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Most Of Trump's Tariffs Blocked By Federal Judges; Round 2 Of Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Set On Monday; U.S. To Pause Issuing Student Visas; Elon Musk To End His DOGE Stint. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers joining us from all around the world and also streaming us here on CNN Max. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York where it is 3 a.m. and ahead on "CNN Newsroom."

President Trump's trade war just hit a major roadblock. Almost all of his tariffs ruled illegal by a panel of judges.

Plus how pilots train for the moments which have caused chaos recently at some airports and could happen again. Talking about when radios go dead and air traffic control radar goes dark.

And A.I. coming for you? One tech CEO warning that white-collar job losses could happen because of artificial intelligence. That's all coming up.

Straight off the top, a federal court has blocked most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs and potentially thrown his economic agenda into disarray. Late Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Congress holds the power to regulate international trade and the president does not have the authority to impose tariffs by declaring a national emergency.

The Trump administration has already appealed and the White House wrote in a statement, quote, "It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency." U.S. stock futures already surging after the decision by the court and the U.S. dollar also up as well as you see here.

CNN's Marc Stewart, joining us live from Beijing with more. Marc, what has been the reaction where you are to this tariff-related injunction?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Polo. Look, I think first and foremost, markets are applauding this. What we've seen so far in Asia is gains across the board.

We have seen just how disruptive these tariffs have been to global trading and to people's thoughts toward the economy. That's often reflected in the markets. But if we look at the numbers here, we're seeing a lot of green. There

are some exceptions, but the Hang Seng in Hong Kong, the Shanghai here and mainland China are certainly reacting very favorably.

This is a story that, as you know, has seen a lot of abrupt starts and stops. These storylines just keep changing. But let me just outline for you really briefly what's on the books now because of this injunction.

A majority of these tariffs that had been in place are now halted. This includes a 30 percent tariff on Chinese goods as well as a 25 percent tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada.

Breaking things down further, there was a 10 percent tariff, a universal tariff on all goods, most goods coming into the United States. That has now been halted.

What still remains, though, is a 25 percent tariff on automobiles as well as steel and aluminum. That has big implications not just in the United States, but for economies in Europe and here in Asia, which depends so heavily on the auto industry.

What's so interesting about all of this, this injunction came about because of this lawsuit, as you mentioned, not filed by any big Wall Street giant, but by some small main street businesses, including a wine company who said that these tariffs were hurting them.

And then there's, of course, this argument that it was presidential overreach. Let's listen to one of the attorneys behind this suit that led to this injunction, what he had to say. Let's listen.

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JEFFREY SCHWAB, LEAD COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS IN V.O.S. SELECTIONS, INC. VS. TRUMP: The Constitution gives the power to tariff to Congress, not to the president. So that means there's got to be some limit when Congress delegates that authority to the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Now, where this will go next, very unclear. Would the president perhaps make an appeal to Congress to implement these tariffs again? Of course, so much is going to be determined by this appeals process.

So for the moment, Polo, markets seem to like this, but the long-term future Polo, very murky.

SANDOVAL: And Marc, while we have you, we could just shift gears to another major story that broke on Wednesday with the White House announcing that it will, as they put it, aggressively revoke the visas of some of those Chinese students to travel to the United States to continue with their studies.

Obviously, this is certainly an intensification of what we've seen from the White House already, potentially discouraging what's been, what, 275,000 students at least from China to the United States.

[03:05:04]

What has been the reaction in China, especially for some of those students that have perhaps been preparing to travel here to continue their studies?

STEWART: Right, and the number of students has fluctuated over the years. It has actually gone down significantly. We've seen some rises, but the feeling from Beijing is that this should be off limits, that these academic programs, these educational exchanges, you know, they're not something that should be disrupted.

In fact, yesterday during a news briefing, a government official said that China urges the U.S. to protect the lawful and legitimate rights of all international students, including those from China.

Now, since this has happened, since this focus on China specifically, we're still awaiting reaction from Beijing. We're going to hear from a government spokesperson in about an hour as part of this daily news briefing, so I am sure we are going to get some statements very similar along those lines.

You know, if we look back historically, these international student exchanges are something that previous administrations have felt have been very important. Obviously, this is a shift in tone now of the Trump administration, so it's going to be interesting to see if Beijing reacts perhaps more strongly than what has already been said, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes, it's widely known that many of these countries, a significant talent pool of very intelligent individuals that certainly contribute to the U.S., so certainly important to track this one. Marc Stewart, so glad to have you. I appreciate it.

All right, so another day of desperation in Gaza as crowds of hungry people broke into a U.N. food warehouse. The World Food Program says at least two people were killed and several others injured there. Video from the scene showing people inside the warehouse grabbing whatever they could find.

Hundreds more were also seen running outside as gunfire echoed in the background. Palestinian health officials say one person was shot and killed in a separate incident at a food distribution site on Tuesday. The U.N. says humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control after an 80-day blockade of all food aid into Gaza.

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RIYAD MANSOUR, U.N AMBASSADOR TO THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Dozens of children are dying of starvation. The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies, caressing their hair, talking to them, apologizing to them (inaudible).

Excuse me, Mr. President. I have grandchildren, I know what they mean to their families. And to see the situation of the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's bring in Jasmine El-Gamal now, she is a Middle East analyst and former Middle East adviser at the Pentagon. She joins us live from London. Jasmine, it's good to have you.

JASMINE EL-GAMAL, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST: Thank you, Polo. It's good to be with you.

SANDOVAL: Jasmine, I'm sure you were listening just now to the ambassador's emotional plea at the U.N. We'll get to that in just a few moments and react to that.

But first, back to some of these recent incidents that we've been following, and I know you've been closely following as well, at these aid distribution sites. Curious, as you sort of assess the situation the last day or so, was this aid distribution plan destined to fail from the start? And if so, why?

EL-GAMAL: Thank you so much for asking that. The short answer is yes, it was destined to fail from the start. And that is exactly why the U.N. and humanitarian organizations have been warning about the shortcomings of this plan since the very day that it was first announced, saying that it basically is engineered scarcity.

It doesn't reach the amount of people that it needs to reach, and it doesn't reach people where they are. It's basically not a needs-based program, which is what humanitarian organizations go by, that principle of serving people who are in need where they are.

What this plan does is not only are the number of distribution sites really insufficient. So far, two have been operating out of four.

It also forces people, in order to get this aid, to leave the places where they are, where they're sheltering, to walk for really long distances in a war zone, essentially. I mean, there's no ceasefire in place now. We have to remember that.

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And to walk these long distances, separating themselves from their families, essentially making this some sort of survival of the fittest. Those who are able to walk those distances, carry those boxes of food, and who are willing to take the risk of walking to those distribution sites are the only ones who are able to get that aid. And even so, because there are so many people now, as you're showing the screen here, crammed into these distribution sites.

I mean, remember, these people haven't had any food, water, humanitarian supplies, medical supplies come into Gaza since March 2nd. The desperation is really rampant. And so you see this chaos that you're showing your viewers on the screen was really inevitable from day one, completely unnecessary.

SANDOVAL: Now, interesting what you mentioned. So essentially, only the able-bodied are able to actually make that trek, that journey to some of these distribution sites, and those who are the weakest and presumably dying of starvation can't get to these locations.

Now, in terms of how these governments or these entities would get it right, from your expert assessment, what should the Trump administration, for example, what should they be telling all the stakeholders to try to figure this out and get this distribution sites to get it right?

EL-GAMAL: Well, I think the focus now, Polo, is on getting a ceasefire in place. And so you've seen these statements coming out of the White House in recent days, including yesterday, talking about the possibility of an imminent ceasefire and an exchange of hostages and a return to the U.N. mechanisms of distributing aid and allowing more than just boxes of food to go in, but things like medical supplies and other things that are so desperately needed in Gaza.

You know, we talk about this aid that's coming in through this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. It's really just boxes of the bare, bare minimum of things that people need.

And it also, according to the head of Refugees International, he was talking about this yesterday, social media, describing how the boxes include things that can't even be used right away. They include things like raw flour and dried pasta. And because there has been no water sources, electricity, fuel, things like that coming into Gaza, also since March 2nd, that they can't really make any use of that.

So it's really things like canned fruits, no protein. I mean, things that are really desperately needed in the Gaza Strip right now, as people have been waiting for food to come in and sustain them, that these boxes, let alone the mechanism itself of distribution, which is incredibly dangerous and inadequate, that the boxes themselves really don't contain much to help people get to the level of nutrition that they need.

SANDOVAL: Let's get back to what we heard a little while ago from the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., making that emotional address, saying that more than 1300 children have been killed in Gaza since the end of the ceasefire alone.

So now just reflecting on the last 600 days, hard to believe it's been 600 days since Israel launched its war against Hamas. What is the reality on the ground after seeing all of these absolutely heartbreaking images of the crowds, hungry crowds trying to get their hands on any supplies? What is happening now?

EL-GAMAL: Yes, it was really difficult to watch those remarks from the Palestinian ambassador and watch him breaking down right now. It really evokes, it tells you the level of despair and helplessness that people are feeling right now when they look at the situation, people who are going through the situation, people who have seen family, you know, killed and disappeared, knowing that family members are still under the rubble.

You know, most people, in fact, I would probably say all people in Gaza who have lost family members, including children, over the last 600 days have not even been able to give them a proper burial. So that level of despair, I think, was really on display there at the United Nations. And people are just fed up, people want the war to end.

And it's not just anger against the Israeli government. Of course, that's the broadest and sort of most powerful emotion. But people are also very upset with Hamas itself, with saying, why did, you know, why did you bring this upon us?

And so I think it's also important to mention that, because it doesn't often come up. But really, the weight of the responsibility, of course, is on the more powerful actor. It's on the state actor, it's on the occupying power.

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It's on the country and the state that is not allowing basic humanitarian assistance and sustenance and medicine and fuel into the Gaza Strip, and exponentially increasing that suffering and despair that you heard the Palestinian ambassador talking about. So people are praying for this ceasefire to be completed and for these American guarantees that President Trump is hinting at to provide an end to the war, an end to hostilities by both parties.

You can imagine that people are just praying with all they have for this to finally end once and for all.

SANDOVAL: That final point is so critical, which is really criticizing and condemning actions by the Israeli government, but at the same time looking inwards at Hamas and also holding that organization accountable as well for what it is presumably not doing to get that, to facilitate that aid.

Jasmine El-Gamal, thank you so much for your insight. Live out of London. I appreciate you.

EL-GAMAL: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Well Ukraine agrees to a major arms package with Germany, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy may not have gotten everything he wanted to help this country fight Russia. Details on the deal in a report from Berlin.

Plus, Elon Musk exiting Washington with a billionaire CEO had to say about his time working with the U.S. government.

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SANDIVAL: Russia's foreign minister says that the next round of peace talks with Ukraine will be on Monday in Istanbul. Sergey Lavrov says a Russian delegation will present a memorandum to Ukraine, which he says will set out their position on, quote, overcoming the root causes of the crisis.

We call it a war, Ukraine says that it has shared its own position in a document in advance of the meeting and wants Moscow to do the same. Donald Trump says that he'll know in two weeks' time whether Vladimir Putin wants to end the war. Two weeks is a reoccurring timeline for the U.S. president, who often gives that response when asked about pending decisions.

In a separate vein, Ukraine's president has agreed to a new arms deal with Germany. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Berlin with those details.

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FREDERIK PLETIGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Germany appears to be drastically stepping up its military aid for Ukraine, announcing a 5 billion euro aid package that covers not just giving Ukraine weapons and munition, but also combined production of weapons.

Now, all this comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was here in Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. And during that meeting and after that meeting, it was thought that maybe Friedrich Merz would announce that the Germans would give cruise missiles to the Ukrainians. However, that was not the case.

Instead, the German chancellor announced that there would be combined weapons productions by Germany and Ukraine for longer range weapons. Here's what he said.

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We are financing a considerable part of the country's Starlink cover, and our defense ministers will today sign a memorandum of understanding on the procurement of long range weapons systems from Ukrainian production, so-called long range fires. There will be no range restrictions. Ukraine will thus be able to defend itself fully, even against military targets outside its own territory.

PLEITGEN: Now, a little bit more nuance about that was given by the German defense ministry. They said that the first batch of these weapons would be in Ukrainian hands within the next couple of weeks.

Also, that no additional training would be necessary for the Ukrainian forces that are set to use these weapons. And at the same time, the Germans saying that they believe that a significant number of these munitions could be in Ukrainian hands before the end of the year.

So certainly that could drastically enhance Ukraine's capabilities of attacking targets deep inside Russian territory, which, of course, the Russians have said could potentially escalate the war in Ukraine. And the Russians also coming out and heavily criticizing this new measure by the German government, saying that the Germans and the French were, as the Kremlin spokesman said, in a race to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SANDOVAL: After the U.S. State Department paused all new student visa appointments, international students who had plans to study in the U.S. now scrambling to figure out their next moves, why their academic futures are now in limbo.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Polo Sandoval, in New York. Let's check in on today's top stories.

The U.S. Court of International Trade has blocked most of Donald Trump's global tariffs, ruling that the president lacks authority to impose them under a national emergency order. The decision halting the 30 percent tariffs on China, 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and 10 percent universal tariffs, the Trump administration has already appealed.

And Benjamin Netanyahu says an Israeli airstrike has killed the de facto leader of Hamas, Israel's Prime Minister, telling lawmakers on Wednesday that Mohamed Sinwar died earlier this month in Khan Younis. His brother, you recall, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by an Israeli airstrike back in October.

And British prosecutors confirming that they've authorized 21 charges against the Tate brothers.

[03:30:02]

Among the charges against self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are rape and human trafficking. They're also facing charges in a separate case in Romania. The brothers have denied all wrongdoing.

Well Elon Musk's time as a special government employee is coming to an end. A White House official says the Tesla CEO has begun the off- boarding process.

Musk had recently signaled that he would be stepping away from politics to resume his duties at Tesla. He thanked the president in a post on his platform X, adding the DOGE mission, quote, "will only strengthen over time." CNN contributor Kara Swisher had this take on Musk's time in government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, AND HOST OF "ON WITH KARA SWISHER" AND "PIVOT": Wow, it's a long goodbye, isn't it? I mean, he seems to be leaving and going out. He needs to work on his company.

This was inevitable that he was not going to stay there very long. And it was pushed along by the fact that his businesses are a bit in distress. And so he needs to pay attention and do his actual job. I think he's probably frustrated by the pace of government. And when

he goes back to his companies, he says, jump. And they say, how high at the government? They don't do that.

And I think he found a lot more difficulty in finding real cuts and everything else. And I think they're only sending $9billion in DOGE cuts to which is nothing. It's a drop in the bucket, which means pretty much his effort was a failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: But Musk's work in Washington will continue on despite his exit. House Speaker Mike Johnson says that the House is ready to act on recommended DOGE cuts as soon as the President makes that request to lawmakers in Congress.

The U.S. Secretary of State says that the government will restrict visas for foreign officials responsible for allegedly censoring Americans. The statement from Marco Rubio said that in some instances, foreign officials who don't have the authority have nevertheless taken, quote, "flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies, citizens and residents."

The statement also said the U.S., quote, "will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech." It's not clear how the new policy will be applied and also who will decide what amounts to censorship.

There's also a new escalation in President Trump's feud with Harvard University. Senior State Department officials telling CNN that the agency is now reviewing all visa holders affiliated with Harvard, not just students. The officials did not say why the review is being conducted.

Meantime, another U.S. decision has sent shockwaves around the world. The government will pause the issuing of new visas to foreign students while it establishes new guidelines for searching their social media.

CNN's Nada Bashir has more on how some international students are reacting to this and what may be next for them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Students across the globe hoping to study in the United States are now in limbo after the U.S. State Department issued a bombshell decision instructing embassies and consulates around the world to pause all new student visa appointments as it moves to expand social media vetting for applicants. That's according to a diplomatic cable seen by CNN.

ADEFEMOLA AKINTADE, REPORTER, "PEOPLE'S GAZETTE": I don't have any backup plan. You know, I put all my eggs in one basket in Columbia.

BASHIR: Nigerian journalist Adefemola Akintade was accepted to Columbia Journalism School for a master's degree on a scholarship and is due to start in August after paying a hefty enrolment fee. She was on the verge of applying for her visa when the news broke.

AKINTADE: I was blank for some seconds. I didn't know what to think. And then it's so close, like, I can almost feel it.

And then it's yet so far. I don't know what to do. This is something I've always wanted for the longest of times.

BASHIR: For now, it's unclear what kind of social media posts could pose a problem for a student's visa application. As a result, many students were reluctant to speak to CNN on camera.

One Canadian student hoping to study at Columbia in the fall told CNN, "It feels like a really scary and unsettling time for international students studying in the U.S. A lot of us chose to study in the U.S. for its freedoms. But now, knowing that innocent social media posts could cost an education feels like censorship."

BASHIR: The White House has also recently attempted to stop foreign students from studying at Harvard University, though that decision has since been halted by a judge for the time being. But plans to further restrict the flow of international students to the U.S. will deal a significant blow not only to prospective students, but also to U.S. colleges.

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DAVID HAWKINS, FOUNDER, THE UNIVERSITY GUYS: I think this is going to be a concern and perhaps threaten some of the financial stability of many U.S. universities, is those floating voters, those consumers of education who might be looking at the U.S., but also other destinations like Canada, like Europe, like the U.K., where that lack of certainty is at the very least meaning they're going to have to apply to more than one destination.

BASHIR: According to a report from the Institute of International Education, more than 1.1 million international students studied at U.S. higher education institutions in the 2023 to 2024 school year, meaning many U.S. colleges reliant on foreign tuition could be severely impacted.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, let's talk business now. The Trump administration's new restrictions on NVIDIA's exports to China do not appear to be as painful as feared. The chipmaker missed out on $2.5 billion in additional revenue during the first quarter, but NVIDIA still took in $44 billion in earnings, that up nearly 70 percent from a year ago, and its overall net income grew by nearly $19 billion year-to-year. CEO Jensen Huang issued a statement Wednesday saying the demand for the company's AI technology remains incredibly strong, as he put it.

The CEO of artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has issued an ominous warning about AI technology. In an interview with outlet Axios, he predicted that it could eliminate a tremendous number of white-collar jobs, causing a huge spike in unemployment.

CNN's Anna Stewart with those details.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a while since we've had a big warning from an A.I. pioneer. You may remember a number of the biggest names in the technology signing an open letter two years ago, including Elon Musk, calling for a six-month pause on the development of A.I.-large language models more powerful than GPT-4. Well, that pause didn't happen, and global regulation around A.I. development is patchy to say the least.

Now, the founder and CEO of A.I. company Anthropic, Dario Amodei, has refocused attention on the potential risks of A.I. In an interview with Axios, he says the technology could wipe out half of all entry- level white-collar jobs, causing unemployment to rise between 10 and 20 percent in the U.S. over the next one to five years.

It comes at a time where a number of big U.S. companies are cutting jobs. Microsoft is reportedly laying off three percent of its workforce, Walmart is cutting hundreds of corporate jobs, and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has announced it will lose about 500, which is five percent of its workforce.

Dario Amodei says lawmakers either don't understand the risks or they don't believe in them. But they need to act now, he thinks, to ensure a better transition to an A.I. future. He suggests policy solutions could involve job retraining, attacks on A.I. companies like his own, or even some sort of token tax for users of A.I.

Axios calls Amodei more of a truth seeker than a doomsayer and also mentions the huge potential the technology has, from curing cancer to maybe growing the U.S. economy at 10 percent a year.

But the caution is there. White-collar workers be warned. Will A.I. augment your job or automate it? It may be time to consider retraining.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And still ahead this morning, a moment caught on camera between the French president and his wife, we remember it, it went viral around the world. But in France, this controversy seems to be a one-day wonder. We're going to explain after this.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." French President Emmanuel Macron will be heading to Singapore in just

a few hours as part of his trip through Asia. On Wednesday, Macron met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta. Indonesia is the second stop of the president's trip through Asia.

The two countries signed a preliminary defense pact, which could lead to Indonesia buying more military hardware from France. Mr. Macron is set to meet with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong when he arrives there later today, so we'll be tracking that story.

Also, Macron's Asia trip, though, is probably going to be remembered for the shove scene around the world. We all remember it when cameras caught the French president apparently being pushed in the face by his wife. And that video, we all know it went viral.

But in France, this viral moment quickly disappeared. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SR. PRODUCER (voice-over): A very public display of affection in Jakarta. Just days earlier, an entirely different moment.

A quick shove caught on camera and instantly viral. International media and social media seizing on the moment amid questions of what caused the shove from France's first lady and her refusal to take her husband's hand walking down the stairs of the plane.

But in France, it was old news by morning. Perhaps due to the country's longstanding tradition of shielding the private lives of public figures. Where former President Francois Mitterrand's secret daughter with his longtime mistress was hidden from public view for years.

[03:45:06]

And where former President Francois Hollande's secret relationship with a French actress caused a stir but quickly faded from the headlines.

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, THEN-FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Private affairs are dealt in private.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): That same rule applied when the Macron's intimate moment went global. Their love story was never ordinary. He was 15, she, his drama teacher, married with three children.

According to an old school friend, Macron avoided girls his own age.

JEAN-BAPTISTE DE FROMENT, MACRON FRIEND FROM SCHOOL: They were maybe too young to be interesting for him.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): 14 years later, they married. But not before Macron sought the approval of Brigitte's children, one of whom was his age. TIPHANIE AUZIERE, BRIGITTE TROGNEUX'S DAUGHTER (through translator):

It was a powerful act. Not everyone would have asked us first. But he wanted to know if we could accept it.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): In 2017, their bond became campaign material. A modern, glamorous French love story. But some say that over time, that image has worn.

After the shove, they made a show of unity hand in hand on the streets of Hanoi.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): We were in the middle of bickering and rather joking with my wife. I'm surprised by how this becomes a kind of geo-planetary catastrophe.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Whether it's a kiss in Jakarta or a shove in Vietnam, every moment fuels the story. In a country that once prized discretion, the president is finding it harder to keep his private life out of the spotlight.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Mexico is on the verge of holding its first ever judicial elections that will put nearly 900 judge positions nationwide to a popular vote. Now, per the party that's in control, the country's unprecedented contest is meant to stem impunity in the courts and give voters a greater say in the judicial process. But critics of that warning that it could lead to greater corruption and criminality.

Election season, it can be extremely dangerous and deadly for Mexican politicians. But as David Culver reports, it's not just the candidates who are taking extreme measures to stay safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across Mexico, fear is fueling a push for personal protection.

GADI MOKOTOV, OWNER, ETTS BLINDAJES: This, if you want to take a shot from inside and this dark is like an escape door.

CULVER: An escape door?

MOKOTOV: Yes.

CULVER (voice-over): For 16 years, Gadi Mokotov's company has armored vehicles for Mexico's police, military, government officials, VIPs.

But now, he says he's getting more and more requests from lower-level politicians, and even from those who work for those elected officials.

CULVER: So if you're seeing staffers now and say, we need all of my cars too.

CULVER (voice-over): Spending tens of thousands of dollars, not for status, but survival.

MOKOTOV: That nice to see a man's coming here and you know, I need to protect my sons. But they're afraid of the kids.

CULVER: What does that say about the state of security right now in this country?

MOKOTOV: The people who scarred. It scarred to got to the street.

CULVER: And it was here on this street, where just last week, two close aides of Mexico City's mayor were gunned down. You can see they still have flowers and a memorial left behind for them. It happened just as the morning commute was getting underway.

CULVER (voice-over): Violent crime in the capital, including murders and kidnappings, is up more than 150 percent compared to this time last year. That according to "El Pais." We've reached out to Mexico City officials to verify those numbers.

All of this comes on the heels of Mexico's most violent election cycle in history. Leading up to the 2024 elections, at least 37 political candidates were assassinated, with more than 800 attacks on campaign staff, officials, and their families. And yet, this democracy forges ahead.

CULVER: How's the situation? As far as crime is concerned, it's bad. He says, even with security, police all around us doesn't make you really feel any safer, because criminal elements can seep in at any moment.

CULVER (voice-over): It's no surprise that so many are turning to armor, desperate for any sense of safety. And outside, a line of cars waiting for their turn.

CULVER: So what's being done to stop this crime? Well, eight months into her role as president here, Claudia Sheinbaum has said that she's launched these targeted operations to go after these high-crime areas. She's also enhancing coordination between federal and local law enforcement.

[03:50:01]

And then there's a social aspect to this as well, trying to reduce poverty, inequality, but then more specifically, trying to keep young people from being recruited by gangs. All of that aside, when you talk to folks, their day in and day out is consumed with insecurity.

Some folks even saying that they're too afraid to stop at stop signs now, because it's become increasingly common that they could get robbed, carjacked, or even kidnapped.

David Culver, CNN, Mexico City.

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SANDOVAL: A scary incident happening multiple times at one of the busiest U.S. airports. Radar and radio stopped working, leaving air traffic controllers unable to direct pilots. Coming up next, we'll take you inside a flight simulator to show you a pilot's perspective.

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SANDOVAL: U.S. aviation officials, they have replaced a piece of hardware, partly blamed for the recent meltdown at Newark International Airport. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says that a new fiber optic cable is in place to improve air traffic control communications at the facility that handles flights in and out of Newark. He's also pushing for more improvements.

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SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I think this truly is a moment to look at what kind of system we're using, what kind of equipment we use, what kind of telecom we use, and it's a call to action to make sure we build a brand new air traffic control system.

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SANDOVAL: Air traffic controllers have briefly lost their radars and radio communications with Newark flights multiple times since late April. Several aviation sources have blamed that on outdated copper wires connecting the air traffic control with radars. The new fiber line is expected to be up and running by July, and Newark is one of the busiest U.S. airports, and its problems are considered red flags across the U.S. aviation system.

To better get an idea of what happens when aircraft systems go wrong, CNN's Pete Muntean, a pilot himself, went inside a cockpit.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm at the controls of a Boeing 737 MAX simulator here at United Airlines Flight Training Center in Denver to see what pilots experience when air traffic control goes dark. It's the latest challenge for them, after flights in and out of Newark faced repeat failures of radar and radio earlier this month.

Along with me is Captain Miles Morgan, who heads training for United.

MUNTEAN: Would you say that these issues at Newark have caused any sort of degradation of safety?

CAPT. MILES MORGAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FLIGHT TRAINING, UNITED AIRLINES: Not at all. Safety for us, if you've got pilots that are operating into the airspace, it is safe for us to do so. We are 100 percent confident in that.

[03:55:09]

MUNTEAN (voice-over): This is some of the busiest airspace in the country. If air traffic controllers lose their radar scopes, Morgan says pilots can fall back on the plane's Traffic Collision Avoidance System, or TCAS. It calls out collisions in the making, and can even issue instructions to climb or descend.

MORGAN: So now, okay, I've stopped doing what I'm doing. I look, I see it on the screen 700 feet above, I acquire it visually, and now I'm monitoring. I'm making sure, hey, this is good.

We're at a good airspace. We're safe.

MUNTEAN: The reason you're showing me this is to show that there are other layers here, there are other systems.

MORGAN: Exactly correct.

We have a lot of different layers, and a lot of them rely on the external world, but we all have this internal system that our airplanes will talk to each other.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): But when controllers can't reach flights via radio, Morgan says pilots would try a previously used radio frequency.

MORGAN: Push this button, the previous frequency pops back up.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Try the emergency backup frequency.

MORGAN: This would be a backup if we couldn't raise it any other way.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Use data link text messaging to communicate with the airline.

MORGAN: And I could say need frequency.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): And dial in a transponder code that signals that communication has been lost. Decades-old redundancies that air traffic controllers are trained for, too.

NICK DANIELS, PRESIDENT, U.S. NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: We were always prepared for it. The pilots were always prepared for it. Unfortunately, we're having to use those safety nets.

MORGAN: So I'm going to start putting some flaps in for you.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Maybe to prove that flying is safe, Morgan even let me do the landing.

MORGAN: A little flare. Perfect. Boom.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Not my worst, as airlines insist the worst will not happen when air traffic control fails.

MORGAN: I don't really worry when something is a little abnormal. We're trained for all these abnormalities. It's not just this. It's we're constantly training for whatever could be going wrong and how to make a decision to rectify that.

MUNTEAN: This is especially pertinent since Newark is one of United's biggest hubs. And the FAA has scaled back flights there in order to not overwhelm air traffic control. United says that actually led to it canceling no flights on Memorial Day or the day before.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that the federal government has taken steps to harden Newark air traffic control systems. But even still, there needs to be a nationwide overhaul of air traffic control, he says, something that could cost tens of billions of dollars.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

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SANDOVAL: And with that, the entire team and I want to thank you for watching the last hour of "CNN Newsroom." "Amanpour" is next, and stay tuned for "Early Start" with Rahel Solomon starting at 5 a.m. here in New York, 10 a.m. in London.

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