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What We Know with Max Foster
Lebanese President Rebukes Hezbollah & Iran; Judge Strikes Down Trump Admin. Asylum Restrictions; British PM Hits Back At Vance Over Immigration Criticism; Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Legality Of White House Ballroom; Albanian Protests Grow Over Trump-Linked Resort; Sources: Trump's Spy Chief Pick Had No Security Clearance; Senior Military Adviser To Iran's Supreme Leader Speaks To CNN. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 05, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:30]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Leaders from Lebanon and Iran both speak to CNN.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
Two exclusive interviews to bring you tonight as the fragile peace in the Middle East threatens to unravel. You'll hear this hour from both the
president of Lebanon and a top advisor to Iran's supreme leader.
We're going to begin, though, in Beirut, where President Joseph Aoun has issued a rare public rebuke against Hezbollah and its Iranian backers. He
told our Christian Amanpour, the people of Lebanon are fed up with war. He condemned Hezbollah after it rejected the latest ceasefire between Israel
and Lebanon, demanding a full Israeli withdrawal.
Ongoing attacks by Israel and Hezbollah are threatening to make a mockery of the ceasefire. Mr. Aoun says Hezbollah's leader does not represent the
Lebanese people and Lebanon does not belong to Iran.
Well, the president also spoke about Hezbollah and how it may eventually be convinced to join peace negotiations.
Here's more of his conversation with our chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSEPH AOUN, LEBANESE PRESIDENT: Hopefully and eventually, they'll be persuaded, but the cost will be high, unfortunately. I will try. Actually,
nothing is impossible and I will keep pushing for it. At the end of the day, I have two choices, as I said, either to sit idle doing nothing or
trying to negotiate and to reason with them.
Definitely, I don't maintain direct contact with them, but I maintain contact with Speaker Berri, who's also in line with the negotiation, who
also wants to end this war, who is also fed up with this war, seeing the destruction of the south, and he wants to get rid to end this war, so I'm
counting on him.
Definitely, IRGC has a major influence on Hezbollah, and they have to remember what they said yesterday. I totally reject their statement. This
is --
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: What -- who say? Who said?
AOUN: The IRGC.
AMANPOUR: The Iranian --
AOUN: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, that they don't agree with, they don't approve this agreement, the -- what happened. It's not your
country, it's our country. It's our obligation. It's not your job to interfere into our country.
I reject the statement totally, because our people being killed, our people being -- our houses being destroyed. They are using Lebanon as a bargaining
chip in their negotiation with the United States. It's unacceptable.
And here also, Hezbollah must understand that. Hezbollah must understand that no other way but to sit and talk, no other way to solve this problem
and to save what's left except through negotiation and diplomacy.
AMANPOUR: Okay, so as I said.
AOUN: Definitely I have no influence over Iran. I don't have any influence over Iran.
AMANPOUR: And when you tell them that, when you tell the Iranian government what you just said to me, because I know you've spoken with them, what do
they say?
AOUN: Yeah, so I spoke -- I met with president, the Iranian president twice, was the foreign minister a couple of times, and most of our
discussion was based on the relationship based on mutual respect, non- interference into internal affairs, and it should be state-to-state relationship, not to state -- from state to only one part of the country.
AMANPOUR: But they don't necessarily agree with what you want to do, which is to stop Hezbollah and to disarm them and make them the political force
or party --
AOUN: As I said, they are using Lebanon as -- Hezbollah mainly as a bargaining ship in their negotiation with the United States.
AMANPOUR: So let's get back to Hezbollah then --
AOUN: Yes.
AMANPOUR: If Iran is not willing to do what you want -- and you tried to expel the Iranian representative here, not a full ambassador, but
nonetheless, and he didn't go. He's still living here. Is he operating?
AOUN: No, no, no. He's a normal resident with no diplomatic capacity whatsoever.
AMANPOUR: So the Hezbollah leader here, Naim Qassem, has warned you all against confronting them. As I said, he also said these talks with Israel
under U.S. auspices in the United States are a farce. And he also basically said, quote, "The people have the right to take to the streets and bring
down the government in confronting the American-Israeli project."
Whoa, that is a direct challenge to everything you're just saying right now.
[15:05:00]
AOUN: I don't want to comment on that, but let me tell you. that the majority of the Lebanese people are fed up with wars. I'm seeing many of
them across the board Christian, Sunni, Jews, even Shiite, they said we are with you. We are fed up. We need you -- we need your help.
AMANPOUR: To you?
AOUN: Yes, yes, exactly. I met many people from the south, and the same conversation took place. We are fed up since 1969. We want to live in
peace, and they deserve to live in peace and in dignity. They deserve not seeing their homes being destroyed every five to 10 years.
They are fed up, and they are really counting on me, and it's my obligation towards my people It's the Lebanese people that are not Qassem -- Naim
Qassem people.
AMANPOUR: So they're Lebanese. They're not Naim Qassem's, Hezbollah's people.
AOUN: Exactly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, you can see the full exclusive interview with the Lebanese president on Monday's edition of Amanpour. And later on our program this
hour, you'll hear CNN's exclusive interview with one of the top advisors to Iran's supreme leader, and why he says talks with the United States are
deadlocked.
Now, a federal judge has struck down a set of policies from the Trump administration that placed millions of immigrants in the United States in
legal limbo. The White House had moved to suspend asylum decisions indefinitely after an Afghan national shot two members of the National
Guard in Washington last year.
Priscilla Alvarez is in Washington.
Priscilla, so I guess we need to know whether or not the government will respond to this and open up the system again.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have responded and they are unhappy with the federal judge's ruling, but it is a major ruling. This
could stand to affect millions of immigrants in the United States because, as you mentioned there, the Trump administration had indefinitely suspended
granting asylum, green cards, and other legal immigration benefits for immigrants of 39 countries that were listed in the Trump administration's
travel ban list again after that incident happened last year when an Afghan national shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C.
Now this was a scathing ruling from the federal judge in Rhode Island. Here is part of what he said. He said, quote, "The challenged policies placed
the lives of countless individuals on hold solely by virtue of their countries of birth."
He went -- he then went on to criticize the administration and what he described as, quote, "strong evidence of anti-immigrant animus," saying,
quote, "The government effectively invites the court to shut its eyes and ignore the strong evidence of anti-immigrant animus before it. Doing so
would require profound naivete on the court's part. Unfortunately for the government, that is an invitation that this court will have to decline."
Now in this ruling 135 pages, the judge also talks about the fact that these are immigrants who did things, quote, "the right way," meaning that
they went through the legal immigration system. This is aside from the crackdown the Trump administration has been undergoing with illegal
immigration.
Now, the Department of Homeland Security has responded, and they are taking issue with the ruling as a whole, but also specifically the judge saying
that this -- that there was anti-immigrant animus here.
According to, or rather, a statement from James Percival, Department of Homeland Security's general counsel, he said this, quote, "The left has
been running the same gambit with so-called animus claims since 2017. It is sabotage, dressed in legal clothing. It goes like this: one, the admin is
racist two, therefore a policy I don't like is motivated by race, three, therefore, it is invalid. They have used it on virtually every Trump-era
Department of Homeland Security policy."
Now, it is likely that the administration will appeal this ruling. In the interim, we're watching to see what U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services does to restart these adjudications and these applications for legal immigration benefits. This is, of course, again, a major ruling for
millions of immigrants in the United States who were in this uncertainty and this legal limbo as the applications were indefinitely suspended.
So we'll see what happens in the coming hours but certainly the Trump administration making it clear that they are not happy with this ruling
being a major blow for their agenda as it relates to legal immigration to the United States.
FOSTER: Priscilla, appreciate it. Thank you for that update.
Now, here in London, the British prime minister's office has just hit back at J.D. Vance after the U.S. vice president used the murder of an 18-year-
old Henry Nowak to criticize immigration policies here in Europe. What account footage of the murder, which is disturbing, has been front page
news here for days. Nowak is a white student was murdered by a British-born Sikh man in
December last year. Police handcuffed him whilst he laid dying, after his killer falsely accused him of a racist attack.
Around two hours ago, Mr. Vance posted on X that the proper response to the murder was righteous anger and said that Nowak would still be alive today
if European elites had stood their ground against the mass invasion of migrants.
Now, 10 Downing Street has responded, saying, "In recent days, we've seen people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division
on our streets. The Nowak family are grieving after Henry's horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create
further division, hatred or tension.
We should be respecting their wishes. Our politics should bring people together, even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as
a country."
An update now on President Trump's efforts to transform the nation's capital, an appeals court is expected to rule within the next few weeks on
a legal challenge to the continued construction, rather, of a $400 million White House ballroom.
Elsewhere in the capital, crews have started filling the newly refurbished reflecting pool with water, and there could be more D.C. renovations ahead.
The president now says a promenade bearing his name will be built connecting the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River.
So what we want to know is will President Trump's legacy on Washington last forever?
Joining me now, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
Well, I guess these monuments will exist, but you could take their names off them. A future president may not want to associate them with Trump. How
does this work in history?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, once looking at how much of an executive overreach this is, in the United States, we give presidents a
lot of power, and this is Donald Trump in many people's mind abusing his civic and legal responsibilities, constitutional ones by the demolition of
the East Wing because it didn't go through proper planning commissions as it was supposed to. It wasn't presented to Congress. It was done kind of in
the dead of the night, shock people last fall when we were watching wrecking balls take it.
But Donald Trump's very persistent. It's a dream of his to get this ballroom. Construction will continue, but there are going to be court
injunctions, there are going to be timeouts, and it's going to be scrutinized as best it can. But it's hard to stop a president like Trump
who believes he can do what he wants with buildings like the White House and other monuments in Washington, D.C.
But we saw what's happening to the Trump Kennedy Center. Constantly, people are trying to un-Trump that particular great performing arts space for
another example of his overreach of branding Washington, D.C. with his name.
FOSTER: But he's not the first president to create monuments to himself, is he?
BRINKLEY: No, not by long reach, but it's nothing, you know, a question is what is a monument? You know, the rules in Washington, D.C. on the Mall,
like no buildings to be taller than the Washington Monument.
He's looking to build this Arc of Triomphe for himself, which is Vietnam veterans, people who served our country, we lost 58,000 Americans and many
wounded and maimed for life. And they're saying, stop ruining the view to Arlington National Cemetery. Pay respect to the Vietnam War Memorial.
So, you know, it's a very special place, Washington, D.C. and the monuments. Now, one could argue during the New Deal, FDR started building
new buildings and reconfiguring things. We know history of the White House, Theodore Roosevelt in the West Wing or Harry Truman living in Blair House
while renovations were going on.
But the ballroom in my mind is going to be a symbol of just Trump -- of just pretending, much like with War Powers Act, that he is unrestrained.
But luckily, groups like National Historic Preservation Trust and others have sued and are saying, let's look at this. What does this mean long
term? We can't willy-nilly just start ripping down or marring sacred spots that belong to the American people.
FOSTER: Okay, Doug, thank you. We'll come back to you. I'm sure there's going to be more developments on this. Now, a real estate project with ties
to President Trump's family is fueling a revolution.
In Albania, it's being called the Flamingo Revolution. Protesters fear a luxury resort planned by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will damage an
environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast.
CNN's Isa Soares examines the mounting anger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Defiance and outrage in Albania's capital. For several consecutive days now, demonstrators marching
through the streets of Tirana, protesting a large luxury real estate project backed by the U.S. president's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka
Trump and Jared Kushner.
Demonstrations have been dubbed the Flamingo Revolution because the site suggested for the luxury developments includes the island of Sazan and some
of the coastline near the Zvernec wetlands and the Narta Lagoon, part of a protected area, home to seals, turtles and thousands of flamingos.
The first protests started in spring when bulldozers were first spotted clearing land in this untouched corner of the Mediterranean. But only
gained momentum when private security were filmed clashing with protesters near the actual site early in the week. A day later, the issue was
amplified when Ivanka Trump shared in a podcast interview how she and Kushner stumbled upon the location during the visit in 2021.
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the
islands. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.
SOARES (voice-over): Trump's romantic tale of causality and spontaneity, not mentioning an important detail.
JARED KUSHNER, TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW: Prime Minister Rama came to the boat.
SOARES (voice-over): Edi Rama, head of the country's government, impressing Kushner with his vision for Albania. In 2022, a year after that first
visit, Kushner decided to go back.
KUSHNER: So we went there, we looked for opportunities, and we were able to find some incredible, incredible opportunities.
SOARES (voice-over): A firm linked to Kushner and his partners obtained strategic investor status in 2024. which under Albanian law allows their
project to be fast-tracked by the government and regulators and given certain tax exemptions.
Another law introduced in 2024 makes things even easier, by spelling out that luxury tourism developments can simply bypass legislation safeguarding
environmentally protected areas. Two controversial rules Albania has agreed to repeal as part of its accession to the European Union.
With protesters accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of selling the country to the highest bidder, the head of the Albanian executive telling me there
isn't even a project yet.
EDI RAMA, ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER: There is not such a thing like a Trump family island. There is not such a thing like the family of the American
president taking over protected areas.
SOARES (voice-over): Rama saying environmental studies to measure the impact of building on this landscape are ongoing. While the company behind
the project says its focus remains on responsible stewardship, environmental enhancement, job creation, and creating long-term value for
local communities, echoing what Kushner and Trump have also said about the project themselves.
KUSHNER: If we don't respect the environment, the development we're going to create there won't be as special.
I. TRUMP: Because the land is so beautiful that really the architecture has to be fully integrated into it.
SOARES (voice-over): It's unclear whether the bulldozers currently operating near the Narta Lagoon are connected to the Kushner-linked luxury
development. But protesters and environmentalists believe the government, despite their many denials, is hiding something.
MELITJAN NEZAJ, ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGIST: As we speak now, there are no permissions publicly available. The government is saying that we have a
permission to the investors to develop the area, but we don't have anything else, like everything else is like darkness for us and for the public.
SOARES (voice-over): And so until some light is shed, they say these flamingos are going nowhere.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Coming up, we are learning more about President Trump's choice to become the nation's spy chief, including his previous level of security
clearance. We'll get the latest reporting for you from CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: U.S President Donald Trump says he is interviewing five candidates to become the next Director of National Intelligence. Sources tell CNN Bill
Pulte, Trump's pick for acting U.S. spy chief, didn't even have the lowest level of security clearance before he was chosen.
Let's turn to CNN's Natasha Bertrand now in Washington.
I mean, I know it's been a huge talking point whether or not he's qualified, but what about these other four? I mean, it's interesting that
he's said that he's looking at other people in quite a, you know, obviously a bigger group.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it seems like Trump does not want Bill Pulte to go through a confirmation process because
he understands that Pulte would not get the support necessary to actually be confirmed because he does not have that intelligence experience. He
actually does not even have a security clearance. Prior to him being appointed to this role, he had never handled classified information. He had
never dealt with intelligence matters.
And President Trump is very aware of all of that. And so now he says that he is interviewing five candidates. He did not name any of those
candidates.
But in the interim, he said earlier today to "The Wall Street Journal" that he actually thinks Pulte serving in this temporary role as acting director
is a good thing because it means that he is less shackled and that he is able to kind of move more quickly and break things in a way that President
Trump really likes to see and a way that Bill Pulte, while he was the top housing official for the administration, did when it came to Trump's
perceived enemies, bringing allegations of mortgage fraud against many of them, for example.
So this is something that Trump now is saying he wants to see Pulte move forward on prior to anyone else being confirmed for this role. He wants to
see large-scale firings across the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He wants to see potentially holdovers in that office from
previous administrations like the Obama and Biden administrations fired.
He also mused about the possibility of terminating this entity altogether, which is really notable because, of course, the DNI office was created
after 911 to better synthesize intelligence across the entire intelligence community to make sure there were no gaps in. what the U.S. was gleaning
about potential terrorist attacks, for example, and foreign threats.
So he has never particularly liked this office. He has always leaned more on his CIA director. But still, it is a very important position, and it's
one that the CIA director actually reports to.
So the fact that Bill Pulte has no experience, that he is considered to be very much a loyalist to President Trump, has, of course, sparked a lot of
concern on Capitol Hill, not only among Democrats but also among Republicans, Max.
[15:25:05]
FOSTER: Okay, Natasha, thank you so much. We'll wait to see.
Still to come, NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station are being told prepare to evacuate. I'll speak to the station's former
commander about the future of the ISS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Iran says peace negotiations with the U.S. are deadlocked, but could make progress if a key demand is met.
Turning now to our exclusive reporting from CNN's Frederick Pleitgen, who gained rare access into the Iranian regime leader's inner circle. He sat
down in Tehran with Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military advisor to Mojtaba Khamenei, said that a potential deal hinges on the U.S. agreeing to release
$24 billion in frozen Iranian assets. He said the ball is in Trump's court.
Here's more of that interview now. And a reminder, the CNN operates in Iran only with the government's permission, but we maintain full editorial
control.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You are the military advisor of the supreme leader. How is the supreme leader doing? Is
he fully in control of everything?
And President Trump said that he would be honored to meet the Supreme Leader.
MOHSEN REZAEI, SENIOR MILITARY ADVISER TO IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): This will not happen. Right now, we are in the first stage of
negotiations. And Mr. Trump has brought the negotiations to a standstill. This will not happen.
PLEITGEN: Are the negotiations right now blocked? Or do you think that a memorandum of understanding can be reached quickly?
REZAEI (through translator): In my opinion, the negotiations are at a deadlock. And Trump must break this deadlock.
[15:30:03]
PLEITGEN: They are waiting for an answer from Iran.
REZAEI (through translator): Iran has openly stated that our assets have been frozen, and you must release them. The Americans are not telling the
truth in this regard.
PLEITGEN: So the frozen assets are the big problem right now?
REZAEI (through translator): This is a sign of trust building. If Trump takes the negotiations seriously, $24 billion is not much to America.
If he wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump. This is a test that America must
pass, and the path will be opened. This is our own money, not America's money.
PLEITGEN: Wouldn't a war be catastrophic for Iran as well, though, if it was a big bombing campaign?
REZAEI (through translator): If the war continues and the naval blockade is not lifted, we will drag the war to the Indian Ocean, the Baba-el-Mandeb
Strait, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean. And we will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have
been attacking so far.
America will definitely suffer much more losses. America's losses will be very heavy.
PLEITGEN: Final question, what's your message to Donald Trump?
REZAEI (through translator): Mr. Trump must make decisions independently of Israel. He must give what is the rights of the Iranian people and stop the
blockade, release our frozen assets, and this can be a new horizon for the future of Iran and America.
Therefore, Trump must put aside his personal interests and think about the interests of the American people. If Trump has the courage, many issues
will be resolved in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now it is the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are down. It's a case of bad news is good news for the markets. Dow is off more
than 1 percent after some strong job numbers, actually.
This is our Business Breakout.
The US jobs market then beat expectations in a big way last month, 172,000 jobs were added in May, much more than economists expected. The numbers for
March and April were also revised higher. Economists say it's a sign of the jobs market moving in the right direction.
A co-founder of Anthropic says artificial intelligence needs new restrictions to protect humanity. Jack Clark told CNN that A.I. needs a
brake pedal after vlogging that some models pose great risk to humans. Clark says he believes A.I. companies can work together on guardrails, just
like countries did on nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
The three remaining correspondents in "60 Minutes" say they will stay on after weeks of firings and staff mutinies. Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and
Jon Wertheim say they are heartbroken but have decided to remain. Three other correspondents have been fired under acrimonious circumstances,
complaining of editorial interference from the new management at CBS News.
U.S. President Donald Trump has bemoaned the market reaction to the main job numbers. Stocks fell sharply as investors bet that a stronger U.S.
economy would make it more likely for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the near future. In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said stocks
should go up, not down after good economic news.
CNN's Matt Egan explains how today's jobs numbers could change our thinking on the U.S. economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: This was a big beat, and it does suggest that after a week 2025, the job market is getting back on track. So the
172,000 jobs added during the month of May, as you mentioned, that really blew away forecasts. And what was also encouraging was that March and
April, they were both revised significantly higher. So, now, we have a situation where for the first time in two years, the economy is adding more
than 100,000 jobs for three consecutive months.
And look, this is a big shift from last year when there were a number of months where the US economy outright lost jobs. This is April of 2025. This
is roughly when the president rolled out his global tariffs and you can see how much pressure there was on the job market after that. But now things do
appear to be going back in the right direction, which is encouraging.
So where are the jobs? Well, health care continues to be a major source of demand for workers, adding another 35,000 jobs. But this was not just
health care. This was wider spread growth in jobs than we've seen in recent history, a government adding 52,000 jobs. Most of that was local
government, excluding education. That's a lot of jobs to be added in one sector. So we're going to have to wait and see if that gets revised in
coming months.
But leisure and hospitality also adding 70,000 jobs. That was bars and restaurants, and that could be an early sign that the World Cup is adding
demand for workers.
[15:35:04]
Construction adding jobs as well, thanks to warmer weather. However, information and finance, both of those sectors lost jobs in May. And that's
notable because we know that information and finance, they've been the early and fast adopters of artificial intelligence. So this could be a sign
that there's less demand for workers because of A.I.
Now, we do have to talk about wages and inflation because, look, wages are still going up, 3.4 percent, year over year in May. That's not a terrible
number. The problem is that prices are going up much faster. The Cleveland Fed is forecasting a 4.2 percent inflation rate for the month of May.
So that means if you adjust your paycheck for inflation, your paycheck is actually getting smaller. So bottom line, yes, it is good news that the
economy continues to add jobs, but. People can't experience that. If they're feeling the fact that their paychecks are getting smaller, then
they're not going to feel good about this economy, no matter how many jobs are added.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thanks to Matt for that. Now, CNN visits the town believed to be the center of a deadly Ebola outbreak. We see firsthand the challenges of
trying to stop this epidemic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Some pretty tense moments up there on the International Space Station today when leaks forced five crew to leave the station and seek
shelter on an attached spacecraft. NASA has now reversed that order and says it's safe to go back to the ISS. Russian cosmonauts were working to
repair the leak issue. There have been ongoing concerns about cracks and leaks on the space station. This latest development indicates the situation
may have got even worse.
What we don't know tonight, is the International Space Station really fit for use?
Joining us now, Colonel Chris Hadfield, a retired Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station.
[15:40:02]
He's also the author of the book, "Final Orbit".
Thank you for joining us, Chris.
I mean --
COL. CHRIS HADFIELD, CANADIAN ASTRONAUT (RET.): My pleasure, Max. Nice speaking with you.
FOSTER: It is old, isn't it? Perhaps getting a bit worn out.
HADFIELD: It's also the best space station that's ever been built and it's a super productive laboratory up there right now. But parts of it were
launched, gosh, in the late 1990s and so parts of it are 28 years old. But like any old machine, you need some maintenance.
And this leak has been like bugging people since 2019. It's really hard to pin down. It's a leak inside a weld. And they're working on it and they did
some good things today, but it's not going to go anywhere. This is a perpetual part of living on board the space station.
FOSTER: But they're not, sent to a safe area and warned they may be evacuated normally. So what might have been the difference this time?
Oh, well, what they did today was two of the cosmonauts were opening a hatch to the area that has the leak. So that exposes everybody to an
increased risk because normally we keep that hatch closed so there's no risk from it. Since they were opening that hatch and going to be working,
our repair equipment is pretty prosaic. It's like just gray tape and plasticine and epoxy.
But since they were doing that, the prudent safe thing to do was just instead of everybody working as normal, just go stay inside the Dragon for
a while, including one of the cosmonauts, keep everybody safe until the work is complete and the hatch gets closed again, just so that we don't
unnecessarily risk the crew.
But there was no great urgency to it. And now we need to see how much of the leak was slowed down, do a little more repair. Just -- it's not what
you really want, but it's just a reality of space life.
FOSTER: Why is it so hard to fix?
HADFIELD: It's inside this cylinder, maybe as big across as a large trash can. And the welds kind of go all the way around. And somewhere in those
welds are little hairline cracks because that's where we dock. We bang spaceships into it. And so it takes these big mechanical shocks on a
regular basis.
So if somewhere inside a weld there's a hairline leak or two, then where do you even apply your leak stop, you know? And it's just not like a hole that
we're plugging or something. It's much more insidious than that.
And the last vehicle to dock there was on April 27th and the leak suddenly started increasing on May 1st. And today was the day they decided to fix
it. So, you know, it's the trouble is that's how we reboost the station too, is from that end. So every time you fire the thrusters back there, it
shakes that piece of metal.
So it's, you know, it's not what we really want, but this is a workable solution. And the crew was probably mostly just frustrated because they had
to stop working for two hours today.
FOSTER: It does sound, you know, to laymen that it's cracking up this area of the ship, just to reassure people that it's not -- so it's, getting more
brittle over time and I completely crack.
HADFIELD: Well, it's definitely getting more brittle over time. This is old metal and you wouldn't believe how harsh the environment is up there.
Radiation from the sun, incredibly cold in the shadow of the earth and then incredibly hot when you're in the sun and it goes through that cycle 16
times a day around and around. It's a tough place to be aluminum and that's old aluminum. But at the same time, we're not reckless and we're very much
concerned about the health of the crew and looking for good long-term solutions.
And I think what they did today was really good evidence of that, that we just took a nice safe precaution with the crew, keep everybody as safe as
we can while we were dealing with one of the real world things that goes on, on board an older International Space Station.
I'm glad there are new stations coming down the pike, but this one's got to last a bunch of years yet.
FOSTER: Okay. Chris, appreciate it as ever, explaining what went on there today, because it felt a bit scary for a while, but you've explained it
all.
Now, the World Health Organization has announced a $518 million plan with the Africa CDC to fight Ebola. The WHO says the program will run for six
months. It's calling for more international donors and political commitments to contain the deadly illness. The Democratic Republic of Congo
has been hardest hit by this latest round of Ebola.
And CNN's Clarissa Ward went to a remote mining town believed to be at the epicenter of this outbreak.
[15:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are heading to Mongbwalu, a remote gold mining town deep in the lush forests of
eastern Congo and the epicenter of this Ebola crisis.
WARD: From up here, you really get a sense of the challenges in fighting this outbreak, the vastness of the terrain and the total lack of good
roads.
WARD (voice-over): The World Food Program now operates a daily helicopter to deliver supplies to the beleaguered community. On this day, they're
bringing a much needed mobile testing lab. Days without results here have cost lives.
WARD: You can see they've sent security for us. That's because yesterday, villagers were throwing rocks at a convoy of aid workers.
WARD (voice-over): We drive quickly through the town.
Suspicion of aid organizations runs deep here, with conspiracy theories swirling as the death toll mounts.
We jump out of the car to talk to local journalist Gloar Mumbeza (ph).
WARD: So he's saying that there's a feeling among the community as well that aid workers who are coming here are actually coming here to profit
from this crisis, not to help.
WARD (voice-over): He spends his days trying to educate the community about the outbreak.
WARD: So he's saying that the reason he's frightened of this hospital is because everybody who goes in there is sick, they don't leave. They come
out dead.
WARD (voice-over): Inside the hospital, a small team is holding the line.
Logistics coordinator Naoufel Dridi is preparing to disinfect another body.
NAOUFEL DRIDI, LOGISTICS COORDINATOR, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (translated): It's like you're on the front lines, where the bullets are flying. But with
Ebola, you can't see it. You can't see it.
WARD (voice-over): That invisible enemy is everywhere here. Workers carry the first body to the morgue. A grim procession disinfecting the path as
they go.
A second follows closely behind.
A woman can be heard wailing from inside. "My child, my child," she cries. "I remember my child."
WARD: So he's explaining to me that the two bodies that we just saw being brought in, one of them was an 11-year-old child, and the other one was an
eight-month-old baby. And you can hear, we've been hearing the wails of the family. It's just -- it's unimaginable.
WARD (voice-over): The bodies keep coming, six in total this day, each one a family destroyed.
The mayor of Mongbwalu is overwhelmed. His town has never seen anything like this.
WARD: Can we talk about when this all started? When did you first understand that there was something terribly wrong going on here?
MAYOR SESEREKI MANDRO ISRAEL, MONGBWALU, DRC (translated): The date was February 22nd when a body arrived from Bunia in a coffin.
WARD: The 22nd of February.
WARD (voice-over): That's more than 11 weeks before the outbreak was declared.
ISRAEL (translated): Two or three weeks later, people started to die here. The deaths in two weeks, there were 48 dead, here in Mongbwalu.
WARD (voice-over): The virus continued to spread, silently, invisibly, through this town and beyond. Healthcare workers are now playing catch-up
to contain the outbreak, and the people of Mongbwalu are still paying the price.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:52:08]
FOSTER: We are just hours away from game two of the NBA Finals. The New York Knicks taking on the San Antonio Spurs in the best of seven series.
The Knicks are playing in their first finals since 1999 and won game one. But the big question for game two, can the Spurs bounce back to the -- to
tie the series.
Our resident New York Knicks fan, Mark Morales, is, where else, outside Madison Square Garden in New York, hoping he can be objective on this
reporting.
MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, I mean, I am wearing my Knicks t-shirt, so I will -- here's how objective I will be. You asked a second ago whether
or not the Spurs have a chance to tie up the series, and I'm sure there is a chance that that could happen. Do I believe that in my heart that that's
going to be what's going to happen tonight? I don't -- I don't think so.
But that kind of goes to the larger question, right? The last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999. And I think every Knicks fan will
tell you that they had no shot in that Finals. They did as best as they could, but they only won one of those games.
But this is the first time not only that they're in the NBA Finals in 27 years, but that they actually have a chance to win almost every single
game. And that's where I think the energy from the crowd is coming from. It's this idea that they are actually this good. They're no longer this
scrappy team that's just lucky to be there. They can actually win.
And that's something that New York hasn't felt since 1994, arguably, and definitely not since 1973. And you feel that energy when you walk around
the city. I mean, I'm standing right here in front of Madison Square Garden. This will be where they host games three, four, and maybe six.
But tonight there's going to be a watch party. So the garden is going to be packed with people that actually wish they could be watching them in
person, but they're going to be watching on the Jumbotron here.
But when you walk around the city, everybody is wearing a Knicks hat, a Knicks t-shirt, merch. There's guys right next to me.
Kenneth, you want to span over here. They're actually selling merch just out of their little carts here. Like, there's, like, this is the energy of
the city right now. Like, everybody is really, really interested.
Everybody's really into it. Like, we have not seen this in years. And as far as having a chance to actually win it, not even in my lifetime.
FOSTER: Well, you've got loads of clothes to choose from. I'm excited for you, for the whole series.
Thanks, Mark.
MORALES: Thank you, Max.
FOSTER: Now, finally tonight, a PayPal payout for the Pope. A great moment in the Vatican when the state treasurer of Illinois handed Pope Leo a
check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLI)
UNIDENTIIFED MALE: We would like to return this to you. PayPal account, $8.65.
POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH: That's awesome. They hung -- they hung up on me on the phone. It's a true, slightly modified, but true story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Amazing. You heard it right, $8.65. The Illinois treasurer says they found the PayPal money in the state's unclaimed property account last
year. They've been trying to get it back to the pope, but to no avail. So when he was invited to the Vatican as part of a Chicago delegation, the
treasurer decided to deliver it in person.
As for the Pope, this feels very on-brand to some people. It was about a month ago when his longtime friend told the story that the pope tried
calling his bank to change his address to Rome. They kept insisting he didn't -- he needed to come in person to make the change. Now, when he said
he couldn't really do that because he was the pope, the customer service rep hung up -- hung up on him. But I guess he's, you know, one customer
he's likely to forgive.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.
END
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