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Rubio Meets with Pope Leo Amid Growing Tensions with Vatican; Father Says Teen's Health is Suffering in Cuban Prison; Justice Department Sues Colorado and Denver over Gun Laws; Trump Administration Plans to Divert $2 Billion to Pay for USAID Shutdown. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 07, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're learning some more about today's meeting between Pope Leo and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Vatican confirming the two discussed the war in Iran and Lebanon, as well as the humanitarian situation in Cuba. Ahead of today's visit, Rubio denied that the meeting was an attempt at a diplomatic reset, but it follows a string of attacks from President Trump on the Pope.

CNN senior reporter Jennifer Hansler is at the State Department. Jennifer, what are you learning?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Brianna, clearly there was an attempt here to try to reset normal diplomatic relations between Washington and the Vatican after this incredibly tense past few weeks where Trump has continually attacked the U.S.-born pontiff. Both the State Department readout of the meeting, as well as the Holy See readout of the meeting, have stressed that it is important that they have a strong and good relationship between these two leaders.

Now, according to the Holy See readout, they called this a cordial discussion, that the shared commitment to cultivate good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was renewed. They said there was then an exchange of views on the regional international situation with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly for peace.

Now, Brianna, it seems that a lot of these gaps are still in place between the administration and the Pope. He continues to speak out against the war in Iran. That is what prompted President Trump to go after him so many times, falsely claiming that Pope Leo wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. We should note that is not something he has said.

[14:35:00]

There is also a significant gap between the two sides here on the issue of migration. Pope Leo has repeatedly expressed the need to welcome asylum seekers and refugees. The Trump administration has put up policies that have blocked such people from coming to the United States. So still a significant gap here. Ahead of this meeting, Secretary of

State Rubio had stressed that he wanted to work together on issues of common concern. He specifically mentioned Cuba, where the Catholic Church has helped the United States distribute some $6 million in humanitarian aid on the island. But there is still a lot of work here in terms of reestablishing normal diplomatic relations.

According to our Chris Lamb, it was Rubio who initiated this meeting with the Pope here today in the Vatican, Brianna. And he's going to continue his tour of trying to sort of normalize relations with people and leaders who Trump has gone after. He is meeting tomorrow with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had voiced a concern in opposition to the Trump's attacks on the Pope. Trump said in a recent interview that he was surprised by that.

And he said quote, "I thought she was brave, but I was wrong." So a lot is at play here on this trip to Italy and the Vatican -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, maybe a bit of a goodwill tour. Jennifer Hansler, thank you -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: As Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Pope Leo at the Vatican, the family of a 16-year-old being held prisoner in Cuba is sending them an urgent plea for help. Jonathan Muir Burgos is being held in a maximum security adult prison accused of protesting the Cuban government. His father, an evangelical pastor, tells me his son is being persecuted for his faith.

And now behind bars, he says the teen is sick, rapidly losing weight, and in danger. Pastors Elier Muir and his wife, Minervina Burgos, run a church the Cuban government has deemed illegal. And since first speaking out against the regime decades ago, Muir says his family has been repeatedly targeted, harassed, and even threatened with death.

In mid-March, their son joined an anti-government protest in his hometown of Moron, where at least one person was reportedly shot by authorities after some demonstrators broke into the Communist Party local headquarters, dragging out equipment and furniture into the street and setting it on fire. His father says Jonathan did none of that, arguing the charges he's facing are false, the prosecution rigged, designed to make an example of his son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIER MUIR, FATHER OF JONATHAN MUIR BURGOS (through translator): My son went out with the crowd because of the scarcity, the need, the suffering we cannot escape from, lack of food, clothing, medicine, and so many other things. There, he expressed himself. Why is it that in the videos, a large crowd can be seen protesting, a large percentage of the city of Moron, acting in front of party headquarters?

Why is it that so many of them are free without being charged and others are out on bail? But my son, whose life and health are at risk, who needs to be released, why is my son not free?

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: The 16-year-old's family says he suffers from a series of health issues dating back to childhood. Immunological illness, a chronic skin condition, even parasites, all of which they say require treatments from four different specialists, none of which they claim are being administered behind bars.

We reached out to the Cuban embassy here in D.C. about the teen's treatment and received no response. Though a state-sponsored outlet recently published this photo of the teen playing keyboard during a cultural event, claiming that he was smiling, standing, and moving his hands with precision. According to the family, Jonathan told them he was promised special treatment for taking the photo, in which they say it is clear he has lost a significant amount of weight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUIR (through translator): How much weight the boy has lost, how he continues losing weight, because the food is very inadequate. Also, due to the stress and the inadequate conditions the boy is living under that have had an impact, it has provoked a reaction inside and outside Cuba, as people have truly come to realize what these people are capable of doing. People who dedicate themselves to destroying, to denigrating, to stripping away a person's integrity, their reputation, the dignity of a child, of a child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We should note, Cuban law sets the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 16, and President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said that there are no political prisoners being held on the island. Nevertheless, after a review of his case, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued an emergency order last month, granting him precautionary measures after concluding that the teen is in a situation of gravity and urgency, given that his rights to life, personal integrity and health are at risk of irreparable harm in Cuba.

Again, we reached out to the Cuban embassy about the order several times and received no response, though in the past, Havana has ignored similar rulings. Jonathan's family says their best hope now rests across the Atlantic, as they're sending this message to Pope Leo and Secretary Rubio.

[14:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MINERVINA BURGOS, MOTHER OF JONATHAN MUIR BURGOS (through translator): Three days ago, my boy called me and told me that, please, could I write a letter to the Vatican, to the Pope, and make him aware of his situation of being in prison there in that prison? He has faith that the Pope can do something to get him out of there, as he has done for so many prisoners.

MUIR (through translator): So we use this visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who, God willing, will be visiting the Vatican this week, including the Pope, so that he may convey this immense need we have for our son to be free so that we can assist him and attend to his health, which is in a very delicate state, and whose life is at risk there, in that place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We reached out to the State Department about Jonathan's case. They declined to comment, though Secretary Rubio, as you just heard in our report, previously said his discussions with the Pontiff would include the situation in Cuba. A conviction on the charge that Jonathan Muir Burgos is facing is punishable with a minimum sentence of seven years in prison.

Still ahead, the battle between the Department of Justice and Colorado over a gun control law that's been on the books for more than a decade. The state says it's to prevent mass shootings. The Justice Department, though, says it's a violation of the Second Amendment.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The Trump administration is taking action to roll back some gun control policies in Colorado. The Justice Department filing a new lawsuit against a state law that bans high-capacity ammunition magazines. It's a law that passed after the 2012 mass shooting that killed a dozen people and wounded 70 at a movie theater in Aurora.

The DOJ is also suing Denver over a city ordinance from nearly 40 years ago that bans many semi-automatic rifles. The agency argues that both laws violate the Second Amendment, and now state and city officials are vowing to fight back.

I'm joined now by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Mayor, thank you so much for taking time to be with us. First off, just what's your response?

MIKE JOHNSTON, (D) DENVER MAYOR: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Yes, thanks for being here. What's your response to these suits, both against Denver for this assault weapons ban, as it is called by the city, and also against the state of Colorado for this ban on high-capacity magazines?

JOHNSTON: Yes, these are preposterous arguments by the federal government. These laws are both 100 percent constitutional, and they're also 100 percent common sense. I mean, we've had this law in the books in Denver for 37 years.

It's been -- you know, laws like it have been challenged by six different federal courts of appeals. All of them have found them constitutional. But more importantly, it's a common-sense idea that takes weapons of war off the streets of our city.

You know, Denver's had the largest reduction in homicide of any big city in the country the last year, and we've done that in part because we're taking more and more dangerous guns off the street. And so I worked on this bill in the legislature at the state level. What I think people are happy about is that we actually took action on these things.

You see these tragedies, and then nothing happens. We said we don't think there's any reason anyone needs a 100-round magazine ever to go skeet shooting or to defend your home. Those are weapons of war used to kill people as fast as possible, and we don't need those on our streets.

KEILAR: Why did Denver put its ban on the semi-automatic weapons in place?

JOHNSTON: You know, this was done 37 years ago, so it was long before my time, and I think Denverites had a common belief that there are good uses for guns. I'm a gun owner. Many Denverites are.

A lot of it might be self-defense, might be sporting, but no good hunter needs a 100-round magazine to shoot a deer, and we don't think it makes the city any safer to have them. And so long before my time, there was a common-sense decision made that we should ban assault weapons from Denver, and it's resulted in us having far fewer of those kind of dangerous weapons on the street, and our police is very grateful for that.

KEILAR: DOJ's complaint against Denver says that the ordinance uses politically charged rhetoric used by anti-gun publicists, that the term assault weapon is not a technical term in the firearms industry, and in reality, this means ordinary semi-automatic rifles that many Americans own, like AR-15-style rifles. The Denver law goes on to define what it means by assault weapon.

Is it something that Denver would consider to change that label? Why do you think that label's important?

JOHNSTON: No, we would definitely not change it, and the reason why is we know what it is that kills innocent civilians in massive numbers in these mass shootings, and it is the number of bullets that you have in a magazine that can be fired rapidly. And so our Colorado law, I think, is the landmark. That's why we focused on high-capacity magazines as the single most important indicator because we've had tragedies in Colorado, like the Columbine shooting, where that shooter used a handheld.

It's called a Tech 9 D.C. because it was designed for California to get around an assault weapon ban. It was a handgun with a 30-round magazine. Any 30-round magazine, 60-round magazine, those are designed to shoot as many people as possible, as fast as possible.

We don't think there's any valid reason for a citizen to need those, and so we think we've appropriately focused on the thing that's the single biggest driver that puts public safety at risk, and it's the number of rounds folks have in a chamber that are not for sport, they're for murder, and that we don't need.

KEILAR: The state Supreme Court found in 2020 that the state's ban on these large-capacity magazines does not violate the state constitution. But, of course, this could head very well to the Supreme Court of the U.S., and now you're looking at the Second Amendment. With that in mind and with this court's record on guns, are you concerned that they'll rule against Denver, possibly, Colorado, possibly?

JOHNSTON: We are happy to take that argument to any court in the nation, and we've won in every court that it's been challenged. We believe we'll keep winning.

[14:50:00]

No one's debating anymore whether the Second Amendment entitles you to have an RPG or to have an M1 tank or to have a bazooka. That's not a question. We know that the right to bear arms as envisioned in the Second Amendment is about individual capacity for self-defense.

That is purely protected by all sorts of gun ownership. It does not entitle you to use the weapon designed for the American military to kill as many people as possible. That's not a need protected by the Second Amendment. We have a freedom of speech that doesn't allow you to yell fire in a crowded theater to make things up.

There are natural limits on all of our rights, and this still allows us to protect the Second Amendment and say no one needs this weapon of war in an American city.

KEILAR: But are there any decisions the court has made that give you pause, that perhaps it's not going to go that way?

JOHNSTON: No, the only things people will point to is the Heller case, which was a ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., was one that they overturned. That's an entire category of firearms that are regularly used for things like concealed carry. If you're someone that is an off-duty law enforcement officer or if you're someone who wants to carry a handgun for self-defense, that is one of the acceptable uses for a common practice.

There is no acceptable common use for a 100-round magazine on an AR-15 other than to try to shoot as many people as possible as quickly as possible before our law enforcement officers can respond. That's not a valid use under the Second Amendment, and we think any reasonable court will find that.

KEILAR: Yes, I will note that some advocates for that weapon will say it is for self-defense. I know the Trace has done an analysis that shows there are not that many times where it has been used for self- defense, but certainly there is a strong contingent out there that feels it is necessary for that.

Mayor Mike Johnston, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time today.

SANCHEZ: Thanks for having me. Have a great day.

KEILAR: You too -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. A federal judge in Georgia says he will not be ordering the Justice Department to return all of the 2020 election ballots seized from Fulton County earlier this year. County officials have demanded their return, arguing the FBI was misleading when it obtained a search warrant. The judge, though, said the county did not meet the high legal bar for him to intervene. Fulton County officials have now vowed to keep fighting.

Also, the man who allegedly fired shots at Secret Service agents on Monday near Vice President J.D. Vance's motorcade has now been charged. Michael Marks is facing three charges, including assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon. The agents were able to apprehend the suspect, but Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn says the man did hit a juvenile bystander.

And some 50,000 adoring fans filled Mexico City's main square to catch a glimpse of BTS. The South Korean K-pop band stood alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum on the National Palace balcony to acknowledge their so-called BTS Army gathered below. The group had just finished a meeting with Sheinbaum ahead of their three sold-out concerts in Mexico City beginning tonight.

She posted on X thanking the group for promoting what she calls a culture of peace and inclusion in their music.

This just in, American passengers who were on board the ship experiencing a hantavirus outbreak are now being monitored in five U.S. states. The latest details on the story when we come back.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: CNN is learning that billions of dollars intended to bolster global health is now going to cover the cost of closing the U.S. Agency for International Development, also known as USAID. Congress initially approved those funds for programs that tackle things like malaria, HIV, maternal health issues, and more. But the Trump administration now plans to redirect that money to pay for USAID's impending shutdown.

CNN correspondent Brian Todd is following this. All right, Brian, tell us how this is going to work.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, you know, when we talk about budget allocations, often people's eyes glaze over. But when you think of the number of people who could die as a result of this, it is really ominous. This is new reporting from our colleague Lauren Kent.

She has obtained a congressional notification on how this money is going to be spent. What she's found from that notification is that there are plans to redirect, as Brianna mentioned, about $2 billion that would have been spent on important global health programs, redirecting that money toward the cost of shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID. You remember last year when they shuttered that organization, closed down a lot of those programs. Two federal health policy experts tell CNN Congress had appropriated that money to fight things like malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, AIDS, to deal with maternal and child health, nutrition, and global health security. Instead, what is that money going to be used for? It's going to be used for things like legal fees, pending invoices, and the sales of assets, all connected to the dismantling of USAID.

The catastrophic effects of this, really staggering. This is according to the Health Security Policy Academy, which Lauren Kent consulted for this story. They say this could lead to an estimated 121,000 preventable deaths from tuberculosis and at least 47,600 preventable deaths from malaria.

Just this reallocation, again, of $2 billion that would have been spent on these programs toward the cost of dismantling USAID. Brianna, very, very concerning.

KEILAR: Yes, that's a lot of deaths. There's also some new worrisome information about how the administration is spending money on a critical HIV AIDS program.

TODD: That's right. Now this is, we have to point out, this is a separate pot of money than the one we were just talking about. But according to Lauren Kent's report, the Trump administration not spending as much money as it was congressionally allocated to fight HIV AIDS in a very critical program to fight HIV AIDS.

They are underspending that by about $1.7 billion. Again, this is money that was congressionally allocated that they are not spending on a critical program to treat HIV AIDS ...

END