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Dozens Reported Killed after U.S. Strikes Against Houthis; Grief and Anger after Nightclub Tragedy in North Macedonia; White House Defends Deportations in Face of Judge's Order; New Data on Current U.S. Measles Cases Raise Concerns; Negative Opinions of Elon Musk Lead to Tesla Backlash. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired March 17, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

[00:00:37]

Coming up on the show, a major escalation between the U.S. and Houthi rebels. What it all means for the region and the civilians caught in the middle.

Plus, dozens of young people killed in a tragic fire at a nightclub. We'll hear from survivors in North Macedonia.

And Americans flocked to Tesla dealerships across the country. Their message to Elon Musk, ahead.

U.S. President Donald Trump is vowing to keep up strikes on Houthi rebels, signaling the start of a major operation that could last weeks. Houthi leadership claims to have retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL-MALIK AL-HOUTHI, HOUTHI LEADER (through translator): Now, we will meet escalation with escalation. We will respond to the American enemy in its raids and its attacks with missile strikes by targeting its aircraft carriers, its warships, its ships.

If it continues its aggression, we will move to additional escalatory options.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The Trump administration says the U.S. airstrikes are aimed at preventing the Houthis from targeting international shipping vessels in the Red Sea and warns Houthi ally Iran it could be next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: All options are always on the table with the president, but Iran needs to hear him loud and clear. It is completely unacceptable, and it will be stopped. The level of support that they've been providing the Houthis.

President Trump is coming in --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So -- so --

WALTZ: -- with overwhelming force. We will take -- we will hold not only the Houthis accountable, but we're going to hold Iran, their backers, accountable, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: According to the Associated Press, Houthi officials say the U.S. strikes in Yemen killed at least 53 people and injured nearly 100 others, mostly women and children.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Houthi rebels claim this Sunday that they have already responded to U.S. attacks against it, over the weekend saying that some 18 missiles and drones --

HANCOCKS (voice-over): -- were launched at the American aircraft carrier, the USS Harry Truman.

Now, two U.S. officials tell CNN that there have been no injuries. There's been no damage, although it's not clear whether they had to try and intercept any of these launches.

It's not the first time that Houthi rebels have claimed this kind of attack. It's also not the first time that the U.S. military has been launching attacks against it.

HANCOCKS: Back in late 2023 is when the Houthis started attacking shipping in the Red Sea and the waters nearby. The previous Biden administration also carried out launches against it.

But what we're hearing from the Trump administration is that this time, it will be more sustained.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): We're hearing from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, that we will use overwhelming lethal force. The national security advisor, Michael Waltz, also said that multiple Houthi leaders have been killed in these attacks.

Now, we did hear from the Houthi-led Health Ministry. More than 30 were killed. More than 100 were injured. They claim that women and children were within that tally.

We've also heard from the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who said that this mission is a favor to the world.

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The problem here is that this is a very important shipping lane. And in the last year and a half, the last 18 months, the Houthis have struck or attacked 174 naval vessels of the United States, attacking the U.S. Navy directly: 174 times.

And 145 times, they've attacked commercial shipping. So, we basically have a band of pirates, you know, with guided precision, anti-ship weaponry and exacting a toll system in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. That's just not sustainable.

We are not going to have these people controlling which ships can go through and which ones cannot.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): More strikes against the Houthis are expected over the coming days and weeks, once a damage assessment has been done to see exactly what this series --

HANCOCKS: -- of strikes achieved.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's dig deeper with Hisham al-Omeisy, conflict analyst and senior Yemen adviser with the European Institute of Peace. He's joining us from Washington.

[00:05:03]

Thank you so much for being with me. How are you doing?

HISHAM AL-OMEISY, CONFLICT ANALYST AND SENIOR YEMEN ADVISOR, EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Thank you for having me, Ben. I'm doing fine.

HUNTE: You're so welcome.

We've already seen the Houthis vow to fight back. How likely is it that these U.S. strikes will stop them from carrying out more attacks?

AL-OMEISY: It will put a dent on their operations. But if the airstrikes are not sustained, if they're not strategic, and if they're not ongoing, we're just allowing them a breather to regroup, recalculate, replot, receive more weapons from Iran, more trainers from Hezbollah, and attack us again.

So, these need to be sustained.

And CentCom an hour ago said that they launched a new wave of attacks in addition, on top of the attacks last night, the previous night. So, we're hoping that these would definitely force the Houthis to recalculate their strategy.

HUNTE: And the U.S. defense secretary said the U.S. has a limited objective here. I want you to listen to what he said earlier, actually.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We don't want a long, limited war in the Middle East. I don't -- we don't care what happens in the Yemeni civil war.

This is about stopping the shooting at assets in that -- in that critical waterway to reopen freedom of navigation, which is a core national interest of the United States. And Iran has been enabling the Houthis for far too long. They better back off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: What I'm trying to understand is, can this problem with the Houthis really be solved without addressing the larger issue of the Yemen civil war?

AL-OMEISY: Unfortunately, no. This is one of the things that we've been talking about for the past ten years.

Without addressing the roots of the conflict, without propping up a local counterpart that will fill the power vacuum, you are just basically forcing the Houthis to kind of push back, replot, take that breather, get more weapons in, get more support from the region, and fight again, and take more territory in Yemen.

Without propping the Yemeni government, for instance, the legitimate Yemeni government, without helping them, without state-building their institutions, supporting their army, I'm afraid this is going to be a perpetual conflict.

HUNTE: And are attacks on the Houthis enough to deter Iran? Or would the U.S. need to go after Iran more directly?

AL-OMEISY: Well, President Trump kind of promised that there's going to be maximum pressure against Iran. But I don't think Iranians are going to back down.

The Iranians lost their proxies in Hezbollah and in Lebanon and through the Assad in Syria. So, they've been diverting a lot of their resources to Yemen in terms of weapons, in terms of money, and in terms of trainers, military experts. And so, we're having a bit of a showdown in Yemen.

And the Houthis love that. Because the Houthis don't only have their local ambitions of capturing territories. But they also have regional ambitions.

This is one of the reasons they basically rode that wave of the Gaza events. Now, for instance, they're talking about getting involved also in the Syrian crisis, where the Syrian government is attacking, for instance, Alawites on the Syrian coast. And they're talking about also bolstering fighters in Southern Lebanon.

So, they have these regional ambitions. And they have been reaching out to parties and even in Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, and as far as Algeria and Tunisia in terms of their recruitment.

So, you have to factor in those Houthi ambitions. You're not just talking about -- you're not going to curb the Houthis' attacks just by a few airstrikes. You have to -- you have to have this holistic strategy that has multiple components to it.

HUNTE: And while those airstrikes are occurring, we're seeing dozens of people being killed so far, including women and children. Who are civilians in Yemen likely to blame here? Do you think it is going to be the Houthis, or will it be America?

AL-OMEISY: Well, interestingly enough, you have two factions in Yemen. There are a lot of people who basically say to the Houthis, you brought this war unto Yemen. This is on you. If you haven't basically poked a bear, if you haven't internationalized this conflict, there wouldn't have been these airstrikes in Yemen.

But of course, you have another faction who basically say, well, the Americans, the Brits and everybody else should have been more careful in targeting the Houthis when they -- the Houthis are in civilian areas. They should be avoiding the airstrikes. They should have a more strategic approach to this.

But again, a lot of people, especially the Yemeni government, issued a statement about a few hours ago. They said, whatever happens inside Yemen in terms of civilian casualties, it's actually -- the onus is actually on the Houthis. They brought this to Yemen.

HUNTE: Gosh. Well, I just learned so much from that. I really appreciate -- appreciate it. Hisham al-Omeisy, thank you so much for being with me for now.

AL-OMEISY: Thank you for having me, Ben.

HUNTE: President Trump is expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week about a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. That's according to the U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin last week in Moscow.

Witkoff says a deal could be reached within weeks. But he admitted there are still some issues that need to be worked out, including what will happen to Ukrainian territory seized by Russia.

[00:10:05]

Here's what he told CNN on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. ENVOY: I don't want to put -- put words in President Putin's mouth, but I think he's indicated that he accepts -- he accepts the philosophy of President Trump.

President Trump wants to see an end to this. I think President Putin wants to see an end to this.

We're bridging the gap between two sides. So, lots of things that -- that remain to be discussed. But I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: An Israeli negotiating team is in Egypt to discuss a potential release of more hostages held in Gaza, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

The meeting comes as the U.S. proposes a new deal that would secure the release of several hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire in Gaza past Ramadan and Passover.

Authorities have identified about 20 suspects in the deadly nightclub fire in North Macedonia. Among those detained is the owner of the club, which the government says had been operating with an illegal license.

Now, the Balkan country is trying to come to terms with this horrific tragedy, which claimed the lives of at least 59 people, mostly in their teens and 20s, and left more than 150 injured.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE (voice-over): Scenes of worry and grief outside of hospitals in North Macedonia.

Families wait for word on the condition of loved ones after a massive fire swept through a nightclub in the town of Kocani, East of the capital of Skopje.

Officials say the Pulse nightclub was packed with young fans of the popular local band DNK, when pyrotechnics from the stage show most likely lit the ceiling on fire.

Dozens of people were killed, and more than 100 people have been injured. One witness says chaos broke out as club goers tried to escape the fire.

MARIJA TASEV, SURVIVOR (through translator): Everyone started pushing each other, so I headed for the exit. I don't know how, but I ended up on the ground. I couldn't get up.

And at that moment, people started stomping on me. I don't know how, but somehow, I managed to get out. I'm fine now, but there are many dead.

HUNTE (voice-over): The head of Kocani General Hospital says many victims were young: in their teens and 20s, a loss too unbearable for some distraught parents.

DRAGI STOJANOV, FATHER OF FIRE VICTIM (through translator): After this tragedy, what do I need this life for? I don't need it. I had one child, and I lost him. What do I need this life for anymore?

HUNTE (voice-over): Many of the survivors are suffering from serious burns and have been transported to hospitals around the country and in neighboring countries, too.

One father in Skopje says he's relieved his daughter is still alive. SIMEON SOKOLOV, DAUGHTER INJURED IN FIRE (through translator): She has

burns; Also smoke inhalation. And she is here for a treatment by respirator. She is in stable condition. That's all we can say for now.

HUNTE (voice-over): The North Macedonian prime minister said it was a difficult and very sad day, and officials say they will hold those responsible for the fire accountable.

But that's little comfort to the parents outside North Macedonia's hospitals. Many bereaved, bereft and angry that what was supposed to be a fun night out turned into such a tragedy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The Vatican has released the first photo of Pope Francis since he was hospitalized on February 14.

Here we see the pope attending mass on Sunday morning at a chapel in Rome's Gemelli Hospital. Additionally, the Vatican says he actively presided over a service among a group of priests, not just attending, as he has for the past few weeks.

Afterwards, the pontiff continued with work, treatment and therapy, but didn't receive any visitors.

The Trump administration seemingly defied a judge's order, deporting hundreds of migrants under a sweeping, centuries-old wartime law. What the White House is now saying in its defense, just ahead.

And later, a surge in measles cases all around the world. We're going to tell you who experts say is most at risk and why.

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[00:18:35]

HUNTE: The White House is defending its decision to deport hundreds of migrants allegedly affiliated with a Venezuelan gang, using a centuries-old law invoked by President Trump.

Late on Saturday, a judge put a temporary hold on the deportation flights and ordered any planes already in the air to turn around. But that's not what happened.

CNN's Kevin Liptak reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What the White House is saying is that these flights were already in the air by the time --

LIPTAK (voice-over): -- the judge ordered this ruling.

And I'm told by a person familiar with the matter that White House officials and administration officials did huddle to try and determine how to proceed once that ruling was in place, but ultimately, decided that these flights should continue on to El Salvador.

And what the White House said late Sunday is this. This is from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt: "The administration did not refuse to comply with the court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist Tren de Aragua aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory. The written order and the administration's actions do not conflict."

And her use of "the written order" there is significant. The judge did not order the flights to turn around in the order that he actually wrote. He delivered it verbally from the bench.

You know, ordinarily, lawyers don't distinguish between a verbal and a written order. But clearly, the White House here is making that distinction.

Karoline Leavitt goes on to say, "A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who are physically expelled from U.S. soil."

Now, you also saw, after all of this transpired, the president of El Salvador essentially mocking this judge, posting a screenshot of his order with the words, "Oopsie, too late."

White House officials, as well as the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, reposted that, sort of backing up this sentiment that, because these planes were in the air, this judge's ruling occurred too late to have any effect.

But certainly, lawyers, immigration advocates will dispute that. And I think that, at the end of the day, is where all of this is going.

President Trump has shown that he's willing to test the limits of his executive authority and his legal authority to carry out these deportations. We know behind the scenes that he has been frustrated with the speed at which some of this is taking place.

I think this is all clearly headed to the Supreme Court. In a lot of ways, that is the intent behind a lot of these actions that the White House is taking. They see a conservative supermajority on the bench and feel very good about their standing before the court.

But certainly, there's a long way to go before that happens. And a lot of lives and migrants' lives --

LIPTAK: -- in the balance as the president carries out this hardline agenda.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Still to come, cases of measles in the U.S. overtake last year's numbers in less than three months. I'll speak with an expert about the outbreaks around the world. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:26:23]

HUNTE: New data on a measles outbreak in the U.S. and a rise in cases across the European region in 2024 is painting a better picture of why there's growing concern over a resurgence of the disease across the globe.

The latest CNN tally shows at least 320 cases across the U.S. so far this year. That's more than 2024 altogether, according to CDC data.

And we're now learning countries across Europe and central Asia reported the highest number of measles cases in more than 25 years in 2024. That's according to the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

One official with the WHO calls the latest data a wakeup call, warning measles is back as vaccination rates remain low.

Let's dig deeper now with Fatima Cengic, a UNICEF immunization specialist for Europe and central Asia.

Fatima, a few weeks ago, we saw the first U.S. measles death since 2015. But this isn't just happening here. How concerned should people be right now?

FATIMA CENGIC, UNICEF IMMUNIZATION SPECIALIST: We should absolutely be concerned. We have been following the situation in 2024, and what we're seeing is that this is the highest number of measles cases that we've had in the last 25 years.

We see about 60 percent of those cases being hospitalized, and 40 percent of those cases are children under five years of age, which means they're the most vulnerable children that we need to protect. So, we should be concerned.

It seems like the measles have come back with a vengeance, you know. And in the European region, where we have relatively strong health systems and relatively good availability of the vaccines, I would say, it's really unacceptable to also see, you know, 38 deaths of children in 2024.

We also estimate that the number of deaths is actually higher than 38. But because of the underreporting or delayed reporting, you know, we're -- we know that the numbers are higher.

So, this is really concerning, given the fact that we have the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.

HUNTE: And you say that we do have things to deal with this. So what factors are behind this current spread of measles?

CENGIC: So, there are many factors. Let's start with the COVID-19.

When the COVID-19 happened, as you know, you know many of the health facilities closed down for the routine immunization to make sure that they can handle the COVID-19 cases coming in.

So, we never quite fully caught up with all the children that needed to receive the vaccination at that time.

And we have been urging the governments and working with the governments on making sure that we identify those children and we vaccinate them. So, that's -- that's one of the reasons.

And then we also have the increasing sort of misinformation around the vaccination that's circling around. And that's where we need to really work with the health systems and the health care providers to make sure that they have evidence-based information to share with parents.

HUNTE: We are actually seeing huge pushback on social media to vaccines, especially in the U.S. What would you say to those who are creating and sharing videos, telling other people to stay unvaccinated?

CENGIC: So, we focus on the systems. We really need to -- all of our research that we have done, especially in our region, is showing that the parents still trust the healthcare providers. So, we focus on the systems. We need to work with the system to make sure that the healthcare providers have the up-to-date information, evidence-based information that they can share with the parents.

[00:30:01]

We also engage with the communities. We engage with the religious groups. We engage with anyone who wants to engage with us to understand why the vaccination is important.

Because we should not be seeing, you know, 38 children dying of measles in -- in -- in our region or anywhere else.

HUNTE: Very quickly, before I have to let you go, what should people do if they are exposed to measles or if their child is exposed to measles?

CENGIC: Well, it depends. There are guidelines. If it's a mild case, which you know, many of them, as we see, are not, they can be treated at home.

But definitely, they have to report to the healthcare facility and follow the instructions of the healthcare providers.

HUNTE: Amazing. Thank you so much for that. We'll definitely be staying with this story. But for now, Fatima Cengic, thank you for being with me.

CENGIC: Thank you very much.

HUNTE: As Elon Musk pushes for more federal job cuts, protesters are gathering outside Tesla showrooms across the U.S. to voice their growing frustration with the company's CEO.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Elon Musk kind of turned out to be a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). And I don't want to be driving the car built and designed by an (EXPLETIVE DELETED). So, looking forward to my new ride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Strong words there. That was Arizona Senator Mark Kelly in a video posted to social media.

He chose to get rid of his Tesla, later posting this video with his new Chevy SUV.

And Kelly isn't the only one turning against Elon Musk's company. There have been protests outside Tesla showrooms across the country. The nationwide demonstrations began last month, amid Musk's growing involvement in slashing thousands of government jobs.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sell your cars. Tesla (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Tesla dealerships from coast to coast, growing signs of discontent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elon Musk has got to go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elon Musk has got to go!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elon Musk has got to go!

JONES (voice-over): The target, the world's richest man and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk.

ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO/TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.

JONES (voice-over): Outraged by Musk's dismantling of the federal government, protesters are taking it out on his business.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey-hey, ho-ho. Elon Musk has got to go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey-hey, ho-ho. Elon Musk has got to go!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey-hey, ho-ho. Elon Musk has got to go!

JONES: What's your sign say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says two things. It says, "Honk if you hate fascists," and "Boycott Tesla Swasticars."

JONES: Why should people boycott Tesla? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Elon Musk is destroying our government.

Nobody elected him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elon Musk's wealth is based on the value of Tesla stock. Well, the value of Tesla stock is based on air and dreams.

SHARON DELUGACH, PROTESTING TESLA: So, we're sort of hitting him in the wallet. Getting him where it hurts, even though, you know, he's richer than God.

So, it's hurting his reputation. I really believe it is hurting his reputation, worldwide.

JONES (voice-over): Anti-Elon bumper stickers popping up, including these, sold on Amazon, marketed specifically to Tesla owners.

And since December, Tesla stock has lost nearly half its value.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They have one which is $35,000, which is pretty low.

JONES (voice-over): President Trump using the White House as a Tesla showroom, in an attempt to reverse that trend.

And on Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi issuing a clear warning on FOX Business.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: If you're going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out, because we're coming after you.

JONES (voice-over): In recent weeks, Teslas were engulfed by a fire in Seattle; a charging station torched in Massachusetts; and a Molotov cocktail was thrown to a dealership in Oregon after shots were fired at cars there.

JONES (voice-over): Not the scene at this Southern California protest, part of dozens nationwide.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a joyous, festive protest and nonviolence. And I urge people, like-minded people, to do this at every Tesla dealership in the country.

JONES: And that organizer, by the way, owns a Tesla herself. She said she doesn't really know what to do with it at this point, but she does have pretty serious buyer's remorse at this point.

Although at this protest, we did see another gentleman come in here and cross the picket line, saying that he was repairing his Tesla in order to sell it, because he just could not bear the shame of driving it around, for that's how deeply he disagrees with the policies of Elon Musk.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Burbank, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: On the ultimate list for foodies, drum roll please.

New Orleans topped a global survey from media group Time Out to find the city with the best food. People love the blend of French, Spanish, Vietnamese, and African influences in New Orleans cuisine.

More than 18,000 people were surveyed, and the top five cities cover five different continents.

The second spot went to Bangkok, Thailand, which includes Michelin- starred fine dining and street food markets.

Medellin in Colombia came third for its affordable prices and cheap coffee. South Africa's Cape Town ranked fourth for its seafood, and Spain's Madrid came fifth for its experimental offerings.

Surprisingly, given its reputation for fine dining, Paris is ninth on the list, with the top ten rounded off by Jakarta, Indonesia.

Oh, that's my list for the next year. Can't wait.

Thank you for joining me this hour. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Let's do it all again in 15 minutes. WORLD SPORT is up next right here on CNN. See you later.

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