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Blue Origin Rocket Explodes During Ground Test; Soon, Pam Bondi to answer questions on DOJ handling of Epstein Files; Urgent Rescue Now Underway for Five Men Trapped Deep in Flooded Cave. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 29, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, a huge fireball lights up the sky after a Blue Origin rocket just explodes on a launch pad in Florida. What caused this now major setback for NASA's plans for the mission to the moon?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We are standing by for former Attorney General Pam Bondi set to arrive for long-awaited testimony about her handling of the Epstein files.

And at this moment, a rescue attempt underway to free five people trapped in a remote underground cave for more than a week. A CNN team has arrived on the scene. We're getting new updates just in.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: Let's start this morning with a new investigation now underway to find out what caused a Blue Origin rocket to just explode. It's big right when it begins, and then it just gets bigger. Just watch this video, the moment the New Glenn erupts into a fireball on the launchpad during what's called a hot fire test in Cape Canaveral.

The space company, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, said all staff are accounted for and safe, thankfully. Now, the search for answers. They're still working to figure out what caused it. Blue Origin announced just this week that the rocket was cleared to launch once again after it did have earlier issues that also prompted an FAA investigation.

CNN's Ryan Young tracking this one for us. I mean, Ryan, the video is quite something. Thankfully, everyone's okay, but my God.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the video is just amazing when you look back at it. You talk about those earlier problems, that was back in April 19th, and, of course, the FAA is still looking into that. But this rocket experienced an anomaly during a ground test known as a hot fire.

This happened just after 9:00 last night, and that explosion is something that I think people in that area, in Orlando, will be talking about for quite some time. It really lit up the night sky. And when you listen to the people who live around that area, they talk about the fact they could feel their homes moving, they could see that light in the sky, that mushroom cloud so big.

Of course, a lot of the data that's going to be involved in this still has to be looked through. Talking about a statement from Jeff Bezos, like you said earlier, the good news here, no one was hurt, and we're actually told that area still can be used to launch other satellites or other rockets in the near future.

But at the end of the day, it is very hard to do flights, rocket flights, and we're starting to see the company go through some of its growing pains when it comes to this particular rocket. So, of course, Blue Origin's saying that this was a test flight for this, so we knew that they were going to be using that rocket to sort of call a test fire.

But at the same time, a lot of questions this morning about how they move forward, what is next and how it goes forward. Because, of course, there's a lot of people who have been paying attention to the Blue Origin rocket, and, of course, we're excited about the idea of moving to space. But at this point, not a lot of data when it comes to what happened. We'll be looking into this the next few hours as they give us more information. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And Jeff Bezos saying in a social media post, rough day. They'll clean up, pick up, do it again because it is -- they'll fly again because it is worth it. Absolutely. Thanks so much, Ryan. John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, former Attorney General Pam Bondi faces questions from Congress on the release of the Epstein files. Now, this is not what the House Oversight Committee initially wanted. They first subpoenaed her in March when she was still in office, but now the committee chair says Bondi will not be sworn in under oath. This will not be videotaped. There will be a written transcription.

With us now, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Counselor, great to see you. First, I want to talk about the substance here about what you would ask the former attorney general were she before you, not under oath, but sitting there answering questions.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, John, first of all, even though she's not technically under oath, she still has to tell the truth. It still is a crime to lie to Congress. I don't expect her to do that, but the oath is really just ceremonial.

So, I've got questions. First of all, how did it possibly happen that victim names were released in some of these disclosures by DOJ? Of course, that violated the victims' rights to privacy. How did it happen? Was anyone held responsible?

Second of all, there are redactions that still remain throughout the Epstein files where the names of people are deleted from emails and other correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, where they are explicitly discussing girls, and in some case young girls. [07:05:06]

If you want to see a list of those, there's a an article up on CNN's website called 13 documents with unexplained redactions. The law specifically says you cannot remove or withhold the names of individuals if it might cause them political embarrassment or political damage.

So, why were those names redacted? Unfortunately, because Pam Bondi is no longer the attorney general, she can't really answer any question about will you, in fact, properly release those names, but she needs to be challenged on that.

BERMAN: Okay. And now a little bit about the process. You already talked about the fact she's not under oath. She still has to be honest, else she could, in theory, be prosecuted down the line. It's not being videotaped. What's the significance there? And also, Elie, because this is an interview, what happens if Pam Bondi decides she doesn't want to answer a question? Or what happens if she goes after one of the members of Congress or staffers asking the question, which she's done in public testimony before?

HONIG: Right. So, the absence of cameras is a major factor. Whenever cameras are present, it tends to impact the way people act, especially public officials and members of Congress. I just ran into a member of Congress on the committee in the green room. He said it will be transcribed, so we will at some point have a word by word transcription of what she says.

Now, if Pam Bondi just simply says, I'm not answering that, or refuses to give a responsive answer, technically, the members of Congress can eventually re-subpoena her. I think that's unlikely as a practical matter. And, technically, they can go to a judge and ask that judge to order her to comply to answer certain questions.

But those are onerous steps. I get the sense that everyone involved wants this to be a one and done, especially given the recent disclosures about Pam Bondi's unfortunate health situation.

BERMAN: And then I was reading in the Los Angeles Times this morning, and I wasn't aware of this, that the attorney general's office, the Justice Department, is going to have a representative in that room. Harmeet Dhillon will be there monitoring this. What's the impact of that?

HONIG: Yes, that's not unusual, because even if a former DOJ employee or official is testifying, DOJ itself may still have an ongoing institutional interest in making sure that person doesn't do anything that violates guidelines or disclose information that should not be disclosed.

Now, Harmeet Dhillon is a very high-ranking official at DOJ. I believe she's the number three official in the whole department at this point in time, and she's somebody who is quite political. She's a loyalist to Trump, so that perhaps is unusual. Usually, you just have someone, sort of a dry person out of the counsel's office or the ethics office or something like that. So, they are entitled to have someone there to protect DOJ's institutional interests.

BERMAN: All right. Elie Honig, Counselor, great to see you. Thank you very much for this explanation. I know you will be on-call for any word of what's going on behind these closed doors today, if and when we get it.

In the meantime, we are awaiting an update on the rescue attempt for the five men trapped deep in a flooded cave. A CNN crew just arrived on the scene. We have remarkable access to this. Hopefully, we're getting new information just in.

And at least three people are dead after an explosion rips through an apartment complex. What police say was behind the blast.

And how do you spell champion?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Melengket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: M-E-L-E-N-G-K-E-T.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teraglin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: T-E-R-A-G-L-I-N.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homelny.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chikungunya.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: C-H-I-K-U-N-G-U-N-Y-A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bromocriptine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: The breaking news that we are following, the rescue attempt to save five men who have been trapped deep inside a flooded cave now for ten days. The rescue is now underway. A team of expert cave divers arrived on the scene this morning.

We're going to show you some new video that we have brought in of the rescue team just squeezing through these narrow passageways trying to get into the cave. You can just see how incredibly tight it is at points. They've been pumping floodwater out of the cave all night in an effort to try and clear a passageway so that the trapped men can make their way out.

We're going to show you now also a diagram that will give another view of just how challenging this operation is. Five men are stuck nearly 1,000 feet inside the cave.

CNN's Will Ripley is live at the rescue site deep in the Laos jungle. Will?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the farthest we're allowed to go without getting permission to join rescue crews who are heading up that dirt road there. You can actually see the piece of heavy machinery that's being used to clear this road. They've been clearing the road in the last few days because they want to bring in a large generator and, in fact, multiple generators that they're using to pump the water out of the cave.

I just want to walk you around and show you a little bit more about this scene here. This is basically the main access road where they're bringing in food, they're bringing in supplies, and they're bringing in personnel. We just saw a team of cave divers who arrived here a short time ago. They actually flew in by military helicopter, landing in this small village.

A lot of the people who are involved not only in this search, but also those who are trapped in the caves themselves, they come from this surrounding village. And you can just see the condition of the roads here. You also see emergency vehicles like an ambulance on standby. You can see from the road, from the puddle there, how much it's been raining in recent days.

But the good news today, if you look up, you can see it's been blue skies, and they have had a period of dry weather.

[07:15:04]

So, they're saying that they've drained the water to the lowest levels inside the cave that it has been since the beginning of this search and rescue effort. And that means that in the coming hours, we're told they may attempt to bring the survivors out if their physical condition is well enough that they can actually walk out on their own and don't need to be carried out on stretchers.

We've actually seen the divers practicing putting people on stretchers if need be, but some of the areas of the cave are so narrow, the survivors are going to have to have the strength to crawl through themselves, and some of them have been saying that their health condition is deteriorating. Sitting in that cave underground, breathing in that air, they're starting to really wear on them and take a toll on their bodies.

So, time is of the essence here at the search and rescue headquarters as cave divers are hoping that they can bring these people safely home, although they're still searching for two others who remain missing.

Will Ripley, CNN, in Central Laos.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BOLDUAN: All right. We've been able to reconnect. It's understandable. Communication is tough in this part of a jungle. Will Ripley is with us.

Will, I hope you can hear me. It's remarkable that you were able to make it there. Tell me what you've seen and what's going on.

RIPLEY: Hey, Kate. Yes, we flew in on a helicopter a few hours ago, and were able to fly over these limestone mountains and these dense jungles where there is this underground cave network, and there are lots of these hidden pockets and underground rivers. And that's exactly where they're now conducting this rescue operation as we speak.

And it's a very dangerous time because for an experienced, strong diver to climb from where these villagers, these five villagers are located, to the mouth of the cave, you're talking about at some points having to crawl through very, very narrow spaces, and even climb up at a 45-degree angle. It takes an experienced diver three hours to get up there.

And you have now these men who've been underground for well over a week. Some of them are in deteriorating health. And so the real big question is, are they even going to be able to make it? And they're going to have to do it one at a time.

But the reason why they're trying to do it now is because of the blue skies above me. We have had dry weather throughout the afternoon today, and this is actually the first day where they haven't had rainstorms. Even though they were in the forecast, they haven't materialized. So, they were able to bring in generators up that road that they carved into the side of the mountain, and we've seen the heavy machinery going up and down. And those generators are helping them to pump out the water to the water levels now being the lowest they've been since they began this search and rescue operation.

But it's really critical. I mean, just a couple of weeks ago in the Maldives, there was a trained rescue diver who was actually killed in an operation, and this one, this operation is far more complex and far more dangerous because you're talking about a mining shaft that has been dug by hand. There's still fears about whether this actual -- it's stable enough to support what's going to be happening, to support all of the activity.

You can see we've got a couple of ambulances here. They're standing by. As soon as they get somebody out, they're going to try to bring them out, get them in an ambulance, and get them checked out at a nearby hospital.

But just getting to medical care is also a challenge because our helicopter flight from the capital here to Central Laos took us about an hour. But by car, to get to those medical facilities, you have to drive close to ten hours. Our drivers left early this morning with all of our things because we couldn't fit all of our things in a helicopter, and they still have yet to arrive. And right around in this area, you just don't have the infrastructure to deal with people who might have serious injuries.

You can actually see right behind me, see this is one of the pieces of heavy machinery that's coming down right now that's been digging this road. It's been carrying people back and forth.

So, we're going to keep out here. We're going to keep watching to see what unfolds, but these are really critical hours to come here as this rescue operation here in Central Laos now underway. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Well, as long as we have this connection, which we're very thankful for you and your crew and everything you've done to get there, I just want to -- I think what you're really kind of bringing to light is it's not only -- I mean, where you are, there is nothing around. I mean, they're moving people to the mouth of the cave in like a heavy earth mover.

And as you said, three hours for someone who's fit, rested, and experienced from where these men are to the mouth of the cave, and you have to wonder how these poor men are going to be able to do it. I mean, you really kind of bringing to light, like, it was such a relief they were found alive, but it is so far from the end of the story.

RIPLEY: You're absolutely right. In fact, we interviewed a woman whose husband is one of the five. She broke down in tears because she said, frankly, she's been mentally and physically exhausted. She basically hasn't slept for the last nine days. Every day she walks up this road to go wait by the cave entrance, hoping that she's going to reconnect with her husband.

[07:20:00]

The same thing for a couple of women whose brothers are inside the cave. They've been bringing food for the rescuers, and also hoping that they'll bring some of that food down into the cave to feed the villagers who've also been able to send back video messages to their loved ones, saying that they're okay, that they're staying strong.

But in the last day or so, some of them have started to complain, Kate, about increasing problems with their breathing. You know, the air quality in the cave is a big concern because there's a lot of CO2 and the flow of the air is not necessarily consistent. And so it's really urgent that you get these guys out as quickly as possible and get them to medical care.

But I can't state enough just how difficult it is going to be. Just imagine if you've been in that situation in pitch black, didn't have any food for a week, and now maybe you have a little bit of food, but you're still really struggling with your health, to have to basically crawl through a space that's less than two feet wide, in some cases having to exhale, wiggle yourself through, or crawl sideways on your stomach.

And then talking about a 45-degree angle that you have to climb up to get out, and you have to do all that by your own power. It's extraordinarily difficult for even strong people. And so for people that have been inside this cave, it's going to be an absolutely monumental challenge for them. And a lot of rescuers, a lot of people who've been showing up, volunteering, seeing if they can help really around the clock, they still continue to be out here at the scene seeing what they can do.

BOLDUAN: Time is of the essence, absolutely.

Will Ripley and his team on the ground there right at where the rescue operation is kicking off, thank you so much, Will. We're going to watch this all throughout the morning, and Will is on site for us.

Also ahead for us this hour, new video is coming in of law enforcement and protesters clashing, reports protesters being pepper sprayed at a New Jersey immigration facility. We've got new details coming in of what happened overnight.

And Knicks fans are going to have to wait a little bit longer to see who they're going to play in the finals after the Spurs force a game seven.

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[07:25:00]

BERMAN: All right. This is a gift to basketball fans all around the world, going to a game seven. Two just phenomenal teams, the Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Patrick Snell with us now. It's going to be something.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, John, hi. Yes, it's been already such a fascinating series. Just when it seems like one team has the other one figured out, they flip the script in the very next game. It feels like this series was meant to go the distance.

Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama didn't speak to reporters after game five, but coming out here, making a real statement. Right off the bat, he hit two threes in the first 90 seconds of this game, and by the end of the first half, he had more points and shot attempts than he had all of game five.

This one was all San Antonio here against the Thunder in the fourth quarter. I mean, how do you stop this guy? Just throwing the ball up for the one-handed alley-oop. The Spurs would go on to win easily 118- 91, forcing game seven Saturday night. The New York Knicks will be keeping a very close eye on that one, I suspect.

Lionel Messi will play for Argentina at the World Cup, which begins on June the 11th in Mexico. The U.S. and Canada are also co-hosting. It'll be Messi's sixth World Cup. And the biggest match in club football takes place tomorrow, Paris Saint-Germain facing Arsenal in the Champions League final.

Today, day six of the French Open in Paris, the year's second slam tennis event, another eye-catching, dazzling performance from Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka yesterday. The former world number one taking on Croatia's Donna Vekic wearing a white floor-length flag train over a metallic gold jacket. Osaka also getting the job done in straights. She next faces teenage American Iva Jovic.

No doubting the story of the day on Thursday, though, as the world number one Jannik Sinner was eliminated after wilting in the Paris heat. Things seemed to be going well for Sinner when he was leading Juan Manuel Cerundolo by two sets and up 5-1 in the third, but then the wheels coming off. The Italian star said he felt dizzy on court. He wanted to vomit. He never recovered. He lost the match in five sets, departing in the second round, a massive career win for the world number 56 from Argentina.

Lots to talk about, John, I'll send it right back to you.

BERMAN: Yes, something was clearly wrong with Sinner there. I'm sure he will be back and ready to go by Wimbledon.

Pat, thank you very much for that.

All right, a man is facing charges for trying to tear down his own house with his family still inside.

And this might be the worst field trip ever. Students stuck on a rollercoaster 100 feet into the air. This is why you go to the science museum.

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