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Hamas Hands Over Bodies Of Four Hostages, Israel Frees Palestinian Prisoners; Elon Musk Takes Center Stage At Trump's First Official Cabinet Meeting Of Second Term; Pope Francis' Health Shows Slight Improvement; Zelenskyy Calls Minerals Deal with U.S. a "Framework"; Western Tourists Speak about Recent Trip to Hermit Kingdom; How Dogs could Help Save Koalas; Couple Shocked after Sitting Next to Dead Passenger; Passenger Flight Aborts Landing to Avoid Another Plane. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 27, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The bodies of four Israeli hostages handed over to the Israeli military.
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VAUSE: In that phase one of the Gaza cease fire is coming to an end. Will stalled negotiations over the next phase mean a return to war?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: If you are, well, throw them out.
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VAUSE: Give it up for Elon. Not a word from Trump's obsequious cabinet against the unelected unconfirmed presidential appointee wreaking havoc across the federal government.
Also this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really shocked and I said, are they going to, you know, put her there?
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VAUSE: Another low point for international air travel, an Australian couple forced to sit next to a dead passenger on a 14-hour long flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: For six weeks now, the fragile Gaza ceasefire has held. And on Thursday, Israel and Hamas made their last exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners as agreed to under phase one. The Red Cross bussed hundreds of prisoners and detainees Gaza, among them women and children, as well as the longest serving Palestinian prisoner.
In the West Bank, families greeted a group of prisoners who were released in the early hours of the morning. For its part, Hamas handed over four coffins with the bodies of Israeli hostages. And earlier we heard from CNN's Jeremy Diamond about all of this. Here is his report.
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DIAMOND: This time, though, it happened without any ceremony between Hamas and the Red Cross. That handover happened quietly as per the latest agreement between Israel and Hamas. Israel then sent forensic experts to the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza in order to actually confirm that the identities of these four hostages who Hamas claimed them to be, and they are Ohad Yahalomi, a 49-year-old who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7 after trying to defend his family. He was guarding the door to the safe room where his family was hiding with just a handgun.
Tsachi Idan, 49 years old. He was also taken from Kibbutz Nachal Oz. And then you have Itzhak Elgarat, 69 years old when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. He had been shot and taken to Gaza on October 7th.
And then lastly you have Shlomo Mantzur, an 85-year-old who was actually killed on October 7th by Hamas militants according to the Israeli military. His body was then taken into Gaza and has been held as a bargaining chip for the last 16 months.
Israel now expected to release 620 Palestinian prisoners following several days during which they initially refused to release those prisoners on Saturday as scheduled. But much more uncertainty still lies ahead as questions loom over whether Israel and Hamas can extend this phase one of the ceasefire agreement or get to phase two, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and then the war in Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Jerusalem now and former hostage negotiation, Gershon Baskin. He's also with the Middle East director, rather Middle East Director of the International Communities Organization. Gershon, thanks for being with us.
GERSHON BASKIN, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Thank you.
VAUSE: So a statement issued by Hamas a short time ago left little doubt where they stand in all of this. Reads the only way the remaining hostages will be freed is through commitment to the ceasefire deal. And Hamas abides by the agreement and is ready to start talks on a second phase. Phase two comes down to a choice for Israel between the two goals
stated by the Prime Minister of this war, the safe return of all hostages or annihilation of Hamas. Is that why Israel is yet to engage in those negotiations, even though they were scheduled to begin weeks ago?
BASKIN: Well, that's a major reason why Israel refuses to really enter into the negotiations in a serious way, because phase two is a commitment to end the war. And Netanyahu doesn't want to end the war. Netanyahu refuses to end the war. He refuses to withdraw from Gaza.
But it's not just about Hamas staying in place in Gaza, because there are all kinds of talks, both within Hamas and in the region amongst the Arab countries, about replacing Hamas with a viable, acceptable, legitimate Palestinian government in Gaza.
There is a big question about the weapons of Hamas and their fighters and what will happen with them.
[01:05:00]
But that's an issue that needs to be dealt with politically, not militarily. The main reason why Netanyahu refuses to end the war is because his own political survival is based on continuing the war. And we've seen this already now over 16 months of this war where Netanyahu refuses to create a commission of inquiry on what happened on October 7th. Who's responsible. He has not taken responsibility as the prime minister of Israel for the failure of Israel to protect its citizens and its borders on October 7.
And he is under trial for corruption. And he knows that as soon as the war ends, the calls for new elections and the commission inquiry will increase substantively and he will have to step down. So he has an interest, a personal political interest in keeping this war going.
VAUSE: Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Mideast envoy, says the White House would like an extension of phase one, which is set to end on Saturday. Here's why.
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STEVE WITKOFF, U.S SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: We have to get an extension of phase one. And so I'll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday to negotiate that. And we're hopeful that we have the proper time to finish off, to begin phase two and finish it off and get more hostages released and move the discussion forward.
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VAUSE: Is there any incentive for Hamas to actually and Hamas in Gaza, the leaders there, to continue on with phase one?
BASKIN: Absolutely not. Hamas is committed to enter into phase two. The negotiations should have begun on day 16 of this 42-day period and should have concluded by day 30 of the 42 day period. That has not happened. The Israelis believe that they can extend phase one. In other words,
continuous ceasefire, continue to get hostages released with more or less the same key for releasing Palestinian prisoners and not ending the war and not withdrawing from Gaza.
Hamas is not going to buy into this. I think there's a very small chance that Hamas will agree to it. I think that the mediators, Egypt and Qatar are even shying away from presenting this Israeli idea, which has now apparently been accepted by Trump and Witkoff, that phase one can be extended. I think it has a very, very small chance of working.
VAUSE: Hamas survived a 15-month long Israeli offensive. So if fighting does resume, will it be more of the same from Israel or do they change tactics here? Some reports suggest the IDF may start targeting humanitarian assistance to prevent it being supplied to Hamas. So what do we know about, you know, if there is a renewed offensive by the Israelis? How does it look?
BASKIN: Well, there is what's on the table, called the general's plan that was presented by some retired generals have talked about is moving everyone from the north of Gaza back to the south of Gaza, clearing it out, leveling it entirely, killing anyone who remains there, searching for the underground infrastructure of tunnels and weapon caches, and then to progressively do this as they push further and further into the south to create a zone in the north where there will be no humanitarian aid coming in, no water, no food, no medical supplies, cleaning out a territory and then controlling that territory.
This is a full reoccupation of Gaza. We will have then pressure from the Israeli government to build Israeli settlements there. This is a disaster scenario.
This war really has to end, and the pressure has to be put both on Israel and on Hamas to end it. Hamas's part has to be that they are not going to govern and control Gaza anymore, because there will be no reconstruction of Gaza if Hamas stays there. And they know that.
A senior member of the Hamas politburo last night, Samba Dran (ph), put out a statement that Hamas recognizes that it will not continue to govern Gaza after this war. But Hamas also needs to say that they won't have an armed militia there. This cannot be a situation like Lebanon was prior to this war, where there was a civilian government, but the country was actually closed by a Hezbollah militia. We can't have that situation in Gaza.
VAUSE: It's a complicated situation. It's a tragic one as well. Thank you for explaining it for us. We appreciate it.
BASKIN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Donald Trump's new cabinet met for the first time Wednesday with Elon Musk, the unelected and unconfirmed presidential appointee, taking center stage, leaving little doubt that no one in the administration is closer to the president than he is. And while taking questions from reporters, President Trump repeated
his false claims that the United States has contributed a lot more to Ukraine than Europe, and Europe should provide security guarantees for Ukraine because the U.S. will not.
He dodged a question on U.S. commitment to defend Taiwan if China tried to take the island by force, saying only he had a great relationship with China's president, Xi Jinping. He warned the E.U. to expect 25 percent tariffs, while adding, the European Union was formed specifically, in his words, to screw the United States.
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TRUMP: I love the countries of Europe. I love all countries, frankly, all different. But European Union has been -- it was formed in order to screw the United States.
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I mean, look, let's be honest. The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it. But now I'm President.
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VAUSE: Elon Musk told the Cabinet he intends to slash a trillion dollars from the federal budget, while also defending the what did you do last week email to federal employees saying it was a pulse check, almost proof of life for workers on the government's payroll.
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ELON MUSK, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: I think that email perhaps was best interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse? Do you have a pulse and two neurons? So if you have a pulse and two neurons, you can reply to an email. This is, you know, I think not a high bar is what I'm saying.
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VAUSE: During Donald Trump's first term, Cabinet meetings were often marked by awkward declarations of loyalty and admiration for the president. This was the first time that sort of deference was given to the richest man in the world. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now reporting from the White House.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: If there was any question where the power lies in this new Trump administration, it became clear on Wednesday at President Trump's first Cabinet meeting of this term it is not in the Cabinet, at least the most power.
The dynamics between President Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man and one of his senior advisers, became clear inside the ornate Cabinet Room on Wednesday as the president called on Elon Musk to talk specifically about his work for government efficiency. He's been asking more than 2 million workers across the government to justify their existence, which has sparked confusion and consternation. But the president made clear Musk is his man and called for dissent and then laughed.
TRUMP: Let the Cabinet speak just for a second. If you are well, throw them out.
ZELENY: The president saying if anyone is unhappy with Elon Musk, let him know. Of course, no one voiced that concern, but the president saying there that workers are on the bubble, it raises the questions exactly of what will become of some of these federal workers who are told to not respond to Elon Musk.
But the bigger picture to all of this is as the Trump administration engages in the next step of reshaping this federal government in major ways through mass layoffs and reductions in force who is actually overseeing these, the Cabinet secretaries or Musk himself?
In fact, right after the Cabinet meeting, the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, went to Capitol Hill and got an earful, we're told, from some Senate Republicans who were wondering, in fact, who is in charge. And she said Elon Musk reports to the president, not to the Cabinet. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
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VAUSE: To Los Angeles now and political scientist Benjamin Radd, who is a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations. Welcome back, Ben. It's good to see you.
BENJAMIN RADD, POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you for having me back.
VAUSE: OK, so I want to go through very quickly a couple of, you know, the big issues here that the president talked about. First on security guarantees for Ukraine. Here he is.
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TRUMP: Going to have Europe do that because it's in, you know, we're talking about Europe is their next door neighbor.
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VAUSE: Then there was the possible Ukraine membership of NATO. Here he is again.
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TRUMP: NATO you can forget about. That's been -- I think that's probably the reason the whole thing started.
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VAUSE: And finally, he would not say if the U.S. would intervene if China tried taking Taiwan by force. But he did say this.
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TRUMP: I can tell you what, I have a great relationship with President Xi. I've had a great relationship with him.
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VAUSE: Is there a common message here like business as usual is over and you can't count on the United States?
RADD: Well, more or less it's the position that the United States under a Trump administration is going to pursue what is in the best interest short term for the United States and for the Trump administration itself. And this means everything from who the new allies will be, what old alliances will be maintained and which countries are best for a transactional relationship, which is what you saw demonstrated in the cabinet hearing today.
VAUSE: It does upend a world order which has been in place for quite some time.
RADD: Indeed. And that order has maintained stability. It is -- it has served as a deterrent force to keep other nations from expanding their borders from becoming modern day imperial countries themselves. And you know, it didn't stop Russia completely a few years back with regards to Ukraine, but it has kept the Russians from gaining even more territory. So it's definitely worked very well to maintain this world order.
VAUSE: Here's a little more from the U.S. president on that deal with Ukraine for a slice of their reserves of rare earth minerals.
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TRUMP: We get back the money that we spent and we hope that we're going to be able to settle this up.
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It's a great deal for Ukraine too, because they get us over there, we're going to be working over there, we'll be on the land. And you know, in that way it's this sort of automatic security because nobody's going to be messing around with our people.
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VAUSE: So no formal security guarantees. But hey, Americans will be there working the mines, so they should be OK and no one's going to attack. That doesn't seem like a great deal for Ukraine.
RADD: No, it doesn't seem like a great deal for Ukraine at all. But what it does is it essentially gives them at least or gives the United States a stake in Ukraine's sovereignty and autonomy going forward. It's really under this transactional minded president, probably the best that Ukraine can get right now. And it puts Trump in a position to be flexible. If the deal with Ukraine doesn't turn out to have -- if Ukraine doesn't have the stockpile of minerals that it claims to have, again, we don't know, because there's a lot of speculation, then it allows the United States to shift its position into something that is more favorable.
So, it leaves Ukraine with little guarantees other than the option that the United States might send investments there, might send workers there, those to help extract and refine these materials, but nothing long term.
VAUSE: It does say a lot that in the, you know, the wake of World War II, the destruction of Europe, some countries, some European countries actually repaid some of the money which they received under the Marshall Plan. But for the most part, there was no expectation they would.
Why is Ukraine now being expected to repay not just every single dime it's received from the United States, but then some?
RADD: The investment the United States made, and that's what it was with the Marshall Plan, was an investment in not just the democratic rebuilding of Europe, but basically to prevent a situation that, brought about by the Treaty of Versailles that resulted in economic conditions that brought Europe to the brink of war and then ultimately into the greatest war the continent had ever seen.
So for Trump, he doesn't see Ukraine as posing those same types of risks, those same types of issues. And the result is that this is something that he's now seeing the Ukrainians themselves got themselves into. He's refusing to hold Russia accountable explicitly for its role for what Putin has done. And I believe he also has an eye to what the Chinese might do.
Let's assume, for example, from Trump's perspective, looking at this generously, what happens if the United States doesn't make a deal like this with the Ukrainians, but then the Chinese in a year from now do once there is peace.
From Trump's perspective, the United States looks foolish. It helped provide Ukraine security, helped bring an end to the war, but got really nothing out of it. And Trump is not seeing the maintaining of democracy and a sovereign Ukraine as some as a win in this instance. So from his perspective, it's purely transactional.
VAUSE: It's a good explanation. Thank you, Benjamin Radd there in Los Angeles. Appreciate it.
RADD: Sure thing.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, prayers for Pope Francis as he remains in hospital with double pneumonia. A very latest on his health condition in a moment.
Also, traveling to the Hermit Kingdom, the first Western tourists since the COVID pandemic shared their experiences of life in North Korea. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Crowds gathered in Rome and across the world praying for a speedy recovery of Pope Francis. The Vatican says the Pontiff is showing slight improvement as he continues to recover from double pneumonia. And his mild kidney failure has receded. They add, though the Pontiff's prognosis is still guarded.
Pope Francis has been in hospital for nearly two weeks, his longest hospital stay since being elected pope in 2023. Believers are sending their well wishes.
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SISTER THEODOSIA BAKI, VISITING FROM CAMEROON: Pope Francis is a very humble and simple Pope. He likes the simple people. He likes the poor people. He is down to earth and I pray that God should give him the good health that he may get well and will continue what he has already started.
(END VIDEO LCIP)
VAUSE: Quick correction, he is elected as Pope 2013. CNN's Christopher Lamb has more details now on the Holy Father's recovery.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Now the significant piece of news tonight is that the concern that Pope Francis would suffer kidney failure has receded. Now, if the Pope's kidneys were to fail on him, that would be a very serious situation indeed.
Now the Vatican on Wednesday saying that Francis is still receiving high flow oxygen. He's battling pneumonia in both of his lungs. He's 88 years old and has a history of respiratory infections.
The Vatican still saying that the prognosis for the Pope is reserved. It's too soon to tell. Now the overriding emotion in the Vatican and Rome right now is one of anxious uncertainty. People are drawing on their faith to get through these difficult days. And behind me here in St. Peter's Square, a prayer service is held each evening. And on Wednesday that was led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals.
His job description includes overseeing preparations for a conclave. And so his presence tonight only fuels the sense of a pre-conclave atmosphere here in Rome. However, Pope Francis is showing a determination to fight this respiratory illness to get back to work.
We were told by the Vatican on Wednesday. We are expecting further updates from the Vatican on Thursday morning. And of course, we'll bring those to you as soon as we get them. Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: No U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, even though the U.S. is set for a big slice of Ukraine's mineral reserves. In a moment, a closer look at that deal which is meant to help pay for Ukraine's post war reconstruction.
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VAUSE: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause with the main headlines this hour.
The first cabinet meeting of the Trump administration made clear tech billionaire Elon Musk is now the most powerful presidential adviser. The question and answer session focused heavily on Musk's effort to slash the federal government.
And there was laughter and applause when President Trump asked anyone in the room with concerns over Musk to speak up.
Four coffins said to contain the bodies of Israeli hostages are now in Israel, where identification is now underway.
[01:30:07]
And Israel is releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as agreed to during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which is set to expire this Saturday.
And British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected at the White House in the day ahead. The latest European leader hoping to temper Donald Trump's embrace of Moscow as the U.S. President looks to end the war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron was at the White House Monday.
Ukraine's president is still hoping for concrete security guarantees from the U.S. in return for access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals. According to a draft of the agreement seen by CNN, there is no mention of explicit security guarantees for Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Washington Friday. He calls this deal a framework with guarantees to be decided jointly between the United States and Europe and Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course, this agreement is about economics but I asked for there to be at least an understanding that we are seeing things the same way, that all of this is part of future security guarantees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More now from CNN's chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think there will be some relief here in Ukraine at the idea that President Trump has confirmed a Friday meeting between himself and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House.
That seems to be a sign that this rare earth and resources deal is pretty much done, although there are still some uncertainties about the final terms of it, and two very different visions of what this deal really is about
President Trump clear that it's about repaying the money the United States has given Ukraine now and in the future, but also that it has nothing to do with the United States giving security guarantees to Ukraine.
He says there won't be giving beyond very much security guarantees, leaving that to the Europeans, who will probably at some point ask the United States to support any peacekeeping mission they have in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with logistics.
Zelenskyy, in a lengthy press conference this morning, talked more about the need for the security guarantees to be discussed between himself and President Trump. But he also said that the latest version of the draft he'd been informed of had a point-ten, better terminology for Ukraine when it came to security guarantees.
Now, I've seen a copy of the draft of that that was current as of Wednesday morning, and point-ten refers to how the United States will support Ukraine in its desire to obtain security guarantees. But it makes no mention of the United States actually being part of those guarantees themselves.
That's a key difference, as was Zelenskyy's demand that the deal at no point suggest that Ukraine would reimburse the United States for even 10 cents, in his words, of the money already given to Ukraine by the U.S. during the Biden administration.
So stark differences certainly between how the two men publicly refer to their needs. Whereas this document tries to weave its way between both of them, indeed kicking much of the complicated stuff down the road for later resolution, suggesting that as soon as this document is signed, there will be immediate future talks on a fund agreement that will deal with the really complicated stuff as exactly what is going to use to be financing this particular fund.
But the fact these two men are meeting on Friday is going to be probably one of the most important diplomatic moments of the Ukrainian president's career.
He has to essentially try and heal a week's worth of acrimony between him and Trump and be sure, in his own words, that he gets assurances that the United States still wants to provide aid to Ukraine.
So much resting on that given so many Ukrainians dying daily holding back Russian aggression here in the face of Moscow's slow advance along the front lines. So much resting on that Friday meeting in the White House.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A freeze on U.S. foreign aid will continue at least until Friday. The U.S. Supreme Court placed a pause on a deadline issued by a lower court, which ordered the Trump administration to release $2 billion in aid.
The decision was made by Chief Justice John Roberts to allow more time to review written arguments. U.S. foreign aid was frozen by executive order in January, one of the first actions of Trump in his second term.
But aid groups and businesses sued and a district judge ordered the money to continue to flow while he considered the case.
Lawyers for the Trump administration then appealed to the Supreme Court. This is the first time part of the Trump agenda has reached the highest court in the United States.
Taiwan says it had no warning about China's new live fire zone southwest of the island. Officials say China has set up the training zone about 74 kilometers from Taiwan's largest port without advance notice.
Taiwan called the move a blatant provocation which could jeopardize international shipping. It happened a day after Taiwan detained the Chinese crew of a cargo ship suspected of cutting an undersea cable in the Taiwan Strait.
[01:34:52]
VAUSE: Last week, China conducted live fire drills between New Zealand and Australia without giving those countries proper notice. The drills forced dozens of commercial flights to be diverted.
Beijing says it complied with international law, but New Zealand's foreign minister has still raised the issue in the Chinese capital on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINSTON PETERS, FOREIGN MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: We mentioned the recent event with respect to the naval exercises from China. And the irony of the use of naval weaponry in the Taiwan situation just in the last 24 hours. And talked to them about the lack of notice that you would expect for a country like ours in relationship with China to have had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants a stronger, more modern army ready for war. According to state media, those remarks were made Tuesday while visiting an elite military academy where he was critical of the school's management and educational facilities.
South Korean intelligence believes Kim may be preparing to send more troops to support Russia in the war in Ukraine, where they have reportedly suffered some heavy losses.
Few ever dream of traveling to North Korea, the communist nation, known for its brutal rule by the Kim family and harsh punishments for westerners who step out of line.
Even so, Pyongyang has issued a limited number of tourist visas in recent weeks. That comes after years of restrictions which were in place because of the COVID pandemic.
CNN's Will Ripley reports, among the tourists are Americans. That's despite a ban by the State Department on Americans traveling to the Hermit Kingdom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At first glance, this could be any elementary school recital until you notice the backdrop.
MIKE O'KENNEDY, BRITISH YOUTUBER: It's not until moments where you see a group of seven-year-old children doing synchronized dancing in front of a giant, you know, LED screen showing missiles, you know, blowing up boats, you know, and it's like, oh, yes -- I'm in North Korea.
RIPLEY: British travel influencer Mike O'Kennedy, one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea since before the pandemic. State-controlled Western tourism is making a limited return to Rason, an isolated region near China and Russia.
O'KENNEDY: Yes. One of the most interesting parts for me was that, you know, given the fact that tourists haven't been allowed in for five years, there was a sense of isolation in the air.
RIPLEY: Strict COVID-19 protocols kept already isolated North Korea even more sealed off from the world.
JUSTIN MARTELL, TOUR OPERATOR, YOUNG PIONEER TOURS: But there seems to be a rumor that COVID-19 got into the country via a balloon sent from South Korea that was infected with COVID-19.
RIPLEY: Bizarre theories aside, American tour guide Justin Martell says COVID paranoia is still everywhere. And yet, despite five years of near total isolation, North Koreans aren't entirely in the dark.
MARTELL: So, they're aware that Donald Trump is now the president once again, and they are aware of the fact that talks broke down last time during the first Trump presidency.
So, when I asked the question, would you like Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump to meet again, the response I got was, if Kim Jong-un wants to do it, then of course, we support it.
RIPLEY: He says traveling to the secret state is not for everyone. Sightseeing feels more like a school field trip. Itineraries are tightly controlled, unauthorized photos are forbidden. But any glimpse of the hermetically sealed nation is social media gold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am in North Korea.
RIPLEY: Which may explain why so many social media influencers are snatching up seats.
Ever since the death of American college student Otto Warmbier in 2017, the U.S. State Department has banned American tourists from visiting North Korea. But that's not stopping some from trying.
WENDY ARBEIT, U.S. EXTREME TRAVELER: I do have a U.S. passport, and I also have a German passport. So, that was my ticket in.
RIPLEY: American Wendy Arbeit calls herself an extreme traveler. North Korea is her 195th country.
RIPLEY: So, how does North Korea stack up?
ARBEIT: It was definitely one of the more unusual places to go. You know, I have to be honest, I was surprised how good the food was. They were very lavish in the food that they gave us. There was a flaming snail that was brought to me and I was like, I don't know what to do with this, but it's cool.
RIPLEY: The United Nations says nearly half of North Korea's population is undernourished. For them, flaming snail is almost certainly not on the menu.
But for Western influencers, a country sealed off from the world is the ultimate feast for content.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In a moment, we head to Australia where dogs are helping build a national park for koalas.
[01:39:42]
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VAUSE: Just over five years ago, one of the most catastrophic bushfire seasons on record had a devastating impact on Australia's diverse wildlife, in particular koalas. Today on "Call to Earth", we head to the east coast of Australia, where a handful of projects are providing new hope in rebuilding the koala population, and some of those projects are being helped by dogs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The last bushland along Australia's eastern coastline is some of the most important koala habitat in the country.
[01:44:42]
KINKADE: But in New South Wales, some environmentalists fear that the combination of deforestation and climate change could see this iconic species disappear in the state by 2050.
CLARE HOLDEM, KOALA KEEPER, KOALA CONSERVATION AUSTRALIA: They are an arboreal species. They can't survive a life on the ground, so trees are vital to a koala's existence not only for food, but for shelter and for breeding as well.
KINKADE: Listed as endangered by the Australian government, a new breeding center north of Sydney, run by the Koala Conservation Australia aims to help the population rebound.
HOLDEM: The purpose is to collect genetically diverse and healthy koalas from the wild to form a founder population. We will then breed joeys or juvenile koalas. And then those juvenile koalas will be released back to the wild to bolster existing populations that have low numbers.
KINKADE: During Australia's so-called Black Summer wildfires of 2019 and 2020, it's believed that more than 60,000 koalas perished or were harmed in that one bushfire season alone.
HOLDEM: They were a really horrific time. The smoke was incredibly thick. It was very hard to breathe, so it was really stressful on the humans.
But every single one of our volunteers still came to work each day to help look after the koalas.
KINKADE: About a 90-minute drive north of the breeding center in Coffs Harbour, another plan to boost koala numbers is in the works. The New South Wales government has committed to creating a national park.
JACK NESBITT, TRAINER AND HANDLER, CANINES FOR WILDLIFE: This area in particular is really valuable. And it's one of the last places on the east coast of Australia that still has habitat connection for koalas From the beach, basically on the coast, all the way up to 900 meters plus in the mountains.
KINKADE: While currently undergoing assessment, the plan proposes adding up to 176,000 hectares of publicly-owned forests to existing protected areas and form the new 315,000-hectare Great Koala National Park.
NESBITT: Without trees we don't have koalas and these forests need to be connected to help protect it.
KINKADE: Jack Nesbitt and his Canines for Wildlife team are mapping the trees used by different koalas. NESBITT: It tells us the corridors not as humans, what we assume
koalas are using to navigate and to travel, but what they're actually using.
KINKADE: Wild koalas are nearly impossible to spot in the canopy, so Jack relies on help from Max, a seven-year-old English Springer Spaniel who's an expert in sniffing out a telltale sign of a koala's presence.
NESBITT: Max is incredible for a lot of reasons. He's capable of detecting a number of species. But what we're here doing today is detecting koala scats.
KINKADE: Max hurries through the bushland, and when he finds what he's been looking for, it's a tennis ball for a treat. For Jack and his team, the prize is a trove of genetic information, all bound up in what a koala leaves behind.
NESBITT: We're able to identify individual koalas from their poos so they're -- as the process moves through. And we have their genetic fingerprint, we can identify individual koalas and where we've sampled them multiple times.
KINKADE: The movements of individuals are then plotted on a map, proving the wide range of habitat needed to sustain the koala and the imperative to earn the necessary protections to save it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with hashtag "Call to Earth".
We'll be right back.
[01:48:36]
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VAUSE: Whoever said getting there is half the fun weren't flying Qatar Airways from Melbourne, Australia to Doha. That's when an Australian couple say they were forced to sit next to a dead woman after she collapsed and died in the aisle.
More details now from CNN's Marc Stewart.
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MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this happened around ten hours into what is roughly a 14-hour flight between Melbourne, Australia and Doha, Qatar.
According to a passenger on board the flight, a female passenger collapsed in the aisle. Attempts were made to revive her. Unfortunately, she didn't survive.
A device was used to try to move the corpse toward the business class section, but the aisle was too narrow.
So the woman's body was then placed in a seat covered in a blanket next to a husband and wife heading on vacation to Venice. This created an uncomfortable situation.
Let's listen to Jennifer Colin, who was traveling with her husband.
JENNIFER COLIN, PASSENGER: Yes, I'm not a great flier at the best of times but when my husband turned around and said, move, move, we got to move, I was really shocked.
And I said, are they going to, you know, put her there. And luckily, a lady behind me, on the other aisle, she said, darling, darling, come here, a lovely English lady and I sat next to her.
But -- so Mitch was across the aisle then from me for the rest of the flight.
STEWART: At one point in time, one airline had a special compartment on some of its planes in an event like this to discreetly store a body. As far as the couple, they say they are trying to process all of this.
Marc Stewart, CNN -- Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Qatar Airways issued a statement which reads in part, "First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight. We apologize for any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused and are in the process of contacting passengers in line with our policies and procedures."
An American Airlines flight arriving at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport was forced to abort its landing to avoid collision with another aircraft. This came less than a month after a midair collision killed 67 people near the same airport, roughly 90 minutes before a close call in Chicago.
CNN's Brian Todd has more details on another recent air travel incidents.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New details tonight on hair-raising incidents like this one, a Southwest Airlines jet had to pull up at the last minute on Tuesday to avoid a private plane crossing the runway at Chicago's Midway International Airport.
Newly-released data says the planes came as close as about 2,000 feet from each other before the Southwest plane initiated the go-around.
Just about 90 minutes before that, another incident occurred at Washington's Reagan National Airport. An American Airlines jet approaching from the north had to cancel a landing and turn away when it was just 450 feet off the ground, after it came within one-and-a- quarter miles of a plane preparing to depart on the same runway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 2246, just go around, turn right, heading at 250, climb maintain 3000.
TODD: One passenger on the flight telling CNN it was terrifying. All of this after a series of other plane mishaps.
Toronto, February 17th, a Delta Airlines jet slides and flips over in a fireball upon landing. Incredibly, all on board survived.
January 29th, an American Airlines regional plane and an army Blackhawk helicopter collide over Reagan National Airport. All 67 people aboard both aircraft killed.
Two days later, a private Medevac jet crashes into a Northeast Philadelphian neighborhood killing seven people. Passengers we spoke to shaken by these recent incidents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really have much choice in the matter, but I'm not as confident as I was.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it does make me nervous, just because I travel a lot.
TODD: On Monday, passengers aboard a Delta plane were forced to evacuate down slides at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport when smoke or haze permeated through the cabin.
In early February, the wing of a Japan Airlines jet struck the tail of a Delta Airlines plane while taxiing at Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, I'm very scared to even get on the plane. I'm being honest with you. There is too many mishaps going on.
TODD: Some of this is coincidence, safety experts say, but there is also an underlying crisis.
PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: It's an underscoring of just how stressed the system is. We've got a lot more traffic going on these days. We've got controllers and pilots under stress because of the increased use of runways.
[01:54:51]
TODD: What's the most immediate problem that needs to be fixed right now?
GOELZ: We need to make sure that our air traffic controllers have the personnel to do their jobs, so that they are not forced to be doing overtime, forced to be staffing more than one position at a time.
TODD: Reflecting the overall volume of air traffic and what air traffic controllers have to keep track of, between January of 2023 and September of 2024 the NTSB investigated 13 runway incursions in the U.S. involving so-called for-hire flights, meaning smaller charter flights.
Those incursions ranged in categories from some with no immediate safety consequences to others where a collision was narrowly avoided.
Brian Todd, CNN at Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Now to a puppy heist in Colorado. This is CNN. Police in Denver are looking for suspects who stole two bulldog puppies. They're on sale for more than $850.
All of it was caught on the pet store surveillance camera. Police say three men walked in. One suspect faked a seizure to distract employees, while another grabbed two puppies and ran.
The man who faked the seizure was arrested at the pet store. The other suspects, including the driver, actually managed to get away. Actually they are $8,500 -- not 850. Sorry.
One of the stolen puppies was returned by a Good Samaritan who had brought the animal from a street vendor.
There you go.
The Prince and Princess of Wales tried their hands at baking on Wednesday as they visited South Wales. William and Catherine helped make traditional Welsh cakes at a local bake shop.
The area was hit by major flooding just three months ago but that didn't stop the crowds from turning out to see the Royals.
Catherine has been gradually returning to public duties after completing preventative chemotherapy to treat an unknown form of cancer. Last month, she announced she was in remission.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a very short break.
Hope to see you back here tomorrow.
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