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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump to "Hold Off" Attacking Iran Amid Ongoing Talks; U.S. Justice Department Creates Fund for Trump Allies; Trump Ramps Up His Push for Retribution; Three Killed in Shooting at San Diego's Largest Mosque; Health Organizations Push to Contain Central Africa and Ebola Outbreak; Russia's President Putin Heads to China for Official Visit, Talks with Xi Jinping; Ukrainian Troops Take CNN Along 'Road of Life'; Musk Plans Appeal after Jury Finds OpenAI Not Liable; Cuba's Economic and Energy Crisis Reaching Breaking Point. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 19, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you all for watching. "THE STORY IS" starts now.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to all our viewers watching from around the world and here in the U.S. I'm Lynda Kinkade in today for Elex Michaelson.
We begin with the war in Iran, where a fragile ceasefire is still in place after U.S. President Trump says he called off an Iran strike planned for Tuesday at the request of allies. He says negotiations to end the war are growing more serious. But President Trump says he's instructed his leadership to be prepared to go forward with a full, largescale assault of Iran on a moment's notice in the event that an acceptable deal is not reached.
The president is staying with his message that the end of the war and high gas prices is within reach. Earlier, President Trump had this to say to Kentucky voters ahead of the state's primary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gasoline is going to come tumbling down as soon as the war is over, and they want it. Iran wants it to end soon. They've taken big punishment. And it's very simple. They cannot have a nuclear weapon to blow up Kentucky and to blow up every place else. We're not going to let that happen. So we're getting very close. And as soon as we get that one finished, you're going to see the gasoline and energy is going to come tumbling down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, this comes as a source tells CNN that the U.S. believes Iran's latest proposal to end the war did not offer big enough concessions on some critical sticking points, including Tehran's nuclear enrichment program. Iran's president has vowed to defend the country's interests amid ongoing negotiations, saying, quote, "Dialogue does not mean surrender."
Well, critics have long accused the Trump administration of weaponizing government agencies. But now it's trying to turn the tables, using a similar term to compensate supporters the White House claims were targeted by the Biden administration.
President Trump's Justice Department has announced a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to benefit his allies, which include or could include January 6th rioters who broke into and trashed the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Trump claims his backers have been treated brutally and downplayed his involvement in the fund that will be funded, of course, by American taxpayers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know very little about it. I wasn't involved in the whole creation of it, and the negotiation. But this is reimbursing people that were horribly treated, horribly treated. It's anti-weaponization. They've been weaponized. I do believe there has to be compensation for people that were destroyed. You have families absolutely destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: This comes as President Trump's approval rating hit a new second term low. A new poll from "The New York Times" and Siena College found only 37 percent of those surveyed are satisfied with his job performance. And that's in line with CNN's Poll of Polls, which puts his approval rating at 36 percent since late April.
Well, Donald Trump's so-called retribution campaign against perceived political enemies is kicking into high gear on the eve of the upcoming primary elections. Here's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a rare wartime visit to Kentucky to campaign for Ed Gallrein, the Republican running against Congressman Thomas Massie, who the president says he's determined to oust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Ed Gallrein's record speaks for itself. Thomas Massie's record speaks for itself, too. Too much grandstanding, too few great votes. Years of acting like being difficult is the same thing as being courageous. It's not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Massie angered President Trump by opposing parts of his agenda, including the war with Iran and the so-called one big, beautiful bill. Massie also voted with the Democrats to release the Epstein files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In the Oval Office, and we're in a fight against the worst congressman in the history of our country. His name is Thomas Massie. He's from Kentucky. I hope you're going to put him out of business tomorrow. (END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:05:07]
KINKADE: But Massie took a much more diplomatic tone when talking about the U.S. president, and seems confident he can win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This race has been nationalized, as you well know, talking about the revenge tour and the revenge list. Do you think that's how voters here in Kentucky see this race?
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I don't think so. They don't know what happened to Bill Cassidy or to those senators in Indiana. And both of those situations are unique from mine. Bill Cassidy voted to impeach the president. That's something I've never done and I would never do. And his constituents were mad about that. Right? I'm still with my constituents in spite of the billionaires spending millions of dollars to convince them I'm not. I think most of my constituents know that because I've been at this for 14 years. I haven't changed at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, in the coming day, Kentucky and other states highlighted here will hold primaries that will determine who lands on the ballot in the crucial November midterm elections that could change the balance of power in Washington.
Certainly a lot to discuss. I want to welcome our CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, who's also an opinion columnist at Bloomberg.
Great to see you, Ron.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Lynda.
KINKADE: So Trump is posting increasingly aggressive threats about striking Iran, now saying that Tuesday's strike won't happen after Gulf allies urged him to wait. We've seen this pattern before, escalation followed by pullback. Is this time different, or are we watching the same pressure negotiation cycle play out?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think we're watching the same cycle play out. I mean, it may, you know, may land in a different place. But the fundamental problem that the president has is that it's not clear he has a military solution to the political and diplomatic challenge that he's in. I mean, you know, Iran has found a new source of leverage that it didn't have before this conflict had. Maybe it had implicitly but now it explicitly has weaponized the Strait of Hormuz. And it's not clear there is a military solution to that.
There may only be a diplomatic solution to that. And certainly Iran is behaving as if it believes it has the cards to at least hold out for, you know, a better deal than the Trump administration originally envisioned, that it could demand. KINKADE: And, Ron, I want to ask you about this. Justice Department
has proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for people deemed victims of government weaponization. Critics, of course, are calling it a slush fund. Legally and politically, how would you describe it?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, politically, just think about what is the core Democratic argument in the midterm election. The core Democratic argument is that you elected Donald Trump to solve your cost of living problem, and all that he's done is enrich himself, his family, and his rich allies, and, you know, at a time when most Americans are expressing in polls the clear sentiment that they are having trouble making ends meet.
When Trump's disapproval on the economy is the highest it has ever been, when his cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act subsidies are opposed by 60 percent or more of the country, the idea of turning $1.8 billion of taxpayer money over to his political allies, including potentially people who rioted and attacked the Capitol on January 6th, I mean, you almost could not make this up.
I mean, it's hard to imagine how much opposition that is going to face in public opinion. I would be shocked if it was less than 70 percent to 75 percent, maybe even 80 percent of Americans oppose this idea. And it becomes another powerful symbol along with the ballroom, by the way, of this idea that you elected Trump to solve your problems and he's focused instead on benefiting his allies and punishing his perceived enemies, you know, which takes us to the other big issue this week which is the primaries.
KINKADE: Yes, I want to get to that in just a second. But I do want to ask you historically speaking, where does this type of anti- weaponization defense fund fit in the spectrum of executive power controversies?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I don't think there's anything quite like it. I mean, you know, the idea that Trump, as the president, was suing the government to demand compensation and then they execute this deal where they originally reach a settlement out of court to try to preempt any review by the judges -- by the judge. I mean, it's just -- it's just hard to imagine anything quite like this in American history.
I mean, certainly presidents have, you know, given contracts have gone to allies of the president or to companies that are more supportive of one party or the other. But you'd be hard pressed to find something exactly like this.
KINKADE: Yes. And you mentioned the primaries, Ron, I want to get your opinion on what sort of signals are emerging about the direction of the Republican Party, given what we're seeing right now.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. The interesting -- you know, obviously, Donald Trump still maintains a really strong grip on the Republican Party. I mean, his approval rating among Republicans has slipped somewhat. It was 85 percent today in "The New York Times" poll.
[00:10:03]
It's been 80 percent in the CNN poll and others. So there's some cracks in the foundation. But overall, he has had incredible success at beating people in primaries that he targets. Really no presidents since Franklin Roosevelt in 1938, who mostly failed, has tried as much to purge his party of people who oppose him. The problem is that Trump's very success is making it impossible for Republicans to establish any distance from him even in places where he is really unpopular, which is most places now outside of the core red states.
We saw last year in New Jersey and Virginia governor's races that the Republican candidates would not criticize Trump, even when he was taking actions that unquestionably hurt their state. And as a result, over 90 percent of voters in each state who disapproved of Trump voted against them. And I think that is what you are seeing now in blue and purple states, even in places where Trump's disapproval is scraping 60 percent, Republicans watching what's happening in the primaries, fearing a kind of thunderbolt on social media, are refusing to differentiate themselves or criticize them in any way. And that's ultimately unsustainable.
KINKADE: Ron Brownstein, we are covering a lot of topics tonight. We appreciate you being with us. Thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: I want to turn to Southern California now where authorities are investigating a deadly shooting at San Diego's largest mosque as a hate crime. Three people were killed, including a security guard whose heroic actions the police chief said undoubtedly saved lives. Two teenage suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque.
CNN's Sherrell Hubbard has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scores of police cars responded to the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday following reports of an active shooter.
CHIEF SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have three confirmed adults that are deceased at the Islamic Center.
HUBBARD: Police say a security guard was among those killed at the mosque. Authorities are still trying to determine the details surrounding the shooting, but police believe that two people found dead in a car nearby from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds were the suspects. Chief Scott Wahl provided additional information about the mother who alerted them about her son.
WAHL: She believed her son was suicidal and she began to share information that several of her weapons were missing. Her vehicle was missing, in addition to her son.
HUBBARD: Police say they are considering the shooting a hate crime. The Islamic Center in San Diego is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its Web site. The site includes a school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, as they're bringing people out of the building --
HUBBARD: And police say no children were hurt.
WAHL: I'll tell you what got me. Watching the kids come running out just thankful to be alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could hear the officers shouting to evacuate in the background and it was, you know, paralyzing and so frightening. And at the same time, you know, I had to drop everything and come directly to make sure, you know, our community is safe and they're OK. And they know that they're not alone in this really insane time.
HUBBARD: I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And joining me now from San Diego is Ammar Campa-Najjar. He knew the victims in the shooting at the Islamic Center. He's also a former Obama administration official.
Thanks so much for joining us.
AMMAR CAMPA-NAJJAR, KNEW VICTIM IN SAN DIEGO ISLAMIC CENTER SHOOTING: Thank you for having me. It's been a tough day.
KINKADE: Such a tough day. I'm so sorry for what your community is dealing with. I understand that you attended this school as a child and, you know personally some of the victims identified today. On a human level, just how are you processing all of this?
CAMPA-NAJJAR: I still haven't fully processed it, to be honest. I saw those videos of those children who, you know, kindergartners all the way up to eighth grade, holding hands, trying to evacuate and flee for their lives and, were it not for the heroism of the security guard who lost his life, who knows what would have happened? One of the other victims I've known since I was 6 years old. He was -- he worked at the convenience store in the mosque.
And when I would wait for my mom to pick me up from school, he'd be there and he'd give me some treats. And, I went to that school at the age of 6, first and second grade. Then I lived in Gaza for a couple of years and came back to that school and finished middle school. And, you know, this is a place of worship, not a crime scene, not a murder scene. And today that was changed for a time being.
KINKADE: Yes.
CAMPA-NAJJAR: And it's just deeply heartbreaking.
KINKADE: I mean, authorities obviously are investigating this as a possible hate crime with reports of anti-Islamic rhetoric connected to the suspects, these young teenagers. What goes through your mind when you see violence like this hitting your own community in San Diego? [00:15:02]
CAMPA-NAJJAR: You know, this is absolutely devastating and we are grieving right now. And pretty soon we'll be burying our loved ones. But, you know, this goes back a long time. The hate on this community. You know, I came back right before 9/11 and it was devastating. 3,000 innocent souls were taken from us, from that attack, including Muslims. And then there was a lot of backlash on the Muslim community wrongfully. And there was vandalism that was taking place when I was, you know, going to school there.
And there's been instances of hate crimes ever since. But this is -- this is different. And, you know, we've seen a lot of school shootings in this country, too many. And what makes this tragic is these children and these worshipers were under attack because of who they are.
KINKADE: Yes.
CAMPA-NAJJAR: And these gunmen weren't even allowed to have guns. They're underage. So there's just a stacking of problems from the Islamophobia to the gun violence and not having stricter gun laws. to leadership around the country stoking the flames of this hate. So I hope we could move on from this moment and do something that makes sure this never happens again, because it should never, ever have happened.
And we can't bring back the ones we've lost. But we could certainly honor their memory by making sure this never happens again.
KINKADE: Yes, and we've certainly heard from police that the mother of one of the suspects had alerted authorities that her child was missing and that her guns were also missing. What went through your mind when you heard that?
CAMPA-NAJJAR: I'm just thinking about the people that I know and what could have been done differently to have them still with us today. I know the law enforcement got there within four minutes. But I can't help but wonder, right? It shouldn't have happened. And, you know, for me, I think that, you know, we all want to just point blame, but really, and we want to get back the people we've lost. But I think right now we need to do is make sure that people who -- I don't know if there's any formal authority to prevent this from happening, but we have moral authority in this country, and we should be speaking up and denouncing Islamophobia unequivocally.
An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us in this country. And this is an American tragedy. Not just for one community, but our entire country should be in mourning. And many people are across the country that I've heard from. And so it's important that we speak in one voice and condemn this and give hatred and Islamophobia no safe quarter in any part of our country, especially in a house of worship, a place of solace and faith.
And so my hope is that our leaders who have formal authority will do something about it. But those of us with moral authority will step up and speak out and say that this kind of hate has no place. And this is a time to embrace the Muslim community in ways that, you know, has not happened in the past. These Muslims in this mosque, I know them, they're law enforcement, they're doctors, they're teachers.
They serve in the military alongside me. They love this country even when this country doesn't love them back. And I think it's important that we show them that love and support. And there's actually a site for people to go and raise funds for the family members who are now suddenly in a position where they have to bury their loved ones. So I hope people will embrace them in word and in deed right now when they need it the most.
KINKADE: I really hope so. I hope you're feeling the support from all those around you.
Ammar Campa-Najjar, we appreciate your time today and our thoughts are with your community right now.
CAMPA-NAJJAR: Thank you. Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, global partners are racing to help contain the spread of a deadly Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. We'll have a closer look at the growing health crisis after the break. Plus, Vladimir Putin heads to China. We're going to go live to Beijing with a preview of the Russian president's visit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:23:25]
KINKADE: Welcome back.
Millions of dollars in foreign aid and several tons of emergency medical supplies are pouring into Central Africa amid a global effort to contain the deadly Ebola outbreak. The U.S. State Department says it's working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. military on the potential reparation of Americans affected by the crisis.
On Monday, the CDC confirmed that an American working in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for Ebola, but did not name the individual. An international charity called Surge reported that a Christian missionary physician, Doctor Peter Stafford, caught the virus while treating patients at a hospital in the region.
According to the Africa CDC, more than 100 suspected deaths have been linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The World Health Organization has yet to declare a pandemic, but it is warning that the spike in cases could indicate a much larger outbreak.
CNN's Larry Madowo reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This remote corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo, now the epicenter of a deadly outbreak. More than 100 deaths so far authorities suspect from Ebola. The U.S. CDC scrambling to evacuate, quote, "a small number of Americans who are directly affected."
"When we heard about Ebola, we were terrified," this man says. "Even though the disease has affected us before, here it is again."
As authorities rush to stop the spread of the virus, there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine for this strain. The relatively rare Bundibugyo strain kills an estimated 25 percent to 40 percent of those who catch it, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres.
[00:25:05]
Like other Ebola strains, it's highly infectious, transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people. It's also frequently spread at the funerals of its victims.
This clinic in the affected region is already treating one suspected case and is preparing for more. A doctor there telling CNN supplies of vital PPE are already starting to run low.
DR. PATIENT MAZIRANE, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UNIVERSELLE CLINIC (through translator): This is a major battle which requires enormous resources in order to save all those who can still be saved from this illness.
MADOWO (voice-over): The World Health Organization has declared this outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, but stopped short of calling it a pandemic. Experts warn cutbacks in funding by the Trump administration may limit the response.
DR. AHMED OGWELL, CEO AND PRESIDENT, VILLAGEREACH: With reduced assistance into the health sector, it means that we have less resources and therefore it's a very difficult time when it comes to responding to an outbreak like this.
MADOWO (voice-over): There are fears this new outbreak could be much larger in scale than authorities are currently aware of. The first suspected case was reported around a month ago.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to China, where in the hours ahead, he's set to kick off a two-day visit. Putin will hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Kremlin says the two leaders will discuss bilateral issues. This visit, of course, comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump made his own visit to Beijing.
CNN's Simone McCarthy joins us live from Beijing with the latest.
Great to see you, Simone. So just what message is Xi Jinping and Putin trying to send through this summit when it comes to the timing of this, just days after President Trump's visit? And is this meeting primarily symbolic, or are we expecting some concrete agreements? SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER: Well, Lynda, it's
certainly a big week for Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosting both Trump and Putin within a space of days. Now, that's a big part of the messaging that's going to come out of Beijing, because this plays very much into exactly what Chinese leadership wants to promote China as on the global stage, a major leader with significant global clout.
And so being able to host both of these two power players shows China itself as a major power broker and an alternative leader to the United States, which has been a key part of Xi's vision and his international message. But when it comes to Beijing and Moscow, this is very much about showcasing their enduring alignment. These are two countries that, especially under Xi and Putin, have significantly deepened their relationship across economy, across diplomacy, across trade and across defense, and including in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
And so the fact that these two meetings are coming back to back is really underlining the fact that this is a priority relationship for Xi Jinping. And it also gives a certain platform for Putin. At the same time, the Kremlin has said, OK, this visit was not coordinated like this. This visit has been planned for months. And we know that Trump has reorganized his own visit as a result of the war in Iran.
But what we are going to see is these optics, this chemistry that we know exists between Xi and Putin. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not one to be effusive with compliments like we saw Trump lavishing on him last week, but this is a relationship where the two call each other friends. They've met 40 times. And so certainly these optics are going to be center stage.
Now, it's not just that, though. When you talk about outcomes, the timing of this is significant because Russia is seeing losses in the war in Ukraine right now. The war in Iran is ongoing, and the U.S. has just had a significant meeting with China in which the two countries have moved into a new phase of stability. And so all of these are important subjects for Putin and Xi to discuss in this meeting, which we expect to see playing out tomorrow.
The other thing about this, too, is that this pomp and circumstance is very much going to create a split screen with what we saw last week with Trump, where there's going to be a welcome ceremony. We're certainly going to see this kind of chemistry playing out. And so really, I think what we want to be looking for, apart from just these optics, is the concrete deals. And one of those I think that we're watching very closely is energy.
We know that China is a major energy importer from Russia. But one of the things that we're watching closely is whether or not there's movement on the power of Siberia, too. A major gas line, which has been in the works for years. But now we expect we may see some progress on as a result of China's concerns about its own energy supplies, given the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
KINKADE: Certainly plenty to discuss in Beijing.
Simone McCarthy in Beijing. Thanks very much.
And one of those points of discussion will, of course, be the Ukraine war. Ukrainian forces right now are proving their ability to adapt to new battlefield challenges, including the constantly evolving technology of warfare.
[00:30:09]
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh shows us how they do it and gives us an up- close look at the danger they face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call this the road of life, but it's about survival, not living.
It is safest on foot, undisguised, ruled by tiny killer drones targeting any vehicle. The nets trying to block the horror from above.
If you can, make the robot your friend, your porter. Though machines are normally the enemy here.
WALSH: This now. Pretty much all over the front lines. Tiny bits of fiber optic cable used to connect drones to their controller can go on for tens of kilometers, stopping the jamming before.
WALSH (voice-over): A Russian drone above. The Ukrainians open fire.
(GUNFIRE)
WALSH: Stay in the doorway.
(GUNFIRE)
WALSH (voice-over): They hit it.
(CRASHING DRONE)
WALSH: That's the impact. And you have to split out, because the drone will try and target groups of individuals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: One, two, or three.
WALSH: Sometimes one, two, three, you find.
WALSH (voice-over): We're doing Sasha and Bogdan's usual walk along this road between two Ukrainian positions. But it takes five hours, and we are buzzed by attack drones 14 times.
WALSH: The battlefield has completely changed in a matter of a year. Nobody drives cars on this road unless you have to. Nobody drives in tanks. That's an outgoing artillery.
These robots used for resupply. Up ahead, we can see people repairing the nets, a kind of key protection. But these used to resupply food, ammunition all around the front line.
(GUNFIRE)
WALSH (voice-over): The next one is right on top of us. They hit it. That gray streak, and it falls, whirring down.
(CRASHING DRONE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: What a good hit.
WALSH (voice-over): But it hasn't detonated.
Debris drifts. There's been no blast. So, we are alive. It may have been a recon drone but flew like a Russian attacker.
Down the road is the Konstantinovka front, where the Kremlin's advance has been slowed to a crawl at the enormous cost, across the front, of 35,000 Russian dead and wounded a month, says Ukraine.
We arrive at the bunker to rest a moment and see the drone trophies, but we have to get back. As soon as we emerge, they are above us again.
(GUNFIRE)
WALSH (voice-over): This is the new warfare: hide, shoot at the sky, run. Fire drones back.
WALSH: Have to walk in but also walk out.
WALSH (voice-over): The buzz stays with you, ringing in your ears for hours later. No respite.
(DRONE CRASHING)
WALSH (voice-over): The gray smoke. Perhaps it hit the net.
WALSH: That was close. Loud. You could hear the shrapnel landing on the tarmac, clearly targeting that armored vehicle.
WALSH (voice-over): It is hard to see how this grind is a win, but it is. Ukraine on foot, robots in support. Automation replacing scarce troops; holding ground.
(GUNFIRE)
WALSH (voice-over): The drones never stop, but neither does Ukraine: adapting, learning, engineering this new warfare and hoping any edge sustains long enough to put Russia in reverse.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Druzhkivka, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KINKADE: Well, still to come, Elon Musk didn't get the outcome that he wanted from his lawsuit against OpenAI. We're going to have his reaction and the next steps after the landmark trial, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:39:39]
KINKADE: Billionaire Elon Musk and his legal team are already planning to appeal the outcome of his lawsuit against OpenAI.
On Monday, a jury in California found that Musk's lawsuit took too long to be filed and was beyond the statute of limitations. The trial had the potential to force the tech company to change how it operates.
Here's what attorneys for both parties had to say after the ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM SAVITT, ATTORNEY FOR OPENAI: This lawsuit was -- was a hypocritical -- hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor and to overcome a long history of very bad predictions about what OpenAI has been and will become.
MARC TOBEROFF, ATTORNEY FOR ELON MUSK: This, at its core, is a travesty, travesty, and but for Musk, you know, they'd get away with it. And they shouldn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Musk accused OpenAI and some of its current executives of abandoning their nonprofit practices, all in favor of a lucrative business model, which has helped them become one of the world's most valuable tech companies.
Musk responded to the verdict on x, saying in part, quote, "There is no question that Altman and Brookman did, in fact, enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is, when they did it."
Musk himself is a co-founder and former investor in OpenAI. He left the company in 2018 and later started his own company, xAI, in 2023.
Well, let's discuss more with civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin. Great to see you, Areva.
AREVA MARTIN, LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, the jury didn't decide whether Elon Musk was right or wrong, only that he filed the lawsuit too late. In legal terms, how late is too late?
MARTIN: Well, in this case, Lynda, it was about the statute of limitations. And the prevailing statute of limitations in this case was three years.
And you're correct. The jury didn't reach the merits. It didn't make a determination about whether OpenAI violated the terms of the agreement that they originally had with Elon Musk, whether they violated their charitable -- or their, I should say, fiduciary obligation by changing their business structure from a nonprofit business structure to a for- profit.
That was the issue raised by Elon Musk in the lawsuit against OpenAI.
The jury never reached that question. So, we don't know what the jury thought process was with respect to that. They simply ruled that the lawsuit was filed too late. And in this case, too late, was essentially after the three-year statute of limitations had run.
KINKADE: And, of course, Musk had argued that OpenAI had abandoned its original nonprofit mission in favor of profit and closer ties to Microsoft.
We played some sound earlier from OpenAI's attorney, who called this lawsuit a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor.
What exactly was Musk alleging? What was the core of his case? And will he be able to appeal it in any real terms, given what happened?
MARTIN: Well, we know he's claiming that he will file an appeal, but the trial court in this case was pretty clear that any such appeal would probably be -- would be met without success; that he wouldn't be able to move forward with an appeal.
But essentially, he's claiming that this company, Open -- OpenAI, was started as a nonprofit entity; and that he made major donations to the company, and that it was set up to operate under that business structure.
And yet, when it became profitable, that Altman and others started to move I.P. and other assets of the nonprofit into a for-profit in order to enrich themselves. He now is claiming that they've made billions of dollars as a result of essentially stealing the intellectual property from this nonprofit and placing it in a for-profit entity.
KINKADE: And, of course, Areva, the stakes were extremely high. The case had the potential to force major structural changes at OpenAI. From a legal standpoint, what would have actually been on the table if Musk had won?
MARTIN: Well, what he was trying to do, in addition to claiming monetary damages, was trying to force OpenAI to go back to what he says was their original business structure: to operate as a nonprofit entity.
And as a nonprofit entity, very different from a for-profit. Nonprofit entities are public corporations. They're ruled by a board of directors.
The founding members, or anyone that works for a nonprofit, doesn't own the company. You don't own the intellectual property. All that is owned by the nonprofit.
So, it would have resulted in a major shift in how OpenAI does business.
Now, of course, as you said, OpenAI has all along claimed that this was just an attempt by Elon Musk to, you know, cripple his competition and to prevent this company from continuing to move forward and to be profitable in the way that it has been over the last several years.
KINKADE: All right. Areva Martin, appreciate your analysis, as always. Thanks so much for your time.
MARTIN: Thank you.
KINKADE: U.S. sanctions, tariffs, and the blockade of Cuba are worsening the island's ongoing energy and economic crisis. Ahead, the devastating toll it's taking on the people of Cuba.
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[00:49: 31]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade, in for Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
Three people have been killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city's largest mosque. Authorities are investigating it as a hate crime.
The police chief said two teen suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. And we've now learned one of them was a high school wrestler in an online schooling program. A law enforcement source identified him as Cain Clark.
After days of searching, expert divers have located the bodies of four people killed in last week's scuba tragedy in the Maldives.
Five Italians died exploring the caves in the Indian Ocean last week. It's unclear what went wrong, but currents and darkness made diving there difficult.
Maldives military diver was killed Saturday on a recovery mission.
A fast-moving brush fire in Southern California is forcing over 33,000 people to evacuate. The so-called Sandy Fire was reported Monday morning in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles north of Los Angeles, and is threatening multiple homes and structures.
Cal Fire officials say more than 1,300 acres have been burnt, with 0 percent contained. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel says that the U.S. military action on the island would spark, quote, "a bloodbath with incalculable consequences" for his country.
In a social media post on Monday, he reiterated that Cuba poses no threat to the U.S. but maintains its right to self-defend.
The Trump administration announced more sanctions on Cuba Monday. This time, it's targeting intelligence and security agencies, as well as a number of officials.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports from Havana on how the Cuban people ultimately are paying the price.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what brought Cuba to its breaking point.
For decades, Venezuela had been Havana's biggest oil supplier. Then overnight, its president, Nicolas Maduro, was out of power.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The dictator and terrorist Maduro is finally gone. In Venezuela, people are free.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Under U.S. pressure, Caracas pulled the plug on its closest ally, which already had a troubled economy.
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We would love to see the regime there change. We would like to. That doesn't mean that we're going to make a change, but we would love to see it change.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Once the Trump administration threatened tariffs on countries that send oil to the communist-run government, no one dared to come to its rescue.
The impact on this island nation of 10 million people has been devastating. Blackouts stretching past 20 hours a day became the new normal in many areas.
And while, at first, there were endless lines at gas stations, they eventually cleared, because there's no longer any gas. Food prices spiked, and shortages soon followed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: We are paying two, three times as much to restock and keep people happy. There's no food.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Everywhere you look, there are piles of trash: breeding grounds for diseases and despair.
JOANI MANUEL TABLADA FAL, CUBAN RESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: For a man that works so hard, look at my money: 23 pesos.
OPPMANN (voice-over): That's less than one U.S. dollar.
Add to that tourism grinding to a halt, and you have a perfect storm.
Cubans are no strangers to economic hardship. Following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, they've endured America's embargo and their own government's disastrous economic missteps.
But in my 14 years as a foreign correspondent in this country, I've never seen Cubans suffering to such a degree. MICHAEL LOPEZ, FISHERMAN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: It's logical. If there's no oil, there's no industry, no work. We will see how this ends.
OPPMANN (voice-over): And that is something I'm hearing again and again from residents, with some unleashing their anger into the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: The children don't have food to eat. They can't go to school. We are desperate. The women have lost 20 pounds. We're anxious. We don't have a way to support our kids.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Now, U.S. officials say they are seeking a federal indictment against 94-year-old former leader Raul Castro, still believed to wield great power.
His hand-picked successor says Cuba is preparing to defend against any U.S. attack.
MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, LEADER OF CUBA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Each Cuban man and woman has a rifle.
OPPMANN (voice-over): It's the closest that Washington and Havana have come to outright confrontation since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
OPPMANN: Donald Trump has said he may put a U.S. aircraft carrier right here off Cuba's coast and tell the island's leadership to leave power. That the mere sight of America's military might would be enough to take Cuba without firing a shot.
Cuba's officials, though, have said that any U.S. military action would lead to a loss of both Cuban and U.S. lives.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Over the years, Cubans have told me they just want a normal life: to live in a country where things work and where they have the opportunity to prosper and live in peace.
At least for the moment, that simple dream seems farther away than ever.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, voters in key states will return to the polls for primary elections that could weaken the Republicans' grip on power in Congress. We'll look at some of the most closely watched battles.
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[00:59:27]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW": We've got to go. Sit down. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Please. Thank you. Thank you, Paul. Sit down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: It's the end of an era. Just a short time ago, Stephen Colbert kicked off his final week of "The Late Show" on CBS to a roaring applause.
The program airs its last four episodes this week after 11 years on television.
CBS says the show's cancellation is, quote, "purely a financial decision," but critics say the announcement came at a time when the network and its parent company, Paramount, may have attempted to win favor with the Trump administration.
CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is currently in the midst of a takeover deal with Paramount.
