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Secretary Hegseth Shared Yemen War Plan on Second Signal Chat; Israel Investigates Killing of 15 Palestinian Medics in Gaza; Easter Truce Ends in Ukraine, Trump Still Hopeful of Peace Deal; Chinese Manufacturers Exposing Luxury Brands on TikTok; Pope Francis Makes Appearance In St. Peter's Square; Trump Administration Testifies Abrego Garcia No Longer In CECOT; Alito Slams Supreme Court's Emergency Deportation German Town Hosts 37th Annual Egg Throwing Competition. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired April 21, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and ahead right here on "CNN Newsroom," another case of military plans being shared on Signal chat according to sources. Who U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led in on the conversation.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance touches down in India while countries around the world brace for the United States' tariffs to go into effect.

And the Trump administration now confirms a man that mistakenly sent to El Salvador has been transferred out of a notorious prison, but it is still refusing to bring him back to the U.S.

The U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing more scrutiny after allegedly sharing detailed military plans in another Signal chat that comes amid reports of disarray in his department, leading to some high-level firings and resignations. Kevin Liptak reports on how the timing could hardly be worse.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: CNN has learned that the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, shared detailed plans about the American attack plan on Houthi rebels in Yemen inside a Signal group chat. That's according to three people familiar with the matter. And if this all sounds reminiscent of the scandal that engulfed the administration about a month ago, it should, because some of these details are essentially the same attack plans that Hegseth shared in that original Signal group chat.

Details like takeoff times for attack planes who were heading to Yemen to strike the targets against the Houthis. The difference is who was included in these chats. That first group chat was created by the National Security Advisor Mike Walz. It included senior cabinet-level officials in the national security space. It was meant to share details about the planning for this attack.

This new Signal group chat that we are just learning about included people inside Hegseth's personal circle, including his brother, personal attorney, and his wife. Now, Hegseth's brother and attorney both work at the Pentagon. It's not clear whether they have security clearances, but his wife is not an official employee of the Defense Department, although she has attended meetings with foreign officials, which has raised eyebrows among officials over at the Department of Defense.

Now, all of this, I think, calls into question some of Pete Hegseth's decision-making as he prepared for this attack on the Houthi rebels and it comes after a period of chaos, really, in his inner circle, in his front office, essentially, at the Pentagon. There were the dismissals last week of a number of senior Pentagon officials who were accused of leaking information. They deny that.

We have also now heard from the former press secretary to Pete Hegseth, John Ullyott, who was, until recently, his top spokesman at the Pentagon, sort of decrying this period of chaos, saying that it has been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon, from leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings. The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president, who deserves better from his senior leadership. Ullyott went on to say, even strong backers of the secretary, like me, must admit the last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon, and it's becoming a real problem for the administration.

Now, the Pentagon has not officially responded to these latest revelations about the Signal app, although you'll remember the last time that the administration was accused of sharing these attack plans, the White House and the president denied that they contained any classified information, although that drew plenty of skepticism from almost every national security analyst that CNN spoke with. It should also be said that this sort of tumultuous period is coming at a fraught moment for the U.S. national security space.

It comes as the Pentagon is beefing up resources in the Middle East in preparation for a potential Israeli strike on Iran. Of course, it's a fraught moment in Asia.

[02:04:55]

It comes as Secretary Hegseth is working on President Trump's plans to somehow take back the Panama Canal, all of this potentially a distraction at a moment of heightened tensions around the world. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

STOUT: As Kevin mentioned, the Trump administration argued last time that the information shared in the Signal chat was not classified. CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton is pushing back against that claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: If you're not involved in air operations, a lot of people don't understand that these are very complex operations and there's a lot that can go wrong as you plan them. And one of the key things is when you actually plan these operations and you have specific things like time over target, the type of offense that's going to be dropped, the type of targets that you're going after, the exact target that you're going after, all of those kinds of things are absolutely essential elements of information. And those essential elements of information are exactly what makes these kinds of texts classified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The Israeli military is blaming, quote, "professional failures" for the killing of first responders in Gaza last month. There was international condemnation after 15 people came under Israeli fire and were buried in a mass grave. Most of them worked for the Palestine Red Crescent Society. And now an IDF probe has identified several failures and one officer has been dismissed. The Red Crescent Society says that the IDF account is full of contradictions, but the military is standing by the troops. Jeremy Diamond has more from Tel Aviv.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military is acknowledging, quote, "professional failures" in the incident that led to the killing of 15 paramedics and emergency responders last month at the hands of Israeli troops. The Israeli military is blaming a, quote, "operational misunderstanding" for the decision to open fire on this convoy of ambulances and a fire truck. The military concluded its investigation into this incident by dismissing the deputy commander of the Golani reconnaissance battalion.

This is the field commander who actually gave the order to open fire and was the first to open fire on these ambulances and this fire truck. The military also issued a letter of reprimand to the commanding officer of the 14th Brigade, which was also involved in this attack. The military said that it, quote, "regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians."

But the Israeli military also stopped short of criticizing the decision making of the soldiers on the ground who opened fire, saying that they opened fire because they felt an immediate and tangible threat. That's despite the fact that these ambulances were clearly marked, that they had their emergency signals on, headlights on, and no weapons were found in any of these vehicles. All of these individuals were in fact wearing their uniforms, whether as paramedics or as civil defense first responders.

The Israeli military also praised the officer that it dismissed as a, quote, "highly respected officer" whose story they say reflects the, quote, "spirit of combat, volunteerism and great dedication." I also was in a briefing with the major general, Yoav Har-Even, who oversaw this investigation, and he also told me that he believes that commander who ordered troops to open fire, quote, "acted reasonably" and he said that there was no evidence in his view of any unethical or immoral conduct by the forces, repeatedly calling it a mistake. And that is what he seemed to focus on, this idea that they opened fire based off of something that they felt, preconceived notions that ultimately turned out to be false. But he did not fault them in the end for the decision to open fire. He said that he is not recommending any changes to the IDF's rules of engagement or its combat policies in order to prevent another incident like this from happening again.

I was also able to see aerial surveillance video from the Israeli military of this incident. They showed this video to us, but they have declined to release it publicly. This also shows that in addition to the attack on a first ambulance and then that convoy of ambulances and a fire truck, several minutes later, a United Nations vehicle actually drives by. And in this video, you see this vehicle drive by quite slowly as it passes the vehicles that had been fired upon. Several Israeli soldiers standing behind that U.N. vehicle then opened fire.

The Israeli military has said that that part of the incident was indeed a breach of the Israeli military's rules of engagement. And the U.N. worker who was in that vehicle was indeed the 15th fatality resulting from this incident. Now, the findings of this Israeli military internal investigation have now been sent to the military's advocate general.

[02:10:02]

It will be up to that office to decide whether to file any charges. It's not clear whether or not that will happen. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

STOUT: Air alerts have been issued across eastern Ukraine after a temporary Easter truce announced by Russia's Vladimir Putin came to an end. Ukrainian officials are also reporting large blasts in the southern port city of Mykolaiv. But it is unclear if Russian missiles struck their targets there or if they were intercepted.

Now, despite these ongoing attacks and Kyiv accusing Moscow of violating Sunday's truce nearly 3,000 times, U.S. President Donald Trump says he is hopeful a deal to permanently end the fighting will be reached this week. A State Department spokesperson said on Sunday that the U.S. remains committed to reaching a, quote, "full and comprehensive ceasefire." But days earlier, President Trump threatened to walk away from the peace talks. And his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also warned U.S. involvement could end if there are no signs of progress.

You're watching "CNN Newsroom." And still to come, Chinese factories offer what appears to be designer handbags and other luxury goods at bargain prices. But are those deals too good to be true? And how will the U.S.-China trade war affect the prices? Keep it here.

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[02:15:00]

STOUT: Welcome back. Let's take a look at some of the Asian markets as some of them get ready to close for the day. It's about 2:15 p.m. local time here in Hong Kong. And here is the picture. You can see the Nikkei is edging down just a touch over 1 percent. As for U.S. futures, this is what we are anticipating right now as we wait for the opening bell in New York later today.

You see the Dow is going to open lower, one and one-third percent lower. Nasdaq prepared to open lower, about a tenth of a percent lower. But a green arrow for the S&P 500 at the moment, and looking up, about a tenth of 1 percent. Now, the U.S. Vice President, J.D. Vance, touched down in India just a short time ago. He is set to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as countries around the world wait for U.S. tariffs to come into effect. A press release from the Vice President's office says that the two will discuss, quote, "shared economic and geopolitical priorities."

India's government says that they will review the progress on a trade agreement between the U.S. and India, as well as plans on defense cooperation previously discussed in Washington. And as those trade talks take place, China is warning the international community not to make deals with the U.S. that would restrict trade with Beijing. They are promising anyone who does will face Chinese countermeasures.

The latest move to protect China's economy comes as factories flood TikTok with claims of letting American customers buy designer or luxury goods at a fraction of the cost. Now, here is what you should know before hitting the checkout button.

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UNKNOWN: Leave your message in the comment section. I'm Luna, your reliable sourcing partner.

UNKNOWN: This is Liz, your best sourcing partner.

UNKNOWN: Why don't you just contact us and buy from us? You won't believe the prices we give you.

STOUT: Okay, I know you've seen them too. Chinese warehouse TikTok videos that tout factory prices for designer items and a way to work around Donald Trump's trade war.

UNKNOWN: I guess most of you know the price of Lululemon or other big brands. They sell you a legging pants for $100. And guess what? Here in these two factories, you can get them for around five to six bucks. Crazy.

STOUT (voice-over): It's very likely too good to be true.

UNKNOWN: Dresses, leggings, shoes, T-shirts, everything.

STOUT (voice-over): Experts tell CNN that the real suppliers for big brands often sign non-disclosure agreements. And what accounts like this are peddling are probably fakes. In a statement, Lululemon said it, quote, "does not work with the manufacturers identified in the online videos and we urge consumers to be aware of potentially counterfeit products and misinformation." Now, some of these videos are now no longer on TikTok. CNN has reached out for comment. (On camera): Real or not, the flood of messages like this on TikTok

reveal just how anxious consumers are about Trump's tariffs and just how much Americans rely on Chinese suppliers.

UNKNOWN: Do you recognize this style, this bag? Of course you do.

STOUT (voice-over): China is often thought of as the world's factory floor, while the United States is the largest consumer base. Even if Trump's trade war risks breaking these two huge economies apart, young people in the United States and in China will keep mocking Trump's tariffs on social media.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Elizabeth Economy is a Hargrove Senior Fellow and Co-Chair of the program on the U.S., China and the world at the Hoover Institution. She joins us from Palo Alto, California. Elizabeth, thank you for joining us.

ELIZABETH ECONOMY, HARGROVE SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: It's great to be here. Thank you.

STOUT: Now, Trump's tariffs, as we saw just moments ago, have been roundly mocked on TikTok. And underlying it all, though, is deep concern and anxiety. Concern inside the U.S. as well as inside China by both consumers and manufacturers. So what do they stand to lose in a prolonged trade war?

ECONOMY: I think you're right. Both sides are quite concerned and we're beginning to see these tariffs, I think, take hold in the consciousness of both Americans and Chinese. I think here in the United States, sort of middle class consumers are quite concerned.

[02:19:58]

We're seeing them pull back on purchases of things like cars. We're seeing them quite concerned about potential for a four to six percent increase in grocery prices.

We see small businesses worried that they're going to go out of business. And we've seen even big companies like Boeing right now taking planes back. Beijing is sending planes back to the United States. And so I think there's nobody here in the United States that isn't concerned. Over 50 percent of Americans believe the tariffs are going to be bad for the economy, bad for them. So I think on the U.S. side, there's growing consternation about these tariffs.

I think in China as well. I think, you know, a lot of these sort of low cost, low margin companies and factories are very worried because the U.S. export market is important to them.

STOUT: President Trump has said that he wants Xi to call him to talk tariffs, but Xi Jinping is not making a move here. And I want to ask you why. Why is Xi effectively ghosting Donald Trump?

ECONOMY: Well, I think the president has said, President Trump has said that there's been a lot of conversation now between the U.S. and China over the past week or so, and that he believes in the next three to four weeks that there could well be a deal. Now, I don't think we know whether -- we don't know the reality of that statement, but if there's even a particle of truth, I think that would be very positive. So let's, you know, table that, but say that I think that's a potential positive, you know, a ray of hope that we haven't seen previously.

I think for President Xi, there's, you know, China now is -- it is the second largest economy in the world. Over the past four years, China's developed its own economic retaliatory tool kit so it can play back to the United States. You know, the U.S. could put tariffs on Chinese imports, but China can not only put tariffs on U.S. imports, it can also go after individual U.S. companies. It can put them on China's own entity list. It can really, you know, hurt the United States through things like licensing or even banning, you know, critical minerals that the United States needs for its technology and defense industries.

So China has a lot of tools at its disposal that in the first Trump administration, it really hadn't developed yet. So Xi Jinping is playing with a very different toolbox. And I think he's quite effectively managed to use President Trump's tariffs to rally Chinese nationalism. And so the economic ills that China's been facing, I think now can be laid, you know, at the doorstep of the United States and President Trump.

STOUT: Xi Jinping recently wrapped a tour of Southeast Asia. Are we going to see more nations align themselves with China or are they going to cautiously just watch the situation, especially now as South China Sea tension comes to the fore again?

ECONOMY: I think it's an excellent point. I have been a little bit surprised that China has not been able to capitalize more on the trade war for many of these countries. Even when China is a larger trading partner, the United States is often a much larger export market for these countries. So they have significant stakes with the U.S. economy as well.

And so I think that's one element of it. And the other is, as you suggest, even as Xi Jinping launches this charm offensive, they're nonetheless not stopping. The Chinese are not stopping their military assertiveness. You know, they're doing live fire drills, you know, between Australia and New Zealand, continuing to harass the Philippines, very aggressive in the Taiwan Straits, still pursuing the Diaoyu-Senkaku Islands with Japan. So they're not stepping back in terms of their sort of security ambitions, even as they're trying to promote themselves as a, you know, a stabilizing economic force.

So I think that charm offensive needs to be sort of more all-embracing if Xi Jinping is actually going to realize the kinds of benefits that I think he wants to from what President Trump is doing.

STOUT: Got it. Elizabeth Economy, always value your insight, especially now during these tumultuous times. Thank you so much.

ECONOMY: Thank you, Kristie.

STOUT: DHL Express says it is suspending global shipments worth more than $800 to U.S. consumers starting Monday. Now, the company blamed it on new U.S. customs rules, which now require formal entry processing for those packages. The minimum had been $25, rather $2,500 until a change earlier this month. DHL says that the move is temporary. It does not apply to business to business shipments.

[02:24:58]

Now, Pope Francis made a welcome appearance at Vatican Easter celebrations and after meeting with the U.S. vice president. The story after the break.

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STOUT: Welcome back. Now, Pope Francis delighted crowds in St. Peter's Square with an Easter Sunday appearance and a blessing after an earlier meeting with U.S. vice president J.D. Vance.

[02:30:02]

Christopher Lamb has this report from Rome.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was Pope Francis most high-profile appearance since leaving the hospital. Francis appeared on the balcony at Saint Peter's behind me, after he had met with Vice President J.D. Vance. They had a brief meeting in the pope's residence, the Santa Marta. Of course, Vice President Vance is a Catholic. He was received into the Catholic Church in 2019, but he has not been on the same page as Pope Francis when it comes to questions such as migration. The pope before his hospitalization, released a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration for their immigration policy.

However, the pope, taking the time to meet with Vice President Vance before coming out to saint peters, he offered the Easter Sunday blessing, the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, which only the pope can give. He did not read, though his Easter Sunday address.

The pope, since recovering from double pneumonia, really finds it very difficult to speak for long periods of time, but he was able to wish people in the square a happy Easter. And after his appearance from the balcony, the pope got on to the popemobile and greeted people in the square, delighting the crowd that had gathered.

It's the first time the pope has been in the popemobile meeting people since his hospitalization, and he circled the square and children were brought up to him, and he seemed to be in good spirits.

Of course, this is a pope who really enjoys being amongst people. However, of course, Francis is still recovering from that double pneumonia that almost took his life on two occasions. He is clearly still having to recover from that. He's finding it difficult, as I said, to speak for long periods, but today was the most high profile appearance from the pope since that hospitalization, and clearly did really delight the people who had gathered in saint peters on Easter Sunday to see him.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: A U.S. State Department official told a federal judge that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongly deported, is no longer in El Salvador's CECOT mega prison, and the officials cited Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Abrego Garcia last week. Abrego Garcia told the senator that he was moved to another facility in El Salvador.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. Despite the order, President Trump says Abrego Garcia will never come back to the U.S.

El Salvador's president is offering to swap prisoners with Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. Nayib Bukele says he will exchange 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. for political prisoners in Venezuelan jails. Bukele says Maduro has imprisoned journalists, human rights lawyers and relatives of opposition leaders. Bukele is facing international criticism for accepting deportees from the United States. Many are in the CECOT mega prison and haven't been charged with a crime.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is criticizing the court for its emergency order blocking the White House from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants in Texas. The Trump administration has used the controversial Alien Enemies Act to deport migrants. And lower courts are hearing cases on the issue. In the meantime, that group of immigrants in Texas cannot be deported. In his five-page dissent, Alito criticized the order for being issued, quote, literally in the middle of the night and without providing any explanation. Justice Clarence Thomas joined Alito in the dissent.

Now, Easter egg hunts, of course, are popular tradition. But one town in Germany does things differently. We'll take you to the Easter egg throwing challenge just ahead.

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[02:38:38]

STOUT: Welcome back.

While many people hunt for eggs on easter, a town in Germany celebrates a bit differently with an egg throwing competition. The 37th annual event kicked off on Sunday with a hard-boiled egg toss. The farthest throw was 57 meters. Impressive, but well short of the event record of 78 meters, which was set some 23 years ago. Any uncracked eggs are collected and eaten, but the broken ones they also get used as bird feed. The tradition began after World War II and has become popular with residents and tourists alike. And forget easter eggs, it was a beer hunt that year that drew a huge

crowd in Belgium on Sunday. Organizers south of Brussels say that this is the world's biggest beer hunt. It is the event's fourth year. Thousands of people join in. One runner said it was like the Olympic games of beer. More than 10,000 bottles were hidden for the crowd to find, and whoever found a hidden golden bottle was declared the winner. And the prize, taking home their weight in beer.

Now the fastest dogs on short legs gathered to run the corgi derby in Scotland over the weekend. And four-year-old Juno ran away with first place honors, and her owner says she will be showered with treats as a reward. Look at them go. Just look at them.

Now, the derby began in 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee.

[02:40:08]

Now, she owned around 30 corgis throughout her life.

And that wraps it up for our coverage. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

"WORLD SPORT" is next. I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM.

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(WORLD SPORT)