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Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs On Fully Imported Autos; The Atlantic Publishes Full Signal Chat Messages Showing Military Plans About U.S. Strikes In Yemen; Federal Appeals Court Maintains Temporary Block On Trump's Use Of Alien Enemies Act For Deportations; Russia Attacks Kharkiv And Oblast With Drones; Netanyahu: IDF Will Keep Territory in Gaza if Hostages Not Freed; NYT: Trump Administration to Cut Funds for 5,300+ Aid Projects; Bolsonaro to Stand Trial on Coup Charges; Saving Uganda's Gorillas; Prince Harry Steps Down From AIDS Charity Amid Infighting. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 27, 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: The global auto industry bracing for an unprecedented major disruption. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: This is the beginning of liberation day in America.
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VAUSE: Liberation comes with a cost. U.S. consumers, we pay more for a new car to cover the President's 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles and parts.
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SEC. PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Nobody's texting war plans
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VAUSE: Once again, Mr. Defense Secretary, yes, you did. As the White House steps up its offensive over signal gate. And this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's transpired is unthinkable. We're in shock.
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VAUSE: They call it a leadership dispute between the chairperson and Prince Harry as patron of a charity he co-founded in memory of his mother. UNIDENTFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John
Vause.
VAUSE: U.S. President Donald Trump has significantly escalated his global trade war, announcing a 25 percent tariff on imported cars taking effect one week from now and a 25 percent tariff on auto parts which will come into effect within a month.
The impact on American consumers is expected to soon follow. Industry experts predicting the cost of a new car will increase by thousands of dollars. Despite that, President Trump continues to insist his tariffs will only strengthen the U.S. economy.
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TRUMP: This is something that people have wanted to do, presidents have wanted to do for a long time. A lot of them didn't understand it. It wasn't a priority for them. But foreign countries understood it very well. And they've really ripped us off at levels that nobody's seen before. But that's not going to happen.
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VAUSE: Shares at all big three U.S. automakers, Stellantis, Ford and General Motors were initially down in after hours trading, but Ford has slightly rebounded. All three have extensive global supply chains and are expected to be hit with higher costs and lower sales.
In a statement, European Commission president wrote this tariffs are taxes, bad for business, worse for consumers in the U.S. and the EU. But there was no announcement of retaliatory measures from the E.U., unlike Canada, which seemed ready to push back.
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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: And this is a direct attack, to be clear, a direct attack on the very workers that I stood in front of. We will defend our workers, will defend our companies, will defend our country and we will defend it together.
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VAUSE: Live now to Hong Kong, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout standing by for us there. These are the tariffs that will be felt around the world, especially in Asia where there are a lot of supplies there for the auto industry.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the potential impacts could be huge with the Japanese prime Minister saying now that, quote, all options are on the table after U.S. President Don announced these new auto tariffs of 25 percent to be applied on all imports, targeting the world's biggest auto suppliers, including key allies here in the Asia Pacific region, Japan and South Korea.
Now, these new auto tariffs will kick into gear next week with collection beginning on April 3. It will apply to cars, who apply it to trucks. As for auto parts, and that includes stuff like engines, electronic components, transmissions that will be subject to an up to one month reprieve.
We've been monitoring investor activity and reaction ever since the news broke. And shares in South Korea and Japan have been skidding this day. And it comes as a surprise to many.
I mean, just a couple of days ago, Hyundai, the South Korean automaking giant, announced plans to invest 20 billion U.S. dollars in the United States. And earlier this month, Honda, the Japanese auto giant, said that it was planning to move the production of the Civic from Mexico to the U.S. State of Indiana to reportedly avoid potential tariffs.
Now, we did hear from the Japanese prime Minister earlier today. He addressed the tariffs in a session of Parliament. We have a quote from him here. Let's bring it up to you. This is what you heard from Shigeru Ishiba who said this quote, Japan is a country that is making the largest amount of investment in the United States. So we wonder if it makes sense for Washington to apply uniform tariffs to all countries. As a point we've been making and we will continue to do so.
Analysts say that these tariffs will deal a heavy blow to the Japanese economy and to the South Korean economy as well. We heard this from a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations who posted this on the social media platform known as X in regards to the auto sector. This is what we heard from Brad Setster saying this quote, imports from Korea have been growing strongly and now top $35 billion or 2 percent of GDP.
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So Korea is more exposed relative to the size of its economy than either Germany or Japan, unquote. Last year in 2024, the United States imported some $474 billion worth of auto products. And if we bring up the list of top global suppliers, let's bring it up on the screen right now. You will see the following nations. You will see Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Germany. Every nation on this list is a close ally of the United States. Back to you.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout there live for us in Hong Kong. To Washington now and CNN's global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar. Good to see you.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Great to see you.
VAUSE: OK. It's one thing to be Mr. Unpredictable when it comes to foreign policy. Keep him guessing, you know, the madman chaos theory. But when it comes to economic policy, it's a whole different story.
And right now there seems to be a lot of confusion, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of concern, especially within the auto industry. And this is how it seems to be all the time when it comes to Trump and tariffs. FOROOHAR: Well, 100 percent, John. I mean, you know, you can look the
last few weeks we're hearing what's going to happen next week. We don't know if it's going to hold. But this is true. This has been true really since the get go with Trump and tariffs. I mean, he sees the U.S. economy as sort of one big chit in the poker table that is the global economy and he's going to use it for whatever he can get.
I mean, it's interesting to me because I hear about tariffs coming down and I can't help but think, well, is this part of a deal to get the Germans to cough up more for their own security? Are we going to see changes to depending on what China offers up? I mean, you know, it's a moving target. It's a moving target.
But for now, we have to assume that these tariffs are coming down next week and they're pretty steep. It's going to change the global auto industry for sure.
VAUSE: OK, so here's President Trump now outlining the effect he believes these tariffs will have in the US Auto industry as well as the wider economy. Here he is.
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TRUMP: I can tell you if they have factories here, they're thrilled. If you don't have factories here, they're going to have to get going and build them because otherwise they have to tariffs, very simple.
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VAUSE: Given the level of unpredictability right now, why would any major automaker invest upwards of $1 billion and build a new plant in the United States.
FOROOHAR: It's a great question. You know, again, I think Trump is taking a huge, huge bet on the power of the U.S. consumer market at a time when Europe and China are both ailing growth. Growth is slow in Europe, and China is really still in the middle of an economic crisis.
So Trump saying, hey, we're the only game in town. Come on. But, you know, you're making a very important point, which is that can businesses trust what's happening today? Can they trust it tomorrow? Can they trust it next week?
You look at the President's track record and you got to say that's a shaky bet. I'm hearing this from executives everywhere, actually, that they just don't know what end is up. You know, even traditional allies. Folks in the oil business I'm talking to are concerned.
You know, there is a really unprecedented amount of insecurity in the US Market right now.
VAUSE: But wait, there's more. Here again. Here's President Trump.
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TRUMP: If you borrow money to buy a car, you're allowed to deduct interest payments for purposes of income tax, but only if the car is made in America. So if the car is made in America, you get a loan, you can deduct the interest. That's a big saving.
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VAUSE: That came out of nowhere. Is that tax break essentially a subsidy for U.S. carmakers?
FOROOHAR: 100 percent. A 100 percent. You know, a subsidy is anything that helps to push a particular economic agenda, and this is certainly that. It also goes to show that I think this president is going to use every tool in the toolbox when it comes to supporting the tariff plan.
You know, you might see bans on foreign investment and capital. You might see, you know, all kinds of things from subsidies subsidizing loans to, you know, we've seen things like port fees on Chinese vessels. You know, we're just at the beginning. And he's going to get very creative in terms of all the tools.
VAUSE: And if nothing else, these new tariffs will mean a revenue windfall for the federal government. Listen to this.
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WILL SCHARF, WHITE HOUSE STAFF SECRETARY: We expect that these tariffs will result in over $100 billion of new annual revenue to the United States of America in tariff revenue.
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VAUSE: And that $100 billion got to come from somewhere. According to analysis by the Michigan based think tank Anderson Economic Group, the cost of producing vehicles built at U.S. plants will rise by between $3,500 to $12,000 each. OK, how soon will car buyers actually be paying those higher prices?
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FOROOHAR: So a car is not like an avocado or strawberries. It's not something that you know is perishable. You get to get them on the shelf fresh every day. I mean, cars, inventories can last for weeks, months, even years. So this is a slow burn.
That said, I think it's going to be down to the carmakers in terms of how much of the costs of greater inputs that they're willing to eat up front and how much they're going to just pass on immediately to consumers.
It was interesting because, you know, during COVID if you remember, there was a lot of supply chain disruption and price inflation and a lot of retailers use that as an opportunity to raise costs.
It'll be interesting to see if that's the playbook here with the tariffs or whether political pressure is going to make companies take some of those hits themselves before passing them on.
VAUSE: We shall see. Rana, as always, great to have you with us. Thanks for the insights.
FOROOHAR: You too. Thanks so much.
VAUSE: Day two of the Signalgate scandal brought more denials, deflections and nasty personal attacks from the Trump administration, which continues to deny war plans were even discussed on an open source messaging app.
But the reporter who broke the story and was part of that chat proved those denials to be false. And The Atlantic magazine published text messages from the group chat laying out plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen. This happened Wednesday.
They include what type of aircraft, drones and missiles would be involved, what time they would strike. The Pentagon acknowledges Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared those details while the operation was underway. Hegseth is on a tour of way Guam and the Philippines and continues to push back now splitting hairs over semantics.
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HEGSETH: Nobody's texting war plans. I noticed this morning, out came something that doesn't look like war plans. And as a matter of fact, they even changed the title to attack plans because they know it's not war plans. There's no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information.
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VAUSE: Multiple current and former defense officials tell CNN, any discussion of the timing, targets, weapon systems to be used in an attack is always classified because of potential risk to U.S. servicemembers. And under no circumstances should such discussions be held on a commercial app.
President Trump now says he's not sure if classified information was shared on the Signal chat. The Atlantic's editor-in-chief says he published the additional text messages so the public can judge.
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JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE ATLANTIC: You know, at a certain point, the administration is saying that there's nothing classified or secret or sensitive in these so at a certain point, I just felt, you know, let our readers decide for themselves. Read these texts that I got sitting in my car on my phone in a Safeway parking lot two hours before the attack launched, and you tell me if this seems like good operational security.
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VAUSE: CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has reaction now from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MANU RAJUI, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESONDENT: Republicans are divided in the aftermath of two days of testimony from top Trump officials and all the questions that emerged over that Signal group chat, of course, now that now infamous group chat that was started by the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and that included Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, including detailed battle plans, detailed attack plans for the U.S. involvement, going after the Houthis in Yemen, actually putting out information about those attacks on that unsecured platform that included inadvertently the journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, and ultimately came out publicly over the last several days, including the hours before the House Intelligence Committee heard testimony from two participants in that group chat Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and John Radcliffe, the CIA director.
In the aftermath of that, the Republicans were on different pages. Some, including speaker of the House Mike Johnson are defending the Trump team, said there's nothing to see here, essentially, and the Pete Hegseth and the like. They say that there was nothing that was actually revealed that undermined the U.S. operation, defended the U.S. operation against the Houthis, and said that there was no sources or methods disclosed.
And there are other Republicans who are deeply concerned, who are worried about the implications of having such communication, such sensitive communication. They believe it was classified information. Even the White House says it was not classified information.
They said it should not have been discussed in such a platform like that could be accessed by the American -- by American adversaries like Russia, like China and others around the world. Now, the aftermath of this, some Republicans are calling for an investigation.
And the Republican leader of the Senate, John Thune, told me that he believes that the administration should at least own up to its mistakes.
JOHN THUNE, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER: It's obvious that mistakes were made and you just have to acknowledge that, talk about what you're going to do to correct it and fix it so it doesn't happen in the future.
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LISA MURKOWSKI, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: It appears that Mr. Waltz has accepted fault for it. I don't know.
RAJU: Yeah, but Hegseth had all those battle plans he discussed.
MURKOWSKI: Does it concern me? Hell, yes.
RAJU: Now, there does appear to be some appetite for investigation among Republicans on some of these key committees. In fact, one of them, Senator Roger Wicker, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined with another top Democrat committee to send a letter demanding an inspector general investigation into all of this.
We'll see how that ultimately plays out and we'll see if the Senate committee plans to press ahead with its own probe as we're seeing Republicans split on how to proceed and Democrats saying that Hegseth should resign or be fired in the aftermath of this controversy. Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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VAUSE: For the White House strategy here seems to be denying downplay. Earlier, our CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. How effective is that in light of glaring evidence to the contrary?
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RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It really is defies credibility to argue that this is something, whether you call it a war plan or an attack plan, that should have been being discussed on a commercial app, much less to go on for days with a journalist in the and no one noticing.
I mean, just the smell test. You know, imagine if this was done by a Democratic administration, what we'd be hearing now from Republicans in Congress and from Fox News. Or imagine that if it was a line officer in one of the military branches, what would happen to their career if they had a breach of operational security of this magnitude?
I mean, it just doesn't really get to first base to argue that this was not a big deal, A, that it was being discussed, you know, through this mechanism, and B, that nobody noticed for days that there was somebody listening who shouldn't have been.
And the fact that Steve Witkoff was on the chat and was apparently in Moscow at the time may have been there been -- may have meant there are some other people who shouldn't have been listening who were aware of this at the time as well.
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VAUSE: CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein there in Los Angeles.
For the record, the United States is not officially at war with Venezuela, nor has Venezuela attempted an invasion of the United States. Two facts which would be required for a president to use the Aliens Enemy Act for a mass deportation of foreign citizens.
But that's not why a U.S. Appeals Court upheld a temporary ban on the White House using that wartime power. Instead, the court found that hundreds of Venezuelans accused of belonging to a violent gang who was sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador earlier this month, were all denied due process.
President Trump has called for the impeachment of the federal judge who first issued that temporary ban on the deportations. The Trump administration expected to appeal this ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Well as European leaders prepare for discussions over security in Ukraine, the country is once again rocked by a massive Russian drone attack. Details ahead.
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VAUSE: Russia has launched another massive drone attack on Ukraine, this time targeting a residential area of Ukraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv. According to emergency personnel, at least nine people were injured, including a 12 year old girl.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Paris right now ahead of a meeting of the so called Coalition of the Willing, a group of Western nations committed to help Ukraine defend against Russia.
French President Macron lashed out of the Kremlin saying it should not dictate the conditions for peace. That's after Russia demanding easing of some sanctions before agreeing to a 30-day maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. Macron added, there is only one aggressor and that is Russia.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): While you, Mr. President, were able to take a risk for peace by proposing and accepting this 30-day ceasefire in the air, at sea and on civilian infrastructure, today Russia has not brought forward any solid response and through its acts it has shown its desire for war and to continue the aggression.
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VAUSE: More details now from cnn Sebastian Shukla.
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SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris on Wednesday evening ahead of a summit held by the French President Emmanuel Macron as part of the conversations of the Coalition of the Willing. As he arrived at the Elysee, the French capital, they made some short statements of the press.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, URKAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Moscow does not understand any language other than the language of force. This is a fact. That is why Europe, America and everyone in the world needs to have enough strength to defend themselves and the interests of peace.
SHUKLA: The two leaders then went into a working dinner together where they discussed Thursday's summit and the gathering of more than 30 world leaders. But ahead of the summit, the Elysee sources have been outlining that there would be four major topics covered at the summit and on the agenda. The first being the immediate delivery of aid to Ukraine. The second
being ceasefire negotiations, discussions and the focus around the implementation and the monitoring of any ceasefire, the continued strengthening of Ukraine's military and most importantly, the headline grabbing issue will be the reassurance force, as they called it, which will gather one of the most, if not the most attention out of the summit.
Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, has been a strong proponent of boots on the ground in Ukraine and discussions will center around what that will look like in Ukraine.
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But recently the words have changed around that. The words now is reassurance force rather than peacekeeping. So we will start to get a better idea out of this communique and the discussions at the summit around what exactly a peacekeeping or reassurance force will look like. But it will still mean boots on the ground.
And obviously this summer is coming in the days after the U.S., Ukraine and Russia agreed this Black Sea ceasefire deal which will see the halting of all military activity in the Black Sea, but depending on which side you are wrong. Ukraine is prepared to agree to that in totality now.
But President Vladimir Putin of Russia has said that for Russia to be able to agree there are various list of reasons that need to be agreed before, including the reintroduction of this swift banking system to Russian banks and even the lifting of sanctions on a particular Russian agricultural bank too.
So we will start to see likely what the Europeans view of the outcome of that particular ceasefire agreement and what the future negotiations from Europe and what its posture will be towards Ukraine, particularly as the United States makes clear again once again that Europe needs to be able to defend itself and is taking a step back on its in its European security commitments. Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Berlin.
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VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, the cuts keep coming from the Trump White House. This time it's global health programs cuts which will ultimately end with dead kids.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned some parts of Gaza could remain under Israeli occupation. During a chaotic session of the Knesset Wednesday, Israel's defense minister raised the possibility earlier as a security measure.
Netanyahu then added the option is being considered if Hamas refuses to release all remaining Israeli hostages.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The more Hamas continues in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the repression we exert will be. And I say to you, members of the Knesset, and I say to Hamas as well, this includes seizing territory, and it includes other things that I'm not going to specify here.
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VAUSE: Another anti-Hamas rally in northern Gaza Wednesday, the second in two days. The demonstrations appear to be the largest against the militant group since the war began.
Some protesters told CNN their message to Hamas is "enough is enough", it's time to give others a chance to rule. As well as to Israel's military, "stop the bloodshed."
Hamas claims the protests do not reflect the general position of the majority of Palestinians.
Global vaccine programs could soon go under the Trump budget knife. According to "The New York Times". One group, which runs immunization programs in developing countries, is on a list of more than 5,000 foreign aid projects slated for termination.
According to "The Times", some grants for nearly 900 programs will continue, including medications for HIV and tuberculosis and food aid to countries in the midst of civil wars or facing natural disasters.
Dr. Simon Williams is a sociologist and public health researcher at Swansea University in Wales. Thank you for getting up early.
DR. SIMON WILLIAMS, PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCHER, SWANSEA UNIVERSITY: Thanks so much for having me.
VAUSE: Ok, so here's how the Trump administration decided what to cut and what to keep. According to the U.S. State Department, each award terminated was reviewed individually for alignment with agency and administration priorities. Terminations were executed where the Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined the award was inconsistent with the national interest or agency policy priorities. Ok.
So putting aside concerns over global public health and how these cuts could boomerang back on the U.S., what does this decision-making process say about the Trump administration's values and priorities here?
Dr. WILLIAMS: I mean, I think this is absolutely -- I mean it's an absolutely catastrophic and callous move for public health globally. And as you kind of allude there, you know, it can have ramifications for the U.S. as well.
I mean, you know, infectious diseases, the majority of cases are actually in the U.S. are imported, you know, where we have things like measles or mpox. So there is that issue.
But I think -- I mean, quite simply, you know, 1.2 million children could die over the next, you know, 5 to 10 years, depending on if this funding is not supported elsewhere or replaced elsewhere. 75 million children will miss routine vaccinations.
I mean, effectively, it's 13 percent of the funding to GAVI, which is, you know, the vaccination agency, which helps distribute vaccinations the world over, particularly to those countries in need.
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DR. WILLIAMS: 13 percent of their funding will disappear potentially overnight. So this is a very big and problematic situation yet again.
VAUSE: And last month, the U.N. Secretary General had this message for the Trump administration and the impact of funding cuts. Here he is.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: Going through with these cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe and less prosperous.
The reduction of America's humanitarian role and influence will run counter to American interests globally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And to that point, one of the programs to be cut here is a surveillance program at the U.N., which tracks diseases which can jump from animals to humans, like the coronavirus, as well as bird flu.
And with the coronavirus in mind, specifically, by May of 2022, the IMF estimated the world spent $9 trillion battling the COVID pandemic. and everyone thought the big teachable moment from COVID was all about this huge benefit of prevention. Why is that now being forgotten or is being ignored?
DR. WILLIAMS: Absolutely. I honestly can't give you a good answer why that's being ignored, except for it shouldn't be, I mean. You know, it's been mentioned that the, you know, the COVID pandemic is over. That's not the case. Actually, the pandemic isn't officially over. You know, thousands of people still die every week and month, including in the U.S. from COVID.
I think you're absolutely right. I think one of the things that we learned from COVID is that one infectious disease is still a problem. It is a priority including in countries like the U.S., but particularly in countries where vaccines are not accessible.
And I think, you know, there is this danger, potentially, that there could be a pandemic in the future. And I think this is another example, like funding withdrawal or cuts to the WHO and agencies globally where, you know, infectious disease isn't important and vaccines don't matter.
And I think, you know, there's a danger that this also sends a message out to members of the public that infectious diseases aren't important where they are.
I mean, you know, it's one of the most effective and also cost- effective interventions out there. The average cost per dose, for example, in the most in-need countries, for example, the Horn of Africa is about, you know, $4. And it is cost-effective.
I mean, for every $1 spent, for example, on vaccines, particularly in these low-income settings, you know, it can return $54 from lives saved. You know, kind of disability. You know, these diseases are deadly.
And particularly in these countries. I mean, you think about something like measles, for example. Again, you know, measles vaccines are going to be impacted by this decision. One in a thousand children potentially could die in the U.S.
If you're looking at some of these low-income countries where these U.N. agencies are distributing vaccines, it's more like 2 in 100. So, you know, the risk of these very literally children's lives are at stake here.
VAUSE: And when it comes to vaccines, in particular GAVI, which you mentioned, this global vaccine alliance, which will be directly impacted by these cuts, they make the point that each year countries which receive vaccines contribute an increasing amount towards the cost of each program and eventually they fully fund the national immunization programs.
So, you know, these programs are not bottomless pits of money that never end. And they're actually so crucial in a world where vaccine inequality is still a very real thing.
DR. WILLIAMS: Such an important point. I think, again, another thing that we learned from COVID-19 is that vaccine inequalities are a major issue.
I mean, one is the ethical issue, again, we don't know where this money is being repurposed. Of course, there has been talk about, you know, make America healthy again and investing in chronic illness that we don't know where this money is being reinvested. So that's maybe a point.
But more fundamentally, again, you know, like I said, quite literally, children's lives the world over are at stake here, where children are more vulnerable in kind of humanitarian settings.
And I think it is -- it is important to remember also that COVID taught us that, you know, an infectious disease outbreak in one part of the world is America's problem. One, because it's an ethical issue most importantly, but also because, again, you know, if these outbreaks spread, sometimes cases can get imported.
We're seeing vaccine uptake in the U.S. and other countries in high income, you know, parts of the world go down as well. And that again, can contribute to, you know, issues in those countries.
VAUSE: In very simple terms, it seems someone didn't do a cost-benefit analysis of all of this. And I guess we'll see what happens.
Dr. Simon Williams, thank you for being with us.
Brazil's supreme court has ruled former president, Jair Bolsonaro will stand trial for his alleged role in a failed coup attempt after the 2022 election.
For details, here's Stefano Pozzebon.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: The former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, is claiming he didn't do anything wrong after the local supreme court ruled on Wednesday that he should stand trial on charges of attempting a coup d'etat that date back to 2023.
[01:39:55]
POZZEBON: Bolsonaro could face up to 28 years in prison, according to our affiliate CNN Brazil on these charges. But speaking outside the senate on Wednesday, he said that an eventual conviction could raise the political tensions in Brazil even further.
JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If I had done anything wrong, I wouldn't be here. On January 8th, I was in the United States. And thank God, because if I had been here, today I would still be in jail or even dead which I know is a dream for some people. If I went to jail I would cause trouble.
POZZEBON: At this point, it's unclear when Bolsonaro would actually stand trial.
The prosecutors are accusing him of starting to plot these alleged coup d'etat as early as in 2021, while he was president, and that the plot culminated in the riots of January 8th, 2023 when Bolsonaro supporters stormed the palaces of government in Brasilia in an attempt to reject the results of the 2022 presidential election.
The former president has denied any involvement with those riots multiple times, but a new high-profile controversial trial could escalate the tensions between his supporters and the Brazilian judiciary system.
The trial could also have widespread international implications if U.S. President Donald Trump, who is another right-wing populist leader who is also clashing with his own country's judiciary system, took a position in support of Bolsonaro, who at some point was even dubbed the Trump of the Tropics due to the similarities in their ways of doing government and political rhetoric in years past. Because of his legal battles, Bolsonaro was unable to travel to Washington and meet Trump when he took office in January and that is in inauguration. But the two maintain very close political links to this day.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Bogota.
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VAUSE: New reporting from Germany's "Der Spiegel Magazine" says private data of top U.S. security officials is freely available online. Mobile phone numbers, email addresses and, in some cases, passwords belonging to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
If they seem familiar, they are. All three were part of the Signal group chat, discussing plans for an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Most of the information found by "Der Spiegel" was still in use, with some connected to social media accounts as well. It just keeps getting worse.
Coming up, see how Uganda's endangered mountain gorillas are facing new threats from their terrible, horrible neighbors. That would be us.
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VAUSE: During this week, "Call to Earth" is in Uganda, following a woman who has helped save one of the planet's most iconic species from extinction. Today, we see how disease transmission from humans has become one of the biggest threats to mountain gorillas in the wild.
We find out what's being done to prevent it.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: When Dr. Gladys Kalema- Zikusoka first came to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, scientists knew little about the transmission of disease between humans and mountain gorillas.
Even legendary conservationists like Dian Fossey and David Attenborough were often seen in close contact with the animals. But it's a different story now.
DR. GLADYS KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA, FOUNDER/CEO, CONSERVATION THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH: When I Worked as a (INAUDIBLE) veterinarian for the wildlife authority Within nine months of the job, they called me and said, the gorillas are losing hair and developing white, scaly skin.
I asked a human doctor friend of mine in Kampala. I asked her what is the most common skin disease in people? And she said to me, it's scabies. WEIR: The scabies had spread to a small gorilla family and despite
quick treatment from Gladys, one of the babies died.
DR. KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA: It was a very severe infestation and this made me realize at that point in time that you couldn't protect the gorillas without improving the health of their human neighbors.
Just like the baboons interact with the people, so too the gorillas. They go to people's banana plantations to eat the banana plants, and they often find dirty clothing and scarecrows. And that's how they picked up the scabies, not by touching a person.
WEIR: That moment was a turning point. Gladys realized that to save the gorillas, she had to improve the health of the people living alongside them. And in 2003 she founded Conservation through Public Health.
It would promote a one-Health philosophy, Protecting The gorillas by first ensuring the well-being of the local communities.
DR. KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA: You can make each other sick, but we are not making each other sick because you're clean.
Weir: Compared to many of Africa's other iconic national parks, Bwindi is small. at 321 square kilometers, it is less than 2 percent the size of the Serengeti in Tanzania or Kruger in South Africa.
Unlike larger parks, Bwindi has farmlands and. villages pressing right up against the forest making human-gorilla encounters inevitable.
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JOSHUA MASEREKA, COMMUNITY CONSERVATION WARDEN, UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY: People here have lived with this animal for centuries. They have -- they were born and they found themselves coexisting with the mountain gorillas.
We have a hard-edge boundary between the park and the communities. But you have a park boundary here, and then next to it you have a garden. And this is presenting a very big challenge to conservation.
WEIR: In order to improve hygiene in the community, Gladys set up a network of village health and conservation teams to educate families on a range of topics that help prevent the spread of diseases.
DR. KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA: We reach about 10,000 households around Bwindi. We developed a whole set of indicators that they should have to show that they have good health and hygiene, anything to avoid human- wildlife conflict.
This is the first place.
WEIR: Back in the forest, rangers collect dung samples from each of the habituated guerilla groups once a month.
DR. KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA: It's always good for us to know which particular gorilla passed, which fecal sample. It's more useful then.
WEIR: These samples are then delivered to the Conservation through Public Health field lab, where they can be analyzed for any abnormalities in the gorilla's health.
DR. KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA: When we came across the (INAUDIBLE) sample is normal we are seeing here parasite egg that could be part of their normal gut microflora. So it doesn't look -- I don't see anything that's alarming.
This particular silverback in Bwindi looks fairly healthy. Yes. So we're pleased about that.
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VAUSE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with #CallToEarth.
Back in a moment.
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VAUSE: Prince Harry has stepped down as patron of a charity he co- founded in memory of his mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales. Specific details about a dispute between Harry and the board's chair have not been made public.
But as CNN's Max Foster reports, the charity's future may now be in jeopardy.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a labor of love since the beginning.
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX, GREAT BRITAIN: It's a way that both me and Prince Seeiso can relate to our mothers, who are both in sort of the same jobs.
FOSTER: A way for Harry to champion his late mother and her barrier- breaking work with orphans and HIV/AIDS. Even naming the charity after her favorite flower, Sentebale, translating into "forget-me-not". Now, Harry leaving the organization he co-founded nearly 20 years ago.
In a statement, both the Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho announcing their resignation from Sentebale in support for the board of trustees, who had also quit over a dispute with the chair.
"It's devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation," they wrote. "What's transpired is unthinkable. We're in shock."
The chair in question is Dr. Sophie Chandauka, a lawyer appointed to the board in 2023. She released her own statement saying "There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people and then play the victim card."
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FOSTER: "They use the press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct."
Chandauka reporting the trustees to the U.K. Charity Commission she says to blow the whistle, an extraordinary public spat, putting the future of Sentebale in jeopardy.
But in an area with some of the highest HIV rates in the world, the organization's work has been life-altering for many in Lesotho. Set up after Harry's visit to the small kingdom back in 2004, it's a cause that he's held on to through trial and tribulation, building on his mother's legacy.
PRINCE HARRY: When my mother held the hand of a man dying of AIDS in an East London hospital, no one would have imagined that just over a quarter of a century later, treatment would exist that could see HIV- positive people live full, healthy, loving lives.
FOSTER: Even after leaving his royal role.
PRINCE HARRY: I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me.
FOSTER: Prince Harry's office isn't reacting to the allegations made by Dr. Sophie Chandauka. But tonight, I did speak to a source familiar with this matter and they say the organization, it had stable finances until she took control of the organization. And that's why ultimately she was asked to resign.
When she didn't, the trustees stepped down and they said that was ultimately a matter of conscience.
Max Foster, CNN -- London.
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VAUSE: So what could have caused this slow moving, glowing spiral right there in the night sky over Europe on Monday? First contact with aliens perhaps? A portal to another dimension? Yes, please.
Reality, though, is not as interesting. Apparently, the launch of a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket caused the blue spiral. That's after the rocket's exhaust interacted with the atmosphere. It happens a lot, but people usually don't get to see it.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
See you right back here tomorrow.
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