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Deadline Nears for Iran's Response to Trump's Threat; Iran Hits Second U.S. Combat Aircraft, Pilot Rescued; Artemis II Crew Begins Day Four of Flight to the Moon; Supporters of Wisconsin Mosque Leader Call for His Release; Pope Leo Leads Easter Vigil; Fifty Years of Apple. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 04, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:01:09]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I am Bianna Golodryga.

Right now the frantic search inside Iran for a missing U.S. service member. A day after an American fighter jet was shot down in Iran verified video shows a plane attempting to locate one of the F-15 jet's crew members. It's unclear whether that plane is American or Iranian.

While sources say the second crew member of the downed F-15 was rescued safely, the losses are mounting for the U.S. military. A U.S. official says Iran has shot down another Air Force plane, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, like the one seen here, was struck on Friday, forcing the pilot, who was later rescued, to eject.

Now, it all comes as the clock ticks down on the deadline for Iran to respond to President Trump's ultimatum, reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz or face increased attacks.

CNN chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance is in Doha, Qatar for us and CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is at the White House.

Julia, let's start with you. President Trump is threatening Iran again today. What is he saying?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just a few days ago now, President Donald Trump, he delivered a primetime address here at the White House. And he spoke about the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway where typically 20 percent of the world's oil passes through. He said at that time that he believes that that's going to open up naturally after the conflict ends.

Today, though, he is reiterating a threat that he has made that he would target Tehran's power facilities if they do not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours.

I want to pull up that post for you now. This came in a social media post on his Truth Social platform earlier today. And he said, quote, "Remember when I gave Iran 10 days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait? Time is running out. 48 hours before all hell will rain down on them." And then he ended the post by writing, quote, "Glory be to God."

Now Trump first made this threat late last month, and then it's moved several times. It was originally set for 48 hours. He paused it for five days, then it was extended for 10 days. It is now set for Monday, April 6th. And I did want to note that Senator Lindsey Graham, who is often in communication with the president, he's a Republican from South Carolina, he said that they had a phone call earlier today, and he believes that this deadline is going to stick. He said that he supports the ultimatum that the president has laid out here, and that he believes that Trump will use overwhelming force if Iran continues to impede the strait.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Julia, stand by for us. I want to go to Matthew Chance in Doha for us.

So, Matthew, update us now on the search for this missing service member now, almost, I believe, a full 24 hours later.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It has been that long. And you know, obviously the United States has been stepping up its search and rescue efforts, although it hasn't given us any further statement on the progress that it's made, if any. The Iranians have also been engaged in a race to track down that missing U.S. crewman, a woman, that was shot down in that F-15 with Iranian state media basically saying, you know, re-upping the reward that they've put out there.

They're offering tens of thousands of dollars for any Iranian civilian that can come forward and capture that crew member and hand them over to the regime. They've also said, though, that at the moment, the search has been unsuccessful and Iranian officials are denying the reports that have been floating around that that individual has already been captured and is in is in detention. So that's something at least.

But, as you might expect, Iranian officials are making as much propaganda value as they can out of the setbacks that the United States has suffered in Iran over the course of the past 24 hours, or just a bit longer, calling it a black and humiliating Friday for America and for Israel, which of course also engage in attacks on Iran.

[15:05:13]

That shoot down of the F-15 plane, also the other American plane, the A-10 plane that you just mentioned that was hit along with a -- reports of a combat helicopter, a U.S. combat helicopter that was also struck, although not downed inside Iranian territory.

The Iranian officials here, the main military officials are vowing to regain control over the skies of the Islamic Republic, saying they're going to do that with what they call, "modern defensive weapons systems, which are being built by our young and proud scientists."

And so, again, Iranian officials, they're really trying to challenge that idea that despite weeks of pounding by U.S. and Israeli forces, they can fight back. They're basically saying, look, we can fight back and we will.

GOLODRYGA: Asymmetrical warfare clearly has proven to be quite a thorn in the side of the U.S. military and the surrounding countries, including where you are, Matthew.

Matthew, appreciate the reporting.

Julia, let's go back to you. How is the White House responding to this?

BENBROOK: Well, in an interview with NBC News, Trump said that this incident was not going to impact the negotiations with Iran. He did declined to comment, though, on the ongoing search and rescue mission. Then in a separate interview, this one with "The Independent," he would not comment directly when it comes to actions he might take, what he might do next, if that missing crew member was captured or harmed by the Iranians. He went on to say, quote, "We hope that's not going to happen."

Now, in recent days, he has signaled that the United States could ramp up pressure for the next two to three weeks. Of course, we've heard a lot of different predictions on how long this could last. Today, he is not expected to be seen again. They have called a lid here at the White House, which means that we do not expect him to be out and about.

But of course, Bianna, we have seen a lot of these updates, a lot of very important updates, even the announcement that Operation Epic Fury had started, come in social media posts.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And of course, our thoughts are with that crew member and his family, and really hoping for the best here.

Julia Benbrook, thank you.

Well, it is now day four of the Artemis II crew as they prepare for their high stakes slingshot around the moon. Today's schedule started with a change of plans as a malfunction in the wastewater system led mission control to cancel another minor engine firing. NASA shared new photos from the Orion spacecraft as the moon gets closer into view.

CNN's Tom Foreman gives us a glimpse of what the conditions are like for the crew inside of the capsule.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is life like for the Orion crew right now? Well, I can tell you, it is busy and it's really interesting.

Let's get rid of the service module for a moment here, although it will stay with the crew capsule for almost the entire mission. I just want to talk about the crew capsule now, though, and give you a sense of what they're dealing with.

First of all, this is a big capsule. 23,000 pounds at liftoff, more than 11 feet tall, 16 feet wide. So that's big. And the interior is bigger than anything NASA has put up in the space since the space shuttle. But this is all a relative thing. If you were to come inside here, you would say, well, they have a lot to get in here, too.

All four people have to live here. They have to have places to be strapped in or sit. They have communications equipment. They have control equipment, they have emergency supplies, medical supplies, food, water, waste facilities, exercise equipment, even some things for entertainment. So, yes, it's a lot to get into this space is as spacious as it is.

If you look at this NASA video, you can get a sense of what it would really be like inside, although I should point out you're not stuck to one space. Remember, in microgravity, they can use all of this space to do what they want to do. Still, it's four people in this space for 10 days. That's not a whole lot of room. And they have to all work in concert to make it work properly.

And interestingly enough, that includes sleeping at the same time. Yes, that's right. At the same time they will all strap in for the night, close their eyes and they will sleep and dream as they drift through the cosmos from the Earth all the way up to this historic return to the moon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Very well done and narrated by Tom Foreman. I love the graphics there. Thank you for that look inside the small and tight Orion capsule.

Well, the days ahead have the crew officially entering the lunar sphere of influence. That's when the pull of the moon's gravity will be stronger than Earth's. Monday will be the highly anticipated slingshot around the dark side of the moon, sending the astronauts further into space than ever before.

[15:10:06]

For more perspective, I'm joined by Laurie Leshin, professor of Space Futures at Arizona State University. She's also the former director of NASA's jet propulsion laboratory.

Professor Leshin, thanks so much for joining us. I learned so much from Tom's piece there, including that criteria for these astronauts. Among the many is that you can't be claustrophobic. In terms of what we are expecting today, what are some of the priorities to ensure success for Monday?

LAURIE LESHIN, PROFESSOR OF SPACE FUTURES, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: Well, great to be with you. Exciting moment in the Artemis mission. Just a little bit more than two days out from our slingshot around the moon. And really this is kind of a little bit more of a quiet time in the crews as they're getting ready for that lunar flyby. They want to make sure everything goes like clockwork once they get in the vicinity of the moon.

And so they're doing things like practicing, getting their cameras ready and getting those out and exactly positioning who's going to be where because as you saw, it's pretty cramped in there. And so that they're going to be able to take advantage of every single second when they're going around the moon.

GOLODRYGA: And we know that tomorrow they're going to be entering what we've already described, the lunar sphere of influence. Why is this phase significant in this mission?

LESHIN: Well, even now they are further from they're closer to the moon than the earth, right? So they really are pretty far away. And, you know, gravity is in the driver's seat here. They're on their trajectory. They'll swing around the moon and come back to the earth. That moon sphere of influence is very, very important because it's the moon's gravity that we're counting on to swing Orion around and send it back home.

GOLODRYGA: And Monday then, of course, that is the big day. That includes a 40-minute loss in communications with the crew. Mission control and NASA didn't seem worried about this. They said that is what we're preparing for and we are not concerned at all about those 40 minutes without communication.

Can you explain what they will be seeing and doing during that window of time?

LESHIN: Well, I mean, they're going to be going about their business. It's only 40 minutes. They have that 40 minutes very well planned. It's basically the time when the moon is between them and us, right? Our ears are here on Earth and the moon is a big rock in between, so we won't be able to hear through the moon. But they've got the entire encounter extremely well planned out. What kind of photographs are going to be taking, what kind of scientific observations they're going to be making.

And, you know, excitingly, for the first time ever, we have a chief science officer sitting in mission control who is ready to when they're in communication kind of take their scientific observations and interact with them. So it's just a great moment for observation of the moon in a way that human eyes have never seen. It's going to be incredibly exciting to both see their photographs, but also just hear their observations because they've been training for this.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And training for moments that they're not even focused on or planning to, over the course of this mission. And that may even include plumbing and fixing toilets, as we've been describing as well. They are really prepared for anything.

We have made clear that all of the eyes really have been on NASA throughout this historic mission, but it really is important to note how many teams, including the jet propulsion lab, that has helped set the stage for what we're seeing today.

So how large of an operation has it been to build a mission of this magnitude?

LESHIN: Oh, my goodness, it is thousands and thousands and thousands of people across dozens of organizations from the smallest, you know, supplier to large organizations like NASA JPL out in Pasadena, California, who run the ears for the Artemis program when they're in deep space. We listen to them through the deep space network, giant antennas pointed at Artemis, both sending commands, tracking the spacecrafts trajectory, and then listening to the astronauts downlink, and also getting all of those beautiful images and videos down.

So, you know, that's just one aspect. And then you have our private sector contractors, people like Boeing and Lockheed, who were so essential in getting the Artemis mission built. And then our colleagues at NASA. So it's really a whole of agency, whole of industry, even academia effort.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, so many unsung heroes here collaborating to make all of this possible and so exciting to watch.

Professor Laurie Leshin, thank you for the time.

LESHIN: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And coming up for us, the search intensifies today for a missing U.S. service member after their F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iran. I'll talk with a panel of experts as President Trump issues new threats against Iran. And outrage in Milwaukee after a prominent mosque leader is detained by federal agents. Why supporters say he may have been targeted as he remains in ICE custody at this hour.

[15:15:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Supporters of a Wisconsin mosque president detained by ICE are calling for his release. Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian born legal permanent resident of the United States, was arrested on Monday after nearly a dozen federal agents surrounded his car in Milwaukee. That's according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. His attorney says Sarsour's detention was motivated by his criticism of Israel.

[15:20:05]

Sarsour's oldest son reacted to the arrest, saying this about his father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARIM SARSOUR, SALAH SARSOUR'S SON: He's a person that we need to celebrate. People like him are people that we need to celebrate in our community, raise high, appreciate everything they sacrifice in their life, not being taken away and kidnaped and brought daylight and thrown in a detention center that they're treated as subhumans. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's senior correspondent Josh Campbell joins me with more.

What are we learning about this detention, Josh?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Bianna you know, we've seen this uproar from elected leaders, from members of the clergy, the general public, after the president of Wisconsin's largest mosque was arrested, as you said Monday, by immigration agents. He was then spirited out of the state to a jail in Indiana.

Sarsour is a Palestinian born legal permanent resident of the United States who has lived here for over 30 years, according to his legal team. They believe that their client has been singled out by the Trump administration, based on his past criticism of the state of Israel.

Now, the specific reason for his detention remains an open question amid conflicting claims by the Department of Homeland Security and Sarsour's legal team. His attorneys say that he was detained on the grounds that he is a foreign policy threat, something that they adamantly deny. We did ask DHS the specific reason for the arrest. They provided us this statement.

They say that, "Salah Salem Sarsour is a terrorist convicted for throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces. This illegal alien from Jordan lied on his green card application to gain legal status in the United States."

Now we've pressed them for further details. DHS referred us to the State Department. The State Department then referred us to the Department of Justice. So again, we're still waiting for those details. As far as what that criminal history might be, the DHS references, we found no indication of any U.S. charges and is more than 30 years in this country.

But his attorney noted that he was convicted as a minor in a controversial Israeli military court decades ago for offenses they say included allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli officers. Sarsour's attorneys also say the U.S. government has known about that decades- old conviction in Israel since he came to the U.S. back in 1993.

Again, we're waiting for additional details. We are hearing multiple people speaking out, multiple elected officials. On social media the mayor of Milwaukee called his detention, quote, "an outrage," adding that. "He is a legal permanent resident. There is no substantive evidence he has done anything wrong. This is another example of overreach and harm from the U.S. immigration authorities."

Finally, Bianna, as far as what happens next, he is now in a county jail, as I mentioned, in the state of Indiana. His attorneys have filed a petition in court seeking his immediate release. We are standing by to see what a judge might ultimately decide.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Josh Campbell, live for us from Los Angeles. Thank you.

CAMPBELL: You bet.

GOLODRYGA: And coming up for us, President Trump says time is running out for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He says the U.S. will unleash, quote, "all hell" if that doesn't happen by Monday. We'll dive into this latest threat after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:30]

GOLODRYGA: Well, right now an intense search and rescue operation is underway for the crew member of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down over Iran. The other crew member was safely rescued.

Also today, President Trump renewing his threats to Iran, saying Tehran has 48 hours to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz or, quote, "all hell will rain down."

With us now is Dan Senor. He's a former Iraq coalition spokesman and host the "Call Me Back" podcast. He's worked on and written several books, including "The Genius of Israel." Also with us, Israeli journalist and commentator Nadav Eyal. He's an adjunct professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a frequent guest on "Call Me Back."

So we sort of have a "Call Me Back" reunion here on CNN.

Dan Senor, Nadav Eyal, thank you both for joining me.

So, Dan, let me start with you because earlier this week, President Trump had predicted that the Strait of Hormuz will just naturally reopen in two or three weeks. Now he's suddenly issuing another 48- hour threat and ultimatum for Iran to step aside or, quote, "all hell will break loose." Now he's walked back similar escalatory threats in the past.

Do you expect to see the same in the coming days, or is this time different given the force posture of the United States in the region and also Iran's continued defiance?

Oh, Dan, I think, is your -- we can't hear you. And if we can -- if we can have it.

DAN SENOR, FORMER IRAQ COALITION SPOKESMAN: Hi. Hi, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: There we go. OK. Got him.

SENOR: I think he's maintaining his optionality. I think it's very hard to assess what his exact next move will do will be. The only consistency that we have seen is the degree to which the U.S. and Israel are consistently degrading the military capabilities of Iran. So taking out the Iranian navy, taking out the Israeli Iranian air capabilities, taking out its ballistic missile capability, now systematically hitting its industrial defense system, infrastructure, all the machinery that goes to building its weapons capabilities.

The messaging about what he does next has not been clear, but I think the military understanding of what they're supposed to be doing, which is just degrading these capabilities, has been pretty clear and consistent since the war started.

GOLODRYGA: So, Nadav, in terms of the regime's mindset, I was struck by something that you had noted about a week or so ago, and that is from your sources, Iran and the regime actually believes that they are winning at this point, largely because the command structure is so fractured.

[15:30:07]

Given that, at some point they're going to realize the damage that the United States and Israel have inflicted. The fact that they appear to not have done that yet tells you what? Will things only escalate or do you think there is an opportunity for a diplomatic offramp?

NADAV EYAL, ISRAELI JOURNALIST AND COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, we are in an escalatory track right now, Bianna. And this is how it is simply because the Iranians feel that they are winning. They are not only saying that, this is not posturing, this is truly what Western intelligence is saying as to their own mindset.

Now, there is a debate within Iran. There are two factions there. One faction is basically prominent figures amongst the IRGC. Another faction is more civilian like the president. Also others. The president and others are saying, let's cash in on our victory. So both sides agree that they are now emerging victorious in the region. But one side is saying this is now the time to stop and reach an agreement.

And the IRGC on the other side is saying, no, we can hammer against other regional countries around Iran. We can cause more damages to the United States and only then reach some sort of an understanding. For instance, one that will entrench our position in Hormuz. And this is the conversation within the Iranian leadership. But both sides sort of agree that they're winning this. And this causes a huge problem in trying to reach an agreement with the Iranians, because they're just going to step out of the room the minute they're going to be the first crisis there.

GOLODRYGA: And so, Dan, now that the president, when he addressed the nation, laid out a two to three-week window for the United States to succeed and declare victory and walk away.

Can he do that realistically without the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and without the seizure or some sort of diplomatic agreement for the removal of the 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that's still buried under the rubble there?

SENOR: For the reasons Nadav said, Bianna, and others, I'm highly skeptical that there will be any kind of diplomatic accommodation. I just -- I think right now neither side, the U.S. has goals that I don't think Iran will ever agree to, objectives for any possible accommodation. And to Nadav's point, Iran thinks it's -- I don't know if they think they're winning, but they don't think they're losing. So I don't imagine any kind of agreement.

The question is, if Nadav is right, which I tend to think he is, we are in some kind of escalatory phase, at least for the next two to three weeks. I expect you're going to see something quite creative. There's a lot of creative thinking going on right now in the Pentagon in terms of how to deal with the strait. Again, I think the president has been very deft at maintaining his options and not telegraphing exactly what the next move is going to be. He has the option to ramp up and certainly ramp up the rhetoric and then ramp down. We've been seeing him do that over the last few weeks. All while taking out these military capabilities.

And I just want to underline that point. I think the strait issue, the Strait of Hormuz, is going to take a long time to resolve. I think there may be some intermediate incremental steps that can be taken, but ultimately it's going to take a long time. But I think what comes out of this war when it ends, whenever it ends, is Iran's offensive, conventional offensive and defensive capabilities severely weakened.

And I do think while it may not meet every objective that the U.S. and Israel had at the outset, it does put the regime in a much weaker position in the region.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, I guess Iran is betting that they can outlast the president's threshold for how long the pain that has caused, not only to U.S. consumers here, but around the globe with a spike in energy prices, how long the president can hold before that becomes unsustainable for him politically.

Nadav, we are now learning that Iran was using radar silent multispectral cameras to ambush aircraft that may have been tied to the downing of those two planes. CNN has reported that half of Iran's missile launchers actually remain intact. And Amos Harel, a military analyst in Israel, reported that the IDF has been counting corked launchers as destroyed only for Iran then to unblock them and reuse them some 12 to 24 hours later.

Is Iran adapting faster than the U.S. -- than the IDF than its military is publicly admitting?

EYAL: I think so. I agree with Amos Harel's basic analysis as to that. And basically, when the Israelis say that they are neutralizing launchers, they didn't say that they're destroying this.

[15:35:00]

So in the briefings that I was receiving at the beginning of the war, they definitely said, no, we are managing to bomb the tunnels, those cities of launchers underneath the ground, and to make sure that they can't use those launchers. What the IDF is now discovering, or the U.S. intelligence is now discovering, according to the reports in CNN and other places, is that the Iranians have found a way to do that.

Now, there are other tactical issues as to where airplanes can go and from where they can boom some of these sites in Iran, and it's a hard challenge to penetrate some of these sites to begin with. And this is where a lot of the launching towards Gulf States and Israel are coming from at the moment. So there's no doubt that the Israelis were way too optimistic as to the launching.

They tried to correct course. It happened about 10 days ago. The Israeli air force started briefing that they believe that until the last day of the war, Iran will be able to launch missiles. But I do want to put this in context. There is still a reduction of anything between 80 percent to 90 percent of their initial ability to shoot these rockets, or at least their ability to do so in tandem across the region. So we're not seeing the same kind of rocket barrages that we saw in the first couple of days.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it's notable that Israel is now specifically targeting their production facilities and going after that to make sure that they can't --

SENOR: And Bianna, can I just add one thing to what Nadav just said?

GOLODRYGA: Quickly. Yes.

SENOR: Is that Israel is and the U.S. are also for the reasons Nadav was saying, learning a lot about Iran's adaptability, which the U.S. and Israel did not have great visibility into before this war. So I think there's been a lot of surprises, but also a lot of learnings that will be useful to the U.S. and Israel in dealing with Iran going forward.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And why the GCC neighbors are saying, don't end this as fast as you may want to.

SENOR: Right.

GOLODRYGA: Given what we've learned.

Dan Senor and Nadav Eyal, thank you both. Good to see you.

SENOR: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, an Easter vigil taking place right now at the Vatican as Pope Leo presides over Holy Week for the first time in his papacy. What he's saying about the war, power and President Donald Trump, and why it's drawing global attention. That's next.

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[15:42:03]

GOLODRYGA: Sunday will be Pope Leo's first Easter as head of the Catholic Church and Holy Week celebrations are underway. Right now, the Pope is leading an Easter vigil mass rich in symbolism at St. Peter's Basilica, which was taken from darkness to light.

(VIDEO CLIP) GOLODRYGA: Joining me now is CNN Vatican analyst Katie Prejean McGrady.

So, Katie, what other traditions can we expect this weekend?

KATIE PREJEAN MCGRADY, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, this evening, the Easter vigil, of course, when thousands upon thousands of people will enter the Catholic Church into full communion. And starting in Rome, it was pushed back from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. from the time of Pope Francis. So Leo showing us once again, he's a little younger of a guy. He can handle a later night, and then tomorrow morning we have Easter Sunday mass, followed by the Urbi Et Orbi, which is kind of his greeting to the church and to the world.

And that's usually when a Pope kind of -- is able to give this message for the coming Easter season and year. And up to this point, his papacy, Leo has said the word peace over 350 times. So I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow we hear once again this peace should be the focus, peace is the drum beat. He said it when we first met him in May. He's continued to say it.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and he's already established himself as a critic of the Iran war. But for the first time earlier this week, he called out President Trump directly, urging him to end this war.

Why is this the first time we're hearing the Pope directly mention the president by name?

MCGRADY: Well, he was asked. He was asked specifically, you know, what do you think about the potential for the offramp? And he then used that phrase, I've heard he's maybe thinking about an offramp. I would encourage him to do so. It was interesting. It was a message that the Holy Father, he could easily pick up the phone and call the president. He could call the United States.

As far as we know, he hasn't. Instead, he's had conversations with Israeli leaders. He talked to President Zelenskyy in Ukraine this week. It's interesting that he's saying these things in the media when he's asked about it. We have no idea what kind of conversations might be happening inside the diplomatic corps. But what's evident is Pope Leo, he's not a conflicting voice to the administration. He's a contrasting voice.

And I think that's important. He's not picking a fight with world leaders and saying, you're doing it wrong. He's instead inviting us to consider what are the better angels here? Should we be people of peace? If the goal was regime change, well, then why are we not trying to work with a new regime? If the goal was to end potential harm in the future, well, what was that harm? And are we respecting human dignity as we take those precautions?

I think the Holy Father is asking us to think big picture and not just immediate might makes right.

GOLODRYGA: You mentioned his relative youth earlier in our conversation. He is the first pontiff in decades to carry the cross during the entire Good Friday service.

[15:45:04]

That's not a small feat. Tell us about the significance of that moment. And I guess, you know, kind of in jest, does he have a workout regimen? I mean, that takes a lot of stamina to carry.

MCGRADY: We do know that he has workout equipment in the papal palace, in the apartments, and that he plays tennis on his day off at Castel Gandolfo. The carrying of the cross was both a physical feat. I mean, he's a strong guy. We saw this in the summertime, too, when he walked up this very tall staircase at the Jubilee of Young People.

It's also symbolic. It's this this moment of, I'm carrying the cross. I'm carrying the suffering and the weight of the world. And the Holy Father doesn't say anything during the stations of the cross. He's just the symbolic carrier of the cross, which I think is important. He didn't preach, he just carried. And so that shows the world he carries our stress. He carries our worry. He carries the fear of people who are oppressed by war and calls us to peace. Peace for all people.

I was quite moved watching it yesterday before we headed to mass as a family and just seeing him standing there silently holding it. John Paul II, the last time we saw this was in the '90s,. Benedict carried it for a time when he was Pope and Francis, too. But the whole way around, it was a pretty cool moment.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, I remember watching as a kid John Paul doing just that. It is very, very powerful.

Katie Prejean McGrady, thank you so much. Happy Holy Week to you as well. Thank you for making us all a bit smarter.

MCGRADY: Happy Easter. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And as we go to break, I want to share this remarkable rescue story out of New Zealand. A brave Border Collie named Molly survived for a week in the wilderness after her owner, Jessica, fell 180 feet from a waterfall. Her owner survived but was seriously injured, and Molly was not with her when she landed.

After learning of the pup's plight, a helicopter company volunteered to search for her. It took three tries before pilots found Molly in surprisingly good condition. Tucked in a rocky crevice. Jessica and Molly are back together now, both a little banged up, but as you can see, very happy to be reunited.

It's a great story to take us to break with. We'll be right back.

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[15:51:59]

GOLODRYGA: Well, for 50 years now, Apple hasn't just made products. It has reshaped how we live. And tonight on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," we'll look at how our lives have changed in the last half century since Apple was founded.

Here's a sneak peek.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This morning, hundreds of millions of us woke up in an ecosystem created by one company. All day, their devices will fill our hands and eyes, ears and brains, wants.

Good. How are you?

(Voice-over): And needs until we are powerless without them. Which reminds me of Sunday school and that original test of willpower. That when knowledge of everything good and evil is wrapped in a delicious package like Eve's apple, humans will ignore all warnings, take a big bite and see what comes next.

But this is a story of the modern equivalent. This is the story of Steves' Apple.

(Voice-over): As in Jobs and Wozniak. The two Steves created it in a California garage, and just 50 years later, 2.5 billion users make Apple one of the most influential, iconic and profitable companies the world has ever seen.

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GOLODRYGA: American ingenuity that changed the world. "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," "50 Years of Apple," airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. And you can watch it tomorrow on the CNN app.

Well, the Springs Fire burning in Southern California is now 45 percent contained. That is according to the state's fire agency. Video shows smoke rising behind homes in Riverside County on Friday as crews drop fire retardant. The size of the fire remains at just about 4,000 acres, and multiple evacuation orders and warnings are still in place. And millions in the U.S. are looking at severe and soggy weather this Easter weekend.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is here with more on what to expect.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 50 million people from upstate New York all the way back to Texas have that potential for those severe thunderstorms today. Now the main threat is going to be damaging winds, but we can't rule out an isolated tornado. We're talking areas like Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, up through Cleveland and even into Pittsburgh.

Throughout the evening hours, this whole line right there along the cold front is going to continue to slide off to the east. So later this evening, the focus becomes Cleveland down through Lexington, Kentucky, Nashville, even into Jackson, Mississippi. It's going to be a very soggy start to the day, the holiday rather, for places like Atlanta up through Knoxville. And then that line of rain will continue to slide east into cities like New York, Boston, Providence, as we move through the afternoon hours.

All of this, however, finally exits the area back out over the open Atlantic once we get into those very late hours of Sunday and into early Monday.

[15:55:05]

Now, one thing you're also going to notice as that cold front slides through, it's going to usher in some much cooler air behind it, and it's going to stick around for a couple of days. So for example, again, Atlanta today topping out at 83 for the high back down to only 69 by the time we get to Sunday.

Similar scenario for Charlotte. Now for a place like Tallahassee, it's going to take an additional day. You're still going to see that cool down, but you're not going to see it until we get to Monday. So, again, a lot of these temperatures drastically going to drop over the next 24 hours. In some cases, though, it will hold off until Monday.

GOLODRYGA: Allison Chinchar, thank you for that.

And thank you all for joining me today. I'm Bianna Golodryga. "THE ARENA SATURDAY" starts after a quick break.

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