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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

CNN International: Rubio: "Operation Epic Fury" Against Iran Has Ended; Trump To Pause U.S. Effort To Guide Ships Through Hormuz; Mercy Corps Report: Impasse Harming Vulnerable Countries; Report: Conflicting Driving Up Food, Fuel And Fertilizer Costs; Police: Antisemitic Graffiti Found On Synagogues And Homes. Aired 1-1:45a ET

Aired May 06, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:01:01]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome The Story Is live from Atlanta. I'm Lynda Kinkade in for Elex Michaelson. Good to have you with us.

The top story is the growing instability in the Middle East. The White House says Project Freedom, the U.S. led effort tied to guide shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has now been paused, signaling a sudden shift in how Washington is managing one of the world's most critical maritime flashpoints. Now Iranian state media is touting President Trump's move as a, quote, "U.S. failure to achieve its objectives." Washington's top diplomat says combat operations against Tehran have concluded.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists that Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz should not be normalized and that the waterway should operate as it did before the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The primary responsibility for this Project Freedom is on the United States because we're the only country that can project power in that part of the world the way we're doing now. We're the only ones that can do it. And we're going to do it as a favor to the world. Understand this, this is a favor to the world because it's their ships that are stranded.

So look, the times come for Iran to make a sensible choice. And it's not easy for them to do that, obviously, because they have a fracture in their own leadership system. And apart from that, I mean, the top people in that government are, to say the least, you know, they're insane in the brain. And so we need to address that. And it's difficult because it's hard to get past that in their system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Ahead of President Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iran's foreign minister is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart focused on regional and international developments, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Well, CNN is covering all angles of this story. Steven Jiang is standing by for us in Beijing. But first, let's go to Ivan Watson, who joins us live from Hong Kong with the latest. Good to have you both with us.

So Ivan, Marco Rubio says Operation Fury is over. What has actually changed on the ground? And are we seeing any de-escalation or just a change in strategy?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly a change in strategy because this Project Freedom where the U.S. announced it was going to escort shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked since the end of February by Iran, President Trump now has suddenly announced that it's being paused, that, you know, he wants negotiations to move forward. And it's such a reversal because this escorting of ships has only been effectively going on for about 48 hours. And to the best of our knowledge, only two U.S. flagged ships, or at least two were successfully escorted through the strait on Monday. There was some exchange of fire, the U.S. navy claiming to have hit some small Iranian boats, which Iran has denied.

President Trump announcing the pause just hours after his secretary of defense was presenting Project Freedom, the escorting of commercial shipping, as a kind of act of charity from the U.S. to the global economy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white and blue dome over the strait. American destroyers are on stations supported by hundreds of fighter jets, helicopters, drones and surveillance aircraft, providing 24/7 overwatch for peaceful commercial vessels, except Iran's, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So in his statement, President Trump has said the escorting of ships through the strait, that's going to be paused. But the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, that will continue. The Iranian state media is already kind of celebrating this reversal. A headline in Tasnim, state backed outlet says, quote, "Trump backs down." The ISNA agency announcing, quote, "U.S. failure to achieve its objectives in the so called Freedom Project, following firm positions and warnings from Iran."

[01:05:17]

And if there's any indication about what the state of affairs is in this vitally important kind of choke point and important transit route for commercial shipping and a huge amount of the world's oil coming from the Gulf, we have a report of a fresh attack of some kind on a cargo ship today, May 6th, in the area of the Strait of Hormuz with the organization UKMTO reporting that a cargo vessel was struck by some kind of unknown projectile. And we're trying to find out more about what the nature of the ship was and if there were any injuries to any people on board that vessel.

So, you know, long story short, the Strait of Hormuz still appears to be closed. The U.S. is no longer going to be escorting ships through though, also indicating that a ceasefire is still in effect. It does not want to engage in kinetic warfare right now. Watch this space, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, certainly a lot of change. Good to have you with us, Ivan.

Steven, I want to ask you about Beijing's reaction, how they're viewing this latest U.S. rhetoric, the continued uncertainty around Hormuz and also what is Iran's top diplomat doing in Beijing.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Lynda, you know, this is very interesting timing, of course, not only this is the first in person meeting between the two foreign ministers since the war broke up. More importantly, as you pointed out, this is just one week before U.S. President Donald Trump is due to arrive here for a high stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a meeting already delayed once by this very war.

Now, much has been said about Beijing and Tehran having this close partnership and how China continues to buy Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions providing Tehran with this economic lifeline. And also the conventional wisdom, of course, is the Chinese benefit anytime the U.S. military is mired in a Middle East quagmire. But the analysts' consensus seems to be the Chinese goals and priorities are more practical because when you look at it, the Chinese economy needs reliable access to energy to fuel growth at home and also a stable global market for its exports. A prolonged war, especially the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, really hurt them on both fronts. And Chinese officials remember, did play a role in bringing the current, however rocky ceasefire.

But analysts also say Beijing may not be in a hurry to ramp up pressure on Tehran just yet because the Chinese stockpile of oil and their pivot to green energies actually make them better prepared than almost anyone else in dealing with an oil shock. And also, the Chinese may also want to wait for in person requests from Trump with him coming here without a quick win in Iran to be -- to be able to play up any potential positive results from that Trump-Xi summit. So not to mention a lot of people have also pointed out, of course, this war has helped Beijing reinforce its message about its appeal as a cornerstone of global stability and innovations, in contrast to all the chaos and destruction unleashed by Washington.

So, Lynda, and one honest words to us, the U.S. is fighting without winning and China is winning without fighting. Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, you make a good point. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing, Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, thanks to you both.

We are going to stay on this story. I'm joined now by retired U.S. marine intelligence officer Lt. Col. Hal Kempfer. He's also the CEO and founder of Global Risk Intelligence and Planning and the host of the podcast "Strategic Risk Assessment Talk." Great to have you with us.

LT. COL. HAL KEMPFER, INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, Colonel, U.S. officials say this offensive phase of Operation Epic Fury has ended and Project Freedom, which is aimed at securing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, is now on hold. From your perspective as a former intelligence officer, what does that actually mean?

KEMPFER: Well, it's been a busy, confusing somewhat, but busy day. You know, it started out that Epic Fury, the big operation, kinetic operation, Secretary Rubio said that's done. We're now focused on Project Freedom. And as the day went out, literally as we get into this afternoon, all of a sudden Project Freedom's on hold and it's a little confusing.

Now there are some really firm operational logistics dynamics that was a single lane for bringing ships in or out. It's one lane, one way into -- yes, in the strait. And it was right near the border or right near the coastlines of the UAE and Oman. It was going to be difficult to move a lot of stuff. The U.S. wasn't escorting those vessels.

[01:10:02]

And from a maritime risk standpoint, I don't think the Lloyd's of London, IMO, was quite ready to say that really is providing enough security for those vessels. So it's not sure if it could have achieved what it was designed to do.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And at the same time, of course, we've seen reported strikes between Iran and UAE linked targets and exchanges around the Strait of Hormuz. How significant are these exchanges? Are they isolated incidents or perhaps indicators of a widening maritime conflict?

KEMPFER: Well, they certainly open up the possibility of a widening maritime conflict. And I find it interesting that at the same time, Foreign Minister Araghchi was saying, hey, look, let's not get caught in a military quagmire. Let's not go back to military strikes. Literally right afterwards, you got the Revolutionary Guard Corps shooting drones and missiles over to the UAE and hitting targets.

So there really is a lot of cognitive dissonance coming out of the regime in terms of what is the message they're trying to send. But it was very clear they're ready to use all things at their disposal, drones, missiles, small boats, to try and interfere with maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. And frankly, that was also slowing down this Project Freedom, which is, can they actually make this happen?

KINKADE: And Iran has reportedly introduced new protocols for vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz, including terms that shipping operators view as unacceptable. What does that signal, Colonel?

KEMPFER: Well, Iran, again, you know, we're supposed to be some sort of entree for negotiations. You know, things are looking very positive. But Iran puts out this thing, which basically is going back to that crypto toll booth concept where mariners have to pay to go through. They have some very strict lanes they got to go through. And, of course, the U.S. position is that if they -- if any mariner, any shipper pays that toll, that there will be sanctions on them anywhere in the world.

So that ship or that shipping company could be blacklisted from the U.S. And that's a pretty onerous thing for any shipper or shipping company to look at. So it's a very, very difficult thing. And what it really means is just not a lot of ships are going to move through the Strait of Hormuz.

KINKADE: So if you can sum it up for us, Colonel, from a deterrence perspective, how do you interpret all these mixed signals? The U.S. pause, the unclear ceasefire definitions, and the continued regional exchanges that are all happening at once?

KEMPFER: I think what the U.S. is trying to do is maintain sort of a status quo, you know, to be a simmering back and forth going on that we've seen consistently. But we're trying to say that's not major combat operations that allows the president to go to China while there's a ceasefire in place. Of course, the entree is also out there for other countries to join in and we can point to the ceasefire. And I think they're hoping they can get China joined with us to put pressure on Iran and come to some sort of agreement at the end of this to end this conflict, end this war, and hopefully open up the strait.

KINKADE: Colonel Hal Kempfer, we appreciate your analysis. Thanks for joining us.

KEMPFER: Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: Well, Pope Leo the 14th is pushing back against fresh criticism from Donald Trump. On Monday, the U.S. president claimed the pontiff thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. The pope has never said that, but he has repeatedly expressed his opposition to the war with Iran. On Tuesday, he said the mission of the Catholic Church is to preach the gospel and peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): If anyone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with the truth. The church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt. I simply hope to be heard because of the value of God's word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the Pope Thursday. He says there's a lot to talk about, but he denies he's on a mission to improve relations with the Vatican after the Trump attacks. Ukraine's unilateral ceasefire with Russia is now in effect. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called for an open ended pause in fighting, saying Ukraine would act reciprocally if Russia launches new attacks. He criticized Russia's call for a brief ceasefire later this week, which would coincide with Moscow's Victory Day celebrations. The parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, World War II will be scaled back this year after the Kremlin cited concerns of Ukrainian attacks.

Meanwhile, Russia launched a flurry of attacks across eastern Ukraine on Tuesday. Ukraine's interior minister says 27 people were killed by strikes in the hours before Ukraine ceasefire.

The family of a Nobel Peace Prize winner fears she might die in an Iranian prison if she doesn't get treatment soon. Narges Mohammadi spent much of the last decade in and out of prison because of her activism and criticism of the Iranian government. In 2023, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran.

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Her brother told CNN she was recently taken to hospital due to heart issues and that her blood pressure is still unstable. Mohammadi suffered a heart attack in March and her family says her treatment has been insufficient.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMIDREZA MOHAMMADI, NARGES MOHAMMADI'S BROTHER: When she had a heart attack, they did nothing. We suspect that they are doing it just to cause her death in the prison. All of the family members, we are doing everything we can. Those in Iran, they are running from one department to another department, meeting lawyers. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get this permission for her to have at least one month of treatment in the special -- with her specialists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: As for the Iran war, Mohammadi's brother says any negotiations must include stopping all executions and releasing people like his sister who are kept in prison for no reason.

Well, still to come, a small group of passengers are evacuated off a cruise ship hit with the Hantavirus outbreak. What medical experts are saying about the spread of the virus next?

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KINKADE: Welcome back to The Story Is. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Let's take a look at today's top stories. President Trump says the U.S. will temporarily pause Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz to see whether a deal with Iran can be finalized. This is Trump's top diplomat says the military operation in Iran is over. Marco Rubio suggests that Washington's priority now is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media claims the U.S. failed to achieve its objectives.

Seven candidates for California governor clashed on the debate stage a few hours ago. Among the heated topics, immigration, gas prices, health care and a billionaires tax, as well as President Trump's policies. The two top vote getters from June primary will advance to the November general election regardless of political party.

President Trump is set to host Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House on Thursday for a working visit. A White House official telling CNN that the two will discuss economic and security issues. The leaders are looking to build on previous talks towards potential trade agreements that despite past tensions.

Three people have died and another three passengers have been evacuated from a cruise ship after an outbreak of the Hantavirus, which is typically spread through rodents. The cruise ship is anchored off the coast of Cape Verde on the northwest coast of Africa. Medical experts say all three ill passengers are critically stable and will be transported to the Netherlands by Air Ambulance. CNN's Randi Kaye has more on how the outbreak may have started.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE ROSMARIN, CRUISE PASSENGER: I'm Jake and I'm spending the next 35 days crossing the Atlantic, visiting some of the most remote islands in the world.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passengers like Jake Rosmarin were looking forward to an adventure at sea. Then people started dying on board the MV Hondius cruise ship. And now the World Health Organization suspects the Hantavirus, which usually occurs after exposure to rodents, may be spreading person to person.

DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, DR. OF EPIDEMIC & PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS & PREVENTION, W.H.O.: Passengers have been asked to remain in their cabins while Disinfection and other public health measures are carried out. Medical teams from Cabo Verde are providing support on board the ship.

KAYE (voice-over): The first sign of trouble came when a 70-year-old Dutchman suddenly fell ill on the ship with a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. South Africa's health department told CNN he died on April 11, just 10 days after the ship had left port in Argentina. The man's wife, a 69-year-old Dutch woman, died two weeks later on April 26 at a hospital in South Africa. She'd collapsed at the airport while trying to get home to the Netherlands. The cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed the woman tested positive for a variant of Hantavirus.

KERKHOVE: We do believe that there may be some human to human transmission that's happening among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who've shared cabins.

KAYE (voice-over): On April 27, after the ship left St. Helena, a British national on board got sick. He's now in intensive care in Johannesburg. He also tested positive for the Hantavirus according to the cruise company, though his condition is improving. And on May 2, a third victim died. She was a German national who came down with pneumonia.

It's being treated as a suspected case of the Hantavirus.

ROSMARIN: What's happening right now is very real for all of us here. We're not just a story, we're not just headlines.

KAYE (voice-over): The ship is currently moored off Cape Verde with 149 people on board.

KERKHOVE: We are operating and working with the ship to make sure that anyone who is symptomatic, you know, anyone caring for patients, is wearing full personal protective equipment.

KAYE (voice-over): Medical evacuations like these, of those on board suffering from Hantavirus symptoms was a top priority according to the World Health Organization, which still says the risk to the general public is low. It is less contagious than many other viruses.

KERKHOVE: This is not a virus that spreads like flu or like COVID. It's quite different.

KAYE (voice-over): How might this have happened?

KERKHOVE: The cruise did stop at many different islands up the coast of Africa, and again seeing a lot of different wildlife. On those islands, there are birds. Some islands have a lot of rodents, others don't.

[01:25:01]

KAYE (voice-over): The WHO suspects it's the Andes virus, a strain of hantavirus that has spread person to person before.

KERKHOVE: We need sequencing. So the sequencing is currently underway by the South Africans and we hope to have a result soon.

KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: A federal grand jury has indicted the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting last month. The indictment added one more charge against Cole Thomas Allen, and that is assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon. He is also facing three other charges, including attempting to assassinate the president, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and transporting a gun across state lines to commit a crime.

Allen is accused of shooting a Secret Service officer as he stormed the security checkpoint during the press dinner. Officials say the officer has survived, thanks to a bulletproof vest.

Allen has not entered a plea. He is expected to be arraigned next Monday.

Hunger is growing far beyond the front lines of the Middle East due to the troubles in the Strait of Hormuz. A new report showing the countries struggling the most. We're going to talk about that next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. A new report from Mercy Corps explains how the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is harming the world's most vulnerable countries. The oil tankers and cargo ships stored in this vital commercial waterway are unable to get desperately needed supplies to the fragile economies that depend on them.

Mercy Corps says that's drastically driving up the costs of food, fuel and fertilizer. In the six countries you see highlighted here. Their hunger and humanitarian crises are deepening and researchers say they've already exhausted their ability to absorb additional shocks. And here you see how many tens of millions of people are in need and how far short they are of their funding requirements.

The report also found global prices for the key fertilizer benchmark urea have shot up 85 percent since December. Fuel prices have more than doubled in Somalia. And in Myanmar, diesel costs are up a staggering 160 percent since the start of the war.

Selena Victor is Mercy Corps Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy. She joins us from Sussex, England. Thanks so much for your time.

SELENA VICTOR, SENIOR DIRECTOR, POLICY AND ADVOCACY, MERCY CORPS: Good morning, Lynda.

KINKADE: So your latest research at Mercy Corps warns that this conflict is already driving a global hunger crisis far beyond the Middle East. How serious is this situation and what does it actually look like on the ground for families?

VICTOR: Thanks. Yes, Mercy Corps Works in places affected by conflict and climate change, including many of the most fragile, most vulnerable places. And we put out this report to set out exactly what this shock looks like.

Obviously, we're all feeling the pinch. We're all feeling the effect of the price of fuel going up. But as you already highlighted, it's not going up equally. It's going up far, far more in, in places like Sudan, in Somalia, in Myanmar. These countries cannot cope with prices of fuel going up by 160 percent.

But it's not just about fuel. It's about fertilizer. It's about commercial supply chains, humanitarian supplies, desperately needed food and medical supplies, and going into places that are already struggling with their own crises. Sudan has suffered three years of war.

Famine was declared in Darfur and South Kordofan last year. There are 40 percent of the population in crisis levels of food insecurity. And when prices go up for fuel, that has an immediate effect on what people need to feed their families. We've seen the cost of a basic basket of goods to feed your family going up 40 percent in Sudan.

And when you've got a country already struggling with its own crisis that is absolutely devastating for families. Those impacts are immediate.

KINKADE: Yes, and it was interesting looking at some of the data in your articles related to those spikes in prices. You outlined that fertilizer prices compared to the price we saw before the conflict at its peak. Fertilizer prices up 68 percent, oil peaking nearly 80 percent higher at its peak and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz obviously collapsing by 94 percent.

So what does a shock of that scale do to global food and fuel systems? Especially looking ahead, not just right now.

VICTOR: Yes, you're absolutely right. I mean the immediate shocks are being felt today. This doesn't take a long time to filter straight through to the families and the small traders who are trying to survive in these places. But we're most concerned about the longer- term impact.

There are critical planting seasons starting right now in places like Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan and farmers are making decisions about how much land do they plant and how much fertilizer can they afford. And these are not big agribusinesses. These are small holder farmers who are the backbone of the entire food system. And when we see the cost of fertilizer going up by 85 percent they are going that is going to bear out in crop yields throughout this year and into next year.

So WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization point out that disruption of more than 40 days has a long-term impact on food harvests. We saw that deadline passed on the 9th of April. So, we are well into long term disruption to those harvests.

The WFP predicts another 40 million people going into acute food hunger this year.

KINKADE: Wow. And given the scale and the speed of these shocks, what would you want to see in terms of a response from government and international institutions to tackle this issue right now.

[01:35:12]

VICTOR: Organizations like Mercy Corps are doing what we can. We're giving out small amounts of cash to help families cope with those immediate shocks. And we're giving out agricultural inputs or subsidies for fertilizer so that farmers can still plant. But we are struggling.

All of us in the aid sector are struggling. We're being pinched from three sides. So, needs are going up. The cost of every single transport, every single delivery is also going up. And meanwhile, the aid budget has been decimated. So, a country like Somalia was massively impacted by the closure of USAID. Two years ago, it received 462 million from USAID and humanitarian aid, and this year so far is less than 3 million. So, it is absolutely struggling to meet those needs.

But there is still an aid budget. There are still those of us who can act. And we need to think really creatively about how we adjust, how we pivot, can we front load distributions, can we focus on those most critical places where fertilizer, for example, is going to make all the difference? Otherwise, we're just shoring up more problems for the next two years.

KINKADE: Well, we appreciate all the work you and your team are doing. Selena Victor, thanks so much for joining us.

VICTOR: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, here in the U.S. Anti-Israeli protesters clash with police in New York. Dozens gathered outside a historic synagogue in Manhattan on Tuesday night. Some protesters tried to break through the barricade. Police say no arrests have been made so far.

And in Queens, police say several synagogues and homes were vandalized early Monday morning. They say images of SWAT stickers and other anti- Semitic graffiti were spray painted in black and red. Police are searching for at least four individuals after surveillance video showed them crouching down and then running away from a Jewish center early Monday morning. CNN's Brynn Gingras reports.

BRYN GINGRASS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And that surveillance video that is circulating now, taken from one of the places that was targeted, the community there in Queens, hoping that someone might recognize these individuals. And alert, though, that the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force was at the scene on Monday. They were taking fingerprints. They were also taking photographs.

And again, pointing to that surveillance video, hoping to possibly catch as many as four people who might be responsible for this incident. Again, what happened here is that on Monday night, or Monday morning rather, a community there in Queens woke up to swastikas, hateful words written on a synagogue, a Jewish center, a home, who our affiliate WABC says actually belongs to a Holocaust survivor. That Jewish center we're also learning, you know, it houses a daycare. So, people waking up in this community and seeing these anti-Semitic incidents which of course are on the rise across the entire state.

I'm sorry, across the entire country and the entire world. Mayor Mamdani, who's been criticized about his response to these types of incidents being very quick though on X in this specific matter is calling these incidents horrifying and it says it angered him to see these swastikas painted on homes and synagogues in Queens saying there was no place for antisemitism in Queens or anywhere in our city. I stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors. Their safety, dignity and belonging are nonnegotiable. And again, New York not immune to these incidents. What we've learned first, statistics wise, just within the last month, 60 percent of the hate crimes that actually happened in New York City were to the Jewish community. Only 10 percent of the population of this city are Jewish. So, it really is alarming.

And again, something the community is just trying to put as many feelers out there to hopefully catch these perpetrators. In New York, I'm Brynn Gingras. Back to you.

KINKADE: With James Murdoch's investment company is in talks to acquire New York magazine and Vox Media's podcast network. The deal is reportedly worth about $300 million. And if completed, such a move would mark a significant expansion for Murdoch's investment interests into U.S. Media.

James is the youngest son of right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who controls Fox News, the New York Post and other global outlets. James Murdoch split with his family's company in 2020. He's seen more politically moderate than his father.

Dolly Parton is speaking out about her health struggle as she can as she cancels her Las Vegas residency in September. The country music star posted on social media that she's getting treatment but is not quite ready to return to the stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER: I have some good news and a little bad news, but the good news is I'm responding really well to meds and treatments and I'm improving every day.

[01:40:02]

Now the bad news is it's going to take me a little while before I'm up to stage performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit sweet headed as my grandma used to say. But this think of me is like an old classic car that once restored can be better than ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: I love Dolly Parton's positivity. Well, the 80-year-old did not talk about her specific condition, but she mentioned her battle with kidney stones and Parton also said her immune system and digestive system have been out of whack for the past couple of years. We wish her all the very best.

Well, more than 1,500 beagles are being transferred out of a breeding facility in Wisconsin and into rescue care after legal pressure and growing protests from animal welfare groups. Now the facility, Ridglan Farms, has faced sustained scrutiny over conditions inside the breeding operation, prompting negotiations that will now see these dogs placed with multiple rescue organizations rather than entering research labs. Animal welfare advocates had been demonstrating outside the facility for months, calling for the dog's release. Recently, animal activists have stepped up to lend a hand and the

Biggers won't have to wait too long to find new homes. More than 700 families have already applied to adopt them.

Good news story. Thanks so much for watching the stories. I'm Lynda Kinkade. World Sport is up next. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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