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Zelenskyy Warns Russia Is Preparing Something In Belarus Under Guise Of Military Drills; Trump Touts Most Successful First 100 Days In U.S. History At Michigan Rally; Trump: China Deserves Historically High 145 Tariffs; Pakistan Minister Warns Of Possible Indian Military Strike In 24-36 Hours; World Leaders React As Mark Carney's Liberal Party Wins Canada Election; Sara Netanyahu Says Fewer Than 24 Hostages Are Still Alive In Gaza; Amazon: Never Planned to Display Added Tariff Costs; Trump Marks 100 Days in Office with Rally in Michigan; Trump Administration Dismisses Authors of Major Climate Report; Korean Air Working to Navigate Global Trade Tensions; Interview with Rafael Nadal; Scientists Experiment with Growing Food in Space. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 30, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:24]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Learning from the past with a warning for future. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Look at Belarus. Russia is preparing something there this summer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Ukrainian president warns neighboring countries they could be the next target of a Russian invasion.

100 days that shook the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: In 100 days, we have delivered the most profound change in Washington in nearly 100 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Donald Trump is promising a lot more of the chaos and turmoil which is tanking both the U.S. economy and his poll numbers. And the art of no deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst. It only deepens the crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In a video posted to social media, officials in Beijing warned the U.S. President they will not kneel to bullying. There will be no concession.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: Ukraine renewed attacks by Russian drones Tuesday is increasing a sense of pessimism over any possible ceasefire. At least one person was killed in what Ukrainian authorities describe as a massive Russian drone attack on the city of Dnipro on Tuesday.

And in Kharkiv, Russian airstrikes wounded at least 30 civilians. With ceasefire talks stalled, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says new U.S. sanctions on Russia are under discussion, aiming to pressure Moscow into peace talks.

Zelenskyy is also warning Russian military exercises slated for September in neighboring Belarus could be cover for another possible invasion by Russian forces, but not necessarily an invasion of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: Look at Belarus. Russia is preparing something there this summer using military drills as cover. And that's usually how they start a new attack. But where will it go? I don't know. Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, God bless. No. But we all need to be -- we all need to be ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.S. Presidential envoy for Ukraine outright rejected Vladimir Putin's recent proposal for a three-day ceasefire, describing it as absurd. The Trump administration and Ukraine want a longer, more lasting ceasefire.

And warned again Tuesday, unless significant progress is made, the U.S. will end its role as peace broker and walk away. The Kremlin's 72-hour pause in fighting would begin the same day as Russia's Victory Day Parade, the annual celebration of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov outright outlined the Kremlin's demands for peace talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Our proposal, which was voiced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is the start of direct negotiations without preconditions. A ceasefire in this situation is seen as a precondition that will be used to further support the Kyiv regime and strengthen its military capabilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt is with us now. He's an associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven and former professor of strategic and Operational planning at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Welcome back. It's been a minute.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, Associate Professor Of National Security, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Great to be here, John.

VAUSE: OK. So much for candidate Trump's promise to end Russia's war in Ukraine on day, 100 days into his second term. And it seems the U.S. president is learning that international diplomacy is really hard. And On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department issued an ultimatum to both Russia and Ukraine. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY BRUCE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: How we proceed from here is a decision that belongs now to the president. If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This is a president who is infamous for a very short attention span. So at this point, does it seem like he's looking for an excuse to walk away?

SCHMIDT: No, I think he's looking for an excuse to blame somebody else for the delays and for the failures. He needs this peace process because he has staked a good chunk of his legacy on it. And I do believe that he really wants a Nobel Peace Prize out of this.

And so I think this is sort of very simplistic schoolyard, sort of bullying in order to push this negotiation forward. And, in fact, Trump is not in control. I think Putin is going to make sure to make that clear. But in the end, Trump will come back around and stay in the game.

[01:05:04]

VAUSE: And that threat to walk away, that seems like it's almost music to the Ukrainian president not to have Trump as a negotiator because if he wasn't there with the Europeans, be able to step up and take his place.

SCHMIDT: Not really, because the X factor here is getting Russia to the table and getting Russia to release some of those, the preconditions that Ukraine wants changed and Europe just doesn't have the cards to borrow Trump's phrase, for that. And in the end, Trump, for better or for worse, probably has a greater chance to be able to do that than the EU.

VAUSE: So this whole threat thing, it's a non-starter at the end of the day?

SCHMIDT: Yes, I don't think that the U.S. is going to walk away from it. There's too much invested in this psychologically. The optics are horrible if it falls apart. And I think there's a real drive here to show that the United States has this power. Right. Can step into the biggest war on the planet and, you know, and end it, that it's able to have that effectiveness. And so it's important to be able to do.

VAUSE: For now, though, Zelenskyy continues to work with U.S. officials ways to try and increase pressure on Russia for a cease fire. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): We are also preparing for talks with the United States on new sanction steps. We are identifying precisely those pressure points that will most effectively push Moscow towards diplomacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: After last week's deadly Russian airstrikes on a number of Ukrainian cities, including the capital. Has there been a slight shift here in the White House a little less pro-Moscow compared to before that attack?

SCHMIDT: Yes. Most interesting to me is General Kellogg's comments that this idea of a three-day ceasefire is ridiculous. So you've now seen a few days in a row about a week here where the administration has been pushing back on Russia and you haven't seen that at all in this entire year.

So I think that's something to note, although I would suggest that it probably won't last and that there will be opportunities here for it to see saw back and forth in order to get those negotiations going.

VAUSE: Well, you mentioned that statement by Keith Kellogg, the U.S. President's envoy to Ukraine, dismissing this three day cease fire put forward by Putin. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. KEITH KELLOGS, SPECIAL ENVOY TO UKRAINE: A three day cease fire is absurd. What the President wants is a permanent comprehensive ceasefire. Sea, air, land, infrastructure for a minimum of 30 days and then we can extend that. And when you look at everything the Ukrainians are willing to work with now, it's over to the Russians, over to Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This 72-hour long pause in fighting, it would start on the same day as Russia's big annual victory parade marking defeat of Nazi Germany. Is that the main reason why Putin offered the top?

SCHMIDT: This is classic psychological operations going back to the Soviets. So Putin is using the process to get to negotiations to establish that he's the one in control. Right. And that's what's frustrating Trump right now, is that he's starting to realize that it's not the U.S. that's driving the timing of these negotiations, it's Russia.

And Russia is able to throw something out like, well, we'll do a three day ceasefire and then go, well, OK, I guess we won't since you guys don't want it and they'll drag this out. And the point is that they can keep doing this all summer long until they decide to have a cease fire on their terms and on their timeline.

VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt, we appreciate the analysis and the insights. Thank you. Good to see you.

SCHMIDT: Always.

VAUSE: Donald Trump celebrated his first 100 days back in office in his happy place on stage at a political rally with supporters in the state of Michigan. And amid the grievance and name calling, he talked about a booming U.S. economy and made even more dubious promises of even greater prosperity to come.

Banners were hanging inside the arena claiming 100 days of greatness and the golden age that is in very stark contrast to reality. Wall Street has recorded the worst first 100 days of a presidency since Gerald Ford in 1974. Consumer confidence has plummeted to levels not seen since the height of the pandemic.

Job openings have fallen to a six-month low and economists predicting the weakest GDP growth since 2022. And the president claims his sweeping tariffs have produced major economic wins for the U.S. with many countries lining up to negotiate new trade deals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They're coming from all over the world to see your president. They want to make a deal. They want to make a deal and, you know, we'll make deals, but we don't have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The White House refusing to name most of those countries which are in negotiations right now.

[01:10:00]

And despite promises of no concessions, no walking back tariffs, the president did just that Tuesday with exemptions for US Carmakers, an executive order which will reimburse manufacturers for double or even triple tariffs on imports related to the auto industry. More Details now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny, traveling with the U.S. President.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent: With his first 100 days now behind him, President Trump wrapped a rally in Macomb County, Michigan on Tuesday night, waxing nostalgic about the decade of his public life, far more than talking about the challenges ahead. But he said that his administration so far in this first 100 days has been the most successful and busy in history.

TRUMP: We're here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country. And that's according to many, many people. This is the best, they say, hundred day start of any president in. And everyone is saying it. We just -- we've just gotten started. You haven't even seen anything yet.

ZELENY: But that belies, of course, the challenges that remain for the president, his budget agenda, his tax agenda and so much more. The president spent very little time dwelling on the economic anxieties that are so clearly coursing through the American country.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans believe that the policies of the Trump administration have worsened the economy. That was clear as we spent time talking to voters here in Michigan that they want to hear more from President Trump on the economy.

There is no doubt that tariff policies and how that is ultimately resolved, including the trade war with China, will go a large degree to determining how successful the Trump administration will be. But for now, at least, the president basking in the glow of his supporters as they filed out of this rally. The next 100 days begin on Wednesday in Washington. There's so much more and so many challenges to accomplish. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Warren, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: President Trump says China deserves the historically high 145 percent tariffs, which is now in effect. And he told ABC News he believes Beijing will likely eat those costs. But a video posted on social media by Chinese officials declared Beijing will not kneel down to police. Live now, the Tokyo CNN's Hanako Montgomery.

So, we have another concession on tariffs, this time for the U.S. auto industry, with government reimbursements for imports which are hit with double or triple tariffs. At this point, does anyone actually know how this exemption will impact manufacturers there in Asia?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John, it's good to see you. So there is still a lot of confusion about this latest executive order. But from as far as we know, the existing tariffs on auto parts and foreign autos and cars made outside of the United States would still see a tariff.

But according to this latest executive order, there could be some reprieve for companies that produce or assemble their cars in the United States. Specifically, according to this executive order, they could be eligible for a reimbursement of up to 3.75 percent of the value of the domestically produced car. And then in the following year, companies could be eligible for reimbursement of 2.5 percent. So that cap does lower a little bit. And then thereafter, the reimbursements would be phased out entirely.

Now, again, John, there is still some confusion about who would be eligible for these reimbursements, how they would even be paid. But according to the U.S. President, this is supposed to help U.S. auto manufacturers who are currently living through really this phase out and really the shift from relying on U.S. auto manufacturing parts being made abroad, like in competitors like China and Japan, back to the United States.

Here are some comments that the U.S. President actually made about this new tariff shift at a rally on Tuesday in Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We don't want them building them in Japan. We want them to build them here. We want China to build them in here. So I want to just let you know you're going to be very proud of this country very soon. And with my China tariffs, we're ending the greatest job theft in the history of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now, Japan and China have not responded directly to Trump's latest comments, but according to many of the stock markets that we've seen across the region, most of those stock markets are trading flat. The benchmark Nikkei 2 to 5, for instance, trading flat today. Earlier on Wednesday, Asia Time Local.

And then also, John, it's important to note here that Japan's top trade tariff negotiator is on his way to Washington, D.C. where he's about to engage in a second round of tariff negotiations with the United States.

Now, Japan hasn't actually specifically outlined what it hopes to achieve through these talks, but according to Akasawa, Japanese auto manufacturers simply cannot absorb the additional costs associated with that 25 percent tariff. It's just too expensive for many of these companies.

And it's going to be a huge blow to Japan, where about 3 percent of its GDP actually comes from profits made from the auto manufacturing industry.

[01:15:04]

And of course, also for China, which is still facing that 145 percent tariff. John.

VAUSE: Hanako, thank you. Hanako Montgomery there live for us in Tokyo. Appreciate it.

Pakistan says it has credible intelligence that India is planning a military strike in coming days retaliation for a deadly attack on civilians India controlled Kashmir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATTAULLAH TARAR, PAKISTANI MINISTER FOR INFORAMTION AND BROADCASTING: Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahelgam incident.

Indian self-assumed hubristic role of judge, jury and executioner in the region is reckless and vehemently rejected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Pakistani officials did not make public any details or evidence to support that claim about an imminent Indian military strike. Tensions though between the two nuclear armed neighbors has been on the rise after militants massacred 26 tourists India controlled Kashmir a week ago.

India has accused Pakistan of being involved in the attack. Islamabad denies that. Both the United States and China have urged both sides to show restraint.

Ahead here on CNN, Canada gives Mark Carney a mandate to defend the country from the Trump administration. A closer look at the comeback of the liberals.

Also outraged at the Israeli prime minister after his wife was heard saying fewer hostages are alive than previously thought. All that and more just ahead.

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[01:21:02]

VAUSE: U.S. President Donald Trump has congratulated Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on his unlikely election win. According to Canada's readout of the call, the two leaders stress the importance of working together as independent nations and agreed to meet in person soon.

No mention of Donald Trump's taunts about making Canada the 51st U.S. State. Meantime, the CBC projects Canada's Liberal Party has fallen just short of a majority in Parliament. More Details now from CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Who's ready? Who's ready? Who's ready to stand up for Canada with me?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rallying cry for Canadian sovereignty as Mark Carney declared victory in the country's federal elections.

CARNEY: We are once again, we are once again at one of those hinge moments of history. Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration is over. We are over the shock of the American betrayal. But we should never forget the lessons.

NEWTON (voice-over): The Liberal Party leader issuing a stunning rebuke to President Trump as he promised his country would never yield to the United States.

CARNEY: As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never -- that will never, ever happen.

NEWTON (voice-over): The 60-year-old former central banker also sending a message of unity to the millions that did not vote for him.

CARNEY: And my message to every Canadian is no matter where you live, no matter what language you speak, no matter how you voted, I will always do my best to represent everyone who calls Canada.

PIERRE POILIEVRE, CONSERVATIVE OPPOSITION LEADER: So I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Carney.

NEWTON (voice-over): Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre conceded defeat early Tuesday, saying Carney had won enough seats to form a razor thin minority government. Throughout his campaign, Carney rod a wave of anti-Trump sentiment since winning his party's leadership contest in a landslide after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down last month.

CARNEY: We are fighting unjustified U.S. tariffs.

NEWTON (voice-over): Trump's tariffs on imports from Canada and continued threats to annex the country as the 51st state only helped him ride that wave to victory. Paula Newton, Ottowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza are demanding a full disclosure from the government mid concerns over a lack of transparency. That's after Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister, publicly corrected her husband one key detail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINSITER: We have, of course, an important task, not only to win but also to bring home the hostages. Until today, we have returned 196 of our hostages, 147 of whom were alive. There are up to 24 living. Up to 24 living

I say up to. And the rest are, I'm sorry to say, not alive. And we will return them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In case you missed it, she said fewer than 24. For weeks, Israeli officials have been saying up to 24 hostages could be alive. A small nuanced difference. But for families hanging onto every word about the fate of a loved one held captive for 571 days, every word matters.

Palestinian medic has been released by Israel a month after he was detained during a deadly Israeli military strike on a convoy of first responders in Gaza.

[01:25:03] The Palestine Red Crescent Society released these images, posting onto social media showing his reunion with colleagues on Tuesday. He was part of a crew trying to find a missing ambulance in southern Gaza at the time. It was later discovered to also have been targeted by the Israeli military.

In all, the IDF attacks have killed 15 people, including eight PRCS medics and a U.N. worker. The IDF then buried their bodies in a mass grave along with the vehicles which they had been traveling in.

The Trump administration has dismissed scientists working on a flagship climate report. In a moment, a climate expert weighs in on the impact of this move. They're all volunteers, by the way. After a quick break.

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[01:30:55]

VAUSE: Welcome back. Everyone watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

What appears to be a big walk-back by Amazon, denying there were ever plans to display the added cost of tariffs on certain imported items on its Web site. Reports began circulating early Tuesday about the e- commerce giant, which prompted this response from the White House press secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is a hostile and political act by Amazon. Why did Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And then apparently a very annoyed President Trump called Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Then came a statement from the company which said the whole thing was only an idea discussed for a spin-off Web site, but it was never actually rolled out.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked the president about his conversation with Jeff Bezos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How did your call with Jeff Bezos go?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Great. Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly, and he did the right thing. And he's a good guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, 100 days down, 1289 to go. President Trump back at the White House after a raucous rally in Michigan. That's where he's claiming the best is yet to come, and not just for the U.S. Economy. That is despite a host of negative economic reports and plunging poll numbers.

CNN's Karin Caifa has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House touting President Donald Trump's economic agenda on day 100 of his second term.

LEAVITT: President Trump is delivering on his promises to lower costs for American families and businesses.

CAIFA: But research nonprofit The Conference Board's April reading of consumer confidence hit its lowest level in almost five years, with tariffs top of mind for consumers surveyed.

JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROF. OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Basically, anyone who's making a big purchase, whether it's an air conditioner or a refrigerator or a washer or dryer, is thinking much harder about tariffs than they wish they ever had to, and they're not quite sure what to do or when.

CAIFA: The White House touted progress in things like job creation and labor force participation for those without a high school diploma since Trump took office and slowing inflation.

But Cardiff Garcia, editorial director for the Economic Innovation Group, says those indicators can lag.

CARDIFF GARCIA, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC INNOVAITON GROUP: Things look fine, but it doesn't mean that things actually are fine. It just takes some time for actual things that happen in the real economy to translate into those economic indicators.

CAIFA: Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, says the tariff uncertainty for both businesses and consumers could slow spending and the U.S. economy.

WOLFERS: Lots of families are sitting around the kitchen table right now worried about the prospect of a recession. If that's the case, now is the time to save for a rainy day. Maybe pull back on that big purchase you were going to make.

If that happens, consumers pull back on spending. That could be the first step towards a recession.

CAIFA: A reading of first quarter U.S. economic growth set to release Wednesday morning could foreshadow challenges ahead.

In Washington -- I'm Karin Caifa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: More than 400 scientists and researchers working as volunteers on a major U.S. climate report were told Monday by email their services were no longer required.

The report is mandated by Congress every four years. The next is due by 2027. But this move by the Trump White House could mean the report never gets published.

And climate scientists say without the report, the government will be less prepared for extreme weather, wildfires, rising sea levels and other severe changes brought on by climate change.

Live now to Seattle, Washington and Meade Krosby, a senior scientist at the University of Washington's Climate Impact Group and a former contributor to the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Thank you for being with us.

MEADE KROSBY, SENIOR SCIENTIST, CLIMATE IMPACT GROUP, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: So in the past, what impact has this report had on government policy as well as planning and investment decisions for the business sector?

KROSBY: Yes, this report has been very widely used.

[01:34:40]

KROSBY: It's a trusted resource for all levels of government in the U.S., for communities, for businesses to understand how climate change is going to affect the things we care about, how it's already affecting the things we care about, and also what can be done to reduce risks.

So the federal government has already relied on past reports for doing things like coming up with adaptation plans across agencies to understand the risks that they face, to understand the actions that they can take to make our government and the communities that it serve more resilient to climate risks.

So it is a very trusted, very widely used report. It's something that cannot be easily replaced.

VAUSE: You know, the 400-plus scientists and researchers who are told their jobs were no longer needed, they're all volunteers. And there are concerns that the next report will never see the light of day.

But there is also this bigger fear that if it is in fact published, it will be filled with misinformation in line with the Trump administration's sort of fondness of the fossil fuel industry.

So where do you see this heading?

KROSBY: Yes, when we got the notification yesterday, it did not say that the report has been canceled. If the report had been canceled, that would be a huge loss. It would mean that communities don't get the most up-to-date information with this updated report.

But it is perhaps even more concerning the idea that it would go forward, but without the scientific integrity of the 400 experts that have just been released from this task.

And so the question of who would be behind a national climate assessment, if it moves forward; the question of whether the science that's included does not support established science, if it undermines or refutes established science What we know to be true about why climate change is happening, how it's affecting our communities, what we can do about it.

I think that's an even greater concern, honestly, than the idea of this report not going forward at all. Either way would leave communities without the reliable, rigorous information they need to prepare for climate change.

But a report that goes forward that is politically influenced, that has misinformation in it, could be downright harmful.

VAUSE: Dr. Rachel Cleetus, who is a senior policy director for the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who also worked on the last report, issued a statement warning that "trying to bury this report won't alter the scientific facts one bit. But without this information, our country risks flying blind into a world made more dangerous by human-caused climate change. The only beneficiaries of disrupting or killing this report are the fossil fuel industry."

And this is just the latest attack on climate science by the Trump administration. When will we see the consequences of this, and how severe could they actually be?

KROSBY: Well, in terms of the attacks on climate science across federal agencies, in terms of funding for climate research, in terms of programs that support communities as they prepare for climate change, all of that is going to be immediately felt by local state governments, by businesses, by all of the people who are doing the hard work of trying to prepare the resources, the communities, the businesses that are already being affected by climate change.

Obviously, the impacts we're experiencing are bad enough as they are. It would be much more challenging if, at the same time as we're removing funding and resources for climate science and services, we're also providing additional policy support, financial support for the fossil fuel industry and exacerbating climate change, making the problem worse.

That would really be a worst-case scenario because we're already experiencing climate impacts. We're already experiencing larger, more frequent, more severe wildfires, flooding, stronger hurricanes.

So these impacts are already here. It would absolutely affect communities --

VAUSE: It does --

KROSBY: -- where it matters to them.

VAUSE: It just does seem part of this wider campaign on scientists and facts and academics. And you know, these people actually know what they're talking about.

Meade Krosby, thank you so much for being with us.

KROSBY: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, the head of Korean Air confident about the company's growth despite a deepening trade war with the United States. Details of his plans for the airline in just a moment.

[01:39:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: More now on the latest tariff exemptions from a president who said there would be no concessions. This time, it's for the U.S. car makers.

One official tells CNN the president wants to maintain flexibility, and the exemptions came after multiple calls from high-level executives within the auto industry.

Details now from CNN's Sherrell Hubbard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump choosing Michigan for his day 100 rally. The state was key to his victory last fall and is key to the U.S. auto industry with 1 in 5 jobs there linked to the auto industry.

TRUMP: A lot of auto jobs coming. Watch what's happening.

HUBBARD: His new executive order in proclamation to ease auto tariffs would continue the 25 percent tariff on imported cars and put a new 25 percent tariff on auto parts into effect this weekend as previously announced.

[01:44:49]

HUBBARD: They also allow reimbursements for domestic car producers importing car parts, and they consolidate auto-related tariffs.

TRUMP: They all want to come back to Michigan and build cars again. You know why? Because of our tax and tariff policy.

HUBBARD: While the three large U.S. automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, formerly Chrysler, thanked Trump for the softer stance on auto tariffs, not everyone is thrilled about the president's policies.

On his 100th day of the Trump administration, various surveys and polls show growing pessimism amongst U.S. consumers, with much of the consumer sentiment hinged on Trump's volatile tariff policy.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: In these 100 days, what has gone up? Cost of groceries, up; energy costs up; cost of clothes, of homes, of cars up. What has dropped? Your retirement and 401(k)s down.

HUBBARD: I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The CEO of Korean Air has warned hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue will be lost if the standoff over Donald Trump's tariffs does not end soon.

That's just part of a conversation with CNN's Mike Valerio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a new chapter and a delicate moment for Korean Air, a redesigned look announcing a long-awaited acquisition of its former rival, Asiana Airlines.

Korean Air CEO Walter Cho tells us plans for new planes and upgrades to all cabin classes are still moving forward, even when tariff turbulence rattles the travel industry.

Do you see a downturn when it comes to passenger volume here, or are you thinking that you're going to be ok through this?

WALTER CHO, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, KOREAN AIR: Well, we're already seeing the downturn in passenger volume between Transpacific and also to Europe.

VALERIO: How big?

CHO: Subtle, maybe 5 percent compared to last year. But it has some significant impact to our business.

VALERIO: So, when you're talking about down 5 percent, what does that mean in dollars, in terms of revenue lost?

CHO: Anywhere between $500 million to a billion dollars a year.

VALERIO: That is if the current downturn lasts all year. Cho says he projects Korean Air to stay in positive territory in 2025.

But advisory firm Tourist Economics projects under an expanded trade war scenario, international inbound visits to the U.S. could decline by 12.7 percent. A $22 billion annual loss in inbound travel spending.

Cho says for now, there's some resilience in the skies.

CHO: The reservation data for this summer is very strong, starting June, mid-June, you know, everything's full.

I'm not planning to downsizing our cargo. I mean, we're going to refocus our volume to Europe and other places where demand will still be there.

VALERIO: Then there's buying American. In March, Korean Air finalized its biggest ever deal with Boeing, an order for up to 50 wide-body planes, a $32 billion deal hailed by the Trump administration.

We asked if Cho sees this as a move to strengthen ties with the U.S.

CHO: Yes, but you know, I was always a Boeing fan, so to speak. I always have, you know -- well, there's only two choices. So but, you know, I always trusted Boeing. And I would always go to Boeing to -- for my needs.

VALERIO: As major U.S. carriers reduce routes, Cho says Korean Air isn't cutting any adding flights to L.A. and Atlanta betting big on America and that trade war winds will soon calm.

Mike Valerio, CNN -- Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN, the honors keep coming even in retirement for the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal.

Those details in an exclusive interview with CNN Sport's Amanda Davies.

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VAUSE: Even though he's retired, the accolades keep on coming for tennis great Rafael Nadal. The 14-time French Open champion will be honored at that tournament when it begins later next month. And he was recently given the sporting icon award of this year's Laureus World Sports Awards, where he spoke exclusively with CNN sport's Amanda Davies.

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RAFAEL NADAL, TENNIS LEGEND: I started doing this when I was around three years old, but I started practicing as a professional since I was eight years old. So, you know, when you take that decision, you need to make sure that you are 100 percent convinced.

I -- what I would hate to do is announce my retirement and stay at home thinking, ok, maybe I still had the chances to keep playing, you know. So I wanted to avoid that feeling.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Did you have to convince yourself?

NADAL: My body convinced my mind. Doctors are positive about the recovery after my surgery on the -- on the hip. But I never find that level of feeling myself free to go for any ball. And I never play it again free of limitations.

So when I realized that that's never going to happen again, then it's the moment that you know that it's the end.

DAVIES: What is the recipe for the magic of you and Roland Garros and when you walk out onto that Philippe-Chatrier court? Why has it been such an incredibly successful partnership?

NADAL: Something that you have you have to build year by year, you know. Year after year, you build this connection, you build this -- these magic moments.

But of course, I have been a good tennis player on clay, especially on every surface.

DAVIES: That's a little bit of an understatement.

NADAL: But yes, but it's true. You know, I have been -- I have been playing well in all the clay courts, tournaments. Yes. It's something more and more special that court is part of the history of our sport.

And yes, for me today, when I see myself winning 14 times there, it's something that yes, for me, it's -- even that I don't like to say -- but for me, it's something crazy, you know, something that I don't think -- I never thought that I'm going to have the chance to do something like this.

DAVIES: Is there any little bit of you tempted to put in an entry for the draw this year?

NADAL: So, no.

DAVIES: Definitely not going to happen?

NADAL: Not going to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In Ho Chi Minh City, celebrations to mark 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War.

Crowds lined the streets for a military parade and air show. People also danced. There were singing and a lot of flag waving. The country's communist party leader hailed the end of the war as quote, "victory" over -- justice over tyranny.

The anniversary commemorates the beginning of Vietnam's reunification on April 30th, 1975. Communist North Korea -- North Vietnam rather seized the city, known at the time as Saigon, that was the capital of the U.S.-backed South Vietnam.

Reunification was completed a year later. 3 million Vietnamese and nearly 60,000 Americans died during the Vietnam War.

The world's largest solar telescope is shedding new light on the sun. Newly-released image shows the surface of our nearest star in unprecedented detail. The close up reveals a cluster of continent- sized dark sunspots that are areas of intense magnetic activity.

Detailed images like these allow scientists to learn and predict potential dangerous solar weather.

Now, eating out in space can get really expensive, thousands of dollars for each meal, apparently. Now, as crews prepare for longer missions away from earth, scientists are looking to cut down on the cost of food by having astronauts grow it themselves.

Here's CNN's Nick Valencia.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Europe's first returnable commercial spacecraft, Phoenix One, launched on board a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket last week.

One purpose of the mission: to test whether astronauts could grow all of their own food in space. As the momentum for space exploration grows, the attention now turns to the astronauts. With Mars on the horizon for some time in the 2030s, a round-trip mission will last about 18 months.

[01:54:54]

DR. RODRIGO LEDESMA-AMARO, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: This project is about how we can produce the food we need if we want to travel in space, if we want to colonize other planets. It's really difficult to bring everything we need from earth.

Just think that an astronaut consume between half a kilo and 1.5 kilograms of food per day, and every kilogram we ship to space can be $20,000. So imagine every meal can be something like $10,000.

VALENCIA: NASA, the European Space Agency and other partner countries have long been working aboard the Space Station to learn how to live in space and growing some food.

Now the Imperial College, with the help of the Bezos Earth Fund, are investigating how to create food that both astronauts and people on earth can produce sustainably using bio foundries with cells acting as mini factories.

The plan is to use microbes and microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast, enabling space crews to grow their own food, fuel and even medicine.

LEDESMA-AMARO: If we bring a tiny little cell out in space, that cell can then grow and produce everything we need.

VALENCIA: The team hopes the mission will reveal whether the cells can produce the variety of products they seek, from vitamins to dairy products to biodiesel. And that's just the start.

AQEEL SHAMSHUL, FRONTIER SPACE: But down the line, when we have the moon base, we need this kind of bioreactors to be able to really sustain permanent settlement of human civilization in this environment.

VALENCIA: The team hopes to provide space crews with the taste of home while out in space, and maybe make some space pizzas.

Nick Valencia, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church, I hope, after a very short break.

See you right back here tomorrow.

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