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Rubio Announces New Visa Restrictions for Foreigners Complicit in Censoring Americans; U.S. Marshals Service: 2 Escapees Could Be Anywhere in the U.S.; Reimaging the World's Most Feared Underwater Predators. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 28, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is announcing a new visa restriction policy. He says this applies to, quote, foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood joins us live from the State Department. Kylie, how would this new policy work?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what we're trying to figure out right now, because as we understand it, this new policy, as you said, is going to go after foreign nationals who, in the words of the Secretary of State, are censoring Americans, particularly on the online space.

And this statement from Marco Rubio effectively made the case that Americans have freedom of speech here in the United States. They should have that same freedom of speech on social media platforms, no matter where that information is disseminated.

I want to read to you a part of the statement he put out, saying, quote, It's unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil. It's similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States.

[13:35:00]

Now, we should note that there are a number of countries around the world who have taken action specifically against X in recent years because of the disinformation that has been on their platform because of some of the hate speech that has been on their platform. So that is a space for us to watch.

There are reports that the European Union is considering penalties against X for breaking a law to combat disinformation in European Union countries. So that's also a space for us to watch. But we should also note that this comes on the heels of the Trump

administration itself ramping up what it does to look at the social media posts of students around the world who are applying for visas here in the United States.

SANCHEZ: Kylie Atwood from the State Department, thank you so much for the reporting.

Still ahead, two inmates who escaped a New Orleans jail nearly two weeks ago remain on the run. The U.S. Marshals say the pair could be anywhere in the United States at this point. What we're learning about the search, the latest, next.

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[13:40:20]

KEILAR: The U.S. Marshal Service says the final fugitives that broke out of a New Orleans jail could potentially be anywhere in the country right now. This Friday will mark two weeks since 10 inmates in total escaped the facility. Eight have now been captured, but Derek Groves, a convicted killer, and Antoine Massey, a repeat escapee, are still on the run, and they're both considered armed and dangerous.

CNN senior national correspondent Ryan Young has been tracking this story for us. Ryan, what more are officials telling us as authorities are chasing some new leads?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's been a lot going on with this story. Even yesterday, when we joined you, we heard rumors that there was some tips in Mississippi. We've talked to law enforcement there in Mississippi. They don't believe these two are there right now.

But we talked to the U.S. Marshal, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair, and he told us we are currently at an impasse on figuring out where these two are. They could be here locally, or they can be anywhere in the United States, the point that you made a little bit earlier.

But look, so much of this is concentrated on finding these two. They could be the ringleaders of this whole plot. And we'll show you some of the video from Texas where there was that high-speed chase.

So, you know tips are coming in. Police are getting those tips to get these folks off the street. But at the same time, these two are considered two of the most violent, two of the most dangerous who have been on the run.

We talked to a D.A. yesterday who knows very well that not only are the tips are coming in, but they want to keep the public's focus on catching these last two. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON WILLIAMS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ORLEANS PARISH: It's vitally important that we catch these fugitives, whether it's Arkansas, whether it's Louisiana. But it's also critically important that we know how they got out and who helped them get out. And we can't wait until they're in custody to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, Briana, you understand this from a media standpoint. In New Orleans, this was hot and heavy on local television. There were billboards that were put up of these two faces.

Now, as this spreads to Texas, maybe Mississippi, other places across the United States, us putting the picture up helps. So, what they want is people to call the U.S. Marshal Service, call the FBI. Let's not forget there's a $20,000 reward for each suspect when they're caught.

But this ongoing investigation about how they got out, especially when it comes to Massey, who's escaped three other times, you understand why there's so much manpower to catching these two. The tips have been coming in fast, but at the same time, they got to do all the leads, and you know how that works. Sometimes you're going to run into some roadblocks, and other times you're going to end up in a high-speed chase.

So, the whole focus right now, it's just hoping that someone will call folks in, and then they'll get some more tips. Let's not forget 14 other people have been arrested in association with helping the folks who've been on the run. This story just has so many plot twists at this point -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Certainly does. Ryan, thank you for the very latest there -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

A judge ruled that DOJ, the Department of Government Efficiency, may now access a treasury system with financial information on millions of Americans, provided that its workers are properly vetted and trained. The judge had previously blocked DOJ from that Treasury Department system, finding that the Trump administration acted in a chaotic and haphazard way that did not address privacy and security risks.

That Treasury Department system controls trillions of dollars in federal payments and essentially operates as the checkbook for the federal government.

Also, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a new law requiring Apple and Google to verify App Store users' ages. It follows a similar law that passed months ago in Utah and is part of a broader push for regulation to better protect kids online.

App Store operators and some experts worry that the age verification rules, though, could pose privacy risks and be difficult to enforce. The law is set to begin at the start of next year, giving App Store's time to figure out exactly how they're going to verify the information.

And Elon Musk saying that SpaceX is going to pick up the pace of its Starship test flights after launch number nine ended in spectacular failure. Despite a promising start last night, the unmanned spacecraft made it further than previous tests, but it did spring a propellant leak and then spun out of control before exploding over the Indian Ocean. It also did miss some other key objectives, including deploying test satellites and testing heat shields for re-entry. Musk says that he now wants to test flight roughly every three to four weeks.

The goal for Starship, to bring astronauts back to the moon and eventually to take space travelers to Mars.

Still ahead this afternoon on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, an epic swim with a bigger purpose.

[13:45:00]

Why this endurance swimmer braved rough water with freezing, near freezing temperatures to bring awareness to the plight of animals that are more often feared than loved.

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SANCHEZ: Jaws is one of the most iconic American thrillers ever and one that helped turn sharks, sadly, into the world's most terrifying underwater villain.

[13:50:00]

Now as we approach the film's 50th anniversary, activists and shark- lovers everywhere are hoping to change how people perceive these majestic creatures.

One of them is Lewis Pugh. He's an endurance swimmer who just completed a 60-mile swim in the frigid waters off Martha's Vineyard where Jaws was filmed. He's also an official United Nations patron of the oceans and his goal is to raise awareness about the plight of sharks and convince humans to protect them instead of fear them. Lewis Pugh joins us now live.

Thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. I read that you swum with crocodiles and polar bears, but this one voyage around Martha's Vineyard, you say, has been one of your hardest feats. I wonder why.

LEWIS PUGH, SWAM NEARLY 60 MILES AROUND MARTHA'S VINYARD: Yes, it really was very, very hard, much harder than I had anticipated. I always thought that it was going to be a cold swim, it was going to be a long swim, and then the thought of what is actually going to be beneath me during this swim was going to make it hard, but it was the weather. We had foul weather for 10 days and so there was constant waves.

There were some days where I was barely able to cover a mile during the swim.

SANCHEZ: What was that like mentally, knowing that you were going to get back in that really cold water? PUGH: It starts becoming cumulative and so, you know, it's not just one day of cold that grinds you down, but then it's the second day and the third day and the fourth day. It really does get you and so you really have to focus on why you're doing this type of swim. It's a type of cold that demands an answer. Why are you in there?

SANCHEZ: So tell me about that. I'm actually big on shark conservation myself, so you're preaching to the choir, but I wonder what fascinates you about them and what do you think people misunderstand about sharks?

PUGH: You know, Jaws shaped the narrative about sharks for the past 50 years, that they're cold-blooded killers out to get us, and it created a culture of fear, but you know, now is the time to change that narrative for a new generation. They are not monsters. They are magnificent and absolutely essential, and they are seriously endangered.

I mean, the numbers are really, really frightening. So on average, globally, 274,000 sharks are killed every single day. I mean, it's complete madness. It's an ecocide which is happening right now. If you multiply that number, that's over 100 million sharks are killed every single year.

SANCHEZ: And what does that mean for folks on land? Because if an ecosystem that we depend on in the ocean is destabilized, undoubtedly, it's going to have effects on the economy and on just the health of the environment.

PUGH: No, absolutely. I mean, if I can give you a land example, imagine in Africa, if you killed all the lions, then the numbers of gazelle and the numbers of wildebeest and zebra, they're all going to multiply, they're going to eat all the grass, and very soon you'll have an ecological collapse. It's the same in the oceans.

If we kill all the sharks who are the apex predator, who keep the ocean in balance, then it wrecks havoc. We need sharks for a healthy ocean. They not only provide food, but they help regulate the climate. They're essential for life and healthy oceans.

SANCHEZ: And now that we're into summer, undoubtedly, Lewis, we're going to see stories of shark interactions, videos of them close to the shore. No doubt there's going to be some depredation where they're going to steal fishermen's catch, possibly people getting mistaken for prey as well. I wonder how you think communities should respond when shark interactions and shark attacks happen.

PUGH: We have to keep them into context. I mean, the number of shark attacks which occur every single year are very, very rare compared to the millions and millions of people who are out enjoying our oceans. And so globally, on average, it's less than 50 per annum.

And I think we have to really keep that in mind when we talk about sharks. You are far, far more likely to get injured, for example, in a car crash or something like that than ever getting injured on a beach.

SANCHEZ: Lewis Pugh, appreciate what you're doing. I'm glad you're nice and warm now. Thanks for joining us.

PUGH: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

So her accidental arrest nearly led to deportation and it still might. Ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we're going to speak with a Georgia teenager who's now free and talking about her detention by immigration authorities. Stay tuned.

[13:55:00]

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SANCHEZ: Vladimir Putin issuing an ultimatum, what the Russian president is reportedly demanding in exchange for a ceasefire. And President Trump responded just moments ago.

And in the Sean Diddy Combs criminal trial, an arson investigator revealing new details about rapper Kid Cudi's burned out Porsche. As a stylist testifies that Combs frequently threatened his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura's career.

KEILAR: And then later.