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Trump, Putin Discuss Iran and Ukraine in Phone Call; Putin Warned of Dire Global Consequences if Strikes on Iran Resume; Russia Offers Ceasefire in Ukraine Around May 9 Victory Day; Mexico's Sinaloa Governor Charged With Drug Trafficking; Anant Ambani Offers to Save 80 Cocaine Hippos; Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft Report Earnings; Musk to Take Stand for Third Day in Lawsuit Against OpenAI; BYD Reliant on Overseas Growth Amid Market Competition; LIV Golf to Tell Players and Staff by Thursday That Tour Will Lose Saudi Funding at End of Season; Prince & Princess of Wales Mark 15th Wedding Anniversary. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired April 30, 2026 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:46]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, President Trump and Iran's leadership are ramping up the rhetoric around the ongoing blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
A stabbing attack in London has the Jewish community on edge.
Plus, a former FBI Director under indictment again.
And hippos brought to Colombia by a drag kingpin are causing a new debate.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us, and we begin in the Middle East where Iran's Parliament Speaker and top negotiator is speaking out on the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. He says Washington is using, "Siege tactics and media manipulation" to try and force Tehran to surrender. This comes after sources said President Donald Trump wants the U.S. blockade to continue as a way to pressure Iran's economy.
The Iranian government is already taking measures to avoid shortages. It's urging the public to cut energy consumption by providing incentives and ordering government offices to cut electricity use by up to 70 percent after 1:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin says President Trump discussed the ongoing Iran cease fire with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call Wednesday. Here's what President Trump told CNN Kaitlan Collins about when the Iran war might end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: On your call with President Putin today, do you think the war in Iran ends first, or the war in Ukraine?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we talked about more about the war in Ukraine, but he would like to be of help. I said, before you help me, I want to end your war. So, we had a good talk. I've known him a long time.
CORKE: But which war do you think ends first?
TRUMP: That's an interesting question. You know, coming from you. That's very interesting. Which war would end first? I don't know. Maybe they're on a similar timetable. I think Ukraine, militarily, they're defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And some breaking news, Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, briefly top $125 a barrel just a short time ago amid President Trump's potential plans to extend that naval blockade.
CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us now live from Dubai, so good morning to you. Let's talk about that. What is the latest on what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, and of course, the impact that's having on oil prices?
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. And as you say, oil prices surging to a wartime high, almost hitting $126 a barrel. And right now, when we look at Brent crude and WTI, they are still sitting very high. I mean, Brent crude sitting at above 123. That's up almost five percent as we speak.
WTI, as you can see, up just over two percent. This is really on the back of no real timetable given in terms of when this war will end. And of course, both sides doubling down in terms of the Iranian blockade. And then you've got the U.S. naval blockade, which the U.S. CENTCOM says is very effective.
This is what CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper had posted a short time ago. He says that the 42nd commercial vessel attempting to violate the blockade was successfully redirected. He also says there are now 41 tankers, and they say with 69 million barrels of oil, with the that the Iranian regime can't sell. That's an estimated $6 billion plus, which you're going to see the Iranian leadership unable to benefit from.
And of course, this is very telling in terms of the U.S. really just wanting to put pressure on the Iranian regime and profiting from this war. The parliamentary speaker gully buff responding to this and saying that was the kind of junk advice the U.S. administration gets from people like Bessent, who also pushed the blockade theory and cranked up oil to $120 about they say next stop 140 the issue isn't the theory, it's the mindset. And you can really see that we've seen a stalling in getting to the
negotiating table. The Iranians want to see the U.S. naval blockade coming to an end. And of course, the United States wants to discuss the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as well as the nuclear issue as top priorities.
[02:05:16]
But in an interview with Axios, Rosemary, President Trump said this, the blockade is somewhat more effective than bombing. And he also said this, they are choking like a stuffed pig, and it is going to be worse for them. They can't have a nuclear weapon.
This is just war of words that we're seeing at this point as the big consequence of the narrative, the rhetoric, the blockade, as well as the Iranians choking off the Strait of Hormuz, is having a detrimental impact on the price of oil. Where to from here remains to be seen, but for the as long as we see the Strait of Hormuz closed, that's 20 percent of global oil supply that is choked off, and that is the big concern in terms of the long term consequences on the oil market.
CHURCH: Eleni Giokos joining us live from Dubai with that report. Appreciate it.
Mehran kamrava is a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, and joins us now from Doha. Appreciate you being with us.
MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: Thank you.
CHURCH: So, President Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war in Iran objecting to Tehran's offer to open up the Strait of Hormuz but delay a nuclear deal, President Trump is now waiting for a revised proposal from Iran. What's it going to take to get a deal with Trump while he insists his naval blockade stay in place until Tehran signs a nuclear deal?
KAMRAVA: Rosemary, neither side is willing to look as if they're giving in on their maximalist demands. And it is -- it is not inconceivable for them to come up with win-win scenarios.
Unfortunately, there are two factors at work here. One is the fact that both the Iranians and the Americans appear to have very different conceptions about mediation. The Americans want something quick and swift and decisive. The Iranians want a prolonged negotiation.
The other is the fact that they're negotiating in public, as opposed to behind closed doors, and so the fact that they are putting so much of their reputation on the line globally before the global public opinion really hampers the ability to move forward on substantive issues.
CHURCH: Right. I mean, there's such desperation to look like the victor in this on both sides here. That's the big problem, isn't it? And we know that President Trump spoke on the phone with Russia's
President Putin for 90 minutes on Wednesday. Putin insists they talked mostly about Iran. Trump says it was mostly about Ukraine. What did you make of such a long chat between the two leaders with no readout on the meeting made available yet by the White House and coming just days after Iran's foreign minister met with Putin?
KAMRAVA: What we're witnessing is that there is a search by both sides, both Iranians and the Americans, for new actors to be involved and mediate on their behalf. And so, we've seen the deep and heavy involvement of Pakistan, and now what we're seeing is Putin being involved, either directly or indirectly.
And so, we do see that both sides are eager to somehow bring things to a resolution. But as I mentioned those there are a number of factors that mitigate against it.
CHURCH: And what impact is this ongoing war in Iran having on Gulf nations, particularly now that the UAE is withdrawing from OPEC?
KAMRAVA: Well, the most immediate impact is what you just reported on, which is record high oil prices, but one of the more subtle and longer term problems that the Persian Gulf states have to deal with is the increasing cost of doing business for the past several decades, countries like Qatar, UAE, even more recently, Saudi Arabia, have been presenting themselves as havens of stability, security, safe places to invest. They have been trying to attract the creative classes from around the world, and that image has been shattered, and it's going to take some serious effort to reconstruct that image of peace and stability once again.
CHURCH: And just very quickly, both sides, as we discussed, do they want out of this war? They both want to look like the winners. How can that be achieved?
[02:10:00]
KAMRAVA: Well, they have to give in. I think they need to come down, you know, and take the golden bridge, or walk on the golden bridge. In other words, each side has to give in a little. The Iranians have signaled that they are willing to give in on their coordinating role in the Strait of Hormuz and probably the demand by the Trump administration that Iran permanently suspend nuclear enrichment has to be modified somehow.
CHURCH: Mehran Kamrava, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your perspective on this issue.
KAMRAVA: Thank you very much.
CHURCH: Of course.
Well, new video into CNN shows Israeli forces intercepting an aid flotilla heading to Gaza. And you can see armed security forces boarding one of the boats in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Crete. Organizers accused the Israeli military of illegally surrounding the flotilla and threatening kidnapping and violence.
Israel's foreign ministry called the flotilla a P.R. stunt, and alleged that it found condoms and drugs on board the vessels, a claim the flotilla spokesperson denies.
An adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blaming Hezbollah for renewed fighting, accusing the Iran backed group of breaching the cease fire. Video on Wednesday showed Israeli military vehicles driving along Israel's northern border with Southern Lebanon, where new strikes were reported. The Lebanese national news agency says Israeli strikes in the south of the country killed at least five people, including a family of three.
London's Jewish community is saying enough is enough after the stabbing of two Jewish men in broad daylight. Community members rallied on Wednesday, hours after the attack that investigators are calling a terrorist incident. Police have released body cam footage showing the confrontation with the suspect. Both victims are in stable condition. Police say the suspect has a history of violence and mental health issues. This is the latest in a series of attacks that's keeping the Jewish community on edge as Jomana Karadsheh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About a couple of hours ago, we were driving back from an interview with a rabbi at a synagogue close by this synagogue was attacked recently, and as we were driving up towards Golders Green, this predominantly Jewish area in North London, we could hear choppers up in the sky. We could hear and see the police sirens and the emergency response.
So, our team just got out of the cab and ran over to see what was going on. And since then, of course, we have had those statements coming out from the Jewish charity, the Shomrim, that runs the neighborhood watch patrols, as well as the mech police, in the last few minutes as well, saying that two Jewish people were stabbed in this attack. They were a 30-year-old and a 70-year-old man according to the police, they are in stable condition.
The suspect, according to the Met (ph), tried to also stab police officers. He was tasered and he was taken into custody. They say that he's a 45-year-old man. They are working to establish his nationality, his background, any links he might have. This is being led by the counter terrorism police as this investigation is ongoing.
I mean, the Shomrim were saying that the attacker was running down Boulder's Green Road with a knife looking to stab Jewish members of the public. And keeping in mind, this is coming after that spate of anti-Semitic arson attacks that we have seen around London since the end of March that has very much put the Jewish community on edge, to say the least. Those attacks, we don't know again, if this is linked to what is going on here, what has happened here. Those attacks we were claimed by a group that we've not heard of before.
The British authorities have said that they are investigating its possible links to Iran and whether Iranian proxies may have been used to carry out those arson attacks, speaking with members of the Jewish community, speaking with the rabbi earlier, you know he was saying, they are shocked by what is going on, but not surprised, and the fear we've heard from people here is that this sort of violence is becoming normalized. You know, after there are some attacks, everyone was saying, thankfully, no one was hurt. Today, two people were stabbed here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:15:00]
CHURCH: King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to return to Washington as they prepare to wrap up their visit to the U.S. It comes after a packed day of meetings and events in New York. They began the day at the 9/11 Memorial, where the couple laid a bouquet of white flowers and left a hand written message.
The king and queen also visited with first responders who worked during the disaster and spoke with victims' families. Then it was off to the Rockefeller Center for a reception with trade and business executives. King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to rejoin President Trump for a formal farewell ceremony at the White House in a few hours. The president previously claimed the king shared similar views on the war with Iran. On Wednesday, he suggested the U.K.'s role may have been different if the king had a say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He loves his country, and he's a great king, and he's a great friend of mine. And I think if he were doing that, if that were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran. He would have done he would have followed the suggestions we made with respect to Ukraine, because, you know, we have some disagreements on Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Donald Trump is speaking out about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, what the U.S. president has to say about the alleged threat against his life, spelled out in seashells.
And later, deciding the fate of Colombia's so called cocaine hippos, while the government says it plans to cull dozens. The son of a billionaire in India is offering to save their lives. We'll have details on that after the break.
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[02:21:02]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Former FBI Director James Comey will make his next court appearance in North Carolina on charges that he threatened President Trump. Comey turned himself in Wednesday in Virginia, where he lives. He spent about 10 minutes in court before the judge released him without conditions.
The Justice Department says Comey's Instagram post from last year seashells spelling out 8647 was a threat to kill Trump. CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked the president about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: 86 you know what's 86, it's a mob term for kill him, you know? You ever see the movies? 86 him, the mobster says to one of his wonderful associates, 86 him. That means, kill him.
People like Comey have created tremendous danger, I think, for politicians and others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More on the case against Comey from CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz.
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KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN, CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Now, this is a case that is going to have a lot of arguments before it ever gets to see a trial and a jury.
In court on Wednesday, Comey's attorney said that they are planning on arguing to judges in North Carolina that's who's going to oversee this case that Comey has been singled out unfairly for prosecution by the Trump administration and the Justice Department.
Previously, in the last criminal case he faced, where that case was dismissed, it was a perjury count, Comey also argued that he was being selectively and vindictively prosecuted because Donald Trump, the president, dislikes him so much and has wanted to see him in jail.
That's very likely to be a similar argument that we see in this case. This is the sort of thing, though, that the Justice Department is going to have to respond to extensively.
And the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, he was asked by a reporter at a separate press conference on Wednesday afternoon, is it the Justice Department's decision that anyone who writes 8647 may be investigated and charged? Here's how Blanche responded.
TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Look, every case is different. Every threats case is different. And so, that means that there can -- what is -- what does that mean? That means that the nature of the threat, the person who makes the threat, and then the investigation around the threat.
And so, you cannot -- it is -- it would be ill advised for anybody to compare a particular statement to another statement that appears similar when there's been a thorough investigation. Nobody in this room has any idea what happened during a grand jury investigation between May 15th and yesterday.
Now there will be a long road ahead as Comey's team continues to challenge what Blanche calls a thorough investigation into the former FBI director. We don't have a set of dates yet on when Comey will be appearing again in federal court, but those proceedings will be in New Bern, North Carolina, very near the beach. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady during Jerome Powell's final meeting as chair. Speaking after Wednesday's meeting, Powell said he will step aside when his term ends on May 15th, but he will remain on the central bank's board for now.
Powell said the decision about his future was based on the possibility that the Justice Department could reopen an investigation into him and testimony he gave to Congress last year. He also warned about continued political attacks on the Fed's independence, and was asked about his likely successor, Kevin Warsh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: These legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113 year history, and there are ongoing threats of additional such actions. I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors.
[02:25:03]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident that Kevin Warsh will stand up to political pressure from President Trump?
POWELL: So, he testified very strongly to that effect in his hearing, and I'll take him at his word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: President Trump's nominee to succeed power as you heard, Kevin Warsh cleared a key hurdle in his confirmation process earlier Wednesday. His nomination is expected to advance to the broader Senate chamber for a final vote.
Russia's President is making the case to his us counterpart not to resume strikes on Iran. Still to come, details on a phone call between the two leaders and a warning about dire consequences of any future military action. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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[02:30:15]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth defended his handling of the Iran War in fiery testimony before Congress Wednesday, his first since the war began.
He described lawmakers who criticized the Trump administration as the "biggest adversary" in this war. Democratic Congressman, John Garamendi slammed the administration for getting the U.S. stuck in what he calls a quagmire, a claim Hegseth rejected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: My generation served in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan. Years and years of nebulous missions and utopian nation building that led us to nothing. What we have right now, the way you stain the troops when you tell them two months in, two months in, Congressman, you should know better. Shame on you. Calling this a quagmire two months in.
The effort, what they've undertaken, what they've succeeded, the success on the battlefield that could create strategic opportunities, the courage of a president to confront a nuclear Iran and you call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement.
And statements like that are reckless to our troops. Don't say I support the troops on one hand and then a two-month mission is a quagmire. That's a false equivalent. Who are you cheering for here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: At the hearing, a top defense official estimated that the Iran War has cost the U.S. $25 billion so far. But sources tell CNN that's a lowball figure. The real cost, according to those sources, closer to $40 billion or even $50 billion because the Pentagon's number doesn't account for rebuilding U.S. bases and replacing destroyed assets.
Well, with no clear endgame in Iran, President Trump held a phone call about the conflict with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from Moscow.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was the first phone call between Russian President, Vladimir Putin and U.S. President, Donald Trump since March 9th. And the Russians are saying the phone call lasted over one-and-a-half hours and was conducted in a business-like atmosphere. Now, while the White House says that most of this call dealt with Ukraine, that was one of the main topics, the Russians are saying the main international topic was actually the U.S. war with Iran.
Now, Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, according to Russian information, praised President Trump extending the ceasefire with Iran, but at the same time, also warning that if this goes back to being a shooting war, if there's another aerial campaign by the Israelis and the Americans against Iran, that that would have devastating consequences, not just for Iran and the Gulf region, but for the entire international community.
Vladimir Putin, according to that same information, also warning against a possible American ground invasion of Iran, saying that that would be unacceptable, but at the same time, of course, also very dangerous. The Russians also acknowledging that Ukraine, of course, was also a major topic in that phone call. The U.S. president calling for a ceasefire as fast as possible. The Russians saying that the U.S. believes it is something that can be done in the not-too-distant future. But at the same time, the Russians acknowledging that they're offering a ceasefire for May 9th, around May 9th, which is, of course, Victory Day, where Russia and other former Soviet Union states celebrate the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Now, the interesting thing about that is that the Russians have already scaled back their Victory Day parade on Red Square here in Moscow, which normally is a massive affair, due to the fact that they're suffering from a Ukrainian aerial campaign, mostly using drones, hitting Russian critical infrastructure and also industrial sites as well.
At the same time, the Russians are saying that Vladimir Putin made clear to U.S. President, Donald Trump that the Russians would achieve, as he put it, their goals in what they still call their special military operation in Ukraine. The Russians are saying they would rather achieve that through diplomatic means.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
CHURCH: A U.S. grand jury has indicted the governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state on drug trafficking and weapons charges. Ruben Rocha Moya has been in office since 2021. Nine other current or former high- ranking Mexican officials are also facing charges. They allegedly helped a cartel faction led by the sons of notorious drug lord, Joaquin Guzman, also known as El Chapo.
Rocha Moya strongly denies the allegations. Mexico's foreign ministry says it has received extradition requests from the U.S. government, but they lack sufficient evidence.
[02:35:00]
The son of an Indian billionaire is urging Colombia to reconsider its plans to cull dozens of so-called cocaine hippos, and is now offering the animals a home at his wildlife sanctuary in India. The 80 hippos are descended from animals introduced to the country in the 1980s by Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.
Since then their population has exploded and they're now endangering native species. That prompted Colombia to announce plans to euthanize some of the hippos, a proposed move that sparked swift debate.
Well, joining me now from Bogota is journalist, Manuel Rueda. Thank you so much for joining us.
MANUEL RUEDA, JOURNALIST: Absolutely.
CHURCH: So you've been reporting on this issue for some time. So what is the latest on a possible solution to the Colombian hippos that officials want to cull because they're a hazard to the environment?
RUEDA: Right. Well, you have a population of about 200 hippos at the moment. So even this offer from India would only take about 40 percent of that population. The Colombian government hasn't replied yet to the offer from this Indian billionaire. So that's still on -- the plans to go ahead with the culling of the hippos are still set and that would happen in the second semester of this year is what they have said.
And that's creating some friction already with the people who live around there who, for the most part, feel that they are OK with the hippos. They wouldn't want the hippos to be killed.
CHURCH: Why do you think authorities are taking their time on getting back to the son of this Indian billionaire who's willing to take them? I mean, it's still 40 percent of the population, isn't it?
RUEDA: Yeah, I mean the approval from Colombian authorities is only part of the equation, right? Because you would also need the government of India to approve the transfer of these wild animals to India. Now there's been, for example, a couple years ago, an offer from a sanctuary in Mexico that also wanted to take more than a dozen of the hippos.
But then the Mexican government said no, this is against our regulations. These animals weren't even bred in captivity, so we don't know what kind of diseases they may carry, for example. So there was a case where there was a wildlife sanctuary in Mexico, privately run, that wanted to take some hippos, but the government of Mexico forbade it.
This has happened also with other countries that have shown interest in the hippos. So this solution by the sanctuary in India is still something that would take several months to plan and would need coordination from two governments, not just from the wildlife sanctuary.
CHURCH: So how seriously are authorities looking at other options to control the hippo population or try to save them? It sounds like they're pretty committed to the culling idea, aren't they?
RUEDA: Well, they've tried other things before. Since 2012, they started sort of paying attention to this more closely when the population was maybe 80 hippos. Now it's 200. In 10 years, it could be 1,000, is what the experts say.
So about a decade ago, they began -- they tested capturing some hippos, putting them to sleep, and doing a surgery to sterilize them. This was a very sort of cumbersome process because they had to drive the hippo four hours to a university in the nearest city in Medellin where they could perform this kind of surgery.
Then they found another way to sterilize the hippo through an injection on the site where they lived, but this has been slow because these animals spend most of the day in water, they're very big, they're difficult to catch. So over a decade, they've sterilized about 30 hippos.
So what the government has decided now is that, look, this isn't fast enough, we have to find a faster way. This is why they proposed the idea of culling the hippos. Taking them to other countries, as I mentioned before, Mexico, Ecuador, hasn't been possible. Coordination with the governments of other countries has been difficult. And another solution that has been mentioned, but is not clear yet how they could implement it, is to create a sanctuary for the hippos, or at least for some of the hippos within Colombia. But that is also, you know, would require a process of, well, how do you confine these animals in a certain space?
[02:40:00]
It's a complicated process. But authorities are just definitely worried about their environmental impact because the hippo is a large animal. For example, they leave feces in the riverbeds, in the lakes where they stay the whole day, and that changes the chemical composition of the water and that can hurt fish. It can change how the plants beneath the river grow and that can affect other local species, for example, manatees.
So what they are saying is we got to do something urgently because of the environmental impact -- of the effects it could have on other local species.
CHURCH: All right, we'll watch to see what they decide to do in the end. Manuel Rueda, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.
And we'll be right back.
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[02:45:31]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Kenya's informal sector makes up about a third of the country's GDP but investment and skills development remain ongoing challenges. Now, big corporations like Unilever, which owns brands like Dove and Hellmann's, are tapping into the market's potential and they're using technology to help.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCK OCHIENG, MANAGING DIRECTOR, UNILEVER EAST AFRICA (voice-over): If you take the Kenyan context, over 80 percent of our people are employed in the informal sector. The challenge we have is how do you then get to the most rural of markets or the informal sectors.
OCHIENG: Markets such as Kibera, (inaudible) and places like that. We cannot go in there with a big truck doing delivery.
We have to develop new models that allow us to actually get to our consumer wherever they are. For example 2,000 customers have actually come on to our value chain to be able to sell our products and of course then benefit from that opportunity.
ANUJ TANNA, CHIEF EXECUITVE OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER, MESH: We've been called at times LinkedIn for the informal economy. Think kiosk owner/operators, freelancers, farmers. What we do is begin to connect them to their peers. That can look like suppliers of goods and services, partners, customers, so sort of a marketplace. We then connect them to bite-sized practical contextualized training material in local language, highly relevant to the businesses that they operate.
And then we additionally link them to opportunities like with Unilever and other corporate partners, which could be a gig or access to a value chain or a new product or service in the formal world.
OCHIENG: What MESH has done is that they've created this platform whereby these entrepreneurs register onto the platform. Their details are then taken in. They create a profile for themselves. On the one hand, that helps us also to then develop a bit of trust because here you have somebody who is known.
Technology helps and solutions such as M-PESA, Airtel Money then help us to digitize the exchange of money and also create another level of trust in that whole process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:50:18]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Four major tech companies released their quarterly earnings reports on Wednesday. CNN's Clare Duffy breaks down the numbers.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: The question coming into this earnings bonanza is the same question that these big tech companies have been facing for some time now, which is when will investors start to see a greater return on the hundreds of billions of dollars that these companies are investing in A.I. infrastructure and data centers. And we're starting to get a somewhat clearer picture of that.
But this was especially important coming into this print, because these are the first earnings reports we're seeing from these companies since the Iran War kicked off. And the spike in oil prices has threatened to raise operational costs for data centers. I think that is at least part of the reason why you saw Google and Meta raising their full-year capital expenditure estimates.
But it's really interesting to see the differing reaction from investors, especially to Google and Meta. On one hand, you have Google, who has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in data centers like all of these companies, but is very much already showing a return from that investment. Cloud revenues up 63 percent year-on- year and that is because the companies that are building A.I. tools want to rent Google's cloud space. There is also a backlog of $460 billion of customers who would like to have space on Google's cloud, and there is just not yet capacity. So Google is seeing a very clear return.
On the flip side, you have a player like Meta that is seeing A.I. benefit their bottom line, ad impressions up 19 percent year-on-year. But unlike these other players, Meta is building data centers really just for itself. It doesn't have a cloud business where it can rent some of that space to third-party customers.
And so, I think you see investors asking Meta what else it is going to do with that massive investment that it's making. And then you have Microsoft and Amazon coming in sort of in the middle here, both of these companies seeing definite growth in their cloud businesses. But I think they're also looking for even greater growth in that space.
You see both of those companies talking about building out new A.I. tooling for their cloud businesses, for their enterprise customers. And I think that's because they know that investors are expecting to see really significant growth in that space to justify the really significant amounts of money they are spending on A.I. infrastructure. So, this ROI question not necessarily going away for these tech companies as we go into the rest of this year.
Back to you.
CHURCH: Elon Musk is getting ready for a third day of testimony in his lawsuit against OpenAI. On Wednesday, there were testy exchanges as the Tesla tycoon told the court how his relationship with the company deteriorated.
Musk insists OpenAI betrayed its initial non-profit mission and also him by creating a for-profit subsidiary. He said he was a fool for giving them free funding for a startup. Emails between Musk and OpenAI executives were presented that show Musk saying he was fine with for- profit.
But in court, he said that he was only fine with it being a subsidiary, not the main event. Musk also said he wanted control over the company since he was providing almost all the funding. Musk accused the co-founders of trying to create a for-profit where they had as much shareholder ownership as possible.
OpenAI says the lawsuit is Musk's effort to weaken a competitor.
The world's largest electric car company tells CNN it doesn't need the U.S. to stay on top. Chinese automakers remain largely shut out of the U.S. market due to tariffs and national security concerns. On the sidelines of the Beijing Auto Show, Simone McCarthy spoke to BYD's executive vice president who said the company is doing just fine.
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SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER (voice-over): These three letters have the world's car makers quaking, BYD. The Chinese car manufacturer seems to have cracked the code on producing affordable batteries for electric vehicles and now sells more EVs than any other company. But thanks to Washington's heavy restrictions on Chinese automakers, U.S. consumers won't be able to buy a BYD anytime soon.
STELLA LI, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BYD: Without the U.S. market, BYD still will be in the leading position.
MCCARTHY: You're confident?
LI: Very confident.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): A quick look at the numbers tells you why BYD feels so secure. It bested Tesla in global E.V. sales last year, even without access to the world's largest economy. The U.S. government has effectively barred Chinese E.V. makers from importing their cars into the country, eyeing their expansion as a threat to domestic production and national security.
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LI: My best wish is with President Trump's visit to Beijing, then you'll start a dialog, then you'll see the business opportunity. This U.S.-China relationship is a win-win.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): At this year's Beijing Auto Show, BYD put on a show of force, an entire hall dedicated to its brands. There is clamor for all those cars overseas, especially as the Iran War drives up prices at gas pumps.
LI: We have more global buyers than our Chinese buyers (ph), and they're for sure.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): BYD needs its overseas growth to offset fierce competition in its home market.
LEI XING, FOUNDER, AUTOXING: BYD, right, they were flying up until 2024, and then 2025, so far this year, they've had a lot of pressure.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): The company reported its first annual profit drop in four years in 2025, amid a brutal price war, and its net profit more than halved year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. Its answer to driving forward, tech, including super-fast charging, batteries that can charge from 20 percent to 97 percent in 12 minutes, even in cold temperatures.
BYD is also racing car makers globally to develop more advanced Assisted Driving Systems and investing in hardware and software to roll that out.
LI: This will make us more powerful in the future when the A.I. more mature.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): Simone McCarthy, CNN, Beijing.
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CHURCH: There are growing doubts about the future of LIV Golf. The Wall Street Journal reports the upstart league's Saudi backers are expected to pull their funding of the league. The journal cites people familiar with the matter, saying that LIV plan to inform players and staff by Thursday that its backing is expected to be withdrawn at the end of the season.
The controversial league was meant to rival the PGA Tour by luring some of the game's top names with huge sums of money, largely from Saudi Arabia's public investment fund. The Saudi government also faced accusations of trying to use LIV Golf and other sports as an attempt to sports-wash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia is reportedly rethinking its investment as the Iran War disrupts global oil markets and shipping.
Well, the Prince and Princess of Wales marked an important anniversary this week. William and Catherine celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Kensington Palace marking the occasion with this family photo, William and Catherine along with their children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
I want to thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Stay with us.
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