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Key White House Negotiator, Witkoff Tells CNN U.S. "In Conversation" With Iran; Passengers Try To Rebook, Seek Refunds After Spirit Airlines Shutdown; Tucker Carlson Discusses Breaking With Trump In New Interview. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 03, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: All right, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Omar Jimenez sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield. There will be a lot of news to get to, including new developments in the ongoing back and forth negotiations aimed at ending the U.S. war with Iran.

This afternoon, a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Minister said the U.S. has responded to their latest peace proposal, and Tehran is now assessing Washington's reply.

Then just moments ago, Trump's Special Envoy told CNN the U.S. is "in conversation" with Iran.

Late Saturday, President Trump announced he was reviewing Iran's most recent peace proposal. Now, according to Iranian state media, Tehran's 14-point plan calls for an end to the war on all fronts including in Lebanon within 30 days. It also calls for the release of frozen Iranian assets and the removal of sanctions.

Iran also wants guarantees against future U.S. military aggression, the withdrawal of U.S. forces in the region, and a new plan for the Strait of Hormuz.

I want to bring in CNN's Betsy Klein, who is traveling with the President in Florida.

Betsy, just what more can you tell us here?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER AND WRITER: Well, Omar, after what appeared to have been a bit of a stalemate, it looks like the back and forth trading of proposals between the U.S. and Iran has picked back up, and this is incredibly fluid.

But let me just lay out what we know right now. I will remind you that it was back on Friday that President Trump told reporters as he was preparing to leave The White House that he was not happy with Iran's latest proposal and that the U.S. might be better off if the two parties did not reach a deal.

Then yesterday evening, the President, traveling from West Palm Beach here to Doral told reporters that he had received another 14-point plan from Iran and he would be reviewing it, but he did not cast an optimistic tone at all in that post to Truth Social. I just want to reiterate the President saying: "I can't imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to humanity." I just want to say that again. He says in his words, "... that Iran has not paid a big enough price," and it is not clear what that price might be.

Now we are learning, according to a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, saying moments ago that the U.S. has replied to Iran's latest proposal. Iran is now reviewing that. But notably, President Trump is here in Doral, attending the PGA Championship at his golf club just down the road from me and my colleague, Peter Morris, photojournalist, Peter just caught up with Steve Witkoff as Witkoff, who is one of the chief negotiators to end this war, emerged from the President's viewing stand at that golf tournament.

Witkoff telling Peter "We are in conversation" with Iran. So we will have to see whether President Trump weighs in on that further as he prepares to depart Florida a little bit later today.

But something else that is very likely on the President's mind is the spiking gas prices. According to AAA, putting significant pressure on American consumers at $4.45 per gallon as the national average. That is up $0.34 over the past week and a 49.3 percent increase since this war began about nine weeks ago, Omar, so all of that weighing on the President here.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and increased gas prices for folks amidst other prices that haven't quite gone down. Betsy Klein, appreciate the reporting as always.

Meanwhile, as President Trump searches for a way to end the war with Iran, new polls continue to show a growing number of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling his job as President. Notably, a new Washington Post/ABC News/IPSOS poll has the President's disapproval at a new poll high of 62 percent, with just 37 percent approving. That same poll found that 61 percent of Americans believe the strikes on Iran were a mistake.

A lot of context to get to here. I want to bring in Ron Brownstein. He is a senior CNN political analyst and a Bloomberg opinion columnist as well.

Ron, we are six months away from the midterm elections. What could that polling that I just laid out mean for the elections in November, as voters decide who controls the House and the Senate?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, the way you started that, Omar, is really the most important point. We are only six months away from the election. In his first term, the last time Donald Trump got his approval rating down anywhere near this badly was after Charlottesville. That was August 2017, more than a year away from the midterm election. He has much less time to recover.

The assessment of the performance of the sitting President has become the single most important factor in how midterm elections turn out. Full stop. In 2018, 90 percent of voters who said they disapproved of Trump voted Democratic for the House; in 2020, ninety-three percent of voters who said they disapproved of Trump voted Democratic for the House.

Over those two elections in 2018 and 2020, every single Democratic Senate candidate except for one, the one running with Susan Collins in Maine, won at least 89 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump.

In 2025, Spanberger and Sherrill in Virginia and New Jersey won over 90 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump.

[15:05:10]

If Trump cant improve his approval rating, at least somewhat, stabilizing this before November, history says this could be a very tough election for Republicans and people who did not expect to have a serious race may wake up to find themselves unemployed.

JIMENEZ: Well, and that becomes a question now, you know, Trump administration officials have said as soon as they get this war over, things will go back to normal. We are hearing differently from industry experts who will say it will take some time, long after the fighting has stopped to get the Strait of Hormuz back operational, which of course, would affect global oil prices and gas prices, which have continued to soar during the war with Iran, and then inflation and the cost of living are also big concerns for voters.

And I know we are talking about polling a little bit, President Trump is polling on the economy specifically has gotten to career lows of late. So I guess, the question is, how much can Trump dodge the economy here? Or do you see congressional approval, which we've talked about, has also been in the toilet for a number of reasons.

Do you see congressional approval as different from President Trump's approval?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I mean, Democrats are facing significant headwinds themselves. I mean, as I said to you before, I think the party's image is probably the weakest it has been overall since the late 80s and early 90s before the reformation project that Bill Clinton led in 1992 and that is a real issue for democrats looking out toward 2028. You see that in that ABC/Washington Post/IPSOS poll today.

Still a lot of questions about whether people trust Democrats, but historically, as I said in the midterm election, the views of the President actually in The White House have mattered a lot more than assessments of the party that is not in The White House.

And one thing that is different, as I've written from Trump's first term, you know, Trump always inspires a lot of strong emotions, pro and con. But what's different is that in this second term, with so many of the guardrails disassembled, the internal guardrails, people like John Kelly or General Mattis, who, you know, limited pushback against some of his notion, Republican congressional leadership in the first term of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, who pushed back. Now, Trump is really unbound.

And a big difference from the first term is that he is pursuing a lot more specific policies that 60 percent or more of Americans oppose. So, it is not just a question of people being dissatisfied with the cost of living. They don't like that he started a war in Iran. They don't like the way ICE has been enforcing the immigration laws. They don't like him tearing down the East Wing. They don't like the cuts in Medicaid and the ACA.

There are a lot of specific objections, more, I think, than he faced during his first term.

JIMENEZ: You know, outside of the economy itself, one of the political dynamics we've been watching is obviously this back and forth over redistricting, gerrymandering started with the President's push in Texas. We've gone through all sorts of states, but a new Supreme Court ruling on redistricting is also going to add to the midterm uncertainty.

The justices invalidated Louisiana's congressional map, calling it an unconstitutional gerrymander, which weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But now Louisiana Republicans are delaying the May 16th primaries for U.S. House races to redraw the map in that state, and more states have announced to drawing maps as well.

You wrote you wrote a piece for Bloomberg saying: The Supreme Court is recreating America's worst racial injustices. What do you mean by that?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, what is really striking, Omar, is the states that are moving to erase and eliminate minority representation, an overwhelming share of their population growth is among minority citizens. If you look at the states that are acting, in Florida, 87 percent of the population growth since 2010 has been among non-White citizens. In Alabama, it is 92 percent; in Texas, it is 92 percent; in Tennessee, 66 percent.

In Louisiana and Georgia, two other states that may act, all of the population growth since 2010 has been among non-White citizens. Their White populations have actually declined. Yet, all of these states are in the process of moving toward erasing minority representation.

So, you have a situation where minority population growth is increasing the political clout of these states. It is earning them more congressional seats, more Electoral College votes, but they are being denied the opportunity as a result of this Supreme Court decision to benefit from that increased political clout. And that is, to me, ominously reminiscent of the original -- one of the original sins in the Constitution, what was called the Three-Fifths Compromise when southern states were granted, the slaves were counted as three- fifths of a free White person in allocating congressional seats and electoral votes, but of course, they were not allowed to vote.

Same thing during the century of Jim Crow. You know, from the nearly a century -- from the late 1890s to the 1960s, the South benefited from that big Black population, but they were denied the vote. The Supreme Court is enabling Republican-controlled southern states to recreate those fundamental injustices by denying an opportunity for meaningful political representation to minority voters whose population increase is the overwhelming share of their states growth.

[15:10:15]

JIMENEZ: And while, of course we are tracking the delay of the U.S. House primary in Louisiana, the effects while they might be minimal overall on this particular set of midterm races coming up in a few months, obviously, 2028 is when we could actually see the repercussions of some other states potentially doing something similar and we will see how much further we are down this redistricting war that we've seen.

Ron Brownstein, we've got to go. But you've got a quick word --

BROWNSTEIN: Really quick.

JIMENEZ: Okay, go for it.

BROWNSTEIN: After 2030, even bigger because states that are doing this are states that are likely to add congressional seats, and it will be minority citizens who add those seats and the likelihood is that they will be redistricted in a way that denies them the opportunity to meaningfully affect the election of the people who will hold those seats.

JIMENEZ: All right, let's put 2030 on the calendar as well. Ron Brownstein, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, still ahead, stranded and scrambling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope the people who have created this inconvenience for people like myself, you know, they should ask God for forgiveness. I mean, this is terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Thousands of travelers stuck after Spirit Airlines suddenly shuts down. We will tell you what flyers are dealing with right now.

Plus, major damage: A CNN investigation reveals the widespread destruction at U.S. military sites after Iranian strikes.

And then a dramatic break from top defender to sharp critic, Tucker Carlson speaks out on his fallout with President Trump, the journalist behind a new, wide ranging interview with Tucker, Lulu Garcia-Navarro joins me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:16:25]

JIMENEZ: All right, let's talk Spirit Airlines.

Thousands of travelers are scrambling after Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down, cancelling all flights and effectively ending customer service.

At airports across the country this weekend, passengers who already paid for vacations, cruises and family trips arrived to empty check-in kiosks like you're seeing here.

Many have had to pay for new flights on different airlines before any refunds are issued.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't get transferred. They didn't transfer over. They didn't offer any type of help, any type of like accommodations. Nothing like that. Just your flight has been cancelled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And let me say it, don't come to the airport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't come to the airport is what they said. Do not come to the airport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came here to the airport to try to get another ticket. American Airlines is like $1,300.00, and then i hear from frontier that they're only helping customers until June 6th.

Well, my flight is all the way into the 18th. I haven't even received my money back to even buy a new ticket. So that means that has got to come out of pocket with more money to purchase another ticket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: The cutoff was sudden and quick. The shutdown also impacts Spirit employees. Some 17,000 workers are now out of a job and a retiring Spirit pilot was going to fly his final flight Saturday, but after it was cancelled, Captain John Jackson flew home as a passenger on a Southwest plane and his son, who was the first officer, subtly mentioned his dad's retirement to the pilots and that sparked a plan to help Captain Jackson celebrate his retirement. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentleman, Mr. John Jackson.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: A lot of smiles there, but right before those cheers and champagne, the crew actually arranged a tribute for Captain Jackson with a water cannon salute on arrival in Baltimore, like what you just saw there. Southwest called it a show of solidarity across the aviation community.

What a moment!

All right, coming up, more news. But also, Tucker Carlson speaking out on the growing cracks inside the Republican coalition over President Trump's war with Iran, and his own sharp criticism of the President, including controversial comments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, PODCAST HOST: Here's a leader who is mocking the gods of his ancestors, mocking the god of gods and exalting himself above them. Could this be the Antichrist?

Well, who knows?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:17]

JIMENEZ: Tucker Carlson is getting candid about MAGA.

In a new, wide-ranging interview with "The New York Times," the former Fox News anchor turned podcast host is speaking out on his break with President Trump, the impact of the war in Iran, and past comments in which he suggested Trump could be the "Antichrist."

I want to bring in CNN contributor, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, who conducted that interview with Carlson. She joins us now.

So, Lulu, before we get into what Carlson told you, can you just walk us through how this came together? How you decided what to ask? Just bring us behind-the-scenes here.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR Yes. I mean, Tucker Carlson has been at the center of conservative media and sort of our political discourse for a decade now. If you recall, he sort of rose to prominence during the Trump administration. He got his show just after that election and then became very closely allied with the President.

He was fired from Fox News, let go in 2023, and then has become a podcaster.

In the 2024 election, he was campaigning for Trump. He was on the stump for Trump. He was one of Trump's biggest boosters. And this Iran War has really proven to be a fracturing point, not only for Tucker Carlson, but for, I would say, the MAGA movement writ large.

You are seeing fissures across, the whole sort of MAGA ecosystem. And I wanted to go and talk to him about that. What caused him to have that break with President Trump and what he is thinking now? He was really a confidant of Trump, a confidant of many who sit in The White House, including J.D. Vance. And so his thoughts, I think, matter.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, as you were talking about, Carlson talked to you about the war in Iran and how it could impact the Republican Party.

I just want to play a quick clip of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you think it is hurting, though, his political prospects to repeat the question that he has been put in the position, according to you, that he is fronting these negotiations in Iran?

[15:25:10]

CARLSON: Yes. I mean, well, it is -- I think this whole thing -- I is not even J.D. specific, this whole thing is like dooming anyone connected to it for the foreseeable future, including the entire Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I mean, what do you think his answer there says about the current state of the GOP, especially hearing that answer from someone like him?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes. I mean, I think it is pretty clear. We are seeing, obviously, the President's poll numbers tanking. This is an unpopular war, broadly with the American people, but also increasingly with MAGA and Republicans.

And so I think Tucker Carlson and others who are allied to him, like Megyn Kelly, are speaking to that group of disaffected Trump sort of voters. And I will also say, this is a fight about what happens in the post-Trump world, right? What is this all going to look like after Trump is no longer president, he is no longer on the scene, and in my interpretation of this, you know, he is really looking at what is going to be -- who are going to be the power players after that.

In that particular clip, he is talking about J.D. Vance, the Vice President. Tucker Carlson was seminal in getting J.D. Vance that position as opposed to Marco Rubio. And so, you know, that is a warning both to J.D. Vance and also to the broader Republican Party.

In his view, this war is really going to be a legacy that they are not going to be able to run away from.

JIMENEZ: You also asked Carlson about past comments he made, suggesting the President could be the Antichrist. I just want to play that clip for folks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You've been talking on your show about whether Trump is the Antichrist.

CARLSON: I have not said that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: On your show the day after Easter, you noted he did not put his hand on the Bible during his swearing in ceremony as president.

CARLSON: Correct.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You said, and I am quoting, "Maybe he didn't put his hand on the bible because he affirmatively rejects what's inside that book." And then on a recent show, you went further saying, here is a leader who is mocking the gods of his ancestors, mocking the god of gods and exalting himself above them. Could this be the Antichrist?

CARLSON: I actually did not say, could this be the Antichrist?

Here is a leader who is made mocking the gods of his ancestors, mocking the god of gods and exalting himself above them? Could this be the Antichrist? Well, who knows?

I don't know where that comes from, but I know that those words never left my lips, because I am not sure I fully understand what the Antichrist is. If there is just one, I actually tried to understand it. I may have said some are asking that I am not weighing in on that because I don't understand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, look, Carlson wasn't shy about criticizing Trump and in your interview, but I just want to ask you too, because, look, obviously we see the clip and, you know, you play the actual audio; one, you weren't able to play, were you able to play that audio for him in the room?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: No. No.

JIMENEZ: Yes. That's right. That was something that was added later.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: No, I then quoted back to him, I say, you know, you did actually say that. And then he says, maybe I did. I don't remember you know, he sort of walked it back. The reason I wanted to ask him about this is because this wasn't just one time or two times, he has been sort of circling that particular discussion for some time.

If you also see in our interview, he talks about Trump's sort of supernatural powers, and these are words that he used that Trump sort of cast a spell on the people around him, that he has caused great harm to the people around him, including causing cancer.

You know, he speaks in these very sort of religious terms almost about President Trump and what he believes about President Trump. And let me tell you, this wasn't supposed to be a gotcha. I was surprised that he denied that he had said it.

This was really trying to understand what it was that he was getting at, what he actually believes about the President and what he is trying to tell his millions of followers about President Trump and basically what he represents in the world.

So, that was really what i was trying to get at in that conversation with Tucker Carlson.

JIMENEZ: Yes, well, it is a fascinating interview, fascinating conversation. I am not all the way through it. You've got him for a long time, Lulu, but again, fascinating to listen for folks to go check out.

Lulu Garcia-Navarro, thanks for taking the time.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Still ahead, tens of thousands of people could lose their health care coverage after Nebraska rolls out new Trump era Medicaid work requirements months ahead of schedule. We will tell you why experts are warning that this is a crisis in the making.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:34:22]

JIMENEZ: Nebraska is now the first state to implement a key feature of President Trump's Reconciliation Bill from 2025, launching federal work requirements for Medicaid.

The new law mandates that enrollees ages 19 through 64, with a few exceptions, work, volunteer or attend school for 80 hours each month.

All states will be required to enact this by the start of 2027, but Nebraska is rolling out eight months early, and it is a move that critics say doesn't give enrollees enough notice of the new requirements.

I want to talk about this more with Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for Health Policy with KFF.

[15:35:03]

Larry, one of the concerns here is about the ability to keep up with the paperwork gaps and employment, irregular employment. Your KFF annual survey shows states are using a lot of different data sources to verify compliance with work requirements.

But how do you expect that to work?

LARRY LEVITT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH POLICY WITH KFF: Well, I think it is going to be rocky to be honest. I mean, the fact of the matter is, the vast majority of Medicaid enrollees either do work or go to school or qualify for one of the exemptions. They are a parent of a young kid, or they are medically frail.

The concern is that people are going to get caught up in bureaucratic red tape and not be able to demonstrate that they are working, or that they qualify for these exemptions, and that's what happened in Arkansas, which tried to implement a work requirement a number of years ago.

Now, states have advanced since then. They have these data systems that can connect to payroll providers like ADP to try to confirm people are working automatically. But we just don't know how well that's going to work.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, you mentioned Arkansas, just for folks when it was enacted, there was more than 18,000 Medicaid enrollees who lost their coverage for several months before legally that was turned around there. But I guess on that front, what do you expect the immediate impact of this rollout to look like?

LEVITT: I do think people are going to lose their health insurance. You know, hopefully, it is not many, but particularly in a state like Nebraska, which is going early, has not had a lot of time to communicate to people what is coming and what they have to do. I think people will fall through the cracks.

JIMENEZ: What happens if someone loses their coverage for one of a number of reasons, maybe they actually don't qualify anymore, maybe they are behind on paperwork.

Are they able to get it back? And what is that process like?

LEVITT: Yes. They are. It is not a permanent loss of coverage. People can reapply.

You know, what might happen to some people is they go to the pharmacy, they go to the doctor and all of a sudden they find out that they are no longer covered. They can get back in. But that may take some time as well.

So we may see people having gaps in insurance and then delaying access to care.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You know, in some of your data, you noted that 61 rural hospitals closed compared with only 11 that opened, and that is from 2017 to 2023. And the American Hospital Association says the cuts to Medicaid will have a devastating impact on rural hospitals and patients because in many cases, it reduces uncompensated care and helps stabilize hospitals financially, especially in those settings.

What do you expect to happen as the work requirements roll out to that dynamic that you already were clearly tracking in regards to rural hospitals? And how quickly do you expect things to either accelerate or maybe not, so I don't know how you're viewing this.

LEVITT: Yes. I mean, so this reconciliation legislation that passed last year, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill cut Medicaid by over $900 billion over a decade. That's the biggest reduction in federal support for health care ever.

The work requirements are the first thing to go into effect, and they are the biggest element of those cuts. But there are other cuts coming as well.

And hospitals, particularly rural hospitals, that may be operating on the edge, see these cuts coming. They may have to go out to the bond market to get financing and have more trouble doing that. So we are already seeing hospitals, particularly in rural areas, closing, clinics, in anticipation of those cuts.

And, you know, the work requirements are sort of a double whammy. I mean, it is less money coming in to those hospitals that can have ripple effects throughout communities, not just for Medicaid enrollees, but for people who may lose access to care entirely in these communities.

JIMENEZ: It is something to watch for, of course, as Nebraska will sort of get things started. But the real start for all of these states is the beginning of next year, 2027. But I know you will be tracking it very closely, Larry Levitt, appreciate your time and perspective.

LEVITT: I am happy to be here. Thanks.

JIMENEZ: All right, still ahead, a closer look at the damage from Iranian strikes on U.S. military sites, with one source telling CNN they have never seen anything like it.

Our CNN investigation, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:06]

JIMENEZ: A new CNN investigation reveals at least 16 American military sites have been damaged in Iranian strikes, and this makes up the majority of U.S. Forces positions in the Middle East.

CNN's senior investigative reporter and writer, Tamara Qiblawi explains how the damage to high-value targets is raising questions about the U.S. footprint in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER/WRITER (voice over): Camp Buehring, Kuwait. American soldiers enjoying a karaoke night at one of the biggest U.S. military hubs in the Gulf.

That was then. This is now.

A once bustling American micro city in the desert, nearly empty and heavily damaged after a week's long barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. One of many U.S. military facilities in the oil rich Arabian Peninsula targeted by Iran even as the U.S. and Israel pummeled the Islamic Republic's large arsenal.

So what impact have Iran's strikes had on America's footprint in the Middle East?

[15:45:05]

A CNN investigation found evidence of unprecedented destruction. We can reveal that strikes damaged at least 16 U.S. installations across eight countries. According to our analysis and sourcing, that's the majority of American military positions in the region, and some of them are virtually unusable now.

A U.S. source familiar with the situation told us that they'd never seen anything like this at American bases, that these were rapid, targeted strikes using advanced technology.

Iran's main targets, multimillion dollar aircraft like this Boeing E-3 sentry, which gave the U.S. a huge amount of visibility over the Gulf. It's out of production. And in today's money, it's worth nearly half a billion dollars.

Critical communications equipment. Look at these giant golf balls. They're known as radomes, and they protect satellite dishes vital for data transmission. In this space alone, Iran destroyed all but one of the radomes less than a month into the war.

And crucially, radar systems, highly sophisticated, expensive, difficult to replace and critical to air defense. A second U.S. source, this one a congressional aide familiar with damage assessments, described these as the most cost effective of the targets.

"Our radar systems," they said, "are our most expensive and our most limited resource in the region."

QIBLAWI (on camera): For U.S. allies in the region, there's a dilemma. In some ways, Iran's show of force makes the U.S.' presence in the region even more necessary to Gulf security. But there's a new reality here, which is that U.S. military installations previously seen as formidable fortresses have turned into sitting targets.

As a Saudi source told me, the war has shown Saudi Arabia that the U.S.' longest standing Arab ally, that the alliance with the U.S. cannot be exclusive, and it is not, in their words, impregnable.

QIBLAWI (voice over): To get a sense of just how vulnerable U.S. facilities have become, have a look at this. It's the war room at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base. The theater command and control hub for U.S. air power across 21 nations struck not just once, but twice and according to a U.S. source, causing significant damage.

The base had been largely evacuated at this point, and no casualties were reported.

Iran's visibility over its targets has never been clearer. In 2024, according to "The Financial Times," Tehran secretly acquired a Chinese satellite known as the TEE-01B, a massive upgrade from its satellites. That means that Tehran went from looking at images of this quality to this.

This is the first time America has fought an adversary with satellites that capture high res imagery, almost as detailed as its own.

As the scale of the damage comes into focus, many will wonder whether America's presence, once a protective shield in the Middle East, has turned into its Achilles heel.

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Tamara Qiblawi, thank you.

All right, responding to CNN's findings, a Pentagon official said that the Defense Department does not discuss damage assessments, but that U.S. Forces remain fully operational with the same readiness and combat effectiveness. CNN also understands from its sources that the vast majority of U.S. troops evacuated their positions in the Middle East, with many working from the relative safety of hotels and apartments in the Arabian Peninsula.

All right, before we go to break, I just want to note that today is World Press Freedom Day, and I note it because when you look at data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, for example, 2025 was the deadliest year for journalists and media workers around the world since that group began collecting data back in the early 90s, with 129 killed, over three quarters were in conflict settings.

The organization says Israel, for example, is responsible for two- thirds of the global total. As CPJ notes, with the vast majority of those killed being Palestinian journalists and media workers in Gaza.

But it is not just there, many have been killed in places like Ukraine, Sudan, Mexico and more. Outside of being killed, CPJ has tracked over 300 currently imprisoned.

So on this World Press Freedom Day, we celebrate a profession that is never easy, that, data shows is becoming increasingly dangerous, and one for which too many have had their lives taken.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:54:05]

JIMENEZ: Tonight on Eva Longoria's culinary journey through France, she discovers the rich history of Alsace.

Here is a preview of the CNN Original Series: "Eva Longoria: Searching for France."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one is a very traditional salad. It is a mixed salad --

EVA LONGORIA, CNN HOST, "SEARCHING FOR FRANCE": No, wait. Okay. Hold on. Did you just call this a salad?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LONGORIA: No. No -- this is clearly not a salad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Alsace, when you think about salad, you never -- it is never green.

LONGORIA: It's never lettuce.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We never like green.

LONGORIA: Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Its only sausages, cheese, with pork. Oh, we love it all.

LONGORIA: Oh, I love that.

Clearly, no garden salads in the northern climes of Alsace, then. But there is another dish that really wouldn't look out of place to me in Munich.

This is clearly German influence. No?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know, No, it is not. No, no, no.

LONGORIA: No?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to have war with Germany.

[15:55:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is not fully French and not fully German. Its Alsatian.

LONGORIA: Okay.

That touched a nerve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Two new episodes of "Eva Longoria: Searching for France," including some of that "salad," airs tonight, starting at nine on CNN, and you can stream them the next day on the CNN app.

All right, from the streets of the Southwest to the front of your mail, lowriders are officially having a moment. It is exactly what you think I am talking about.

The U.S. Postal Service just rolled out a first of its kind stamp series celebrating the iconic customized cars and the culture behind them. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez takes us to Long Beach, California, where women lowriders are keeping this multigenerational tradition alive and adding their own style.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The tilt, the lean, the hops, these are lowriders, customized vintage cars with origins dating back to the 1940s, a time when Chicano communities facing discrimination and segregation wanted to be seen.

SANDY AVILA, LADY LOWRIDER CAR CLUB PRESIDENT: It was just like a statement of we're doing our own thing. We're Chicanos, and we're going to ride our cars low because we want to.

When the hydraulic part came in, to be able to lift the car up so that when the police would see them, they wouldn't get pulled over for their cars being so low.

GONZALEZ (voice over): A form of expression that never stopped evolving.

GONZALEZ (on camera): Lowrider culture has deep roots here in Los Angeles. People take a piece of history and make it their own, but now a new and powerful era is being driven by women in the front seat.

AVILA (on camera): We have an all-female car club. We're based out of Southern California.

GONZALEZ (voice over): They call themselves the lady lowriders, women who grew up loving lowrider culture but never truly saw themselves represented in it.

GONZALEZ (on camera): When you said you grew up watching your brother do this, did you ever see a lady having her own lowrider?

MAYRA JIMINEZ, LADY LOWRIDER CAR CLUB MEMBER (on camera): You know what? No, it was more men back then. No, like, probably like the little sisters borrowing the cars. But actually, no, it was more men driving.

AVILA (on camera): A chandelier inside that actually turns on.

GONZALEZ (voice over): They went from spectators to owners.

GONZALEZ (on camera): She is Lady Royalty.

JENNIFER PAULINO, LADY LOWRIDER CAR CLUB MEMBER (on camera): Lady Royalty. Yeah. So, I kind of wanted something royal, but something sexy at the same time.

AVILA (on camera): This is my car, my 66 Chevy Impala, named highly favored.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (on camera): There are accessories, the lights, the bucket, I try to keep as consistent to all the original parts from that era.

AVILA (on camera): This is my hydraulic setup.

GONZALEZ (voice over): Their creative designs, turning heads at car meetups like this one.

AVILA (on camera): For us to be able to have a car club full of women, it's kind of a barrier breaker too.

GONZALEZ (on camera): And winning competition.

AVILA (on camera): And winning trophies and having nice cars, putting our hands on the bill.

GONZALEZ (voice over): And just as the lady lowriders have earned recognition amongst their peers, so too has the car culture they are part of. The United States Postal Service is featuring lowriders in their new set of limited edition postage stamps.

PAULINO (on camera): I got teary-eyed when I saw that, to be honest with you, because I was like, wow, we're really out there.

JIMINEZ (on camera): We're accepted everywhere now.

GONZALEZ (voice over): And these ladies are making sure their story rides along.

AVILA (on camera): The guys can do it. You can do it. We can do it. We're doing it.

GONZALEZ (voice over): In Long Beach, California, Marybel Gonzalez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, Marybel, appreciate the reporting.

Tomorrow night, it is fashion's biggest night and this year's Met Gala Honorary Chairs include Beyonce, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and one of the most celebrated and powerful people in the industry, Anna Wintour.

"Behind the Bob: Vogue's Anna Wintour," an all-new CNN flash documentary takes a look at everything from her iconic bob hairstyle to countless influential covers of "Vogue."

Through her defining influence on the Met Gala for example, Wintour revolutionized the world of fashion, mixing pop culture and haute couture in a movement that democratized the whole industry. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL TASHJIAN, CNN SENIOR STYLE REPORTER: She has an incredibly iconic and recognizable uniform. There is something powerful about that bob. It is authoritative. It is sexy. WILLIAM NORWICH, WRITER AND AUTHOR: What we are seeing is high glamor and efficiency. That hair allows her to wake up at the crack of dawn, go to work, and then go to some dinner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her dark sunglasses, a lot of people see them as a method of intimidation.

The reason she wears such dark glasses is a medical.

AISSA BRETANA, FASHION HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR: Some people say it allows her to see but not be seen. We see her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: We all see her. Joining us now is novelist and former "Vogue" editor, Billy Norwich.

You worked alongside Anna Wintour, shaping the editorial of the magazine from covers to your column, "Norwich Notes." I just wonder, what was your working relationship and creative process like with Wintour?

NORWICH: Oh, I loved it. I mean, a lot of the world is like being in an open classroom in a school where anything goes. But with Anna, you always knew what you were doing. She was incredibly available.

She was there in the office unless she was traveling from 8:30 to 6:00. And it was just very organized.

And some people thrived, I thrived in an organization like that.

JIMENEZ: You know, Billy, I can't help but just looking at you here and if I squint my eyes slightly, the bald head, the glasses, I see Stanley Tucci, I see it, and many say you were the inspiration, of course, for Stanley Tucci's character in the famous movie "The Devil Wears Prada."

And i just wonder, what is it like to watch the movie and see so many, at the very least, reflections of your time at "Vogue"?

NORWICH: Oh my God, it is a very -- both the original film and the sequel, which I've seen, and thank you for comparing me to Stanley Tucci. That's probably the nicest --

JIMENEZ: I figured -- I figured it would work.

NORWICH: I hope my head isn't head isn't bigger than the screen right now. I -- listen, "Vogue" was a unique, privileged place to work to combine one's skills of, for my -- in my case, editing, writing, enthusiasm, interest in culture, art, the gracious -- all the gracious living and it was very rich.

The movie, the first movie as like the book was very invasive. In both cases, just the offices were exact -- almost exact replicas of where we worked and we are not famous people, the people who work at "Vogue," the editor is. And as a result, it felt really invasive, something -- I mean, I am sure many of your viewers who suddenly find themselves in the news, it is not easy. It is not easy to. So it felt invasive.

I am glad the first movie was a huge success, and as a result, it ended up being good for "Vogue" and good for fashion.

JIMENEZ: Yes, Billy Norwich, great to see you and to see Stanley in you as well. Maybe, we will do this the next time in Italy or something to match the vibe.

Billy, appreciate the time and perspective.

Now, be sure to tune in --

NORWICH: Well, I'd love to see you.

JIMENEZ: Of course, be sure to tune in the CNN flash doc "Behind the Bob: Vogue's Anna Wintour" tonight at 8:00 P.M. Eastern.

[16:02:28]