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Artemis II Crew Back on Earth; U.S. V.P. Vance Arrives in Islamabad For Talks; Exclusive : Former Staffer Says Rep. Eric Swalwell Raped Her; California Governor Candidate Denies the Accusation; Harris Says She is Thinking of Running For President Again; China Preparing to Ship Weapons to Iran. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 11, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:37]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody. It's great to be with you. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and this is what's coming your way here on CNN Newsroom.

American and Iranian negotiators, they are in Pakistan at this hour for peace talks. The world now waiting to see if they can deliver on a plan.

Plus, as a CNN exclusive reporting, China preparing to send weapons to Iran. We'll have details in the live report.

And this, call it a picture-perfect reentry for Artemis II. NASA's astronauts, they are back safely on Earth. We'll tell you what happens next to them.

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: We do want to begin this hour with this high-stakes peace talks that are happening right now between the U.S. and Iran. They are set to begin soon in Islamabad, Pakistan, where it's just past 11 a.m.

Iranian officials, they arrived in the capital just a few hours ago. Ahead of the talks, President Trump warned that he will renew and intensify U.S. strikes if a deal can't be reached. He said that his focus for these talks is ensuring Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. And his other main issue, one that's certainly hitting the pocketbooks of many Americans, is reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has vowed that that will happen one way or another with or without Iran's cooperation.

Let's go now to Berlin, where CNN's Producer Sebastian Shukla, following those developments out of the Middle East, very closely. Sebastian, it's good to see you. So, it seems that Iran is sending some -- some of its pretty high-level officials. I wonder if that's an indication that maybe they're pretty serious about reaching a deal. SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, good morning, Polo. I mean, these talks are incredibly serious, and high stakes is pretty much the only way to describe them. You alluded to the Iranian delegation there. It's made up of some 71 different members, but it's headed by the hardliner, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ghalibaf, supported by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi.

On the U.S. side, it's being fronted by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, and he's due to arrive there in the coming hours. And we're learning now that from Pakistani sources telling our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, that the vice president has played such a vital role in the negotiations or getting the negotiations to these points.

And I'll add that should the two of them meet, that will be the first meeting or the highest-level meeting between a U.S. representative in the 47 years of the existence of the Islamic State of Iran.

For the talks themselves, though, it's very unclear what exactly the agenda is going to be. As you alluded to, there is a clear divergence in these different point plans that have been presented by each side. The one from the U.S. side says that, as you said, must give up, Iran must be prepared to give up their nuclear weapons capabilities. But the Iranians are saying that, well, they need to exercise complete and utter sovereignty and control over the Strait of Hormuz. Both of those things are almost non-starters in terms of agreements or basis for discussions.

So, what exactly this agenda will be made up of today is -- is a little unclear. And I also just want to show you some photos that were released by the Iranians as they arrived in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital there, which show the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, saying that he had traveled with over 160 people in his mind. And those are very poignant photos of the dead children, killed children in that U.S. airstrike on a school compound, which was allegedly just supposed to be targeting an IRGC compound, but was used and hit because of outdated U.S. military intelligence.

This is all the background to the talks, though, Polo. What we will see in the coming days and hours is just exactly how these talks will unfold. And I think it's worth just listening to how the U.S. president has said that he is hoping they're going to go.

[02:05:00]

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: They're militarily defeated. And now we're going to open up the Gulf with them, with or without them. But that'll be open. We're going to be -- or the Strait, as they call it. And I think it's going to go pretty quickly. And if it doesn't, we'll be able to finish it off one way or the other. It's going well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: Reopening that Strait of Hormuz is going to be one of the main things on the agenda on which the Middle East and indeed the entire world will be looking out for, given that it's hurting us in pretty much every single one of our pockets.

Polo?

SANDOVAL: As you point out, the world is certainly watching what's happening there. Sebastian Shukla, thank you so much for that live report.

Well, also cheers and celebrations at NASA as the astronauts of the Artemis 2 mission return to Earth.

They splashed down just off the coast of San Diego, California shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. on the West Coast. And after flying around the moon and traveling further than Earth than any human has ever done before. One senior official says that this mission paves the way for returning to the surface of the moon and eventually a permanent lunar base.

NASA will be evaluating the data and the technology from the mission in particular the capsule's heat shield as they gear up for the next phase with Artemis III potentially slated to launch next year.

CNN's Randi Kaye reporting from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The crew of Artemis II safely home. And as NASA said, it was a picture-perfect landing. They said that this was a textbook landing in the Pacific Ocean just after 8:00 p.m. last night. And they also said that the commander Reid Wiseman reported that there were four green crew members as soon as they landed. That means that they were all in good shape, healthy and good to go. This is of course great news because there was a lot of concern before they had their reentry that there would be some issues with the AVCOAT material that is used to protect the Orion capsule. And also the astronauts. It's part of the heat shield and they were coming in with temperatures outside the capsule of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So, they were wondering how the heat shield would hold up.

This is a similar heat shield that was used for Artemis I and it did have some problems. Then big chunks of it came off there were some cracks. So, what they did was this time around, they changed the trajectory and the angle as they came in to land in the Pacific Ocean. And so, that exposed them to the heat for a shorter amount of time. That seemed to have worked. But of course they will have to take a closer look at the Orion capsule once they have a chance to do so. But the good news is the astronauts appear to be in good shape. And NASA had a few things to say about the journey and the mission in a late night press conference.

Watch this.

DR. LORI GLAZE, ACTING ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, NASA'S EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT MISSION DIRECTORATE: I think the weight of this mission and just how incredibly impactful it is that we have actually achieved this. You know, during the -- during our lifetimes here, we have done this, right? You know, when I was Apollo was when I was a child. And to be here now and say we actually did this, we've gone back and we're going to go build a moon base. We are going to have an enduring presence on the moon, just incredibly powerful.

KAYE: And NASA is already talking about returning to the moon and from there, Mars.

Randy Randi, CNN, at the Johnson Space center in Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right let's stay on the story now and head out to San Diego joining us live is CNN's Marybel Gonzalez following this very closely.

Marybel, it's great to see you it was truly an exciting day and Randi touched on it which is the -- these issues that NASA engineers encountered during Artemis 1 obviously amounting to -- to a pretty risky part of the mission for Artemis 2 during that re-entry.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Polo. Well, that's part of the sentiment that was here on the ground. Lots of excitement, but obviously some nervousness, and that was because this stretch of the journey, this final stretch home, was the riskiest part of this mission.

We know that the capsule was traveling at a high velocity at one point, reaching 30 times the speed of sound. And also that heat shield, the exterior of the capsule, reaching 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Though, there were some concerns with the previous heat shield, but as we saw, it held up pretty well.

And also, NASA was aware of these issues. They said they were going to change the re-entry path from the last mission to ensure that this splashdown was a safe one. And I can tell you, Polo, we're just getting those numbers in from NASA, and this data is just so staggering. We know the crew traveled over 700,000 miles and reached a peak velocity of 24,000 miles per hour.

[02:10:10]

Now, all of that to say that NASA had these impressive calculations. The splashdown here in San Diego happened within less than one mile of their target. So, needless to say, this was on point. This was almost a textbook landing, and we're very happy to see those astronauts coming back home safely.

SANDOVAL: Yeah, it's absolutely incredible the way they calculated the trajectory and made it. It was almost just the way it fell, almost like a feather into the Pacific, and those four astronauts safe at home.

Marybel Gonzalez, thank you so much for that live report out of San Diego.

Let's now bring in retired NASA Astronaut Terry Virts, who's also a retired Air Force colonel. Colonel Virts, thank you so much for taking the time.

COL. TERRY VIRTS, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Yeah, great to be here, thanks for having me on.

SANDOVAL: What a day it was. I'm curious, based on your experience, just give us a sense of maybe what the next 24 hours may be like for this crew of four. We heard just a short while ago from NASA officials say that their priority number one is to get them back with their families. What else can we expect for the crew?

VIRTS: Yeah, watching them get on the Navy ship and walk over, it reminded me a lot of my first space flight. We landed the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center and then had to get off the shuttle. And I remember the chief astronaut was there and I told her, I said, just stand next to me. I'm OK. I can walk. I can walk around. But I want someone there because I was feeling very, very dizzy and very heavy that night.

That night, we went back to crew quarters a few hours after I did some medical checks and my family was there. And it was funny. My wife had told the kids, hey, don't -- don't jump on dad. He's dizzy. And as soon as the elevator door opened up, the kids just jumped in my arms and I was able to hold them. I didn't fall over. But when I finally went to bed that night, I was plastered to the bed. And it felt like I was in a superhero movie and I was a superhero. And there was like the evil guy had a magnetic ray gun that he just had me pulled into the bed. And I couldn't move because I felt so heavy.

So, they're going to be dealing with all that stuff and they're going to have a great time getting reunited with their family after almost two weeks leaving planet Earth.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. After nearly two weeks in space. How long does it usually take to readjust? How long was it for you?

VIRTS: You know, I readjusted pretty quickly. My second flight was a 200-day mission. So, I was in space for over six months and we landed in Kazakhstan. It took 24 hours to get back to Houston. That was a few years later. So, by that time, my son had gotten his driver's license.

So, I landed in Houston. I went and did my workout at the gym. And it was, I mean, talk about feeling dizzy, but I was, you know, running around. We were throwing medicine balls. I was able to do that stuff. It wasn't fun, but I was able to do it. And my son was like, all right, dad, we're going car shopping.

So, I got in the car. He drove, you know, for the first -- I had never seen him drive before. I was off of Earth and he drove us to the Ford dealership to look for F-150. So, that was my -- that was my return to Earth.

And it was great. I was kind of worried that I'd be missing space or whatever. And it was like a light switch. I was in space. And then all of a sudden I'm back on Earth dealing with teenagers. And it was great.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. And nothing would remind you that you're back on Earth better than seeing the menu, the MSRP on a brand-new F-150.

I am curious, though, in terms of --

VIRTS: He was paying. It wasn't me, so.

SANDOVAL: OK. All right. All right. That makes sense. I'm curious if you could just give us a sense, too, of just the historic weight of the last 10 days, Colonel, and maybe how much of it was watching these pictures for older generations, perhaps who witnessed the Apollo era. How much of a flashback was this? But at the same time, for those of us who have never experienced this before and seen these kinds of images, how does this mark sort of a new era in space travel?

VIRTS: Yeah. So, the Apollo was a little bit before my time, although I wanted to become an astronaut because I had read books about Apollo. But there's really two things I think that that Orion and Artemis and this mission really matter. First is the human aspect. It's something inspirational.

We see the worst of humanity every day on the CNN network. You guys report on the worst of humanity all day, every day. This is the best of humanity. And it's really nice. It's very inspirational to have a story like this.

Back in 1968, when we had the Vietnam War going on, we had race riots, you know, social tension. Apollo 8 went and it flew the first orbit around the moon. And some people said Apollo 8 saved 1968. And so, maybe in some ways, Artemis II can save 2026 for us. But the other technical side, the technical meaning of this, and the test pilot in me is excited about it.

This isn't just about this mission. This mission is just step one of what will hopefully be many steps, both human missions, robotic missions, building habitats on the moon where we can, you know, live, having robots go there to explore, do science, maybe find a commercial use of the moon. So, there's a lot more exploration to do. So, hopefully this is just step one of many.

[02:15:20]

SANDOVAL: Colonel, I have about 30 seconds left with you. NASA hoping to put boots back on the moon by 2028. After witnessing today, do you think that's a realistic goal?

VIRTS: If there was an over or under, I'd probably think that it might be later than 2028. We have to fly the Lunar Landers on a test flight and earth orbit. And they're not ready to go yet. And then we have to test them without astronauts on board on the moon. And then we actually have to go back to the moon.

So, there's a lot of things that have to happen. The good news is the new administrator is lighting a fire. He's saying we can't just wait years between missions. We need to start flying them with months and not years in between. So, there's a fire lit now. I hope we can get things moving and get back as soon as we can. SANDOVAL: Miles O'Brien told me just a few days ago, we have -- they have a lot of wood left to chop before they get to that. Obviously, the to-do list is very long. Retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts, thank you so much. We really appreciate you sharing your story and coming on to reflect what was truly an amazing day. Thank you.

VIRTS: Thanks for having me on. It's a great day for all of humanity.

SANDOVAL: Back to our other big story after the break. Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are set to meet next week to discuss a possible ceasefire. How Israel's continued bombardment could impact those talks. That's ahead.

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[02:20:30]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah threatening to derail U.S. and Iran peace efforts. But Israeli and Lebanese diplomats, they are set to meet on Tuesday in Washington to discuss their own ceasefire.

Hezbollah has urged the Lebanese government to refrain from negotiating with Israel. And this comes after days of intense bombardment following the ceasefire with Iran. In fact, the United Nations aid organization UNICEF, it says at least 33 children were killed and more than 150 injured in a wave of Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday alone.

And we're currently seeing that Vice President J.D. Vance did arrive in the region just a short while ago there in Islamabad for some of those ongoing talks. It will certainly be a crucial test, not just for the U.S. Vice President, but also for these ongoing peace efforts.

For more, I want to bring in now Ambassador Alon Pinkas, he's a former Israeli Consul General in New York. Mr. Ambassador, always a pleasure to have you on with us.

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Thank you, Polo. Always good to be with you.

SANDOVAL: So, do you see the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon as being a key sticking point in today's talks?

PINKAS: Oh, absolutely. I'll tell you more than that, Polo. I think that Israel intensifying the war in Lebanon was designed deliberately to derail those talks, to derail indeed the entire ceasefire agreement.

From the moment the ceasefire agreement was made a few days ago, the next 48 hours Israel all of a sudden escalated its attacks in Lebanon, you know, bragged on Wednesday, three days ago, that it hit over 100 targets. Why weren't those targets hit a week before remains due to, you know, an unanswered question. There's no question that this was meant to derail. Now, as of now, yeah, because there's a different interpretation of whether or not Lebanon was included in that agreement. The Pakistanis say it was. The Iranians say it was. The Americans initially said it was, then changed their mind. The president changed his mind a day later and said, no, it's not. Israel said it's not. Then the Americans sort of backtracked and said, well, it should. And here we are with the war in Lebanon still raging. In no unequivocal terms, it jeopardizes the talks.

SANDOVAL: So, assuming that Lebanon, you know, for the sake of our conversation, remains on the cutting room floor during these talks that are happening right now. So, the onus will certainly be now on these future talks that are scheduled in Washington that we just mentioned.

Going into that, though, Mr. Ambassador, give us a sense of what we can expect. I mean, Israel already rejected the notion of ending hostilities with Hezbollah. You have Hezbollah turning to the Lebanese government, saying strongly advising them not to deal with the Israeli government. So, with everybody sort of on different playing grounds, I mean, could they actually find some common ground in Washington next week when it comes to Lebanon?

PINKAS: No, I doubt that very much. Not only is there no common ground, there's no trust, there's no goodwill. And there is a symmetry here, Polo. Supposedly Israel is negotiating with, or ostensibly, rather, Israel is negotiating with the government of Lebanon. The government of Lebanon is incapable of reining in Hezbollah, which is sort of a state within a state, both militarily and politically.

Hezbollah, as you mentioned correctly, is asking the government of Lebanon not to negotiate with Israel. Israel will not negotiate with Hezbollah, because Hezbollah is not a state actor. It does not have sovereignty. Supposedly, or at least legally, it does not even have the authority to strike any kind of deal. Number one.

Number two, these are low-level talks. You know, talks between ambassadors are just about appearance and optics. Oh, look, we're giving it a try. Oh, look, the American president asked us to do so, so we're indulging him. There's no way in the world that ambassador- level negotiations in Washington are going to have any kind of impact or tangible effect on what's going on in Lebanon.

The only way to stop this, well, there are two ways, actually, of stopping this. One is that Israel unilaterally stop, and I don't see that happening. And the second is that President Trump is going to pick up the phone, call Prime Minister Netanyahu, and say to him, enough is enough. At least call for a 45-day or 30-day hiatus or cessation of hostilities. I need this agreement with Iran. I need the Strait of Hormuz opened. I'm not willing to go again another round with Iran just because you guys are bombing Beirut. So, stop this right now.

[02:25:18]

Unless he does that, I fail to see any diplomatic negotiations at this level at least, producing anything positive.

SANDOVAL: Mr. Ambassador, I have about a minute left with you before we let you go. Just interested to get your thoughts on some of this new reporting. Three Israeli sources telling CNN that the Israeli security cabinet secretly approved the legalization of over 30 settler outposts in the occupied West Bank. And as you know, this comes amid a recent surge in settler violence. So, why this push by the Israeli government to legalize these outposts that are seen by international law as illegal?

PINKAS: Because it's a messianic, right-wing extremist government. To be fair to them, if I could even use that term, fair to them, they have said when the government was formed in December of 2022 -- 2023 slightly more than three years ago, that this is exactly what they intend to do. They -- they, you know -- they come short of officially annexing the West Bank, but this is what they're doing. Basically, they are creating an irreversible reality.

There will never be a Palestinian state, and there will never be -- we can never entertain any kind of Palestinian sovereignty, even one that is short of a state. You're creating a discontinuous territorial reality and an unmanageable political entity.

You look at the map. A Palestinian traveling from the southern part of the West Bank to the northern part of the West Bank --

SANDOVAL: Yeah.

PINKAS: -- has to cross about 60 Israeli roadblocks. And by building these settlements or legalizing these out -- by the way, these outposts are sometimes as big as a food truck, the one under where you are right now, under your building. And so, that's -- that's creating this reality, irreversible reality.

SANDOVAL: Mr. Ambassador, as always, it's a pleasure to have you on. We're up against the clock here. Thank you so much for your perspective.

PINKAS: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Always a pleasure.

PINKAS: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, for our viewers, "African Voices" is next. In the United States, I'll be back with more of your headlines in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:40]

SANDOVAL: We have exclusive CNN reporting about Congressman Eric Swalwell. Swalwell, who has ascended in the California gubernatorial race, has faced recent rumors on social media about sexual misconduct that he has denied. CNN's Pamela Brown and her team have spoken with four accusers,

including a former staffer who went on camera to share her story. First a warning, her report does contain graphic and disturbing details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kept figuring out ways to blame myself. I shouldn't have reached out to him at all. I should have left. I should have done this. Well, Eric shouldn't have raped me.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: This Capitol Hill staffer is coming forward for the first time on camera to talk about her experience with Congressman Eric Swalwell. He is now a leading democratic candidate for Governor of California.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Let's get together. Make the biggest wave this state has ever seen.

BROWN: Swalwell was in his late 30s and married when she joined his office as an intern and became a junior staffer. She's speaking in shadow as she fears professional consequences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was in 2019, I was again driving him to an event. This was my job.

BROWN: And you were 21-years-old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was 21-years-old, we see some sort of parking lot and he says to pull over. He pulls out his penis and instructs me to give him oral sex. And I started to again, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. And I stopped and I said to him, this feels really uncomfortable and anyone could see us right now. And he said to me, you're right. It's probably not good for a Congressman to be caught with his pants down.

BROWN: Swalwell calls her allegations false. His campaign responded earlier to vague accusations on social media related to his behavior with staffers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever behave inappropriately with female staffers?

SWALWELL: No. No. It's false. And also some of the allegations I've seen, which is that we've had NDAs in the office, never -- there's never been an allegation, and there's never been settlement. And, you know, I will also just take stock that, look, we're 27 days before an election starts.

BROWN: Did he ask you to send him nude photos?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: And did he ever send nude photos?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He would send short Snapchat videos of him rubbing his penis through his pants while on the airplane.

BROWN: The staffer says she liked Swalwell's attention at first and nervously went along with it, which included sending back nude photos of herself. But in September 2019, she says she and some friends met up with Swalwell. After a night of heavy drinking, she says she woke up naked with Swalwell in a hotel room with no memory of what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The five of us were having some drinks. At some point, it was time to go home. I got in an Uber. I was taken to the Aloft Dublin-Pleasanton where he was staying, and I don't remember what happened that night. But I know that we -- there was sexual contact, because when I woke up in the morning, I could feel that there was, and he said as much too.

BROWN: What did he say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That last night was great. It didn't feel great to me because I didn't remember it.

BROWN: And so, you blacked out and you end up in his hotel room and wake up with him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: She says another incident occurred in 2024 after this event in New York where Swalwell gave a speech.

SWALWELL: Some of us are working hard on Capitol Hill.

BROWN (voice-over): At the time, she no longer worked for Swalwell's office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I decided to ask him to meet me for a drink, and I did this because I was so far removed from what had happened in 2019. I felt safe because I was established. I had a partner. I felt more secure that I could have a strictly professional relationship with this person. After that bar closed, we went to another. I went to the bathroom, and I don't remember anything after that.

BROWN: You don't remember anything?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember the next day. I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive.

[02:35:12]

BROWN: Did you say no?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I said no. I said in my flash that I can recall, I was pushing him off of me saying no.

BROWN: And what did he do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't stop. BROWN: He didn't stop. And you woke up the next morning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I woke up the next morning naked alone in his hotel room. I -- for a moment, didn't even know I was in his hotel room. That's how intoxicated I was. And I called my mom, the only person I could think that could help me.

BROWN (voice-over): Her mother confirmed her account in an interview with CNN. CNN also reviewed screenshots of texts she sent to a friend saying she was "Sexually assaulted by Eric." She also shared this note from a physician's assistant calling her a "Survivor after she went to get tested for STDs one week later."

(On camera): Why do you feel like it's so important to speak out now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I found out there were others who might have been impacted by Eric in different ways, I realized I couldn't be scared anymore because that is how he keeps us quiet. The fear, the shame.

BROWN (voice-over): In addition to this former staffer, three other women who spoke with CNN also alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell. One said he kissed her and touched her without her consent. Two of the women said he sent them unsolicited explicit messages or nude images of himself, something the others say Swalwell did with them as well. One shared this message where he commented on her photo and wrote, "That swimsuit with an expletive. You like it?" She responded. "Yes. Very much like," he wrote.

In a statement to CNN, Swalwell said, "These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front runner for Governor." For nearly 20 years, I have served the public as a prosecutor and a Congressman and have always protected women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is another me out there. There is another young girl who dreams of working in this field and believes in him and could fall into this trap.

BROWN: And that's why you're speaking out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

BROWN: You want to protect others like you when you were young.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one protected me. Sorry. No one protected me, and I don't want someone else to suffer because I know what I know.

BROWN: A lawyer for Swalwell sent two of the women CNN spoke with seasoned assist letters on Thursday, a day after CNN first reached out to his campaign to request comment, according to copies of the letters they provided to CNN. The letters called the women's accounts false, ordered them to retract their statements and warned of potential legal action if they continue speaking out. The women stand by their accounts they gave CNN.

Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Another note to Pam story. Representatives Swalwell is responding with this video on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations. I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat, false. They're absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have. They also come on the eve of an election where I have been the front runner candidate for governor in California. I do not suggest to you in any way that I'm perfect or that I'm a saint. I've certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position. I also apologize to you if in any way you've doubted your support for me. But I think you know who I am.

For over 20 years, I have served the public as a city councilman, as a member of Congress, and as a prosecutor who went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims. That's who I am and have always been.

This weekend, I'm going to spend time with my family and friends. And I appreciate those who have reached out to me to show support. And I look forward to updating you very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And stay with CNN for new developments on this story.

Kamala Harris says that she is thinking of running in a 2028 presidential election. The former vice president was speaking to Reverend Al Sharpton at the National Action Network's convention. She has previously hinted at making a return bid for the White House in an interview with the "BBC" last year. Harris received a warm reception from the crowd when she made those comments.

[02:40:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, (D) FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: Listen, I might. I might. I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking about it.

(CHEERS & APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Look, the American people have a right to expect that anyone who wants to run for office and be a leader, that it can't be about themselves and what they want for themselves. It's got to be about the American people. And that's how I think of it. And I am thinking about it in the context of then, you know, is who and where and how can the best job be done for the American people?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Well, still ahead, the latest on a growing storm system that's expected to bring days of severe weather to the central U.S. We'll bring you your weekend forecast after the break.

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SANDOVAL: Now to a CNN exclusive, according to sources familiar with recent U.S. intelligence assessments, China is preparing to send a shipment of weapons to Iran despite the ongoing fragile ceasefire, which it helped to broker. China says that these claims are untrue and that they have never provided any weapons to any country that's party to this current conflict.

Two sources say that the weapons that China is sending include shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems, and these types of weapons pose a major threat to low-flying aircraft. For more on this, let's go over to CNN's Will Ripley. He's joining me live from Taipei.

Will, all of this comes after the recent downing of that fighter jet. It potentially renewed and highlighted some of those concerns among the military and intelligence community that Iran may have those weapons available to target aircraft.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and just really some incredible reporting from my colleagues in our Washington bureau who probably are sleeping right now, we hope, so I will do my best to pass it along to you. U.S. intelligence uncovered by the D.C. bureau indicates that China is preparing for air defense shipments to Iran possibly within weeks. This is according to sources familiar with the intelligence.

[02:45:07]

The systems are these shoulder-fired anti-air missiles known as MANPADS, that's what the sources are saying, and they're designed to target, as you said, low-flying aircraft, including U.S. jets. Similar weapons likely used to shoot down that F-15 last week, according to President Trump.

Iran claimed at the time that it used a new air defense system. That was according to a statement from Iranian state media. Shipments might be routed, these sources are saying, through third countries to hide their origin, China obviously wanting to distance itself, certainly, from any visible indication of providing weapons to Iran, considering that it has just been working the phones in recent days, including 26 calls from its foreign minister, Wang Yi, to regional allies and friends to try to defuse this situation, and President Trump saying that Iran actually helped bring about this ceasefire, and of course we are now hours away from these crucial talks that will be happening in Pakistan.

This would mark a major escalation in China's support for Iran, sources say, if indeed this intelligence is correct, going well beyond the existing sales of dual-use technology that China has been providing to Iran throughout this. But we know that China has incentives to try to assist Iran in ways that does not harm its standing with the global community. Obviously, China is heavily reliant on Iranian oil.

By some measures, they're purchasing 80 to 90 percent of the oil going through the Strait of Hormuz, up more than a million barrels a day. So, trying to support Iran while maintaining deniability, these sources that my colleagues in Washington have spoken to say, could be really crucial here. Iran might be using the ceasefire to replenish their weapons.

Now, I want to read for you, because we do have a statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington, and I'm going to read it to you in full, what we've published. "China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict. The information in question is untrue."

It goes on to say, "As a responsible major country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, maliciously drawing connections, and engaging in sensationalism. We hope that relevant parties will do more to help de-escalate tensions."

Obviously, we know, Polo, that Russia has been providing much more significant military support than dual-use technology, even going so far as to provide Iran with intelligence of targets that they could strike across the Middle East. If this is true, if what my Washington colleagues have reported from their sources is correct, certainly it would seem that the help coming from China is much, much more than was at least originally believed. But again, a very firm denial of this reporting from the Chinese embassy in Washington.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Will Ripley walking us through that reporting out of Washington. Thank you so much.

Well, let's shift gears now. A multi-day severe weather outbreak is currently building across the central parts of the United States. This weekend, storms will be bringing heavy rain, high winds, and also a risk of hail, including flooding and even possible tornadoes.

Here's CNN Meteorologist Chris Warren with your forecast.

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CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Conditions are coming together for what looks like a robust multi-day severe weather threat. There's the warm, moist air, which is going to be like the fuel for these storms to tap into. Also, that cool air and the storms that will be heading into this zone, setting the stage for the severe thunderstorm threat with all hazards on table, damaging wind, large hail, flooding conditions, and tornadoes at some point over the next five days.

Here's the threat area on Saturday, Sunday, now into next week, Monday. Some of these areas overlap and overlap multi-days, and then again Tuesday into Wednesday, the severe weather threat continuing. We'll start off by taking a look at the weekend and how this is going to play out. Damaging winds, hail, can't rule out a tornado, but this will be the big threats here. And the way this is going to be playing out, get an idea for the timing on the high-resolution future radar into the evening. Big clusters of storms could lead to localized flooding threat as well before those move out.

And then you can see that next kind of bowling ball look, that next system moving into California will make its way east of the Rockies and really help induce more thunderstorm activity and the potential for even stronger storms. It looks like Monday and Tuesday could end up really being the big days with a lot of thunderstorm activity, severe thunderstorm activity with tornadoes from San Angelo all the way up to Wisconsin on Monday. Tuesday, similar story, may just end up being a continuation of Monday. And then Wednesday, more of a line kind of a deal with damaging winds and flooding rain a possibility with this.

And this all happening here as we're leading up to the time when we do see that peak of tornadoes on average happening in May. So, April certainly a big month going into May and June. Bottom line, pay attention, have a way to get alerts and keep checking the forecast day by day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:50:16]

SANDOVAL: And we'll bring you the very latest from Augusta as the Masters reaches the halfway point. That's next here on CNN. Don't go anywhere

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SANDOVAL: The Trump administration has unveiled generated images of a new monument that they say will commemorate the nation's 250th birthday. On Friday, the Commission on Fine Arts received these renderings of the proposed Triumphal Arch. The images show the 250- foot arch with gold accents and a golden statue of a leading liberty holding a shield and a torch on top.

The Trump administration wants the arch built between the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. But a veterans group has sued to block these plans.

What was another dominant display for Rory McIlroy during round two of the Masters? At the halfway point of the competition, the reigning champ is 12 under and also has a six-stroke lead. CNN's Don Riddell with the latest from the Masters.

[02:55:08]

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DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It took Rory McIlroy 17 attempts to win his first Masters title and when he finally did it last year, it was by the skin of his teeth. But this year, he's making it look easy. At the halfway stage of the tournament, McIlroy is utterly dominant and he goes into the weekend with an extraordinary six stroke lead.

On Friday at Augusta, the 36-year-old McIlroy was back to the swaggering golfer of his earlier days, building on his five under par score of Thursday and posting a breathless round of 65.

On the second nine, he was just exceptional, birdying six of his last seven holes for a tournament score of 12 under par and nobody has ever been so far ahead after 36 holes in the history of this tournament.

(On camera): What for you would be more fun, eking out a victory by the skin of your teeth or potentially running away with it and lapping the field?

RORY MCILROY, 2025 MASTERS WINNER: What do you think?

Look, I've built up a nice cushion at this point. And I guess my mindset is just trying to, you know, keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas.

RIDDELL: And having secured the rare feet of winning the career Grand Slam last year, McIlroy has now put himself in pole position for another very rare feat. If he can see this through until Sunday, he would join only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to have won back-to-back green jackets. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, thanks to Don, and thank you so much for joining me. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll be back with you again in a moment with your top headlines.

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