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Isa Soares Tonight
Anger On The Streets Of Havana As Residents Struggle With Daily Life Amid The U.S. Oil Blockade; U.S. President Donald Trump Makes His Way Back From China After Two-Day Visit; Boycott Marks Biggest Crisis In Eurovision's 70-Year History; Democrats Demand Lutnick Resign Over Epstein Ties; Judges Declares Mistrial In Harvey Weinstein Rape Retrial; Amazon MGM Begins Casting Search For Next James Bond. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired May 15, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, anger on the streets of Havana as
residents struggle with daily life amid the U.S. oil blockade. We'll have more on that and the CIA director's historic visit.
Then U.S. President Donald Trump makes his way back from China, touting talks with President Xi as successful, but with no major deals in sight.
We'll have all the latest for you. Plus, the search is on for the new James Bond as auditions officially get underway.
So, who is in the running to take on the job as 007? That and much more ahead for you. We do begin tonight in Havana, in Cuba, an island under
intensifying pressure and possibly approaching its breaking point as global crises compete for Washington's attention. A U.S. State Department official
says the fuel-starved island appears willing to accept $100 million aid package.
A previously reported part of the deal had been that Havana carry out what the State Department called meaningful reforms to its government. And this
comes after an extraordinary meeting between CIA Director John Ratcliffe and high-level Cuban officials in Havana, as you can see there, including
the Minister of the Interior.
Their discussions apparently mostly centered on military and Intelligence issues. All these developments are happening during rare public protests in
Havana amid a series of island-wide blackouts, and we brought you that to your attention yesterday.
Some of these blackouts, by the way, have lasted up to 22 hours a day. And it is a desperate situation that is expected to get worse. Cuba says it has
completely run out of diesel fuel and oil under a U.S. blockade.
Let's get more on all these strands, Patrick Oppmann joins me from Havana, Jennifer Hansler is in Washington. Patrick, good to see you. Let me start
with you, and first of all, this visit by the CIA director, just give us a sense of what the message was there and how it was received on in Havana.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's just striking that the same agency that, you know, for years tried to kill Fidel Castro with exploding
cigars and poison dive suits and other ridiculous assassination plots arrived in Cuba yesterday in a big U.S. government plane and said, the U.S.
government on the side, you know, hardly James Bond material here.
And sat down with his counterparts in Cuban Intelligence, and really laid out to them how the U.S. government, the Trump administration feels that
Cuba is providing aid to United States enemies, providing areas to operate Chinese and Russian spy bases, essentially involved in Intelligence
operations against the U.S. and is working against U.S. purposes.
And how this kind of activity needs to end. And if they don't get with the Trump administration's demands, that there will be consequences. And so,
I'm sure it was a very stark meeting. You know, the Cuban side is saying, well, they laid out how Cuba is not a threat to the United States.
But I think we're well past that. The Trump administration has made up its mind, they're giving Cuba perhaps a final chance, in their words, to change
its ways or face perhaps more economic sanctions or even tougher measures.
Of course, President Donald Trump has threatened to take military action against the Cuban government. And that is something they take very
seriously at this moment, considering how badly the oil blockade has already impacted their economy.
SOARES: And we'll talk about the humanitarian side in just a moment. Let me just go to Jen, because, you know, Jen, Patrick and I were talking
yesterday about the possibility, of course, of this offer of $100 million that we're hearing now that appear that -- the island appears willing to
accept.
Do we have a sense from this meeting with the CIA, what you are hearing as well, or what kind of reforms they're likely to see, right? They want to
see and how quickly?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Isa, in addition to those security reforms that Patrick laid out, that came up in
that meeting with the CIA director yesterday, they are also pushing what they describe as economic reforms on the island, essentially opening it up
to private investment.
[14:05:00]
This was something that was a key focus of a different visit by U.S. officials last month to the island, where they met with senior Cuban
officials, and they were saying they needed to make these economic reforms in addition to those security reforms in the near term, or else they would
continue to face a catastrophic situation.
Now, it is clear here that these economic restrictions are going to remain in place unless these alleged reforms are taken by the Cuban government.
However, the State Department says that they are willing to offer this $100 million in humanitarian aid only if it is given through the Catholic Church
or independent organizations on the ground.
They say that this is the key string that is attached to this offer, that it has to be distributed through these independent organizations. Now, a
senior State Department official said that they have been in touch, they have reached out to the Cuban government through what they describe as a
senior channel between the State Department and senior leadership in Havana about this aid.
Cuban officials have indicated that they would be willing to accept it if there weren't conditions on it. However, it is clear here that the
administration is trying to push this message that if the suffering continues, it is not on the U.S. that it is on the Cuban government.
So, they are trying to inject further anger among that population on the ground that is suffering these catastrophic humanitarian situations there.
Isa.
SOARES: Yes, and we've seen this anger on the streets in the last several days. Our Patrick Oppmann has been showing us that, of course, people
taking to the streets very visibly, which is something that's very rare. Patrick, let me go back to you.
Add this element that we were just talking about there, how rare it is to see these protests, and then these reports that are circulating across U.S.
media, that the U.S. is making moves to indict Raul Castro, who, of course, the brother of Fidel Castro. I want to play a short clip from
Representative Gimenez, who told CNN, this. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): Yes, I'm hearing those rumors too, that there is a press conference on my -- you know, the 20th of May, which is Cuban
Independence.
So, they -- that -- in Miami, in the Freedom Tower, by the -- by the attorney for, you know, the U.S. Attorney down in south Florida, we're
hearing that they're going to be indicting Raul Castro for ordering the shootdown of the brothers to the rescue flight back in 1996, which killed
three American citizens and one American resident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Patrick, I mean, how would this be received? What are you hearing about this?
OPPMANN: You know, you can't overstate how Cubans who support the government would react to this. You know, this isn't Nicolas Maduro or even
Miguel Diaz-Canel, both of whom had their critics here. Raul Castro is -- was one of the leaders of the revolution.
He's one of the historical leaders. You know, when you talk to people who support the government, they say they would lay down their life for him.
And I tend to take them at their word. This is something that would galvanize the people that support the government.
But you know, I was out last night where there were protests taking place, people risking their freedom because you're not allowed to protest here
because they're so desperate. And they just say they want the situation to be over with.
They don't -- you don't care about the politics when the food is spoiling in your fridge and your kids have nothing to eat and the power is off for
days and days. And you might get, you know, power for an hour or two a day, not enough to charge your cell phone if you can imagine that, certainly,
not enough to live.
So, I think the majority of Cubans that I interact with on a day-to-day basis, they just don't care about the politics between Miami and Havana.
They want to have some kind of decent life. But I've also lived in Miami, and I know that for many people there who have suffered, who fled the Cuban
revolution, this -- even though Raul Castro is 94, you know, he's on his last legs.
We saw him on May Day, he is an old man. And I don't -- you know, I can't imagine putting him at this age on trial if he would even live to see that
trial, if it would certainly not be easy to take him. But certainly, the United States' government, you know, seems to be going down that road
again, though, for the majority of Cubans, they just want the power to be on.
They want to live a normal life. They want things to get better when in fact, things only seem to be getting worse.
SOARES: Indeed, Patrick Oppmann, Jennifer Hansler, thank you very much. We're going to stick with the humanitarian aspect of this that Patrick was
mentioning there, just people wanting, you know, their food in the fridge and lights to be turned on.
Loyce Pace is the Director for the Americas with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Great to have you on
the show. I'm not sure if you could hear our correspondent there in Havana, Loyce, but it's clear that these sporadic -- this once was sporadic, you
know, blackouts are becoming -- are now exceeding something like 22 hours per day.
[14:10:00]
Patrick was talking about people wanting, you know, lights back on, food in the fridge. Can you give us a sense, or our viewers a sense around the
world, Loyce, the consequences of these blackouts on everyday life?
LOYCE PACE, DIRECTOR FOR THE AMERICAS, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS & RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES: Yes, he's absolutely right. I was really
glad where we landed, right. We got to be about these communities.
We have to be about these people who are living every day, not knowing whether or not they can go to their health appointments, not knowing
whether or not they can cook, not knowing whether or not they can charge their phones and be in touch with family or friends.
And so, that's the reality on the ground. My team has been on the ground, and has worked with the Cuban Red Cross to really understand the needs and
try and meet those needs, frankly, of people who are trying to live day-to- day as your correspondent has said.
SOARES: Loyce, can you just give us a sense of the conversations that you and your team are having with those on the ground? What are they telling
you? Speak to the frustrations and the anger, because we have seen people protesting on the streets, as our correspondent was saying, this is very
rare to see people publicly doing this. So, give us a sense of that anger.
PACE: Well, just -- I'd like to take a step back because, you know, our presence in the country and on the island goes back a century, frankly. And
if we just go back to last year and the island being hit by Hurricane Melissa, we really have focused our response on that particular disaster.
In addition to what they face in a compound way with outbreaks, with health outbreaks that they were facing with dengue, chikungunya. And so, this is
what people are living with every day. The recovery from that storm, really trying to understand their risks from a health standpoint, obviously, fuel
shortages only exacerbate some of those risks and challenges.
One thing that we're also watching as a humanitarian community are water and sanitation issues, and trying to ensure that people have access to
clean water, that people reduce their risk for waterborne illnesses that can come out of trash not being picked up every day.
And of course, as I mentioned, you have these health care facilities that are backed up in terms of what they're able to do to manage both chronic
and other conditions, just basic primary health care. And so, for us, it's really trying to ensure that people can get back to life.
And again, this is something that Cuba Red Cross and the International Federation have been able to do for decades. And it's something that we're
hopeful of doing in the months to come.
SOARES: Yes, sanitation, clearly a problem, as we bring in to our attention -- to our viewers just in the last week, of course. So much trash, like you
were saying, not being picked up. I wonder then in the question of health care, I wonder if you can speak to that a bit more, because hospitals
clearly wouldn't be able to operate as normal. They have to prioritize what operations -- what challenges are they facing?
PACE: Yes, so that's multifaceted. Obviously, there's an energy issue with hospitals, and we're working as Red Cross to ensure that those clinics and
other buildings or facilities that are trying to provide these humanitarian services have access to solar energy, for example, or alternative forms of
energy.
We also have been working just to get medicines and other supplies, medical supplies into the country. We've been successful doing that through the
Cuba Red Cross, which again, works directly with the government there to ensure that we're able to provide those programs and services in a
humanitarian way.
SOARES: Now, I was reading a comment by Francisco Pichon; who is the U.N. Resident Coordinator in Cuba. You probably know him; I'll be speaking to
him on my show next week. And this is what he said, let me read it out to you.
He said, "the consequences are no longer abstract." There are -- "they are visible in the rhythm of daily life. Streets fall silent before night is
fully set in. Hospitals scale back operations. Small businesses closed due to a lack of supplies.
At dawn, exhaustion shows on people's faces after long nights without electricity." Now, I mean, Cubans -- you could speak to this, Loyce, you
know, Cubans are -- have been used to this exhaustion and despair prior to this, right?
But this is -- this is --
PACE: Yes --
SOARES: Something else. How have -- how do you see them coping if this drags on, if there is no help coming in?
PACE: Well, this is real. I mean, that's a powerful statement, and it's --
SOARES: Yes --
PACE: Very true what people are facing, and you know, I think we talk a lot about resilience. That's something we certainly stand on as humanitarians,
but we want to limit the conditions that require resilience. I think that's also why we exist.
And so, I think that Cubans themselves and the people, and especially the volunteers with whom we work, who are themselves affected by these
conditions, they will continue the way that they need to. And that's also their reality.
[14:15:00]
That's also the story not just of Cuba, but many other countries throughout the region. I cover here in the Americas. So, we're confident. We're
confident in our network to provide that support, provide those services.
We have 40,000 volunteers in Cuba now who continue to get up every day, bleary-eyed, but also knowing what the task is at hand. And so, it's our
hope that we can continue to work to provide them those very real, brave volunteers with the resources so that they can remain committed to meeting
the needs of people on the ground.
But you know, this -- we have to be mindful not just of the needs today, but also of a forthcoming hurricane season and other risks that are
emerging. So, we need --
SOARES: Yes --
PACE: The response to be comprehensive and fulsome for these communities.
SOARES: Loyce, really appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you very much. Loyce Pace there --
PACE: Thank you, thank you for having me --
SOARES: Well, at this hour -- you're very welcome. At this hour, U.S. President Donald Trump is on his way back to Washington after wrapping up
what was billed as a critical summit between the United States and China.
And while the President's labeling the trip a great success, there's little evidence so far that the rhetoric matches the results. On the key issue of
Taiwan, President Trump downplayed any tensions with his Chinese counterpart over recent U.S. arms sales to the self-governed island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The discussion of Taiwan, you know, the whole thing with the arms, yes, was in great detail, actually.
And I'll be making decisions --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you like to do?
TRUMP: But, you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that's 9,500 miles away. I think that's the last thing we need. We're doing
very well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the U.S. defend Taiwan if it came to it?
TRUMP: I don't want to say, I'm not going to say that. There's only one person that knows that. You know who it is? Me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: As for the war with Iran, it doesn't appear talks moved the needle much at all. There were no commitments from Beijing, with China's Foreign
Ministry calling on the U.S. and Iran to resolve their differences. President Trump says he didn't ask for any favors from the Chinese leader
on the question of Iran.
And despite the presence of top CEOs from American companies, no major economic deals have been confirmed. Let's go to our Alayna Treene, who is
at the White House. So, Alayna, you and I have been speaking for days now about this trip. How much then, given what I've just outlined, how much was
this trip a success?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look what is fascinating to me, I think you are completely right on, Isa, in everything you are
saying. This trip yielded no real significant breakthroughs on some of the thorniest issues we knew they were slated to discuss while President Trump
was in Beijing.
You have the issues that you mentioned on Taiwan, and on arms sales on the Iran war, which, of course, was looming over this entire trip in a way that
many officials here at the White House were hoping it wouldn't initially.
But then also, on A.I. chips and tariffs, a number of things, rare earth minerals is another one where we really haven't heard of any significant
breakthroughs. Yes, we did hear, you know, President Trump announced some things that they had discussed.
He said that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, he also said there were some other deals that have been made with some of the CEOs, the -- who
accompanied President Trump to Beijing. But we are also waiting on the details of those.
So, all in all, this is not typical, I would argue, for a major foreign trip of this magnitude. Typically, when you see a U.S. President and
particularly, I'd say this specific U.S. President, President Donald Trump, go on a foreign trip like this, there often is a lot of work on the front
end to ensure that there is some sort of big announcement they can make here.
This isn't instead, though, really seemed to be more about, you know, having these two men, these two leaders, the two of the greatest, you know,
leaders of the superpower countries in the world come together, show support for one another.
There was a lot of flowery language, but again, not a lot of substance on what they are walking away with. And I do want to address, I think the two
biggest issues on Taiwan being one of them. You did hear President Xi, and I think this is perhaps one of the most forceful ways we have heard him,
particularly him saying this in the room with a U.S. President.
Him, you know, warning almost that the Taiwan issue could be an issue down the line that could be very dangerous. Those are the words that President
Xi used during their meeting yesterday. That could be very dangerous to the relationship between Washington and Beijing.
And then when it comes to Iran, that was really a huge question of whether or not the President, President Trump, was going to push Xi to intervene in
a substantial way to try and get the Iranians who, of course, key allies to the Chinese, to the negotiating table in a way that is far more serious
than the Trump administration believes they have been thus far.
[14:20:00]
We didn't really see that either. We really don't know if China is going to do anything really, to try and help end this war despite kind of the vague
rhetoric we have now heard from both sides. So, look, was it a successful trip?
I think in the conversations I'm having with White House officials, having it not go poorly and seeing any tense moments, they would count that as
successful. But in the terms of what we normally see with these big announcements, these big economic deals, and really, I think what a lot of
people are hopeful for, some big answers on those thornier issues, we didn't really get that.
SOARES: Yes, on the optics front, definitely, that seems to be the case. Deliverables, it's really a wait and see. Alayna, great to see you, thank
you very much indeed. And still to come tonight, a high-risk search is underway following a deadly scuba accident in a deep underwater cave in the
Maldives.
We'll bring you that story. Plus, Eurovision finalists are gearing up for Saturday's competition, all amid the biggest boycott in the contest's
history.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: And some breaking news we are following, just coming in to CNN. A U.S. State Department official says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to
extend a 45-day ceasefire, so by 45 days. Let me bring you up the -- if we have it. There you go, you can see it.
This is from the spokesperson for the State Department. And you can see there, "the United States hosted two days of highly productive talks
between Israel and Lebanon." We brought you this story, of course, yesterday.
Now, they're saying, "the April 16th cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress." So, this is what we're
hearing from the State Department spokesperson. "In addition, a security track will be launched by the Pentagon on May 29th for military delegations
from both countries.
We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other's sovereignty and territorial
integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared borders.
While this is wonderful news, of course it is important to point out, as we bring in to our attention the last couple of days, despite the truce that
now is being extended by 45 days, Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, of course, have continued fighting as Israeli troops remain in
south Lebanon, extended by the Litani River."
So, let's see how this translates. So far, I don't -- I'm not sure we can call what we've seen so far, a ceasefire. But now, they are talking. They
are extending the ceasefire, and they're doing that by 45 days. We can continue to monitor how this statement translates, of course, to the
developments on the ground.
[14:25:00]
We'll stay across this story for you. I do want to leave this and turn our attention to Italy, because Italy's Foreign Ministry says it's now working
with Maldivian authorities to search for the bodies of four Italian divers who died in a scuba accident.
The Ministry says another high-risk search is planned for Saturday following an unsuccessful search today. And this comes after one body was
recovered on Thursday. Authorities from the Maldives say the five divers, including an instructor, were believed to have been exploring a deep
underwater cave when they went missing.
Our Barbie Nadeau is following developments from Rome. Barbie, good to see you first of all. I mean, what more are you hearing from authorities about
this? What has happened?
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, this is one of those tragedies in paradise. It is just so tragic and so sad on so many different
levels. We know that the victims were all -- many of them were tied to the University of Genoa.
They were part -- one was a professor of ecology, her daughter, who was a student there in bioengineering, medical bioengineering, there was a
graduate student who just graduated there from marine biology.
We know that this excursion was called a Citizen Scientist Excursion, but it's -- very seems very clear that many of these people that were on this
dive boat, and there were 20 people who did not go down into the water and who had to watch this all unfold in front of them.
They were all sort of tied to -- were very interested in marine biology and the sea and the underwater environment. But what we don't know is what went
wrong. And you know, anything could go wrong in that situation.
The cave that they were diving was some 50 meters under the water level. That's very deep. We're trying to understand if it was deeper than what is
allowed there. These are some of the things that the Italians want to know.
Now, the Italian government has opened up an investigation as well to try to find out more. But, you know, in these situations, it is so hard to
recover bodies. We know there are three caverns within that cave. There are currents, there's water movement.
You know, we've seen even, you know, there was a luxury yacht, for example, that went off -- went under a couple of years ago off Sicily. It took them
three days to find the bodies, and they were inside the vessel.
These bodies could be really anywhere in that cave system. So, you know, everybody's got hopes that they'll be able to recover those bodies. But you
know, it is going to be a race against time because the divers can only go down a certain number, you know, of minutes before they have to come back
up and decompress because it's so deep.
Worth -- just, I'll mention this, that those 20 people who were Italians, all who were on the dive boat, who watched this unfold, were then stuck at
sea in bad weather. There had been weather warnings above the water level, obviously.
And so, they must be incredibly traumatized. We haven't heard from any of those. We don't know if they're related to the victims. But as this
unfolds, I'm sure we'll get more details. But what we do know is, this is just a tragic accident in a -- you know, beautiful paradise place. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, absolutely horrific. I know you'll stay on top of this for us, Barbie. Thank you very much indeed. Barbie Nadeau there. Well, Eurovision
finalists are set to take the stage on Saturday amid a boycott over Israel's participation.
Five countries, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland are skipping the song competition, decrying Israel's actions in Gaza. The
crisis, as you can imagine, has shifted the mood of the event from fun as well as unifying to a political tug of war that has fueled protests as you
can see.
Some broadcasters from the boycotting countries are even refusing to air the event. Here's what Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, says about
his country's decision not to take part. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO SANCHEZ, PRIME MINISTER, SPAIN (through translator): Spain is not participating in the Eurovision contest because our commitment to human
rights with international law is also expressed through culture.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was barred from the contest, and Spain supported that decision. These principles must also be applied when it
comes to Israel. There can't be double standards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more on this. Joining me now is Barbara Barreiro Leon; she's a lecturer in Film and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen,
where she teaches a course on Eurovision. Barbara, welcome to the show.
Look, many of us across Europe, I think you -- I believe you're from Spain, I grew up in Portugal, we grew up with Eurovision, right? Where the slogan
is "united by music". But we are more divided, it seems than ever. How will you think the withdrawal of these five countries impact Eurovision itself
and the viewers, of course?
BARBARA BARREIRO LEON, LECTURER IN FILM & VISUAL CULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN: I'm actually reporting here from Vienna, I'm in the press center
of Eurovision 2026, and there's been talks all week about all these five countries that have withdrawn.
There's been a lot of questions in the press briefings to the director of Eurovision, and what do they think and how this is going to impact. But of
course, there's a huge impact. And as you said, I'm from Spain, and I can see a lot of people distancing themselves from the contest this year
because of the participation of Israel.
[14:30:03]
SOARES: But having said that, I mean, I know Eurovision is supposed to be a political, Barbara, yet, as we have seen, as you have seen over the years,
we could guess -- you know, I certainly could guess growing up, what country would give each other nil poi, right? The tensions between
countries have always been there, have always been obvious. Is this any different?
BARREIRO LEON: It's complicated. Yes, it's the biggest boycott in the history of the contest and it has a bigger impact. It's not just about
awarding points this time. It's about protecting human rights as well. And that's why these five countries decided not to participate this year even
though they are considering what to do and how to come back if they will the following year.
SOARES: Right. But this is supposed to be also a moment, Eurovision, many people have parties across Europe. This was seen as a as a beacon of
community and pride. And like we said, it has been transformed into a kind of political tug-of-war. I wonder whether you think, Barbara, this is the
right avenue for it for politics. How do you think viewers will react to it? Is there a fear that they will turn away?
BARREIRO LEON: It depends. I mean viewers from these five boycotting countries might be distancing themselves this year and the years to come.
But I have to say that the casual viewer as we call it, the people that turn out the TV on that day, they might not even be aware of these
countries not participating this year, but it I think it has a big impact on Eurovision 2026 and the years to come as well.
SOARES: I want to play a little clip from the singer representing Israel because he was heckled during the semi-final performances, I believe, with
people even chanting stop the genocide. This is how he reacted. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOAM BETTAN, CONTESTANT FOR ISRAEL, EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: I heard first of all in the beginning a lot of booing and it's fine. It's part of the --
it's part of the thing. And a few seconds passed and I got a huge wave of unforgettable love and support, and it really carried me on stage. And I
looked, you know, for the Israeli flags, you know, from my homeland and it gave me a lot of strength.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And it is quite sad to hear him being booed, isn't it? I mean, it's incredibly sad. It shouldn't be politicized. What concerns do -- are you
hearing on the ground there in Vienna ahead of course of this final?
BARREIRO LEON: So, here in the Eurovision, well the press center bubble, we don't see protest. We don't see basically what happens outside. We're stuck
in here for 14 hours a day. We were watching the performance from the press center. We couldn't hear any boos from here. So, the broadcasted version of
that, we couldn't hear that.
But I have to say that there was a couple of questions as well to the organizers in the briefings saying that if they are planning to block those
boos as it happened last year and the year before, but they decided that it would be freedom of speech for people to express themselves either by
clapping, singing, enjoying the performances or not enjoying some other performances as this is the case.
SOARES: Barbara, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Very quickly, who are you mostly looking forward to listening to tomorrow?
BARREIRO LEON: Finland and Moldova are my favorites this year and you have to look out for them.
SOARES: Barbara, appreciate it. Thank you very much indeed.
And still to come tonight, outrage over the U.S. Commerce Secretary's ties to Jeffrey Epstein and what he said about them, plus the new call for him
to resign. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:37:13]
SOARES: Welcome back everyone. U.S. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick resign. They
say he lied as well as evaded questions when he testified about Jeffrey Epstein last week. Lutnick previously said he cut ties with Epstein in
2005, but this photo shows Lutnick with Epstein on the convicted sex offenders island in 2012. The Justice Department released the photo as part
of the Epstein file.
Annie Grayer is live for us in Washington with more. So, Annie, just give us a sense of what really Democrats are telling you and how likely is
Lutnick to go here.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Democrats are outraged by Lutnick's closed door testimony that happened last week. And Lutnick was
called to testify on a bipartisan basis. Both Democrats and Republicans wanted to hear from him and to clarify the discrepancies between what he
said his last interaction was with Jeffrey Epstein prior to the release of the Department of Justice Epstein files release and then how he reconciled
all the additional information that came out in the Epstein files, including two additional interactions between Epstein and Lutnick,
countless emails, some phone call, calendar invites, and just a lot more interactions than was previously known.
Because before the Justice Department released the Epstein files, Lutnick said that his last interaction with Epstein was in 2005. And that was a
time where he and his wife had just moved into the townhouse next door. And they went over to Epstein's house for coffee. And they apparently abruptly
left that interaction because Epstein made them feel uncomfortable after Epstein made a joke about a massage table. And it was after that
interaction that Lutnick had said that he and his wife decided that Lutnick would not have any personal or professional relationship with Jeffrey
Epste.
But then fast forward to the DOJ's Epstein files being released and at least two other interactions Lutnick had with Epstein, including in 2011
when Lutnick went over to Epstein's house to discuss construction and potentially scaffolding. And then in 2012 when Lutnick and his family met
Epstein on his island for lunch.
Now, in his closed-door testimony, Lutnick said that this was an outdoor meeting. He didn't go inside of Epstein's home. He didn't see any young
women or girls. He completely condemned all of Epstein's behavior, said he had no knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking, and said -- and tried to
really downplay this interaction, saying that it was really brief and nothing important came of it.
But Democrats emerged from that closed-door testimony outraged, calling Lutnick a liar, and now even calling for him to resign. But notably, no
Republicans have signed onto this letter or are publicly calling for Lutnick to resign following his closed-door testimony. Lutnick has the
backing of President Trump and the administration who commend Lutnick's job as Commerce Secretary.
But this whole episode just shows how much this Epstein issue is not going away, particularly for Howard Lutnick. He is the second-highest Trump
official to be named in the Justice Department Epstein files behind President Trump himself, of course. So, these growing calls for Lutnick to
resign are just on the Democratic side right now, but we'll watch to see if any Republicans also make that call.
[14:40:31]
SOARES: Yes. Not going away, it seems. Meanwhile, Annie, I understand the House -- the House Ethics Committee, I should say, is investigating a
Republican congressman amid sexual harassment allegations. What more can you tell us on that front?
GRAYER: So, the Ethics Committee, which is responsible for investigating all members of Congress and their conduct, has opened an investigation into
Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards from North Carolina after allegations have come forward for sexual harassment and inappropriate relationships
with his staffers. But that investigation is just getting started and there are a lot of steps that have to go through -- the committee has to go
through to determine the outcome. Edwards has denied publicly all these allegations said they saying they're completely false and we're just going
to have to see how this process plays out.
But the Ethics Committee is under renewed scrutiny as the high-profile res -- after the high profile resignations of Democratic Congressman Eric
Swalwell and Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales for the allegations around those two members. There's a lot of scrutiny around the Ethics
Committee which is supposed to police all this behavior, how they are doing their jobs, if they could do a better job. That's a huge conversation
happening on Capitol Hill and the Edwards investigation is just the latest example of that.
SOARES: Annie Grayer, thank you very much indeed there on Capitol Hill for us.
Well, a New York judge has declared a mistrial in former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, pardon me, retrial on a rape charge. The jury failed to
reach a verdict in this latest trial last year. Another jury was also deadlocked on the case. Weinstein's original conviction in 2020 was
overturned on appeal. A hearing is scheduled next month to determine if the case will go to a fourth trial. Weinstein has been convicted of other sex
crimes and remains behind bars.
We're going to take a short break, but we will see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Well, this week we are exploring the global rise of Korean film and drama as part of "K EVERYTHING," a CNN Original Series with Daniel Dae Kim.
Vice Chairwoman of CJ Group, Miky Lee is an entertainment industry pioneer in Korea. Daniel sits down with her in Los Angeles to hear how Lee helped
create the infrastructure of the Korean film industry through building cinemas and nurturing top talent. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL DAE KIM, HOST, K EVERYTHING: You were one of the ones who were insisting that one day Korean culture would be the at the center of the
world.
MIKY LEE, VICE CHAIRWOMAN, CJ GROUP: Yes. How did you know that?
KIM (voice-over): Everyone in the business knows Miky Lee. She was born in 1958, granddaughter of the founder of CJ and Samsung. He died in 1987, the
same year South Korea transitioned from military rule to democracy.
LEE: My grandfather always told us growing up, the nation will have the true competitive advantage when power of culture is combined with
industrial and economic growth.
KIM: At that time, awareness of Korean culture was much different from what it is today.
LEE: Yes. Are you from North Korea or South Korea? That was the most asked question when I answered like, oh, I'm from Korea.
KIM (voice-over): In 1995, Miky led CJ's $300 million investment in DreamWorks, a studio founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and
David Geffen. In exchange, she asked for advice on how Korea could replicate Hollywood's success.
LEE: And they always emphasized very important two points. Entertainment business is making intangible asset into tangible lucrative business. So,
you need to build infrastructure that the creators and artists can continue to create the storytelling and their performance and their creative
activity.
KIM (voice-over): So, she built Multiplex Theaters, Korea's first, and launched CJ's cinema empire spanning seven countries.
KIM: What gave you the idea that you would want to do this and make this your mission?
LEE: Somehow, I have the belief that Koreans have that great passion for music and storytelling. Our storytelling, there's always the layered
narrative and emotional density.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, Daniel Dae Kim goes behind the scenes of Korea's film and TV industry in the CNN Original Series "K EVERYTHING' with a new episode this
Saturday right here on CNN. And you can stream the full series on CNN All Access and HBO Max.
And still to come tonight, few cinematic characters are as iconic as James Bond. Playing 007 instantly turns any actor into a screen legend. And now
the search is on for the next Bond. When we come back, I'll ask a Bond expert who should get the gig.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:47]
SOARES: Well, for more than six decades, one name has defined espionage. James Bond. Now, a new Bond must earn the license to kill. So, get out your
tux and prepare that martini -- shaken, of course, not stirred -- because the search is on. Amazon MGM Studios has announced the search for a new
bond is underway. No word yet, by the way, on who is being considered.
Actor Daniel Craig retired from stint as 007 after 2021's No Time To Die. The next Bond film will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, who is behind the
recent, of course, Dune movies. Variety Magazine says Oscar nominated casting director Nina Gold has been tapped to find the next Bond. Gold is
credited with putting together the cast for Game of Thrones and the Crown as well as discovering Daisy Ridley and casting her in the Star Wars
sequel.
So, let's dive a bit deeper into the search for a new James Bond. Joining us now is Mark O'Connell, pop culture commentator and the author of
Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan. And I can see you're a Bond fan, Mark, because the backdrop says Bond everywhere. I think I see posters
everywhere. So, look, just talk to us about what you think they ought to be looking for. What kind of qualities do you think they're looking for and
what would make kind of a modern James Bond?
MARK O'CONNELL, AUTHOR, CATCHING BULLETS: MEMOIRS OF A BOND FAN: Well, hello, by the way. Nina Gold is a very interesting casting director and the
fact that she created the cast of The Crown, for example. That redefined what we think of royalty but also made a star out of Claire Foy and one or
two others. So, the fact she's taking a grip on this I think is a really good idea.
And what does she need to be mindful of? I think the future. You know, where is our on-screen movie heroism? And it's a really, really hard task.
I think that's part of why we've had a -- you know, a slower -- I wouldn't say glacial pace but it has been a slower pace to, you know, secure the new
bond and it's because we don't have many British movie stars so suddenly. Like, who could be the next movie star?
But there are some actors. There are some people out there. Some keep doing the sort of, you know, the tabloid Rumor Mill, Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner,
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but there's a few quirkier more interesting people and I think whilst Amazon want to get it right which means getting it
familiar I think this is a chance for them to slightly move it on.
SOARES: Right. Let me just show our viewers some of the names being considered because according to you, the U.K. betting house here, this is
the odds on some of the characters. You mentioned some Callum Turner, Harris Dickinson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jacob Elordi. Do you think any of
them could be it or you're pointing there -- this is from Paddy Power -- or do you think they will look beyond that? I mean, do they want continuity or
total reinvention is my question basically?
O'CONNELL: It's a weird one. It's kind of -- it's a reinvention of continuity. So, it's kind of taking it forward, but not taking it too
forward. I think Harris Dickinson is a really interesting one, although he's starting to go into directing. But those four faces you've had there,
yes, they are all the right people. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jacob Elordi. Jacob Elordi is interesting at the moment. His stars rising like Callum
Turner. I mean, Jacob Elordi's has played Elvis Presley, Frankenstein's Monster. He's kind of doing good stuff at the moment. He's about 82 foot
tall. He's a very tall man. Not sure he'll get in the DB5, but that's for other people to work out.
But I do think and also what I'm -- what I'm mindful of is that the producers of this film, David Hayman, Amy Pascal, and Courtenay Valenti,
collectively, they were part of Project Hail Mary, which has been a really good hit. Now, it's based on a diff -- you know, a space novel, and it's
Ryan Gosling. I'm not saying Ryan Gosling is our next Bond, but they will be mindful of that sense of star power.
But finding someone who's not a star yet, that's what the Broccoli's always tried to do and successfully did and that's what Nina Gold and Amazon have
now got -- that's the mission on their hands.
SOARES: Ryan Gosling. I do like Ryan Gosling. But let me ask you this, and this for our audience around the world. Does he have to be British? In
other words, can he be American but with a British accent? How would that be received?
O'CONNELL: I think we'll keep it British. We -- you know, let's keep it British. That's where the character came from. That's where the production
is going to be housed. I think British -- an English character going forward. Yes. And I think that's what -- I think that's what the world
wants as well. So, no, not someone who can speak English. Although Jacob Elordi is Australian having an American career. But he'll be the only
exception to that rule or my rule anyway.
[14:55:21]
SOARES: Who is your money on? I mean -- and speak to the whole physicality versus charisma because it's so different. We've had such an evolution,
haven't we, on the James Bond character. We've got about a minute left or so.
O'CONNELL: Yes. Yes. OK. An actor -- I've always just kept my eye on -- and Barbie was made by the producers of this new Bond film. And there's an
actor called Kingsley Ben-Adir, and I just looked at him. He's one of the dancing Kens. and he just looks -- it just reminded me of a young 60s
Connery. I'm not against Harris Dickinson. Also, George MacKay as well. Keep an eye on him.
And Nina Gold, she found George MacKay, Kit Harrington, Richard Madden. So, yes, I think she'll find someone new. I don't think it'll be from her
output of work so far, but yes, they're my names that I'm sort of pondering and thinking could be right.
SOARES: Mark, really appreciate it. There's so many. The search is on. We're all really excited to see who they pick and to see what that
continuation of course is like from Daniel Craig. I appreciate it. Thanks for coming on the show. That's Mark O'Connell with -- of course, the author
of Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan. Thank you.
And that does it for us for tonight. Do stay right here. "WHAT WE KNOW" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
