Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Top Intel Officials Shift Responsibility On To Hegseth; Ukraine And Russia Agree To Cease Fighting In The Black Sea; South Korea Fires Kill At Least 18 People; Oscar-winning Palestinian Director Hamdan Ballal Released From Detention; Thousands Turn Out For Turkey Protests After More Than 1,400 Arrests; Top Intel Officials Shift Responsibility To Defense Secretary; Chinese EV Maker BYD Eclipses Tesla Sales, Tops $100B; Florida Considers Allowing Teens To Work Night Shifts; Nigerian Startup Aims To Redefine Dining At Work; Pope Came So Close To Death, Doctors Mulled Ending Treatment. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 26, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:25]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom. Signal gate goes to Capitol Hill. Senior Trump officials unable to record details about what was discussed in a now leaked group chat. So how to explain this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no classified information.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no classified information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And already pro Russia ceasefire gets even friendlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're in deep discussions with Russia and Ukraine and I would say it's going well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Going well indeed for Moscow after suffering significant naval losses in the Black Sea, the U.S. announces a maritime truce. And Tesla's trouble goes way beyond Elon Musk's image problems outsold globally by Chinese EV maker BYD and as you battery technology described as revolutionary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: We begin with the ever changing, continually evolving, often contradictory explanations for why senior Trump administration officials were discussing plans for military strikes in Yemen on a free, open source, non-government messaging app called Signal.
The directors of the CIA and National Intelligence appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday after an initial reluctance to even concede the group chat actually happened. Both officials were unable to recall specific details, and yet despite their hazy memories, they were certain no classified information was discussed.
And then they threw the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth under the bus, saying he's ultimately responsible for deciding if information is classified or not.
As for Secretary Hegseth, he continues to insist war plans were not discussed despite extensive reporting to the contrary by the editor of The Atlantic magazine, who was mistakenly included in the group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Nobody's texting more plans. I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly what we're directing and I'm really proud of what we accomplished. Successful missions that night and going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Meantime, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz says he is to blame for adding the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg to the conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Look, a staffer wasn't responsible and look, I take full responsibility. Have you ever had a, have you ever had somebody's contact that shows their name and then you have an -- and then you have somebody else's number there.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Oh, I never make those mistakes.
WALTZ: Right. You've got somebody else's number on someone else's contact. So of course I didn't see this loser in the group.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S. President says Waltz has no reason to apologize and he wants to blame that lower level staffer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Believe is somebody that was on the line with permission, somebody that was with Mike Waltz. I worked for Mike Waltz at a lower level, had, I guess, Goldberg's number were called through the app and somehow this guy ended up on the call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This controversy has already been called Signal Gate, and it's divided lawmakers On Capitol Hill. CNN's chief congressional correspondent Mana Raju has our report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republicans are grappling with the fallout of this group chat on Signal in which Vice President J.D. Vance, Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, national security Adviser Mike Waltz and a bunch of other senior officials talking about military plans in Yemen, about the sensitivity of those military plans, about whether or not this is classified information as part of it, whether it compromised American national security.
Republicans now on Capitol Hill are deciding how to proceed on these revelations. Some are very concerned. The Senate Armed Services Committee is indicating that it does plan to move ahead with an investigation, a bipartisan probe, at least according to the Republican chairman of the committee, Roger Wicker, and the Senate majority leader, John Thune, indicated earlier in the day.
On Tuesday, when I asked him whether or not he supports an investigation, he said he does believe these committees will look into this matter. And he also said mistakes were made.
JOHN THUNE, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER: At least two of the relevant players in that conversation were in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee for a very long period of time in an open setting. And, well, my guess is you'll probably, I suspect the Armed Services Committee may want to have some folks testify and have some of those questions answered as well.
I think everybody has acknowledged, including the White House, that, yes, mistake for me. And what we want to do is make sure that something like that doesn't happen again.
RAJU: But there is not universal support for an investigation on Capitol Hill on the GOP side. In fact, a number of Republicans are simply not willing to go that far. They say they're willing to move on.
[01:05:00]
They say, yes, maybe there are mistakes that are made, but this should be done by the White House. Look into any changes that should be made. And they believe what the White House has been saying, that there were no -- there was no classified information that was exchanged in this Signal group, exchanged between these top officials. The question will be whether any, how far the Senate committees go investigating this matter and whether the House actually takes this up at all.
The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, also defending the administration's on all this, contended it was a mistake, but said that the mistake was adding a reporter to this exchange, not necessarily the contents of this communication in this unsecure platform Signal.
Now, Democrats, of course, have a much different view. They say this is reckless. They say there should be a full-fledged bipartisan investigation. And Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, said that those involved should be fired. An uptick in the rhetoric on the Democratic side. The question is, can Republicans who want this to move on, will they be able to move on? And can Republicans who want to get more information to understand fully everything that happened here, will they get enough information, will that be enough to satisfy them in the months ahead? All big questions as this controversy continues to dominate Capitol Hill. Manu Raji, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Washington now and CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI Deputy director Andrew McCabe. Thanks for being with us.
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, thanks so much for having me.
VAUSE: OK, we'll start with the latest from Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief at The Atlantic magazine, on the information which he saw while part of that group chat. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE ATLANTIC: It was a minute by minute accounting of what was about to happen, the specific time of a future attack, specific targets, including human targets meant to be killed in that attack, weapons systems, even weather reports.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So I'm assuming you haven't seen the actual messages themselves, but from what Goldberg has described as well as his reporting, is there any doubt in your mind the information that he was privy to was in fact classified?
MCCABE: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. So I haven't seen the text. I've only heard Mr. Goldman's or Mr. Goldberg's description of them and the few that he printed in his magazine. I have to tell you, John, it is inconceivable to me that a discussion about the details of an imminent military operation in which U.S. servicemen and women are at risk, the discussion of those details before the operation takes place, I cannot imagine a scenario in which that isn't top secret.
VAUSE: However, that's not how the Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. See it. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN RATCLIFFE, CIA DIRCTOR: I was not discussing classified information in this setting.
TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: There was no classified material that was shared.
RATCLIFFE: There was no classified information.
GABBARD: There was no classified information. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How do you explain the disconnect here between what was discussed and what these government officials are willing to admit to what was discussed and what are the legal consequences here?
MCCABE: Well, you know, I think that the statements from the administration and the statements that you heard under oath at that hearing are very careful and artfully worded to leave them some wiggle room to deny, in fact, what's happening. From other comments that I heard during that hearing, it's clear to me that both Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Ratcliffe are taking the position that because Pete Hegseth, who's the Secretary of Defense, he's essentially the owner of that intelligence, it's coming from his organization that he had decided to declassify that, or he at least alleged that it was not classified, and so they were basically following his lead.
All of that falls apart, in my estimation, in light of the fact that people who are in the intelligence community, people with access to classified information, understand that conversations about classified topics are themselves classified.
You don't have to have an actual document that's stamped classified or top secret or something of that nature, simply discussing matters that you know are sensitive and could cause grave damage to national security if exposed. That's, of course, the standard for top secret information.
These folks are the professionals are supposed to know that those conversations are classified. They should be treated accordingly and conducted on systems that are approved for the communication of classified information.
VAUSE: Well, the U.S. president has acknowledged it happened. He's described it as a glitch. He then went on to attack the reporter, Jeffrey Goldberg. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Happened to know the guy's a total sleazebag. The Atlantic. The Atlantic is a failed magazine. Does very, very poorly. The person that was on just happens to be a sleazebag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:06]
VAUSE: I don't know Jeffrey Goldberg. He may be a sleazebag. He doesn't come across like one. But even if he was, does it fundamentally change the seriousness of one of the worst security leaks in decades?
MCCABE: It does not change the details of what we're talking about here in any way. I should say that this is a time honored strategy of President Trump and now his supporters to attack -- make baseless personal attacks against people when they provide inconvenient truths that the President is not willing or comfortable to acknowledge. That's clearly what's happening here. I'm familiar with this as having been the target of many of those attacks in the past.
VAUSE: And when all else fails, I guess play the victim. His national security adviser Michael's on Fox.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTZ: I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but of all the people out there, somehow this guy scorned just all kinds of links to lie and smear the President of the United States. And he's the one that somehow gets on somebody's contact and then gets sucked into this group.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He says he's not a conspiracy theory, and I'm glad about that because he sort of sounds like one.
MCCABE: Yes. Anybody who says they're not into conspiracy theories and then follows that assertion with the word but is about to launch into a conspiracy theory, which is exactly what we heard here. There's no mystery as to how Mr. Goldberg got included in this group. He was invited to it by Mr. Waltz.
This is just the height of the absurd for Waltz to turn this around and try to suggest that Mr. Goldberg was involved in some nefarious scheme to hack his way into the signal conversation. Look, the sad fact is that Mike Waltz is the National Security Adviser to the President United States. He, by his own statements in these texts, convened this meeting to discuss a classified matter on an unclassified system. That alone, in my opinion, means that Mr. Waltz should resign from his position.
VAUSE: And Andrew McCabe, thank you so much for being with us.
MCCABE: Thanks.
VAUSE: The White House is claiming another success in U.S. brokered talks for a temporary Russia, Ukraine ceasefire with agreement to end maritime attacks in the Black Sea. Should be noted since the start of the conflict, at least 15 Russian warships have either been damaged or destroyed by Ukrainian sea drones and cruise missiles, forcing Moscow to redeploy its entire Black Sea fleet.
The Kremlin has also attached a number of conditions to this agreement, lifting sanctions, among them on Russian banks as well as sanctions on exports of food and fertilizer. The deal also includes a 30-day pause by both sides in attacks on energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says despite days of intensive negotiations in Saudi Arabia, there is still no agreement on what will happen to Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy adds he has no faith in Russia to stick with any ceasefire agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If we see that someone violates, we believe that we then appeal to the American side through all possible channels with the facts and evidence that the Russian side violated something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We get the very latest now from our man in Moscow, Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The United States, Russia and Ukraine have essentially agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Now, all three sides say that they agree that fighting should stop in the Black Sea, the use of force should end, there should be freedom of navigation and also that civilian ships should not be used for military purposes and that all of that should be monitored.
However, while the Ukrainians say they believe that this deal went into force the moment that it was announced by the United States, the Russians are saying not so fast. They say that they want their agricultural bank taken off sanctions lists and they want it hooked back up to the swift international payment system.
I was in touch with the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and he says the Russians are taking this harder line because they felt the last time that a Black Sea initiative was in place in 2022 and 2023, that they got the shorter end of the stick. And because all the sanctions that were on those Russian companies and banks, it was very difficult for them to export their goods.
However, the Russians are saying that communications with the United States are continuing in a positive way. And one of the things that Dmitry Peskov hailed as well is that both Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a list of critical energy infrastructure that should not be hit. That includes oil and gas installations, including pipelines, but also, of course, nuclear facilities as well. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To South Korea, where the worst wildfires in decades have killed at least 19 people. And a televised address to the nation. Acting President Han Duck-soo says all available resources will be used to contain five major fires burning out of control in the south east of the country.
Live now at Seoul, CNN's Mike Valerio standing by. Bring us up to date. We now know this death toll has increased in the last hour or so.
[01:15:00]
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And we think it's increased by 1, John, because when were with you a couple of minutes ago, were able to break the news that a firefighting helicopter had tragically gone down, crashed in Wisong, which is kind of like in the middle of South Korea, fighting one of the epicenters of these disasters. So it seems as though the pilot was killed, no crew on board that helicopter.
But in terms of the bigger picture, how that's going to impact things across South Korea is this means that helicopter firefighting operations are suspended for the time being. So this is part of the tableau helicopter images that came in before this crash. But I'm wondering control room friends back there if we could go to the pictures of Gunsa Temple.
That's the temple were talking about in the last hour, John, built in 681, the year 681. And this is the main cultural casualty there, you see it right there of the fire so far. So we're talking about a temple, John, that was 1,344 years old. And only the giant bell that you saw in that image got about a two second delay was the only thing that seemed to have survived in that temple complex.
So to bring you up to speed, how we got here, a lot of things going on in the world. So this really started on Saturday. Spring arrives, temperatures start to rise, winds start to increase as well. We really feel spring and summer temperatures on Saturday. That's when these fires spark and then start to grow out of control. We're talking about north and South Gyeongsang province.
And what we're watching at this hour, there is a world Heritage site village in Andong. This is a place that has been around since the 1300s, so 14th century, where people pilgrimage to, field trips, you know, vacations, getting a taste of South Korean heritage and history that may be threatened. And evacuations are ongoing. So we're watching that as the day goes on. John.
VAUSE: Mike, thank you. Mike Valerio live for us with the very latest on those fires, reporting from Seoul Thanks.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, the latest in the case of the Oscar winning Palestinian director who was assaulted by Jewish settlers and then detained by Israeli police.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:41]
VAUSE: What could be the first public sign of unrest with Hamas leaders in Gaza? A crowd estimated in their thousands protested in the north of the territory chanting for God's sake, Hamas out as well as we want an end to the war. The protests come after the Gaza Health Ministry announced more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel since the war began.
Almost 16,000 children are among the dead. There are calls for more protests Wednesday which have appeared on social media.
Hamdan Ballal, an Oscar winning Palestinian director, has been released from Israeli custody and is now back home in the occupied West Bank where he was attacked by Israeli settlers and detained by the Israeli military. According to witnesses.
Ballal is a high profile victim, but the assault is one of many which Jewish settlers have committed recently against Palestinians in the West Bank. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Hamdan Ballal has now been released from Israeli custody following a harrowing ordeal. This is him being treated at a hospital following his release. The co- director of the Oscar winning film was beaten by settlers and subsequently detained by Israeli soldier, according to eyewitnesses at the scene.
Five American activists from the center for Jewish Nonviolence said that they were also assaulted by these Israeli settlers. More than a dozen Israeli settlers showed up at the village of Susia where Ballal lives, wielding batons, knives and at least one assault rifle, according to these eyewitnesses. And video from the scene shows part of this attack as it unfolded. Take a look.
UNDINTIFIED FEMALE: Get in the car. Get in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God. Oh my God. My window was broken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's coming? I can't go. This is a military. OK.
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: That was so scary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry.
DIAMOND: In video from the scene, you can also see a masked individual throwing a rock directly at the windshield of this car. And then this is the aftermath of that attack. The windshield of that vehicle clearly shattered. And there is other damage at the scene as well.
Now, the Israeli military said that soldiers arrived on the scene in Susia of a, quote, violent confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis who they said were throwing rocks at each other. The Israeli military said that three Palestinians and one Israeli were taken in for questioning.
But so often, as we see in the West Bank, the Israeli military focuses its efforts on Palestinians who live there. They do not typically enforce any laws against these Israeli settlers who, as documented in the film "No Other Land," have repeatedly launched attacks on some of these Palestinian villages in an effort to displace them from the area in order to expand these Israeli settlements. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In the past week, more than 1,400 people have been arrested in Turkey for taking part in anti-government protests which have been deemed illegal.
[01:25:00]
Seven journalists were also detained, including a photojournalist for the French news agency AFP, which is now demanding his immediate release, calling his detention a serious attack on freedom of the press. These protests began after the jailing of Istanbul's mayor, the main political rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ekrem Imamoglu, has denied corruption charges which have been leveled against him.
Imamoglu was arrested just days before he was nominated as a candidate for the main opposition party to run against Erdogan in the 2028 presidential election. The opposition is planning a rally in Istanbul Saturday. CNN's Nada Bashir takes a look at the rise of the city's popular mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): It was a shock election result. A virtual unknown now mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu's win in 2019 and wresting control of Turkey's largest city from its governing AK Party and its predecessor after 25 years in power.
The victory catapulted him to national fame and set the scene for the rockiest of political standoffs. The country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was Istanbul mayor in the 90s. For a rival to win the city had seemed near impossible, and his party demanded a recount, alleging election irregularities.
An unprecedented moment for Turkey and a defining moment for Imamoglu's career. Everything will be fine, he told angry supporters. A slogan then hung on billboards and chanted in soccer stadiums. They won the runoff with an even wider margin, and it's been Imamoglu's catchphrase ever since.
Tensions with Erdogan have simmered on. Imamoglu gaining in popularity and winning a second term as mayor last year. Nominated as the next presidential candidate for his Republican People's Party, many believed him to be on a trajectory to one day lead the country, with the potential to shake up Turkey's political landscape.
SONER CAGAPTAY, THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE: Like Erdogan, Imam is relatable and charismatic on top of it, he's almost 20 years younger than Erdogan.
BASHIR (voice-over): Erdogan's party has political Islamist roots and has reshaped Turkey's secular state over the past 20 years. Imamoglu's party is staunchly secular.
CAGAPTAY: It's a brand that's more inclusive than President Erdogan. He's a social democrat in the context of European politics. He reaches across the aisle. He's more egalitarian in his approach to politics. He has empowered a number of women in Istanbul city government.
BASHIR (voice-over): Now, amid a widening legal crackdown on Turkey's opposition, there are numerous indictments against Imamoglu. His message last week, even as police prepare to detain him, that he, quote, will not give up.
Just days before he was named his party's 2028 presidential nominee, Imamoglu was taken into police custody on corruption and terror charges, which he denies, a political move supporters say to keep him out office. President Erdogan has said opposition anger and protests are theatrics and says no one is outside the scope of the law.
But Imamoglu has described his arrest as a dark stain on democracy in Turkey. For now, even behind bars, this political upstart is still seen by many as a serious threat to Erdogan's grip on Turkey's top job. Nada Bashir, CNN in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: China's BYD now the biggest selling EV maker in the world. And in a moment, why BYD, which stands for build your dreams, is our Elon Musk's and Tesla's new nightmare.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:34:12]
VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz says he takes full responsibility for mistakenly adding a journalist to an open-source group chat, the messaging app called Signal, about plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Signal thread was a hot topic on Capitol Hill, as the directors of National Intelligence and the CIA testified before a Senate panel.
At first, they claimed they couldn't recall details about the chat. Then they insisted no one shared classified information.
Finally, they then shifted responsibility to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for determining what was information which was classified and what was not.
[01:34:48]
VAUSE: The leaked group chat is further proof, if any was needed, about the Trump administration's disdain for Europe and almost contempt for its reliance on U.S. security. Defense Secretary Hegseth says longtime U.S. allies are freeloading, adding "it's pathetic".
In response, European leaders have again said they must take more responsibility for their own defense and stop relying so heavily on the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER STUBB, FINNISH PRESIDENT: How do you make sure that America stays engaged in European and transatlantic security, and that you need to work on by making NATO as appealing as possible and making the alternative cost of staying out of NATO too high.
And I think that's what the American administration is trying to do. And I think they're actually doing the right thing. Europeans do need to take more responsibility for their own defense and their own security.
ALEXANDER VAN DER BELLEN, AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The American situation is one more reason as to why we have to contemplate that we need a strong, confident Europe, which takes its own path and secures the peace in Europe strategically by itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Clare Sebastian has more details now on the reaction across Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, Europe already knew that the Trump administration no longer wanted to pick up the tab for its security. President Trump has made that quite clear. But the Signal chat delivers the message again, the highest echelon of the U.S. government unfiltered.
Take Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comment on how he shared Vice President Vance's loathing of European freeloading, calling it, quote, "pathetic" in block capitals.
Well, it's hard to find a European official who doesn't broadly agree that Europe needs to do more to fund its defense. We hear this a lot when it comes to Ukraine. But for those European countries that have not sat on the fence when it comes to tackling the Houthis, this was still jarring.
The U.K., along with the Netherlands, participated in strikes directed by the Biden administration last year and the U.K. actually provided air to air refueling for the very strikes discussed in this chat.
Add to that the comment, which "The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg deduced came from Stephen Miller, Trump's homeland security adviser, about extracting an economic gain from the Europeans for these strikes because they believe, of course, that Europe also benefits.
Well, that's more evidence the administration sees its alliances as transactional and not built on shared values.
Well, this also raises, of course, practical concerns around the safety of sharing intelligence with the U.S. Here in the U.K., part of the Five Eyes alliance, of course, the prime minister's spokesperson said they're still confident they can share intelligence with the U.S. But they felt the need to make it clear that there are, quote, "strict rules and arrangements for secure communications".
The head of the opposition Liberal Democrat Party called for an urgent review of intelligence sharing with the U.S.
European leaders for now seem to be holding their nerve on this, but it is another test for the transatlantic alliance they're trying to preserve.
A former Belgian prime minister and MEP today calling it a wake-up call.
Clare Sebastian, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A new FBI task force has been created to investigate attacks targeting Tesla, which have spiked across the U.S. amid criticism of CEO and close Trump friend Elon Musk. Officials say the task force will work with other federal agencies to crack down on acts of violence and vandalism on Tesla dealerships and vehicles, which FBI Director Kash Patel has described as domestic terrorism.
Tesla's troubles, though, go way beyond U.S. politics. The once- dominant global EV maker is now being outsold by China's BYD, which posted surging annual sales of more than $100 billion last year, topping Tesla's revenue, which is falling.
The head of BYD says the company had rapid development last year, with sales up almost 30 percent from a year earlier, selling more than 4.2 million cars, that includes electric and hybrid.
Ryan Patel is a senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He is live this hour from Los Angeles. Welcome back.
RYAN PATEL, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: Great to be with you, John.
VAUSE: Ok. So 14 years ago, when Chinese automaker BYD was in its infancy and Tesla was about to go public, Elon Musk was asked about the new competitor during an appearance on Bloomberg Television. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's competitors now ramping up.
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And as you're familiar with BYD, which is also on the West Coast, I think they're ramping up production of their electric vehicles. Warren Buffett owns 10 percent stake in that.
Why do you laugh? BYD is trying to compete. Why do you laugh?
MUSK: Have you seen their car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me Why you're laughing.
You don't see them at all as a competitor?
MUSK: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To be fair, in 2011 BYD cars, like every other car made in China at the time, were awful.
But Elon's not laughing now. How did BYD go from a joke to reshaping the global EV market?
PATEL: Well, he was laughing because he was laughing about the technology. And so if I said the real disruptor in the EV market isn't just the tech anymore, John. It's actually affordability.
So BYD cracked the code and they're delivering the innovation that was probably, you know, 12 years ago not thinking it was going to be there at this price point.
[01:39:46]
PATEL: And now it's at a price point -- it's competitive. It's at a value of one-third of what a Model 3 is. And why, you know, I think its concerning or -- to Tesla is that its expanding across globally a lot faster than the Tesla cars.
So you think of the European market, Southeast Asia and obviously China, the BYD car is flooding the market. And, you know, you think about just in Europe, you know, it was 83 percent increase in sales for BYD, where Tesla is struggling in Europe as of right now.
VAUSE: So put Musk in politics to one side. So we've got BYD, which is basically cutting Tesla's lunch. At the same time, you know, Tesla is making some pretty big missteps as well.
PATEL: Yes, I mean, I think when you look at Tesla. I mean again, like you said, let's put the politics aside, you think -- I don't think Tesla as just an automaker company, right?
It's an (INAUDIBLE) company. That's what it wants to do. It wants to shape the EV. The challenge right now isn't just competition, John. It's actually staying ahead of it and creating it. And so they need to create and innovate even further, right.
They're battling on the EV battery right now, and BYD is now up to 270 miles, 290 on that charge and being quicker. Tesla has to do that. And so at the end of the day, you know, they are not just selling cars in revenues. They have to be the infrastructure energy. And they're just not being able to do that quick enough for them.
VAUSE: Let's talk about the politics now. We have Teslas being attacked over in protest over Musk's role in the Trump White House, gutting the federal government. That kind of stuff.
Here's the U.S. president speaking just a few days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars, not one or two like seven, eight, ten, burning, exploding all over the place. These are terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, we also have the U.S. president using the White House lawn to promote Tesla vehicles. We also have the Commerce Secretary shilling for Tesla stock on Fox News. Now, this FBI task force.
I mean, is this doing more harm than good? Does it create the impression that maybe these problems at Tesla are a lot more bigger and more serious than they really are?
PATEL: Well, I mean let's call it what it is, right? And you mentioned it before. There's a relationship with Elon Musk to the White House. I've never seen anything like this just yet. When you think of the FBI stepping in with extortion threats, and obviously they're tying it to terrorism domestic.
You know, I think if you look at it from the business side, if you're Tesla, this is a good thing for them because their brand reputation is being protected. Who's going to step in to stop these things?
And I think when the government steps in like that, Tesla is benefited behind that regardless of how it looks from the outside.
And so to me, I think it saves, you know, Tesla if you're a shareholder, even Cathie Woods from ARK had mentioned that you still think Tesla is a 10-X in five years.
You know, it's just interesting with all this news that are coming out, what does Tesla really represent? What does the brand represent? Is it there that the public is deciding to choose to not buy the stock and buy the cars? Is there a lot of noise? And I think it's still -- there's a lot of noise John, into the stock, into the sales, and into what the future is for Tesla.
VAUSE: Yes. Those two astronauts who came back down from the International Space Station last week. They've been away for like nine months. They came back to a world where when they left, Tesla was pro progressive and pro liberal. And you know, the Republicans hated it.
They came back. Now the Republicans love Tesla and progressives are dumping them. I mean, the fact that, you know, Tesla has always been this sort of political symbol in many ways, it has just taken on renewed significance now, though.
PATEL: Yes. I mean, you think of what Tesla stands for, you know, again, politics aside, you think of energy production, you think of storage, you think of distribution, you think of clean energy, battery storage, everything that ties to renewable future sustainability and businesses, words that are, you know, can be highly debatable, topical now of what does that equal to and to the administration. So yes, it's a little bit oxymoron to a certain degree, but that's
their business, John. Tesla's business to succeed is in that sector in clean energy.
VAUSE: Only in the United States are words like renewable clean energy and electric vehicles considered controversial.
Ryan, good to have you with us. Ryan Patel there, thanks so much.
PATEL: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break.
When we come back, new details about the very difficult days of the Pope's treatment in hospital for double pneumonia. We'll have more details on a conversation doctors had about continuing his treatment.
[01:44:08]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Despite optimism from the Trump White House about the U.S. economy, the latest survey shows consumer confidence has fallen dramatically, now at its lowest level since January 2021.
The decline began in December, not long after the presidential election, with expectations of higher inflation, stagnant wages, worsening job market and possibly a recession this year.
Here's University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESOR OF EOCNOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: So what we're seeing is what economists call the soft data looking pretty bad. The soft data is what people say.
And people say they're very unhappy about the state of the economy. They say they feel pessimistic. We see indicators of uncertainty absolutely through the roof. And if you look to Washington, D.C., it's not hard to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In Florida, some lawmakers are hoping child labor will fill the jobs left vacant by deported undocumented immigrants. A crackdown by the state on immigration has left low wage and undesirable positions open.
[01:49:47]
VAUSE: Republican Governor Ron DeSantis backs easing laws which protect children in the workplace. Last year, a new law allowed home school 16-year-olds to work any hour of the day.
DeSantis supports a bill moving through the legislature right now, which would lower the age to 14.
A Nigerian startup is transforming workplace dining by offering nutritious, healthy meals to busy professionals.
In this edition of Africa insider, we explore how PocketFood aims to redefine dining at work through technological innovation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMOLARA OLARERIN, FOUNDER AND CEO, POCKETFOOD: PocketFood is a food management platform for busy professionals in Africa. We are providing solutions that helps businesses to provide scalable and sustainable meal solutions to their staff.
The trend currently is convenience, fast delivery, being able to access, you know, healthy meals, meals on the spot. Yes.
GBEMISOLA OGUNJI, CUSTOMER SUCCESS EXECUTIVE, POCKETFOOD: So with PocketFood, basically once you subscribe as a client of ours and then we curate your meal based on your preference, we assign a vendor to you, alongside with our Customer Success Team.
OLARERIN: On our platform, you are able to access various meal plans from different chefs, not just restaurants, but we also have private chefs on our platform.
OGUNJI: Some people have health challenges which we have to put in consideration when preparing their food. We also look at the budgets of the clients, which is very, very key.
MAYOWA KUYORO, PARTNER, HEAD OF AFRICA FINANCIAL SERVICES MCKINSEY: Over the last five years, women-led tech startups have only accounted for 2 percent of the total funding to tech startups across the continent.
It's a testament to the resilience of women entrepreneurs that despite all the challenges that they face, they continue to be disproportionately represented when it comes to entrepreneurship. And I think the time to begin to support them is now.
OLARERIN: Our plan for growth is to grow outside of Nigeria. We see ourselves being present in places like Kenya and Ghana. For the future, I hope that we are able to look outside, just bike delivery.
I see us focusing more on sustainable delivery like bicycles or even drone deliveries, to be able to access places that are not easily accessible by road.
I see us opening up to more technology in terms of healthy meals, accessible meals and food security for low-income earners.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Doctors who treated Pope Francis for pneumonia have revealed at one point during the Holy Father's five-week-long stay in hospital, he was so ill they considered ending treatment and letting him die.
CNN's Christopher Lamb reports, it was a decision they never had to make.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Five weeks after Pope Francis entered the hospital and was treated for double pneumonia, we are learning new details about how close the leader of the Catholic Church came to dying.
According to his doctor, Sergio Alfieri, the situation became so dire at one point, a tough decision had to be taken whether to stop treatment and, quote, "let him go", or force it and try with all the drugs and therapies possible.
[01:54:46]
LAMB: Dr. Alfieri telling Italian newspaper, "Corriere Della Sera", the Pope's health deteriorated after a serious breathing crisis, and the Pontiff inhaled his own vomit.
But Alfieri says it was Francis's personal nurse to whom the Pope delegated medical decisions, who insisted they not give up and to continue trying all the drugs and therapies -- a decision that saved the 88-year-old Pontiff's life but risked damaging his other organs in the process.
Alfieri said the Pontiff, alert throughout, knew he was facing the end, at one point holding on to the doctor's hand for comfort. The doctor said the Pope's inner strength helped him get through.
With daily updates of Francis' time in the hospital, it was an anxious period for the Vatican as they only released this one photo of him during his 38 days of treatment. The absence of a hands-on Pontiff keenly felt across the church; Francis is a pope who regularly grabs the world's attention.
Appearing publicly for the first time on Sunday, the Pope looked frail and is back at his residence in the Vatican.
Doctors have ordered him to take two months of recovery. He must avoid meeting big groups for risk of further infection.
It's unclear whether he will lead or be present at Holy Week and Easter celebrations, the high point of the Christian year.
But given what he's been through, the Pope is lucky to be alive.
Christopher Lamb, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Actor Pedro Pascal of "Gladiator 2" fame, is asking for a little privacy, at least when it comes to his coffee. Photos of the actor holding a coffee with his highly-caffeinated order on the side of the cup went viral last year. On "Jimmy Kimmel Live" The star said he was less than pleased to have his morning sip exposed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, TV HOST: This was a viral thing.
PEDRO PASCAL, ACTOR: Oh, God.
KIMMELL: they got your coffee order and then zeroed in on an insane order, by the way.
PASCAL: Listen --
KIMMEL: Six -- is that six extra shots or six total shots in one cup of coffee?
PASCAL: I cannot -- I cannot begin to tell you how violating this was.
KIMMEL: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: All that caffeine obviously helps productivity. He has three movies and a second season of "The Last of Us" set to debut, and he's plenty busy.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. Rosemary Church, my friend and colleague, takes over after a short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
[01:57:03]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
