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Over 1,000 Dead after Myanmar Thailand 7.7 Earthquake; VP Vance Visits Greenland as Trump Pushes to Annex It; U.S. Survey Shows Increasing Pessimism among Consumers; Friday Hearing on Mahmoud Khalil Detention; Musk Stirs Controversy in Wisconsin Judicial Race; Israel Strikes Beirut for the First Time since Ceasefire; Severe Weather in Texas and Mexico Kills at least Four; World's First Wild-to-Wild Jaguar Translocation. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired March 29, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Search and rescue efforts underway in Southeast Asia as the death toll skyrockets from Friday's devastating earthquake. We'll have a live report from the region.
And U.S. vice president JD Vance gets a chilly reception on his visit to Greenland. What he had to say about the territory's future.
Plus, Wisconsin is Elon Musk's latest political playground. Why the tech CEO is spending millions on the state's Supreme Court race.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin with an update on the death toll in Myanmar and Thailand after yesterday's powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake. More than 1,000 people are now reported dead, the vast majority of them in Myanmar, according to the state broadcaster.
And that number is expected to rise sharply, with U.S. officials estimating the death toll is likely to surpass 10,000. Witnesses say the quake is just impossible to understand.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My heart sank. Never in a million years did I think something like this could happen. I still can't comprehend it and I'm still shaken. My niece, I still don't know when we will find her. I'm hoping. There's nothing else we can do. We just sit and pray.
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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, authorities in the Thai capital are scrambling to find dozens of people feared buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed building. Rescue workers are detecting what are described as vital signs from 15 people still trapped.
At least 10 people have died in Bangkok so far. Residents are being urged to get out of two other damaged buildings. I want to bring in CNN's Hanako Montgomery, live this hour in Tokyo.
So many desperate people in both countries. Take us through the latest.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kim. I mean, as you describe, this is really a desperate time for Myanmar and for Thailand. In fact, this earthquake is the biggest earthquake to have hit Myanmar in over a century.
And it was so large that it was felt in also neighboring China. In fact, if you take a look at this video, Kim, you can see there are nurses in a maternity ward, shielding newborns. The moment the earthquake strikes, I mean, the fear that they must have been experiencing in this moment is just absolutely palpable. Take a look at this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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MONTGOMERY: I mean, such a frightening moment for these individuals. Now in Thailand, as you mentioned, Kim, rescue operations are underway to try to get those 100 people still stuck inside that collapsed high- rise building from into safety.
Now according to some of those Thai officials, at least 15 people, as you described, are showing vital signs, which, of course, is very good news.
But the fact of the matter is, there are still dozens of people who might need rescuing. Now family members of those people who might need rescuing are waiting desperately for some bit of good news, waiting desperately in the hopes that their family members will be brought to safety. Listen to one woman's account.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm here to wait for my mother and younger sister. I saw it in the news that a building collapsed. So I called my sister. But no matter how many times I tried to call her, there was no connection. So I asked her coworker, who said they couldn't reach her and my mother as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MONTGOMERY: I mean, imagine that Kim trying to contact your family members and not being able to reach them. How terrifying that must be for that individual's family.
Now in Myanmar, where the epicenter of this earthquake was located, the situation is even more desperate. Authorities have said that at least 1,000 people have died and that death toll is expected to climb in the coming days and weeks.
But Kim, also, what's compounding the devastation from this earthquake is the fact that a civil war has been raging in the country for more than four years now. The military junta has been controlling Myanmar for four years since 2021 and has restricted access to the internet and has limited news outlets from reporting on the ground there.
So actually, it's been very difficult for us to ascertain the big picture, for us to get information about just the scale of devastation in Myanmar currently.
And also, Kim, I want to point out here that the earthquake struck central Myanmar, a region that was particularly devastated from years and years of fighting, according to Amnesty International, more than 3 million people in the country have been internally displaced.
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And more than a third of the country's population is in need of humanitarian assistance in this year alone. So really, really difficult situation for the country right now. And the military junta's chief actually, in fact, made a rare cry for help to the international community, asking for some kind of assistance.
So far, the countries that have responded include Russia, China and India. They have dispatched rescue teams who are equipped with materials to help those on the ground there. We're also getting word that Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong will be offering some kind of assistance to Myanmar in these very difficult times. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, so many challenges in the way of getting the people that they so the help that so many people desperately need. Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, appreciate those updates. Thanks so much.
U.S. President Donald Trump is pledging to help Myanmar, even though his main government aid agency is going away. This is what he told reporters on Friday.
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QUESTION: Mr. President, there has been a very serious earthquake in Burma or Myanmar today, with some up to several hundred killed. The military regime there has asked for help from anybody.
TRUMP: We're going to be helping. We've already alerted the people. Yes. It's terrible what's happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Trump spoke as the State Department notified Congress that it will shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development by July 1st. USAID has been doing lifesaving humanitarian work worldwide, including earthquake relief.
But an analysis from the Center for Global Development says Myanmar has already lost more than $50 million worth of aid because of funding cuts to the agency.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth landed in Tokyo in the past hour, the latest on his stop of his tour of Asia. He arrived there after attending the annual honor ceremony on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, marking the 80th anniversary of a dramatic World War II battle.
Hegseth's visit has been overshadowed by what's now dubbed the Signalgate scandal. Hegseth was among a group of officials who discussed U.S. strikes in Yemen on the commercial Signal app, which led to political backlash.
But during an earlier stop in the Philippines on Friday, he indicated he has no regrets.
U.S. vice president JD Vance traveled to Greenland on Friday as the Trump administration pushes to take over the island. Vance warned that Greenland is vulnerable to Chinese and Russian threats. He says the self-governing Danish territory would be better off under U.S. security.
CNN's Alayna Treene has details on the controversial trip.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, vice president JD Vance delivered the clearest and highest profile message yet to Greenlanders on Friday, really doubling down on president Donald Trump's vow to try and acquire Greenland one way or another.
Vance, who just decided a couple days ago to make the trip, said that Denmark was leaving its citizens vulnerable and also argued that the United States could no longer ignore Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. Listen.
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J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our message to Denmark is very simple. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people.
That has to change.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TREENE: So again, very sharp words there from the vice president.
But what's also almost as equally interesting is why the vice president decided at the 11th hour to make this trip at all. First of all, the vice president wasn't supposed to be going on this. This was supposed to be an independent trip made by the second lady, Usha Vance, his wife.
And it was supposed to be what the White House characterized as a cultural visit. She was going to go and, you know, participate in the island's national dog sledding race. However, those plans were scrapped after many people on the island who argue not only that they don't want, you know, America to purchase Greenland.
But we also heard that argument from Danish and Greenlandic leaders as well, with them calling it highly aggressive. This trip with the addition of Vance was completely changed.
Instead of going to the capital of Nuuk, where I should note, the government had just formed on Friday, they instead went to a U.S. Space Force base 1,000 miles away from the capital.
We should note as well, that there was talk of protests in the capital initially, when Usha Vance was planning on visiting.
All to say this trip was completely turned around, I was told in my conversations with White House officials, because Vance essentially argued, if they're going to get so worked up about her visiting the island, then he was going to go and try to elevate the trip with his vice presidential entourage.
And that's really I think the big picture here, is just how tense, really, relationships are between the United States and the people of Greenland, who, again, have said repeatedly that they do not want the United States trying at all to purchase them -- Alayna Treene at the White House.
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BRUNHUBER: President Trump and Canada's prime minister Mark Carney are describing their phone call on Friday as productive and very constructive. It was their first conversation since Carney assumed Canada's leadership two weeks ago.
Trump didn't back away from threats to impose new tariffs next Wednesday, nor did Carney back away from his vow to retaliate. While the tone was less contentious than previous talks with Justin Trudeau, Carney said Canada's relationship with the U.S. has fundamentally changed.
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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Right now, as Canadians, we have to look out for ourselves and we have to look out for each other. Canada is strong but we're even stronger when we are united. And our response to these latest tariffs is to fight to protect and to build.
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BRUNHUBER: Now both sides agreed to start talks on a new economic and security arrangement after Canada's elections on April 28th. But for now, Trump is sticking to his tariff plan. Here he is.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have Liberation Day, as you know, on April 2nd because -- and I'm not referring to Canada but many countries have taken advantage of us, the likes of which nobody even thought was possible for many decades, for decades. And you know that has to stop.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. stocks closed the week in the red amid continuing tariff anxiety, stubborn inflation and weakening consumer sentiment. All three major indices slid Friday, with the Dow losing more than 700 points.
The S&P 500 is on track for its worst quarter since 2022. A key economic survey released Friday found the consumer sentiment tanked in March, down 12 percent from Friday and respondents' outlook on the economy plummeted 18 percent. Worries about inflation and unemployment are driving the numbers.
And participants blamed Trump's trade war for their jitters. One of Trump's former economic advisers, Stephen Moore, told CNN this could be a warning for the president.
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STEPHEN MOORE, FORMER TRUMP ECONOMIC ADVISER: It was about mid- February when those, you know, they were very high and Trump had a very high approval rating. Everything was going very well in the first weeks of the presidency. Trump had gotten control of the border and the stock market was doing very well.
And it really wasn't until he started talking, you know, almost nonstop about tariffs that those numbers started to dwindle down. And I think that should be a bit of a warning sign for the Trump White House, that the -- at least with respect to how consumers feel about it, they're very jittery. And so are investors.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN reporter Matt Egan has more now on the impact that Trump's escalating trade war is having on the U.S. consumers and the economy.
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MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: The latest slew of economic indicators did not paint a very inspiring picture about how the U.S. economy is holding up amid all of this turbulence out of Washington.
And these new economic numbers did not sit well with investors on Wall Street, with U.S. stocks experiencing another bout of turbulence ahead of next week's significant announcements on tariffs.
Let me run you through some of the key findings from today's economic reports. First, the Feds' go-to inflation metric found that Americans are saving more and they're spending next ahead of tariffs.
And this report also suggested that inflation is kind of stuck in this no-man's land. Right. Not as bad as a few years ago but also not great. Core inflation, which excludes -- which excludes food and energy, it heated up in February.
That's significant because economists say that core inflation is a better indicator of underlying pricing pressures. And keep in mind these are numbers for February. So they don't fully capture the elephant in the room, the trade war, right.
This is price changes before much of the tariffs, including the tariffs on steel and aluminum, the tariffs on Canada and Mexico and some of the tariffs on China, before all of that even kicked in.
And we know that cost of living, of course, is a major concern right now. And so there was another disappointing conference report out. This is from the University of Michigan. And not only did it find that consumer sentiment fell sharply in March but some of the underlying indicators here were also concerning.
Consumers' outlook for the future fell significantly. Two-thirds of consumers are now expecting unemployment to increase. That's the most since the Great Recession.
And consumer expectations around inflation, price increases, they heated up to the highest level since 1993. Market veteran Art Hogan, he told me he's not shocked to see consumers expecting higher inflation.
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This is the worst trade war since William McKinley was in the White House. Now I know that sometimes these surveys can be colored a bit by partisanship, as people sometimes tell pollsters they don't like the economy when their party is not in the White House.
And that's why this finding from University of Michigan was striking. They said that this month's decline reflects a clear consensus across all demographics and political affiliations.
Republicans joined independents and Democrats in expressing worsening expectations since February for their personal finances, business conditions, unemployment and inflation.
I think the growing concern on Wall Street is that weak consumer confidence will eventually cause people to kind of hunker down and spend less money. And, of course, that's where the real trouble would come for an economy that is really built on consumer spending -- back to you.
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BRUNHUBER: The doctor responsible for keeping vaccines safe and effective in the U.S. has been pushed out of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Peter Marks had to choose between resigning or be fired, according to the resignation letter obtained by CNN.
Dr. Marks slammed health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., saying, quote, "It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary" -- Robert F. Kennedy -- "but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies."
Dr. Marks was instrumental in executing Operation Warp Speed, the government's COVID 19 vaccine program. One health expert says the forced resignation, quote, "makes the FDA dramatically weaker."
Donald Trump is turning to the Supreme Court for help deporting immigrants. What he wants them to do, just ahead.
Plus, a federal judge issues new restrictions on the U.S. sending migrants to third countries.
Plus, detained student activist Mahmoud Khalil had a court hearing Friday. But he has to wait for a decision. That story and much more after the break. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to continue to use the nearly 230-year-old Alien Enemies Act. Now this comes after an appeals court and federal Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked deportations under that act for migrants Trump claims are part of a notorious Venezuelan gang.
The president wants the court to uphold his interpretation of a law that had only been used in wartime. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke of a current concern in some legal circles.
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ASSOCIATE JUSTICE SONYA SOTOMAYOR, U.S. SUPREME COURT: One of the things that's troubling so many right now is many of these standards that are being changed right now were norms that government -- that governed officials into what was right and wrong.
Once norms are broken, then you're shaking some of the foundation of the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: In addition to migrants deported to a prison in El Salvador, the U.S. has deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants back to Venezuela this week.
Meanwhile, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration from deporting migrants to countries other than their home nation, like those Venezuelans sent to that Salvadoran prison.
A U.S. district court judge in Massachusetts says the Trump administration must first provide deportees and their legal counsel with written notice of the third country to where they'll be sent, among other measures.
The Trump administration has leaned on regional partners to accept migrants from other countries in an effort to ramp up deportations. Countries like El Salvador and Panama have taken in hundreds of migrants from Venezuela and Asia. The judge is set for another hearing in the case for April 10th.
The State Department is now directing that the social media activity of some student visa applicants be screened for evidence that they support terrorist organizations. Two sources tell CNN that the mandate came this week in a memo signed by secretary of state Marco Rubio.
It cites executive orders signed by president Trump and Rubio didn't mince words about the administrations position.
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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Because I think it's crazy to invite students into your country that are coming onto your campus and destabilizing it. We're just not going to have it. So we'll revoke your visa. And once your visa is revoked, you're illegally in the country and you have to leave.
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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, a federal judge has temporarily halted a deportation order against detained Tufts University student and pro- Palestinian activist Rumeysa Ozturk. She's one of several foreign nationals involved in protests at U.S. universities who have been arrested recently.
Another pro-Palestinian activist detained in the U.S. will have to wait to learn the next steps in his case. On Friday, a federal judge declined to immediately decide if the case against Mahmoud Khalil should be heard in New Jersey or transferred to Louisiana, where he's being held. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more.
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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's important to remember that Khalil's attorneys have argued that this issue over venue and jurisdiction has already been settled.
Two weeks ago, a federal judge in New York said that Khalil's case should be heard right here in New Jersey, where he was briefly detained after he was arrested in New York City.
Now I know it all sounds a bit technical but it's actually quite important. And the reason for that is because we're starting to see a pattern by the government as they continue to target students and scholars for immigration enforcement.
At least three of them have been detained at their home districts and then moved around different jurisdictions. Three of them were transferred to Louisiana, the same place where Khalil is right now. Now Khalil's attorneys tell me that this is not at all accidental. In fact, they believe it's part of the government's legal strategy.
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RAMZI KASSEM, ATTORNEY FOR MAHMOUD KHALIL: It is this shell game where the government is trying to make it hard for lawyers, to prevent them from doing this so that, again, they can pick the court where they want these cases to move forward.
For some reason, they think Louisiana gives them home court advantage. I'm not sure that's true. But that seems to be their belief. And they want to cut people off from their communities, from their base of support, from their lawyers, from their families, from their schools, their friends and isolate them so that they can deport them in silence.
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PAZMINO: Now the judge in this case did not really show his cards during the hearing. He was very methodical in his questioning, asking questions of both sides, bringing up previous established case law on similar cases, asking about the merits of having the case be heard here in New Jersey or having it heard in Louisiana.
At one point, Khalil's attorneys told them that Khalil's detention was Kafkaesque and that the government was trying to move their client around on purpose. The government said that they simply believe the case should be heard where he is being detained, down south in Louisiana.
Now Khalil's attorneys have told me that they have been speaking with him. He's aware of how many more students have been arrested since he was first detained. They say that he continues undeterred. He wants to fight this case and continue to advocate on behalf of Palestinian human rights -- Gloria Pazmino, New Jersey, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: Columbia University's interim president is stepping down one week after announcing sweeping policy changes regarding campus protests. Those changes came after Donald Trump threatened to cut $400 million in federal funding for the school.
Columbia's previous president resigned after criticism of how she handled last year's campus protests against the war in Gaza. The university's new policies include restrictions on demonstrations, sanctions for student groups that violate them and new arrest powers for campus police.
Still to come, president Trump's billionaire adviser sets his sights on the CIA after he gets a personal invitation from the man in charge of the spy agency. And Elon Musk is at the center of more controversy, this time in an American state. We'll have that story and more when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check in on some of today's top stories.
The death toll in Myanmar and Thailand has risen dramatically after Friday's powerful earthquake shook the region. More than 1,000 people are now reported dead and that number is expected to rise in the coming days as search and rescue efforts continue.
Canada's prime minister spoke with Donald Trump for the first time since Mark Carney took office two weeks ago. The tone of the call was reportedly productive and less contentious than previous talks. But neither side backed away from their respective trade threats.
And president Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a judge's ruling on the 200-year-old Alien Enemies Act. A district court judge blocked the administration's use of the act for deportations. Now the White House is asking the Supreme Court to give the president sweeping authority usually reserved for wartime.
BRUNHUBER: Elon Musk and his allies have thrown $20 million behind the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate in Tuesday's high profile Wisconsin Supreme Court election and Musk says he's heading to the state this weekend with millions more to give out.
It's a race that campaign finance watchdogs say could cost as much as $100 million. In a post on X, Musk said he planned to travel to Wisconsin on Sunday to give two people at a campaign event $1 million each in exchange for signing a petition.
Musk deleted an earlier version of the post, in which he wrote that he would give the checks, quote, "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote."
He then said the money would be given to two people to be spokesmen for the petition. Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, says he's taking legal action against Musk's America PAC for the giveaway. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit, requesting a court order to stop Musk
and his super PAC from, quote, "making illegal payments to Wisconsin voters."
Now in a surprise twist, liberal Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford was randomly assigned the case. And she wasted no time in recusing herself. Here she is.
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SUSAN CRAWFORD, SUPREME COURT CANDIDATE: You can't make this stuff up. It just, there have been a lot of twists and turns in this race. And I just, you know, I couldn't believe it. But I knew that I had to get the paperwork done to make sure that I was off the case as quickly as possible.
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BRUNHUBER: Want to bring in Anya van Wagtendonk, who's a state capital reporter with Wisconsin Public Radio and she joins us live from Madison.
Thank you so much for taking the time to join us here this morning. I don't imagine many in Wisconsin are used to so much national scrutiny over a state Supreme Court race. And the amounts of money involved are just mind-boggling and record-setting.
So just to start, what's the mood there, with many of the eyes of the nation on the state right now?
ANYA VAN WAGTENDONK, WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO: Yes. Well, we are having a little bit of deja vu because our first experience at this level of exposure -- or almost this level -- was two years ago, the first time that the ideological balance of the court really shifted from conservative to liberal in 15 years.
That was another record-shattering election. That cost about $56 million. So you just said that this one is hitting about $100 million. And so it's records on records. And so it really is sort of something that, I think, Wisconsin voters are getting used to and also getting a little bit tired of.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I can imagine. So listen, the race is officially nonpartisan.
But if Crawford wins, the court keeps its liberal majority. As you said, if Schimel wins, it would flip to conservative control.
Why is that such a big deal?
What's on the line here?
VAN WAGTENDONK: Yes, there are a couple of cases that we know are going to be taken up by the court relatively soon. We don't know necessarily that it'll be by the new justice as well.
But one, the most prominent one and the one that really kind of revs up voters is to do with abortion rights. So that case has already started before the court and will proceed.
There's another one that is almost guaranteed to go forward, which is about labor rights in the state, union rights. And so those are two really prominent issues.
And then it's expected that there might be a case about congressional redistricting. And so that's another one that's really kind of revving up voters.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. That could have a huge effect on the country as well. So a lot of the controversy is around what I was speaking about earlier, Elon Musk giving away millions of dollars to voters.
How are people feeling about that?
Do they get the sense that he's buying votes?
And more broadly, with both sides spending millions, how is this sort of outside money influencing the race's message and dynamics?
VAN WAGTENDONK: Yes, I think one of the things that you hear from voters, kind of no matter where you are in the state and who you talk to, is just the deluge of mailings that they're getting.
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Ads, billboards, you know, advertisements on YouTube videos and on their TVs. And so really, just the volume of it is really quite significant.
And certainly on the side of liberal candidate Judge Crawford, there is a real attempt to tie Musk to Trump and the Trump agenda and to talk about -- to make the argument that he's sort of trying to buy a justice.
But as, as you mentioned, they're both benefiting from these kind of major donations and a lot of money on both sides. It's just that Musk, as one individual, really has -- he's taking up a ton of space and kind of head and shoulders above any other donor in this race.
BRUNHUBER: All right. So politically, this is being seen as sort of a litmus test by both sides. For Republicans, it's an early referendum on Trump's term. For liberals, it's seen as a test of whether they've learned anything since the last election. So take me through sort of what people are watching for here from the -- from the political point of view.
VAN WAGTENDONK: Yes. I mean, I think you put it really well. One thing that's been interesting to see, again, comparing to the race two years ago, is a little bit of a different energy on the sort of Democratic or liberal side, where I think folks on that side came out of the November election a little bit demoralized. And so this is, for them, a bit of a test of, can they kind of get
their base revved back up around something, where, again, an issue like abortion is at stake?
And then on the conservative side, I think the question is kind of, do they have those -- the wind at their back, so to speak, because of the Trump victory?
And can they turn out their voters?
I think that Schimel is really relying on Trump voters specifically, an interesting difference from two years ago. He's taking money from the Republican Party in a way that the conservative candidate in that race didn't.
And that's also part of why you're seeing those numbers just rack up, because both sides are really playing that that major national donor game.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. All right. Well, it's a fascinating race. And as I said, the nation will be watching. Really appreciate having you breaking it all down for us, Anya van Wagtendonk in Madison, Wisconsin, thank you so much.
VAN WAGTENDONK: Thank you.
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BRUNHUBER: Elon Musk is scheduled to visit the CIA on Monday. Two sources tell CNN that this will be Musk's first visit to the intelligence agency. A source also told CNN that CIA director John Ratcliffe invited Musk and that the director announced Musk's visit at a town hall with CIA workers on Friday.
Now on Wednesday, Ratcliffe told the House Intelligence Committee that Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has had zero impact on the CIA.
Elon Musk has sold X, the company formerly known as Twitter, but he sold it to XAI, his own artificial intelligence company. Musk says XAI will pay $45 billion for X. That's slightly more than Musk paid for it in 2022.
Now he didn't announce any immediate changes to X but he says it will now deliver, quote, "smarter, more meaningful experiences."
Now with Donald Trump back in the White House and Musk leading the Department of Government Efficiency, X has become a higher profile platform for following the administration.
All right. I want to take you live now to Istanbul.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This is the scene at a rally by the Turkish main opposition, the Republican Peoples Party or CHP. It's the latest demonstration showing support for Istanbul's jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.
Imamoglu is seen as the most serious rival to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was detained just days before he was set to be named as a candidate for CHP in the next presidential election. That's expected to take place in 2028.
Turkiye's interior minister says more than 1,000 people have been detained during protests since the arrest.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine and Russia agreed to stop attacking each other's energy targets but now they're accusing each other of not living up to that pledge. We'll have that story ahead.
Plus, Israel carries out its first strike on Beirut since the ceasefire with Hezbollah began four months ago. We'll have a report from the region on the rising tensions next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: At least four people were killed after a Russian drone strike on Friday in Dnipro in central Ukraine. Ukrainian officials add that 19 others were injured. The attack ignited multiple fires and damaged several high-rise buildings.
Meanwhile, the two sides are accusing each other of attacking energy infrastructure. Moscow says Ukraine nearly destroyed this gas facility and tried to strike an oil refinery on Friday. But Kyiv is blaming Russia for hitting gas and power facilities in two of its regions. Both sides agreed last week to pause attacks on energy targets.
Also on Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out direct peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. But he said he's ready to talk with someone else who would represent Russia.
Israel's military carried out an airstrike on southern Beirut on Friday for the first time since November, when Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire. The strike was in response to two projectiles launched from Lebanon at Israel. Now the exchange is raising concerns about the shaky ceasefire and risk of increased fighting.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the latest from Tel Aviv.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Israel on Friday carrying out an airstrike in the Lebanese capital after two rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel. It is the first time since the November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect that the Israeli military has carried out strikes in Beirut.
The Israeli military said that they went after a Hezbollah drone storage facility. You can see the enormous blast caused by that airstrike. And in the aftermath of that strike, absolute destruction, that entire building was leveled in that strike. And you can see the damage in this video.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for that area about 1.5 hours before carrying out this strike and it said it carried out this strike in retaliation for those two rockets that were fired earlier on Friday against Israeli territory. One of those rockets was intercepted by the Israeli military. The other fell short in Lebanese territory, actually, according to the IDF.
Now Hezbollah has denied that it was responsible for carrying out those rocket attacks. And in fact, the images that we have of those two rocket launchers that were used in Friday's attack appear quite rudimentary. And it led Lebanon's president to say that he does not believe that this was Hezbollah. Instead, it seems more likely that this was a smaller militant group. Perhaps that is also based in southern Lebanon.
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But the Israeli government has made quite clear that they will consider any kind of attack from Lebanon toward Israel, that they will fire back at Hezbollah, whether or not it was Hezbollah actually responsible for that attack. They have also said that they will hold the Lebanese government responsible for any violations of the ceasefire that occur on Lebanese territory.
And this all comes at quite a precarious moment for Lebanon. It is just trying to stand up this new government, funding coming in from the United States and France to stand up the Lebanese army and to send them into southern Lebanon, to take over territory that was previously largely held by Hezbollah.
And now, the question is whether or not this cease fire will actually hold up. Questions over whether Hezbollah will feel the need to retaliate against Israel for this strike in Beirut. A very tenuous moment, a very fragile moment, certainly, as everything seems to be escalating in the region at the moment -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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BRUNHUBER: Gaza's civil defense says it's recovered the body of one of nine aid workers missing after coming under Israeli military fire. A spokesperson says civil defense and the Red Crescent Society were finally granted access to the area on Friday. He says they found massive destruction and widespread bulldozing.
The ambulances and fire trucks the aid workers were using had been destroyed. The Israeli military claims militants were using the vehicles as cover. Various groups report more than a dozen aid workers have been killed or gone missing over the past week. Israel has been ramping up its military campaign in Gaza after the
ceasefire with Hamas collapsed.
The United Nations secretary general warned that a perfect storm is unfolding in South Sudan and time is running out to help one of the world's poorest countries.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: The peace agreement is in shambles, a humanitarian nightmare, with about three out of four South Sudanese needing assistance, half the population severely food insecure and cholera breaking out.
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BRUNHUBER: South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. It's been wracked by violence between competing political factions and ethnic groups for years, displacing more than a million people and creating a humanitarian crisis.
The Associated Press reports that the main opposition party said a peace deal collapsed following the arrest of the group's leader.
All right, still to come, the heavy rains blamed for death and destruction in parts of south Texas and northern Mexico. We'll have that story and more coming up. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Days of intense thunderstorms have dumped more than a foot of rain and triggered flash flood emergencies in the southwestern U.S. The storms are blamed for three deaths in south Texas and one in northern Mexico.
The severe weather also forced authorities to make dozens of water rescues near the U.S.-Mexico border and they're still trying to reach people trapped in their homes. Several abandoned vehicles were partially submerged along a highway in one Texas county on Friday.
Meanwhile, some people in the area say they needed rain to end a drought.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were kind of bouncing between two scenarios here, extended drought and floods. And now obviously our situation is not ideal but the rain is by far needed and welcomed.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: The rain may have stopped but there's still a risk of flooding because swollen rivers could overflow their banks in the coming days.
Now 175 million people, about half of the U.S. population, could be in the path of severe thunderstorms early next week. Some of the same areas hit hard by deadly storms two weeks ago could get slammed in the next round of thunderstorms.
And unseasonably warm temperatures could bring powerful wind, large hail and tornadoes in the Central and Eastern states on Sunday and Monday.
In northern Spain, local communities have a special bond with wild horses. Not only are the mountain herds celebrated in a unique cultural tradition, they also play a crucial role in reducing the risk of wildfires, as CNN's Nick Valencia reports.
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NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This isn't a rodeo you're watching. These are Aloitadores -- horse wrestlers. Three, four of them tackle one wild horse to the ground at a time. A contest just as important to the horses' health as it is to Galician culture.
During the annual Rapa das Bestas or shaving of the wild horses, Aloitadores aren't brawling with these beasts just for fun. These bestas, as they're known, are getting a trim; also, tags and vaccinations, an effort to keep these culturally iconic horses healthy as they scamper around northern Spain.
LAURA LAGOS, CISPAC RESEARCHER (through translator): The main motivations to keep having wild horses in the woods is emotional. Everybody tells you that they want to keep the tradition alive, to keep doing what their ancestors did in the past.
VALENCIA (voice-over): But these bestas aren't just saving tradition. They're saving Galicia from wildfires. As the wild horses graze, they clear combustible undergrowth so effectively that they've been dubbed clearing machines.
XAVIER ALVAREZ BLASQUEZ FERNANDEZ, SECRETARY, ASSOCIATION OF WILD HORSES IN SERRA DI GROBA (through translator): They eat almost all the time. Where there are bestas, vegetation is not going to overgrow.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Southern Galicia Son con Meddan (ph) gives bestas much of the credit for protecting its villagers. As a September fire quickly enclosed on the village, the horses grazed even faster, heroically chomping away on flammable vegetation.
CESAR LEIROS, FIREFIGHTER (through translator): We saw the town surrounded by fire. But thanks to the indigenous trees, the clearing that we do and the clearing that our animals do, the town was saved. VALENCIA (voice-over): Written off as cattle by some, there is much
more to these bestas, not just symbols of cultural tradition but protectors of those who cherish them -- Nick Valencia, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: All right, well, this is the world's first ever wild-to- wild jaguar translocation. Argentina released Mini, a wild-born jaguar, into El Impenetrable National Park this week. Mini joins two other female jaguars in the park. Experts hope to revive the animals' population there.
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Jaguars are considered an endangered species in Argentina. There are fewer than 200 left within the nation's borders. Experts estimate the big cats have lost nearly 95 percent of their original habitat throughout the country.
The cherry trees that line Washington, D.C.'s, Tidal Basin came into full bloom on Friday. Have a look there. That's is the start of the brief but colorful phase called peak bloom, which can last for several days if the weather is right.
And with unseasonably warm temperatures expected, the National Park Service says it's getting ready for thousands of visitors to come and enjoy the cherry blossoms, called sakura in Japanese. The yoshino cherry trees are native to Japan and have been brightening up Tokyo this week as well.
All right. Now to college basketball, where top schools are battling to survive March Madness. On the men's side, the Michigan State Spartans have advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019, following a hard-fought contest with the Ole Miss Rebels.
Despite Ole Miss jumping ahead to an early lead, the Spartans bounced back in the second half, holding on for a narrow win, 73-70. Michigan State faces number one seed Auburn on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Now on the women's side, the LSU Tigers won their Sweet 16 matchup against North Carolina State. The two teams traded leads late into the second half but LSU went on a 10-point run to seal the win, 80-73. The Tigers continue on to their third straight Elite Eight appearance and will face number one seed UCLA.
All right. That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
For viewers in North America. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world. It's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
