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What We Know with Max Foster

Iran: U.S. Blockade Is Act Of War and Violates Truce; Sources: Unclear When U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance Will Leave Washington For Potential Talks In Pakistan; Pakistan: Iran Has Yet To Confirm Attendance At Peace Talks; Israel, Hezbollah Exchange Fire Amid Shaky Ceasefire; Nominee Kevin Warsh Vows Not To Be Trump's "Sock Puppet"; U.S. Labor Secretary Steps Down Amid Misconduct Scandals; Gunman Kills One, Injures At Least 13 At Teotihuacan Pyramids; Robbins: Faced "Constant Pressure" To Approve Mandelson. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 21, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:34]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Peace talks between the U.S. and Iran up in the air.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Amid a looming ceasefire deadline, hopes that the U.S. and Iran will resume peace talks appear to be crumbling. Just a short while ago, Iran's foreign

minister posted that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports is an act of war. He goes on to say that Iran knows how to resist bullies.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance was expected to head to Pakistan today for negotiations, but he remains in Washington, and Tehran has yet to commit to

another meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he does not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran without a deal. It's scheduled to expire

Wednesday evening in the U.S. Eastern.

Meanwhile, top U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are at the White House right now, and they're not heading to Islamabad either.

I want to bring in Kevin Liptak because we're seeing reports that these talks or this visit at least, is on hold, even canceled. What are you

hearing?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I can say that I think the visit is shelved for now. You know, our understanding had been that the

vice president would leave Washington sometime this morning. That clearly didn't happen. We saw him arrive here to the White House around two hours

ago. An hour after that, we saw Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrive as well.

That had been the delegation that was expected to head to Islamabad. As of now, it doesn't seem as if they are taking off anytime soon. And it comes,

of course, as the Iranians as well say, that their participation in these talks is not decided yet. They're saying that because the U.S. is sending

what they call, quote, "contradictory messages," engaging in what they call inconsistent behavior and unacceptable actions that they haven't made a

final decision on whether they would send a delegation to Pakistan for these talks.

And so, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of murkiness hanging over what is going to happen next. In talking with American officials, it seems as if there

are a few points that are undergirding all of this uncertainty. One is the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump's vow to intercept

any vessel that's going to or from Iranian ports. The Iranians want that lifted before they agree to participate in a new round of talks. President

Trump being pretty clear in an interview earlier today that that's not going to happen. So how that's resolved totally unclear.

We also understand from American officials that Iran has not yet presented a clear negotiating position on all of the sticking points that are going

to inevitably form a final agreement, whether its Iran's willingness to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, whether it's Iran's

ability to enrich uranium going forward, it hasn't necessarily signed off on some of the red lines that the president is insisting upon.

The third point that I think you hear from administration officials is uncertainty and lack of clarity at this point as to whether the Iranian

negotiating team has the ultimate authority to sign off on a deal, or whether that will have to come from the IRGC or the Iranian supreme leader.

I think there is a lack of clarity on that from the American side, that's leading to a lot of misgivings about whether or not another round of

negotiations would, in fact, be fruitful.

Now, we should say this trip is not canceled at this point. The way it's been described is sort of postponed or on hold. If some of these sticking

points get resolved, then J.D. Vance could get on a plane fairly quickly and start heading towards Pakistan.

What is clear is that there is a deadline looming, which is the expiration of this two-week-long ceasefire. Now, President Trump says it will expire

tomorrow night. Wednesday night, eastern time. The two-week point is actually tonight, 6:30 p.m. is around the time when the president first

announced it on Truth Social two weeks ago. Exactly. The Pakistanis also say that it expires tonight.

So there's some lack of clarity about when it, in fact, will come due. What President Trump made clear earlier today is that he doesn't expect to

extend it. In his words, he expects to be bombing those civilian sites, the bridges, the power plants inside of Iran once that concludes.

And so, where this all goes from here, I think, still very unclear, Max.

[15:05:01]

FOSTER: Okay, Kevin, thank you.

Tied to this, Israel's military says Hezbollah has violated their fragile ceasefire agreement, firing rockets at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

It adds that it targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers in response.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is with us from Tel Aviv.

Does that mean that part of the ceasefire is over, Jeremy?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, I wouldn't go quite there yet. I mean, we have seen, you know, Israeli strikes, regular Israeli

strikes in southern Lebanon, basically, since the ceasefire began. Today, we are getting reports of Hezbollah rocket and drone fire, both towards

Israeli positions in southern Lebanon as well as towards Israeli positions in northern Israel.

In fact, just now, as I'm coming on the air with you, we do have a statement from Hezbollah confirming that it did indeed carry out an attack

on what it says are Israeli military positions in Kfar Giladi? That's in northern Israel, very close to the Lebanese border. They say they carried

out this attack using rockets and attack drones. That would be the first such confirmation of a Hezbollah attack on Israel since this ceasefire

began last week.

You know, again, we have heard from the Israeli military that they've already carried out a response to this, carrying out strikes on Hezbollah

rocket launchers in southern Lebanon. The question now is whether it will be limited to that tit for tat, or whether the ceasefire could potentially

collapse. I again, I wouldn't go there quite yet. We've seen in the past with these kinds of ceasefires that there are momentary upticks in violence

on one side or the other. That doesn't necessarily unravel the ceasefire altogether.

We also know that in two days' time, Israeli and Lebanese officials are set to sit down for the next round of negotiations amid this temporary 10-day

ceasefire in Lebanon to discuss the disarming of Hezbollah, as well as the possibility of Israel and Lebanon establishing peaceful relations. For that

to happen, of course, that ceasefire needs to hold.

FOSTER: Jeremy, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, meanwhile, a big story.

Kevin Warsh testified earlier on Capitol Hill. Warsh pledged to be impartial if confirmed. He also pushed back at any suggestion that he would

automatically bend to the will of President Trump, saying he was, quote, not a sock puppet.

One particularly contentious line of questioning came from Senator Elizabeth Warren. She tried to get Warsh to weigh in on the results of the

2020 U.S. presidential election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

KEVIN WARSH, U.S. FED CHAIR NOMINEE: We try to keep politics if I'm confirmed out of the Federal Reserve.

WARREN: I'm just asking a factual question. I need to know -- I need to measure your independence and your courage.

WARSH: Senator, I believe that this body certified that election many years ago. But --

WARREN: That's not the question I'm asking. I'm asking, did Donald Trump lose in 2020?

WARSH: And I'm suggesting you in 2020, the Fed --

WARREN: You can't answer that.

WARSH: -- had a huge inflation problem. And you certified the election.

WARREN: So let me ask you another question.

WARSH: We keep politics out of monetary policy.

WARREN: In our --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Richard Quest joins me now.

I mean, it was an interesting interchange, and it is all about his independence. But he would be weighing into politics --

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Well, hang on a second. Hang on.

What we witnessed there was the rubric of all Trump nominees. When asked this question, does a performative nature the Democrats on the Senate

committee ask the question, and the nominee answers with some version thereof. You certified it because -- and we're -- we're asked to draw the

conclusion that he can't say "Yes, Donald Trump lost" because Donald Trump would be furious.

FOSTER: Should he, in that role?

QUEST: Should he say Donald Trump? Of course, he should. It's a straightforward question and answer. I mean, but that's not -- that's not

the game that's being played by either side. In this case, it's unfair in a sense, because he was silly not to answer. And she knew what she was going

to get.

On this question of, is Kevin Warsh going to lower rates because Donald Trump wants him to? The answer is no. Kevin Warsh is an experienced central

banker who knows what he's doing. He has bigger fish to fry at the Fed.

The more controversial aspects of Warsh's policies are things like not believing in forward guidance, wanting to restructure the balance sheet,

all the nasty, horrible bits, the nitty gritty, the grunge bit.

FOSTER: He also talked about regime change.

QUEST: That's what I'm talking about.

FOSTER: Yeah.

QUEST: He wants to change the mindset at the fed from this idea of inflation forecasting. He wants to -- he believes that if you get the fed

back to its core values, monetary policy, not doing bond buying, not doing all these other things that you will eventually get to inflationary targets

through the correct way. He thinks the fed has been corrupted.

[15:10:03]

FOSTER: To economists, you know, there's a debate in economics about that. So, it's a legitimate --

QUEST: It's a completely legitimate. Most people think there's a kernel of truth in what he says. But at the same time, you know -- well, by the way,

in an hours' time, we'll have Richard Clarida, the former vice chair of the Fed, on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS", to ask him about on these broader issues.

I think the red herring with Warsh is this idea of being a sock puppet. He's not. He's going to do monetary policy as he sees fit. But there will

be big changes for the Fed, possibly the biggest since it was formed.

FOSTER: I look forward to interviewing him.

QUEST: Thank you.

FOSTER: Richard, thank you.

Another member of President Donald Trump's cabinet is stepping down. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving her post in the face of multiple

scandals and investigations. She's been accused of having an affair with a member of her security team and using department resources for personal

vacations. The White House merely said she would be moving on to the private sector.

Let's go to Sunlen Serfaty interesting.

Interesting bit. You know, even people that don't know her very well, it's another problem for the administration.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, Max. She has had quite a tumultuous tenure as labor secretary, following, as you

said, multiple allegations of bad behavior, allegations of misconduct and not only among her and her staff, but also this reaches to some of her

family members.

Now, let's go through them one by one in January 1st, it was revealed that the agency, the Labor Department's watchdog, had an investigation open

after several complaints were received.

The first complaints that she was having a sexual relationship with a member of her -- of her security team, another that she was trying to use

business trips to really as excuses for personal travel. She expressed to staff over a series of emails that she had wanted to, in one sense, go see

a UFC match in Chicago. And another sense she wanted to go to a Morgan Wallen concert, and that the directive that they should plan work, travel

to really accommodate her personal pursuits and interests here. Also, allegations that she was drinking on the job and even in one sense, one

part, she was sending staff to pick up alcohol on her behalf.

We have some emails that were obtained by the New York post in that one, excuse me, text message. She instructs the staff member when they were

staying in a hotel to bring her a glass of rose wine. This -- then she says, "Do they sell by the bottle?" she asks her staffer. The staffer

writes back that they are out. She writes back that another brand of wine would be better.

So, clearly, she here is drinking during, um, actual official events that she's taking as labor secretary.

There's also these allegations, including her family members. In February, "The New York Times" reported that her husband actually had been banned

from the headquarters of the Department of Labor because of his own sexual assault allegations against members of the staff.

Also, they reported that the I.G. was looking into messages that not only her husband, but her father was sending to young staffers. One says, and

this is according to the complaint, that her father writes to a young female staffer in April 2025, "Hearing you're in town wishing you would let

me know. I could have made some excuses to get out and show you around. Please keep this private."

Now, Max, I should tell you that in a statement, Chavez-DeRemer says she believes the allegations are have been peddled by she says high ranked deep

state actors. She says they claim she's claiming that they're working to undermine the Trump agenda. But at least for these allegations and

certainly in the mix of this very messy resignation, she does not overtly refute that these allegations are true or false. So, certainly, much more

to learn in the days and weeks ahead. But she is certainly out as labor secretary.

FOSTER: Okay. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much for bringing us that.

Mexico's president is calling for increased security measures after a deadly shooting at a major archeological site. Authorities say a gunman

opened fire on crowds at the Teotihuacan pyramids on Monday outside Mexico City. Now, a Canadian tourist was killed. More than a dozen people from at

least six countries were wounded.

Valeria Leon has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm at the Teotihuacan pyramids in the state of Mexico, just 40 miles north from Mexico City. Here is the Pyramid

of the Moon, where yesterday an attacker climbed those stairs and opened fire. He killed one tourist from Canada and then he killed himself. He was

identified as a 27-year-old from Mexico City.

This place remains closed. I'm here with two tourists from Italy.

[15:15:00]

How do you feel about what happened here yesterday?

GIANNI MAGRINI, ITALIAN TOURIST: Yeah. Honestly, I discovered everything this morning. But yeah, we changed these plans yesterday just for schedule

organization. And, yeah, it was shocking, but, yeah, I understood today really that someone was murdered because we thought just that there were

some shooting.

LEON: And inside this place, 13 people were injured. Eight of them are still in hospitals nearby. And authorities have confirmed that among the

victims, there are tourists from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and also Russia.

And this came as a shock because Teotihuacan is the second most visited archeological site in the country. Last year, it received 1.6 million

visitors, and it also has raised concerns because Mexico gears up to receive the World Cup and receive also more than 5 million visitors during

this summer.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said this incident deeply pains Mexico. Also, Mexican authorities have confirmed they are in contact with the Canadian

embassy.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (translated): Our solidarity goes out to the family of the person who lost their life.

LEON: Security forces are being deployed here, and also they're investigating what are the motives behind this crime and what made this 27-

year-old man opened fire in the middle of the morning in one of the most iconic archeological sites.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Teotihuacan state of Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN has learned new information about the two U.S. embassy officials killed in a car accident on Sunday in Mexico. Three people

briefed on the matter tell us they work for the CIA. The officers were returning from a drug raid in the Morelos area with their Mexican

counterparts when their car crashed. The circumstances of the crash still under investigation. Mexican President Sheinbaum says she was not aware of

any direct collaboration between state officials and U.S. embassy workers.

Coming up, Britain's prime minister has forced out several officials over his appointment of a controversial ambassador. Today, one of those

officials gave his side of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:36]

FOSTER: The pressure on the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has gone up a notch. We've got new details on his decision to choose Peter Mandelson

as Britain's ambassador to Washington, which has caused huge controversy. Ever since Mandelson's close links to Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in the

Epstein files. Mr. Starmer has insisted he didn't know Mandelson had failed security vetting and removed a top civil servant at the foreign office.

Olly Robbins today, it was Robbins' turn to speak, he told a parliamentary committee there was enormous pressure from the prime minister's office to

make sure that Mandelson got the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLLY ROBBINS, FORMER PERMANT UNDER-SECRETARY, BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE: I think throughout January, honestly, my office, the foreign secretary's

office were under constant pressure. There was a -- there was an atmosphere of constant chasing, when will this --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any phone calls?

ROBBINS: I couldn't say for certain daily, but I mean, certainly very frequent from private office to private office. Has this been delivered

yet? Never any interest as far as I recall, in weather, but only an interest in when.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Freelance journalist Quentin Peel joins us now.

I mean, effectively, I don't know how much of it you watched, but it was -- they were under pressure, the foreign office, and Downing Street were

dismissive about the security checks.

QUENTIN PEEL, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: Yes, I think those are the two elements that really stand out from Olly Robbins' evidence today that he

was under pressure. The entire institution he represented was under pressure, and that initially, Downing Street had actually been very

dismissive about whether any security check vetting was really needed for Peter Mandelson.

So, the idea that, somehow, it was actually a betrayal of Downing Street, that the head of the foreign office didn't tell them that he'd failed that

security check, sort of pales in comparison to the fact that obviously, there was a lot of pressure on to get the British ambassador to Washington

before the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

FOSTER: And the sense that, you know, once the prime minister had made the announcement, it was publicly known, very difficult to step back from and

some concern that the U.S. administration might not react well if Mandelson was withdrawn. But ultimately, it does come down to nitty gritty of how

Whitehall works, which you know very well. Most people didn't really understand, but is the key debate here whether or not the vetting should

have happened before it was announced or after it was announced?

PEEL: Absolutely. And that's what -- Olly Robbins said, look, he would have if he'd been asked, backed up the head of the civil service in saying

it would be much wiser to have the vetting first of a political appointment like Peter Mandelson, who was a member of the House of Lords, a former

government minister, but not a professional diplomat.

And, that actually -- to have that first, and then when he was clear to make the announcement that he was going to be appointed would have been a

much safer option. The trouble is that it's clear that Keir Starmer was persuaded he was the right man to be, if you like, a Trump whisperer, to

get quite close to the American president and, be good at persuading him that he should regard the relationship with the United Kingdom as the

special relationship that people in London like to think it is.

So, I think that was top priority and really any worries about whether Mandelson was the right man for the job, because after all, he was known to

have been a very close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, whether that was in fact enough to disqualify him. And I'm afraid that was clearly overruled for

political reasons.

FOSTER: Yeah. There was a telling point, wasn't there, where he was, he was saying, you know, all of these public disclosures about how the vetting

process work really don't help the U.K. because the foes then get a greater sense of how that process works. There's no benefit to that more broadly.

And he said, British national security doesn't benefit from any of this. So, we have to ask who does?

And that's the central question, isn't it? You know, all of this briefing against him, the fact he was fired, is it just to protect the prime

minister's position?

PEEL: The trouble is, from Keir Starmer's point of view, that's what it looks like. Even if he insists that he was absolutely horrified not to have

heard that, that Mandelson had failed this vetting test. On the other hand, what Olly Robbins is absolutely adamant about is that the results of a

vetting like this would never be shared with ministers and with a wider audience in order to make the process properly secret that actually anybody

who goes through this process to say, are you a security risk or not, is invited to actually share their own thoughts about why or why they might

not be a security risk and they wouldn't open up properly if they thought for a moment that it was what they said was going to be shared with the --

with Downing Street or any other government minister.

FOSTER: Quentin, really appreciate your thoughts on that. A fascinating day in U.K. politics at least -- thank you.

Meanwhile, police in London have made a series of arrests as they look into arson attacks that seem to be targeting London's Jewish community. At least

eight people have been arrested in recent days. Counter-terrorism police say several of those arrested were part of a conspiracy to target Jewish

organizations. Officials say they are looking into whether someone is paying people to carry out these attacks.

Now, as the ceasefire deadline inches closer, we are no closer to knowing if U.S.-Iran peace talks will happen or if the U.S. vice president is even

taking part. What we do know, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:36]

FOSTER: Back to our top story. The ceasefire deadline between the U.S. and Iran. Two key U.S. negotiators have arrived at the White House, Steve

Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They joined Vice President J.D. Vance, who arrived a few hours earlier. It remains unclear whether they'll travel to

Pakistan for peace talks with Iran.

Tehran, on the other hand, says it's not sure if it's attending the talks. The foreign ministry claims contradictory messages from the White House and

the U.S. military targeting Iranian ships. It also calls the U.S. blockade a ceasefire violation and an act of war.

What we don't know is will the U.S. and Iran talks go ahead?

Joining me now is Nic Robertson is in Islamabad.

I mean, where do you think the problem is here? Is it that Iran hasn't committed so the U.S. can't fly over?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think that's where it is. I do think that earlier in the day, J.D. Vance was all set to get on

a plane that was not in doubt. And the only reason that wasn't in doubt was because although Iran hadn't publicly said they were coming, the

negotiators on both sides understood that they were.

Then that second Iranian vessel was taken into U.S. custody in the Indian Ocean. It was a, you know, a, it was, it wasn't an Iranian registered

vessel, but it had Iranian sanctioned oil on board. And marines landed on that. And that seemed to be the tipping point just about at that time of

day, a couple of hours before J.D. Vance was due to get on his plane and the expectation was Iran would signal positively, categorically,

unequivocally they were coming.

That began the -- to sort of upset everything. There was a big flurry of diplomatic activity and Pakistani officials were sort of went a lot more

public than they had done previously. The prime minister was calling for an extension to the ceasefire to try to get the talks going. The interior, the

information minister here was calling on Iran to make its position clear before the ceasefire.

And to be clear, from Pakistan's perspective, that ceasefire expires in just about four hours from now. So, Iran doesn't have a lot of time. It

would seem to make their position clear. Unless, of course, there's an extension.

All of that said, you know, it's been real drama every single day over the past few days about is Iran going to come? What's getting in the way of it?

A lack of trust. There was a build-up of trust last week. That's evaporated.

It's an absolute drama and rollercoaster. Even all that said, I think there still is a hope here that the talks will actually happen. Precisely what

has to happen to get to that point? Iran keeps talking about the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. blockade of its ports as being a key

point. Is there some understanding that can happen before both sides get to the table?

Earlier on today, the Iranians were indicating that they thought they might get compensation for the war damage. That's something that's been important

for them. But all of these things, of course, can be better negotiated at the table.

But the hardest thing at the moment, and this is certainly the feeling for the Pakistani moderators here, mediators. The hardest thing at the moment

is to persuade the Iranians to come. Just not quite clear what is going to take to get them over the line. But if you want to look at positives,

neither J.D. Vance and his team nor the Iranians have ruled out said, were not coming.

So, in a way, it's still all in play, Max.

FOSTER: How serious are the Pakistanis think Trump is about going back to war once the deadline passes?

Okay, we've lost Nic there, but we'll come back to him later, of course, on CNN.

Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are in the red. That's as the ceasefire deadline between the U.S. and Iran nears.

This is our Business Breakout.

A record spike in gas prices drove U.S. retail sales higher in March. Retail sales jumped 1.7 percent last month, the fastest pace since January

2023. Spending gains were broad based, for example, home furnishings store sales jumped more than 2 percent.

[15:35:01]

Donald Trump says he does not like the idea of two of America's biggest airlines merging. Reports suggest that United Airlines CEO approached the

White House about merging with American Airlines. The U.S. president tells CNBC it's not something he would like to see because less competition, in

his words, makes them lazy.

The satirical news site "The Onion" has reached an agreement to take over conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars company. The move could help pay

the more than $1 billion Jones owes to families of those killed in the Sandy Hook school shootings, following a 2022 defamation ruling. "The

Onion" says it plans to turn Infowars into a network for emerging comedians, with initial licensing fees paid monthly to a court appointed

receiver.

End of an era. After more than a decade, leading Apple CEO Tim Cook is preparing to step aside. This marks a major shift at one of the world's

most valuable companies. He'll become executive chairman instead come September 1st. Apple veteran, John Ternus, is set to take the reins.

Now, analysts say he'll have to lay out a new A.I. strategy to show that the company is ready for a future beyond the iPhone. So, what we want to

know is what does a new CEO mean for Apple?

Joining us now is CNN business tech editor Lisa Eadicicco.

I mean, he's got big footsteps to follow, hasn't he, when you consider Steve Jobs ahead of, you know, instead of ahead of even that, but, he's a

hardware guy, right? What do we read into that?

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Absolutely, Max. So I think this is pretty telling because if you think about how Apple has evolved under

Tim Cook, Apple has become much more than a technology company and a computer company. It's become a health company, an entertainment company, a

digital services company. And a lot of that success was built on the success of the iPhone. And that's a big part of Cook's legacy.

Now, with John Ternus stepping into the role. I do think that this is a clear sign here that, you know, this is somebody that is so closely tied to

Apple's hardware engineering and hardware development, and its coming at a critical time as a lot of Apple's competitors are exploring new types of

A.I. devices. We know that Meta, Google, and Samsung are going all in on smart glasses. We know that OpenAI is working on some type of new A.I.

device, although we don't really have details about that yet.

So, right now, this is someone that you're putting in charge of Apple at a time when there's a lot of new types of devices emerging in the market. And

I think that's really critical because as you mentioned, there's a lot of pressure on apple right now to reveal more about its A.I. strategy.

A lot of investors and analysts are looking for answers about not only how is Apple going to make money from A.I., but are they thinking about how ai

is going to shape its future products? Are they thinking about what kinds of devices people might be using more than the iPhone in the future, if

there is a device like that?

So, I think having somebody lead the company right now in the future that, is really intimately linked to how Apple engineers its hardware, I think is

a sign of things to come. And Ternus is already playing a pretty big role in Apple's current products. And he's been more visible as the face of the

company when introducing these products. And we really saw that last month with the launch of the MacBook Neo, which is Apple's first low cost

MacBook.

And that in itself represents kind of a shift in strategy in a new market for Apple, because it's really known for premium laptops. So, I do think

this theme of, you know, expanding into new areas and hardware, I wouldn't be surprised if that's kind of a theme that we saw in the future when

Ternus takes the reins as CEO.

FOSTER: I read that Tim Cook, you know, he obviously stays with the company, but he's going to be almost an elder statesman in the company,

some sort of diplomatic role. I mean, what do you think he'll be best placed to do?

EADICICCO: So, it's not surprising at all that Tim Cook is maintaining a role in the company. He has said that, you know, Apple is at his core. He -

-you know, it doesn't seem like he had any intentions of leaving Apple anytime soon.

But I do think in the future, we will see how that new role shapes out. It's clear that Tim Cook is likely still going to have some kind of

influence over the company.

But I do think, you know, this is going to be the time where someone new comes in and shines in the day to day. So, I do think it's interesting, the

shift from someone like Cook, who has been very operations focused and had a big, background in operations and supply chain management, leading Apple

for the last decade plus. And now, we're shifting into someone that's more well-versed in the hardware and product side of things.

FOSTER: Lisa Eadicicco, I really appreciate it. Thank you.

EADICICCO: Thank you.

[15:40:00]

FOSTER: Still to come, celebrating 100 years since the birth of Queen Elizabeth, King Charles has a message for the country about his legendary

late mother.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: It was 100 years ago today that Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II was born. And as the royal family marks the anniversary, her son, King

Charles, admits she may have been troubled today by the world she left behind.

Today, we've seen the final designs for a new memorial in London's Saint James's Park by Buckingham Palace, including a new statue and bust of the

late monarch. The king and his wife, Queen Camilla, viewed models of the planned memorial, having visited an exhibition of Elizabeth's wardrobe on

Monday.

In a video message honoring his late mother, the king said she could still offer a message of hope to the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING CHARLES III, UNITED KINGDOM: Much about the times we now live in, I suspect, may have troubled her deeply, but I take heart from her belief

that goodness will always prevail and that a brighter dawn is never far from the horizon. For as a young Princess Elizabeth put it in her first

ever public broadcast, aged just 14, we can each play our part to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Joining me now, Charles Anson. He worked as the queen's press secretary.

Charles, thank you so much for joining us.

CHARLES ANSON, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Thank you.

FOSTER: How are you remembering today? Because there's -- people, you know, remember her so fondly. Message from Charles, certainly, that this is

a positive day, though, to celebrate her life. And do you think he did so in a fitting way?

ANSON: I thought the king spoke so warmly of the queen and the example that she gave in offering her life and her duties to the service of the

people.

[15:45:02]

And those people were not just the United Kingdom, but also, other countries in the commonwealth of which the late queen was head of state as

well. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many others in the Caribbean. So, a very wide population that looked up to the queen as an example of someone

who had really made it clear from an early age that she wished to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather and her grandmother, Queen

Elizabeth, of course, at the time.

And that example, really, she took hold of right the way through her life. And that duty of service to the people at whatever level in society, was to

try and make a better place for all of us to live in. And I think the example that she gave of tolerance, of inclusion and of course, of hope of

a better future and an ability to deal with difficulties as they came up.

FOSTER: You saw that firsthand, didn't you? Because you were, at the palace when she had her what she called annus horribilis, the big low in

her professional career, I guess. And then she built back up from that, didn't she?

But I just wondered what you thought of that line from the king saying much about the times we now live in, I suspect, may have troubled her deeply.

What was he talking about there, do you think?

ANSON: Well, I think he was talking about a much more -- not fractious, but, a society, much more given to being open and critical, as necessary,

as well as being supportive. But I think overall, the impact that the queen, the late queen made was to give her life from an early age to the

service of her people. And those people are not just the people of the United Kingdom.

They went to particular groups within our society, but to all in our society that her place was to try and make a better world, a more tolerant

world, a more inclusive world, one in which faith and beliefs and opinions could be held without being overly fractious.

So, I think that sort of ability to try and make the world your country, the commonwealth and others able to live in a society which was much more

open to people of different opinions, of different faith, and to allow them to be inclusive.

And I think that inclusive quality is something that she definitely promoted in her own quiet way.

FOSTER: I think some people overlooked a line at the at the end as well of the statement saying, I renew my solemn pledge of duty and service to you

all. We saw a similar line, didn't we? Often in key moments in the late queen's speeches as well.

Just explain the significance of that

ANSON: Well, I think the significance of it is that the late queen was very good at being able to put herself at the service of her people. She

wasn't really there to try and promote herself in any way, but to do what she could with the influence she had and the example that she gave of

creating a better society.

And I think that's something which is definitely a long-lasting legacy. The encompassing and tolerant, and open to other opinions and other beliefs,

other religions, other ways of life and to be able to be tolerant and encouraging to people, to lead a life that made the world a better place.

And I think the late queen's contribution was to make a difference in her own quiet way to a more tolerant and more inclusive society. And I think

she was very successful in doing that.

FOSTER: Charles Anson, you work with us so closely. One of the few people that did and really knew her. So, we appreciate you joining us on this

momentous day.

Right now, Pope Leo visiting Equatorial Guinea, the last stop in his first trip to Africa since his election. Actually, Leo is only the second pope to

visit the country where more than 70 percent of the population is actually Catholic.

[15:50:00]

The first pope was John Paul II in 1982.

Over in Rome, the Catholic Church is marking a year since the death of Pope Francis with a rosary, prayer and a mass right near where Pope Leo's

predecessor is buried.

Well, still to come, a young tennis star shining bright. Carlos Alcaraz is named sportsman of the year at an award ceremony in Madrid. We'll hear from

the man at the moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The world's top athletes descended on Madrid on Monday for the prestigious Laureus Sports Awards. Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first

sportsman of the year trophy after winning both the French and U.S. Opens. The 22-year-old Spaniard will be looking to win a third straight Roland

Garros title next month, if he recovers in time from a wrist injury, though.

Amanda Davies spoke to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Congratulations Carlos Alcaraz, Laureus sportsman of the year. How does it feel to be up there with the likes of

Novak, Leo Messi, Lewis Hamilton, Usain Bolt?

CARLOS ALCARAZ, TENNIS STAR: Well, I mean, to be -- to be honest, it's amazing. It's a dream come true for me. You know, seeing my name next to

the -- those legends that have won this award before. So, for me, it's a -- it's a real honor.

DAVIES: And I remember speaking to you four years ago in Paris when you'd won the breakthrough of the year award, you met Leo Messi on the red carpet

for the first time. How do you think you today compares to that Carlos Alcaraz?

ALCARAZ: Well, it was, I do remember when I met Messi, you know, back in 2023, I was saying it was like, no way he's coming. He's next to me.

I just -- I could wave him. So it's a -- it was a -- it was a pleasure. So I would say, you know, back then it was, it was new in this kind of thing.

So I just -- I was -- I was surrounded by, you know, legends from, from the sport that I was, I was in shock in a way right now.

And just, I'm getting a little bit more used to it. It's still -- it's still shocking that I start to talk like, you know, man to man with, with a

lot of legends and, you know, in person with a lot of legends. So I would say like, I'm more mature than that.

DAVIES: How much does your rivalry with Yannick drive you on?

ALCARAZ: Well, I think I think the rivalry that I have with Yannick, it is in my mind every day, you know, every time that I'm going to step on the

court for practice, I just -- I'm thinking about, all right, what I what I should do to be better, what I should do when I'm going to face Yannick for

the next time. And I practice that.

So, I think -- I think this rivalry is really beautiful. I'm really grateful for having him around. No. When he paid me, but, no, but, jokes

aside, it gives me the motivation and the strength to give my 100 percent every day to be a better player. So, he pushed me to the limit every time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Finally, tonight, a Japanese artist is lighting up Times Square this month in celebration of New York City's diversity. The work "Morning

Again" takes place every night right before midnight as part of Times Square arts midnight moment.

Artist Tomokazu Matsuyama is based in Brooklyn but originally hails from Japan. The three-minute-long installation reflects the city's unity and

diversity.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

END

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