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U.S. Stock Futures Rise Amid Temporary Tariff Exemptions For Tech Products; Arrest Made After Arson At PA Governor's Home; Houthis Take Responsibility For Ballistic Missile Attack Targeting Israel; At Least 34 Dead In Ukrainian City Of Sumy After Russian Missile Strikes; Pope Francis Makes Brief Appearance After Palm Sunday Service; Trump To Meet With El Salvador's Bukele In Coming Hours; Interview With Former U.S. District Judge For Southern District Of New York Shira Scheindlin; Blue Origin Rocket With All-Female Crew Set For Launch; Researchers In Europe Use A.I. To Help Predict Wildfires; Rory McIlroy Earns Elusive Green Jacket. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 14, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BEN HUNTE, CNN HOST: Hello wherever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you here. Coming up on the show, trade war whiplash. Donald Trump says tariffs on big tech are coming and nobody is getting off the hook.

A man is now in custody after a brazen arson attack forced the Pennsylvania governor and his family to evacuate their home.

And an author female crew is set to blast off to the edge of space for a short yet historic trip.

It is a new week, and so far at least the global markets are looking up after the Trump administration appeared on Friday to exempt many electronics from its sweeping tariffs. U.S. Futures are in the green hours before Wall Street opens. And in the Asia Pacific region, markets are also on the rise.

But comments from White House officials over the weekend are now adding even more confusion to these tech exemptions. The U.S. Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, says there's only a temporary reprieve for electronics like smartphones and laptops and that new tariffs will be announced in a month or two. Many Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, are slamming the president for the confusion over his shifting tariff policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH WARREN, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: You can't get an economy strong and moving forward when it's loaded with chaos and corruption. Investors will not invest in the United States when Donald Trump is playing red light, green light with tariffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: CNN's Kevin Liptak is following the latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Uncertainty continued to be the word of the day when it comes to the president's tariff policy and specifically when it comes to these exemptions that we heard about Friday evening on high tech electronic products coming from China.

And what administration officials said Sunday was that this was less of an exemption and more of a technical step as they work to investigate the national security implications of importing semiconductors. Remember, those are those small computer chips that power smartphones, laptops, computers, all of those products that the Customs and Border Patrol said in their notice would be excluded from the president's reciprocal tariffs.

Now, the president's aides say that those exemptions are not permanent, essentially that they're temporary and that new tariffs will be applied to those products once that national security review is completed.

Howard Lutnick, the president's commerce secretary said this could take between one to two months. And he said this was all part of the effort to bring the manufacture of those products back to the United States. Listen to Howard Lutnick.

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: President Trump has called out pharmaceuticals and semiconductors and autos. He called them sector tariffs and those are not available for negotiation. They are just going to be part of making sure we reassure the core national security items that need to be made in this country. These are included in the semiconductor tariffs that are coming and the pharmaceuticals are coming.

LIPTAK: Now the president himself also tried to clarify these exemptions. He wrote on Truth Social, nobody is getting off the hook. He went on to say there is no tariff exception announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20 percent fentanyl tariffs and they're just moving to a different tariff bucket.

Essentially his message and his advisers message has been that this is all part of the plan. These carve outs on the high tech products are all part of this vision by the president to reorient global trade. But I don't think you can discount the uncertainty that is now hanging over the entire tariff program as the president applies tariffs, lifts tariffs, adjusts the tariffs rates, announces exemptions, then goes on to say that the exemptions are temporary.

If you're a business owner, a small business owner, a large business owner, it's a very difficult time to figure out where exactly to invest. But listening to the president and listening to his team, they say that this is all just part of the plan. Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [01:05:09]

HUNTE: Amid all of this tariff uncertainty, China's President Xi Jinping is visiting Southeast Asia with a message of economic stability and cooperation. He begins his trip in Vietnam, followed by Malaysia and Cambodia, three nations targeted by Donald Trump with high tariff rates before the temporary pause.

Well, you know, we want to dig deeper on this. So we're joined live now by CNN's Kristie Liu Stout in Hong Kong. Hey, Kristie, thank you for being with me again. Please talk us through the agenda and the significance of this visit.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Chinese President Xi Jinping has touched down in Hanoi. He is on this charm offensive during this very critical time in what is his first overseas visit since November. The Chinese leader is visiting three Southeast Asian nations. And these are visits, high level visits that usually take weeks or months to prepare.

And the timing, though, is significant because it signals that China is willing to stand up to the United States and to Donald Trump as he continues to wage his trade war. Today the Chinese president will be visiting again, a state visit to Vietnam, followed by later in the week, Malaysia and Cambodia.

And earlier today, Xi Jinping released a signed letter making some statements that was published in Vietnamese state media as well as Chinese state media about how he wants to deepen the trade relationship with Vietnam.

Let's bring up his statements for you. And this is what the Chinese leader said, quote, our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains and open and cooperative international environment.

Now Xinhua reports that Xi Jinping will be meeting with Vietnam's top leaders, including the Vietnamese president. Reuters, citing anonymous sources, is reporting that Vietnam and China are set to ink some 40 trade deals, including an agreement on rail links.

Political observers watching events very carefully and they're saying that they expect Xi Jinping to show Southeast Asia trade love, quite in contrast to Donald Trump who has been making trade threats. I wanted to see this comment that I heard from Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist who's a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. This is what he told me.

He said this, quote, Xi is going to show them love, perhaps signing some new trade deals or some new upgrades in their strategic partnership agreement. All these are ways for China to kind of show, I'm on your side, it is safe to hang out with China, especially if you're concerned about the US.

Look, Southeast Asia is a close trading partner of both China and the United States. I want to show you this graphic just to remind you about what happened to Vietnam and Cambodia recently. They made it onto that worst offender list with those reciprocal tariffs being threatened by Donald trump. There was a 90-pause underway here. But these were the rates that they were up against Vietnam, 46 percent, Cambodia, percent 49, Malaysia, 24 percent. All three countries have been reaching out to the United States for talks. But all eyes now on Vietnam.

Vietnam in a really tight spot right now as it rolls out the red carpet for Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping likely bearing gifts, perhaps a trade deal. But Vietnam also want to make sure that it's not going to upset Donald Trump. Back to you, Ben.

HUNTE: Oh, yes. Well, this is all just starting. Let's see what happens next. But for now, Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, thank you being with me.

LU STOUT: Thank you.

HUNTE: Pennsylvania Police say a 38-year-old man is in custody in connection with an arson attack at the home of the state's governor. Although firefighters were able to put out the flames, the house was significantly damaged.

Governor Josh Shapiro's family was woken up by police and evacuated. The governor says the attack was targeted, but it won't keep him from openly practicing his faith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH SHAPIRO, PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night. Hear me on this. We celebrated our faith last night proudly. And in a few hours we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover again proudly. No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: CNN's Danny Freeman has more from Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was an extremely troubling and frightening night in Pennsylvania's Capitol after Governor Josh Shapiro's mansion, the governor's mansion residence was set on fire intentionally, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The main headline that we learned Sunday afternoon is that there was a suspect taken into custody, 38-year-old Cody Balmer, who'll be charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault. That's according to the Dauphin county district attorney.

[01:10:00]

But here's a little bit of a timeline of the best that we understand as to how this all unfolded. On Saturday evening, Governor Josh Shapiro was holding a Passover Seder for the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover. He was with his family. He had guests over at the governor's residence as well. They all then went to sleep. And then at some point in the middle of the night, just before 2:00 a.m. Pennsylvania State Police say this man Balmer jumped a fence at the governor's residence, evaded state troopers who at that time actually realized that there had been a breach.

The man was then able to break into the residence, set fire to the residence, escape, then by jumping back over the fence. He had homemade incendiary devices on him, according to Pennsylvania State police.

Then at 2:00 a.m. Governor Shapiro said that he and his family and some of his guests who were staying over were woken up by bangs on the door because first responders were alerting him that part of the residence was on fire. Thankfully, though, the fire was in a different part of the building from where the governor, his wife, family and guests were, and first responders were able to knock that fire down.

Amazingly, no one was injured. But again, now there is a multi-agency investigation ongoing into exactly what happened here. The investigation being led by the Pennsylvania State Police, but also being assisted by the FBI.

And I just want you to listen to how Governor Shapiro characterized what he was feeling after this entire incident. Clearly overwhelms by the level of support that he's received from so many across the country after this incident. But also he said that he will not be deterred by violence, from doing his job or by practicing his faith.

SHAPIRO: This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society and I don't give a damn if it's coming from one particular side or the other directed at one particular party or another or one particular person or another. It is not OK.

FREEMAN: Now, Pennsylvania State Police investigators say that this investigation is ongoing and they're also reviewing security protocols at the governor's residence. At this time, CNN has not been able to get in contact with an attorney for Ballmer. Danny Freeman, cnn, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Ecuador's president won reelection in a runoff on Sunday, but his rival is rejecting the results and will call for a recount. Daniel Noboa says there is no doubt he won by more than a million votes. But both he and rival Luisa Gonzalez vowed to crack down on rampant gang violence and to improve Ecuador's alien economy. Noboa is the son of a billionaire businessman and says he will partner with U.S. troops to fight crime.

So what will the next four years look like for Ecuadorians struggling with rampant crime and a struggling economy? I spoke to CNN en Espanol's Fernando del Rincon earlier, and he's in the capital of Quito.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Are these results surprising and what is expected to be Noboa's main focus?

FERNANDO DEL RINCON, CNN E ANCHOR: Hi, Ben. Thanks for having me. Well, it was expected to be a tight race, but with over 90 percent of votes counted, Ecuador's conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa, as you said, will hold office for four more years after beating leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez on this Sunday's runoff election.

Noboa will now have the opportunity to continue his war against criminal groups that turn this once very peaceful nation into the murder capital of Latin America. Noboa has been pushing for help from the international community to fight the violence and is trying to change the constitution to allow the presence of foreign military bases.

The big question is, will the ban be lifted and will the U.S. troops returned to Ecuador after exiting the country in 2009? Ben?

HUNTE: Yes. And has challenger Luisa Gonzalez actually accepted the results? It sounds like no.

DEL RINCON: As you said, Ben, shortly after the results started coming in, Gonzalez questioned the results, saying that the polls had very different numbers and said she will ask for a recount. However, the numbers are clear. Noboa has over 1 million votes more than Gonzalez, according to official data from the country's electoral council. Noboa is set to be sworn in -- on May 24 to serve his first full term, where he seeks to improve security and reactivate the nation's struggling economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: South Korea's ousted president is in court for the first hearing in a criminal trial. Yoon Suk Yeol is facing charges that he led an insurrection. Yoon's declaration of martial law in December plunged South Korea into months of political turmoil.

Earlier this month, the country's highest court removed him from office. Yoon eventually moved out to the presidential residence on Friday.

[01:15:00]

The New York toy company involved in a deadly helicopter crash last week will shut down immediately. That's according to FAA officials. The chopper plunged into the Hudson River on Thursday. Six people on board were killed, including the pilot and a family from Spain with three young children.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer says no flights from New York helicopter tours should take off while the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the crash. The company has been involved in two previous safety incidents. Israel faces new missile fire, this time from Yemen, as the Israeli

military continues to expand its control in Gaza. The latest on the tensions in the Middle East just ahead.

Plus, Pope Francis joined Christians Celebrating Palm Sunday in Rome as he continues to recover from double pneumonia. Those stories and much more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:17]

HUNTE: Houthi rebels in Yemen are claiming responsibility for two missiles fired at Israel on Sunday. The Israeli military said earlier in the day it had likely intercept one of two missiles fired from Yemen. It appears a military base and Israel's international airport were the targets and as a result, the rebel group boasted the airport was shut down for an hour amid panic and confusion.

The Israel Airport authority says an alarm was raised, but everything is now back to normal.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is pushing its ground operations deeper into Gaza. Officials say Israel now has the southern Morag corridor completely occupied. This essentially isolates the city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza and makes the area part of the expanding Israeli security zone. The IDF is looking to create a large buffer zone between Gaza and Israeli territory.

And that means hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are being pushed into an ever shrinking bubble on the Mediterranean coast.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he was told Russia, quote, made a mistake when striking Ukraine on Palm Sunday. The comments come after two ballistic missiles hit Ukraine's northern city of Sumy, resulting in the single deadliest Russian attack since 2023. More than 100 people were injured with at least 34 confirmed dead, including two children.

Amid the devastation, Ukraine's president is calling on the world to condemn Moscow's continued aggression.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE (voice-over): A busy morning in Ukraine shattered in an instant by a Russian missile strike. Ukrainian officials say two ballistic missiles struck the northeastern city of Sumy at a time that would have been bustling with people going to church for Palm Sunday.

The city center now filled with burned out cars, buses and body bags. A place that would have been full of activity before the attack. But one local official says Russia must have known that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At that time a lot of people were on the street. The enemy was hoping to inflict the greatest damage on people in the city of Sumy. HUNTE (voice-over): Russia has previously denied targeting civilians,

but the carnage in Sumy is unmistakable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We live in the city center. There is no military base here. There are no soldiers here.

HUNTE (voice-over): The city is reeling after the worst single attack on Ukrainian civilians since 2023. Ukrainian officials say there are indications cluster munitions were used in the attack, which can scatter deadly explosives over wide areas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The first strike on the event hall, were more or less fine. But the second strike hit us. More cupboards fell. We were lucky that our windows faced this side of the street. Here is their Palm Sunday gift.

HUNTE (voice-over): The attack on Sumy comes just days after U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an attempt speed up peace talks. But Ukraine says Russia is intensifying its attacks as diplomatic efforts drag on. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's time for the world to get tougher on Russia for its duplicity.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Wars end only when criminal wars are not forgotten and when there is pressure on the aggressor. This is not happening now.

HUNTE (voice-over): U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the strikes horrifying, a sentiment echoed by several European leaders. But so far, harsh words and criticism haven't been enough to stop the attacks on Ukraine's civilians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Pope Francis has made a public appearance in Rome for Palm Sunday. CNN's Christopher Lamb has more on the pontiff's ongoing recovery and his desire to be with his followers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pope Francis appearance at the end of the Palm Sunday Mass shows he wants to try and be present at some of the services that take place during Holy Week and at Easter.

Now, of course, Francis would normally be leading a number of services during Holy Week, but of course, given his hospitalization for five weeks for pneumonia means he can't play the role he would normally do in leading those services.

However, his appearance at the end of the Palm Sunday Mass shows he does want to be present.

[01:25:00]

He wants to have some role. He wished people today a good Palm Sunday and a good Holy Week. He greeted some of the cardinals and the civic leaders who had gathered for the mass and afterwards went into St. Peter's Basilica to pray.

Now doctors have ordered the pope to have two months of rest and convalescence following the life threatening battle with pneumonia that the pope had. He almost lost his life on two occasions when he was hospitalized for five weeks.

So he does have to be careful, but at the same time, he wants to be amongst the people. He wants to be visible. Francis has paid a visit to St. Peter's previously and to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, and he met with King Charles and Queen Camilla on Wednesday.

So he has been doing some small public activities. But of course he has to balance the orders of the doctors for him to rest and avoid large crowds with his desire to be amongst the people and to be present at what is the high point of the church's liturgical year, Holy Week, and the run up to Easter. It remains to be seen what participation he will have in those services, but Francis appearance on Palm Sunday shows he is determined to play at least some role. Christopher Lamb, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Christians in Syria celebrated Palm Sunday for the first time under Islamist control of the country. Recent incidents increased fears of a potential attack, but worshippers in Aleppo found security measures increased in and around churches.

In Jerusalem, hundreds attended a traditional procession on the Mount of Olives. Latin and Greek Orthodox priests led the Palm Sunday activities and Iraqis in Mosul celebrated in a mass attended by hundreds of people. They formed a procession to march through the city waving flags and carrying palm leaves.

Donald Trump brushes off claims of human rights abuses at El Salvador's Secot Prison as he gets ready to meet the country's leader. More on the Trump administration's crackdown on migrants just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:58]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

In the coming hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at the White House. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants it claims are gang members to El Salvador's CECOT mega prison.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced it had sent ten more alleged gang members there.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, in immigrant in the U.S. With protected status, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. President Trump denies that there may be human rights violations at CECOT prison. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think he's doing a fantastic job. And he's taking care of a lot of problems that we have, that we really wouldn't be able to take care of from a cost standpoint. And he's doing really -- he's been amazing.

We have some very bad people in that prison, people that should have never been allowed into our country, people that murdered, drug dealers, some of the worst people on earth are in that prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Well, the Trump administration is insisting that it's not required to work with El Salvador to bring Garcia home. And this comes just days after the Supreme Court endorsed a federal judge's directive that the U.S. must facilitate his return. It's just one example of the White House defying federal court orders on immigration issues.

To break all of this down, we're joined now by retired U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York, Shira Scheindlin. Thank you so much for being with me. How are you doing?

SHIRA SCHEINDLIN, FORMER U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Fine. My pleasure to be here.

HUNTE: Thank you so much.

Can you just tell me about the environment, in your view as a judge right now in the U.S.? What are they going through?

SCHEINDLIN: Well, of course, at the moment I'm a retired judge of the U.S. district court, where I served for 22 years, so I can't really tell you what it's like for the judges on the court, but I think they're feeling a lot of pressure.

There's case after case after case being brought against the Trump administration or the other way around that he's pursuing and somebody's fighting back. So they're very busy.

They're very aware of the high stakes. And I think they're, as a group, very courageous. They're doing each time what they think is right, they won't be intimidated.

There's all this talk of impeachment. I think the judges pay no attention to it. Remember, federal court judges in the United States have life tenure. And there's no way to get them off the bench other than impeachment. And there's no such thing as impeaching a judge because of their decisions.

Only 12, I think, or maybe 14 judges in the history of the country have ever been impeached. They were impeached for a real crime, like taking a bribe, but never because somebody disagreed with a decision.

[01:34:47] HUNTE: What protections do exist currently to ensure that these federal judges can make rulings that are free from this political pressure, because we're seeing so much of it.

SCHEINDLIN: We have state judges and federal judges. The state judges don't have life tenure. They're often elected, and they have to face reelection so that the public gets to vote. And there's a lot of money raised. It's a very different environment.

But a federal judge, once they're appointed and confirmed by the Senate, they serve for life. So they're not subject to being -- subject of pressure, so to speak. They really are an independent judiciary. And they really can do what they -- what they think is right, subject to appeal, of course.

A district judge, which is the trial level, can then be appealed to the appellate court, which is the intermediate level, and maybe to the United States Supreme Court. That's the way a judge's decision will be judged, not by impeachment. So the judges feel quite safe, I think.

HUNTE: And meanwhile, do you believe that the public's trust in the judiciary has changed due to the way that certain administrations like the Trump administration, have interacted with the courts?

SCHEINDLIN: Well now, that's a fair question. I do think the public has lost a lot of trust in the court. But when I say the court, I mean the United States Supreme Court, because what they've seen the United States Supreme Court do is act in a very partisan fashion.

Many of the decisions that favor the Trump administration are by 5 to 4 or 6 to 3, which means that generally the justices appointed by Republican presidents vote one way and the justices who are appointed by Presidents Clinton or Obama, they vote the other way. So I think that the country has lost a lot of faith in the judiciary.

There's also been a lot of upset over the fact that the Supreme Court doesn't have an ethics rule that governs them. All the other federal judges are bound by ethics rules, but not the United States Supreme Court.

So there's been a lot of information that's come out about some of those judges sort of hobnobbing with some of the wealthy people who fund these elections and fund the businesses and the courts that appear before them. So the court has lost a lot of respect, I think, the highest court.

HUNTE: You did kind of touch on it there, but both Democrats and Republicans have accused judges of placing personal politics into their decisions. What is your take on that?

SCHEINDLIN: I don't think that's fair. I think that a judge is a product of who that person has been all the years before they became a judge. So we all have a past. We all have a background, parents, education. So we all don't think the same way.

And every president has a right to try to pick judges who think the same way the president does. So in that sense, yes, judges are a product of who they are and who -- and who chose them. But I don't think they're putting their personal views first. Each one I really do believe, is doing what he or she thinks is right and fair.

So we've seen a number of judges recently who are appointed by Republicans but who have ruled against this administration in very resounding words, saying that he's been a threat to our democracy. And those are judges who've been appointed by Republican presidents.

So I do think every judge tries to do what he or she thinks is right.

HUNTE: All right. Well, you just schooled me there. I'm sure you gave some great information for our international audience as well.

Judge Shira Scheindlin, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.

SCHEINDLIN: Thank you. Bye-bye.

HUNTE: Six women are preparing to blast off into history. Blue Origin is scheduled to launch the first mission to space with an all-female crew in decades.

[01:38:41]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: We're back.

Later today, a star-studded group of female space tourists will rocket into history as they take off on Blue Origin's New Shepard 31. The crew is made up of six women, including pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, who's the fiance of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos. Also on board will be two scientists and a film producer.

The women will soar just over 100 kilometers, crossing the boundary into space. They'll get a few minutes to unbuckle and float weightless, returning to earth about ten minutes after takeoff.

Let's dig deeper with Sarah Treadwell. She is a NASA solar system ambassador. Her Web site is spacecasesarah.com. And she's joining us from Rockford, Illinois.

Thank you so much for being with me, Sarah. How are you doing?

SARAH TREADWELL, NASA SOLAR SYSTEM AMBASSADOR: Thank you so much for having me again. This is so exciting.

HUNTE: You're so, so welcome. Yes, it's really exciting times actually. This flight, however, is only ten minutes long. So can you just tell me? Yes, it's very exciting. There's a lot going on, but at what point will they actually reach space? And for how long? Like one minute, two minutes?

TREADWELL: Yes, I think it's about three minutes, if my memory serves me correctly. They go up about 65 miles above the, you know, the surface of the earth. And to put that into context, the International Space Station is 250 miles up, but that 65-mile line seems to be the proper definition of you have reached space.

[01:44:53]

HUNTE: Interesting. Ok. And this is a star-studded crew with some absolutely huge names on the list. So all eyes internationally on this space capsule.

Is this flight actually safe enough to have all of these massive names on it, do you think?

TREADWELL: Oh, I mean, in terms of safety, yes. I know a lot of people who work for Blue Origin and they are incredibly confident in the safety of the new -- the capsule that they have built for this flight and previous flights. I believe this rocket is being reused.

HUNTE: Ok. I mean, I'm just seeing Gayle King there actually smiling. In previous stuff, she's looked a bit scared. Like, and everyone's saying, like, don't do it.

(CROSSTALK)

HUNTE: For real, for real. I'm like, don't do anything to Mama Gayle, please.

But it is very interesting because after this flight, can this crew be called astronauts? Is Katy Perry now an astronaut? Is that something that's reserved for something else? Different criteria.

TREADWELL: Oh, man. And within the space community, I will tell you, even just today, going through my socials, it is -- it is such a huge debate about what the label should be. Are you just a space tourist or are you, you know, a yes, an astronaut?

But I think at this point, really what we have to focus on is that the industry is changing tremendously, right? Suddenly we have all these commercial flights that are happening that didn't happen even when I was a little kid, right.

And I think back to when airplanes first started, and that was only for the elite and the wealthy, right? And -- and so this is sort of a new generation of that happening where now we're seeing commercial spaceflight being more accessible not for the average day person. \

But it was just a decade ago. It was, you know, unless you were completely, you know, fighter jet pilot person that trained with NASA, you weren't going to go to space.

So the language has just not caught up quite yet. And I think we're still working that out.

HUNTE: So why is it then that these flights are happening? What is this about? Is this just PR for space?

TREADWELL: No, I think it's honestly, it's making space more accessible for more people. It's making space become, you know --

HUNTE: Is it though? Is it?

I'm not going into space like Gayle King is not a normal person, surely.

TREADWELL: I agree, I would agree. Not right now, not right now. It's not at a price point that most of us could afford.

But again, using that analogy of the -- of the airplane, I think eventually we're going to see a low earth orbit economy, no different than the way that people travel all around the world on airplanes.

HUNTE: I mean, yes, we talk about normal people -- Jeff Bezos, his wife, Katy Perry, and Gayle King. Like it's not my level of seeing him down the supermarket.

(CROSSTALK)

HUNTE: Yes, I feel it. I feel it.

I wonder we've been talking about how monumental this is. And in these times of anti-wokeness, anti-DEI, what sort of a statement is it to have an all-female crew? And do you think it could happen again soon.

TREADWELL: Well, from what I understand it was Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos' fiance, who chose who was going to fly on this flight. And her idea was she wanted to pick inspirational women across a broad spectrum of different types of industries.

And, and I think that's really powerful because we haven't seen as strong of a representation of women in STEM fields. And there's, you know, obviously a lot of historical context to that.

Are we going to see that again? I mean, I'm very, very excited about the prospect of Artemis 2 and Artemis 3, where we might put the first woman on the moon, which has never happened before.

You know, I think that because this is a private flight, they had the ability to be like, well, we're going to pick an all women crew. When it comes to more NASA initiatives, I think, you know, it's a little bit different because it's, you know -- you know, not private. But I think it's a cool initiative either way.

HUNTE: Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed for that as well. And thank you so, so much for joining us, Sarah.

TREADWELL: Thank you so much.

HUNTE: Wildfires can be unpredictable, but a European climate research facility is working to understand where and when a wildfire could start with the help of artificial intelligence.

CNN's Derek Van Dam has the details.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Researchers in Europe are using the power of A.I. to predict where wildfires will break out before the first ember even ignites.

Using machine learning, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts has developed a new model that takes into account a variety of factors to determine areas at risk of wildfires.

JOE MCNORTON, ECMWF CLIMATE SCIENTIST: So historically for fire forecasting, we use what's called the Fire Weather Index.

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MCNORTON: And this is a simple physics-based model where we use four weather variables -- temperature, wind, precipitation and humidity to forecast the chance that if a fire does occur, how intense it will be.

So what we know from that is that it doesn't account for a lot of things. It doesn't account for fuel, it doesn't account for ignition sources and things like that. So what we try to do here is we try to incorporate more data into a machine learning framework.

VAN DAM: For example, in the recent L.A. wildfires, unusual wet weather conditions leading up to the fires caused ample vegetation growth that was then made flammable by exceptionally dry weather and winter.

This new model would be able to take those factors into account and find specific areas most at risk.

FRANCESCA DI GIUSEPPE, ECMWF PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: This new method the probability of fire having the memory of the fuel abundance in their formulation allow to really identify those regions that could be much more affected compared to simpler method that only consider weather.

And this is why our prediction in this case was much more precise and pinpointed the exact location when very close to Los Angeles, where fire really occurred.

VAN DAM: The danger wildfires pose is growing. Just last year, wildfires forced the displacement of 800,000 people, the highest numbers since records began back in 2008.

Researchers hope the model can be used by fire officials to identify areas at the most risk of fires, and prevent them before they start saving lives and homes in the process.

Derek Van Dam, CNN -- Atlanta.

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HUNTE: It was a roller coaster final round at Augusta. Rory McIlroy finally captures his first green jacket in dramatic fashion, and with it, a place in the record books among golf royalty.

We'll have the highlights from the Masters just ahead.

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HUNTE: Hello again.

Ducati's Marc Marquez has done it again, placing first at the Qatar Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday. Despite an early collision that left his bike wings damaged, Marquez was able to recover his rhythm.

The Spaniard battled his way to the front of the pack before going full throttle, recording his two fastest laps back-to-back to finish the race.

The victory was Marquez's first in (INAUDIBLE) since 2014, and now cements him at the top of the motor grand prix rider standings.

Golfer Rory McIlroy has won his first Masters tournament, and is now just the sixth player ever to complete the career grand slam, winning each of the sports four majors.

But his elusive green jacket didn't come easy after a rollercoaster final round at Augusta, including an unexpected play off.

World Sport's Don Riddell was there for it all.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I've been covering golf on CNN for more than 20 years, and I've been a fan of the game for my whole life. And I don't think I've ever experienced as much nerve-jangling drama and pure edge-of-the-seat entertainment as this 89th Masters. Here on Sunday, we quite literally saw it all.

At stake for Rory McIlroy, a place in the history books, the first green jacket and the chance to enter the pantheon of greats alongside Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only men to win all four of the major tournaments.

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RIDDELL: Standing in his way, that weight of history and the psychological scar tissue of a catastrophic meltdown here in 2011 when McIlroy blew a seemingly comfortable third round lead of four strokes.

There were moments of madness. A double bogey on the opening hole with which McIlroy's two-shot lead evaporated immediately. Another double on 13 seemed like it might derail him completely.

Several times during the afternoon, his body slumped under the intolerable weight of expectation, and he sometimes looked to be on the verge of tears. And yet he kept bouncing back, producing a series of career defining shots to stay in the fight.

But with history in the palm of his hand, there was yet another misstep on 18 as he bogeyed the hole, setting up a playoff with Justin Rose, who'd come from seven shots behind.

But once again, McIlroy recovered his composure, sinking a birdie putt on the first extra hole to win the tournament and complete one of the most emotional and extraordinary narrative arcs in all of sports. RORY MCILROY, 2025 MASTERS CHAMPION: It feels incredible. You know, this is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time.

And I think, you know, the last ten years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that. Yes, you know, I'm sort of wondering what we're all going to talk about going into next year's Masters.

RIDDELL: It would be hard to overstate the magnitude of this accomplishment and how hard it was to pull off. McIlroy is the first Masters champion who made four double bogeys in the tournament. And whereas the other grand slam golfers completed the set at either the first or the third time of asking, McIlroy needed 11 attempts.

That's why his emotion was so unbridled. This truly has been the most epic tournament to witness and experience here at Augusta National.

Back to you.

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HUNTE: Ok team, that's all I've got for you.

I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Thank you so much for joining me and everyone else here. It has been so real. I'll see you again next weekend.

Of course, there is more CNN NEWSROOM just ahead with Rosemary Church just behind me over there. See you next week. See you later.

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