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What We Know with Max Foster

U.S. Official: Cuba "Appears Willing" To Accept $100M In Aid; U.S. State Department: Israel And Lebanon Extend Ceasefire; Trump: "Lot Of Different Problems" Settled On China Trip; Republicans Blast Pentagon For Canceled Europe Deployments; AP: Five Italians Die In Maldives Cave Diving Accident; Trump's Economic Pressure On Xi Limited By Voters At Home. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 15, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:38]

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: Cuba on the brink tonight.

I'm Isa Soares, in for Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Cuba appears willing to make a deal with U.S. as its desperate people protest in the streets of a fuel starved Havana. A State Department

official says the Cuban government is in talks to accept $100 million in U.S. aid, and the Cubans have held a meeting with the CIA director in

Havana to apparently discuss military as well as intelligence issues. The Cuban people have publicly expressed their anger for days. As we've been

showing you here on the show, after nations energy minister said oil had run out during the U.S. blockade.

President Trump has declined to comment on reports that the United States may be planning to indict former Cuban President Raul Castro, but he told

reporters on air force one that there is a lot more to come on Cuba. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: There's reporting that Raul Castro could be indicted by the DOJ, I believe. What does that mean?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't want to comment on that. I let DOJ comment on it. But they need help, as you know, and you

talk about a declining country, they are really a nation or a country in decline. So we're going to see. We have a lot to talk about on Cuba, but

not maybe for today

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more from our man in Havana, Patrick Oppmann.

And, Patrick, look, I think viewers will know that the CIA, of course, and Havana have a complex relationship, an unpleasant relationship over the

years. What do you make then of this visit by the CIA and the fact that it was so public.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPODENT: This really seemed, Isa, like a final attempt to reach some agreement and to have the head of U.S. intelligence

out of the CIA sitting down with his counterparts, people -- Cuban officials, we usually don't see here. And try to hash out some kind of

deal.

I don't know if they talk -- two weeks ago, they talk past each other, because, of course, were hearing that CIA head John Ratcliffe, you know,

laid out a case that we know that Cuba -- he apparently said, hosts Russian and Chinese listening posts, that you are giving aid and assistance to U.S.

adversaries. And we want that to stop. And, you know, if you do, then there could be benefits to you. But if you kind of continue with being an anti-

U.S. listening, you know, post in the region, being a thorn in our side, then then well be taking a much more dramatic measures, perhaps including

military action or indicting Raul Castro.

And, you know, on the Cuban side, they once again said they made the case that Cuba is not a threat. But it seems like the Trump administration has -

- administration has made up his mind. It's very much carrot and stick at this point. But -- carrot and stick at this point. But the carrot may be

going away in this $100 million offer in aid. You know, it seems kind of designed for the Cuban government to turn it down. There's so many caveats

and strings attached.

But of course, if the Cuban government were to do that, that would probably just increase the rage many of its people feel at this point. But there's

been a lot of back and forth over this aid donation. It's certainly not a done deal whether or not it's going to happen.

And what I've been told by Cuban officials, because it's been long rumored and those rumors are getting a lot louder, that Raul Castro could be

indicted. And when I've said that Cuban officials kind of what would that look like for them? The negotiations would stop.

They would anticipate military action. And many Cuban officials have told me that they are willing to lay down their lives for Raul Castro. You know,

we're not talking about Maduro or even Miguel Diaz-Canel. This is a historical figure that has a lot of importance for Cubans who support their

government.

This is someone that people say they feel very strongly for. He's 94 years old and is one of the last remaining members of that generation that fought

the Cuban revolution. And so, what you hear from people who support the government, the people that still do, is that they would not let him go

without a fight.

SOARES: People that support the government, so many others, as you've been showing us, Patrick, over this week, have taken to the streets, banging

pots and pans, clearly frustrated, clearly angry, right? The fact that they're struggling to put food on the table, to fill their fridge, to even

have electricity.

[15:05:04]

Just give us a sense of that anger and that frustration and the fact that it's so public now, people speaking to you on the streets about this, how

rare this is.

OPPMANN: The situation gets worse and worse by day. I don't see a friend of mine for a couple of weeks. I will immediately notice that they've lost

some weight and people just they -- when they begin to recount, you know, what they go through in a day. How you know, someone in a -- in a month

might earn what a carton of egg costs a day.

Now, me to get gasoline, it costs $300 to at least to fill up my car these days, because gasoline is in such short supply, it's something I can

afford. No Cuban could afford that, obviously. And, the scarcities get worse and worse when the power goes out so much in a day that forget about

being able to run a fridge.

You can't even charge your phone. You can't cook. You can't do any laundry. There's kind of no basic life. You really start to feel that people are

living in something of a different century, and we are on the verge of a humanitarian collapse here, humanitarian disaster.

There are people that are eating trash every day, going through trash cans. That's how they survive. People begging in a way that you never saw here

before, and just kind of a hopelessness that is really crushing, amongst an island of people who are very proud.

But the longer this goes on, particularly when we get into the summer months, when things get hotter here, you have more mosquitoes. Of course,

trash is not being picked up very much anymore, and I think we are going to get to a point at a certain point, things will just break down in a way

that no government, no matter how much, how rich or well intentioned, will ever be able to pick up those pieces.

SOARES: Yeah. And the question is, of course, is sanitation and health. And that really becomes a huge concern, indeed.

Patrick Oppmann, good to see you, my friend. Thank you.

Now, a tenuous ceasefire in Lebanon will be extended by 45 days, the U.S. State Department confirmed just in the past hour. Israel and Lebanon agreed

to a temporary cease fire last month. But there have been scores of strikes between Israel and Hezbollah since.

Our Jennifer Hansler joins me now live from Washington.

So, Jen, you and I were talking about this yesterday, and I remember I remember my conversation to you and even my question to you yesterday,

which was the aim principally, I would imagine, would be to extend that that has been extended. But as we've seen with the previous one, the -- you

know, the strikes continued between both sides.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NAITONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah. That's right, Isa. And I don't think there's any expectation here that that will

change over the course of the 45-day extension. But what they're clearly trying to do here is create space for these conversations that are

happening to continue. So, what we've heard as the outcome of these two days of talks here at the State Department, was this extension that will

start on Sunday, when this initial cease fire was due to expire. And then from here, these talks are going to progress on two separate tracks, which

is a key development here.

In the State Department side, they'll be political talks that will reconvene in early June. And then end the security side, they'll be a

meeting at the Pentagon of military delegations from Israel and Lebanon on May 29th. That's according to the U.S. State Department spokesperson.

Now, a State Department official described the atmosphere of the talks over the past two days as positive, even exceeding expectations. But of course,

there is a lot still here to work out between these two sides. And of course, the factor of Hezbollah here as well.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States weighed in just a little while ago on this extension of the ceasefire. He was part of the Israeli

delegation in these talks. And he said that these talks were, quote, frank and constructive and said that there will be ups and downs. But the

potential for success is great.

Now, of course, as you mentioned, Israel has been striking southern Lebanon still pretty actively throughout the course of that month long ceasefire.

And this is something that the U.S. has not really raised publicly, at least, as being a cause for concern. They have said that Israel retains the

right to defend itself in this case.

Of course, Israel has also maintained a presence within southern Lebanon on the ground. They have progressed beyond Litani River. That is a key

boundary in southern Lebanon. And there are still questions about how this will move forward in terms of the territorial integrity of the country.

On the Hezbollah side, Israel, of course, still pressing for Hezbollah to be demilitarized, disarmed. And there are questions of the capacity of the

Lebanese armed forces to be able to do that, and how the U.S. will be able to support them on that endeavor.

So, coming out of these talks -- of course, very important that the ceasefire, as imperfect as it is, was extended. But a lot of questions will

remain as they move forward in these working level talks -- Isa.

SOARES: Indeed. At least, they are still talking for now. Thanks very much. Jennifer Hansler for us in Washington this hour.

What Israel has carried out a strike in Gaza despite a ceasefire. A senior Israeli security official says Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Hamas's top military

leader, was likely killed in that strike. CNN has not been able to independently confirm that. Al-Haddad was considered by Israel to be one of

the architects of the October 7th attacks in 2023.

Emergency services in Gaza said that Israel struck a residential building near Gaza City in the strike and say that at least one woman was killed. A

ceasefire went into effect in Gaza if you remember last October. But since then, Israel has carried out regular strikes in Gaza, which it says are

targeting Hamas. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says those strikes have killed more than 850 people.

There are no immediate signs the United States and China made much progress on their major sticking points during a two-day summit in Beijing. U.S.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. settled a lot of different problems in meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but no major agreements between

the two nations have been announced.

China, for example, did not make any commitments to help broker a U.S.-Iran peace deal. President Trump says he did talk about the contentious issues

of Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart, and made no commitment either way to President Xi on the matter. Have a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We discussed Taiwan, you know, the whole thing with the arms was in great detail, actually. And I'll

be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war. That's 9,500 miles away. I think that's the last thing we

need. We're doing very well.

REPORTER: Will the U.S. defend Taiwan if it came to it.

TRUMP: I don't want to say it. I'm not going to say that, there's only one person that knows that. You know who it is me. I'm the only person.

That question was asked to me today by President Xi and said, I don't talk about that today.

REPORTER: He asked you today?

REPORTER: He asked if you would send troops?

TRUMP: He asked me if I defend them. I said, I don't talk about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: So, let's get more from Alayna Treene in Washington.

So, Alayna, I mean, it's not clear at this point what kind of deliverables Washington walked away with, or indeed Beijing. What are you hearing from

the White House? What is the mood music?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, I think that they're framing this. As you know, you would expect them to isa, which is

arguing that particularly on the optics of this trip, it went well. There were no real tense moments that they could point to. You heard both leaders

speak positively about the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

But of course, when it comes down to the significant breakthroughs on some of the thorniest issues, which many people I think we're anticipating to

have at least a little bit more insight and real, tangible results to show for you didn't get much when it comes to the issue of Iran. Of course, as

you mentioned, really no real progress, it seems, in the sense of having President Xi help in getting the Iranians to the table in a more

significant way, moving them toward more of a compromise, but then also, similarly, no real results we're hearing about when it comes to tariffs, to

rare earth minerals, to A.I. chips that we knew was expected to be brought up in these conversations.

Now, I will say for their part, we did hear President Trump argue that China did agree to buy 200 Boeing jets, as well as invest in hundreds of

billions of dollars in U.S. tech firms. Of course, we did see a number of major CEOs from the U.S. accompany President Trump on this trip.

But I do want to speak about the two issues you mentioned as well, Taiwan. I think that comment from the president traveling with reporters is just

remarkable, particularly when you keep in mind that there was a $14 billion deal on an arms sale to Taiwan that Congress had already approved. So, the

fact that the president is saying he has not made a decision about that, I would note, of course, in the past, the U.S. has been selling arms to

Taiwan. That is not something that is new.

And so, the fact that the president is saying he's questioning that, I think, of course, adds a little bit of anxiety to those who are watching

from Taiwan and hoping that the U.S. position would not have changed in light of this China trip. His answer there on saying, you know, he wouldn't

commit to having the U.S. go and defend Taiwan should the Chinese attack the island. I mean, that is typical of what we've heard from past

presidents, really, this idea of trying to keep the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan one of, you know, strategic ambiguity that is kind of

the line that many of the President Trump's predecessors have used when it comes to that.

But then on this issue of Iran, I mean, what I'm really waiting to hear from and I know I've been speaking to a lot of my sources here, some of

them who are saying they're still waiting to get full readouts from the delegation who was on the ground with President Trump in China, about

whether or not that face to face meeting between Trump and Xi really did move the needle at all, particularly on the pathway to diplomacy in the

Iran war.

I would remind you that when the president left, President Trump left, heading to China. I reported that day, my sources have been telling me that

he was closer than ever to wanting to move forward again with major combat operations.

[15:15:06]

They said, of course, we'll have to see how China goes, because that could really be the thing that changes how this all plays out. So, we're waiting

to get answers. But from what we've heard thus far at least, it is not clear whether or not the Chinese are really willing to be major players in

helping make sure that a deal is reached between Washington and Tehran -- Isa.

SOARES: Alayna, thank you very much indeed.

We want to stay in the U.S. because the U.S. Defense Department is coming under fire today from Republicans. It happened during a congressional

hearing with the Army chief of staff. Several Republicans asked pointed questions about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decision to cancel two

military deployments to Europe. The deployments included thousands of troops who were supposed to head to Poland.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): I know this wasn't your decision. This was the secretary of defense's decision. But I got to tell you, it was

reprehensible. It's an embarrassment to our country. How we just what we just did to Poland.

Russia has invaded Ukraine. Have they given us any concessions to withdraw two armored brigades out of Europe as they're invading Ukraine? What

concessions have they given us as we withdraw forces

GEN. CHRISTOPHER LANEVE, ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF, U.S. ARMY: Sir, I can't answer that question.

BACON: I know this done. This is why it's so foolish. We're sending a terrible message to Russia and to our allies. We owe Poland, who and our

Baltic friends, who are very vulnerable from this decision a better explanation here and a rationale.

We should be doing this before we actually make the decision. We should be coordinating with them. It's an embarrassment. I'm telling you, this is an

embarrassment to our country the way this is being handled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more on this. Brian Tdd joins me now. And, Brian, he wasn't the only one really not mincing his words about this. I know one

senator was saying, you know, it's like a slap in the face.

Give us more a sense of what you heard and how that is being received by the White House.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, I've monitored a lot of hearings in Congress recently over the Iran war and with Secretary Hegseth and top

military officers testifying about the Iraq war. I've got to say, this is the most brushback the administration has gotten from Republicans in

Congress regarding military deployments in a long time.

Now, this brushback from Republicans, of course, didn't come over the Iran war. It came over the deployment of troops to Europe. And as you can see,

Representative Don Bacon, a Republican, just furious there. But he was not the only one.

As you mentioned, Republicans are angry with the cancellation of these deployments of U.S. troops to Europe. And they're angry that Congress was

not consulted over those cancellations.

Now, to set this up for you, CNN reported on Thursday. Our colleague Haley Britzky reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recently signed a

memo canceling two deployments of U.S. troops to Europe and ordering the removal of other personnel from the continent. One of those deployments to

Poland had already begun, so that was canceled and troops withdrawn from that. And this is all according to two defense officials who spoke to CNN.

The Hegseth memo also canceled future deployments to Germany of a battalion that specializes in firing long range rockets and missiles.

Now, at this hearing today, the acting army chief of staff, his name is general Chris LaNeve. You saw him in that little clip that was just run

well. He defended the overall posture of the U.S. military in Europe, when Republicans really lambasted him for all of this.

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANEVE: We still have a force structure that is permanent force structure that's in Europe supporting our allies, through both exercises and

continual presence on the continent.

BACON: Just another --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And as you heard before, Congressman Don Bacon, a Republican, just vehemently disagreed with that assessment, saying the U.S. posture in

Europe is not adequate at all, given the Ukraine war and the ongoing security threat there.

Now, all of this kind of to set it up even further comes after a public spat between President Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after

Merz said that the U.S. was being humiliated, quote/unquote, "by Iran".

Now, Trump had also repeatedly criticized NATO countries for not participating in the Iran War. The Pentagon, as a result of that spat,

announced on May 1st that the U.S. military would withdraw about 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany. After a thorough review of U.S. posture in Europe.

Just to kind of put that in perspective, as of 2025, this is according to the Council on Foreign Relations, there are roughly 38,000 U.S. troops in

Germany of pull out of 5000, not an insignificant percentage of that overall. Also, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, 80,000 U.S.

troops in Europe overall.

But, Isa, I think we can kind of take from this that as this escalates, if this escalates further between the U.S. and Germany, and if more troops are

pulled out, you can expect more brushback from Congress. And really telling that it was Republicans kind of leading this charge at this hearing today,

Isa.

SOARES: And more eyebrows being raised on this side, as you can imagine, Brian.

[15:20:00]

Thank you very much. Brian Todd there for us.

TODD: Sure.

SOARES: And still to come tonight, an intense search is underway following a deadly scuba accident in the Maldives. What we're learning about the

victims. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: The search is on for the bodies of four Italian divers who died in a scuba accident in the Maldives. Italy's foreign ministry says it's now

working with local authorities. We are also learning more about the victims, who reportedly include a professor, her daughter, a research

fellow and a marine biologist.

Our Barbie Nadeau has been following the story and joins me now.

So, Barbie, just bring us up to date with the very latest. What do we know?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Well, at this point, you know, it's nighttime there. So, they're not doing any searching. And there is

incredibly bad weather.

You know, I was looking at just sort of basic weather reports. They're expecting torrential rain and winds and all these sorts of things. Now that

shouldn't affect the search underground. But, of course, you need those boats to be secure when they're doing the search and sending divers down.

So we'll see what tomorrow brings.

But there is at least one more search scheduled for tomorrow morning. That's what the Italian foreign ministry tells us. And as you said, we're

learning a lot more about these victims. You know, this is these were five Italians, including the dive instructor who was leading this particular

submersion, who was Italian. There were 20 Italians on the boat. That didn't include people that went down. So, they were all watching this

unfold in horror.

But, you know, I've been looking on social media and there are a lot of dedications to especially the professor, Monica Monteleone, who apparently

had spent a lot of time there based on all these videos showing up. And she was a very much a skilled diver. And, you know, she's leading these groups

of students and things like that. But this was what the excursion was called, a citizen scientist excursion.

And so, this wasn't part of the university. This wasn't a sort of study thing. It would have been for pleasure.

[15:25:00]

And so that makes, I think, this tragedy even worse, that they had gone down exploring these caves or three caverns in the cave that was about 50

meters below the water level, where they apparently lost their lives. But were not going to know every detail about this until, of course, they have

those bodies and understand what the dynamic of the accident was. The people who were on the boat, those 20 Italians, have finally made it to

shore to one of the smaller islands in the Maldives, because they face bad weather all day.

So, I can't even imagine how difficult that was for them. And if any of the victims are relatives or anything like that. But we're seeing an outpouring

of love and dedication here in Italy, especially up in the northern city of Genoa, where many of these people were affiliated.

And, you know, these are always sort of a needle in a haystack kind of situations. When you look at this sort of underwater search, how difficult

it is. It's dark, it's deep. The divers can't go down for very long. So, this could be a long waiting game before we finally have, you know, answers

and the recovered the bodies. But they're going to keep trying. And we've heard from the Italian foreign ministry that they're sending support,

including divers, Italian divers there to help support the mission -- Isa.

SOARES: And, Barbie, I'm assuming here that this would be sort of the dives that they would have done before, especially if there were, you know, with

the main diver here would have been leading this. This is not something new. This is a territory they would have covered before.

How deep were they going? What kind of caves were they exploring? Was there anything new here?

NADEAU: Well, I mean, this was a very popular excursion, but apparently, from what I've been reading, of course, I haven't made calls to the diving

company yet. They're not responding. I actually did try, but, you know, this was an excursion that had been done before.

But not all the divers, you know, there were 25 people on that boat. Only five went down. Um, and so this was a specialized diving. You had to have

the right kind of diving license. You know, you have to be certified for certain levels and depths and body suits and all of that. So not all of

them would have been qualified to do that.

These who went down clearly were. But the Italian government has opened an investigation to determine whether or not any protocols were not followed.

If they went deeper than they should have been for the -- for the equipment they had on board, for the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen and things like

that.

So, this isn't over yet. Theres a lot of concern about how an accident can happen like this in such a beautiful place, where diving is really what

most people go there to do. So, there are a lot of questions unanswered. This was not a, you know, an expedition that they had dived into these

caves before. It was well known, but it seems to be they weren't tethered together in any way at all, even at those depths. So, finding the bodies

could prove very, very difficult.

SOARES: I know you'll stay across it for us, Barbie. Thank you very much. Barbie Nadeau live for us from Rome.

Well, a U.S. oil blockade has caused Cuba to run out of gas and created an energy crisis. We were telling you at the top of the show, just ahead, the

latest on U.S. talks with the island nation, how the crisis is affecting the Cuban people critically.

We'll have that discussion after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:31]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone.

A State Department official tells CNN Cuba appears willing to accept $100 million in U.S. aid. Cuba is dealing with a U.S. imposed oil blockade

that's created an energy as well as an economic crisis. As we showed you the top of the show, our correspondent live in Havana.

The U.S. has cut off nearly all oil shipments to Cuba for the past four months. The Trump administration is trying to pressure Cuba to make

significant economic and government reforms. So, what we want to know this hour is will Cuba accept aid from the United States?

Joining me now is William LeoGrande, a professor of government at American University.

Professor, great to have you on the show. I mean, it's not just a question of accepting the aid, but what comes, right, what comes with that. And the

U.S. is calling, as we've heard, from meaningful reforms, be it on the economic front, but also on the security front. What do you make of it?

WILLIAM LEOGRANDE, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Well, the aid is clearly an inducement. And although the Secretary Rubio, has said

that there are no strings attached, part of this aid package apparently is free internet for everyone from Elon Musk. I don't know how large a portion

of the $100 million that is, but I don't think that the Cubans are going to be prepared to turn over control of the Internet to Elon Musk.

SOARES: Right. And that is one of the concerns, of course, and the question of security, because we have seen, of course, the CIA director, John

Ratcliffe, going to Cuba. What do you make of that trip, given the visibility of it? It's not obviously, it's not the first CIA director to

visit Cuba.

But what do you make of the visibility of it and the timing of it?

LEOGRANDE: Well, I think it's one more step in the administrations pressure campaign against Cuba. From what we know of the trip, he went there to tell

the Cubans that the continued presence of Cuban intelligence cooperation with Russia and China was not acceptable to the United States, and that one

of the conditions of real improvement in U.S.-Cuban relations overall. On the security front would have to be the discontinuation of that

intelligence cooperation.

SOARES: How, then, Professor, do you think that Cuba, that Havana will respond to that? Because these allies, of course, and the likes of Russia

and the likes of China, similar allies that we saw in Venezuela with Nicolas Maduro and their hands were forced, of course, do you think that

you can have -- that Cuba will respond in the same way, given this pressure, this economic pressure, this humanitarian pressure?

LEOGRANDE: I don't. I mean, Cuba is very different --

SOARES: Oh, I think we seem to have lost the professor. Do we still have him here? And I think it's interesting. I want to hear his response to this

because of course, there have been so many. The reason we are here with Cuba facing this pressure.

Do we have him? Have we got him?

Unfortunately, we try and reconnect with see if we can get an answer from him. But as I was saying, it's important to hear from what was important to

hear from professor on this given, of course, this pressure campaign that we've seen from the United States that has led this to this situation.

Professor, I'm hoping that you still with us.

[15:35:00]

You were saying to me, just before we lost you in that signal, that correct me if I'm wrong, that Venezuela is not the same as Cuba, but they -- you

were saying -- I thought you were saying they wouldn't budge. Just respond to that.

LEOGRANDE: Yes. Cuba is very different than Venezuela. There's not one person you can just remove that is going to change the character of the

regime. And so, consequently, I think that the Trump administration is betting that with enough economic pressure and threat of military action,

that Cuba will somehow surrender to U.S. terms at the bargaining table.

But I don't think that that's going to work. The Cubans are pretty adamant about not surrendering their national sovereignty to the United States and

changing their political leaders or their political system to suit Washington.

SOARES: Professor, really appreciate you coming on the show and your analysis. Professor William LeoGrande -- thank you, professor.

And we are in the final moments of trade on Wall Street. We've got about, what, 3:35 or so. Stocks are down. They are down almost 1 percent.

Investors appear disappointed with the lack of specific deals out of President Donald Trump's China visit. I was speaking to our White House

correspondent. Not many deliverables as well. Of course, as the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

And this is our Business Breakout.

Today is Jerome Powell's last as chair of the Federal Reserve. After eight years in the top job, Powell is handing over to Kevin Warsh. The outgoing

Fed leader is going -- is known, of course, for being a steady hand and helped implement emergency actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. More

recently, he has been heavily criticized by President Donald Trump for not cutting interest rates.

U.S. President Trump says he's considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that have been buying Iranian oil. Roughly 90 percent of Iranian

oil goes to China, but some of that supply has been choked off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Because of widespread sanctions, Iran

relies on an opaque fleet of aging tankers to move its crude oil around the world.

India and the United Arab Emirates have signed a deal focused on defense -- defense and energy. That is according to the India's foreign ministry.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Gulf State early on Friday, seeking to deepen ties with UAE amid the war, of course, in the Middle

East.

I do want to get back to President Trump's meeting with Chinas leader. Mr. Trump went into the summit with less leverage than one might expect, and

most of it stems from voter sentiment back home. Many Americans are angry about inflation, as you know, and the economy.

Our David Goldman breaks it down for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: So, this meeting between Xi and Trump is all about leverage. Who has it and why?

Well, if you take a look, President Trump certainly doesn't have economic leverage at the moment because 77 percent of folks who were surveyed by CNN

said that they blame President Trump for the high cost of living. That is not helpful.

What's the difference between Xi and Trump? Trump is in an election year and his Republican Party faces this issue. And so, Trump knows this, going

in to this meeting with Xi. He's facing this at home. And it limits the amount of economic pressure that he can put on China.

Now, one of the things that he wants from China is rare earth minerals. Look at this, 93 percent of all rare earths are made in China. Now, these

are the things that make everything go beep, right? They are giving you the ability to turn on smartphones and run an EV. Cancer treatments. These are

really, really important.

But the other thing that they do is they help make missiles work, war equipment, armaments. All of that needs to be stockpiled again in the

United States because we have used so much in the Iran war, those armaments need to be restocked.

The way to do that is rare earth minerals. Now, China is dependent on Iran as well, because look at this, 80 percent of all Iranian oil goes to China.

Now, that was before the war. It's probably even higher than that right now.

So, the thing is, China needs the Strait of Hormuz opened just as much as the United States and the rest of the world, if not more. And President

Trump wants that open to keep prices lower. So, China might agree.

Now it's got a lot of oil stockpiled. This isn't a major factor in the economy yet, but it might be soon.

[15:40:02]

This is something that they're going to be discussing heavily.

The other issue and this is what -- this is what Xi said is going to be the top issue, Taiwan. Taiwan just approved $25 billion in purchases of U.S.

military equipment. That is angering Xi.

The other thing, though, tariffs. This is a huge issue not just for China, but for President Trump. A year ago, tariffs on China were 145 percent

basically saying, forget it. We're not going to import anything from China because it is so expensive.

Now, what is it, 10 percent? Only 10 percent. And that's because the Supreme Court told President Trump, you can't do this anymore. There's a

limit to the emergency powers that the president has to put tariffs on.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Dan Goldman, thank you very much indeed.

Now it has happened again. The DRC is the epicenter of yet another outbreak of Ebola. After the break, we bring you the facts about the difficulty in

controlling the virus there. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: There has been a new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So far, at least 65 deaths have been

recorded in a remote region in the northeast of the country. The area is home to a large population of displaced people, as well as miners who move

around looking for work. And those factors, of course, are raising concerns about the virus spreading.

Neighboring Uganda has also confirmed that a patient from the DRC, who crossed the border, as you can see there from DRC, is now has died from

Ebola.

Joining me now is Dr. Krutika Kuppalli. She's an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern.

Doctor, great to have you on the show.

[15:45:01]

This is a very worrying development. A significant number of suspected cases. When I first saw it -- I mean, 250 suspected cases. Why do you think

it's taken so long for the outbreak to be confirmed as Ebola? I mean, is that unusual?

DR. KRUTIKA KUPPALLI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN: So that's a great question. So, this outbreak is occurring in

a part of DRC that is very remote. There's a lot of conflict there. There's poor health care infrastructure. So, it's really hard to have the resources

in order to test people appropriately, which is part of the reason why this has taken so long to confirm.

SOARES: Let's talk about the size, because as you're talking, Doctor, we're looking, of course, at the DRC, because I do wonder what the public health

response should look like to prevent, like you said, the risk of this spreading further, because this is a region that has intense -- intense

population movement, pardon me.

And the country is vast. As we look at the map, you know, it's 2.3 square meters -- kilometers. That's 10 times larger than the United Kingdom, and

where I am.

So, speak to those challenges.

KUPPALLI: Yeah. So, where the outbreak is occurring is a very challenging place. It's also on the border of Uganda, which now has one confirmed case.

And South Sudan, which is an area that also has a lot of conflict.

There's a lot of population migration, which will make it challenging to detect cases, but also potentially to confirm this. And as you mentioned,

there are already 246 suspected cases. So, this is a vast number of cases to be reported at the start of an outbreak.

You know, I think the one thing that is potentially a positive is that this DRC 17th Ebola outbreak, they have a lot of experience in addressing these

types of outbreaks and managing them and containing them.

SOARES: How do they go about containing them, professor, Doctor? Just explain to us how exactly do they do this? Like you said, they're probably

better prepared than most countries, given they've seen this before. So, on numerous occasions. So how do they go about doing that?

KUPPALLI: Yeah. So, it's using the tools that we have really for all infectious diseases outbreaks. So, things like contact tracing to trace

people who may have been in contact with the positive case or suspect case. It will be engaging the community. So they're aware of how to protect

themselves would also be, really making sure that health care facilities are prepared and know how to both recognize these types of cases and to

appropriately manage them.

SOARES: Doctor, appreciate you coming on the show. Well keep an eye on this, of course. And the concern not just of what has happened in DRC, but

it's spreading.

Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, thank you very much, Doctor.

KUPPALLI: Thank you.

SOARES: Now I'm going to leave that story. Turn our attention to something else because she has the most famous hips on the planet.

And after the break, we'll talk to Shakira about her campaign with FIFA to make $100 million for charity. She's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: For the first time ever, FIFA is going to have a half-time show during the World Cup finale. And as we revealed, of course, on last night's

program, superstar Shakira, Madonna and BTS will take the stage at the championship game in July.

However, Shakira is bringing a little something extra to her performance. The Colombian singer is trying to raise $100 million for the FIFA global

citizen education fund, Shakira and Global Citizen's Hugh Evans spoke with CNN's Maria Santana about how they plan to do it.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you in this World Cup, you're combining, you know, the passion for football, music, pop culture, but also

philanthropy. Why do you think joining with FIFA and tying your cause to football, one of the most adored sports in the world -- how do you think

that can create a global impact for children's education?

HUGH EVANS, CEO & FOUNDER, GLOBAL CITIZEN: Well, if you look throughout history, music has always been the anthem of movements. If you look at all

the great movements of our generation and the generations before us, music has always been those anthems. And I think that football inspires that same

passion. It's one of those things that people are so passionate about.

And I think that the thing that Shakira and I share in equal measure is a passion for education. I think it's the most urgent issue of our

generation, particularly right now with the rise of A.I., to making sure that kids have access to the tools that they need to lift themselves out of

poverty. It is the key to eradicating extreme poverty. It's the closest we have to a silver bullet.

And so, that's why I'm so passionate about what we can achieve. Together with FIFA, because we have this once in a generation opportunity. This is

only going to be a first ever half time show once, and it's on -- it's on - - this July 19th.

And so, we want to use this moment to inspire the whole planet to come together as one raise $100 million for children's education, and as Shakira

said earlier, use this as a stepping stone for generations to come. This is just the beginning.

SANTANA: And I mean, you have to Shakira, you have Madonna, you have BTS. I mean, the eyes of the world are going to be on this event, and children's

education.

Shakira, I just want to ask you in English, I mean, fans now, they equate you with the World Cup. They say Shakira is the queen of the World Cup. You

can't have a World Cup without her. Why do you keep returning to this event? Why is it so special to you?

And just knowing that your music is synonymous and just the heart and soul of this event that's seen and adored so globally

SHAKIRA, SINGER: Well, I think I understand what passion means. Passion for football and passion for music. And when those two things combine, it's

really powerful recipe to bring the world together.

And we live in a very divided world right now, very fractured world, where the algorithms are manipulating people's opinions, reactions and dividing

us even more.

So this is an excellent opportunity, I think, to, to bring artists together on that stage that day, to bring the world together, to, to put at the

center of that stage the most important and the most urgent issue in our society right now, which is providing access to quality education. And this

is what this world cup is about. And that is, um, the difference with other world cups in the past.

We are hopeful that we can raise $100 million or more. That will be directed towards grassroots programs around the world, education programs,

and in many, many different countries, and we feel that this is an opportunity that we cannot miss.

That's why we are, were all putting, uh, all of our efforts together, the artists, the people who are participating in this event to really make a --

the importance of investing in education, the real protagonist that night.

(END VIDEOTAPE0

[15:55:04]

SOARES: And our thanks to Maria Santana for that.

Well, elsewhere in the music world, voices protesting Eurovision contest are growing louder.

The contest is being overshadowed because of anger over Israel. For the past two years, many have protested Israel's participation because of its

war in Gaza. Now Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland are boycotting Saturday's final.

And finally, tonight, a European show of a different kind. Let me show you this. A horde of peacocks are causing chaos in a small Italian seaside

town. Nearly 150 of them blocking traffic, as you can see, waking residents up with. As you can hear with loud mating calls and literally attacking

cars when they see their own reflection.

Half the town wants them shipped to a zoo. The other half wants to protect them and use them to boost tourism.

That does it for us. Thanks very much for your company. I'll see you next week.

END

END

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