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U.S. Military Attacks Iran's Oil Export Hub; IDF Raises Prospect Of Major Ground Offensive In Lebanon; Attacks At Michigan Synagogue And Virginia University Rattle Sense Of Safety In American Communities; U.S. Says It Bombed Key Iranian Island With Oil Hub; Trump Eases Russian Oil Sanctions As Iran War Sends Prices Spiking; War With Iran Fuels Regional Humanitarian Crisis; Cuba's President Confirms Government Is In Talks With US; Mexico Beefs Up Security Ahead Of World Cup. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 14, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:39]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONENT: And welcome to all of our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York and we are closely following the latest developments coming out of the Middle East.

Specifically, some breaking news at this hour. I want to show you some brand new video that shows some small smoke and some small flames rising from a building near the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad.

Now at this point it is unclear exactly what happened. CNN has reached out to the U.S. State Department for more information. You see that smoke billowing from that area near the compound, the embassy compound.

And this incident does come just days after a suspected Iranian drone hit a U.S. diplomatic support center near Baghdad's airport. More on this developing situation in as we get new information.

Iran, for its part it is now threatening to retaliate after the US Said that it bombed every military asset on Kharg Island. And that's according to Iranian state media which reports no oil infrastructure was damaged. The island handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude exports.

President Donald Trump says that its oil infrastructure it could still be targeted if Iran continues blocking ships from getting through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Most of their military is gone. Their big threat is gone in every way. They have no radar. They have no anti-aircraft weapons, for the most part weapons and for indefinitely they have no way of determining what they call visibility. So just about everything is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: President Trump says that the U.S. Navy will soon intervene in the Strait of Hormuz where the flow of oil has been effectively paralyzed because of the war with Iran. A senior Iranian official telling CNN that Iran is now considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to pass through the Strait, but that's only if the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan.

The Iranian foreign minister actually spoke about oil prices on Friday at a rally that was held for there. I want you to listen to some of his comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Oil prices are on the rise and this is the result of Israel's and America's actions. They must be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And as global markets closely watch the situation in the Middle East. Oil prices have now hit their highest level since July 2022. Let's go live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's following every step of the developments of the Middle east from Abu Dhabi.

Paula, what do we know about this, about Carg island and also why it's just so significant to the United States?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, this is an island that is really key to the ability of Iran to be able to export its crude product. As you say, 90 percent of crude exports are from this particular island. It's a tiny island. It's about five miles, seven kilometers.

And what we know from the Iranian side, we heard just from the parliamentary speaker saying that they would abandon all restraint if there was any aggression against Iranian islands. Now, clearly, everyone in the region is bracing itself for whether or not there will be retaliation from Iran for the U.S. decision to bomb that island.

Now, what we've heard from the U.S. side is that they have just eliminated the military aspect of the island. So the military targets have been taken out, according to the U.S. President Donald Trump, and they have not touched the energy infrastructure.

They've not touched the facilities that would be needed to continue the oil production in on that island. We've heard from President Trump saying for reasons of decency, we have chosen not to wipe out all oil infrastructure on the island. But we have been hearing from Iranian officials that if energy

infrastructure was targeted in Iran, then they would do the same in the rest of the Gulf.

[02:05:00]

To be fair, that's a kind of a belated response because they have already targeted a large number of energy infrastructure in in the Gulf nations. Just a quick look at what else we have been seeing in neighboring countries in the Middle East.

In Baghdad, we saw that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, in the vicinity of that compound or within the compound, there has been a strike. We understand from Reuters they have quoted security officials saying that it was a missile strike. We have reached out to the State Department to find out exactly what it was.

We can see plumes of smoke and fire emanating from there. It's one of the biggest U.S. embassies in the world. It's within the so called Green Zone, which is supposed to be the more heavily protected area. And it has come under repeated missile and drone attack by Iranian proxies for a long time now.

We've also been seeing protests outside this embassy in recent days. Now there were no -- the non-emergency personnel had already been ordered to leave Iraq as they have been in many other countries. In fact, Oman is another country where they have just ordered non- emergency staff to leave the country.

Significant because Oman of course was the mediator between the U.S. and Iran before these hostilities started. They were the ones that had brokered the negotiations between the two sides and yet even they are finding themselves on the receiving end of Iranian retaliation.

Now, we've also seen in Dubai, here in the UAE, another interception of a projectile has caused debris which has damaged a building. We've seen that over recent days in Qatar, a missile was intercepted on the way to the military base. And in Saudi Arabia, some 19 drones have been intercepted. Polo.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Hancocks to come back to us. If you get more information on the situation in Baghdad. Lebanon's capital, it is currently reeling from the latest round of Israeli strikes as the fighting shows no signs of letting up.

The Israeli military has now been bombarding Beirut after it says that Hezbollah militants fired rockets toward Israeli territory. But it's often Lebanese civilians who end up at the crosshairs of Israeli strikes. Lebanon now says that about 700 people have been killed since the war started.

But Israel is now raising the stakes, telling its military to prepare to expand its ground operations in Lebanon. Want to get more analysis on that developing situation right now.

I'm joined by Emad Salameh, a senior Middle East policy advisor. He's also a professor of political science and International Affairs at the Lebanese American University, joins us from Beirut. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

I'm wondering if you could give us a sense of the situation right now when it comes to Hezbollah, I mean, just how strong is it? I mean, we already know that it was significantly weakened following the attacks of October 7th have been basically struck by Israeli forces constantly since the ceasefire of 2024.

EMAD SALAMEH, PROFESSOR OF POLITICLA SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, LAU: Yes, as you mentioned, Hezbollah has been severely weakened because of the Israeli campaigns that started a year ago. And it has most of its leadership eliminated. Most importantly, its General Secretary, Hassan Nasrallah, who was extremely charismatic, was able to mobilize population behind him and was quite honestly received positively by the most Muslim population from around the region.

In addition to that elimination, Hezbollah's infrastructure, military infrastructure, line of supply that coming from Syria, has been also not only destroyed and targeted, but also cut off totally. So the party is really weakened after a significant time of Israeli bombardment.

But right now the party is relying mostly on local efforts and local ability to confront the Israeli campaign through like locally manufactured weapons, drones and short range missiles. It's still operating, but definitely its ability of like conducting a wide ranging campaign against Israel has been pretty much eliminated.

[02:10:00]

Still, the party received significant political and community support, specifically from the Shia community in Lebanon, who feels that an Israeli invasion to south Lebanon, which is a mostly a Shia populated region, will turn them into a displaced population. Especially this comes after the Israelis have repeatedly asked the population south of the Litani River and south of the Zahrani River.

This is pretty much the south in Lebanon which has almost a million people inhabitant has, you know, the fear is really that the southern population will be permanently displaced and Israeli invasion will turn them into a population without land. You know, that kind of fear. And that's why this population continues to support Hezbollah resistance effort.

SANDOVAL: So I'm glad you mentioned that, Emad. So there clearly is a segment of the population that continues to support this group. What about perhaps other sections of the Lebanese population? I mean, we heard from the President Joseph Aoun, who not only condemned the actions from the Israeli government, but also had some very strong words for Hezbollah accusing the group of betraying Lebanon.

So elsewhere, I know there are teams who have been hearing from other citizens who are quite frustrated with the group itself, with Hezbollah? SALAMEH: Yes. I mean the division in Lebanon is quite deep. And as you

know, Lebanon is made of multiple confessional groups, Christians and Muslims. And the resentment against Hezbollah is quite large. Much of the Lebanese population blame Hezbollah for having forced them into a war they didn't want.

And this war is really come by Hezbollah's decision to support the Iranian front and extending and expanding the war as to undermine Israeli campaign against Iran. And they make a significant diversion.

Now the Lebanese government has been trying hard to prevent an Israeli invasion to Lebanon and try to enforce the diplomatic channels by presenting itself as willing to conduct a peace agreement with Israel, wants to have international support and pressure on Israel for a ceasefire.

Yet at the same time to give the international community more confidence in the Lebanese effort, it has been condemning the conduct of Hezbollah to distancing itself from what Hezbollah has committed and declaring its intention to disarm the party and make the Lebanese government the sole force in possessions of weapons.

All this to, you know, provide some assurances to the Israeli side that the Lebanese government is serious about disarming the party and is serious about conducting peace negotiation with Israel in order to create some kind of security arrangement that will comfort the Israeli side and at the same time prevent an Israeli invasion or escalation of this war.

Till now the Israeli side has not been responding to these requests, nor the American side either. Because, you know, I think at the moment the Israelis feel that they have much more military advantages and they want to change reality on the ground.

And eventually, if they were successful in, you know, making a push toward the south of Lebanon, then they could negotiate much better terms and make sure that the Hezbollah party will no longer be able to be armed again or to be presenting any threat to the Israeli northern settlement. So this is the situation in a nutshell.

SANDOVAL: It is a critical situation with the Lebanese people caught in the middle with some 680 already losing their lives. But you've given us such valuable context to keep in mind. Emad Salameh, thank you so much for your time and for letting us tap into your expertise.

SALAMEH: Thank you for hosting me.

SANDOVAL: Of course. We'll still ahead here on CNN News from two attacks in the U.S., hundreds of miles apart, but each incident now hitting at places where people typically feel safe in house of worship and on a university campus. Stay with us.

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[02:19:23] SANDOVAL: Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, she says that Thursday's attack on a Detroit area synagogue was an act of antisemitism and hatred. Authorities say that the attacker crashed a truck loaded with a large amount of fireworks and several jugs of what is believed to be gasoline, ramming the vehicle into the synagogue before then open, eventually opening fire.

The attack in Michigan, this one came just hours after a deadly shooting just hundreds of miles away in the state of Virginia at Old Dominion University. The FBI says that there is currently no indication that the two attacks are connected.

[02:20:01]

Still, though the violence at a place of worship and a university, it has rattled communities where communities that once felt safe. Here's CNN's Brian Todd with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A normally quiet neighborhood suddenly put on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands down and follow the instructions.

TODD (voice-over): Late Thursday night, law enforcement officials raided the home of Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who the FBI identifies as the shooter in Thursday's Old Dominion University terror attack.

CLAIRE WANG, NEIGHBOR: It was like a movie. It was really scary seeing everyone, you know, armed with their military rifles because I've never seen that before in my life.

TODD (voice-over): Claire Wang lives across the street in this Washington, D.C. suburb in Virginia. She took this video as law enforcement surrounded Jalloh's home.

WANG: I would just never think this would happen. And you know, it's I just feel really unsafe.

TODD (voice-over): The FBI investigating Thursday morning's shooting as an act of terrorism.

DOMINIQUE EVANS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: We have confirmed reports that prior to him conducting this act of terrorism, He shouted, stated Allah Akbar.

TODD (voice-over): Before Jalloh was stopped, he killed one, a professor and U.S. veteran and injured two others in a university ROTC classroom. Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guard member and army combat engineer, was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone and a student enrolled at Old Dominion. He was also known to law enforcement officials.

In 2016, Jalloh attempted to procure weapons in what he believed would be an attack in the name of ISIS and tried to donate money to the designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the Department of Justice. At the time, Jalloh unknowingly confided to an FBI informant who had been monitoring his behavior.

The source told officials that Jalloh did not reenlist in the army after listening to online lectures by an al Qaeda leader and that he had been thinking of conducting an attack like the 2009 shooting rampage at the Fort Hood military base that left 13 people dead and 32 injured, according to the Department of Justice.

ALEXANDER MEAGROU-HITCHENS, CO-AUTHOR, "HOMEGROWN - ISIS IN AMERICA": He was inspired by Nidal Hasan, who in 2009 attacked Fort Hood, and now he has actually gone on to commit the attack that he expressed an interest in conducting to the FBI informant.

TODD (voice-over) Jalloh pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017. He was released from federal custody in 2024 after spending just seven years in prison.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: They may have to ask themselves, were we keeping tabs on him through whatever his post release requirements were from federal parole or wherever else he was supposed to be checking in and being monitored.

TODD (voice-over): On Friday, anger and questions from Jalloh's neighbors. How could something like this happen? How was this convicted terrorist supporter allowed to walk free and become a terrorist himself?

HONORATO GARCIA, NEIGHBOR: They shouldn't be out. I'm free. Yes, they should be putting away for good.

NIC RIECKMANN, NEIGHBOR: Why did the justice system fail us with letting somebody out after seven years who had ties to ISIS? That's a terror organization.

TODD: The White House posted a message saying the gunman was released from prison early under the Biden administration. And the White House said, quote, this should have never happened. Meanwhile, another man has been arrested and is facing federal charges for allegedly selling Mohamed Jalloh, a firearm used in the shooting. That's according to court documents. As a convicted supporter of ISIS, Jalloh was prohibited from owning a gun. Brian Todd, CNN, Sterling, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: A federal judge has quashed the U.S. Justice Department's attempt to subpoena Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The judge says that the DOJ has not produced any evidence that Powell is suspected of a crime. Instead, the evidence suggests that the subpoenas were meant to pressure Powell into voting for lower interest rates or resigning.

U.S. attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro says that they plan to appeal that ruling, but a GOP senator is warning that an appeal could actually delay the Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump's next pick to be the Fed chair. And as the war with Iran spreads across the region, millions of people

are being forced from their homes. Ahead, we'll be speaking to a representative of the United Nations Refugee agency about the growing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.

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[02:28:48]

SANDOVAL: All right. Back to a story that we're closely following out of the Middle East as the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran enters. Now yet another week video geolocated by CNN showing flames and smoke rising from a building near the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad.

This is video that came in just a short while ago. It's still unclear if the compound itself was directly hit. You can see the flames and the smoke. CNN has already contacted the U.S. State Department for any further comment. We continue to do so to get more information. Gulf states are trying to fend off fresh strikes on their territory.

And this is President Donald Trump says that the U.S. quote, totally obliterated every military target on Iran's Kharg island, which actually handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports. And this follows the strike. Iran is now warning that any attack on its energy infrastructure will lead to retaliatory strikes on regional facilities with ties to the United States.

For more now, I want to bring in CNN producer Matias Grez, who is live from Doha. Matias, welcome back. I've been following your reporting on what life is like there in Doha just a few days ago.

[02:30:05]

Now, as we enter yet another week of this war, what's it like today?

MATIAS GREZ, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Paolo, it had been a relatively quiet 36 hours or so here in Doha. The last alert of any kind any of us received on our phones was around midday on Thursday. But that all changed around midnight last night. The first in a series of incidents was an evacuation order issued by the Ministry of Interior to people's phones here to evacuate a couple of different areas in the city.

And then around 1:30 last night, a security alert was sent to people's phones, quickly followed by a really loud series of explosions. And then again just before 6:00 a.m. this morning, another security alert and more explosions. And I have to say those explosions last night in particular the ones at 1:30 in the morning were among the loudest, if not the loudest that we've heard so far here in Doha's West Bay. I mean, the force with which it shook my building at 1:30 was quite incredible.

And actually just before you came to us about half an hour ago, we saw a gun mounted helicopter patrolling the skies here in Doha's West Bay. This area, of course is where CNN's based. It's where a lot of the team is based. And it's a really popular commercial and residential area, both for locals and for tourists. And actually a few hours ago, the Ministry of Defense here confirmed

that it had been subjected to two separate missile attacks overnight. But this is something we're seeing now play out across the region. Authorities in Dubai confirmed that a successful drone intercept. Debris from that intercept had struck a building in the city, but no casualties and no fire.

In Oman, the U.S. issued a statement saying that all non-essential government personnel and their families should leave the country. And Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense over the last few hours has confirmed that it has intercepted at least 19 drones and one missile.

We've also seen explosions in Kuwait and herd sirens in Bahrain. All of this like you mentioned at the top, coming after Iran threatened retaliatory strikes after those U.S. strikes on Kharg Island.

SANDOVAL: Yes, it still continues to be a very fluid situation there where you are. Matias Grez, as always, thank you so much for all your reporting there from Doha.

And as that war with Iran spreads across the Middle East, a humanitarian crisis continues to grow. In fact, In Iran, the U.N. now says that up to 3.2 million people have been temporarily displaced as families flee Tehran and also other surrounding areas there in search of safety.

And as Israel expands operations against Hezbollah within Lebanon, more than 800,000 people have already been forced from their homes. Experts now saying that additional evacuation orders there could push that number past 1 million in the and there's U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who actually visited Beirut on Friday. He said that the scale of suffering there, that it is devastating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRESS, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Today. It really breaks my heart to see the Lebanese people suffering so much, 800,000 displaced, 1,500 dead in an absolutely dramatic situation. And my message is very clear. We must stop this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And aid groups, they are warning that the number of displaced across the region will continue to climb if that fighting continues.

We will continue to bring you more on that situation there in the Middle East and certainly potentially millions of people having to flee their homes.

Well, Ukraine's president says that the U.S. is now looking to postpone the upcoming trilateral peace talks that include Russia. The negotiations there were set to begin on Wednesday, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Ukrainian media that U.S. officials only want to meet at home because of security concerns over the ongoing war in Iran. President Zelenskyy says that Russia insists on meeting in Turkey or

Switzerland. He says Ukraine is still ready to meet next week.

The Ukrainian leader also says that the war in Iran is creating an opening for Moscow. You see, the U.S. Is temporarily easing some of its sanctions on Russia, trying to tame the soaring prices in oil. But as Lynda Kinkade reports, Mr. Zelenskyy believes that the move will likely help the Kremlin refill its war chest. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A show of unity between France's Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, allies throughout the toughest times of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But it's another war and the surprise actions of another ally that's raising new concerns in Ukraine as well as other parts of Europe.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This single easing of sanctions by America could provide Russia with approximately $10 billion for the war.

[2:35:04]

This certainly does not help peace.

KINKADE (voice-over): The U.S. is temporarily loosening sanctions on the sale of Russian oil at sea to try to bring down oil prices that have surged since the war in Iran began, an unsettling move for many European leaders, who together with the U.S. have used economic leverage against Russia to try to end the war in Ukraine.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia may believe that the war in Iran will offer it a respite. It's mistaken.

KINKADE (voice-over): The U.K. and many European nations are united against the U.S. decision, saying easing sanctions, even on a limited basis, will help to replenish Russia's war chest.

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Russia continues to show no willingness to negotiate. We will and we must therefore have to increase the pressure on Moscow. I want to make this very clear. Easing sanctions now, for whatever reason, is something we believe is wrong.

KINKADE (voice-over): But Russia welcomed the change, saying its oil is badly needed to stop global oil prices from spiraling out of control.

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN (through translator): In this case, we see the United States taking action in an attempt to stabilize energy markets. In this regard, our interests align.

KINKADE (voice-over): After four years of war, some residents in Kyiv say they're disappointed in the U.S., fearing the new revenue gained by Russia will be used against them. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Sanctions that are important

to us are being lifted against our aggressor. They will not change anything for them. On the contrary, things will only get better for them. And they will use their funds to produce even more missiles, drones and similar weapons.

KINKADE (voice-over): Ukraine recently offered its expertise to countries in the Gulf about how to combat drone attacks. A Western intelligence source says Russia is advising Iran on drone tactics. Two wars far apart, one diverting attention from the other and giving Russia an unexpected boost that Ukraine and its allies did not see coming. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Still ahead, Cuba's president confirming negotiations with the White House are happening. This as an energy crisis continues to make daily life for Cubans nearly impossible. I'll take you to Havana after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:02]

SANDOVAL: Hi, welcome back to CNN Newsroom. We do want to get back on a topic that we discussed earlier in the hour, which is this worsening humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. Aid groups, they are now warning the number of displaced across the region will continue to climb as that fighting, specifically the war with Iran, continues.

For more insight into the humanitarian situation, I do want to bring in now Karolina Lindholm Billing. She's the U.N. Refugee Agency's representative in Lebanon. Karolina, so good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

KAROLINA LINDHOLM BILLING, UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON: Thank you so much for having me.

SANDOVAL: Karolina, I wonder if you could start by giving us an update. You're with the U.N. you get those numbers. You get those regular updates. As of your last update, how many civilians have been caught in this crossfire between Hezbollah and IDF forces?

BILLING: I mean, in Lebanon, in less than two weeks, 830,000 people have been displaced from the areas that are now under attack or evacuation orders. It's about 14 percent of Lebanon's very small territory that's now affected by the evacuation orders. And of course, 830,000 and 52 percent of them are women and children. It's a huge number displaced in such a short period of time.

SANDOVAL: Where do they go?

BILLING: So majority go to Beirut or the area around Beirut and some try to find, of course, somewhere to stay with relatives friends. The government has opened around 600 schools that have been now turned into collective shelters for displaced people. So, you know, just a couple of days before the escalation of conflict

started in Lebanon, you know, these schools were full of kids in classrooms learning math, English and playing in the courtyard. And now these schools are full with displaced people. It's almost 130,000 of those internally displaced that are now sleeping on mattresses in the classrooms or in the corridors in order to find somewhere to stay.

But many still are looking for somewhere. So you also see, like here in Beirut where I am along the roads, cars parked where people are sleeping, and even some still on the -- on the Cornish staying in tents.

SANDOVAL: And Karolina, are there concerns for humanitarian groups about the IDF's foothold right now in southern Lebanon? That's greatly limiting where these families can go. Obviously you mentioned many of them making it safely to Beirut, but even then, there's certainly concerns about Beirut being affected as well.

BILLING: Yes, absolutely. I mean, Beirut has been attacked numbers of times over the past couple of weeks, including along the Cornish where some of the displaced people were sleeping in these tents.

[02:45:00]

So you have this huge number of displaced people now being kind of squeezed into a smaller territory where they're trying to find safety. And, you know, majority of them also come with nothing because many were already affected by the conflict at the end of 2024.

So, you know, people I've met at these collective shelters, they say, look, I didn't even bother changing clothes. I just got into my car or hitchhiked to get to a safer place in Lebanon because I was so scared.

So the humanitarian needs are really immense. I mean, UNHCR is supporting the government to equip these collective shelters with mattresses and blankets so people at least have something to sleep on. But we see that the needs are growing very, very fast.

SANDOVAL: Now, we've seen this conflict between Hezbollah and IDF forces for quite some time, specifically since that cease fire in 2024, but for the last couple of weeks, especially since the full out launching of this war against Iran, how has Lebanon been impacted? Have you seen the need grow since then?

BILLING: Yes, for sure. And I mean, the government under the Prime Minister, the Minister of Social Affairs, is very much leading this emergency humanitarian response to support the people who are affected in these areas and are fleeing, and agencies like UNHCR is supporting them to do this.

But again, when you have 830,000 at least, people displaced in a country that is now 14 percent of it directly affected and trying to find somewhere to sleep, trying to find change of clothes, medicines, food because people left without anything, it's really a dire situation. For example, yesterday I visited one of these collective shelters and

I met with a woman in her 90s. She was there with her grandchild and she had lost 11 family members back in 2024, and she's now sleeping on a mattress in a classroom and just full of grief. And so the mental health and the psychosocial kind of state of the people is also very, very concerning.

SANDOVAL: Yes, that woman's story a reminder that this trauma goes back more than just a few weeks, but years, really. While you were speaking --

BILLING: Yes.

SANDOVAL: -- Karolina, we're seeing some video of some members of the World Food Programme preparing meals in mass. Back to your earlier point, especially, you know, your message for viewers around the world. What is the greatest need and what do you want the world to know about these humanitarian efforts?

BILLING: Well, I want the world to know that these are civilians who are now fleeing their home areas that are under attack. They're leaving behind their houses, their belongings, everything. They're really afraid. And it's critical that the Lebanese government receives, is supported by humanitarian organizations like UNHCR to support the people fast, because now the most immediate need is somewhere to sleep.

As I said, change of clothes. People are really talking about basic hygiene items, food. But the longer this continues, of course, needs will grow. And you know, people can't stay forever in classrooms because they need to go back to school, you know, the kids who used to go there. And if these needs are not supported in a timely way, there is a risk that the shock and frustration will grow into the shock and anxiety and fear will grow into frustration and anger.

And that I fear can really lead to a lot of tensions between people. You know, Lebanon is a very delicate country with many different groups of people who have been living side by side. Now they're living on top of each other in very dire humanitarian circumstances. So it's critical to support the people in order to also preserve Lebanon's stability.

SANDOVAL: There are limits of resources, and all we have to do is look at the other humanitarian crises that we've seen play out and the last couple of years in the Middle East. Karolina Lindholm Billing, thank you so much for your update and for all the work that you and the rest of the folks at your organization do for those civilians caught in the middle. Thank you.

BILLING: Thank you very much.

SANDOVAL: Well, Cuba's president has confirmed for the first time that his government has been holding talks with the Trump administration. Miguel Diaz-Canel says that the discussions with the White House and their focus on finding solutions to the bilateral problems between the two nations. [02:50:04]

So how does this impact Cubans on the ground? Here's CNN's Patrick Oppmann with the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel acknowledging on Friday what had long been rumored, that his government is in direct talks with the Trump administration trying to forge a path forward as this island is suffering one of the worst energy crises in its history.

According to the Cuban president, no oil has reached Cuba for about three months now, essentially crippling public transportation, meaning many hospitals are shut down, unable to perform surgeries. We are seeing longer and longer blackouts, sometimes lasting an entire day.

And so this is really verging on a full blown humanitarian crisis as many people say that they simply cannot live in these conditions, that their food is beginning to spoil. And that sense of desperation is creeping in here.

Previously, Cuban officials said they did not want to negotiate under these circumstances, that they felt the United States was strong, arming them by cutting off the supply of oil from allies like Venezuela and Mexico. But they simply don't have any choice in the matter. And this is now a question of survival.

The Trump administration has said that they will take over Cuba the easy way or the hard way, and that while they don't think military force is needed, is not off the table entirely either. So these negotiations, while they might buy some breathing room for the government here, it is not clear how long the Trump administration will allow the negotiations to go on here. Very clearly they are employing the carrot and stick approach and for the moment, they are talking.

But officials in the Trump administration have said that they are willing to take tougher measures if needed to force the kind of change they want to see take place on this island. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And with the World cup just months away, co-host Mexico is now ramping up its security measures. And as CNN's Valeria Leon reports from Mexico City, anti-drone technology playing a huge part.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the sound of a threat in the sky. Mexican soldiers prepare to take down an enemy drone in an exercise aimed at beefing up security less than 100 days before Mexico co-hosts the World Cup. LEON: On this military base, soldiers train daily for one of the most

technically demanding security missions of the year, protecting the World Cup from the growing threat of unauthorized drones.

LEON (voice-over): Colonel Vicente Gamboa leads this unit, which has been reinforced with dozens of additional personnel ahead of the tournament.

COL. VICENTE GAMBOA, MEXICAN ARMY (through translator): It's been a challenge to incorporate new technologies to provide security to the public, especially for massive events like the World Cup. But we've been gaining experience.

LEON (voice-over): Gamboa takes us inside the control center where teams monitor drone activity in real time. From here, they can detect where a drone takes off and even pinpoint the location of its operator.

GAMBOA (through translator): When we activate the jammer, it creates a kind of dome that blocks the signal frequency.

LEON (voice-over): Underground, this movable jammer offers short range protection. Captain Jose Alfredo Lara says strategic protection zones will be set up around stadiums and fan festivals.

CAP. JOSE ALFREDO LARA, EMERGENCY RESONSE BATALLIION (through translator): It allows us to create a wide protection perimeter. Any stadium, any facility, any fan festival within that zone will be fully covered.

LEON (voice-over): With Mexico set to host 13 of the 104 matches of the world's biggest sporting event, including the opening game in Mexico City. And four games are scheduled to be played in Jalisco, where violence erupted after the capture of cartel boss El Mencho. Security questions still linger.

President Claudia Sheinbaum is trying to reassure the world that Mexico is safe. The World Cup trophy touched down at Mexico's airport. With less than 100 days to go, it's arrival signals that the countdown is officially on. With the global event fast approaching, Mexico security forces said they are preparing not just for the crowds on the ground, but for the threats that may come from above. Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

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[02:55:02]

SANDOVAL: All right, let's leave you with this. Scientists in Brazil, they've now identified a new species of dinosaur. Researchers estimating that the giant plant eater was 65 feet, about 20 meters long, the Dasosaurus, as it's called. It's one of the biggest dinosaurs to ever be found in Brazil.

Scientists knew they had something extraordinary to dig five years ago when they found an enormous thigh bone. You see it there? They say that the creature seems to have evolutionary links to a similar dinosaur in Spain. And that suggests that the reptiles might have crossed land routes connecting South Africa, I should say South America, Africa and Europe about 120 million years ago before the appearance of the Atlantic Ocean.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. CNN Newsroom continues after a short break. Don't go anywhere.

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