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Trump Says Argentina Bailout Contingent On His Political Ally Milei Remaining In Power; Six Killed After U.S. Strikes Another Boat Off Coast Of Venezuela; Hamas Releases Bodies Of Four More Deceased Hostages; Trump Announces Start Of Phase 2 Of Gaza Deal; Landslides And Flooding Cut Off 300 Communities In Mexico; Lecornu No-Confidence Vote Set for Thursday; Iranian Court Sentences 2 French Citizens on Spying Charges; Madagascar's Military Says It Has Seized Power; Zelenskyy Visiting White House to Push for Tomahawks; Trump Endorses Hegseth's New Pentagon Press Restrictions; Trump Honors Late Charlie Kirk with Presidential Medal of Freedom; How Scammers Are Stealing Millions Using Crypto ATMs. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 15, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:32]

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm MJ Lee live in Washington. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, the U.S. is throwing Argentina a lifeline. But is the $20 billion bailout enough to help its president's party win the midterms?

With the relief of the Gaza ceasefire, comes the questions. Donald Trump says phase two of the deal is underway, but what that means on the ground is anything but clear.

And CNN investigates a growing scam with the modern twist where the getaway car is actually a crypto ATM.

We begin this hour with the $20 billion question, why is the Trump administration sending $20 billion to boost Argentina's ailing economy? President Trump gave us one clue on Tuesday, meeting with his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei at the White House.

He says the currency swap is contingent on President Milei, a strong political ally, staying in power. The bailout, as critics call it, is controversial for a long list of reasons. It comes in the middle of a government shutdown here in the U.S. growing budget cuts by the Trump administration and at the expense of American farmers. CNN's Kevin Liptak reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: If President Trump is concerned about any political blowback to the $20 billion infusion of American dollars into Argentina's economy, he did not betray that as he was meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei. The two men getting off to quite a warm welcome, discussing over lunch their mutual affection for MAGA style politics.

And the President making clear that $20 billion swap of U.S. dollars for Argentine pesos would not go forward if Milei party loses in upcoming midterm elections. Listen to what he said.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm with this man because his philosophy is correct and he may win and he may not win, but I think he's going to win. And if he wins, we're staying with him. And if he doesn't win, we're gone.

LIPTAK: Now Trump has found something of a kindred spirit in Milei. He has identified government waste as a top priority for his administration. He's something of a darling in the global conservative movement. And the president has sort of acknowledged that he's one of his top global allies.

But this bailout, although that's not what administration officials call it, has generated some degree of controversy, particularly as the U.S. government remains shut down and as federal workers continue to go without pay.

You also hear even from some Republicans who question why the U.S. is sending $20 billion to Argentina at a moment when prices are rising in the United States, when hiring seems to be slowing. You also hear concern from American farmers.

Argentina has lifted some of its export duties on soybeans and are selling them to China at a moment when China is not buying the any soybeans from the United States. And so this is something of a political predicament for President Trump.

But at least listening to him, he's casting this as a necessity to try and prop up an economy that seems to be on the brink. And, you know, Milei has had some success in taming inflation in Argentina, but there has been sort of a concern that if he loses these elections coming up, that he won't be able to pursue some of the free market reforms that he's been engaged with in his first year or so in office.

And so President Trump making this out to be quite an important necessity, but also making explicit that it will not go forward if Milei's party doesn't remain in power. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And I want to bring in Eric Farnsworth, a senior associate with the Americas Program at the center for Strategic and International Studies. Eric, it is really good to see you. Thanks for joining us.

I want to break this down with you. We are talking about a $20 billion bailout of Argentina by the US.

[01:05:00]

And what's interesting is that President Trump is making clear that this lifeline is absolutely contingent on Melaye staying in power. So let's start with the Trump-Milei relationship. Trump says Milei is MAGA all the way. Is that fundamentally why the President is so keen on trying to boost the Argentinian leader?

ERIC FARNSWORTH, SENIRO ASSOCIATE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, I think that's certainly a contributing factor. No doubt. In fact, President Milei has been a strong supporter of President Trump's for a long time. He went to CPAC, the conservative gathering in Maryland. He went to Mar-a-Lago right after the U.S. election. He came to the inauguration of President Trump here in January.

So there's been a concerted effort of President Milei to get close to President Trump and it's been reciprocated. President Trump seems to like him and has given him a lot of access and a lot of time. So I think the politics there are important, but they're not the only thing that's going on.

There is also a very significant opportunity, according to the administration, to really try to wean Argentina off its traditional Peronist model and to give a lifeline to President Milei so that his reform program can really move forward and reorient Argentina's economy.

And if it can succeed, it will be something that it won't just be impactful for Argentina, but it will be a signaling mechanism for the rest of the hemisphere.

LEE: Yes, I mean, you're talking about how the domestic environment that Milei faces at home is really quite tough. Right? Paint that picture for us a little bit more. What are some of those biggest challenges that he is up against? And it really doesn't seem like this kind of US Support package can guarantee political success for him.

FARNSWORTH: Well, it can't guarantee political success. In fact, President Trump actually said that today. It is a gamble, it's a historic gamble that the U.S. is putting on Malay's success right now. But sustainability has always been the issue in Argentina, and not just for Milei, but for administrations going back any number of years. And this is the issue.

There is a real domestic constituency in Argentina for state led governance and engagement in the economy. And what's happened is that the reform program has brought down inflation and it's brought down debt and it's opened up the economy, but it's also cost a lot of jobs.

And the issue has always been the patience of the Argentine people. They were so desperate for change and improvement that they voted him in two years ago, despite what some would say a radical economic agenda. And they were willing to give him the chance to really get that going.

But in two years, you know, you're starting to have people lose a little bit of patience and want job creation and that sort of thing. And so now they have the opportunity to vote in the midterm elections here on October 26th. And so what President Trump's comments today did is it amplified the

importance of those midterm elections because he essentially said, if Milei doesn't come out of the midterms successfully, the U.S. support package rests on a positive result. So he really made it that much more important that Malay comes out victorious here on October 26th.

LEE: Yes, the stakes are incredibly high for him. I wanted to play a question that President Trump was asked on Tuesday at the White House about the China of it all. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was China trying to draw a wedge between the U.S. and Argentina by buying soybeans from Argentina, not U.S. farmers?

TRUMP: I would say so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And China on the portfolio?

TRUMP: China. China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have increased port fees on U.S. ships too.

TRUMP: Yes, sure. I mean, I guess that's natural. It's China and it's natural, but it's not going to mean anything in the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: So nothing to see here is what President Trump seemed to be saying there. But we know that Washington is very sensitive to what Beijing is doing with Argentina. What do you think about that answer from the President?

FARNSWORTH: Well, on the soybean purchases, it was clearly a tone deaf response by the Argentines because it had just come after the announcement of the U.S. support package. And so one could understand why many in Washington, including Senator Grassley from Iowa, were very upset about this.

But sure, I mean, the Chinese are going to take every opportunity to take advantage. And because of the bilateral relationship between China and the United States, they want to start purchasing soybeans from other countries and freeze out the U.S. and that's what they're doing. And Argentina has traditionally been a supplier of China as well as others, and so they're taking advantage of that.

But you know, this support package, I think you're raising a really important point because the support package would presumably give leverage to the United States to really say to President Milei, look, your future lies with North America, with the United States, with Europe. It really doesn't lie with China.

You can do business with them. But the interaction that has been at the political level, which the previous Argentine government really amplified, has gone too far.

[01:10:02]

And it's time to unwind some of that, including some of the military cooperation and space cooperation and cyber cooperation that Argentina and China have developed over the years. And so this is a really important geostrategic issue of what's going on, even in the context of a bilateral economic support package between the United States and Argentina.

LEE: All right, Eric Farnsworth, really appreciate your insights. Thanks so much for being here.

FARNSWORTH: Great to be with you. Thanks for having me.

LEE: A U.S. military strike has killed six people on board a boat that was allegedly trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela. This is at least the fifth time that President Trump has announced such a strike, and it's likely to further inflame regional tensions and spark more questions over the legality of the U.S. operations. CNN's Gustavo Valdez has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The United States military destroyed another alleged narco boat international waters off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board. It was President Donald Trump who made the announcement on his social media through social arguing that the vessel was trafficking narcotics and was associated with illicit narco terrorist networks, but did not identify a criminal organization.

This would be the fifth known attack in the Caribbean in the past couple of months, killing at least 27 people that we know of. And this is an activity that has been controversial. The White House argues that the United States, the president, has the authority to conduct these attacks because they argued that the United States is in an armed conflict with international organic organizations. But some, even Republicans in Congress, question this authority.

The attacks have also been criticized by the experts in the United Nations, saying that the attacks go against international law. And the president of Colombia said that in one of those attacks, recent attacks, there were Colombians on board of one of the vessels that were killed. He didn't offer any proof, and the White House refuted those accusations.

But this is another example of how President Trump is trying to escalate the attacks against what his administration perceives as a national threat to the United States and also escalated tension in the region. The Venezuelan government has condemned these attacks. Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And staying in the region, Ecuador is sending 5,000 additional military personnel into a central city gripped by protests as the government looks to reopen roads and restore order in the area. Protesters targeted a military convoy moving into the province of Imbabura on Tuesday, throwing stones and other objects at trucks carrying supplies like gas, food and medicine.

Indigenous protesters have been blocking major roads in the area for nearly a month. They're angry over rising diesel fuel costs.

Meanwhile, labor unions and protest groups in Peru are calling for anti-government demonstrations in the days ahead. Interim President Jose Jeri swore in the first members of his new cabinet on Tuesday after taking power last week. Rising crime is a major issue in the country, and the new president picked conservative cabinet members with experience in the courts, law enforcement and fighting terrorism.

Jeri is Peru's seventh president in the past nine years, and his predecessor was forced from office with an approval rating between 2 and 4 percent.

Just days after scenes of joy and relief in Israel, there is now anger and anguish among some families still waiting for the return of their loved ones. Hamas has so far released just eight of the 28 deceased hostages held in Gaza.

Earlier, a convoy carrying the remains of four more deceased hostages arrived at a Tel Aviv Forensic Institute where identification procedures will take place.

And meantime, in southern Gaza, hospital officials say the bodies of 45 deceased Palestinians transferred from Israel as part of the ceasefire deal remain unidentified. The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israel has not provided a list of names and it's not clear when or how the Palestinians died.

Donald Trump says the job is not done. While calling for all deceased hostages in Gaza to be released by Hamas. And with negotiations on the next stages of the cease fire deal ongoing In Egypt, the U.S. president says the next phase has begun. CNN's Kristen Holmes has those details from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump posting on True Social that the second phase of the peace process and those negotiations has begun. And during a meeting when he was talking to reporters, he was asked specifically about some of those sticking points.

Of course, one of the things that we reported on that there are a number of sticking points in that 20-point peace plan that Trump presented that both sides or one or the other side has said is a red line and one specifically is about the disarmament of Hamas. He was asked how he would know or how they would make Hamas disarm. And here's what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they don't disarm, we will disarm them?

TRUMP: And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm. Do you understand me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMLAE: Yes.

TRUMP: Because you say because you always, everyone says, oh well, they won't disarm, they will disarm. And I spoke to Hamas and I said, you're going to disarm, right? Yes, sir, we're going to disarm. That's what they told me. They will disarm or we will disarm them. Got it?

HOLMES: Now, after this, he clarified it was not him who spoke directly with Hamas, it was some of his top negotiators. We also know that Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkoff had been in touch with Hamas, as had his son in law, Jared Kushner.

One of the things he added to this was that they know they being Hamas, I'm not messing around. Now one other point that he made when talking about Hamas and the peace deal was when he was talking about the hostages because he seemed to indicate he that Hamas had not turned over and was not going to turn over or able to turn over all of the bodies of the dead hostages.

We have seen the return of the living hostages, but part of that deal was also that they were going to turn over those who had been killed.

President Trump for the first time seemed to indicate that Hamas was not turning them all over or didn't have the same number that they said they were going to have. And so that's interesting. We've reached out there to see if that's going to impact phase one of the deal at all and what exactly he meant by those remarks. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Violence between Hamas fighters and rival groups have erupted in Gaza in recent days, and that includes what appears to be a public execution. A video shared on social media shows a group of masked fighters wearing green Hamas headbands killing eight people in Gaza City in front of crowds of people.

CNN is not airing that video. Palestinian human rights condemned the killings, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called them heinous crimes and a blatant violation of human rights.

Hundreds of communities in Mexico have been cut off by deadly landslides and widespread flooding. Coming up, a closer look at the devastation and how the survivors are coping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:22:06]

LEE: Torrential rainfall is triggering landslides and flooding across central and eastern Mexico, cutting off more than 300 communities. The government estimates that at least 64 people have died due to the downpours. CNN's Valeria Leon has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scenes of destruction as torrential rain and heavy landslide devastates several Mexican states. For thousands, the losses are overwhelming, some impossible to repair.

One of my friends died, Sarai recalls. There are others we haven't found. Rescue teams search for those still missing, even inside smashed cars where they hope to recover bodies.

But amid the tragedy, solidarity rises. In Hidalgo, the state with the highest number of people missing, Oscar Vazquez delivers food to his neighbors. People are very isolated. Food is running out, and getting it through these roads has been really difficult. A

ccess has just been restored to the El Pantano community, situated between two hills left unstable by the rains. Authorities have begun assessing the damage, having already inspected over 4,000 homes, one of them belonging to the Hernandez family.

LEON: This house was completely destroyed following the intense rains across central Mexico, killing a woman inside while the family was left with nothing. But members of this community, located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, now fear that new landslides coming from that cliff could bury their homes.

LEON (voice-over): Danger still looming, Letiz Hernandez, mother of a newborn, prepares to leave. He's only three months old. Of course I'm scared, she says. We can't handle it yourself, but when you have a baby, you think about them.

In the middle of the emergency, it's mothers who carry the heaviest burden. Maria Angelina lives with her son Fidel, who has a disability. Honestly, it's scary, she says. It's never rained like this before.

In their small house covered with cardboard, Fidel can barely move on his own. This house is fragile, and since I can't walk, they couldn't get me out of there. The rains have left him afraid, haunted by the thought of being caught again, but this time unable to escape. Valeria Leon, CNN, Hidalgo, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:05]

LEE: Celebrations are breaking out in Madagascar after weeks of protests. The country's president has fled and military leaders say they are now in control. Those latest developments when we return.

Plus, the Trump administration is restricting media access to the Pentagon unless reporters sign a new plan pledge. Why press advocates say the new rules appear to violate free speech protections. That's next.

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[01:30:49]

M.J. LEE, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm M.J. Lee.

French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu will face a no-confidence vote on Thursday, but his government has bought itself some time with a key concession.

Lecornu says he will suspend an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64, winning him a pledge from the Socialist Party to not topple his government.

French President Emmanuel Macron says a vote of no-confidence would likely trigger snap elections, resulting in a strong performance for the far-right.

Lecornu resigned more than a week ago, but President Macron reappointed him on Friday.

And meanwhile, an Iranian court has sentenced two French citizens to more than 30 years in prison on spying charges. Iran accuses Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris of spying for France and Israel, according to Iranian media.

The court did not name the defendants, but they are the only two remaining French nationals being held in Iran. They've been detained since 2022, and France says Iran is holding them arbitrarily in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison and denying them consular access. Iran denies those claims.

And shifting gears now. An army colonel in Madagascar says the military has taken power from the president, who has fled the country. This comes after weeks of unrest and violent government crackdowns against a youth-led popular uprising.

CNN's Larry Madowo brings us the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The young people of Madagascar appear to have succeeded in overthrowing their government after just three weeks of popular protests though it is not exactly clear who is in charge because President Rajoelina and the military both claim to be in charge.

The elite military unit that helped bring him to power in 2009 on Saturday turned against him and supported these Gen Z protesters.

And on Tuesday declared that they had taken over and dissolved all institutions except the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly.

But President Rajoelina had previously said and attempted to dissolve the National Assembly. The National Assembly went ahead to carry out an impeachment vote that overwhelmingly impeached him.

And local media reported that the constitutional council had approved the vacancy in the office of the president.

It's not clear how effective that is if the military court had already dissolved the constitutional court.

But on the streets, there's been celebration as they celebrate the end of the term of 51-year-old Rajoelina, who has seen a lot of dissatisfaction.

These protests began over widespread water and power shortages, but morphed into wider dissatisfaction with the state of things, with unemployment, the cost of living and corruption.

Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island has more than three-quarters of this population living below the poverty line. And that's the backdrop for this celebration about the end of the rule of President Rajoelina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is very good news for us, for activists, for all Malagasy.

It's incredible because two weeks ago we were fighting tooth and nail with the military, and today we have won. This announcement deserves a national celebration.

MADOWO: One of the current mysteries is where is President Rajoelina? He is reported to have fled the country on a French military jet on Sunday, according to the Reuters News Agency. He did give an address on Facebook. He didn't say exactly where he is, but he said he was in a safe place after an alleged attempt on his life.

The presidency previously said that the National Assembly, any sitting, would be null and void as the president had already dissolved it. But they went ahead and impeached him anyway.

So right now, with the elite military unit CAPSAT saying they have taken over, the president still kind of hanging on in defiance.

But the young people on the streets celebrating the end of what they see as a terrible rule.

Larry Madowo, CNN -- Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:34:47]

LEE: Power is gradually being restored in Ukraine after a network overload and the effects of previous Russian attacks caused blackouts in Kyiv and other regions. Officials say blackouts are still persisting in some areas and the outages also affected water pressure in parts of the capital.

Russia has increased attacks on energy targets in recent weeks. A wave of strikes on Kyiv and other areas last week left more than a million households and businesses temporarily without electricity.

And staying on Ukraine, as the White House prepares to host the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, President Donald Trump says the prolonged conflict is making Russia's Vladimir Putin look very bad. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's got to really settle this war. And, you know, they have long lines waiting for gasoline in Russia right now.

He could end it quickly. And I have to tell you, I give credit because who would think that Ukraine could have fought Russia for four years to essentially a standstill?

We'll be talking about Ukraine. Yes. I mean, I have the president coming in on Friday and will -- I know what he has to say. He wants weapons. He would like to have Tomahawks. Everyone else wants Tomahawks. We have a lot of Tomahawks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: President Trump recently floated the idea of sending Tomahawk missile shipments to Kyiv should President Putin refuse to end the war.

If approved, U.S. Tomahawks would allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory. And his comments come as U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gears up to join NATO defense ministers gathering in Brussels.

And meanwhile, President Trump is endorsing his Defense Secretary's new restrictions on press access to the Pentagon. Pete Hegseth's new rules require Pentagon beat reporters to sign a pledge to not obtain or use any unauthorized material, even if the information is unclassified.

Almost every news outlet has refused so far, opting instead to surrender their press credentials in protest.

CNN's Brian Stelter has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Sights like this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon, everybody.

STELTER: -- are almost never seen at the Pentagon anymore.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's team has stopped holding regular Pentagon briefings, and they've started posting video on social media instead.

KINGSLEY WILSON, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I'm Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, and welcome to the DOW's weekly situation report.

STELTER: Hegseth seems to want reporters to toe the same line and repeat the same talking points.

This year, his press office has expelled many news outlets from longtime Pentagon workspaces and barred reporters from many parts of the building without an escort. And now, they're going even further.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We're trying to make sure national security is respected, and we're proud of the policy.

STELTER: What Hegseth calls common sense press advocates call an unprecedented attack. Hegseth is championing new rules for press passes that, quote, "appear to violate the First Amendment", according to the Association for Pentagon Beat Reporters.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: This is about as packed a news conference as I've ever seen here at the Pentagon.

STELTER: Those reporters have been working from inside the U.S. military headquarters for decades.

BARBARA STARR, FORMER CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon also made it very clear earlier today what their exact goal was, making absolutely no bones about it. It is to get the current regime out of power.

STELTER: Asking questions on behalf of the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you commit to making that review public?

STELTER: And holding officials accountable.

LLOYD AUSTIN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right.

STELTER: But Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, is trying to stop reporters from talking to sources.

HEGSETH: Time and time again, classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the president look bad.

STELTER (voice-over): Media lawyers say the new rules for accessing the Pentagon would criminalize journalism.

So today, in a rare show of solidarity, the country's five biggest TV networks said no. CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, even Fox News all saying, quote, "The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections". Dozens of other outlets also refusing to sign the papers, which means they'll lose access this week. Hegseth waving goodbye with these emojis on social media.

But as the networks all said today, quote, "We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press."

Brian Stelter, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Donald Trump has posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The highest civilian honor in the U.S. is given to people who have made an especially meritorious contribution to national interests, world peace, or other significant endeavors.

The administration said it was honoring Kirk as a martyr for truth and freedom. Kirk's widow, Erika, accepted the award on her husband's behalf at a Rose Garden ceremony on what would have been his 32nd birthday.

[01:39:45]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIKA KIRK, WIDOW OF CHARLIE KIRK: You know how difficult it is sometimes to buy a gift for someone that you love, because he wasn't a materialistic man, so that also did not help.

But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.

TRUMP: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last month while debating students at Utah Valley University.

And still to come, thousands of Americans are becoming victims of a global crypto scam using ATMs. We'll bring you that CNN investigation.

[01:40:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEE: CNN investigates a growing scam with a modern twist. One where police often can't do anything to help the victims.

You've likely heard of people being duped by crooks who tricked them into believing that they had to pay off a debt or were in legal trouble, and to fix it, the person needs to give them cash, often routed into the scammer's account.

Well now, more and more Americans are being told to feed their cash, usually thousands of dollars, into a crypto ATM.

CNN reviewed more than 700 criminal cases and complaints with ties to these ATMs. And our senior investigative correspondent, Kyung Lah, shows us how the scams unfold and how they try to steal money from her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no, no, no, no.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: You are watching a victim get scammed -- one of thousands of Americans caught in a growing global crime spree that's no secret to police.

OFFICER: This is the police department. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't care.

LAH: Or even store clerks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people have been scammed recently.

LAH: From Georgia --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody on the internet, some scam caller told him to do this.

LAH: -- to Massachusetts --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did they tell you to do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take $31,000.00 out and then put it into a Bitcoin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh no.

LAH: -- Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know there's an elderly lady feeding thousands of dollars into the cryptocurrency machine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, I have the bank on the phone and I'm in danger. This is Chase Bank.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. No you're not, ma'am.

LAH: -- and Ohio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much money have you already sent to them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's $10,700.00

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus Christ, oh man.

LAH: I even talked to one of these scammers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to withdraw $9,500.00 from your account.

LAH: And you'll see how he tried to steal ten grand. This is a scam. You know it and I know it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why does it seem like? Am I talking to the reporter?

LAH: In all of these cases, these machines called crypto ATMs become the getaway car for the scammers who prey on victims like Gus Cason.

CASON: After I stepped in $100.00 bills, it would prompt you for everything that come up and I had him on the phone, too.

LAH: Had you ever seen this before?

CASON: Never been here before. Never been here after.

LAH: Just outside Cedar Rapids, Iowa is where Gus Cason calls home. Age 71, a retired union worker and super fan of the band Nickelback.

Two years ago, as he was recovering from a stroke --

CASON: I got a phone call. Well, he told me he was president of the bank. I said, now you tell me. I want you to swear that you're not a scam. I swear I'm not a scam and all that. He convinced me. He was good. He was good.

I just had a stroke. I wasn't thinking right at all.

LAH: The scammer told Gus that he would be arrested unless he withdrew $15,000.00 in cash and deposited it in that crypto ATM. It looks like a normal ATM, but a crypto ATM is different, put in cash and it converts it into cryptocurrency in an instant.

Victims like Gus have lost about $240 million so far this year, says the FBI, double the pace of last year.

CASON: I should have known better. I should have known better. I was stupid enough, I fell for it.

LAH: The scammer took off with Gus' cash in the form of cryptocurrency. But the crypto ATM company also made money from the transaction.

Our investigation found the companies that operate crypto ATMs profit off the fees and markups, often at 20 to 30 percent that they charge on transactions, scam or legit.

And when police have seized the scammed cash out of the ATMs, the crypto ATM companies hit back hard in court to get that cash back, which is what happened to Gus Cason.

CHAD COLSTON, LINN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, IOWA: This is our evidence processing room.

LAH: Major Chad Coltson and his deputies at the Linn County Sheriff's Office managed to recover the $15,000.00 in cash that Gus had put into that crypto ATM as evidence in a crime.

LAH: How confident were you that the victim would get that money back after you took it out of the machine?

COLSTON: So we were very confident.

LAH: His confidence was short-lived. Bitcoin Depot, the company with the most crypto ATMs in the U.S. fought in court to get the $15,000.00 back.

The company points out its machines, like many crypto ATMs have multiple on screen warnings, alerts of scams and requires that customers agree that they're only sending money to their own accounts. So in court, Bitcoin Depot won. COLSTON: We ended up getting a communication from Bitcoin Depot. They said it was a glorious day, gentlemen, when can we come get our money which was our victim's money.

A multi-million-dollar company is overjoyed that they get $15,000.00 and our victim is, you know, hurting. I mean, that's their life savings.

LAH: Bitcoin Depot has used tough tactics to stop police from seizing money for evidence like threats to immediately litigate or suspending fee refunds in entire states if a single officer tries to seize cash.

[01:49:52]

LAH: Bitcoin Depot even sent an Amazon gift to mock one police department, a copy of the U.S. Constitution with a note calling the seizure of a scam victim's money a Fourth Amendment violation.

After we reached out to Bitcoin Depot about these messages to police, the company told us the messages were unacceptable and the employee responsible is no longer with Bitcoin Depot.

LAH: What do you think, Gus, that everybody seemed to get money, but you who saved that money?

CASON: You know, Bitcoin had no business getting that money at all. I mean, really, when -- especially when it's a scam.

LAH: Do you think that's fair?

CASON: Well, hell no.

LAH: Lawsuits from attorneys general accuse the top three crypto ATM firms of profiting from scams and not protecting customers.

Iowa's A.G., "More than half of all money taken in by Bitcoin Depot in Iowa over three years came from scams."

Washington, D.C.'s A.G., "At least 93 percent of deposits over several months from Athena Bitcoin machines came from scams."

Athena Bitcoin tells CNN it strongly disputes the allegations in the complaint and says it has strong safeguards against fraud.

Bitcoin Depot tells us, "We do not profit from scams, and the vast majority of our customers use our kiosks for lawful purposes." The company adds, "If it can't stop the transaction, it reviews every potential scam case individually for possible fee relief or refunds."

But we spoke to nearly a dozen victims who were tricked by scammers while using Bitcoin Depot machines, and only one said she got a fee refund.

These scammers are so convincing that a lot of the victims actually say it's almost as if they're hypnotized. They are fully convinced that they're going to get in trouble if they don't insert all of this money into a crypto ATM.

We actually spoke to a scammer on the phone. He tried to steal $10,000 from me, and it wasn't until I told him that I was a news reporter that he hung up.

Kyung Lah --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Incredible reporting from Kyung Lah and the entire CNN investigative team.

Next, Instagram is launching new safety settings for teenagers, and it's going to change what millions of young people see on the social media platform.

Those details when we come back.

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LEE: When it comes to international travel, many of you probably know that the passport you carry can make a big difference. A new ranking of the world's most powerful passports puts three Asian countries at the top of the rankings -- Singapore, South Korea and Japan lead the Henley Passport Index with their high numbers of visa free access to global destinations.

And for the first time in the index's 20-year history, the U.S. has fallen out of the top ten, dropping to 12th place. The U.K. passport, which held the top spot a decade ago, has sunk into its lowest ever position at number eight.

And Instagram is tightening its safety settings for teenagers with guidelines that are similar to PG-13 movies. The Meta-owned platform says it will now hide from teen accounts, posts that feature strong language and encourage what it calls harmful behaviors.

More from CNN's Clare Duffy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Instagram rolled out these teen accounts privacy protections and content restrictions last year.

[01:54:48]

DUFFY: And now the company is making its content limits even stricter by aligning the content that teens can see on the platform with PG-13 movie ratings.

Now, what does that mean? That means that teens on Instagram will have a harder time seeing posts that include strong language, or posts that could encourage harmful behavior because they feature risky stunts or drug paraphernalia.

Instagram is making it harder for teens to Search for terms like "alcohol" and "gore". They won't be able to follow or interact with accounts that regularly post age-inappropriate material.

And teens' conversations with Meta's A.I. chatbot will have to remain within those PG-13 guidelines, according to the company.

Now, this won't necessarily catch every potentially harmful or risky posts. Here's how Instagram head Adam Mosseri described it on "The Today Show" this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM MOSSERI, INSTAGRAM HEAD: The way it works is by default, every teen that has a teen account will have -- will be in the 13 plus rating, which means that the content they see on Instagram will largely align with a PG-13 movie.

Now, like in a PG-13 movie, where you might actually occasionally hear a swear word, you will occasionally come across content that it might be risky because we either missed it or because it was said by a friend.

But generally there is a lot more restrictions on what you can't see.

DUFFY: Now, this comes as Instagram has continued to face criticism from parents and online safety organizations, who said that the previous teen accounts safety settings weren't enough to keep young people safe on the platform.

So Meta is trying to do more to make its guidelines clear and to give parents more control over their teens experience on Instagram.

And a key feature of this Tuesday launch is with the old teen accounts safety settings, 16 and 17-year-olds were able to just go back in and change it back to the normal Instagram experience. They'll still be able to do that for the teen accounts privacy protections.

But with these content restrictions that are rolling out today, all teens under the age of 18 will have these settings applied automatically, and they'll have to get a parent's permission if they want to go back to that more adult experience on Instagram.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Apple CEO Tim Cook received a look-alike Labubu doll during a trip to shanghai, complete, of course, with an iPhone. Labubu creator Kasing Lung gifted Cook his own variation of the doll, which has become a cultural and commercial phenomenon.

The fluffy, sharp-toothed collectible figures are typically sold in blind boxes that conceal the design and style of the creature that's inside.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm M.J. Lee.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church after a short break. [01:57:22]

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