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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: Netanyahu Plans Talks with Lebanon, No Ceasefire; Lebanon: More Than 300 Killed by Israeli Strikes Wednesday; U.S. to Hold Talks with Iran in Pakistan; Melania Trump Slams "Lies" Linking Her to Epstein; Iowa Farmers Struggle Amid Iran War, WHO: Lebanese Hospitals Running Out of Supplies; Artemis II Astronauts Getting Ready to Return. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 09, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining from all around the world. I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles. Jim Sciutto is off. You're

watching "The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu says strikes will continue against Hezbollah in Lebanon as he calls for direct talks with the

Lebanese. Melania Trump delivers surprise remarks denouncing any effort to link her with Jeffrey Epstein. And the Artemis astronauts pack up their

things and prepare for splashdown on Earth in just over 24 hours from now.

We begin in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government plans to hold direct talks with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah.

Even so, he is rejecting the idea of a ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I want to tell you there is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are continuing to strike

Hezbollah with force, and we will not stop until we restore your security. Following repeated requests from the Lebanese government to open peace

negotiations with us, last night I instructed the Cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon in order to achieve two goals. One, the

disarmament of Hezbollah. And the second, a historic, sustainable peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: The IDF announced fresh strikes a few hours ago against Hezbollah sites. Earlier, U.S. President Trump said he asked the Israeli leader to

be, quote, a little more low-key. The Lebanese health ministry now says more than 300 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Wednesday. Iran said

that attack violated the ceasefire, though the U.S. and Israel insist Lebanon is not part of that deal.

Jeremy Diamond is live in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, talk us through the latest developments.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, the Israeli prime minister was adamant today that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon,

even as he said that he has instructed his government to seek direct negotiations with Lebanon over disarming Hezbollah and establishing, quote,

"peaceful relations" with the Lebanese state. This comes after weeks of entreaties from the Lebanese government to enter into direct negotiations

with Israel.

But it now comes just a day after Israel carried out the deadliest strikes in Lebanon of this war, killing more than 200 people, according to Lebanese

health authorities. And that puts this all in a very different light. The Lebanese government officials are indicating that they will not negotiate

under fire, which is exactly what the Israelis want to do. And so, a real question now about whether these negotiations actually begin between Israel

and Lebanon.

We also understand that the Israeli prime minister only sought these negotiations with Lebanon at the direct request of President Trump. Sources

telling me that yesterday, President Trump had a phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu, where he urged him to seek direct negotiations with

Lebanon and also to pare down Israeli strikes inside of Lebanon.

And while the Israeli prime minister said there is no ceasefire in Lebanon, we are told by Israeli sources that Israel is going to scale back some of

its strikes in Lebanon. Exactly what that means on the ground, though, is difficult to know.

Tonight, we've seen more Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The Israeli military saying that these were aimed at Hezbollah rocket launchers that were

preparing to fire at northern and central Israel. We did see Hezbollah rocket fire tonight towards the city of Haifa and other parts of northern

Israel as well, as the Israeli military has warned civilians in Israel today to anticipate the possibility of heavy rocket fire from Hezbollah.

Nick.

WATT: Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv. Thanks very much. Vice President J.D. Vance is leading a U.S. delegation to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, for

high stakes negotiations with Iranian officials over the weekend.

[18:05:00]

The American delegation includes President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. A short time ago, President

Trump said on social media, there are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait. They better not be. And if they

are, they better stop now.

Kristen Holmes is live at the White House. What's the latest from there, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Nick, we're hearing from the administration officials who really want to make this

work. They do not want to upend this very precarious ceasefire deal. And that's why you're seeing President Trump and his administration officials

almost working in overtime to try and put this into concrete.

So, for example, we heard Vice President J.D. Vance saying that any issue with Lebanon not being or being included in the ceasefire was probably an

honest misunderstanding. You also heard the White House really not reacting, other than President Trump's post just moments ago, not really

reacting to stories about ships being stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, not really reacting to response from Iranian officials saying that the U.S. had

broken the ceasefire for a number of different reasons.

You also see that President Trump is making phone calls to the Israeli prime minister, essentially telling him that he needs his help to try and

make this ceasefire work, asking him to cool it in Lebanon, trying to get anything that they can to make sure that this doesn't fall apart. And we

are told that those discussions about the in-person sit-down between the two sides are ongoing, and they feel confident that they're going to

happen.

But what seems very clear is that if this were to fall apart now, it would be at the behest of the Iranians, not of the United States. We do know the

United States had been looking for an off-ramp, and they seem pretty eager to make this that off-ramp.

WATT: Kristen Holmes at the White House, thank you very much. Now, for more on all this, we're now joined by CNN military analyst and retired U.S.

Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. So, we've heard all about the diplomacy right now. Can you give us some sort of picture about what we're actually

seeing on the ground right now militarily and at the Strait?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Yes, Nick, so basically militarily, we're kind of in a frozen

posture at the moment. So, all the U.S. forces are arrayed along basically the southern periphery of the Persian Gulf. You also have the Marine

expeditionary units that are just off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Arabian Sea. And then you also have the air assets that are not only

onboard the carriers, but also the land-based air assets, the air force assets in particular, that are based in places like Al Udeid, Prince Sultan

Air Base, Al Udeid being in Qatar, Prince Sultan being in Saudi Arabia, and, of course, in the various bases in Kuwait and the United Arab

Emirates. So, those are the -- those bases.

And then you have the Israelis. They are still conducting some operations. Obviously, they're conducting major operations in Lebanon right now, as

Jeremy reported earlier. And you have a whole bunch of Iranian efforts. Basically, there is an Iranian effort to close the Strait of Hormuz and

keep it that way, using some of their military means, which are basically the small boats and other means of enforcement that way.

And then you also have Iranians basically getting ready just in case things go south to use missiles and drones. They have about half of their missiles

and missile launch capabilities still in existence, according to at least the joint staff. And then you also have the capabilities, of course, of the

drones. So, that's something that is going to still affect the Gulf states. There's still some attacks going on there, even though it's been relatively

quiet over the past 24 hours in the Gulf region. They are ready, the Iranians are, to change that if they feel the need to do so. But so far,

they've kept that part quiet, but they're ready to move forward.

WATT: And so, I just want to hit one of those points again. So, basically, the Iranians still have very much still have the capacity to strike other

Gulf states and also to impose their will over the strait.

LEIGHTON: Yes, absolutely. And so, Nick, every time you look at the briefings that we receive at the Pentagon or the White House, we have to

unfortunately take them with a bit of a grain of salt because, yes, there's been a lot of destruction of the Iranian Navy. It is basically about 95

percent or so at the bottom of the Persian Gulf or other parts of the oceans. But the Air Force, of course, has been decimated, the Iranian Air

Force.

[18:10:00]

But the thing is that they still have an asymmetric capability. And as we look at what is happening in the Persian Gulf, you know, based on this

marinetraffic.com picture, you can see that there's very little that is passing through the strait right there. So, that is the critical element.

They control the strait.

They have extant still some of their capabilities. In fact, about 80 percent of Iran's air defense capabilities were destroyed. That leaves

about 20 percent. You compare that with the first days of Iraqi freedom, the war against Iraq, the second Gulf War, and we obliterated in that

particular conflict 95 percent of Iraq's air defenses.

So, you compare the difference between what happened in the Iraq war with what's happening in the Iran war, and there is definitely a difference.

Part of it has to do with the size of the countries involved, but it also has to do with the way in which the targets were struck.

WATT: Fascinating. And just, I mean, you also mentioned there that, you know, the Iranians are ready in case things go south. I mean, so is the

U.S. The U.S. is not moving any assets out of the region, right? I mean, they're keeping everything there just in case this falls apart, right?

LEIGHTON: That's exactly right, Nick. And so, in fact, President Trump mentioned that very specifically in one of his Truth Social postings that

they're poised and ready. So, that's why the Marine Expeditionary Units, both the 11th and the 31st, are still basically in place. You have the

various amphibious ready groups, the carrier battle groups. You have the Air Force with its assets, the various squadrons and expeditionary wings

that are there. So, everything is ready to move in case things don't work out on the negotiating table. In case, let's hope they do.

WATT: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for your time.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Nick.

WATT: Turning now to an extraordinary statement from U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. She made, I think, unprecedented public remarks on the

Jeffrey Epstein scandal in a surprise address that lasted a little under six minutes. The first lady denying any close connection to the convicted

sex offender, calling rumors to the contrary, quote, "lies."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, U.S. FIRST LADY: I never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time since

overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach. To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice,

Maxwell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: The first lady also imploring Congress to do more to uncover the truth about Epstein. Her husband, of course, is mentioned many times in the

Epstein files and at one time had a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. He has sought to play down the scandal, claiming it's time for the

country to move on.

Stephen Collinson joins me now. Stephen, to my mind, this looks like a pretty extraordinary statement. What do you think?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, I mean, this came absolutely out of nowhere on a Thursday afternoon in Washington. Nobody for

once has been talking about the Epstein files for the last six or seven weeks because everything has been all about the situation in Iran and the

complications and the problems the White House has over that.

It did seem that the Epstein saga, which has haunted Trump's second term so far, was ebbing away a little bit in public consciousness. But the first

lady's remarks changed all that. They're exceedingly explosive. They contradicted the idea that you mentioned, that the White House thinks that

this is something that doesn't concern the American people, that it should go away.

She called for congressional hearings into which Epstein victims could testify under oath publicly about their ordeals, thereby validating the

claims that Donald Trump has said are a hoax. And it all left the big question, why did she talk about this now? What was she trying to achieve?

WATT: And do we know the answers to those questions?

COLLINSON: No, she operates in a very isolated and tight inner circle. She has a real independent streak. A source told CNN that the president was

aware that the first lady was going to give these remarks, yet he went on an American channel, MS NOW, a few moments after she spoke and said he

hadn't known what she was going to say. So, there's this question of disarray between the West Wing and what used to be called the East Wing,

the first lady's office about what kind of coordination was this.

It's very difficult to think that the president wanted all of this stuff about Jeffrey Epstein being brought back into the public consciousness

again. And this is going to cause real ructions on Capitol Hill.

[18:15:00]

The first lady is now being asked to testify by Democrats to the committee that is investigating the Epstein drama. That is something that the White

House would not want to see. And it raises the question of whether the first lady would use her influence to get the president to force the

Justice Department to release millions of pages of Epstein files which are required to be given to the public by law, but which haven't yet been

released. So, all sorts of intriguing personal questions in the White House and political questions which are rocking Washington this afternoon.

WATT: Extraordinary. Stephen Collinson, thank you so much.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

WATT: Coming up, oil on the rise again. A look at the growing economic damage from the Iran war. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATT: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, more green arrows on Wall Street. U.S. stocks extending Wednesday's strong gains on hopes for

those upcoming U.S. Iran peace talks in Pakistan. Oil moved higher, though, but the prices of both Brent and U.S. crude do remain below $100. All of

this as the average price of gasoline in the U.S. rose to $4.16 a gallon. That's up eight cents from the same time a week ago.

Newly released numbers show the U.S. economy growing at a half a percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, weaker than previous estimates. The U.S.

is set to release the Consumer Inflation Report for March on Friday. It will be the first CPI report measuring the cost of living since the start

of the Iran war.

Joe Brusuelas joins me now. He is the chief economist at RSM. So, Joe, get the old crystal ball out. What do you think we're going to see in those

numbers tomorrow?

JOE BRUSUELAS, PRINCIPAL AND CHIEF ECONOMIST, RSM: You should expect a top line increase in inflation of one percent. That'll translate to 3.4 percent

year-over-year increase. What's really going to stick out is likely to be close to a 20 percent jump in the price of gasoline. And that's where

economics and finance intersect with public policy and politics. And that, at least for this report, is going to be what's important.

However, it's going to be a symphony in two movements. It's going to be March and April. It will take us a full two months to capture the initial

impact of the oil shock that's cascading through the American economy at the current time.

[18:20:00]

WATT: Yes, I mean, listen, the economy moves a bit like a super oil tanker, right? Kind of slowly and reacting to stuff that's happened in the

past. So, you know, we're going to continue to see -- I mean, actually, the head of the IMF, I think it was the head of the IMF, somebody at the IMF

just said that this war is going to permanently scar the economy, even if there's a deal right now, even if this current deal holds, right? So, I

mean, we are looking at deep impacts, right? Whatever happens from here on out.

BRUSUELAS: Right. Over the past two weeks, it's been very clear that the war, the focus in terms of the economics and finance of it has transitioned

or turned from a focus on disrupting the transportation of supply to how bad is the permanent damage going to be to the production of oil and

refining capacity in the Persian Gulf region. So, there is going to be permanent scarring.

I mean, just think about what's happened in Qatar alone. One field that Qatar has invested $26 billion in has effectively been destroyed. They say

that it's going to take $23 billion to repair it, and it's going to be out for three to five years. So, if you think that we're going to just see

those prices on the cost of oil, natural gas or domestic gasoline, wherever you live, fall back to pre-war levels, you might want to think again.

That's just not going to happen.

WATT: So, I mean, the IMF spring meetings are going to kick off soon. I mean, amongst those finance ministers, optimism, despair? What's the vibe

going to be?

BRUSUELAS: Well, no, you're not going to have optimism. There's going to be an urgency to bring the war to a conclusion because in places like

Australasia, East Asia, we've moved from a market-based pricing mechanism to rational. Usually, economists don't use those terms loosely, but because

of what's happened over the past month, we really are beginning to see shortages in the most dynamic area of the global economy.

So, it's very important that we resume the flow of oil, natural gas, distillates and other liquids to East Asia as soon as possible. If not,

what we're going to be doing is we're going to be writing off 2026 as a viable economic year on a global basis pretty much everywhere except the

United States.

WATT: Yes, you're right. Not much optimism there. Joe, thanks very much for your time.

BRUSUELAS: Thank you.

WATT: In the U.S., farmers are warning that the high cost of fuel and fertilizer caused by the Middle East war are pushing them and their

businesses to the brink. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has this report from Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON LEHMAN, FIFTH-GENERATION IOWA FARMER: A lot of farmer discouragement out there. Prices of our soybeans, prices of all our commodities started

going down. Prices of fertilizer and other things we import to plant a crop started going up. So, for a year we've seen some real chaos on all sorts of

trade tensions.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's always uncertainty, obviously with farming. But as you start this season, are

there more uncertainties than most?

LEHMAN: Oh, yes. So, many farms are reporting that they're on the brink of something bad, that their communities are on the brink of something bad.

ZELENY (voice-over): Aaron Lehman is a fifth generation Iowa farmer and worried like never before with fallout from the Iran war.

LEHMAN: No one anticipated that we would have a shock to the system like a massive increase in fertilizer prices because all the experts did not see

this coming when we received this rise in fertilizer prices because of this war. And really, no one's really seen a way out.

ZELENY (voice-over): Spring planting is just around the corner here in Iowa, where the cost of fertilizer and diesel have soared since the war

began.

LEHMAN: We're filling over 100 gallons in our fuel tank multiple times a week.

ZELENY: So, that cost will be thousands.

LEHMAN: Of dollars, thousands of dollars. And it's not just for what we put into our combine. It's not just what we put in our tractor. In addition

to that, what it takes to get my grain to my market. The trucks that are using diesel fuel there, they're feeling it as well.

ZELENY (voice-over): President Trump's promises on trade and tariffs faced even more scrutiny here now in a state he won three times.

ZELENY: Have you felt the whiplash of that tariff policy this past year?

WES RIETH, FARM MANAGER, LONGVIEW FARMS: Yes, I mean, I think it's hard to say for any farmer that we haven't. Right.

ZELENY (voice-over): Wes Reith is farm manager at Longview Farms, navigating an ever-growing set of obstacles.

[18:25:00]

RIETH: You can look at futures prices for soybeans, you know, again, and kind of watch the pendulum swing a little bit. And I think, yes, that kind

of lends itself to, you know, these parallels that we see in geopolitics or, you know, conflicts, Middle East, et cetera that, yes, create some of

this uncertainty.

ZELENY (voice-over): This year, the optimism of a new season comes with even more risk.

RIETH: So, we get one chance to plant and we get one chance to harvest, and that's it for the year. So, we get one try every single year. And so,

even like in my lifetime, I might get 30 tries at this. That really puts things into perspective, like, I only, you know, the prices of fertilizer,

seed, whatever, like, could go crazy. But like, we can't not plant. We still have to go out and plant the crop.

ZELENY (voice-over): For the next seven months as the crops begin to grow, just starting to poke through, a political season will also unfold, testing

whether any of these challenges influence the midterm elections.

LEHMAN: In addition to that, I think farmers are becoming more and more aware that you need to say to our elected leaders, what are you saying

about the fertilizer situation? What are you saying about the trade situation? Are we going to stand up to these things that are hurting us or

are we not?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: That was Jeff Zeleny reporting from Iowa. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATT: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Nick Watt. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.

Israel's military says it has launched new strikes in Lebanon. The attacks coming just after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered direct talks

with Lebanon, while making clear there would be no ceasefire with Hezbollah. Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes killed more than 300

people on Wednesday, including women and children.

An American man has been arrested in the Bahamas after his wife disappeared. Brian Hooker told authorities his wife, Lynette, fell from

their dinghy Saturday night while they were in a strong current.

[18:30:00]

Her family has been calling for a deeper investigation. An attorney for Brian Hooker says he is cooperating with the investigation and has denied

any wrongdoing.

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump says she was never friends with Jeffrey Epstein and called any attempt to link the two of them a lie. The Justice

Department released a 2002 email exchange between Melania Trump and Epstein's convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The first lady said they

were part of the same social circles. She called on Congress to provide a public hearing for Epstein's victims.

In Lebanon, health officials say in 38 days of conflict, nearly 1,900 people have died and more than 6,000 have been injured. The World Health

Organization now warning that hospitals are running out of supplies and there are shortages of some essential medications.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ABDINASIR ABUBAKAR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON: If the current situation and the current demand actually continue

and the current escalation continue, probably the country may be facing a very real risk of critical shortage, including trauma supplies, surgical

materials, blood products, chronic medications, and any other further disruption could seriously hinder the ability of providing timely, adequate

care for both emergency and ongoing health needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: The Lebanese Health Ministry says more than 15 percent of the country's population has been displaced. In response, the charity CARE,

which has worked in Lebanon for the last 20 years, has been delivering drinking water, meals and bedding to those without homes.

Michelle Nunn is president and CEO of CARE. So, listen, I mean, we can rattle off the numbers, but can you give us any idea what the people of

Lebanon and also your staff are dealing with right now?

MICHELLE NUNN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARE: Yes, it's an extraordinary crisis, as you just articulated. So, for instance, our CARE team members that are

responding to the needs and supplying mattresses, blankets, food, water are also displaced in many instances themselves.

As an example, one of the stories that our team shared just this week was of encountering in their distribution a woman who was four days from having

a given birth through a C-section with her baby on the sidewalk. And so, that's an example of what the human reality is right now. It is it is a

terrible crisis for over a million people that are displaced and for literally everyone who is living in Lebanon who is impacted.

WATT: And, you know, you say over a million people displaced. Now, some of these people, you know, were also displaced in 24 and other -- I mean, this

is not just a onetime deal for them. This is like a multiple layered, just horrific situation, right?

NUNN: This is a multilayered crisis because the people of Lebanon were already looking into the face of enormous inflationary and economic crisis.

In many instances, people living in and at poverty, people who have been displaced by these bombings over a period of years over and over again. We

talk to people who will say this is my second, third, fourth displacement.

So, again, those images, I think, start to capture what is the reality for people. And again, women and children are the majority of the people that

are that are displaced, that are suffering. And all of the people in Lebanon are faced with the anxiety, the crisis, the trauma that is the

reality of this war.

WATT: Listen, anxiety, trauma. I mean, is there any is there any room for optimism amongst these people? Listen, you know, you guys have been working

there for 20 years. We've just discussed the multiple times many of these people have been displaced. Does any optimism remain?

NUNN: Well, I think, look, the optimism is that the ceasefire has to extend to Lebanon, that we have to have diplomatic action, that we have to

have a de-escalation, that we have to have the abiding by international humanitarian law, which entails ensuring that you are not harming civilians

or civilian infrastructure and then access and resourcing for humanitarian assistance.

So, as we talk to, for instance, a woman who is describing the fact that she has not been able to go to a job, her children have not been able to go

to school, they've not been able to eat. And yet, she said that she had found sustenance through care, support and supplies. So, that is the hope.

And we need to stand with and in solidarity during this time of enormous suffering, but also work to alleviate that suffering by ending the

conflict.

[18:35:00]

WATT: I mean, you can provide people with the material needs, but what about the mental health of these people? I mean, living in those

conditions, that's got to be just absolutely horrific, just mentally dealing with that.

NUNN: Yes. If you can imagine, you know, again, another woman who was with her baby who had been displaced when she was pregnant, now displaced again,

and said there was nothing that she could do to calm her infant. And of course, in the wake of the bombing and the -- you know, the dangers that

were all around her.

So, CARE, one of the other things that we're offering is not just the mattresses and the blankets that are just those basic needs, but also

psychological and support on the trauma that people are facing. But we need to be able to do that in the short-term. But we also need to be working

towards, again, a ceasefire that extends to the people of Lebanon and ensures that no more civilians die. I mean, just yesterday was the highest

number of people that were injured and died in the course of the war. And so, we need to make sure that no more innocent people are killed in the

coming days.

WATT: Michelle Nunn from CARE, really appreciate you bringing us those stories, really helps to get some sort of idea of what's going on. Really

appreciate your time.

NUNN: Thank you so much.

WATT: Now, as Lebanon remains a key front in this war, our Jim Sciutto recently visited northern Israel near the Lebanese border. He spoke to a

co-founder of Hubayta, a tech and startup hub in the region, who described how communities there and entrepreneurs are trying to keep working under

the rocket threat that they suffer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFRI ELIYAHU-RIMONI, CO-FOUNDER, HUBAYTA: We're still in Israel.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: So, we have a bomb shelter in each floor. And we try to make this as nice as possible because we spend amount of time here. So, we

made it into some kind of a meeting room.

SCIUTTO: Why invest in startups up here in the north, where arguably it's less safe as opposed to in the center?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: So, we've learned from last time, this is why we built this place. You can still work from here, even though there's rockets above

you. You see this place, it's not on the border, it's six kilometers away from the border.

SCIUTTO: That's a little bit of warning time, right?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: Yes, yes.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: So, startup companies are coming here. This place keeps on working, even in the past months of war.

SCIUTTO: And what is your -- because you're closer and it's a different kind of weapons system, what's your warning time?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: My warning --

SCIUTTO: When you get an alert. Is it immediate?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: 30 seconds.

SCIUTTO: 30 seconds. Wow.

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: 30 seconds. Yes, we feel lucky because there are towns on the border, they have zero time. Our organization, our NGO, Hubayta, aim to

be a part of the prosperity of the next generation of the Galilee. This area has suffered from a lot of conflicts, but we do see the assets and the

potential and we want to bring it into reality.

Where we sit right now, it's a place that used to be a mall, a mall that was abandoned on October 7th. I don't know if a lot of people know, October

7th also happened here.

SCIUTTO: I know. Yes. I was here.

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: I mean -- yes, you were here. So, you probably know, 42 communities were displaced, 100,000 people, over 22,000 rockets and UAVs

was fired towards the Israeli northern communities.

SCIUTTO: Do you believe the government, the military is doing enough to protect this part of the north?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: You know, I've worked for the Israeli defense industry, so they're doing a lot. But there are some decisions that could make a

difference if they were deciding otherwise.

SCIUTTO: Like what? What do you need?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: There's a lot of small towns. There's not a big city, not a big metropolitan, and our day-to-day lives are happening in between the

towns. So, we need them to protect our roads.

SCIUTTO: Was it a mistake not to evacuate this area this time, like they did after October 7th?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: I mean, empty towns, it's a big win for our enemies. I always say, and the government made a very good decision this time, I

think, because I always say, the more they try to kill us, the stronger we're going to live.

SCIUTTO: But the risk is real, as you know. There was a woman killed on this road. Of course, you have a family. It's not an easy decision, I

imagine.

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: I know that every person who lives here chose to live here, and we're here for a reason. It's hard to say that I support a war.

This conflict was forced on us. No one in the world would never allow or willing to accept this, that this is your neighbor. We want to live

peacefully with our neighbors.

[18:40:00]

I mean, we have nothing against the Lebanese people. We have nothing against the Syrian people. But you cannot afford to have a terror

organization in your backyard.

SCIUTTO: What about the Lebanese people who live on that side of the border, who have to now move back in effect, right? They can't live where

they used to live. Do you sympathize with them?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: This is how I see it. I see that we're helping the Lebanese people and we're helping the Lebanese government to control this

huge monster that grew up in our backyard.

SCIUTTO: Do you see an end to the story?

ELIYAHU-RIMONI: I am very optimistic about the future of this region. We cannot live in an endless war. No one wants it. And it's not going to stay

like this. But in the day after this war, I believe that this area, this place that we sit right now is going to prosper. And in 10 years from now,

you come here, you see, you know, not 20 startups, you will see 100 startups. And you tell me, you know what? You were right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: You're watching "The Brief." We'll be right back just after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATT: The Masters Golf Tournament is in full swing. See what I did there? Sam Burns joining last year's winner, Rory McIlroy, at the top of the

leaderboard. Ahead of the likes of Scottie Scheffler in a stellar field. The annual tournament takes place at Augusta National Golf Club in the U.S.

State of Georgia. The Masters, it's about more than golf. There's history, beauty, vegetation. Don Riddell shows us around the grounds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: It is time for the Masters. We're here for the golf at Augusta National. But even if you don't like the game, you'll

still love it here. Let me show you around, because this place is truly magical.

Golfers think of this course as a hallowed ground and it's revered for its stunning beauty. Etched into the landscape of a former horticultural

nursery, Augusta has never forgotten its roots. Some 80,000 plants of over 350 varieties have been added here since it opened in the 1930s. And every

hole has a name.

RIDDELL: For example, the first hole is called tea olive for the species that line the opening fairway. And when you catch it in the air, the

apricot-like scent is seductive.

The course is packed with dogwoods, peaches, and crime apples, all of which are in bloom around this time of year. And the 13th hole truly is a

breathtaking sight. When everything is in full bloom, it resembles a Van Gogh palette.

[18:45:00]

1,600 azaleas splashed across the fairway from tea to green. And it's almost as if it was done on purpose to take your mind off your golf game

because many around has gone sideways here. And every year I find myself thinking the same thing, why don't the azaleas look this good in my yard?

Even the greenest of thumbs will leave Augusta green with envy.

You're walking amongst the legends of the game here, but you're also standing in the shadow of giants. The Georgia native loblolly pines frame

the course and their 70-foot canopy towers overhead.

But this is the piece de resistance, the live oak tree by the clubhouse. Planted in the 1850s, it's around 170 years old now, and this magnificent

specimen has seen it all. It is the beginning and the end here at Augusta, but to appreciate it, you've got to get right underneath it. These enormous

horizontal limbs somehow defy gravity.

If I'm ever lucky enough to play this wonderful golf course, I don't think I'd mind losing my ball from time to time because I think this is a place

where you'd welcome a few detours. Personally, I'd want to explore every last piece of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Next, up in space, a journey of a lifetime approaches its final chapter. The Artemis II crew is preparing for a fiery re-entry to Earth's

atmosphere. We'll take a look at the preparations with a retired astronaut. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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WATT: You're listening to today's wake-up song for the crew on day nine of the Artemis II mission around the moon. If you didn't recognize the song,

it's "Lonesome Drifter" by Charley Crockett. It is the final full day for the crew. You're watching live pictures right now. The crew packing up gear

and trying on special suits that they'll wear for the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday.

Pilot Victor Glover says getting home safely could be the most challenging part of the whole mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: I'll be honest and say I've actually been thinking about entry since April 3, 2023, when we got assigned to this

mission. And one of the first press conferences we were asked, what are we looking forward to? And I said splashdown. And it's kind of humorous, but

it's literal as well, that we have to get back. There's so much data that you've seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There's

so many more pictures, so many more stories. And gosh, I haven't even begun to process what we've been through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Retired NASA astronaut Danny Olivas joins me now. Danny, can you give us some idea, like, what's going through their heads right now?

Anxiety, excitement, what's the feeling?

[18:50:00]

DANNY OLIVAS, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Now, I'll tell you that, Nick, I mean, the crew is getting ready to come home. They have procedures that

need to be executed between now and the time that they actually splashdown. A lot of things have to go right. So, you know, ground is basically giving

all the crews the instructions that they need to in order to be able to get the ship in the right configuration.

And yes, so they're focusing on making sure everything's going to be nice and tight. They don't want things to flop around as they're making their

reentry. And looking forward to getting the crew home. It'll be a great time. This has been one for the history books. I'm so proud of them all.

WATT: Yes, for sure. And like the potential issues, I mean, I've been reading something about heat shields getting too hot. Is that a thing?

OLIVAS: Well, it's not so much the heat shield getting too hot as much as NASA knows that they provided for the crew probably the less desirable

option for the heat shield, but they have been able to mitigate that deficiency with the entry profile. And so, they discovered after Artemis I

that the heat shield performed in a way that they didn't expect. It cracked instead of ablating the way it's supposed to. They expect this heat shield

to do the same thing.

But in changing the entry profile, they have mitigated and bounded the risk. And they've done a lot of testing, a lot of analysis, a lot of

investigation to know that there are -- you know, positive margin on the entire entry profile.

So, I'm there with Victor. I'm very -- you know, I'm nervous about it. I think anytime anybody comes home from space, you're nervous because it's a

lot of energy to burn off. But the crew is going to be good.

WATT: And you mentioned lessons learned from Artemis I there. I mean, they've learned a lot about lessons from Artemis II as well, right?

OLIVAS: Oh, absolutely. In fact, it's good to think about the Artemis program is essentially the steps required in order to be able to eventually

colonize the moon. And so, every flight is a test flight. Every flight is a learning opportunity for NASA and for the entire program to be able to take

the things that they've learned from that particular flight and get them ready for the subsequent flight.

And you've heard some issues pop up here and there with regard to the toilet, the life support system on Orion. They will take those lessons

learned, and they will make modifications. They'll make adaptations as necessary to get the vehicles ready for the subsequent missions when we

eventually colonize the moon.

WATT: And, Danny, just quickly to end with, when you've been off our planet for a while, what's the sort of emotional reentry? You know, I mean,

is it possible to the next day, you know, go to the supermarket and buy shampoo, do mundane things, or does everything on Earth feel a bit odd once

you've been up there?

OLIVAS: Well, I think about it any time you've gone on any spectacular vacation where the vistas have just been breathtaking, right? You know that

you're eventually going to be going home where things are going to be kind of the way that you remember them. But the most important part about it is

you're going back to the people that you love. You're going back to tell the stories of what you've seen and what you've experienced.

And this crew, no doubt about it, has seen things and experienced things that no human beings on this planet has ever seen in these 4.5 billion

years of the existence of this planet. There's going to be lots of stories. There's going to be lots of hugs, lots of kisses, lots of crying. And we

really can't wait to get the crew back. It's going to be a wonderful post- flight trip for them. And I'm really looking forward to seeing and shaking every one of the crew members' hands.

WATT: Danny Olivas, thank you for bringing your knowledge and your joy to the show. Really appreciate your time.

OLIVAS: You bet.

WATT: Now, we will have special coverage as the crew of the Artemis II mission returns to Earth following their historic trip around the moon.

Join us Friday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, 4:00 p.m. Pacific time. That's 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning in Hong Kong.

In today's Good Brief, it's been roughly four years in the making. But the boys from BTS are back in the spotlight. The K-pop supergroup kicked off

their global tour in South Korea on Thursday. Thousands of fans, some from near, some from far, gathered outside the Goyang Stadium, braving the rain

hours before the concert, just desperate to see their favorite boy band on stage once again. Paula Newton has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the world tour that's taking the world by storm. BTS is back. And not even the pouring rain could dampen the

excitement of thousands of fans eager to see the kickoff of their global concert tour.

CASEY MURRIHY, BTS FAN: I'm absolutely elated that they're finally coming back. It's been a long wait, but I was a little bit worried that they

weren't going to come back.

NEWTON (voice-over): The opening concert sold out in pre-sales for all three nights in Goyang, South Korea. That's according to the group's

management agency. Outside of the show on Thursday, a sea of umbrellas and raincoats. Many fans dressed in purple, the signature color of the band's

fan base, the BTS ARMY.

[18:55:00]

O YOON-SUN, BTS FAN (through translator): I will go to BTS concerts until they're grandpas. And I will be ARMY my whole life.

NEWTON (voice-over): The tour is just beginning, but it's expected to be a global sensation, stopping in 34 cities right around the world and spanning

five continents. Total tour earnings are expected to reach nearly $2 billion, fans filling the hole in their hearts with tickets, merchandise

and new music. After the band went on a nearly four-year hiatus, during which all seven members completed their mandatory South Korean military

service.

But BTS is back in familiar territory, topping the charts. The band's new album "Arirang" was released in March, and it debuted at number one on the

Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single, Swim, also hit the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100.

The tour is scheduled to head to Tokyo next and wrap up in the Philippines in March of next year, which stops crisscrossing the globe in between. BTS

is even returning to Australia after nearly a decade since its last concert there.

BARBARA DELA PENA, BTS FAN: We're happy that after, I guess, all the efforts, events that we're doing, that BTS are finally coming back to

Australia. They're going to be there next year. So, we're so happy.

NEWTON (voice-over): Paula Newton, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Thanks a lot for your company. I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles. Stay with CNN.

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[19:00:00]

END