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Search Underway for Missing Crew Member of U.S. Jet Downed in Iran; Gulf States Report Fresh Attacks by Iran; U.S. Gas Prices Surge above $4; Trump Administration Pushes to End Birthright Citizenship; Italian Prime Minister Pushes Back on Trump Criticism of Allies; Pope Leo to Preside over Easter Mass; Olympic Gold Snowboarder's Victory over Injury. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired April 04, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Thanks so much for joining us. It's just gone 1 pm here in the Middle East.

And a huge search and rescue operation is underway after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran. One of the two crew members of the F-15 jet was rescued and is receiving medical attention. The status of the second crew member is unknown right now.

And it's the first time a U.S. aircraft has been shot down over Iran during the conflict. U.S. president Donald Trump says that the downing of the fighter jet would not affect negotiations with Iran.

Now this video, shared on Friday, appears to show Iranian police officers shooting a pair of helicopters flying at low altitude in southwestern Iran. It is not clear who those aircraft belong to or if they were involved in search efforts or in some other operation.

Iran also struck a second U.S. military plane on Friday, an A-10 Warthog like this one. U.S. officials say the pilot navigated away from Iranian territory before ejecting and has been rescued. I want to go now live to Abu Dhabi. We've got CNN's Paula Hancocks standing by.

I mean, significant development here in the last 24 hours.

What do we know about the other crew member?

And, of course, one has been rescued.

But what information do we have right now, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, we've actually heard nothing official from U.S. Central Command. What were hearing is from sources familiar with what is going on.

We know that there is a second crew member we believe has not been found at this point. But as you mentioned, the search and rescue operations from the U.S. point of view, very much underway.

We've seen a number of low flying helicopters and aircraft, which would be consistent with a search and rescue operation. But we also know that Iran is looking for this crew member.

It was the IRGC, the Revolutionary Guard, who claimed, more than 24 hours ago now, that they had shot down this fighter jet, providing photos of what appeared to be the wreckage.

And we have heard also on state media, news anchors reading out statements, saying that that if anybody can find the pilot or pilots alive, you will receive a valuable reward and prize. So certainly both sides at this point are frantically searching for that crew member.

We have heard from an Iranian -- senior Iranian military commander, talking about the fact that they are managing to shoot down these jets, too, in the same day on Friday, saying that they are using new methods and equipment and innovations in air defense systems.

Now nothing more specific than that but acknowledging that, from Iran's point of view, they have managed to shoot down two in just a 24-hour period.

Now it does raise questions about the claims from the Trump administration that they do have air superiority. Now they have been saying -- we've heard from Pete Hegseth, from president Trump, that the Navy's destroyed the air forces, destroyed the air defense systems have been destroyed.

But clearly there is some ability, as we have seen over the past 24 hours, of Iran to still be able to bring down fighter jets. Now elsewhere, we have also seen across the Gulf, there have been a number of strikes -- excuse me; a number of projectiles fired by Iran.

We know overnight that in Bahrain there was interceptions that took place here in the UAE. In Dubai, some debris of one of those interceptions hit the facade of a building in Dubai, a building that is owned by Oracle, the tech giant.

Now, we do know that Iran had threatened about 17 U.S. tech giants and companies would be targeted in the region if there were more killings of their leadership. So we are seeing at this point, certainly, Iran's ability to be able to fight back does seem to be intact.

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In fact, on Friday, we heard from the ministry of defense here in the UAE, giving figures, as it does for the previous 24 hours, how many projectiles were fired. And they said some 22 missiles -- that's ballistic and cruise -- and 47 drones. That is a higher number, significantly higher number than we have been seeing recently. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, certainly retaliatory strikes continuing here across the Gulf region. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update.

I want to take you back now to Kim Brunhuber, who's in Atlanta for us. And I'll be back in just a moment -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Eleni.

The White House has released its 2027 fiscal budget plan. It includes a massive increase in military spending. The $1.5 trillion proposal would boost military spending by more than 40 percent compared to last year.

According to the White House, the funds would be used to bolster munitions, build out the naval fleet and begin construction on president Trump's Golden Dome missile defense system.

The plan also cuts funding to domestic programs, including housing, social services and health care. The annual White House budget is rarely enacted fully by Congress, which has control over government spending.

By some measures, the U.S. economy is doing better than expected. The U.S. Labor Department released a surprisingly strong jobs report on Friday, showing that hiring in March tripled what economic forecasts were projecting. CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich breaks down the numbers.

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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a much stronger jobs report than expected, 178,000 jobs added in March. The expectation was 60,000 and the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.3 percent from 4.4 percent. That's also a product of fewer people in the labor force.

Part of the increase in jobs because of better weather and two strikes ending, which I'll get to in just a minute. But we also got revisions for February. It was worse than expected, 133,000 jobs lost. That's more than the initial 90,000 that was reported. But if you look at the labor market over the last year, it's really a seesaw of messaging.

In some months, it looks like the labor market is in peril. And in other months like March, it looks like the labor market's on fire. Sectors in the month of March that saw the biggest gains were health care gaining 76,000.

But that was because 32,000 health care workers that were on strike in February came back to work. And here's where the nice weather comes in. Nicer weather actually boosted construction jobs by 26,000 and leisure and hospitality by 44,000.

There were losses in places like government, federal government, of 18,000 jobs since October of 2024. Government employment is actually down by 355,000 jobs or 11.8 percent.

Now there were losses also in finance and information services, a sign that artificial intelligence could be impacting those sectors. But this was the best jobs report of President Donald Trump's second term.

But we'll likely have to wait until next month for the impacts of the war with Iran to show up. Higher energy prices and higher gas prices are certainly putting pressure on businesses and they will likely have to make decisions about how that will impact their workforce going forward. Back to you.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll be right back with more news here on CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us.

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GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. I want to return to our top story, the war with Iran.

The United Nations Security Council is now expected to vote next week on a Strait of Hormuz resolution. According to Reuters, which cited several diplomats, the vote was initially set for Friday and then rescheduled for today and eventually postponed until next week.

Now the draft resolution proposed by Bahrain would authorize countries to use, quote, "all defensive means necessary" to secure transit passage through the strait, which has been effectively closed since the war started.

Robin Mills is the CEO of Qamar Energy and he joins me now live from Dubai.

Robin, really good to have you with us. Let's just start with this proposed resolution by Bahrain. And the wording really interesting, to use "all defensive means necessary" to secure safe passage.

Now the question is, is Russia going to block this?

Is China going to be on board?

And, you know, a delay once again effectively means that 20 million barrels of oil, that normally passes through the strait, will still be choked off, essentially.

What's your take?

ROBIN MILLS, CEO, QAMAR ENERGY: Yes, I agree. Look, it seems, as I understand it, pretty clear that Russia and maybe China, too, will veto this. So you know, unfortunately, it just seems to have a difficult path through.

And exactly what these defensive measures are that would be successful is also not clear. So I think we're not seeing a quick resolution of the problem of passage.

GIOKOS: Yes. I mean, Iran's control of the strait has caused, you know, global energy shock, one that the International Energy Agency says they haven't seen in the history of markets.

When you hear president Trump asserting that the United States doesn't need the strait, what's your reaction, given that even gas prices in the United States are higher?

MILLS: Well, gasoline prices in the U.S. are going up. Diesel prices are going up, which has a hit on gas on truckers and therefore on all kind of consumer goods. Airline fares are going up because of jet fuel. shipping costs are going up.

So higher costs for imported goods. Yes, there's no way that the U.S. walls itself off from this, even if it is, of course, a big oil producer and oil exporter in its own right.

GIOKOS: So there's a -- there's an interesting gap between physical prices of oil and paper prices of oil. Without getting into the technicalities, it is interesting to see this gap emerging. In the meantime, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett saying that we should look at futures pricing and they're saying something else.

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But in the meantime, oil traders are telling me that we can't talk our way out of this crisis, which, frankly, the Trump administration has been trying to do to prop up oil markets.

So what is really going on here in terms of supply constraints?

MILLS: Well, you know, we see this apparent kind of disconnect of prompt prices and physical prices for oil, which are very high versus futures prices. And you'll see people commenting that, oh, you know, the futures price is only $100 a barrel. That shows the crisis isn't too bad.

Well, if you're a refiner that needs to run crude oil today or you're a driver who wants to wants to fill up their tank today, it's not much comfort for you to be told, oh, there's lots of oil in two months' time. And that doesn't help you much.

And, of course, that oil in two months' time is even assuming the crisis is over by then, which doesn't look like it will be.

But no, I think in this crisis, look, we have to look at the physical -- look what people are really paying for barrels in ships changing hands today. And there you really see the action. And there you will see jet fuel prices, for example, north of $200 per barrel when airlines are already scrambling for supplies.

GIOKOS: Yes. I mean, I was looking at Oxford Economics, you know, predictions in terms of what will happen next. And they were saying Strait of Hormuz is going to be closed for the month of April. And then they're anticipating a 50 percent increase in terms of capacity through the strait.

What numbers are you looking at here?

Because I think, you know, as you say, jet fuel prices are high; fertilizer prices are higher. A lot of refined products, you know, that normally pass through the strait are affecting countries around the world. And frankly, it's an asymmetrical shock because emerging markets are bearing the brunt right now.

MILLS: They absolutely are. And look, we're only just over a month into this shock now. And the sailing time from the Gulf to many destinations is a month. So we're only now at the point, that tankers that were meant to turn up aren't turning up. So that shock, of course, immediately hit India.

I was in India last week. People were very worried about cooking gas supplies because they're right next to the Gulf. But then later on, of course, the shock hits Japan, Korea, Australia and then into Europe. And then -- and then finally the U.S.

So now that lack of supplies is turning up everywhere. And as you say, it's not just oil. That's the big one. But it is also liquefied natural gas. It's fertilizers. It's a whole bunch of other important commodities.

GIOKOS: All right. So importantly here as well is that we've seen interesting tanker traffic passing through the strait. A French owned ship but Malta flagged vessel passed through Qeshm Island and Larak Island as well, which shows that that is the Iranian route.

That would probably suggest that there was coordination with the Iranians. We've also seen some ships and vessels that were headed toward Oman.

What is your sense on this Iranian toll booth and how long Iran can keep this up for?

MILLS: Yes. So we saw the French ship going in. And I think that was interesting because it was a container ship actually going in rather than coming out. Mostly what we've seen, these passages that are reported, with such, you know, headlines, they're ships that were stuck in the Gulf coming out.

And that kind of means less to me. I mean, obviously, if you're -- if your ship's stuck in the Gulf and your sailors are getting tired and desperate and want to try and come out and even take some risks, OK, that's one thing.

But it's a very different question to have sailors and ships voluntarily sailing into the Gulf to pick up a cargo and then coming out.

But I think it's pretty clear that the -- even the transit through the Omani waters, the two oil tankers and one liquefied natural gas tanker, were coordinated with the Iranians and we're at least given an OK. You know, Oman has been mediating through this process already, of course.

GIOKOS: Very quickly, oil prices, Brent crude $150 a barrel.

What's your outlook?

MILLS: Yes, absolutely. Look, if this crisis goes on one to two more months, then the physical oil will catch up with the futures or vice versa. And we will see prices going above certainly above 130 and, with a bit more time, very likely above 150.

GIOKOS: All right. All right. Robin Mills, good to have you with us. Thank you so much.

I want to get you back now to Kim Brunhuber, who's standing by in Atlanta.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks again, Eleni. Appreciate it.

President Donald Trump is ordering the Department of Homeland Security to pay all workers amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. As the stalemate on Capitol Hill stretches on, tens of thousands of DHS staffers have been reporting to work without pay.

The move expands Trump's earlier directive for DHS to pay workers with the Transportation Security Administration, a bid to help with travel backlogs at understaffed airports.

Trump official says the money will come from last summer's so-called big, beautiful bill. In his memo,

Trump writes that the unpaid salaries, quote, "constitute an emergency situation compromising the nation's security."

Well, the Trump administration's push to upend immigration policies facing pushback in the Supreme Court.

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On the first day of his second term, the president signed an executive order that attempted to overturn birthright citizenship. Listen to this.

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TRUMP: Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship and it wasn't meant for that reason.

I signed an order that will end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens because it wasn't meant for these children.

We're the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know. And it's just absolutely ridiculous.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, this week, justices in the top U.S. court heard arguments in a case that challenges the legality of that order. Now birthright citizenship, which is codified in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, establishes that nearly every person born in the United States is a U.S. citizen.

The Trump administration's argument centers around this one line, quote, "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."

According to the administration, citizenship shouldn't apply to children of non-citizens or unlawful residents. The United States is one of 33 countries in the world with birthright citizenship laws, most of which are in the Western Hemisphere. And others have more limited variations of the rule.

Experts say that changing birthright citizenship would impact hundreds of thousands of children and families. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2023, 320,000 children were born to mothers who were unauthorized immigrants or had legal temporary status in the U.S.

That represents about 9 percent of all children born in the U.S. That year, it's estimated that more than 260,000 of those babies wouldn't have qualified for birthright citizenship under Trump's executive order.

For more on this, I want to bring in Raul Reyes, CNN opinion writer, attorney, immigration analyst and "USA Today" contributor, who talks to us from New York.

Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being up early with us here. So, looking at what went on in court, I mean, even some of the conservative justices appointed by Trump himself seemed pretty skeptical of the administration's arguments here.

What's your read on how it all went?

RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Right. Well, I'm going to preface this by saying the way that oral arguments go on any case before the Supreme Court is not always a safe predictor of what their ultimate ruling will be.

But in this case, most legal experts, court observers, myself included, would say that things really did not seem to be going so well for the Trump administration on this issue. And the primary reason for that is what the Trump administration, their position, what they're asking from the court is, in a sense, radical.

They're asking the court to basically reimagine the 14th Amendment as we know it. They're asking them to set aside over 100 years of case law. And they're asking them to agree with the new interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

That could have immense consequences for, as you mentioned, hundreds of thousands of babies born here in the future. So that would be a big ask from any administration, before any court.

I was not surprised that it was very skeptically received by the Supreme Court. The chief justice even referred, rather offhandedly at one point, and mentioned that the Trump administration's arguments were, in his words, "quirky." So that's not a good sign.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So you're saying they're trying to -- the government's position is they're trying to reimagine this law. I mean, they're arguing that we are essentially in a new world, you know, since the 14th Amendment was ratified, because of all of the illegal immigration.

I mean, how strong is that argument from a legal standpoint?

REYES: Well, I think the chief justice summed it up pretty well when the government's lawyers made the case that we're in a new world with so much illegal immigration and so many undocumented people.

The chief justice answered, he said, "We may be in a new world but it's still the same Constitution."

BRUNHUBER: That's right.

REYES: I have to -- I have to agree with that. You know -- and when you think about it, this case is not just about undocumented children or citizen children being born here. On a broader level, this really goes to who we are as Americans.

Who gets to belong here?

Who you know, what defines an American?

Whether we are going to stay with the established, if the American ideal of all people born here being equal. So there's some really weighty concepts at stake in this matter, which, for me, this is the most important case of the 21st century so far.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, hugely consequential, certainly.

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I want to switch gears now to Homeland Security. Markwayne Mullin has been on the job for what, 1.5 weeks now and he's already rolling back some of Kristi Noem's policies.

Do you expect a real shift in how DHS operates?

Or is it more a change in style, a new face?

REYES: Well, for me -- and I think many people who are in the immigrant community, advocates, there's a wait and see approach right now.

But here's the facts. No matter who president Trump appointed into this position, he or she would be charged with carrying out his immigration agenda. And that includes mass deportations, ICE raids and, you know, intense border security.

So for me, I think we will see a shift in tone maybe. Mr. Markwayne Mullin seems to be a more diplomatic person. He favors a more low-key approach, unlike Kristi Noem, who was very well known for publicity stunts and these photo ops.

Markwayne Mullin stated in his confirmation that he does not want to see his agency in the front pages every day. Now how that translates on the ground, I don't think we're going to see necessarily any big shift.

But it's really notable to me that Markwayne Mullin is coming into the agency at a very perilous time. I mean, there's -- his agency has shut down. He doesn't have funding. We have the public so angry at DHS and ICE, due to things like the deaths in detention, the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

There have been a lot of controversies and allegations of corruption under secretary Noem. So he's coming into an enormous task. It remains to be seen if Mr. Mullin, who has no military experience, no law enforcement experience and not even experience running a large agency, can really step up and meet this challenge.

But it would be quite the task for anyone.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

REYES: That said, like -- as you mentioned, I think most observers are expecting a shift in tone, not necessarily a change in what we're seeing on the ground day-to-day operations.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. But certainly, some hopes at least that that more diplomatic approach that you talked about might help defuse the shutdown, at least a little bit. We'll see if that comes to pass for us. Raul Reyes in New York, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

REYES: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead, the U.S. is racing to find a missing service member whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran before Iranian authorities find them first. Stay with us.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Let's get some of today's top stories for you.

A U.S. search and rescue operation is currently underway in Iran after Tehran shot down two U.S. fighter jets on Friday. U.S. officials say they have rescued two of the three downed crew members. The status of the missing crew member is unknown at this time.

Iran is offering a reward for the capture of the U.S. service member. President Trump saying the downing of the jet would not affect negotiations with Iran. The Iranian Red Crescent and local media says a U.S.-Israeli strike

damaged a prestigious university in Tehran on Friday. It reportedly hit a research institute and women's dormitory. In retaliation, Tehran threatened to target universities affiliated with the U.S. and Israel across the region.

Now the U.N. Security Council has postponed its vote on the Strait of Hormuz until next week at least. That's according to Reuters, which is citing diplomats. A resolution pushed by Bahrain would authorize the use of any defensive means necessary to secure passage through the vital waterway.

That's happening as NATO secretary general Mark Rutte is preparing for a trip to Washington. On Wednesday, he'll meet president Trump, who's been lashing out against allies for reportedly not doing enough to help reopen the strait.

But Mr. Trump's key ally in Europe pushed back on Friday. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that she disagrees with that criticism. For more now, we've got Clare Sebastian joining us from London.

Clare, good to see you. An important visit by the Italian prime minister and also saying she disagrees with president Trump's criticism on Europe's and, frankly, NATO's stance on this war. Take me through the latest there.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni. It is an important visit. She is the first E.U. and NATO leader to visit the Gulf region since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war. A source in her office saying that this is in part about showing support to Italy's Gulf allies, as it has done since the start of this war.

But I think the major focus here will be, certainly for Italy, on their energy security. They are heavily exposed to the disruption in this region. They are major buyers, for example, of LNG, liquefied natural gas from Qatar. So she will be discussing that.

And presumably ongoing efforts to figure out a way to de-escalate the situation and reopen the Strait of Hormuz with partners in this region. She's already met with the crown prince in Saudi Arabia, who is expected, according to a source in her office, to meet with UAE and Qatari officials as well.

And all of this comes, of course, as you note, as tensions between the U.S. and some of its European allies have escalated. President Trump believes that his European allies are not doing enough to support his efforts in Iran. He's even threatened to pull out of NATO again.

We've heard this before, of course, in the past week. But I think it's not just him now. This is something that is particularly stressful for these European countries. We've also heard it in the past week from his secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

So underscoring the delicateness of this situation, you know, Giorgia Meloni did not shy away from this in comments to an Italian broadcaster. Let me read those to you.

She said, "I continue to believe that, on a geopolitical level, Europe has little to gain from a divergence with the United States. But our job is above all to defend our national interests.

"And when we disagree, we must say so. And this time we disagree."

And, of course, it's not just words from the Italian prime minister. Italy has also blocked a U.S. aircraft heading for the Middle East from using a military base in Sicily. So I can tell you from my own conversations that the case, the debate around this is still active in Europe.

Obviously, we have the moral case against this war. But given how existential the partnership with the U.S. is, for many European countries, in particular, those closer to Russia, it is still an active debate. And, of course, the most urgent issue that no one disagrees on is the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, it's a really important point.

[05:35:00]

And perhaps we'll see some coordinated action as we see this global shock spilling over into all economies around the world. Clare Sebastian, good to see you. Thank you.

Well, Israel says it's launched new strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut in recent hours. This video is showing large fireballs in the southern part of the city after the IDF said it went after the group's infrastructure farther south.

Israel reportedly is considering a plan to demolish all Lebanese towns and villages near the country's border. An Israeli military official saying the move would affect areas up to three kilometers into Lebanon.

The reported goal is to create a buffer zone against Hezbollah. Now former Lebanese prime minister says his country is now, in his words, "between a rock and a hard place." But he also believes this crisis can become an opportunity if the right moves are made. This is what he told CNN's Becky Anderson earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOUAD SINIORA, FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: Definitely, we are passing through very difficult times and we are really very much concerned because Lebanon now is practically between Iraq that is Israel and a hard place that is Hezbollah and Iran.

And in fact, what Lebanon has done so far, is it has condemned what Israel is doing in terms of occupation, bombardment, destruction, killing then and displacement, as you said, of over 1 million Lebanese out of their homes.

And what Iran is doing in submerging Lebanon in such a war that is not the war of the Lebanese or the war of Lebanon and it is beyond its capabilities.

What we are seeing in Lebanon, as if exactly in some other places, the same thing, is that there are micro ambitions and there are serious and macro consequences. We have -- the ambitions of Netanyahu is that his interest in the continuation of the war.

And this is not leading anywhere. Actually, what is necessary now is that there is a way to save Lebanon and to save the region from further escalation. That will not lead to anywhere, I believe. It will lead to further complication of the matter and extending the problem towards other regions.

And this is not in the interest of the United States and not in the interest of the international community. And as you know, the international community is suffering from the economic consequences of what has been going on.

So let me repeat by saying that we have now a way how to extract an opportunity out of this crisis. This is a situation where we have to have a collective effort made by the international community on the one hand.

And in particular, by the United States, in order to really help Lebanon, to really address the problem in a different way, but at the same time, leading towards the end result, which is the disarmament of Hezbollah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. Well, thanks very much for joining me. I'm Eleni Giokos, live for you in Dubai. We've got Kim Brunhuber, who's going to return with more of today's headlines. Thanks so much for joining us. And stay tuned.

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BRUNHUBER: In Haiti, the gang violence crisis has been compounded by allegations of sexual abuse of children by foreign forces. A U.N. report from February details four sexual abuse investigations. Three of the victims were children, one as young as 12, who were allegedly raped.

The U.N. report says, quote, "All the allegations were found to be substantiated by investigations conducted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights."

The report implicates members of the multinational security support forces, a military mission, led by Kenyan forces and backed by the U.S., who were sent to Haiti to combat gang violence. The mission, widely seen as a failure, ended last October. Cuba says it's releasing about 2,000 political prisoners. It's part of

what the country is calling a sovereign and humanitarian gesture and is the largest amnesty on the Communist-run island in the last decade.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): On Friday, a steady stream of people left a prison near Havana, reuniting with loved ones, as you can see there, and holding up their amnesty forms to celebrate their freedom.

The release coincides with the U.S. fuel blockade that's led to widespread power failures and shortages of drinking water. Cuba's political prisoners have been a sticking point in talks between Havana and the U.S. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So people are being released now from Cuban prison. This is part of the pardon the Cuban government announced, more than 2,000 people being released from prisons. They said they're doing this as a goodwill gesture.

Lady saying, liberty, very, very happy, here you can see, saying it's part of a goodwill gesture, not necessarily part of the U.S. pressure but that is the context to this.

The U.S. is saying that they will continue to put an oil blockade on this island to pressure the government to make political and economic reforms.

So this is not happening in a bubble. We know the Cuban government is at the end of its rope, that the energy situation on this island is critical. And so this all does appear to be connected, whether the Cuban government admits it or not.

This is one of the largest pardons we have seen in many years, 2,000 prisoners. They are beginning to get released now. And so a very happy day for some of these people. There's a variety of crimes. We're not clear yet how many are political prisoners here.

But we do know that the prisoners are being released at this moment, that this pardon process has now begun -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana

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BRUNHUBER: It is the holiest week of the year for Christians and tomorrow the faithful will celebrate Easter. It marks what believers say is Jesus' resurrection and victory over death.

Pope Leo observed Good Friday by leading the Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum. He was the first pontiff to do so in decades. The pope offered prayers for victims of war and human trafficking, refugees and children deported by immigration policies. He also warned global leaders that their decisions, including going to

war, will be judged one day. For more, I want to bring in CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb, who is live in Rome.

So Christopher, walk us through what we're expecting.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, tonight, Pope Leo will celebrate the Easter vigil, which is the high point of the Holy Week services and brings forward the Easter celebrations. He'll do that in St. Peter's Basilica.

We have seen Leo throughout this Holy Week put his own personal style on how he wants to celebrate these, you know, very, very important services.

[05:45:07]

He decided on Thursday to wash the feet of 12 priests, 11 of whom he ordained last year. That was different to Pope Francis, who used to go out to a prison or refugee center to wash feet there.

Leo showing he wants a more formal style of papacy, returning to tradition in some respects.

And then yesterday on Good Friday, leading a very powerful and remarkable service in the Colosseum. Leo carrying the cross for the entirety of the Way of the Cross service, which, as you mentioned, had prayers for children who have been deported, immigrants.

And that warning to those in power that their actions will be judged, including whether they start or end wars.

And we have seen during these days Leo stepping up his criticism of the war in Iran. He said on Palm Sunday that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.

Quite pointed remarks that many interpreted as being directed to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has, of course, used some Biblical justifications in the military intervention in Iran.

So Leo, who is marking his first Holy Week and Easter and almost a year since his election as pope, is becoming, I think, more outspoken.

And we are certainly hearing more from him and expecting to hear more from him, I should say, on Easter Sunday, when he addresses the world from St. Peter's Basilica. And we're expecting him to talk about the war in the Middle East and other conflicts globally. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, it will be interesting to see what he says and how far he's willing to go. We'll be watching. Christopher Lamb, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

Well, from a broken back to an Olympic champion, when we come back, how the youngest gold medal winner in snowboarding history was able to turn tragedy into motivation. Some more coming up after the break. Stay with us. (MUSIC PLAYING)

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[05:50:00]

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REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: You could see the entire globe from pole to pole. You could see Africa, Europe and as if you looked really close, you could see the northern lights. It was the most spectacular moment and it paused all four of us in our tracks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: That was Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman. As the crew continues on its trajectory to loop around the moon, on Friday, we got this first glimpse of our home planet as viewed from the Orion spacecraft as NASA released these breathtaking images.

And the photos were taken by the commander of Artemis on Thursday. Now we're going to shift to a live look here from Orion. You're seeing the pale dots on the right of your screen. That is the moon more than 120,000 miles ahead.

And while it looks like nothing is moving, Orion is actually traveling at nearly 2,700 miles an hour. And, of course, CNN will be covering this historic mission.

Well, NBA leader, leading scorer Luka Doncic will be missing the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers regular season. The team says the Slovenian superstar injured his left hamstring in the first half of Thursday's game against Oklahoma City. He was cleared to return but he lasted only another few minutes before he went down on the court in pain.

He's had prior experience with hamstring issues. He missed four games earlier this season with another left hamstring strain.

All right, now we go to women's college basketball. The University of South Carolina punched its ticket to Sunday's national championship game. The Gamecocks pulled off a stunning upset Friday against the defending national champs, UConn.

In the final seconds of that game, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina's head coach Dawn Staley got into a heated exchange. The two didn't appear to shake hands after the final buzzer.

South Carolina will battle it out against UCLA for the national title. The Bruins hung on to defeat the Texas Longhorns in a defensive slugfest. The final score, 51-44. The Bruins hoping to secure their first NCAA women's basketball championship on Sunday.

Well, she's the youngest snowboarder in history to win a gold medal and she did it after recovering from a fractured back in 2024. CNN's Mike Valerio explains how a South Korean snowboarding prodigy made an amazing comeback for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This South Korean snowboard prodigy got back up twice in the Olympics halfpipe final, clinching the gold medal despite a brutal crash. The 2026 Milan-Cortina games was Choi Ga-on's first Olympics, a dream come true ever since she started snowboarding.

CHOI GA-ON, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST (through translator): Olympics has been my dream. I started snowboarding for the Olympics, so it was the most meaningful competition for me.

VALERIO (voice-over): Choi took up the sport at the age of 7. It came naturally to her as her family was into snowboarding. Choi says her competitive spirit comes from doing tricks like her brother.

CHOI (through translator): When we snowboard, I always followed my brother and, whatever trick he did, I had to do it as well. I didn't want to lose.

VALERIO (voice-over): Since she became a professional snowboarder in 2017, Choi has won 11 medals in competitions, including the X Games in 2023, where she became the youngest winner in the X Games halfpipe at just 14 years of age.

Then, in 2024, Choi suffered a back fracture that required three surgeries, leading her to even contemplate retirement.

CHOI (through translator): I initially only needed one surgery but, because I had inflammation when I came back to Korea, I had to undergo two more surgeries. It was so despairing at the time, right after the injury, I didn't want to snowboard at all.

VALERIO (voice-over): But she realized that snowboarding was her true love.

CHOI (through translator): When I began rehabilitation, I naturally thought that I needed to snowboard to be happy again.

VALERIO (voice-over): She came back as if nothing had happened.

[05:55:00]

Again, winning medals, sometimes next to her role model, the American snowboarding great and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Chloe Kim.

CHOI (through translator): Even when she falls in the first and second runs, Chloe only makes a successful third run, watching her not giving up until the end. I was really motivated to be like her.

VALERIO (voice-over): Like Kim, Choi did not give up at the recent Olympics final in Italy, even when she caught the lip of the slope.

CHOI (through translator): My knees were not moving, so I thought that was the end. I was upset. I cried on the mobile way up and on the slope. I didn't want to regret all my life about this moment. So I withdrew the DNS and decided to compete.

VALERIO (voice-over): Choi got back up in tears but successfully completed the last run, taking the country's first ever gold medal in the halfpipe, defeating her idol, Kim, and becoming the youngest Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding history.

CHOI (through translator): I want to continue building a good career and become a better snowboarder than I am right now.

VALERIO (voice-over): Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, have a look at this.

The future of fashion accessories could be taken from prehistoric times. Scientists and designers have unveiled this handbag made with collagen from Tyrannosaurus rex fossils.

The teal bag is on display at Amsterdam's Art Zoo Museum until May 11th, then hits the auction block with a reported starting price of more than $0.5 million. Scientists are hoping the bag will demonstrate the value of laboratory-grown leather.

Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber, thanks so much for watching us. Really appreciate it. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next.