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E.U. Leaders Agree On A Huge Boost To Defense Spending; Trump Puts Pause On Some Mexican And Canadian Tariffs; SpaceX's Starship Spacecraft Explodes Midflight; Court Orders South Korean President Yoon Released From Jail; Trump Backtracks, Delays Tariffs on Canada & Mexico; Vatican: Pope Francis Thanks Supporters in Audio Message; SpaceX Starship Explodes after Another Failed Launch; Athena Moon Lander Appears to Touch Down on Its Side; Using A.I. to Fight Human Trafficking; First Maternity Fund for Professional Tennis Players. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 07, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Reality Bikes for Europe. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fact is that Europe is facing a clear and present danger.
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VAUSE: With Russian aggression to the east and a less than reliable U.S. ally to the West, Europe approves a surge in defense spending.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: This is very much about companies and countries that have ripped off this country.
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VAUSE: The on again, off again, on again. Trump tariffs are off again. The U.S. president announcing hold on new tariffs in Mexico and Canada.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see we've lost several engines and we've lost attitude control of the vehicle.
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VAUSE: SpaceX says its Starship heavy lifter experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly. In other words, rocket goes boom. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John
Vause.
VAUSE: U.S. tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico are now on hold, just three days after they went into effect. The U.S. president says all goods covered by the existing USMCA free trade deal will be eligible for a month exemption. Stocks have been down all week, with many investors worried about the economic impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones lost almost 1 percentage point Thursday, the Nasdaq down more than 2 1/2 points, and the S and P 500 closed down as well. But the U.S. president says the month tariff delay has nothing to do with the ups and downs of the stock market.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm not even looking at the market because long term the United States will be very strong with what's happening here. Now these are countries and companies, foreign companies that have been ripping us off and no president did anything about it until I came along and then I did a lot about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In response to the one month delay by the United States, Canada announced a pause in their tariffs on U.S. imports, while the Canadian foreign minister had this message for Donald Trump.
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MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: This is completely unjustified and unjustifiable coming from the Trump administration. Canada is the biggest trading partner to the US. We're the biggest client. We buy more from American businesses than the U.K., France, China and Japan combined.
So when President Trump actually imposes 25 percent tariffs against our economy and starts a trade war, he is actually going after his own American people because this will cost more for them at the pump, at the grocery store or when they buy a new house or they want to do renovations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The old Republican Party was once all in on free trade deals and were especially opposed to tariffs. CNN's Lauren Fox says more now where Trump's Republican Party stands on tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even before Donald Trump's reversal on Thursday, when it came to these tariffs, you already had a number of Republicans in the House and the Senate expressing concerns about what impact this could have on their states. You have a lot of Republicans who represent agriculture heavy states.
You have a lot of Republicans who represent manufacturers in their state who have been hearing from constituents worried about what the impact would be.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Almost every industry in Kentucky has come to me and said it will hurt our industry and push up prices of homes, cars. And so I want to continue to argue against tariffs.
MANU RAJU, CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent: Should he back off of it if goes -- if it starts to hurt.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): You and when we start losing you back off. You know, there's such a thing as strategic retreat. At the end of the day, I think we have more leverage than any other nation, but we got to be smart and we don't have all the leverage.
FOX: I think the other challenge for so many of these lawmakers is just the back and forth. If you talk to both Republicans and Democrats, they say that one of the things that all of their constituents want is some certainty when it comes to what Donald Trump's plan is when it comes to tariffs.
And these sort of constant reversals or delays in implementation are really putting a strain on their economies back home. And so many of their business owners, their manufacturers, their farmers who they say just want to know what's going to happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Justin Wolfers is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. He joins us this hour from Ann Arbor. Welcome back.
JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Thanks, John. Thanks for happy news.
VAUSE: Well, I mean, at least it's a delay, even though there does seem to be some confusion on the tariff front at the White House with President Trump announcing a pause on the tariffs for all products from Mexico that are covered by the USMCA Free Trade Treaty.
[01:05:10]
That's what he negotiated. He also issued an executive order adding Canada to the delay as well as what the exemption covers, depends on who you ask. Somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of goods from Mexico and Canada may not be eligible for the tariff exemption. It's sort of up in the air. Also, is this a permanent exemption, a temporary one? If know there does seem to be a feeling about this sort of tariffs weren't really ready for primetime when they were announced on Monday.
WOLFERS: Look, John, what this reminds me of is my dog. My dog, Max, whenever we're in the kitchen, he says he wants to be let out into the backyard. I let him out. He thinks it's fabulous for about 10 seconds that he wants to get let back into the kitchen. Let him back in. He looks around, he discovers it's boring. He wants to go back out to the yard.
I don't know if you've got a dog like that. He's lovable, my dog, but he could be annoying. And I never really know what he wants and I don't really know what he's going to want next. And that's pretty much where Trump has left not only the American public, but the entire trading world in trying to keep track of his on again, off again, on again, off again tariffs.
VAUSE: Well, it's a good theory, good analogy rather. Now the leaders of Mexico and Canada, they held separate phone calls with President Trump. He said they described those conversations.
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JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I can confirm that it was a colorful call. I've been having conversations and working with Donald for over eight years now and a lot of it is rolling with it.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So I said to him, we are getting results. President Trump, now that you put in the tariffs, how are we going to continue cooperating and collaborating with something that hurts the people of Mexico?
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VAUSE: Does this month long delay in tariffs make more sense if you look at it from the prism of a drug war and not a trade war?
WOLFERS: No. Here's the simple reason why. The two countries that he's imposed tariffs on because of the drug war, Mexico and Canada. Yes, it's true. Quite a lot of fentanyl comes across the border from Mexico. Essentially none comes across from Canada.
In fact, in some deep sense, we in the United States are exporting our drug problems to Canada. So when you're responsible for less than 1 percent of the drugs coming across the border, this clearly has nothing point, nothing to do with drugs.
VAUSE: Isn't this kind of what happened in Trump's first term with tariffs? So many exemptions were eventually granted, the tariffs became ineffective.
WOLFERS: Yes. And that may actually be the broader theory of tariffs. So let me point out two things that have happened. One, we've all spent a lot of time talking about Trump over the last two weeks as these tariffs go on and off and on and off. And if you -- all you have is main character energy, and you need to get your way back to being the main character, maybe this is how you do it.
But the other thing is we're seeing shifting rationales for why he's doing this. You know, is this about fentanyl? Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. Is it national security? Is it the future of American manufacturing? Is it countering unfair trade practices? Is it to raise money so that we can get rid of the income tax?
On different days, we hear different things, which is why the policy feels so incoherent. It feels that way because it is.
VAUSE: Well, what has absolutely nothing to do with, according to the President and his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, is the ups and downs in the stock market. Listen to this.
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HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: The president wants American growth and American prosperity. OK. And the fact that the stock market goes down a half a percent or a percent, it goes up a half a percent or percent. That is not the driving force of our outcomes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How about 3 percent for the week? That that's what the Dow is down and the market is in the red since Trump took office. Overall, the NASDAQ falling more than 7 percent, the S and P more than 4 percent.
Even if this was about the stock market, the fact that stocks closed down after the delay was announced, it would seem to indicate that the White House has a lot more to do in terms of restoring confidence and calm to try and outdo the crazy of the last couple of weeks.
WOLFERS: Absolutely. So there's, I think, two things the stock market is telling us very clearly. The first is if tariffs are going to work, the way they work is they rebuild American business and create more opportunities for American businesses. The stock market is essentially people betting on the future of American business. Every time Trump takes a step forward towards more tariffs, the stocks fall. That's the market, not some nerdy academic economist like me. That's the stock market saying to the present, we see what you want to do, and we think it's not going to help us.
In fact, we think it's going to hurt. We think it stinks. Now, it turns out that actually just doing the dance of undoing what you just did. This on again, off again, on again, off again, can't make up my mind. Creating uncertainty everywhere. Chaos spiral comes with its own very real cost.
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Any executive you talk with around the world, in fact right now says there's one major risk that they're trying to handle. It's not a serious -- it's not an economic risk. It's the president's mood and the president's impulses. And so, Trump has really shaken the markets and he's led all sorts of measures of uncertainty to, in some cases, absolute records, highs, record highs. When uncertainty is that high, that's going to lead a lot of people to pull up, wait a few months before they're willing to invest or spend money again.
VAUSE: Justin, great for being with us. Justin Wolfers there, nerdy academic analysts in Upper Michigan. Good to have you back.
WOLFERS: A pleasure, John. VAUSE: The European leaders, what was once a distant concern became a
real fear. Now seems to be reality. U.S. commitment to their defense is no longer a rock solid guarantee. At an emergency summit in Brussels, the E.U. approved a surge in defense spending and all but one country signed on to a declaration of support for Ukraine.
There was also ongoing support for Kyiv from the EU. And any peace deal said the E.U. must respect Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity and can only be made with Ukraine at the negotiating table. A grateful Ukrainian president attended the summit.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We are very thankful that we are not alone. And this are not just words. We feel it is very important. You made a strong signal to Ukrainian people, to Ukrainian warriors, to civilians, to all our families. And it's great that we are not alone.
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VAUSE: Seems unlikely the U.S. president will pay a lot of attention to any European peace plan for Ukraine. Even so, a senior E.U. official, he should.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: We all want a peace through strength, a just and lasting peace, but a peace from a position of strength. And this is also in the interest of President Trump to have a peace through strength. And if he wants to achieve this, it is only possible with the support of the European Union and its member states.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And talks between the United States and Ukraine will resume next week in Saudi Arabia. Here's CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: President Zelenskyy's meeting in Riyadh with the Saudi crown Prince on Monday, March 10, I should point out, is something which he said he was going to do when he cancelled the previous meeting in Riyadh just ahead of the U.S.-Russia summit that occurred in Saudi Arabia nearly two or three weeks ago now. His team will then stay on for talks with senior Trump cabinet officials.
Now, this is obviously a bid to try and get that relationship back on track after Zelenskyy sent a letter to President Trump, which he referred to in his Tuesday night speech in positive terms.
Indeed, Zelenskyy does appear to have pretty much acceded to all of the Trump inner circle's demands to fix what they consider to be the fallout from the Oval Office meeting last Friday, which I should say many Ukrainians here feel still was a public drubbing for their wartime commander.
Zelenskyy has said that meeting was regrettable. He says he's really ready to sign the rare earth minerals deal and indeed to commit to peace. So this meeting in Riyadh will be particularly pertinent to see if the deal is indeed signed and also to try and elicit some kind of specifics as the kind of peace deal indeed that the United States wants Ukraine to sign up to remember, it is now casting itself as no longer Ukraine's singular most important ally, but an intermediary between Moscow and Kyiv.
That is a stark and frankly shocking change for Ukraine and also many of its European allies, who in Brussels attempted to shore up, gain support the second time in five days around Zelenskyy talking about the financing of European security, but also of Ukraine's defense as well.
But lingering in the background, in fact, sometimes glaring in the forefront is the recognition amongst these European powers that the peacekeeping plan they're potentially putting together, if there is indeed a ceasefire, is one that can't really succeed without some kind of U.S. logistical or even some said psychological support.
So they're very dependent on how Trump falls in terms of their peace endeavors here. And actually there has been some initial reaction from Moscow as to some of these early proposals from both the European powers and Zelenskyy, hinting at the possibility of a month long partial ceasefire, which would involve a truce in the sea and the air and attacks on energy infrastructure, hints from the Foreign Ministry that won't necessarily be something they're willing initially to go along with. The entire policy on that truce, not completely clear on a senior level.
So much moving here. But the big outstanding question as Ukraine reels still now 48 hours from a pause intelligence sharing, slightly longer from a pause in military aid to exactly what peace plan is it that the White House want them to sign up to for this vital assistance to be resumed.
That's a key pressing question here when lives are lost every night in civilian areas, every hour on the front lines. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: He's free to go. A big legal win for South Korea's impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol, live in Seoul with all the very latest details.
Also, failure really is an option as two space missions fail in one day, both backed by private companies. We'll have the very latest details in just a moment.
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[01:20:00] VAUSE: A South Korean court has ruled suspended President Yoon Suk Yul can be released from jail. He's been detained since his arrest in January on charges of leading insurrection. Lawmakers voted to impeach Yoon after his short lived effort to impose martial law back in
December. CNN's Mike Valerio is following this live from Seoul.
So what we're looking at here are the charges which arose from that attempt at martial law, not actually the impeachment, but this is the leading insurrection. So explain to us what do we actually know at this point and what are the implications for his impeachment?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So John, this all goes back to martial law on December 3rd, when South Korea has now suspended. President Yoon Suk Yeol said that martial law, the military essentially being in charge of law and order, should take over. Because from his point of view, there were quote, unquote, anti-state elements that were within the country's government. That claim shocked the nation and lawmakers voted to cancel his martial law declaration within six hours.
So, he is behind bars right now, John, because investigators have said he's got to face criminal consequences. He should face prison time for declaring martial law back on December 3. But a court here in Seoul has said, you know what, there are problems with putting the elected President Yoon Suk Yeol in jail through this warrant.
They are saying, the court is saying that the agency that arrested him essentially doesn't have jurisdiction over this charge leading an insurrection. So, when he does go on trial for leading an insurrection, there could be huge implications. Now that a court in Seoul has said, the people who arrested him, they didn't even have jurisdiction over this charge. This charge was not in their wheelhouse. This charge was not in their bailiwick.
So, what we're expecting to happen is that the suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol should be able to go home. We don't know when exactly that's going to be. There's a chance that prosecutors could appeal this decision. That's why we don't see pictures of him in a motorcade going back to his home in Seoul.
So he'll be allowed to go back home to wait for the decision on whether he stays or goes as president. That's part of the impeachment process, which is separate from the criminal trial. So in the next few days, we're going to learn if his impeachment is upheld, whether he stays or goes as president.
But this larger matter as to whether he faces prison time for declaring martial law, that effort, John, seems to be thrown into question here by this court saying that he should be released from custody. And the people who arrested him from the Corruption Investigation Office, they may not have had the authority in the first place to arrest him at all. So what this does, this is a huge boost for conservative supporters of South Korea's embattled president.
Expect in the next few hours that it seems as though he could be going home to await these two fateful crossroads in his political career. John.
VAUSE: It gets curiouser and curious. Mike Valerio in Seoul, South Korea. Thank you.
The U.S. president says direct talks with Hamas are underway over the release of hostages still held in Gaza. He stressed no ransom would be paid to Hamas for their release. Still, this is a sharp break in decades long U.S. policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorist organizations.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My understanding is that the long standing U.S. policy is that we do not negotiate with terrorists. So how did you come to the decision to send somebody from your team to negotiate with Hamas?
TRUMP: You have to negotiate. There's a difference between negotiating and paying. We want to get these people out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: When asked what the U.S. will do if the hostages are not released, he said, Donald Trump, this is. You're going to find out. And things get a lot rougher for Hamas.
Meantime, dozens of children from Gaza were evacuated this week for medical treatment along with their families. They're the first in a group of 2,000 young patients heading for Jordan for specialized care which is no longer available in Gaza.
The World Health Organization says up to 14,000 people are in need of medical evacuation out of the devastated Palestinian territory.
Pope Francis speaks to the faithful for the first time since he went into hospital. 22 seconds. We'll tell him what he said in just a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom. A check now today's top stories. E.U. leaders have approved a massive boost in military spending to the tune of about $860 billion. They've also spelled out their vision for peace in Ukraine during a summit in Brussels on Thursday. He calls for a plan that respects Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.
Donald Trump says he'll begin holding bi-weekly cabinet meetings to confer with Elon Musk about cuts being made to the government. The president says the plan is to use the scalpel rather than the hatchet, and it's important to keep what he calls the best and most productive people.
Meantime, Trump is delaying tariffs levied against Canada and Mexico until next month. The move applies to goods covered by the existing USMCA free trade deal.
It's been a tough week on Wall Street with uncertainty around those tariffs. The Dow lost almost a point on Thursday. Now set to have its worst week in two years.
For Canadians, it's not just about the economic impact from the new Trump tariffs. Many are now adjusting to a whole new relationship with the United States, two countries which have been the closest of friends for almost 200 years.
They share a long border and common sports and joint custody of Ryan Gosling.
Here's CNN's John King.
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JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: British Columbia is a living postcard, scenic mountains and gorgeous waters. The importance of trade is everywhere you look.
Canadian lumber waiting at river's edge. Rail cars to carry Canadian crude oil, crops, and more. The bustling Pacific Rim port of Vancouver.
PETER XOTTA, CEO, VANCOUVER FRASER PORT AUTHORITY: You watch it for eight hours, you'll see on average we've got ten ships arriving and ten ships leaving.
We did about 160 million tons of cargo last year. 75 percent of that is those bulk commodities -- grain, coal, potash, sulfur and other agricultural products outbound.
KING: Peter Xotta is the Port CEO.
XOTTA: It's devastating on both of our economies. We've thrived in North America by having a relatively open economy And those trading patterns that exist have been mutually beneficial to both countries.
KING: President Trump paused the tariffs Thursday. Another about face in what is now weeks of on-again, off-again threats.
That uncertainty, Xotta says, leaves Canada no choice but to find new markets, new partners.
XOTTA: It's been a wake-up call, right? It's been a wake-up call for Canadians that we need to figure out a way to not be as dependent.
KING: This rift goes beyond what Canadians see as Trump's bad math. They are furious at his bad manners, his constant insults, calling Canada the 51st state and its prime minister, governor.
DARRYL LAMB, BRAND MANAGER, LEGACY LIQUORS: We've been in this together for a long time. We fought wars together. We went to Afghanistan. We did all this stuff together. Why -- what are you doing here? KING: Darryl Lamb is the brand manager at Legacy Liquors. Yes, this
too, is a front in the new trade war.
LAMB: There's a Yellow Rose right there from Texas.
KING: Yellow Rose.
LAMB: Right there.
KING: So, is it popular?
LAMB: It is. And if this goes into effect, you can't sell this.
KING: It'll be off the -- off the shelf.
LAMB: It's gone.
Tito's Vodka too, also from Texas.
LAMB: Diagram of a trade war.
KING: The premier of British Columbia says his response to Trump's tariffs will be to ban sales of alcohol from states Trump won that also have a Republican governor.
LAMB: We've gone through this before with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We were asked to remove all Russian products from our shelves.
KING: Lamb says some customers rushed to stockpile American favorites, but others want all American products off the shelves.
So mad at Trump for what he's saying about Canada that they're saying, get it out of here.
LAMB: 100 percent. Absolutely.
I'm just worried about this eternal relationship that we've had for 200 plus years being soured for four.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A very weak sounding Pope Francis has released his first audio message since being hospitalized. The Pontiff has been battling respiratory issues for three weeks now.
CNN's Christopher Lamb has the very latest now on the Pontiff's condition.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: After three weeks in hospital, we have heard from Pope Francis for the first time. The Pope releasing an audio message from the Gemelli and playing it here tonight in front of the crowd at Saint Peter's gathering to pray for Francis. This is what he had to say.
POPE FRANCIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (via graphics): I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from The Square. I accompany you from here. May God bless you and The Virgin protect you. Thank you.
C. LAMB: Now, I saw Francis on the day of his hospitalization. It was clear then that he was struggling to speak. And tonight, again it was clear that Francis is having difficulty getting his words out. The Pope speaking in his mother tongue of Spanish as he thanked people for their prayers.
Now, the Vatican tonight saying the Pope remains in a stable condition. And given that, they will not be releasing a medical bulletin on Friday. The next update will be on Saturday.
[01:34:45]
C. LAMB: The Vatican saying the Pope did not on Thursday have any more respiratory crises. He doesn't have a fever and he remains in that stable condition.
So these are all encouraging and positive signs as the Pope battles pneumonia in both of his lungs. He's 88 years old and has a history of respiratory infections.
Of course, there's been a lot of anxiety and nervousness here in the Vatican, as the Pope has been in hospital for 21 days. People have been gathering each night behind me here in Saint Peter's to pray for the Pope.
We will be expecting some brief updates from the Vatican tomorrow, Friday, and of course, another more detailed bulletin on Saturday.
Christopher Lamb, CNN -- Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Test flight number eight for SpaceX and its heavy lifter Starship went -- well went just as well as the test flight number seven.
Not long after liftoff, the Starship exploded Thursday night. Debris was seen in the skies over the Caribbean. SpaceX lost contact with the uncrewed mission a few minutes into the flight.
That's almost exactly what happened last test flight in January, when falling debris littered nearby islands and hit a number of cars.
SpaceX says it's made upgrades to the spacecraft to avoid the same problem, and was boasting about a successful capture of a booster from the rocket as it returned.
The FAA though, is requiring SpaceX to launch not a spacecraft, but an investigation. Another space mission did not go as planned on Thursday as well, with
the Athena moon lander appearing to touch down on its side. That's according to Intuitive Machines, which became the first private company to soft land a vehicle on the moon last year. But that spacecraft also ended up on its side.
The company CEO says Athena is intact and sending out data, but it's not generating as much power as it should be. New images should help them figure out exactly where Athena landed in the coming days. They will work closely with NASA to decide how much of the mission can still be accomplished.
Well, for more on this, CNN aerospace analyst Miles O'Brien joins us. He's also a science correspondent for PBS Newshour.
It's good to see you. It's been a while.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: Hi, John.
V32: Ok, so the best description ever from SpaceX about this incident posting on X, "During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost."
(CROSSTALKING)
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VAUSE: Well, the eighth test flight ended the same way as the seventh.
O'BRIEN: Rocket goes boom. You could say rocket goes boom.
VAUSE: Big boom.
O'BRIEN: You know that. NASA always likes this term off-nominal. But I think SpaceX -- but I think SpaceX takes off-nominal to a whole new altitude in euphemisms.
You know, it's kind of funny, but --
VAUSE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: -- it is, it is interesting how they approach things.
VAUSE: And very quickly, here is how a spokesperson for SpaceX talked about the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN HUOT, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, SPACEX: Obviously a lot to go through, a lot to dig through. We're going to go right at it.
The primary reason we do these flight tests is to learn. we have some more to learn about this vehicle. But we're going to be right back here in the not-too-distant future. And we're going to get a ship to space.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This is the eighth test flight. They've all sort of entered in similar various ways. But failure is a good teacher, and it seems to SpaceX, yes, failure really is an option, but for how long.
O'BRIEN: Yes. It is, it's flipping the famous NASA phrase on its head, you know, Gene Kranz -- failure is not an option.
This is failure, embracing it, going fast, breaking things, almost applying a Silicon Valley ethos to it. Does this sound familiar as we're talking about other things happening in the world?
But the idea is that SpaceX has the freedom to make mistakes like this. A lot of folks at NASA would tell you they don't have similar freedom. but each time they fail, they do in fact learn.
We are on number eight when it comes to Starship. Some of the things seem to be similar, but who knows? It's the thing about when you get into rocket science unlike anything in Silicon Valley involving software, is you got to get a lot of plumbing right? And that's what gets challenging.
VAUSE: Well, another successful failure, this one for a space startup company, Intuitive Machines, their lunar lander named Athena, made it all the way to the moon. But listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLA FOX, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, NASA SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE: We don't know the exact location of the lander. We do know that it is returning data. And we look forward to actually being able to work with Intuitive Machines on a plan to return as much science data and technology data as we can during its stay on the moon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: One possible theory is the spacecraft's laser-based altimeters malfunctioned, much like they did on the first attempt last year.
So, Miles, as you say, this really is all about rocket science. What more do we know about what happened this time and what went wrong for this lander?
[01:39:53]
O'BRIEN: Well, the thinking is that the craft landed softly as it did the first time a year ago but tipped over as it did the first time a year ago.
And interestingly, John, when they flew the first time, there was a protective cover on that laser altimeter and they forgot to take it off, which was a very embarrassing thing if you can imagine.
This time around, they went through literally 82 improvements in their checklist, including taking that cover off. Turns out it didn't work anyway. And so it's on -- it's on the moon. I guess it gets credit for a landing. But certainly doesn't get high
marks from the Romanian (ph) judge. And, you know, interestingly, the CEO of Intuitive Machines, Steve Altemus, is a former NASA guy, and he's calling this an off-nominal mission.
So there you have it.
VAUSE: Well, I love these words. But there is one common thread in both these incidents, in fact, that these are private companies and private moonshots. And you know, NASA sort of isn't on the hook for any of it, really.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's (INAUDIBLE) -- they wrote some checks, certainly, because there are payloads that these enterprises were taking up to the moon for them under the umbrella of the Artemis campaign.
But the idea is what happened a generation ago when NASA said, hey, let's get out of the business of flying cargo and astronauts to low earth orbit. Now, NASA is trying that same approach for the moon.
And you'll recall when they went to low earth orbit and ceded that industry, we got the likes of SpaceX, and now we have Blue Origin and others.
So there is kind of an economy, a burgeoning economy in low earth orbit. Whether that's going to happen on the moon is kind of an open question, because there are lots of questions about whether the whole Artemis campaign will survive Elon Musk and DOGE.
VAUSE: Possibly one of the best reasons for a mission screw up. Do you remember back in 1999, after a year in space traveling to Mars, NASA's climate orbiter burned up in the atmosphere? Do you remember why?
O'BRIEN: Yes. It was a confusion between the metric and the English system and they had their navigation. They had their navigation system off.
One team was using Newton's and the other one was using whatever the other term is. And that -- unfortunately, the numbers were similar enough that nobody picked up on it, and it caused a significant navigation error.
Did I just win Trivial Pursuit for space, by the way?
VAUSE: You did. You are the champion. I doff my cap to you. You're amazing.
Miles, well done. Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: You're welcome, John.
VAUSE: And this is the moment when South Korean fighter jets accidentally bombed homes northeast of Seoul. Officials say 15 people were wounded when military pilots dropped eight bombs on a group of homes and a church in the city of Pusan. The aircraft were participating in a joint live fire exercise with the
U.S. military. South Korea's defense ministry says initial findings suggest a pilot used the wrong coordinates.
No kidding.
We're counting down to My Freedom Day. That's next week here at CNN.
And in a moment, a look at an innovative A.I. tool helping fight human trafficking.
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VAUSE: For years, sexual predators and human traffickers have been able to misuse social media and the Internet to prey on vulnerable children. But a new A.I. bot is giving law enforcement the edge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. We're rolling.
FAYTHE KADONA, HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR AND ADVOCATE: The very first time that I was sold for sex, I was 18 years old, and my best friend's mom sold me for $50 to a man that she knew.
It was this breaking moment in my life of almost like this finality of, you're never going to be worth anything. No one's ever going to love you.
As I got older, I experienced more abuse, and I was trafficked in and out of hotels in Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much do you think is happening online?
KADONA: I think it's easier. It's easier for traffickers to stay hidden. It's easier for buyers to have anonymity.
GRAPHIC: In 2019, the non-profit organization Street Grace partnered with Microsoft to develop an A.I. platform to intercept predators online.
BROOKE RUFFIN, VP/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STREET GRACE-GEORGIA: Transaction Intercept is an online platform for law enforcement to use in their human trafficking operations.
When you log in, you set up an operation. You've spun up a bot. You now have a number where you would place on a nefarious site. Buyers would then message the number found on that ad to pursue a purchase or to strike up a conversation.
Officers can then observe the conversation. They can take over the conversation to gather further intel, or to have that human in the loop that is often needed for prosecution.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So this is a 46-year-old, and he has approached an ad that's 14.
He says, "Hi there, honey. Want to meet up, love?"
The bot says, "Hey there, have to check to be sure."
He asks if the bot is cop. She says no cop. Call me Bridget. How old are you?
I'm 46, honey.
The bot then fully discloses the age at 14. Then the conversation is taken over to go in and make that arrest.
KADONA: I got Involved with Street Grace in 2017. I've been able to help with some of the personas that law enforcement is able to use, because the one thing is, I know how to act in that world.
RUFFIN: The authored bot personas are structured to ask for certain intel that will be needed for prosecution.
In our beta testing over the last several months, within 20 states, we've had 17,925 transactions disrupted. We have intercepted somebody from causing another person harm.
KADONA: There is a piece to this that I didn't see in the beginning. There is a -- there's hope in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Street Grace says Transaction Intercept is building one of the largest data sets of human trafficking buyers and their behaviors in the United States.
Coming up on Tuesday, March 11th, join CNN for My Freedom Day -- a student driven worldwide event to raise awareness of modern-day slavery. Follow the #My Freedom Day on social media and check out CNN.com/MyFreedomDay.
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VAUSE: The future is now with 3D printed meat, a new plant-based, protein-rich meat alternatives, they're not really meat, was unveiled this week at a conference in Barcelona, Spain. Its recipe is extruded layer by layer, fibrous layer from a 3D printer.
That was the apple strudel thing.
The CEO of the startup, Novameat explains what their product could mean for the world's food supply.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIUSEPPE SCIONTI, CEO, NOVAMEAT: What people are looking for is not something that just replicates meat, a copy of meat. What you're looking for is protein with texture. It's all about protein now and protein about being able to serve humanity, the society within the planetary boundaries.
Before we're doing with 3D printers, what we were able to do is just creating the prototypes, a small scale, creating something that is innovative and really superior to what is out there.
And at scale, what you're able to do instead of doing one filament at the time, like you can see in the background, we can do in the factory with a big machine that can do tons per hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And doesn't it look great? Beef tacos. So this is what it tastes like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really like the texture. It's very similar to natural meat and so is the flavor. And then when you are chewing you can feel it breaking up very quickly in your mouth.
It's very tasty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Scrummy. The company is now planning to launch an expanded range of products.
U.S. basketball fans will soon have a chance to buy pieces of NBA history, but it will come with a cost. Jerseys worn by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in their first pro games of their careers will go on auction this spring.
Sotheby's estimates each jersey will sell for about $10 million.
Jordan wore his jersey when he made his preseason debut with the Chicago Bulls in 1984. The auction house describes it as a unicorn rarely found on the market.
[01:54:51]
VAUSE: Bryant's number 8 jersey dates to his start of his legendary career with the L.A. Lakers.
And a game changing moment for women's tennis with professional players now eligible for paid maternity leave. The new financial fund will also cover the cost of parental support and resources, such as grants for egg and embryo freezing and IVF treatment.
Two-time grand slam champion Victoria Azarenka has been a leading advocate for maternity leave. And she spoke exclusively to CNN's Amanda Davies.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VICTORIA AZARENKA, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: It was an interesting way for me to find out that we didn't really have any -- any rules even, in our organization to address maternity leave and stuff like that.
Not everybody has the financial opportunity to just, you know, stop playing and not have any income. So that was a very big project of mine.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: That's the point, isn't it? we've had for a few years now, the protected rankings allowing players to step away from the game.
But the big thing with this announcement and this fund is, it's the financial aspect, because we're talking about players across a huge cross section with a massive discrepancy in terms of earning and financial power, aren't we?
AZARENKA: We have full members covered and we have non-full members covered, which is -- which is very unprecedented, I think in sports.
I feel like it's much bigger than just sport. I think it's such an important topic. In all sorts of life, in all walks of life, people have families. And I think that is a very important conversation to continue to bring to the table.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, the beavers are back. At least two beavers released into the English countryside more than 400 years after their extinction. Specialists say the reintroduction is crucial for rivers and wetlands, and to keep other wildlife safe with their construction of dams, ponds and channels -- construction, I think that should be.
The national trust released two semiaquatic mammals Wednesday, also known as beavers -- calling it a real watershed.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Paula Newton after a very quick break.
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