screened.

[18:40:00]

But prostate cancer is a very common cancer. One out of eight men in the United States are estimated to have a diagnosis of prostate cancer in their

lifetimes. The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 300,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2025 and more than 35,000 men

will die from the disease.

But a lot of folks are living with prostate cancer. In 2022, the estimate was three and a half million people living with prostate cancer. Doctors

recommend folks, you know, really keep on top of their health, talk with their doctors about their own personal risk factors, and make decisions

about whether screening works for them based on the guidelines. And everyone, of course, wishing the Bidens the best in this journey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Thanks to Meg Tirrell. Get those PSA tests, it's good advice. Still ahead on "The Brief."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you now?

FATIMA HASSOUNA, JOURNALIST: I'm here in Gaza. This is my neighborhood. No one live here or here or there of there. There's no one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: We're going to hear from the director of a harrowing new documentary about the war and life inside Gaza. The story of Fatima

Hassouna, a young photojournalist, you can see her there, who was killed last month in an Israeli airstrike, just after finding out that the film

was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Her story offers a rare firsthand look into life in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: At the opening ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival just last week, the actress and jury president, Juliette Binoche, paid tribute to

Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna. She's the subject of a new documentary, which premiered at the festival on Thursday. Hassouna's

pictures and posts on Instagram and Facebook helped document the day-to-day life and suffering in Gaza during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a war

outside journalists have been forbidden and are still forbidden to cover themselves.

Her story came to the attention of the documentary filmmaker, Sepideh Farsi, and their conversations over smartphones formed the basis for the

new film, "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk."

[18:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you're not afraid.

FATIMA HASSOUNA, JOURNALIST: Afraid of what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you know, the war, the killing?

HASSOUNA: I don't afraid from anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it possible, do you think, that you take the camera out and show me a little bit outside how it is now?

HASSOUNA: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

HASSOUNA: Here. There is the house of my friend's cousin. They bombed it before one month. And they killed whole family. The whole family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, on April 16th, one day after news broke that the film had been selected at Cannes, Hassouna, along with other members of her family,

were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. She was just 25 years old.

Director Sepideh Farsi joins me now from Cannes. Thanks so much for taking the time.

SEPIDEH FARSI, DIRECTOR, "PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK": Thank you. Hi.

SCIUTTO: You know, these visions inside the suffering in Gaza are all too rare from the fact that we mentioned that journalists aren't allowed to

cover this. So, we rely on the voices of people living through it like Fatima. Can you tell us about your initial decision to interview her for

the documentary?

FARSI: Well, what you just mentioned now kept bothering me more and more as the months passed by through -- living through this war from a distance and

as a citizen, as an Iranian who also somehow experienced the war in my teen years. I was obsessed by the fact that no journalists were allowed there,

and I decided to go there to try to get in.

So, I flew to Cairo a year ago, April 24. And I was trying, I was planning to pass through Rafah to go to Gaza. I thought. I'm a filmmaker,

independent. I can make it, but all roads were blocked. So, I was stuck there. And then through one of the Palestinian refugees whom I met and whom

I was filming there, I was introduced to Fatima. And this opened, you know, a world to me. She became my eyes in Gaza.

And we held this lifeline for a year. I mean, talking and filming, conversations every day practically until she was killed by the -- in an

Israeli attack on April 16th.

SCIUTTO: The deep and sad coincidence that she was killed just after the film was selected. I believe we have a clip of that moment when you were

talking to her, when that news broke and just the big smile she had on her face. We will play it now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARSI: Cannes. Cannes is a very big festival.

HASSOUNA: Yes, yes. I know.

FARSI: Yes.

HASSOUNA: I know it.

FARSI: It has been selected for Cannes. Yes.

HASSOUNA: That's so great.

FARSI: Yes. You want to come?

HASSOUNA: Of course.

FARSI: So, because --

HASSOUNA: And if I can come with Moataz, it'd be perfect. It's so amazing.

FARSI: Yes, it is. It is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: You know, and a day later she's gone. I wonder, do you think she knew she might not survive the war herself?

FARSI: I don't know. I will never know. I think she was drifting between this consciousness of the fact that her mission was documenting the war and

the genocide and she was really very adamant about doing it and she knew she was taking risks. But she was also hopeful. She said I would come to

the festival. We were planning to be together here to present it, the film for the premiere. And then she wanted to go back to continue her

documenting, you know, through her photography.

I don't know. I think she was -- you saw her face. She was so full of hope radiating. But I -- she was also aware of the dangers because when you read

her texts now, I've had many poems she sent to me and also posts that she sent to different medias and posted on her media, social media and she did

talk about allowed death she wanted, and she didn't want to be a figure at the end of a column in a journal, you know. So, I think she was drifting

between both those states of mind.

SCIUTTO: Of course, she knew the costs of this war. She lost 13 members of her own family. She described her camera as a gun, in effect, essential to

her to document the work. Can you describe what she meant by that?

[18:50:00]

FARSI: Well, as a weapon, that was -- those were her words. Yes. One day she was -- because we talked a lot about this process of I'm a filmmaker,

she was a photographer. She wanted also later to make films about what it meant to share these images with the world. A weapon in the sense that you.

target people's eyes. You show them what they're not able to see other than by your images.

She had a very -- she had an amazing gaze and a very talented photographer. She was very systematic in her work. I think we lost we lost a great person

in all sense of the term. And that's what she meant by being a weapon, because she was -- you know, I talked to her about Lee Miller's work, for

instance, and many other people we talked about during our calls, and she was very to the point, sharpening her gaze, you know, and continuing this.

And I wish she was here.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, it's sort of like a moderate version of the pen is mightier than the sword, right? Before we go Fatima said, quote, "They

cannot defeat us because we have nothing to lose." And I have to say, during my own time traveling to the Middle East, I hear that more and more

from Palestinians, lost hope. And I wonder, did you feel she had lost hope or that she had a glimmer of hope that documenting the war was her way to

make a difference, perhaps?

FARSI: For sure she did believe that documenting the war was her way of making a difference, but whether she had -- you know what she told me,

these are literally the last phrases she said before we left each other and then I lost her forever. She said, nothing lasts forever in this world.

Even this war will end. And I cling to that hope she had and I really wish, and I'll do anything I can to weigh so that these massacres and this

genocide and this war and destruction will end soon.

SCIUTTO: Well, Sepideh Farsi, we appreciate the work you did here with this powerful film, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk." And we're just sorry

that you had to suffer this tremendous personal loss in the wake of this. Thank you for joining.

FARSI: Thank you. Thank you too.

SCIUTTO: And I'll have more news in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: The world's top golfer has won the PGA Championship to claim his third major title. CNN"s Patrick Snell spoke with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Scottie, many congratulations. A remarkable achievement. I will say though, at times on the front nine, you looked a

bit like a boxer on the ropes. How did you manage to regroup, get yourself back together whilst fighting all that emotion as well on route to your

third major title?

[18:55:00]

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER: Yes, I think that's a good description. Yes, I felt a little like I was on the rope a little bit. This

this golf course will keep you on your toes. And I really -- it was weird because by the time like 7, 8, 9, I felt like I hit really good tee shots

and I looked up and it was just like 30 yards left of where I was looking, which was a bit unusual. But making the turn, I kind of squared my

shoulders up and I hit a really good tee-ball in 10, really good tee-ball in 11. And after that, I really did a good job executing. Hit a lot of

fairways, a lot of greens, and you know, played a really good nine holes when I really needed to.

SNELL: It's been a meteoric journey for you over the last three years, talking big picture now, your first PGA Tour title, the wonderful moment as

well that you've become a father. And now, your third career major. How do you reflect on that journey and how would you describe what it's actually

been like for you? Give us a sense on that.

SCHEFFLER: Yes, that's a great question. I mean, it's really hard to put into words. You know, Mary and I were talking this morning, we still feel

like we're in high school. It felt like we were in high school yesterday. Like we just started dating and all of a sudden, you know, life out here is

pretty cool right now. This is a lot of fun.

But at the end of the day, life at home for us is pretty much the same. You know, we have a good little life and we have great friends at home and, you

know, I'm looking forward to getting home and celebrating with great moment for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Great moment for them. Thanks so much for your company today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay

with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:00]

END