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U.S. Blockade a Win for President Trump; U.S. Looking for New Avenues; U.K. Police Charge Lone Wolf Terrorist; Ukraine Bombed Russian Oil Refinery; Royal Tour Heads to Bermuda; First U.S. Flight Lands In Venezuela After 7 Years; Mexico Demands Evidence After U.S. Indicts Governor For Cartel Ties; Climbers Look To Summit Everest After Two-Week Delay; European State Of The Climate Report Shows Alarming Findings. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 01, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

President Donald Trump is hailing a U.S. blockade of Iran. Iran's leadership, meanwhile, is calling it an extension of military action, but they say they can get around it.

King Charles wraps up his historic visit to the U.S. Next stop for the British monarch, Bermuda.

And a new report finds that Europe is warming faster than the rest of the world. We'll speak to one expert who says the signs are visible.

UNKNOWN: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We begin with new praise from Donald Trump for the U.S. naval blockade of Iran in a defiant response from Iran's leaders. The U.S. president calls the blockade incredible and says it's crashing Iran's economy. Meanwhile, his administration is pressing foreign governments to join a new coalition to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's parliament speaker is mocking the blockade, suggesting his country's extensive borders provide plenty of opportunity to circumvent U.S. restrictions. And Iran's supreme leader says foreign actors have no place in the Persian Gulf except at the depths of its waters.

CNN is covering the story from all angles. Kristie Lu Stout is standing by in Hong Kong where we begin with Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi.

So, Paula, let's start with Iran's reaction. What more are we hearing from Tehran? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, when it comes to this

U.S. naval blockade, we're hearing quite a lot of response from Tehran suggesting that, of course, it is having an impact and that they are feeling the economic pain of the naval blockade of Iranian ports, Iranian vessels. U.S. Central Command saying on Thursday that more than 40 vessels had been redirected as part of this naval blockade.

Now, we've had a statement from the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian on X. I want to read part of that statement to you. He said, quote, "what is being done under the guise of a naval blockade is an extension of military operations against a nation paying the price for its resistance and independence. Continuation of this oppressive approach is intolerable."

So, what we've been hearing from sources familiar in the U.S. is that President Trump is actually considering increasing and extending this U.S. naval blockade that he has asked for other options when it comes to increasing what he has called genius when speaking to reporters talking about his naval blockade. So potentially looking at the prospects of trying to increase the economic pain against Tehran.

We saw a little earlier this week that Trump had met with some of his economic team, also with energy and oil executives, and we understand from people that what was discussed in that meeting was how to lessen the impact on the American people, how to try and dilute some of this economic pain that Trump's own country is feeling because of this.

We do know that he is also keeping the military options open. We understand that he was expected to have a meeting at the Pentagon on Thursday where he would be briefed on what the military options would be, an updated briefing. That's not unusual in this situation. You would consider that to be what was expected, but certainly it does show that that option is not off the table at this point.

So, when it comes to this naval blockade, we are hearing from sources close to mediation that Pakistan is still expecting an updated proposal from Tehran. We understand that a previous proposal suggested opening the Strait of Hormuz, ending the war and leaving the thornier issues of the nuclear program of Iran until a later date. But we are also hearing from U.S. officials that to give up this leverage that the U.S. has when it comes to the straight-up Hormuz would be very difficult. Kim?

[02:04:57]

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that sounds definitely unlikely. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much. I want go to Kristie Lu Stout now in Hong Kong. So, Kristie, you've been following how all of this is affecting the oil markets and gas prices. What are you seeing?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, two months into the war now, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and we have the U.S. president scrambling, looking for ways to somehow force Iran to agree to a deal.

Trump says he's open to military options as well as, of course, the ongoing naval blockade on Iranian vessels and ports. And all this pressure is turning into sky-high gas prices at the pump in the United States. These are now reaching record highs.

I'm going to show you the latest data from AAA and you can look at gas prices at the pump are now at $4.30 a gallon compared that to yesterday $4.23 a gallon. That is the biggest one-day job in six weeks, and in fact gas prices now are the highest level since July of 2022. A reminder before the war broke out gas prices were at $2.98 a gallon.

We continue to keep an eye on the price of Brent crude. That's of course the global oil benchmark. It remains elevated not as high as those wartime highs that we were reporting here yesterday, but now trading at $105.49 a barrel.

Look, as this conflict drags on again, it's going into a second month here. There's a lot of deep concern about what this means for the global energy supply. And this is why we're hearing comments like this from an analyst with IG, a market analyst named Tony Sycamore saying, prospects for any near-term resolution to the Iran conflict or reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remain dim.

And Iran is defiant here. There was that statement that was released on Persian Gulf Day by the Iranian supreme leader. It was in text form, not in video, not in audio. He reasserted Iran's iron grip of the Strait of Hormuz and those comments were further amplified by the parliament speaker of Iran who is very active on Twitter or X, the social media platform, and he posted this saying, today as well, Iran, by exercising control of the Strait of Hormuz will ensure that it and its neighbors enjoy the precious blessing of a future free from the presence and interference of America.

And meanwhile, we continue to keep an eye on marine traffic data at the Strait of Hormuz, shipping traffic there crossing that vital waterway remains minimal only about seven ships across the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours and compare that to before the war we had up to 140 ships making that crossing a day.

Kim, back to you.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, I want to thank you both.

President Trump may be mulling over his next steps with Iran as he tries to pressure Tehran to agree to a deal. Pentagon officials briefed the president, as we heard, on updated military options for Iran.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has the latest from Washington.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump huddled with his top Pentagon officials on Thursday night being briefed on updated military options for Iran. But sources tell CNN that the president still is looking for a diplomatic answer.

Earlier today, he was asked questions specifically about whether or not he was thinking about breaking the ceasefire, restarting the strikes in Iran. And he avoided the question saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I mean, I don't know what stubbornness is, because really nobody knows what the talks are except myself and a couple of other people. They want to make a deal badly. And we have a problem, because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It's a little bit of a problem, you know? The leaders have been wiped out, along with their military. Almost all of their military. I mean, think of it. 159 ships was their total navy. 159 ships are gone. They're underwater. They're way below.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now sources say that these negotiations are still happening between Pakistan, Iran, U.S. officials, behind the scenes. However, it doesn't appear the U.S. has gotten an updated proposal that it is comfortable with to move on to that second round of in-person negotiations.

One interesting thing tangentially related to this war in Iran was something President Trump said today. He has been talking at length about removing troops, U.S. troops, from some of our ally countries, in Europe specifically. Today, saying Spain and Italy, he would consider that. Yesterday, he was talking about Germany.

One thing to note here, those U.S. troops in Europe, those U.S. troops across the globe, those aren't just for the safety of that country, it's also for the safety of the United States. Make sure the United States has a presence across the globe. So that will likely be discomforting to many here in the United States, including up on Capitol Hill.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, The White House.

[02:09:55]

BRUNHUBER: The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is being tested with reports of deadly new strikes. Lebanon's health minister says Israel launched attacks in several towns in southern Lebanon, killing at least 14 people. In response, Hezbollah said it carried out drone strikes on Israeli soldiers with the IDF appointing several injuries.

Meanwhile, a funeral was held in Tyre for three rescuers killed by an Israeli strike on Tuesday. Lebanese officials say they were killed in a double-tap strike while helping the wounded.

All right, breaking news coming in to CNN, the U.K. Metropolitan Police have charged a man in connection with the latest attack on the Jewish community in London. Police say 45-year-old Essa Suleiman is facing two counts of attempted murder along with other charges. He's set to appear in court in the coming hours. Two Jewish men were stabbed and wounded in North London on Wednesday, rattling the community already shaken by a string of attacks.

Salma Abdelaziz has more.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Golders Green, North London, known as this city's Jewish heartland, here a community is under threat, targeted by anti-Semitic attacks. The latest declared a terrorist incident, a stabbing in broad daylight on this street that left two Jewish men injured.

Leon, who grew up here, says he feels it's no longer safe to be visibly Jewish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Our feeling of freedom to walk around as visibly as a Jew, that has been robbed of us as of yesterday. And this is the consequences of the government failing its population and not doing enough when all the warning signs were there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: The morning after the attack, Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with criminal justice agencies to demand a swift and visible response.

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KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: There's no getting away from the fact that this was not a one-off. This has been a series of attacks on our Jewish community and there is a very deep sense of anxiety, of concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: While the PM scrambled his government, his political rival and right-wing populist Nigel Farage spoke to community leaders at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGEL FARAGE, REFORM U.K. LEADER: Every single time it happens there are kind words that come from number 10 Downing Street. Soft words aren't enough and the government needs to be seen to be very, very robust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: When the PM did arrive a couple of hours later, he received a much less welcoming response.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has just arrived here to reassure the Jewish community that he is doing everything he can to keep them safe. But he has been met by an angry and frustrated crowd. They've been chanting Starmer, Jew-harmer. They've been calling him a traitor. There is a real sense of anger with the government here in London.

Even with Starmer within earshot, Ruth told us she feels the authorities are deaf to her fears. Why was it important for you to come?

UNKNOWN: Because he needs to hear us. He needs to hear. This is the first demonstration I've been on and I go on many where we're actually angry because we've had enough and we want him to start doing something positive.

ABDELAZIZ: In the last few weeks alone, arsonists have set fire to ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity, and two synagogues were attacked in separate incidences that were just days apart.

Arrests have been made, legislation is being fast-tracked, and $80 million has been pledged to help fund increased security for Jewish communities. But many here worry that's simply not enough to stop the next act of violent anti-Semitism.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

BRUNHUBER: Federal prosecutors have released new footage of the moments before the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. They say this video shows the alleged suspect walking through hallways and casing the hotel prior to the shooting. Prosecutors released another video showing the alleged attacker rushing down the hallway with a shotgun running past the security checkpoint.

He was arrested before he made it into the press center, which was on a different floor where President Trump and other administration officials were dining. The suspect 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen will remain in jail as he awaits trial. His lawyers say they won't fight detention as the case proceeds. Allen is set to return to court on May 11th.

King Charles is on a solo tour in Bermuda after wrapping up a four-day state visit to the U.S. President Trump called the British royal a great king as he said farewell to Charles and Queen Camilla in Washington on Thursday.

The royal couple then visited Arlington National Cemetery where they laid a wreath and paid respects to fallen service members. They also made a few more stops in Virginia before leaving the country.

CNN's Max Foster was there.

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to Front Royal in Virginia. This is the part of the royal tour about people and the countryside as you can see actually on the front lines of the Revolutionary War.

[02:15:03]

So, King Charles came here to celebrate the defeat of the British which many people are here are very confused about. But he came after a somber moment at Arlington. He came here to see an agricultural event as you would expect from the king. Lots of environmental projects here. But importantly, meeting members of the public. He wanted to go to Main Street. And this is literally called Main Street up there because this tour

was also about meeting people, people-to-people relationship as well as President King. So it was very important for him to come out here. And of course, when he came here, he met another King Charles. It just sort of happens, doesn't it, Tracy?

And you're going to explain this because this lamb is called King Charles.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

FOSTER: And why and what?

UNKNOWN: Well, we wanted him to be an honorary gift to the king for coming out so he won't go home with the king but we wanted to name him Upperville Charles.

FOSTER: We should clarify that you met the King?

UNKNOWN: I did meet the King, yes he was fantastic.

FOSTER: And what did you discuss?

UNKNOWN: Very kind, he asked me about my flock. He was very thankful that we were into sheep and agriculture.

FOSTER: Welsh sheep specifically.

UNKNOWN: Yes, Welsh sheep.

FOSTER: British sheep.

UNKNOWN: Absolutely. And we just discussed a little bit about our work here in America with the Kerry Hill sheep and importing genetics. And he was very engaging and very kind.

FOSTER: And a very docile lamb, thankfully.

UNKNOWN: Absolutely.

FOSTER: It could have been embarrassing.

UNKNOWN: It was awesome.

FOSTER: I heard the queen actually kissed the lamb.

UNKNOWN: She did, yes, she kissed the lamb.

FOSTER: Well, King Charles kissing the queen. I guess it's acceptable.

UNKNOWN: Absolutely. Yes.

FOSTER: After this he went up to a national park to meet with indigenous communities and to find out more about the environment and then the tour finishes. So, it's been pretty triumphant. I have to say we heard in one of the walkabouts people shouting out thank you for your congressional address. I think that's going to be the sort of abiding memory really of this tour, that historic addressed to the joint chambers of Congress, which was pretty punchy but actually pretty memorable.

And it was interesting to see how many people here actually really appreciated what he said there. So, a pretty historic trip, you could argue.

Max Foster, CNN, Virginia.

BRUNHUBER: Russia's economic lifeline is coming under fire as Ukraine tries to undermine Moscow's war chest. Still ahead, Russian refineries take a pounding at a time when the nation's economy can least afford it. That story and more coming up, stay with us.

[02:20:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Have look at this. It was a truly apocalyptic scene. It was an aerial view of a Russian oil refinery hit by Ukrainian drones. The witness describes the aftermath as oil falling from the sky.

The Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea has been hit multiple times in the past two weeks. This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin faces some serious economic problems, as Fred Pleitgen reports from Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another day, another massive fire at a Russian oil refinery. This time near Perm in the Ural Mountains, the installation hit overnight by Ukrainian drones.

Kyiv has launched a massive aerial war of attrition against Russia's main economic lifelines, oil and gas. A few days ago, drones struck a refinery in Tuapse in the south, leading to a massive toxic blaze that took days to extinguish.

"Drone strikes against civilian infrastructure are becoming more frequent," Russian President Vladimir Putin admits. "The latest example involves strikes on energy facilities in Tuapse, which could potentially lead to serious economic consequences." And serious security consequences as well.

Moscow announcing it's drastically scaling back the annual May 9th Victory Day parade commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany just as first rehearsals get underway in the Russian capital. Vladimir Putin even offering to observe a ceasefire on that day as the Kremlin acknowledges Ukraine's bombardment makes securing a large event unfeasible.

"Against the backdrop of this terrorist threat all measures are of course being taken to minimize the danger," the Kremlin spokesman says. Russia's ongoing combat operations also taking an increasing toll on Moscow's economy recently contracting.

Videos like these springing up on social media Olga Sidorova from Chelyabinsk saying she's forced to close down her clothing stores after 16 years. "I started selling clothes in my apartment. Now it's a chain of stores. Everybody knows my stores in the city. But now the time has come to say goodbye to my so-called child. This is like a little death for me."

Tatiana Semkina in Omsk in Siberia saying she's shutting her cafe after 20 years. "We've run out of energy and no longer have the financial means to continue," she says. The Kremlin, though, says it still has both the means and the energy to continue what it still calls its special military operation.

Vladimir Putin telling U.S. President Donald Trump all of Russia's goals will be achieved.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

[02:25:01]

BRUNHUBER: Thousands gather in Argentina at rally for workers' rights. Coming up, why they accused the country's president of undermining long-standing labor practices. That's coming up, plus for the first time in nearly seven years, commercial flights have resumed between the U.S. and Venezuela. CNN boards the first flight to Caracas from Miami. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: All right, we want to give you a live look now at something happening in Seoul, South Korea.

[02:30:03]

Thousands there are attending a May Day rally. They want higher wages and better working conditions.

All right. We'll go now to Argentina. Thousands of workers flooded the streets of the capital on Thursday in a rally also for workers rights. The demonstration was organized by the General Confederation of Labor on the eve of May Day, which is regarded as workers day.

Many of the marchers condemned the policies of Argentine President Javier Milei. Some oppose recent labor reforms, which they say undermine workers rights. Milei says the reforms are meant to attract investment. Union leaders argue otherwise.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCTAVIO ARGUELLO, CO-SECY. GEN., GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR (through translator): We call on all workers, on all the people as a whole. Let us not abandon our fighting spirit. Let us deepen the conflict. Enough patience. Patience is over, Mr. President. These people can take no more. We

cannot keep enduring this exploitation. That is why the General Confederation of Labor will intensify its union and labor demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: For the first time in nearly seven years, commercial flights from the United States to Venezuela have resumed. It's a significant step as the country begins restoring economic relations with the U.S. after the removal of its former president, Nicolas Maduro.

CNN's David Culver has more from Caracas after traveling aboard that first flight from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Our travel is getting here to Caracas in and of themselves, historic. That, according to the officials, U.S. and Venezuelan, as well as representatives from American Airlines who decided to resume after a nearly seven year pause, a direct flight between the U.S. and Venezuela, leaving out of Miami. Not surprising, given the vast majority of Venezuelans who live in the U.S. live in Miami-Dade County.

And so the idea is, in the days, months, years to come, the demand for those folks who are in the U.S. to travel here to Venezuela and vice versa, is going to increase. That's the belief, as the dynamic between these two countries has changed drastically since the January 3rd capture of Nicolas Maduro.

And so, too, has the sentiment. I mean, candidly, you seem to find folks who are a bit more at ease in the sense of hoping that there's progress being made. But the reality is, when you look at who is still leading this country and it's Delcy Rodriguez, the former vice president of Maduro, and a lot of the ministers have remained the same leadership hasn't really changed all that much.

The system in and of itself is still in place. And so it puts things in the question of, well, then what needs to change first? And I think a lot of folks will obviously want to see free and fair elections. That's certainly something that's come out of the U.S. as one of the demands that they want to see eventually. But there's not been a timeline necessarily put on that.

Why? Well, most want to see the economic changes. The economy is dire. Basic needs are increasingly hard to get. And so they want that stabilized first before they feel like they can move forward as a country.

Being on that flight, though, you did get a sense of just how historic it was. And even before you bought it, we entered Miami International Airport and they had a dedicated check in line for this resumption of direct service. And it had yellow, blue, red, the colors of Venezuela's flag. You saw that everywhere. Even as I walked up to the TSA agent, they had to do a double take. And she said, Caracas, realizing, oh, we're resuming flights once again, boarding the plane.

You had really a rollout of joy and music, food, coffee. They wanted people to feel the excitement that certainly the administration in the U.S., the Trump administration, particular believes is in place. They say now Venezuela is open for business.

And if that is the case and they're able to continue to flow forward with business reopening, businesses, of course, have to feel confident that as they invest here, that stability will sustain. Then they believe that will trickle down to enhancing the economy here, thereby stabilizing some of the larger concerns when it comes to affording things and then eventually leading into those elections.

David Culver, CNN, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Mexico's president is warning the U.S. that her country won't allow a foreign government to interfere in sovereign affairs. This after the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday indicted Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha for conspiring with the Sinaloa cartel.

Our Valeria Leon has more reaction from Mexico City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is an unprecedented moment. The first time U.S. authorities are publicly accusing sitting Mexican politicians of ties to organized crime, including Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, of allegedly working with the Sinaloa cartel.

But this isn't just a legal case. It's quickly turning into a major diplomatic flashpoint between both countries.

[02:35:05]

From Mexico's side, President Claudia Sheinbaum is pushing back.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (translated): It is clear that the objective of these charges by the Department of Justice is politically motivated.

LEON: The government says the request does not include enough evidence, and Mexico's attorney general criticized U.S. authorities for making the case public, saying this kind of information should remain confidential during a legal process.

ULISES LARA, MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL (translated): The government of Mexico must take the necessary steps to ensure that the information contained in any request for provisional arrest or extradition is not disclosed or made public, as occurred in this particular case.

LEON: Still, U.S. prosecutors allege Rocha Moya protected the cartel, an organization now believed to be led by the sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, known as Los Chapitos after Ismael El Mayo Zambada was arrested two years ago. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Rocha Moya and others helped facilitate the flow of drugs, including fentanyl, into the U.S. This is not the first time he has faced accusations of criminal ties, but it is the first time they are coming from the U.S. authorities, and he has always denied them.

Back in Mexico, the political reaction is already building. In the senate, opposition leaders are using these accusations against the ruling party, Morena.

In a message posted on X, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson called it a matter of transparency. All of this unfolding at a very delicate moment in U.S.-Mexico relations as both countries publicly emphasized their joint efforts. And this case now testing just how far those efforts can go.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A man in Uganda has been sentenced to death for the murders of four young children at their nursery school in Kampala. Police say on April 2nd, Christopher Onyum stabbed the children, aged two and three, before a guard subdued him. The judge said an investigation of Onyum's phone and laptop found searches, including schools near me and a reference to the terrorist group ISIS. His lawyer argued that Onyum should be acquitted because he was mentally unstable and had been committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Rescue teams are searching a river in India for survivors of a cruise boat accident. At least four people died when the boat capsized Thursday, a government official says 15 of the 29 people on board were rescued. Rescue teams are searching for 10 people who are still missing. A witness says some people jumped off the boat, others climbed on top after it capsized.

All right, just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, the state of the European climate last year was a cauldron of record heat waves, shrinking glaciers and devastating wildfires. We'll look at why this matters for the rest of the world coming up.

Stay with us.

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[02:43:00]

BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of climbers are hoping to make their way to the top of Mount Everest in the coming weeks, before the weather window closes on another season at the world's highest peak. The path to the summit is now open following a two week delay caused by extremely icy conditions.

Kristie Lu Stout has more on the men who cleared the way to the top, and why the trek is now even more dangerous than usual.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The path to the top of the world is back open. A key section of the route up Mt. Everest had been blocked by a giant column of ice for two weeks. But finally, a group of Sherpa climbers has cleared a path forward, bringing a sigh of relief for mountaineers hoping to start their trek to the top.

Peak climbing season on Everest typically runs from April to May, when weather conditions are best for reaching the summit. But this year, as specialized high-altitude workers known as icefall doctors began fixing ropes to establish a path up the mountain, they discovered this, a 10-story column of ice known as a Surak blocking their path forward.

BEN AYERS, JOURNALIST AND FILMMAKER, EVEREST LIVE: These icefall doctors, their job is only to find a way through this maze of these huge pieces of moving ice to get up onto the higher flanks of the mountain. And this year, they encountered a blockage of this Surak, which is like a big overhanging piece of snow and ice that can that can sometimes weigh millions of tons.

STOUT (voice-over): Parts of the ice column have now melted and broken away, allowing the specialists to carve a path through some of the most treacherous terrain on the whole climb.

CONRAD ANKER, PROFESSIONAL CLIMBERS AND MOUNTAINEER: The Khumbu Icefall is the key step to get on the upper reaches of the mountain. It's also the most dangerous part of the technical climb of Mt. Everest. It's where this glacier tumbles over and it forms a jumbled mass of crevasses and hanging ice cliffs known as Suraks.

[02:45:01]

The teams need to pass through this before they can get to the upper reaches of the mountain.

STOUT (voice-over): While the path may be clear, the delayed start is causing renewed concerns among climbers about overcrowding. Hundreds of climbers who have been stranded at base camp for weeks now face a shrinking window to scale the mountain, raising fears we could see a repeat of this scene from 2019 when climbers ended up stuck in a long line to reach the summit. Experts say the key is to remain patient and respect the mountain.

ANG TSHERING LAMA, MOUNTAIN GUIDE AND CLIMBER: We have a team going up climbing, but we will wait for the good weather. We'll wait for the whole thing to set up and then we'll go up. We are in no rush like anyone else. You know, the mountain has the last say.

STOUT (voice-over): Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: We'll be more -- we'll be back with more here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: You see him there? Meet Chonkers. He's a giant sea lion that's causing quite the stir in San Francisco. Crowds from all over have flocked to the pier to try to catch a glimpse of the massive animal. He's one of at least two unusually large sea lions spotted this month, along with the smaller ones in the area. Chonkers stands out and he isn't even fully grown yet. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAIRE COOK, EDUCATOR, AQUARIUM OF THE BAY: He's still not fully grown. He could put on a few hundred more pounds, a fully grown male Steller sea lion can grow to about 10 feet and almost 1,200 pounds.

MIKE TORRES, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: He is a lot larger. I don't. He looks, I don't know, like huggable. It's dangerous, huggable. But like, you know, he looks like a like a Santa Claus version of a seal, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The pier's harbormaster says Chonkers likely chose the spot to hang out because of the abundance of anchovies and sardines in the water.

All right, well, have a look at this first of its kind discovery. Archeologists have unearthed an Egyptian mummy with a passage from Homer's Iliad stuck on its abdomen. The mummy was found about 100 miles south of Cairo. It's about 1,600 years old, and that's from Egypt's Roman era. Researchers say theyre still studying the papyrus and what role it may have played in the funeral ritual. This was one of several mummies found at the site, and we don't know a lot about them, except that they were wealthy enough to pay for the embalming process.

A new report by the World Meteorological Association has revealed some alarming findings about Europe's climate.

[02:50:02]

The report brought together the work of about 100 scientific contributors. They say at least 95 percent of Europe experienced above average temperatures last year. It also found record heat waves, devastating wildfires and shrinking glaciers. The report highlights the impacts of climate change on the world's fastest warming continent.

Florian Pappenberger is the director general of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and he joins us now from Reading in the U.K. by phone.

So thank you so much for joining us here. Really appreciate it.

So Europe is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the world. Why is that? FLORIAN PAPPENBERGER, EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM RANGE WEATHER

FORECASTS (via telephone): Hello. A very good question. It is because Europe is very close to the Arctic, and we have currently record snowmelt and ice melt in the arctic. And if it becomes -- if the ice and snow melts, then the dark is obviously the ground underneath is obviously darker and that reflects less sunlight or less, less radiation. And with a, with a less, less reflection of radiation, it heats up faster.

So Europe is just close to the Arctic. And that's why it's actually also heating so fast.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, and extreme heating. I mean, one of the things that jumped out at me from the report was that three week heat wave in the Arctic, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. I mean, how unusual is something like that?

PAPPENBERGER: Well, it's extremely -- it's extremely unusual. It's 21 days, which we had to have particular in terms of heat waves we took from Finland to Sweden to Norway. And you had temperatures of nearly 35 degrees near the Arctic Circle. I don't think we've seen that very often in the past. It's a -- it's an extreme severe heat wave. We haven't seen it before in that length -- in that intense intensity.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. And the report also found that wildfires burned over a million hectares across Europe last year, the most on record, and then going from fire to ice. The other real worry was around glaciers in Greenland and Iceland, which lost a huge amount of ice. So take us through what you saw. And for people who are watching, who live nowhere near a glacier, I mean, why should all this matter to them?

PAPPENBERGER: So glaciers store a huge amount of ice. And if you had you had a Greenland ice sheet alone, lost about 139 gigatons of ice. That's an unimaginable amount of ice. And, what happens here is, of course, the ice melts. And with that we have sea level rise. So the direct impact of the amount of ice melting and the planet heating and then sea level increases.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, we only have about 45 seconds left. But just bottom line here, what are you recommending.

PAPPENBERGER: So we don't recommend much. But what were saying is that here the data, here's reliable information. That is for you, the public, the media and the politicians to base your decisions on and take action.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Just another worrying alarm bell ringing about the dangers of climate change.

Florian Pappenberger, thank you so much for speaking with us. I really appreciate it.

Sky gazers will have the chance to see not one, but two full moons in May. The first is nicknamed the flower moon. Now it already appears to be full and will last through the weekend. It will peak at 1:23 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday. Then at the end of the month, well be able to see what's known as a blue moon. A full moon at the beginning and the end of a month is rare. It happens seven times every 19 years.

Well, in northern Italy, a regional bank has been quietly turning cheese into capital for more than 70 years. The bank, Credito Emiliano, accepts Parmigiano Reggiano as collateral for small business loans, storing hundreds of thousands of cheese wheels in climate controlled, high security vaults.

CNN's Antonia Mortensen goes inside for a look at the mouthwatering investments.

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ANTONIA MORTENSEN, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): Four hundred million dollars worth of cheese, 500,000 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese sit stacked floor to ceiling, aging quietly, patiently. Some for years.

MORTENSEN: People are using this cheese to get bank loans. They're using it as collateral. We are in a cheese vault. It is effectively a high security, climate controlled vault that protects the cheese and its parmesan. Because we're in Emilia Romagna, the only place in the world which is allowed to produce Parmigiano Reggiano.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): As the cheese ages, its value rises. Credit and bank Credito Emiliano has been working with producers for more than 100 years.

[02:55:02]

GIANCARLO RAVANETTI, GENERAL MANAGER, MAGAZZINI GENERALI DELLE TAGLIATE, CREDITO EMILIANO (through translator): In Italy, about four million wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano are produced every year. We handle aging from 12 months up to 14. Logistics for about 2.3 million wheels a year. And we allow customers to use the wheels as collateral to obtain financing from Credito Emiliano

MORTENSEN (voice-over): Parmigiano Reggiano can only be sold after 12 months, making the financial cycle difficult for producers. Using cheese as collateral helps pay expenses, invest and wait until the wheels reach optimal value.

Producers and investors can hand their Parmigiano Reggiano wheels to a certified warehouse, which verifies and stores them so banks can safely use the cheese as collateral for immediate loans.

Each wheel undergoes rigorous inspection and must earn the consortiums stamp of approval before it can be sold. Hardly surprising, as each wheel costs thousands of dollars.

FABRIZIO GIBERTI, WAREHOUSE MANAGER, CREDITO EMILIANO (through translator): With this hammer, we strike the wheel on the side and on the flat face and listen to the sound it produces.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): It's a 4 billion euro industry with growing demand abroad, exports now make up more than 50 percent of sales, and the United States make up the biggest foreign market. PAOLO GANZERLI, INTERNATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR, GRANTERRE: With my

experience in the United States, you cannot pay for Parmigiano Reggiano even more than 60 euro per kilo, and now we have talking about American market. We have to face even the situation with the tariff. Tariff is 15 percent or 10 percent. Last year was 15 and more, the cost of shipment. The cost of shipment due to the war in Iran, now it's become more and more expensive.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): According to the Parmigiano-Reggiano consortium, last year was a record in terms of production and exports. But at the beginning of this year has seen a drop in demand. That's a lot of pressure for the some 300 certified producers of Parmigiano- Reggiano in the small designated area.

Cheese banks becoming even more essential now for producers than ever.

MORTENSEN: For the producers, it's financial security. For the banks, it's stable collateral. And for the region, it's a mix of agriculture, finance and tradition.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): Which is why Parmigiano-Reggiano is often called edible gold.

Antonio Mortensen, CNN, Emilia Romagna.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment with more news.

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