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U.S. Orders Health Screenings Amid Ebola Outbreak in Africa; Iran Rebuilding Military System Faster Than Expected; British Police Appeal for Information Relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Investigation; Colbert Bids Farewell; Senators Against Trump Initiatives Halt Key Funding Vote; Cuba Accuses Rubio Of Trying To Incite Military Aggression; Ukraine Gaining Military Edge With Drone Strategy. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 22, 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)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta. It is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, anger and confusion over the Ebola outbreak. What sparked the violent clashes at treatment centers in Congo? We'll have a live report for you. The end of an era. Stephen Colbert bids farewell to "The Late Show" after 11 years on air. And we'll meet an Italian designer who has been creating masterpieces for three different popes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte."

HUNTE: Welcome. More countries are taking precautions as a deadly Ebola outbreak spreads in Central Africa. The U.S. is now requiring air passengers who were in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan or Uganda in the past three weeks to land at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. for testing. Meanwhile, Uganda is suspending all public transport with neighboring DRC to help prevent the disease from spreading.

The World Health Organization is stepping up its response to the outbreak at the epicenter in the DRC. Two cargo planes have delivered 14 tons of medical supplies, and health workers are setting up new isolation facilities. The DRC says at least 160 deaths are thought to be linked to the disease.

Yet the outbreak has also led to some controversy. Protesters clashed with authorities at an Ebola treatment facility on Thursday.

CNN's Larry Madowo joins us now live from Nairobi. Good to see you, Larry. What more are we learning about those violent clashes and protests around the Ebola treatment facility? LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ben, this is a tragic misunderstanding, which led to some damage at a hospital treating Ebola patients in the epicenter of this outbreak in northeastern DRC, in Ituri Province. This happened at the Rwampara General Hospital. A young man who is believed to have died of Ebola, family arrived at the scene and demanded to take his body and bury him.

Medical authorities did not allow them to do that. It generated into a protest. They threw projectiles at two tents treating patients, and that were burnt down to the ground. Police had to fire tear gas and warning shots to disperse that angry crowd.

Here's one elderly gentleman whose son was also due to be buried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEOPOLD KATABUKA, RWAMPARA RESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (through translator): We came to bury my son. And then we saw these people coming in numbers, asking for the body of someone called Eli. They started throwing stones and set fire to the tents. And my son's body was left burned there. I don't know what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: It's so heartbreaking. His son's body was burnt beyond recognition. The reason why there's this tension between the protocol necessary during an Ebola infection and local community is because they want to bury the people in dignity. And in Congolese culture, at least in this part of the country, touching the corpse of the departed is seen as a final farewell. Now, that is not recommended during an Ebola outbreak. In fact, this current outbreak is believed to stem from a super spreader event, a funeral on May 5th where many people likely touched the body of somebody who was infected. Ben?

HUNTE: And Uganda says it is Ebola-free, openly contradicting the World Health Organization and the U.S., too. So, what's happening there?

MADOWO: Uganda had two positive Ebola cases. They say both of these were Congolese nationals. One died and was sent back across the border. The other person who was receiving treatment has not tested negative. They say they have no local infections.

Uganda is unhappy that the World Health Organization, that the U.S. and other international bodies keep mentioning Uganda as part of this outbreak. They say they have no local infections, and they are safe. This is hurting the economy, the tourism. They don't want to be associated with it. They've taken extra precautions, suspending all flights between the DRC and Uganda. They're suspending all public transport, extra vigilance, and border checks.

But the reality is that this area of Ituri where this outbreak is borders Uganda. There's a lot of border traffic, back and forth. So, there might not be infections in Kampala, but there could be people in the community, in that border town, who could still be infected or could show some symptoms in the future. Ben? HUNTE: OK. Larry, thank you so much for that, we appreciate it, live in Nairobi for us.

[02:05:00]

Onwards, NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Sweden as tensions linger between the U.S. and the rest of the alliance. The U.S. says the ministers will discuss increased defense spending and the greater burden sharing in NATO. The meeting is happening after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to pull out of the alliance. But on Thursday, he abruptly announced that 5,000 more U.S. troops will be headed to Poland. That's all coming just days after his defense secretary stopped a deployment of a U.S. combat team to Poland and other countries in Eastern Europe.

The International Energy Agency is warning that the world oil system could be entering the red zone in July or August. The IEA blamed the situation on shrinking stockpiles and rising travel demand. Inventories have been falling far since the war with Iran destabilized global energy. In the US, both commercial and emergency stockpiles plunged by nearly 18 million barrels last week. Gasoline inventories are also at their lowest May level since 2014.

No diplomatic breakthrough. That is the message from Iran's foreign ministry as reports swirl about peace talks with the U.S. All of that as sources citing U.S. intel say Iran is rebuilding its military capabilities faster than expected and it's already producing drones, too. Meanwhile, Iran is taking steps to solidify control in the Strait of Hormuz. It has published a new map defining the area under its oversight, including the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates and Amman. But Trump still claims the U.S. controls that vital waterway.

Let's speak to Leila Gharagozlou, who is joining us from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you. We are hearing new reports that Iran may be rebuilding military capabilities faster than expected, as I said there. What more can you tell us about that?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: So, we learned a number of things from the CNN report. Not only are they able to rebuild their military capability but, as you mentioned, they are ramping up production of their drones. Now, what's important to remember about these drones is that they have been used as a key part of Iran's strategy when it comes to retaliation against the U.S. and Israel and across the region, and they are very easily able to be made and they're very cheaply produced. So, this six-week ceasefire has really given Iran this opportunity to rebuild and replenish its drone capabilities.

Now, the other thing that we learned from this report is why they have been able to rebuild their military capabilities so quickly, and that comes down to Russia and China being of help to Iran, but also the fact that the U.S. and Israel originally thought that they had done more damage to Iran's military capabilities than actually was done. Now, President Trump did push back on this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have total control of the Strait of Hormuz, as you know, with our blockade. The blockade has been a hundred percent effective. Nobody has been able to get through. It's like a steel wall. It's our Navy. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world. We wiped out their navy. We knocked -- wiped out their air. I think they're down to about -- I would say we knocked out 85 percent of their missile capacity. It's very hard for them now to build missiles, to build drones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GHARAGOZLOU: Now, when it comes down to Iran's missile capabilities, which has also been another key element of Iran's strategy, there was originally a CNN report in April that said U.S. intel had said that about half of Iran's missile launchers had survived U.S. strikes. That number was then revised just a few weeks ago. In a more recent report, that it's up to two-thirds have survived U.S. attacks. So, it's really going to be interesting to see how quickly we can also see the missile capabilities be re-upped before any sort of potential kinetic warfare restarts. Ben?

HUNTE: And while all of that is happening, Iran is still dismissing reports of any diplomatic breakthrough with the U.S. So, where do things actually stand right now?

GHARAGOZLOU: So, it does seem that these gaps that had potentially been narrowed between the two sides continue to exist around these key issues like the nuclear program and the enriched uranium. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said just the other day that claims about nuclear issues such as enriched uranium or enrichment levels are merely media speculation and have no basis in reality. We do know via Iranian media that there has been some dialogue, some text back and forth between the two sides, but there still are these gaping issues when it comes to very, very key things.

Now, yesterday, the IAEA director general, Rafael Grossi, did bring up the enriched uranium. He said that he does believe that this is still in the Isfahan facility and while very difficult, it could be accessible.

[02:10:02]

And this is very important because President Trump continuously brings up the need to get that enriched uranium and take it out of the country. On the Iranian side, the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, just yesterday said that that enriched uranium would not be leaving Iran.

So, you can see that we're at a deadlock and some form of impasse when it comes to these really important issues. So, we're going to have to see what happens over the next couple of days.

HUNTE: Well, thank you for that. We appreciate it. Leila Gharagozlou, thank you. Onward, British authorities are appealing for any information related to misconduct by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Police provided an update a short time ago on the misconduct in public office investigation into the former prince. They said they are examining -- quote -- "a number of aspects of alleged misconduct," including reports that a woman was taken to Windsor in 2010 for -- quote -- "sexual purposes." The government released documents on Thursday relating to his appointment as British trade envoy in 2001. They indicated that the late Queen Elizabeth II pushed for him to get the position and that he was never formally vetted.

Nada Bashir joins us now from London. Nada, what more do we know from this report?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, this latest update from Thames Valley Police is essentially marking an expansion of the ongoing investigation. We already knew, of course, following that brief arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in February that police were investigating allegations of misconduct in public office in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's time as trade envoy for a decade when he took office in 2001. And, of course, he stepped down following revelations around his close relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

And, of course, now, what we are learning from Thames Valley Police is, as you mentioned, Ben, they are assessing reports as part of this ongoing investigation that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for -- quote -- "sexual purposes," and that that assessment is ongoing.

Now, it's understood that police, according to this statement, have appealed to the woman's legal representatives to confirm that should she wish to report this formally to the police as part of this investigation, the matter will be taken seriously and handled with care, sensitivity and respect for her privacy and her right to anonymity.

Now, of course, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his title. He was stripped from his role and sat down as trade envoy. But this is a significant development and expansion of the investigation, given the allegations that have been put forward against Prince Andrew over time and, of course, his relationship with Geoffrey Epstein. It's important to know that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has long denied those allegations.

We've also heard in the past from Buckingham Palace, which has said that it learned of the allegations and of the investigation with deep concern, but also noted that the legal process must take its course and that the palace would respect that process also.

But, of course, there is a series of questions now around the findings of this investigation as it continues. This is an investigation, of course, that could take some time, but focused on the allegations surrounding his role as trade envoy. Those allegations, of course, came to light as part of filings from the Department of Justice in the United States, which indicated that he may have shared sensitive government information with Jeffrey Epstein. Of course, now, this development that the investigation has expanded around potentially sexual misconduct will be of great concern to many.

HUNTE: Thank you so much, Nada Bashir, live outside Buckingham Palace.

The House Oversight Committee questioned a long-time assistant of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In 2007, federal prosecutors described Sarah Kellen as a potential co-conspirator of Epstein. She denied that allegation to the committee. During her interview, Kellen named three previously unknown abusers connected to Epstein. House Oversight Chairman James Comer predicted Thursday's closed-door interview of Kellen would be -- quote -- "the toughest yet of former Epstein associates." Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY), CHAIRMAN OF U.S. HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: She gave us three names of people that were involved in abuse. These were new names for us. As far as the men that were abusers, alleged abusers, then, you know, the whole world will see that, and we'll be able to move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Committee members say Kellen was also asked about Ghislaine Maxwell's role in Epstein's affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D), NEW MEXICO: She was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell's move to the new lower security prison and whether or not she felt that was fair, to which she answered no.

[02:15:00]

She was also asked about whether or not she believed that Maxwell should be pardoned, and she said no. And I believe that the direct quote that she said is, when asked why, she said, "she abused me." And she also says she believes that Maxwell turned Epstein into the monster he became.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: A shock death in the world of motorsports. NASCAR champion Kyle Busch has died just hours after his team said he was sick. We'll have the details for you. Plus, comedian Stephen Colbert says goodbye to viewers in the final broadcast of "The Late Show." We'll break down what this means for the culture of late-night T.V. after this break. See you in a moment.

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[02:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HUNTE: The motorsports world is mourning the death of one of its brightest stars. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch passed away suddenly on Thursday at the age of 41 years old. Earlier in the day, his family posted that he had been hospitalized with a severe illness, but did not reveal what that was. Busch was a racing icon who had won more competitions than any other driver throughout NASCAR's three national series. He was scheduled to race at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte this weekend. NASCAR called him "one of our sports' greatest and fiercest drivers, and a once-in-a-generation talent." Kyle Busch leaves behind a wife and two children.

Stephen Colbert has said farewell on the final episode of "The Late Show." Colbert has hosted "The Late Show" for 11 years, taking over after the departure of comedian David Letterman. Over the years, he has been a vocal critic of President Trump and his policies. But earlier, he went out with a smile and gratitude for his staff, the studio audience, and his viewers, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS HOST: Our first show back in July of 2015 was from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan for an audience of 12 people.

(LAUGHTER)

And showbusiness being what it is these days, it's probably where you'll see me next.

(LAUGHTER)

There is so much history here in the Ed Sullivan Theater, and we've been honored to have been just a small part of it. Nichols and May played on the stage. "The Beatles" made their American debut here. And this is true, this is true, backstage, Elvis used the bathroom and didn't die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

HUNTE: Segun Oduolowu is an Emmy-award winning journalist, and he joins us live now from Los Angeles where the final show is just about to air on the West Coast. It is good to see you, sir. It has been a minute. So good to see you. I would love to know.

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, EMMY-AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST: It has been a minute, Ben.

(LAUGHTER)

HUNTE: It has been. I would love to know your thoughts on where we're at with this. Just set the scene for us. Did this feel like a celebration of Stephen Colbert? Did it feel like people saying goodbye to an era of television? Where we at? ODUOLOWU: So, Ben, first, we know about your smooth voice, and you and I are going to have words about that. I saw the East Coast feed of the Colbert show. And, look, I believe there's a Jay-Z line for everything. And on his song, reminder, men lie, women lie, numbers don't. For those 11 years that Stephen Colbert occupied the seat that David Letterman once had, nine years running, he was number one. He went out as the top-rated late-night show. He won the Emmy, the last Emmy for programming at the primetime Emmys.

So, this felt like a farewell, but a farewell. Why? Why do you -- like, how do you go out on top? And if the numbers say you are number one, it has to be everything that was swirling around. This show didn't have the biting political humor that he had been known for and maybe chastised by the powers that be at CBS. But watching the show, it felt like a man contend with ending a chapter knowing that it was beyond his control or he would still be doing this top-rated show.

HUNTE: Well, all of that being said, CBS has repeatedly said ending the show was a financial decision. But the timing has obviously sparked a huge debate. So, do you think that that question is still hanging over tonight or have people largely accepted the network's explanation?

ODUOLOWU: Well, I don't want to spoil anything for the West Coast viewers, but if you've seen it, the late-night triumvirate or I should actually say quintuplet, there were Easter eggs all over the place. And the late-night show hosts of John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, they showed up, and they understand that theirs is a business that is under siege.

And I don't think the argument is at rest. As long as the government is dictating what they find funny, what they find acceptable, and the powers that be seem to be controlling broadcasting, then any type of remark that is seen as offensive to a certain group puts that comedian, puts that show under scrutiny. And I don't think the ending of "The Late Night" show is the last of what we're going to see with cancellations and funny men under fire.

HUNTE: Yikes. That being said, we have seen an emotional reaction from fellow hosts and others in the industry, as you just mentioned there. How much frustration or concern has there been over the way this has ended?

[02:25:00]

ODUOLOWU: Well, we've seen a ton of it, Ben. When Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air and the way people were picketing outside of Disney and demanding that ABC bring him back. We've seen kind of a wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Rich guy to other rich guy, you buy this broadcasting only if you do this on my behalf.

And the public, the viewing public, suffers because we don't know what's real, who's dictating or if you can actually say what you want to say. We've seen Amazon pay for a documentary that doesn't seem a lot of people watched, but paid an enormous amount. I mentioned Jimmy Kimmel. We're seeing the end of Stephen Colbert. It feels as if comedy, which was that once free space to be satirical, to poke fun at the powers that be, is no longer really being championed in America. And that's sad because if they go for the comedians, what's to stop them from coming after you and me if they don't find what we say appealing?

HUNTE: I mean, you're spitting facts. Wow. Yes, I'm scared. Segun, thank you so much for that. We will speak again very soon, I'm sure. But, yes, really appreciate your time. Thank you.

ODUOLOWU: Thanks, Ben. Just the facts.

HUNTE: Just the facts. Onwards, actor Noah Wyle is using his fame as a T.V. emergency room doctor to lobby for change on Capitol Hill on behalf of health care workers. Wyle led the "Healthcare is Human" rally on Capitol Hill alongside his mother, a long-time nurse. The rally on Thursday featured more than 400 doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals pushing for legislation that better supports the work they do every day. Wyle and a few doctors met with lawmakers before the rally, encouraging them to pass more legislation focused on front line health care workers.

OK, Cuba is about to push back against the indictment of its former president in the U.S. Still ahead, the U.S. embassy in Havana becomes a pressure point the Cuban government is eager to use.

And then, why prominent senators in President Trump's own party are now standing up to him and refusing to rubber stamp a key piece of legislation? See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:50]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

And now to what Trump critics are calling a galactic blunder and stupid on stilts. Senate Republicans are revolting against several controversial moves by the White House, including the nearly $2 billion so-called "anti-weaponization fund" that is expected to benefit his allies. And now they've left town before voting on a funding bill that President Trump desperately wants passed.

CNN's Manu Raju has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House and the Senate are now gone for recess after Republican leaders sent members home because of disagreements within the ranks and inability to get their agenda through, namely, a bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars for funding for immigration enforcement. That was derailed in the Senate because Republicans had revolted over a separate matter altogether that dealing with this $1.8 billion fund that the Justice Department announced earlier this week to provide to people who say that they were aggrieved in some way by the Biden Justice Department, meaning potentially January 6th, rioters could have access to that money.

Republican senators revolted on that, demanded answers, even had a closed door meeting with Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, on Thursday afternoon. For roughly two hours, he was grilled, and it was a tense meeting, and Republicans left, not satisfied, many of them wanting changes to that program or for it to be scrapped altogether. Given the disagreement, and given that this bill was moving and that Republicans said that they wanted to add some language to that bill on immigration related to this, this separate issue regarding this DOJ weaponization fund, Republican leaders said they couldn't figure out a way forward and decided to scrap that bill, deal with it when they get back into town after the recess in the first week of June.

Then the House Republicans sent their members home as well. The Republican leaders also decided to shelve a vote on a bill that would have reined in Trump's powers when it comes to waging war with Iran, that bill was poised to pass the House because of Republican absences and the speaker, rather than seeing the president lose and face a symbolic rebuke of sorts on the issue of Iran, decides to send members home.

This is to a lot of consternation in the ranks, particularly between House Republicans and senate Republicans and Senate Republicans, who are blaming the White House.

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I think it's a gutless move by the Senate. I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

RAJU: But are you worried about November?

BURCHETT: Of course, I'm very much worried about it. I'm worried about our country. I'm afraid we could lose everything.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): There's not one positive thing that could be spun out of this between now and November. This is bad policy. Its bad timing, and it's bad politics.

RAJU: But the decision to, in the late hour to introduce this weaponization fund, in addition to the demands by the White House to provide $1 billion in funding for ballroom security as part of that new project that the president wants to move forward on the White House grounds, all of that causing a lot of consternation among Republicans, senators in particular, who say that introducing these measures in such a late hour just undermined their ability to get behind a bill that was supposed to be narrowly targeted on immigration enforcement.

[02:35:01]

And as Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told me as he was leaving the Capitol on Thursday afternoon, he said it was a galactic blunder by the White House.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: The Cuban government plans to hold a rally outside the U.S. embassy in Havana in the coming hours. That is according to a post from the embassy, as tensions grow between the two countries.

Cuba's foreign minister now accuses Secretary of State Marco Rubio of trying to incite military aggression. He spoke just hours after Rubio said he doesn't have much faith that diplomacy will work with Cuba, and that the current regime is opposed to any changes the country needs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Right now, there just doesn't seem to be people over there in charge of the regime who are in any way open to any of those changes and the things they talk about economically are cosmetic in nature. They're not real because that's what they've gotten used to, all these years, is just buying time and waiting us out.

They're not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We're very serious. We're very focused. As I told you a moment ago, in the context of Iran, the president's preference is always a negotiated agreement that's peaceful. That's always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Earlier this week, the U.S. deployed the Nimitz carrier group to the Caribbean. President Donald Trump says the move is not meant to intimidate Havana. The U.S. is also maintaining a crippling economic blockade and has indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro.

Let's bring in Eric Farnsworth. He's a partner at Continental Strategy and a former State Department official for Latin America.

Thank you for being with me, sir. We'll get straight into it.

You have described this as part of a pressure campaign, but also a departure from previous approaches. Can you explain what you mean by that and what's changed?

ERIC FARNSWORTH, PARTNER, CONTINENTAL STRATEGY: Yeah, absolutely. Since the beginning of the year, the U.S. government has really put the screws on the regime in Havana, starting really with the January 3rd capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, which removed the lifeline of Venezuelan oil to Cuba and has turned the situation into a full blown energy crisis in Cuba. That's knocking through to all parts of the economy right now.

But you also have the indictment, of course, of Raul Castro, announced that the freedom tower in Miami yesterday. You have the May 1st putting on of a secondary sanctions against people who do business with the regime. And so that's led to major companies announcing plans to pull out. You have the visit of the CIA director.

So this is a comprehensive approach, but it's different because to this point, Raul Castro, who's the leader of the regime, is, you know, he has not faced justice in this way. And this really does amplify and make more significant the issues on the island. It really brings it much more to focus. So it's part of a broader strategy. But yeah, it's a departure.

HUNTE: Castro is in Cuba, and Havana isn't about to just hand him over. So beyond symbolism, what practical impact does an indictment actually have here?

FARNSWORTH: It's a really good question. And I think the United States has shown its willingness to take unconventional actions. And again, we saw it most recently in Venezuela. We saw it in 1989 with Manuel Noriega in Panama. I don't think we should assume that the indictment means that the United States is committed to going and grabbing Raul Castro and bringing them to justice in the United States, but I don't think we can rule it out either. And that's what's really changed.

In fact, you heard the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, say yesterday at Freedom Tower with the announcement of the indictment that he expected to see Raul Castro in the United States facing justice, the obvious question is, how is that going to happen? And I agree, I don't believe the Cuban authorities will just hand him over. Nor do I think Raul Castro would willingly come to the U.S.

But that does open the door to some -- some actions from the United States that maybe folks wouldn't have contemplated previously.

HUNTE: If pressure on Havana grows, is there a clear next generation of leadership waiting to take over, or is succession itself part of that challenge?

FARNSWORTH: This is really part of the challenge. In fact, it's probably the biggest challenge right now other than recovery of the country itself. And the reason why is because the Castro regime, since it's beginning, has really been quite effective of identifying and eliminating threats to its own power, and therefore a new generation of people who could take over, who could step into the breach, who could run the country in the absence of the Castros, really doesn't exist.

And it's been a strategic approach of the rulers for decades. And so other than members of the Castro family themselves, there really don't seem to be obvious choices here. And that's why the United States has been discussing transition plans, apparently with the grandson of Raul Castro, Raulito, and other members of the Cuban regime, because that's where the power resides.

[02:40:00]

It's a family-based business at this point. And so you have to talk to the family in terms of transition plans.

But that is an obvious question in terms of what comes next, who leads it, and for how long do the Cuban people put up with it?

HUNTE: People will inevitably compare this with Nicolas Maduro and other U.S. actions in the region. You can see the overlap there.

Is Cuba very different, or does this create a new level of uncertainty?

FARNSWORTH: Well, I think it clearly does create a new level of uncertainty. But, you know, I think Cuba is different from Venezuela for a number of reasons. But the most obvious is history. The relationship that Cuba has had with the United States versus the relationship that Venezuela has had. The fact that no living Cuban has an active memory of living under democratic governance, whereas in Venezuela, they did. Institutions don't exist in the same way in Cuba.

So, the reconstruction process is going to be, in my view, orders of magnitude more complicated even than Venezuela. On top of that, you don't have the natural resources in Cuba that you have in Venezuela to pay for oil and gas, minerals, mining, that sort of thing. So it's going to be a tremendously complicated effort to the extent we even get there.

I mean, again, I don't think we can assume that the indictment means that Raul Castro is leaving any time soon. But I don't think we can assume that he wont.

HUNTE: Okay. We covered a lot. There's a lot going on there, but we got through it.

Thank you so much, Eric Farnsworth. We appreciate your time. Thank you.

FARNSWORTH: Great to be with you. Thanks again.

HUNTE: Bolivians marched on their capital demanding the end of government actions, resulting in fuel and food shortages. The country has seen weeks of demonstrations against austerity measures. Some protesters are calling for President Rodrigo Paz to resign. The unrest has grown into a nationwide movement involving labor unions, miners and transport workers. Two roadblocks are disrupting supply chains. One woman compared the situation to being held hostage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELVA MARTINEZ, PROTESTER: We're calling for the lifting of blockades at once, please. That is what we're calling for, as mothers. We don't know what food to give our children. The pot is empty. We have nothing. We are dying of hunger here in La Paz. We have been kidnapped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Bolivians are turning to food aid to feed their families. Chile is delivering humanitarian aid to help with shortages. A devastating attack on the front lines of Russia's war on Ukraine. Ahead, a drone strategy that started to give Ukrainians the upper hand. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:47:18]

HUNTE: Several hundred people protested the opening of a much larger U.S. consulate in Greenland on Thursday. Video from the event shows people standing outside that consulate holding signs that say, quote, "USA, stop it", and quote, "No means no".

This protest comes months after President Trump tried to take ownership of the Arctic Island. This upset many locals who have focused their anger on the opening of that larger U.S. consulate. The U.S. State Department says the new office provides a greater capacity for diplomatic engagement within Greenland.

Ukraine is claiming success in a devastating drone attack on Russian forces. Kyiv says it hit a Russian training camp for drone pilot cadets in occupied Ukraine, killing at least 66 people.

As Nick Paton Walsh reports, Ukraine's drone strategy is putting Russia on the defensive.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's an important reflection here of what Ukraine says is its increasing range, ability to strike targets here in occupied Ukraine. But areas where possibly a year or two ago, Russian troops would have felt were entirely safe.

The incident you're referring to is in a place called Snizhne in the Donetsk area where it appears that 65 drone cadets, according to some of the video filmed from the ground, possibly Chechen cadets from that area of Russia were hit by a drone schooling in the art of attack drones in an area, as I say, where Ukraine is finding increased efficiency when it comes to hitting Russian supply lines and troop gatherings. We've heard a lot about Ukraine's deeper strikes into Russia. Moscow oil fields around the country, potentially thousands of kilometers at times that theyre able to fire these drones.

But it's the medium range ones hitting Russian supply lines again and again, enabling Ukraine to sort of slow down Russia's advances to, frankly, a crawl or negligible amounts in recent weeks or so that are becoming key.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well, using today to refer to another strike in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, in which he says, 100 or so Russian troops were killed or wounded by another drone strike that seems to have hit a Russian air defense system, causing a massive secondary explosion there as well.

We don't have the Russian defense ministry's response on either parts of these claims, but they do form part of this pattern. Ukraine has set a goal that every month it wishes to kill or injure 35,000 Russian troops to essentially stress Russia's ability to field enough troops to the to the front lines where they are dying in horrifically large numbers and often futile frontal assaults against Ukrainian positions.

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Ukraine is using drones to do that. Theyre finding better success at penetrating Russian air defenses. The Kremlin, increasingly under criticism for not having control of the defense of Russia's skies itself. Look, we're not at this point seeing a moment where Ukraine can be said to be convincingly and irretrievably winning the war here.

But certainly the pressures on Russia are significantly greater now than they are on Ukraine. And that in itself is startling. After the 18 months that President Zelenskyy has endured along with Ukraine here, of a Russian advance on the battlefield, its key ally now the Trump administration. But the United States, deeply critical and apparently at times more sympathetic to the Russian point of view.

We're now seeing a moment where Ukraine has managed to salvage from this technological advances a leap forward in drone technology and other things along the front line that make up for its massive problems of manpower here, and have bought it some time, some breathing room, ultimately, and enabled it to slow Russia's advance down. As I said, something negligible at times a startling change in the dynamic of the war here as well, and one which is putting increased pressure on the Kremlin to explain its end game here

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HUNTE: A no go for SpaceX. Why the company scrubbed the planned inaugural test flight for Starship Version 3.

See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

SpaceX scrubbed the launch of its Starship megarocket, the upgraded version of the vehicle, called Version Three, was supposed to take its inaugural test flight on Thursday, but last minute issues triggered a series of holds. SpaceX can make another attempt on Friday night. That's if the problems are sorted out in time. The company is hoping that this test flight could hit a few milestones, including deploying simulator satellites during flight.

The clothing that a pope wears is an important part of who the individual is, as well as the tradition and symbolism of the Catholic Church, too. One man has been behind the design and production of the vestments for three pontiffs now.

CNN's Antonia Mortensen visited the pope's tailor.

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ANTONIA MORTENSEN, CNN FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): Meet the man who has dressed three popes, Filippo Sorcinelli.

FILIPPO SORCINELLI, POPE'S TAILOR (through translator): This is the chasuble of Pope Benedict XVI that he wore for Saints Peter and Paul. MORTENSEN (voice-over): Many of his pieces have been worn on the global stage, including garments created for Pope Benedict XVI and the inauguration mass of Pope Francis in 2013 and now Pope Leo.

SORCINELLI (through translation): Being able to create sacred vestments to be worn by a pontiff is, I believe, the highest aspiration for a person who does this job, and there is undoubtedly a great emotional component in seeing it ultimately worn by a pope.

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MORTENSEN (voice-over): A trained artist and musician, he founded LAVS, L'atelier vesti sacre, 25 years ago when he found his way into liturgical design through a fascination with ritual, identity and the power of clothing.

MORTENSEN: This workshop is tucked away in central Italy in Santarcangelo di Romagna. And it feels less like a religious atelier and more like a high end fashion studio.

SORCINELLI (through translator): And the Pope, but also all priests, the whole church, through this act of putting on this most beautiful garment, sends a message of hope. Sacred art lives on this, a message of hope for the whole human race.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): Each papacy brings its own visual identity, from Pope Benedict's more traditional, ornate aesthetic to Pope Francis simpler, more restrained look. And now Pope Leo with his contemporary interpretation rooted in tradition. Everything here is done by hand, from sourcing the materials to the final stitch using traditional artisanal techniques.

SARA BREGATIN, SEAMSTRESS, LAVS (through translator): The emotion is as if it were always the first time. It's a sense of amazement seeing the Pope wearing something we created, a source of joy and pride for us.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): For Sorcinelli, it's not just about the vestments, it's about the symbolism and the tradition they carry.

MORTENSEN: Everything in this atelier feels extremely personal because for the man who dresses the popes, every vestment starts in the same way, quietly, carefully, producing something completely unique that then ends up on the world stage.

MORTENSEN (voice-over): Antonia Mortensen, CNN, Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy.

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HUNTE: Fans of the World of Pokemon will be lining up to see a new exhibit featuring their favorite fictional creatures. The Pokemon Fossil Museum is making its official North American opening on Friday at Chicago's field museum. The exhibit, launched in Japan five years ago. The interactive experience combines Pokemon with paleontology. Field museum scientists play along as Pokemon professors who explain how real fossils inspired the design of the franchises most popular creatures. That display runs through next April.

That's exciting.

I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Thanks for joining me and the team. That's all I've got for you for now. More top stories are coming up in just a few minutes. Stay with CNN.

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