Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pakistan Vows Retaliation After India Launches Air Strikes; Russia Targets Sumy Hours Into Ceasefire; Cardinals Set For Second Day Of Conclave To Elect A New Pope; India and Pakistan on Brink of War after Indian Strikes; Survivor's Video Shows Tragedy at Dominican Republic Club; Rescuing Hawaiian Sea Turtles; Cardinals to Vote for New Pope on Day 2 of Conclave; History of the Pope's "Fisherman's Ring". Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 08, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:23]

MJ LEE, SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome. I'm MJ Lee. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Pakistan is calling India's attack a terrible mistake and vowing that they must now pay the price.

Vladimir Putin's self-proclaimed three day ceasefire in Ukraine has begun. But so why are bombs reportedly still falling.

And black smoke on day one of the conclave. And now comes the first full day of the voting for the next Pope.

There are reports of more shelling between India and Pakistan across their de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region as fears grow that the two sides are on the brink of a wider conflict. Pakistan is vowing to retaliate after India launched military strikes against its neighbor.

Pakistan's military says the death toll has now risen to 31 with 57 people wounded and that those casualties come from the initial strikes as well as Indian gunfire at the line of control. And meanwhile, a senior Indian defense Source tells CNN overnight shelling by Pakistan has killed at least 12 civilians and wounded 57. CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest from Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): In the hours after India's deadly early morning airstrikes, a wave of missiles, the promise of revenge from Pakistan's prime minister.

The blood of these martyrs will be avenged, he says. We will take this war to the end. Both nuclear armed neighbors are leaning into a long history of escalation.

COL. SOFIYA QURESHI, INDIAN ARMY: It must be said that the Indian armed forces are fully prepared to respond to Pakistani misadventures. ROBERTSON (voice-over): 31 including women and children killed in the

overnight strikes, the deepest by India into Pakistan in over 50 years. Pakistan's PM claiming a right to self-defense and in an emotional speech to parliament praising his air force for shooting down India's priced Rafale fighter jets, the first ever in combat.

LT. GEN. AHMED SHARIF CHAUDHRY, PAKISTANI MILITARY SPOKESPERSON: So far I can confirm you that five Indian aircrafts including three Rafale, one Su-30 and one MiG-29 have been shot down and one Heron drone has also been shot down.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): CNN can only confirm one Rafale jet came down 40 miles inside Indian controlled Kashmir. According to the New Delhi government, the strike's hitting nine targets were in response to last month's killing of 26 civilians in the disputed region of Kashmir by militants. India says without evidence are from Pakistan, which Islamabad denies.

Strikes, rhetoric and emotions pushing these two bitter neighbors to the brink of a wider conflict. Already deadly artillery shelling across the de facto border in Kashmir has intensified. India claiming more than a dozen civilians killed so far and warning Pakistan not to take it further. Nic Robertson, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is covering all of this live from Hong Kong. Kristie, bring us your latest on this story.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: MJ, we are in this holding pattern as we await what's next. Pakistan is vowing to retaliate after India's military strikes in the wake of that tourist massacre in Kashmir. Meanwhile, India is saying if Pakistan responds, India will respond. And all this is fueling fears that this could widen into a broader conflict.

We are getting greater clarity about the human costs. Pakistan saying at least 31 people have been killed by India strikes. India saying at least 12 people have been killed by Pakistan's cross border shelling. We also heard from the Pakistani prime minister in a televised address to the nation, he said India will pay the price. Watch this.

[01:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Perhaps they thought that we would retreat, but they forgot that by the grace of Allah Almighty, we are a nation of brave people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: India says nine sites were targeted in Wednesday's military action. These were, India's words, quote, terrorist infrastructure both inside Pakistan proper and in Pakistan controlled Kashmir. Among these sites, a religious school in eastern Pakistan. I want to show you fresh satellite imagery that we can have bring up right now showing the aftermath of the strike of this school in eastern Pakistan in Baridka, that's near Lahore.

And you can see before the strikes what the school looked like and after. And all that remains. See scorched earth. You see charred buildings. Locals tell Reuters that five missiles killed three people in the building. There have been losses for India as well. We mentioned the civilian toll as well as the loss of military assets. Pakistan claiming to have shot down five Indian fighter jets. Among them those French made elite Rafale jets.

French government officials confirmed to CNN one Rafale jet was lost in combat. But we also are hearing this from India's embassy in Beijing dismissing the reports, calling them, quote, disinformation. MJ, back to you.

LEE: Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, thank you so much for that.

LU STOUT: Thank you.

LEE: Russian President Vladimir Putin is very likely to discuss the war in Ukraine when he meets with the coming hours with his Chinese counterpart. Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Wednesday joining other world leaders for celebrations marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

President Putin declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the Victory Day events. But Kyiv is calling it theatrical performance. A huge military parade is planned for Friday in Moscow. Ukraine says Moscow is already violating its own truce. The air force is reporting Russian guided bomb attacks in the northern Sumy region. More now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reporting from eastern Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, in the opening minutes of the ceasefire, we heard from one military unit observing a significant part, the front line that they still saw four or five Russian artillery strikes, even a jet taking in the opening hour, many Russian reconnaissance drones also over Ukrainian positions.

So in those initial stages, no immediate sign of the guns falling silent. That may potentially change. Indeed in the city we're in here, we've heard some bangs over the past minutes or so. Deep suspicion amongst Ukrainian forces about Russia's motivation in calling this their second unilateral ceasefire.

Indeed, Ukraine hasn't explicitly signed on to anyone, its forces stopping their activities in that 72-hour window. And indeed Kyiv suggesting this might more be about Vladimir Putin trying to secure peaceful conditions for his Red Square victory parade on Friday.

Suspicions amongst Ukrainian soldiers we've been talking too, that they saw during the East a cease fire much shorter, about 30 hours. Russia in fact, using that moment to reposition to reinforce its troops and then when that ceasefire ended, launch more trenchant assaults in certain areas. So concerns that might indeed be the Kremlin's tactic again as well.

But more broadly, these persistent these two ceasefires now, and the fact that they haven't yet developed into a broader, longer lasting slowing on the violence on the front line, leaving many observers concerned about what this means more widely for diplomacy. Russia's demand still quite maximalist, still, it seems wanting to have control over more of the areas that it claims and in fact, it currently occupies right now. And indeed, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance suggesting that Russia is asking too much in the current negotiations.

Increasing impatience on the side of the Americans certainly signs potentially of greater sympathy for Kyiv's position now. The rare earth minerals deal has indeed been signed. But it's these moments of ceasefire here, the fact that so little trust exists between the parties that really are a test for that kind of diplomacy. And of course, here in places like this, a real desperate need for some kind of quiet night.

Significant numbers of drones fired at Kyiv and across Ukraine the previous night. And indeed Russia talking about its air traffic being interrupted, 60,000 passengers delayed in their flights as what Russia said was an almost record number of drones being fired by Ukraine at military and other targets across the country.

So significant violence raging from both sides and this hope that this potential cease fire might calm that treated with deep suspicion and from the early signs here, not an immediate cessation of Russian activity. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:10:08]

LEE: Michael Bociurkiw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Michael, thank you so much for being here.

This three-day ceasefire that Putin has ordered up, you know, Ukraine has not agreed to it and in fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written this off as pure theatrics. Still, do you think this Kremlin sponsored cease fire tells us anything useful about President Putin's current state of mind?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Yes. Good to be with you. Well, I would add to Nick Paton Walsh's usually excellent analysis that part of the problem here is verification. There's no OSC observers on the ground. The body that I used to be associated with to verify whether it was a Russian jet that took off, whether Ukrainian fired. So that's number one.

The second thing I'd add is that it is only three-day ceasefire. I was in Ukraine for the Easter ceasefire and even though it was opposed by the Ukrainians, you could really, really feel that the calm on the ground was appreciated by the Ukrainians. Having said that, we know why Mr. Putin is doing this. He's doing it to show to Donald Trump, President Trump, that he is interested in peace, which no one believes.

And I think there's also extreme paranoia in the Kremlin about what could happen, especially after a couple of weeks ago a senior Russian general was killed allegedly by Ukrainian special forces. So if Ukraine has the capability to do, as Nick said, disrupt airspace but also kill senior military officials at their will, that's cause for a lot of concern at the top levels of the crowd.

LEE: And Michael, I wanted to play some comments from U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance Wednesday about what the Russians might want. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution. What I would say is right now the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And Michael, maybe even more importantly, President Trump was then asked about those comments from his vice president and he said, we are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made. I am not happy about it. I mean, is the president running out of patience here?

BOCIURKIW: Well, sitting as I do here in Canada, it's very difficult about what Mr. Trump says. And we're never sure what whether it's Marco Rubio or J.D. Vance whatever they say actually reflects the feelings of the president. I do want to believe that he does mean what he says about lives wasted on both sides of the border, enemies to stop.

But, you know, diplomacy is hard work. And whatever happened to that promise of Mr. Trump to end the war within one day? You can't just walk away because things aren't going their way. Now, as Nick pointed out, I believe Xi Jinping is in Moscow for these Victory Day celebrations. He will not only act as a human shield for Mr. Putin, but I think they will have talks on their strategic partnership.

But, you know, maybe this is an opportunity for China to come in, fill the void and say, OK, we're going to mediate and maybe as a kind of carrot, they can take part in Ukrainian reconstruction efforts. A lot of different possibilities here. It's very, very complex. But miracles can happen during these times as well.

LEE: OK, and let's talk about the person who is clearly President Putin's VIP guest at this Victory Day parade.

BOCIURKIW: Yes. LEE: That's Chinese Xi Jinping. How significant is the timing of this visit?

BOCIURKIW: Yes.

LEE: And can we see this as anything other than a strengthening of the Beijing Moscow alliance?

BOCIURKIW: Oh, it's definitely a sign of the strengthening. The two leaders have met many, many times. We must also remember that, you know, China has -- it's pretty much verified data and research by people, various organizations. China is providing Russia with dual use technology drones. Chinese nationals are signing up to fight on Russia's side.

So they're very, very much involved in this war. And I think this visit, high level visit, only goes to underline the closeness of them. But, you know, whatever kind of visuals we see, we must always remember that China is the senior partner in this bilateral relationship.

[01:15:03]

And I still hold on to what I said many months ago. If Xi Jinping really wanted to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, he could do that immediately by telling Mr. Putin to do so. So again, let's hope for the best because the losses on both sides, especially the Ukrainian side, so huge and it can't go on like this for much longer.

LEE: Michael Bociurkiw, thank you so much for joining us.

BOCIURKIW: Thank you. My pleasure.

LEE: U.S. President Donald Trump says he is going to announce a trade deal in the coming hours. And a source tells CNN that it will be with the UK. The president said on social media that he will hold a news conference about, quote, a major trade deal with representatives of a big and highly respected country.

It's another sign that relief could be insight for the global economy, which has been roiled by Trump's historically high tariffs for weeks. The White House has been saying that it has been discussing deals with more than a dozen countries, but none have been announced so far. On social media, the president claimed that this would be, quote, the first of many.

And as the Catholic Conclave enters its second day, all eyes are watching this chimney in Vatican City for smoke that will signal the election of a new Pope. Details coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:51]

LEE: Day two of the conclave to select a new pope will begin in just a few hours. We are looking at live pictures out of Vatican City, where 133 cardinals will cast secret ballots to elect Pope Francis successor. Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, indicating that a new pope had not been chosen.

Tens of thousands of people watched the chimney for white smoke, which would have signaled that a new pope has been chosen to lead some 1.4 billion Catholics around the world. There could be as many as 4 votes coming in the coming hours. Here's what some of the faithful in Rome are saying they are hoping to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone that's very much like Francis was, humble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Integrity, honesty, care for everybody out in the world. Really.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hoping that this pope will be more like Saint Pope John Paul II and lead the church and unify the church and just be a lovely shepherd for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Massimo Faggioli is a professor of historical theology at Villanova University and he's joining us now from Villanova, Pennsylvania. It is great to see you. We saw the black smoke coming out of the chimney. So no decision on Wednesday on a new pope.

In 2013, it took five rounds of voting for Pope Francis to be elected. Do you have a gut feeling as to how drawn out the conclave will be this time around?

MASSIMO FAGGIOLI, PROFESSOR OF HISTORICAL THEOLOGY, VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: Well, if the past is an indication, in these last two centuries, we never had a conclave that was longer than four or five days. And it's hard to imagine a conflict that lasts for more than that, more than four, five, six days, because they know each other pretty well by now. And so unless there's a very serious stalemate, the impossibility to reach compromise or consensus, I would be very surprised if by Sunday or Monday we don't have a pope.

LEE: OK, we'll have to check back in with you by Sunday or Monday if there is no new pope. You know, because Pope Francis was so determined to diversify the College of Cardinals this week, we are seeing a number of cardinals representing countries that had never before been represented at the Conclave. I mean, does that geographical diversity ultimately make this group of cardinals maybe less predictable?

FAGGIOLI: That's a factor, for sure. It's a much larger college, much more diverse. It's diverse also within one same continent, because, for example, in these last few years, we have seen more difference between Western European cardinals and Eastern Europeans. Within Asia, we have very different contexts.

So one question is whether the Asian cardinals or African cardinals will vote as a bloc together or not. Europeans don't necessarily do that. So this time it is more unpredictable, exactly, because of what you said. It's more diverse and it's much larger.

LEE: And Massimo, Pope Francis also wanted to make the church much more inclusive. He famously championed some progressive causes, and not without controversy. Is there one cardinal when you're looking at the group of cardinals that stands out to you as really fitting that mold as far as championing liberal causes that can be so divisive for Catholics?

FAGGIOLI: Well, there are certainly some American cardinals from the United States that have been very supportive of Francis initiatives for diversity within the church.

[01:25:07]

But in general, I would say that Pope Francis call for a more inclusive church has reached the majority of cardinals. There are very few voices that call for a retreat from that step forward that professors made. So. So there's a certain division that's more evident within American Catholicism in the United States. But this is not really how the global church has seen Pophensius pontificate.

LEE: I also wanted to talk to you about the task that is at hand for the next pope. You recently said that the next pope cannot ignore and deny the changing features of global Catholicism, that it's much less European, much less white, less North American, more global south for the next pope, whoever that is. What will actually contending with those changes look like?

FAGGIOLI: It means dealing with an international situation that geopolitically is much more complicated and dangerous. It means a Vatican who really needs money to take care of a global church made of more poor churches in poor countries. It's one Catholic Church globally from Alaska to Indonesia, which still works under one canon law that is in theory the same for all Catholics. But context are incredibly different.

So the real challenge is how to keep the one Catholic church united, but being able to adapt to some local context in way that haven't been done so far.

LEE: Really interesting. Massimo Faggioli, thank you so much for joining us.

FAGGIOLI: Thank you.

LEE: Survivors are searching for answers one month after a deadly roof collapse in the Dominican Republic. Still ahead, video from inside the nightclub where some patrons were crushed by falling debris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:03]

M.J. LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm M.J. Lee in Washington.

New this hour, police in Lahore, Pakistan say two drones have been shot down over the city, but it's not clear where they came from.

We're also following reports of new shelling in Kashmir. An Indian defense spokesperson says the Pakistani army fired small arms and artillery guns over the line of control, which divides the disputed region. They said the Indian army, quote, "responded proportionately".

Another Indian defense source said overnight that shelling by the Pakistani military over the line of control killed 12 civilians.

And Pakistan says Indian missile strikes and gunfire claimed the lives of 13 people earlier on Wednesday. Among the victims, an army colonel's seven-year-old son. Pakistan's president attended his funeral along with the prime minister, who accused India of deliberately targeting civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Last night, India made an aggression and made a terrible mistake and now they have to pay the price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Journalist Vedika Sud has a closer look at the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN JOURNALIST: Tensions between India and Pakistan have seen a major escalation after India carried out a series of military strikes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and inside Pakistani territory, it's deepest strikes in Pakistan in five decades.

The strikes took place in the early hours of May 7th, between 1:05 and 1:30 a.m., targeting nine sites that Indian officials say were terror training camps spread across Pakistani-administered Kashmir and within Pakistan.

VIKRAM MISRI, INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY: Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable Step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control. Instead all it has indulged in are denials and allegations.

Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending.

SUD: India says the strikes were in direct response to last month's militant attack in Pahalgam in Indian administered Kashmir, where 26 people, most of them Indian nationals, were killed. Islamabad repeatedly denied involvement in that attack.

At a press briefing Wednesday, Indian authorities described the sites they targeted in their strikes as long-standing hubs for militant training, some linked to previous attacks on Indian soil.

The political response in India has been swift Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministers have publicly praised the strikes, calling them precise, necessary and justified.

[01:34:53]

SUD: India has also repeated accusations that Pakistan provides safe haven to terror groups, a charge Pakistan strongly denies.

This major escalation between two nuclear armed neighbors has sparked renewed international concern over stability in South Asia.

Vedika Sud for CNN -- in New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: After renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, President Trump has his sights set on a new body of water. Two officials tell CNN that the president is making plans for the U.S. to refer to the Persian Gulf as the Gulf of Arabia or the Arabian Gulf.

Arab nations have long pushed to rename the gulf after their countries, but the move is likely to anger Iran. Once known as Persia, Iran is in favor of keeping the original name.

President Trump was asked about the potential change on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're going to ask me about that when I get there, and I'll have to make a decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you haven't made a decision?

TRUMP: I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. I don't know if feelings are going to be hurt. Why I have a case right over here? It's called Gulf of America. And I guess a lot of people get ideas from us.

But the Gulf of America was something I thought should have been named a long time ago. I'm going to be giving a briefing on that. It was just done. And I'll make a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And President Trump's decision to rename the Gulf of America and other remarks that he is making are being sharply criticized by former U.S. President Joe Biden. In an interview with the BBC, Biden taking aim at his successor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The way we talk about now that, well, it's the Gulf of America, maybe we're going to have to take back Panama, maybe we need to acquire Greenland, maybe Canada should be -- what the hell is going on here? What president ever talks like that?

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEE: CNN has obtained dramatic footage of a deadly roof collapse in the Dominican Republic a month ago. More than 200 people were killed when the roof of a packed nightclub came crashing down.

One survivor recorded the moments before the catastrophe and the scenes that played out in the aftermath.

Jessica Hasbun has that development, but we want to warn you the video is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA HASBUN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The worst tragedy over the 21st century in the Dominican Republic already has a name -- Jet Set.

The roof of the iconic club collapsed in the early hours of April 8th, turning a night of celebration into a horror scene.

Rescuers worked tirelessly for two days. More than 180 people were saved. Hundreds lost their lives.

GEN. JUAN MANUEL MENDEZ, DIRECTOR, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC EMERGECY OPERATIONS CENTER: Today we conclude the hardest task I've had in 20 years.

HASBUN: Patricia Ovailes de Berroa managed to survive. She was with a group of 25 friends celebrating a birthday, and that night she became the group photographer, snapping pictures and videos, not knowing she was documenting the last few moments before the tragedy unfolded.

It was Tuesday 12:43 after midnight, when she began recording. the empty chairs, the first signs that something wasn't right.

This exclusive video showing a hole and water dripping out of a blue tarp. Moments later, at 12:44, everything changed.

Without Patricia knowing, for two and a half minutes, her phone recorded the agony, the cries for help, the desperation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calm down, calm down, calm down. Breathe as you go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no, no.

HASBUN: Dr. Elena Almanzar was part of the same group celebrating at the Jet Set that night.

DR. ELENA ALMANZAR, SURVIVOR: It's very hard because it feels like recreating the moment.?

HASBUN: Here, she lost family members, friends and her partner as well.

ALMANZAR: Sometimes I wonder if he died right away or if he thought of me. [01:39:46]

ALMANZAR: If he thought of me in his last few moments or if he thought I had died.

HASBUN: Behind me stand the remains of what once was one of the most iconic nightclubs in the Dominican Republic, a place where generations came to celebrate. But now these walls hold nothing but silence, grief and remembrance.

A month later, the seven hours Patricia spent under the rubble, still very raw. Rescuers had to be very careful getting her out.

PATRICIA DE BERROA, SURVIVOR: They fought hard to get me out. They had to remove the debris with their bare hands so that they didn't pull me under.

HASBUN: A small but powerful miracle amid the immeasurable tragedy.

A month on, the investigation continues and many questions remain. But for the families ripped apart when that roof collapsed, no answer will ever be fully comforting.

Jessica Hasbun, CNN -- Santo Domingo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:40:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEE: In Hawaiian culture, sea turtles are symbols of protection, but their own survival is in danger from threats like habitat loss, plastic pollution and fishing.

Today on "Call to Earth", we join a dedicated rescue team working tirelessly to protect them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's mid-morning in Maui, Hawaii and a small team from the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute, MOCMI is responding to a hotline call.

KATIE OMELAS, SEA TURTLE REHABILITATION TECHNICIAN, MAUI OCEAN CENTER MARINE INSTITUTE: We got a call this morning around 9:30 about a turtle with some fishing line wrapped around the neck.

Let's get the line out.

We removed the fishing line and found that there was no broken skin or anything like that, so the turtle was clear to be released.

Looks good. And there's nothing in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok. You're good, buddy. OMELAS: Yes, bud.

ASHER: After taking some measurements.

OMELAS: 49.7 --

ASHER: And placing tags, this green sea turtle is ready to go.

Fortunately, its injury could be treated on site. But not all of their patients are so lucky.

Dustin Paradis is the executive director at MOCMI, overseeing the rescue and rehab of sea turtles in critical condition.

DUSTIN PARADIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MAUI OCEAN CENTER MARINE INSTITUTE: The majority of the cases that we see are due to fishing line entanglement. The flipper is severely compromised, so we use a multimodal approach to try to preserve that flipper. So we will amputate flippers in a worst-case scenario.

So this turtle had entanglement on both front flippers, around the neck as well. And then the hind flippers were entangled. So this -- this turtle was a mess when we got it.

So we treat these turtles every 72 hours when they first come in. So they're on antibiotics. So we draw blood weekly to monitor the healing process.

So we have another green sea turtle patient here. It was found on the beach with a broken humerus bone.

ASHER: Kirby was flown in from Hawaii Island two weeks ago and required an amputation due to the severity of its condition.

PARADIS: So there's no bone remaining in here in this flipper area. It's just soft tissue. And these patients heal up very quickly, so they take about two weeks after surgery.

So we're just going to do some quick laser therapy, topical therapy and do a blood draw. And we'll be on our way with this patient.

Our average stay for our rehab patients is about 45 days, which is a pretty quick turnaround.

ASHER: Since 2020 Dustin says they've rescued over 1,400 turtles and more than 85 percent of the injuries documented were caused by fishing gear.

Green sea turtles are considered a keystone species, critical in maintaining a healthy balance in marine ecosystems. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1978, they are showing signs of recovery in Hawaii, but they are still at risk.

PARADIS: What I really enjoy is getting the community involved because it amplifies our effect, and it also gives the community a little bit more ownership to take a hands-on approach and empower them to make a change.

ASHER: A few weeks on and Kirby is ready to return home.

PARADIS: We're going to take a little bit of our last-minute data, and then we're also going to take it down to the beach and set it in the water and set it free.

Before we get them back out in the wild I want to make sure they're going to be comfortable, and that they'll be able to forage (ph) and get back to normal activities.

Everything look great. The remaining three limbs look very healthy. Passed the swim test. He looks great.

DARBY RYON, CONSERVATION PROGRAMS TECHNICIAN, MAUI OCEAN CENTER MARINE INSTITUTE: The best part of this entire rehabilitation process is being able to see the turtle go back into the water.

PARADIS: Are you guys ready? They're going to get about just a comfortable depth, knee deep. And then they'll deposit the turtle in and let it swim free.

RYON: It's even better when you see them out there months, years after we've actually rehabilitated them. To know that they're out there, to know that we made a difference for that turtle and it's out there surviving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Let us know what you are doing to answer the call using the #CalltoEarth.

We'll be right back.

[01:49:44]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEE: We are just a few hours away from the second day of voting to elect a new pope. The 133 eligible cardinals failed to reach a consensus on the first day of the conclave in Vatican City. The process is steeped in history and tradition, but it has gone through some changes over the centuries.

CNN religion contributor Father Edward Beck explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN REGLIGION CONTRIBUTOR: For the first thousand years, Priests could even be married. So you had a lot of influences.

So in the beginning, a pope was really just the bishop of Rome and local clergy, with input from family, would decide who's going to be pope.

And it wasn't until gradually the influence of the pope began to spread through the western world and became more powerful, so there was more political influence and more pressure put on the pope.

So then they decided, no, you know, we're only going to have cardinals vote. Just administrative people who have certain functions within what we would call the Vatican now. So then it was just cardinals. But then in 1268, they were outside Rome in Viterbo. The election was not always in Rome. Sometimes it would be where the pope had died, because the pope would travel a lot.

And so it wasn't always in Rome. It happened to be in a town called Viterbo in 1268, but it took three years for them to decide.

And again, one of the reasons was they were not sequestered and so what happened was they -- the people of the town took the roof off of the place where they were meeting so that it would rain on them and they would get wet. And two of the cardinals actually died because of the harsh climate.

Then they began to starve them. It went from like they could get one meal a day and maybe a little wine, and then after five days they would only get bread and water as a way to make them decide.

And so then it began to be -- it wasn't until after that, after that conclave, that the pope was elected. Gregory X said, no more of this. They're going to be sequestered until they decide. No family influence. This isn't going to happen again, and we will starve them out if they don't decide.

And that's kind of how we eventually got to this conclave to being locked in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: The next pope is going to take on a lifetime of traditions associated with the role. Among them is wearing what's called the Fisherman's Ring. It's a piece of jewelry that represents the history of the papacy as well as the pope himself.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has more on the family who made one of those rings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For generations, the Frankie Family has crafted fine jewelry and ornaments.

20 years ago, the phone rang. It was an order for a ring for the next pope.

"Initially, I thought it was a joke," recalls goldsmith and art historian Claudio Frankie. "It was not just any ring, but rather what is known as the Ring of the Fisherman, commemorating Saint Peter, the first pope."

[01:54:49]

WEDEMAN: With each pontiff, a new ring is made, traditionally used as a seal for the wax on papal correspondence. And when the pope dies, as depicted in the movie "Conclave", the ring is removed and defaced.

The reason why the Fisherman's Ring was destroyed after the death of each pope was quite profane. It was simply intended to stop anyone from stealing that ring and then using it to forge and then seal documents.

Each pope's ring reflects their distinct style. Pope Francis' ring was simple, gold-plated silver. And he only wore it on special occasions.

Pope Benedict's ring designed by the Frankie's was gold.

But it's not the metal that matters, insists Claudio.

"No matter how valuable the materials," he says, "they're nothing compared to the great, enormous, incomparable history of this object."

"The trend in recent years has been away from the ornate," says Professor Roberto Regoli.

ROBERTO REGOLI, PROFESSOR, PONTIFICAL GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY: Now in the second part of the 20th century and first part of the 21st century, we have more sample rings because the style of the church and of the papacy is changed.

WEDEMAN: With the cardinals gathered in Rome for the conclave to choose the next pope, has Claudio received another call?

His answer, "I know what you know."

Ben Wedeman, CNN -- Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: The happiest place on earth, as Disneyland is sometimes called, is setting up shop in the Middle East. Disney has plans to open its seventh global resort destination in Abu Dhabi, possibly by the early 2030s.

Officials say it will be the company's most technologically-advanced park. Among other things, it will include technologies used in making movies to combine images with real attractions.

Disney says up to half a billion people in the region will have the means to visit the venue.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm M.J. Lee.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church after a short break.

[01:57:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)