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What We Know with Max Foster

U.S.-Iran Standoff Along Strait Of Hormuz Intensifies; Sources: U.S. Navy Secretary Told To Resign Or Be Fired; Israel And Lebanon To Meet For Second Round Of Talks; Pope Condemns War & Iranian Government's Killing Of Protesters; D4vd Murder Trial: Autopsy Finds Victim Had Fingers Removed; Federal Government Expected To Take A Stake In Troubled Low-Cost Carrier Spirit Airlines With A $500M Bailout. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 23, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalate.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

While the United States and Iran are not currently negotiating, they are sending messages in the form of ever increasing military action along the

Strait of Hormuz.

In an online post a short while ago, U.S. President Donald Trump said he has all the time in the world to reach a deal with Iran. Earlier, he

ordered the U.S. navy to fire on any Iranian boats that are placing mines in the critical waterway. This after the pentagon says American forces

boarded a sanctioned state stateless vessel in the Indian Ocean that was carrying oil from Iran.

And in the midst of a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran claims it's received the first revenue from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Natasha Bertrand is in Washington.

I guess we should start with the president's latest comments that he has all the time in the world. Obviously not something the world economy wants

right now.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Max, and he said that the U.S. has more time to spare than the Iranians, which also

isn't necessarily true because the Iranians have continued to be able to hold the Strait of Hormuz at risk and keep it blockaded, essentially,

without forcing ships to pay tolls, without even a functioning navy.

The IRGC, which is Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they still have hundreds and hundreds of small boats that they are using to attack

ships. They have missiles and missile launchers that they are using as well to launch attacks from the coast. And they also are still capable of

dropping mines in the street.

And so, despite the massive military campaign we saw against Iran's missile launchers, ballistic missile targets, drones, et cetera. They still

maintain a lot of their capabilities. And so, they're prepared to sustain this as well. And they say that they are not going to move forward with any

kind of negotiations until the U.S. actually drops its blockade of the strait.

And so, we're kind of in a standoff moment here where neither side is willing to blink first and where, you know, the U.S. may be underestimating

the extent to which the Iranians can hold out.

FOSTER: Okay, Natasha. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, in the midst of the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy secretary, John Phelan, has been ousted. Sources tell CNN that tension

has been building for months between Phelan and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They say Hegseth disliked Phelan's close relationship with

President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump praised Phelan and said he would like to see him back in the administration sometime in the future.

Let's go straight to Kevin Liptak.

It seems bizarre on the face of it, doesn't it, Kevin, that the defense secretary would outrank the president on this in a way?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: In a way, although according to our sources, the president agreed with Pete Hegseth that it

was time for John Phelan to go, despite this longstanding friendship that he has had. You know, Phelan is a donor to the president's campaign. He has

a house essentially next door to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

That's one of the reasons why tensions had been growing between himself and Pete Hegseth is that he had this preexisting relationship with the

president. They were texting. They were talking on the phone. In some instances, going around Pete Hegseth to discuss some important aspects of

the position.

But the president seemed to agree with the defense secretary that John Phelan was not on the same page when it came to the issue of shipbuilding.

There were some questions about whether he was advancing the right priorities in his position, but there was some confusion when Pete Hegseth

informed him yesterday that he either needed to resign or be fired. He didn't take Hegseth at his word. He wanted to hear it directly from

President Trump.

In fact, he went to the White House himself, got into the building, tried to get a meeting with the president. They didn't end up speaking for a

brief period in which the president told him that, yes, he was being fired. And so, this is an awkward position, I think. It also comes, as you say, at

a critical moment for the American navy, just as the president is informing them that they will need to start firing on these Iranian small boats.

Now, when you talk to former naval officers, former national security officials, they say that this position, the secretary of the navy, does

not, in fact, have an operational role within the Navy's sort of day to day. He is not running the operations of the Navy in the Strait of Hormuz.

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It's much more to do with procurement, with shipbuilding. And so, they say that the effect of this firing on the current operations will be

negligible. But it is obviously an awkward moment, and it comes after so many previous firings of senior military officials by Hegseth, which has

only contributed to the sense of a Pentagon in a moment of turmoil and chaos. And I don't think that this sort of dissuades from that impression

in any way.

FOSTER: It does also, doesn't it, Kevin, show Hegseth's power in this administration.

LIPTAK: It does. And, you know, for all of the backlash against Hegseth sort of cultural, uh, upheaval at the Pentagon for some of the way he has

approached this job in public, it is clear that President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in a man that he has installed in this

position. You know, for all of the political capital that the president expended getting him confirmed in the first place, and for all of the

backlash that you have seen from members of Congress, from other senior military leaders, the president seems to have the utmost faith in the

ability of Hegseth to carry out this job, at a moment when the Pentagon is very much in the spotlight.

And it has been interesting, there have been multiple occasions in the past month or so when the president came out to say that Pete Hegseth, of all of

the officials in his cabinet, was perhaps the most enthusiastic about launching this war in Iran. You hear about other individuals like the vice

president, for example, who are perhaps not so enthusiastic. Hegseth is someone that President Trump himself has said was out in front and saying

that he should go ahead and do this, which as this war proceeds and as its unpopularity, I think rises is a notable thing for the president to be

saying in public.

But at least for now, the president seems to be willing to entertain Hegseth's personnel decisions and willing to go ahead with what Hegseth

thinks is the best for his department.

FOSTER: Yeah. Okay. Interesting. Kevin, thank you so much.

President Trump is expected to join part of the upcoming negotiations between Israel and Lebanon at the White House, according to our sources.

Next hour, envoys are set to hold direct talks in an effort to extend what's been a very fragile ceasefire. At the center of the negotiations,

what to do about Hezbollah's continued presence in southern Lebanon. For now, Israel says its forces will remain in the region to protect

communities in Israel from Hezbollah attacks.

Jennifer Hansler has been looking at this for us.

It does suggest progress, doesn't it, if the president's getting involved.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, certainly, Max, it seems to add a level of heft to these negotiations, which were

otherwise at the working level. Yet again, the fact that the president is going to make an appearance here is going to be greeting the Israeli and

Lebanese ambassadors here does add a further gravitas to these talks today.

And now, of course, one of the main objectives for the Lebanese delegation is going to be an extension of that ten-day ceasefire. This is something

that came into place after last weeks direct talks that allowed a not perfect truce, but a very -- a very fragile one. We have seen Hezbollah and

Israel continuing to exchange strikes here, including one yesterday by the Israelis that killed a journalist in southern Lebanon.

At the same time, though, Max, Hezbollah, of course, a key party to this conflict, is still not at the table here. This is something that the U.S.

has made very clear that they do not want to see this be an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. They want it to be between Israel and the

Lebanese government. This has been a key point that they have been raising in these negotiations, in this memorandum of understanding around the

ceasefire, that the Lebanese government needs to be empowered and have actual control of its territory, actual sovereignty in this territory.

So how they deal with the thorny issue of Hezbollah here is, of course, a very, very significant stumbling block in these talks. But it is

significant that they are going to be sitting down yet again for these direct talks. Now, one thing that there's also needs to be discussion about

that has only been mentioned, but not really in a lot of detail, is Lebanon's territory, its territorial integrity. Of course, there have been

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, Israeli Defense Forces said this morning that they were going to continue to remain there. They are not

going to leave while these cease fire continues to play out, while these talks are playing out.

And there was only a brief mention during the last talks about the need for a demarcated border line, whether or not that comes up in more detail today

remains to be seen, but our understanding is this is likely going to be continuing to try to set a framework for broader talks, for higher level

talks moving forward here -- Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Jennifer, thank you for that update.

Now, Lebanon's prime minister is accusing Israel of war crimes after an airstrike in southern Lebanon killed a journalist.

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The Committee to Protect Journalists says Amal Khalil was alive for hours after the attack, trapped in the rubble. But it says Israel blocked

rescuers from reaching her. Another journalist was injured.

Israel acknowledges the strike but denies targeting journalists.

Let's bring in our Jerusalem bureau chief, Oren Liebermann.

It does raise a question, doesn't it, Oren? Why the rescuers were blocked from reaching her.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Max, let's walk through how this played out on Wednesday, at least two journalists, Zeinab Faraj

and Amal Khalil, were headed down to southern Lebanon towards territory occupied by Israel to do what journalists do, and that is to see what's

happening on the ground, especially as the Israeli military has made clear, an. Israeli officials have made clear that they will not be withdrawing.

They approached a town that's approximately seven or eight kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border. And that's when, according to Lebanon's national

news agency, the convoy they were in was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

The two journalists then headed into a nearby building to seek refuge and to make sure they were safe from Israeli airstrikes when a strike hit the

building itself. And that's when Faraj was seriously wounded. Rescue workers were able to get to her, according to Lebanon's national news

agency. But for hours, they were blocked from getting to Amal Khalil. They say the Israeli military prevented and restricted them from being able to

get to a spot where they could try to rescue Amal Khalil, and by the time they did get to her hours later, they understood that she had died as a

result of her injuries in the strike.

Israel's military acknowledged carrying out the strikes first at the convoy and then at the building. They say the convoy was headed towards Israeli

territory, and it was viewed as a threat. They say it started in what was a Hezbollah military building. They insist they don't target journalists and

didn't restrict the movement of rescue forces.

But Lebanon's prime minister has accused Israel of war crimes, he said in a statement earlier targeting journalists and obstructing the scenes,

obstructing the access of rescue teams to them, and then the renewed targeting of those teams after they arrived constitute described war

crimes.

And this is, of course, critical because it is in this tense, difficult diplomatic environment that Israel and Lebanon are set to meet in just

under an hour in Washington, D.C., as the Trump administration tries to move forward on some sort of either extended ceasefire in hopes of getting

towards a broader agreement. But you see how little wiggle room there is and how difficult these talks could be.

As the White House tries to make some sort of progress here. But there's no indication that that will be easy. And certainly, the idea of a broader

peace agreement seems very, very far off, Max.

FOSTER: Oren, thank you.

Pope Leo returning home after a tour of Africa with a message about the war with Iran. The Catholic leader is condemning the Iranian regime's killing

of protesters and says as a pastor, he cannot support the war. Pope Leo landed in Rome a short while ago. He's returning from that 11-day tour,

which drew huge crowds across four African nations. The pope focused on promoting messages of social justice and peace.

Our Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb joins us now from Rome.

And as you've been reporting, Christopher, it's been a pretty triumphant tour. But interesting words on Iran because on the one level, he's

condemning the war. On the other level, he's also condemning the Iranian regime. So, where's the solution here?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, that's right, Max. And I think part of this is because of the nature of the papal press

conference, where journalists from different language groups are drawn by lots to ask the question. We had one question from an Italian journalist

and another from Newsmax journalist, both asking different angles on the war in Iran.

And, you know, his first answer that Leo gave, he said, you know, as a pastor, I cannot support the war. And he was listing the human cost of --

of the -- of lives lost during this, during the conflict. And, you know, saying at one point, you know, the question of Iran is very complex and

negotiations are going on and not always clear. One day Iran says, yes. Then the United States -- the United States says no.

So, clearly, there, Leo expressing his concerns about the war. He has been outspoken about the conflict. And that, of course, did leave him open to

this, you know, very strong criticism from President Trump that occurred at the beginning of his Africa tour. And Leo saying at the time, you know,

when he left for Africa that, you know, he was going to continue speaking out despite President Trump's criticisms.

Now, the other question on the plane was from, as I say, a Newsmax journalist who asked about the Iranian regime's killing of protesters. And

if the pope condemned that and he, you know, he clearly strongly condemned the killing of protesters.

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So, we got, you know, in a sense, the difference or the range of the position that Leo is trying to express here. The Vatican obviously always

trying to maintain a neutral stance in the sense it wants to continue to be having good diplomatic channels with everyone involved in a conflict. But

at the same time, Leo has been increasingly outspoken for peace against war in Africa, being very outspoken about saying that the world has been

ravaged by a handful of tyrants.

So, I think we're going to continue to see the pope speak out against conflicts. And he's and, you know, peace is at the as at the heart of what

his pontificate is all about.

FOSTER: And conflict, obviously, marked out in Africa as well. I mean, what's been your takeaway from this visit, what he learned, the impact it

had on the nations there?

LAMB: Well, I think what we saw in Africa was that the Catholic Church in this continent is growing. And, you know, according to the Vatican

statistics, there are around 20 percent of the world's Catholics are in Africa and everywhere Leo went, he was greeted very warmly. There were big

crowds.

There was an element of the trip, though, that was focused on Christian- Muslim relations. He went to Algeria, which is a Muslim majority country. There weren't so many crowds there, but he was focused very much on the

Christian-Muslim relationship.

My impression of how Leo has been on this tour is that he is very much at home in the Global South. Of course, he was a missionary in Latin America

for many years before he came to Rome, and he seems at home in Africa. He was someone who visited that continent regularly before being pope.

And I think he recognizes that Africa is a central part of the Catholic Church today. And that was why he wanted to prioritize this very long trip,

11 days, which is -- which is lengthy by papal trip standards. What you want to prioritize being in Africa. So early on in his pontificate.

FOSTER: Okay, Christopher, really appreciate all your reporting over the last week or so. Thank you.

Coming up, the case that has stunned the world. We'll have details from today's hearing involving D4vid. The singer charged with murdering a 14-

year-old girl.

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FOSTER: Truly disturbing new details emerging in the murder case involving the singer known as D4vd. In an autopsy report released on Wednesday, it

says that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez died of multiple penetrating injuries. In addition, she had two fingers removed from her left hand when

she was found in David Burke's abandoned car seven months ago. He now faces several charges, including first degree murder.

In court, the L.A. district attorney said evidence against him includes a significant amount of child pornography on his phone. Burke has pleaded not

guilty to all the charges.

Dina Doll is an attorney and legal analyst for MeidasTouch. She was at the hearing earlier today.

I mean, my thoughts are with everyone involved in this, having to hear the gruesome evidence that's coming out from this, but also the sheer volume,

Dina.

DINA DOLL, LEGAL ANALYST, MEIDASTOUCH: That was really emphasized over and over by the prosecution, because the defense has not waived their right to

a speedy preliminary hearing, which means that there's a huge amount of evidence that the prosecution has that the defense does not have yet. And

the prosecution really telling the judge they want to make this evidence available, but it takes time. Theres so many terabytes of evidence that

needs to go over. There's the grand jury testimony that needs to be unsealed. There's wiretap evidence that the defense has to see, quite a bit

of evidence still needing to go to the defense and the prosecution, emphasizing that today.

FOSTER: It does make you wonder why it took so long for him to be investigated, if I can say that. If there is so much evidence from the car

to what's on his phone, surely something that police should have followed up sooner.

DOLL: Well, one piece of information that we did find out today, we knew that they convened, an investigative grand jury, but we found out today

that they, in fact, can be different investigative grand juries, one in November, one in December and one in February. So that alone could show

perhaps the delay in bringing charges because they were still collecting information from the witnesses throughout those grand juries.

FOSTER: Just tell us about the two girls you saw sitting in the court as well.

DOLL: Yes. So, there were two young girls. They appear to be under 18 sitting with the investigators behind the prosecution table, which it was -

- they didn't speak. They weren't conferred to with the prosecution, but their presence was unusual.

FOSTER: Yeah. So, what's your thinking there?

DOLL: Well, here -- he one of his charges is a continuous sex abuse, child sex abuse charge. As we know today, the prosecution said that he had a

significant amount of child pornography on his iPhone, evidently. Whether or not these two girls will be witnesses at the preliminary hearing and

part of this, or for some reason, their presence was necessary for the prosecution today, it does seem that they are perhaps connected to the

prosecution's theory of the case.

FOSTER: What's your thinking about the defense denial of all of these charges?

DOLL: Yeah. You know, the defendant walked in and his lawyer, who's definitely no stranger to high profile cases, Blair Berk put her hand on

his shoulder and did that throughout the hearing today. I mean, the defendant defense attorney is always going to vigorously defend their

client.

The most unusual thing in this situation is the fact that they have not waived their right to a speedy trial. Now the parties will be appearing in

court that April 29th in the afternoon. And the judge said that the defense then could decide whether or not to proceed in this speedy preliminary

hearing, based on how much evidence they've gotten thus far by the prosecution.

Because unlike a trial, the prosecution doesn't have to hand over all of their evidence before the preliminary hearing, as they would under

statutory rules. Instead, he has a due process, right, to be able to confront the evidence against him.

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That's not quite everything. There's no way the prosecution could hand over everything in, you know, in just a short time. So, the defense, perhaps

when they start getting this evidence, they might waive the right to the preliminary speedy hearing. If not, this is set to go forward on May 1st.

FOSTER: Okay. Dina Doll, appreciate your insight. So actually, what happened in court today. Thank you.

The U.S. Justice Department's internal watchdog launching an investigation into the department's release of the Epstein files. The vast files relating

to investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released in batches starting December last year. The department faced constant

criticism for not redacting the personal information of some survivors.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired by President Trump earlier this year, partly due to her continued bungling of the Epstein investigation.

Still to come, the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has had a devastating impact on the world economy. Next, the Pentagon's grim

assessment of when the strait may reopen.

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FOSTER: A source tells CNN the Pentagon has briefed Congress that the Strait of Hormuz could be closed for up to six months. A U.S. intelligence

report says it may take that long to clear the waterway of mines after the war ends, and it's hard for anyone to say when that may happen.

U.S. President Donald Trump says there's no deadline for ending the standoff, and right now, there doesn't appear to be any direct

communication between the two -- between the two countries. Now, with the U.S. military engaged in a major mission in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy

is now looking for a new leader. The Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is out of the job.

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Sources telling CNN that Phelan had a tough relationship with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

After months of feuding, Phelan was told to either quit or he'd be fired.

With some additional perspective on all of this, we're joined by retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John "Fozzie" Miller.

Thank you so much for joining us, Admiral, Vice Admiral.

First on the significance of the, you know, the loss of the head of the Navy. I mean, what we're hearing is that he had two closer relationship to

Donald Trump in the defense secretary's view, and that was undercutting him and he had to go. But what impact do you think that will have on the

operation in the Middle East?

VICE ADM. JOHN "FOZZIE" MILLER, U.S. NAVY (RET.): Well, thanks for having me. The secretary of the navy doesn't have an operational role, if you

will, inside the naval service. So, he primarily concerns himself or herself, with personnel issues, acquisition issues, the future shaping of

the force, those sorts of things.

The actual operations that are being conducted, including the blockade, are done by a chain of command that goes from the president to the secretary of

war, to Admiral Cooper at Central Command, down to his Navy component commander, Admiral Renshaw.

So, there is no impact with his departure on the on the operations that are happening today. It's more of an impact on how the Navy will be shaped and

built to go into the future than about anything to do with today.

FOSTER: What do you make of the us actions in the region, the blockade in particular, which is clearly, you know, they're trying to use it, aren't

they, as some sort of leverage with negotiations with Iran. But do you think that's effective?

MILLER: I think it is effective. It's going to take some time for us to really see the effects of that. But this is -- this is the way to starve

the regime of the funding that they need, either to continue to conduct the war, or to continue to oppress their people.

And so, without this, this funding and a good deal more than 60 percent of the regime funding comes through the through the sale of oil, more than 80

percent comes from seaborne trade. So, if you stop that seaborne trade and you choke off that source of money for the regime, then they can't continue

to operate.

I think so far, the blockade has been very effective. We are preventing ships from outside the gulf getting into Iranian ports. And we're either

preventing ships that are coming out of the Iranian ports, either preventing them from leaving altogether or tagging them so that at some

future time, we can we can intercept them.

And we have a global navy, so we can get anywhere in the world that they're going to go, we can go as well. And so, I think it's been effective thus

far.

FOSTER: And, the president making it clear he doesn't -- he's not going to be rushed to end this war. There is this looming threat, though, from the

world economy, isn't there? It's getting hit very hard by this.

And I wanted to get your thoughts on this U.S. intelligence report saying it could take six months to clear the waterway of mines after the war ends.

Obviously, you would have been involved in this type of work. Does that sound realistic to you?

MILLER: Well, let me give that assessment a little bit of context, which I think it lacks, just listening to the testimony. First of all, if Iran said

today and, and we could trust them when they said it, that the Strait of Hormuz is open, that they are not going to try to interdict ships any

longer. We could begin moving ships through the strait today.

So, when mines are put in the water. And bear in mind, we don't know that mines have been the Iranians said they may have mined, and they said they

may have forgotten where they put the mines. So, we're going to have to give the maritime community some, some sense of security and safety that

there aren't any mines.

But there are already routes through the Strait of Hormuz that are being used. And these are the routes that the Iranians allow ships to transit

through. And there's also routes closer to the to the coast of Oman. So, it's the center part of the Gulf.

You don't have to clear the whole thing at once. You just have to clear lanes that ships can go through. That won't take six months to do. It'll

take more than six days, and something more along the order of six weeks.

But it's not going to take six months before traffic can begin moving in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. That can happen immediately and continue

to be expanded over time.

FOSTER: Okay. That's interesting. That's really useful context as well, because that was very worrying when that came out today.

Where do you see, you know, if -- you know, the fighting starts again and the navy's involved in that, where do you think those efforts should be

focused?

MILLER: Well, I think that's a -- that's a great question. And I think where you will see the navy focus its activity and it'll be supported. This

will be the joint force. It'll be supported by air forces, is in the land area and the islands around the Strait of Hormuz.

[15:35:08]

So, you heard the president talk about, he's allowing us to the U.S. Navy to sink ships that are seen laying mines during the ceasefire. That's the

change. Presumably, those ships have been under threat since the 28th of February, when the conflict began.

But, I think you'll see if we go back to kinetics that will concentrate on those areas around the Strait of Hormuz where small boats can operate and

making sure that it's very difficult for those small boats to get out into the strait and interdict shipping traffic.

FOSTER: Okay. Thank you so much, retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John "Fozzie" Miller, for your -- you know, the context you added to all of that

reporting that we've had today.

Now, Iran's use of cheap, mass-produced, one-way attack drones is forcing U.S. and Gulf allies to adopt new countermeasures meanwhile.

Bijan Hosseini reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (voice-over): When it comes to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, one weapon is changing the game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): Drones. They're cheap, easy to deploy and capable of overwhelming defenses in large numbers.

To stop them, militaries are turning to counter unmanned aircraft systems. This is a new front of warfare, one that companies like Leonardo have been

building towards for years.

HOSSEINI: So, right now, we're on the roof of Leonardo's site here in Basildon. And behind me you can see some of the technology they've

designed. And this technology is actually being used across the Middle East to help thwart these drone attacks.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): Leonardo's system is called Falcon Shield. It's a fully integrated network that combines radar, radio signals and ultra long-

range cameras.

HOSSEINI: I can see a lot of screens right now.

CHRIS JENNIONS, LEONARDO UK LIMITED: Yeah, so this represents exactly what our customers have in the field.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): This may look like a video game, but this is what counter drone warfare looks like. Operators monitor multiple sensor feeds

in real time. All fused together, these help detect, track, identify and defeat incoming attacks.

Once a drone is detected, there are multiple ways to respond. Some can be jammed, others disrupted, but more advanced threats like the Shahed drones

being fired from Iran. Well, those require what's known as hard kill options.

HOSSEINI: So, you have now this small aircraft kind of in the lens, and you can look at it. Who makes that ultimate decision? Is this a threat? Is

that A.I.? Is that a human? Is that --

JENNIONS: No, it's always with the operator, David, in this case. So, David's tracking --

HOSSEINI: It's a lot of pressure, David.

JENNIONS: That's right. He's looking at the sky. The software will advise. So, the software will say, we think this is a potential threat, but it will

then do is say this is a drone of this type, or it could say it's a drone that I don't recognize and provide advice on what to do with that.

Depending on what effectors we have connected to the system.

HOSSEINI: So, what we're looking at right now is a simulation the team has put together. This is all based on real world operational data. So, it's --

you know, it's a very realistic environment. And we can see that the radar has picked up a threat. And then we can see this threat now on camera down

here. And it has identified it as a one-way attack drone.

So now, David, in this case, who's sitting at the command and control center, is being told that this is a threat, what the threat looks like,

and then he can make the decision to neutralize that threat.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): By using digital models and real world tests like this drone here, Leonardo is able to improve Falcon Shield's detection and

classification capabilities. The company says demand has surged in recent months.

HOSSEINI: How often are you seeing this kind of technology being used? Is it -- I mean, is this at the forefront now?

JENNIONS: In recent weeks, it's been used daily. And they've been seeing hits and engagements on an hourly basis. It's -- obviously, we know the

situation out there. This has been protecting those air bases day and night from attack. So, it's really come into its own in the -- in the -- in the

last few weeks.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): What's happening here is the evolution of warfare as drones become cheaper and more widely used, the technology to stop them

is quickly becoming just as important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, this final moment of trade on Wall Street stocks have tailed off a bit. Actually, the Dow firmly in the red, although the S&P 500

actually hit an intraday record high earlier in the session.

This is our business breakout.

The European union finally approved a $106 billion loan for Ukraine. It had been held up after a -- over a pipeline dispute involving Hungary and

Slovakia, which rely on Russian oil that flows through Ukraine. The loan will help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for the next two

years.

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have approved the company's plan to be taken over by Paramount, so a vote on the deal went overwhelmingly in

Paramount's favor, although it still has to clear regulators in the U.S. and abroad.

[15:40:05]

Executives hope the deal will be complete by October. Warner Brothers is the parent company of CNN.

"The New York Times" says the FBI began investigating one of its reporters after they wrote a story about the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel.

The paper says FBI agents combed through databases for information on the reporter in question. Paper's executive editor calls the investigation

alarming.

Spirit Airlines is close to a $500 million bailout from the Trump administration. That's according to a source familiar with the

negotiations, which adds the federal government would own a stake in the troubled airline. The low-cost carrier has struggled to make money since

the COVID pandemic.

So, what we want to know is why would Donald Trump and his administration bail out a struggling airline?

Joining me now, CNN's aviation correspondent Pete Muntean.

I mean, they're investing public money in this business, right?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You know, and here's the latest, Max, an attorney for the spirit airlines group, just said in a

bankruptcy court that the carrier is in advanced discussions with the federal government about a bailout package. And we could learn more about a

court hearing next week.

But it's also possible the airline or the White House could announce a deal before then. Here's what we're talking about. The federal government is

considering a roughly half billion-dollar stake in the ultra-low cost carrier.

Remember, Spirit has been struggling for years. JetBlue tried to acquire Spirit in 2022. That deal was blocked in court when the Biden

administration argued that it would hurt competition. Spirit later filed for bankruptcy protection, which brings us to now the spike in fuel costs

tied to the war with Iran has put Spirit on the ropes.

And I asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about spirit in a one-on- one interview on Tuesday. And I want you to listen now, he did not exactly commit to government help. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: If we do bailout Spirit, well, what's -- what does that future look like? Right. Is it -- is it just

forestalling the inevitable or is there a true pathway for Spirit? And that's a broader conversation. Again, we have a lot of equity in making a

decision. But really, that's the president and the team that's going to come together and figure out, do we want to do something?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Senator Ted Cruz of Texas posted on X that government help for Spirit is an absolutely terrible idea, saying the government does not know,

quote, "a damn thing" about running a failed budget Airline. Critics on the right say this really opens pandora's box, that if another big company

starts to fail, that it may look to Washington for a lifeboat.

Either way, travelers should really pay attention here. If you have travel booked on Spirit or even a credit with the airline, this matters, and this

could have a major impact on jobs. Spirit employs about 17,000 people in total, so whether the airline folds or gets help from the U.S. federal

government, this is going to be a really significant story, Max.

FOSTER: And if we look at what's happening to airlines in Asia starting to happen in Europe, surely there's going to be pressure on the U.S. airlines

as well coming up because of the fuel costs and the like. So there's going to be more cases like this, isn't there?

MUNTEAN: Yeah. You know, Lufthansa's already scaling back its flights. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says passengers are paying 20 percent more

for airfare than they were a year ago, due in part to the rise in fuel costs.

The number one cost for airlines is labor, but very close behind that is the cost for fuel, and airlines already operate on very tight margins. And

this made margins even tighter.

FOSTER: Okay, Pete, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Still to come, it's been five months since Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades. Now it's finally time for some of the survivors to see what's left

of their homes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The first time since Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades, people are getting the chance to go back to what's left of their homes. Five

months ago, a fire engulfed seven high rise apartment buildings in the Tai Po district, killing more than 160 people.

Kristie Lu Stout spoke with one man who went back to see what he could salvage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what Tai Po fire survivor Doris Cheung saw when he returned home for the first time since

the deadly tragedy five months ago. Blackened walls, broken windows, rooms in disarray.

DORIS CHEUNG, WANG FUK COURT RESIDENT: Many sad memories inside and when you think about like some of the people who died inside and it made me cry.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Cheung and his 88-year-old grandmother used to share this 450-square-foot apartment. She couldn't make the trip, but her

grandson walked up 14 floors to get here and had only three hours to collect their belongings. It wasn't easy to work up to this moment.

CHEUNG: I just slept for three hours and cannot sleep. Maybe too much pressure about this. I'm so nervous and many uncertainty.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Last November, the fire tore through seven high- rise residential towers in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. They were home to more than 4000 people, 168 people were killed.

There is sorrow, there is trauma.

ODILE THIANG, CLINICAL ADVISER, MIND H.K.: Our home is our kind of psychological safety net and when we lose our home, we lose that sense of

safety and all of a sudden everywhere seems unsafe, which makes it so much more complex and so much more difficult to digest.

LU STOUT: So the survivors, they're now returning home to recover their personal belongings. What should they be bracing themselves for?

THIANG: Coming back to the trauma. So all the trauma triggers, again, whether it's smelling charred materials, seeing the charred hallways or

rooms, just seeing all of that and bracing for that sort of, one, emotional triggers, two, just understanding the scope of what happened.

CHEUNG: I found my running crisis like, or he's still here and not going, but I have to clean it.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Cheung also recovered his grandmother's cherished Bible study notes from decades ago. She hopes to return to the apartment

one last time to see it for herself.

Authorities blame substandard renovation materials for stoking the inferno. Over a dozen people have been arrested on related charges for fueling a

blaze that has taken so much from families who only now are starting to pick up the pieces.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:29]

FOSTER: Wildfires have exploded in the U.S. state of Georgia. Crews are battling blazes across the southern portion of the state. More than 50

homes have been destroyed, and hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate.

For the first time in Georgia's history, state officials have issued a burn ban. Governor Brian Kemp also signed a state of emergency for more than

half of Georgia's counties.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Brantley County, Georgia, an area that's been devastated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just to illustrate the ferocity and extreme temperatures of this wildfire. The Highway 82 fire in Brantley

County, southeast Georgia. Look at this melted metal from this, what appears to be a trailer that was completely decimated as the flames tore

through this region within the past couple of days. Now, what's behind me is just astounding and very sad, too, because this once was a wedding

chapel where people said their vows to each other, made memories.

Now, it's charred and blackened. Some of the chairs still from the inside of the foyer of this wedding chapel, turned over and now darkened. You can

see the remains behind here. We've seen mobile homes that have been completely decimated by this fire, charred vehicles. There are mandatory

evacuations through this area.

And so, we've seen desperate people turning on their sprinklers and spraying them throughout their home just to try and suppress any potential

fire that may move through this area. Again, remember, Brantley county Cs exceptionally drought. All of the Southeastern U.S. is in desperate need of

rain. But here where were standing is some of the worst drought conditions across the state of Georgia.

Just last week, Brantley County had 33 percent in exceptional drought. That's the highest drought level you have. Now, this morning, we have 99.8

percent of the county under exceptional drought conditions.

So that is helping fan and fuel the flames. We talk about group torching. That's some of the wording that authorities are using. This thick

vegetation that you see here behind me surrounding this area. Those trees can spontaneously erupt into flames as the leading edge of the Highway 82

fire continues to move on.

It's the low relative humidities that have continued to keep this dry air mass in place. The smell of thick smoke in the air and the heat from still

burning and smoldering embers can be felt as we walk around these charred landscape.

I'm CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam in Brantley County, southeast Georgia. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Britain's Prince Harry has made a surprise visit in support of Ukraine. The duke of Sussex arrived at a train station in Kyiv and later

praised Ukraine's defense of democracy. The 41-year-olds visit comes after he and wife Meghan wrapped up a visit to Australia. Harry took the

opportunity to remind world leaders not to ignore the struggle in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: President Putin no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment now to

stop this war, to further -- to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Finally, tonight, a very happy birthday to Britain's Prince Louis. The royal family celebrating his eighth birthday. This picture was released

on social to mark the occasion. Louis is the youngest child of the prince and princess of Wales, William and Catherine, and fourth in line to the

throne.

I'm Max Foster. That's what we know. Do stay with CNN. I'll have more after the break.

END

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