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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Attends Dignified Transfer Of Four U.S. Service Members Killed In Iranian Strikes; U.S. Official: Trump Approves Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia; Ukraine's Recent Military Leadership Shakeups Explained; Venezuela Facing Long-Term Challenges Post-Maduro; Model Recruiter With Epstein Links Found Dead In Paris; Oil Prices Climb Amid Growing Risks To Oil Shipping Routes; OpenAI Model Goes Rogue, Hacks Into Startup Infrastructure; U.S. Humanitarian Aid Flight lands In Cuba; Pan Am Plane Wreckage Found 74 Years After Deadly Crash; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 22, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:28]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. President Donald Trump is at Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of four fallen U.S. service numbers.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: "One World" starts right now.
Earlier, as he headed to Dover, President Trump said Iran will, quote, pay a big price.
ASHER: Yes. This hour also, ousted Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is back in court in the United States.
GOLODRYGA: And what happens when A.I. models go rogue? We'll take a closer look.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. This is the second hour of "One World."
GOLODRYGA: U.S. President Donald Trump is calling it one of the hardest parts of his job. At Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the president is
receiving the remains of four U.S. service members killed in Iranian strikes.
ASHER: Yes. First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Private Isabela Gonzales, and Sergeant Angel Rampersad, were killed on Friday when an Iranian missile
struck a U.S. base in Jordan, a fourth soldier, Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed during the control detonation of a drone in Northern
Iraq on Sunday.
It brings the number of American troops killed since the U.S. launched its war with Iran nearly five months ago to 18. And it is the third dignified
transfer Trump has attended since the war began in February.
CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now from the White House.
So, obviously, this is a very difficult moment for the families of these service members, for President Trump. But also, it is difficult for a lot
of Americans to see Americans being killed in this war that many would say was not necessarily worth it, perhaps some would say, to begin with.
What sort of questions is the wider public raising at this point in time now that we're seeing the dignified transfer and the death of these service
members? And what was supposed to be a ceasefire, Kevin?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And there's this concept called the Dover test. And you heard the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs mention it yesterday. When Americans see these flag draped cases being moved across the tarmac, really kind of underscoring the human costs
for this war, do they believe that it is all worth it?
And polls have already shown that Americans, in fact, don't believe this war is worth it. They don't support it. There are just polls out today that
said that as few as 30 percent of Americans thought that this conflict was worth it.
And so as the president goes up there today to kind of bear witness to all of this, I think that the weight of responsibility will be bearing on him.
He addressed that earlier. He said that this was the hardest thing that he would have to do to stand out attention, to watch as the cases move across
the tarmac and are loaded into those vans.
You know, covering these things that you're really struck by the silence of the whole thing. There's no speeches. There's no music. It's just, you
know, the whirring of the auxiliary engines and the sound of the footsteps as these fallen are -- are returned to the United States.
The fallen who are being transferred today, they ranged in age from 19 to 30. They were from Hawaii, Texas, New York, and North Carolina, but they
died on the other side of the world in Jordan and -- and Iraq. And they are the human consequences of the decisions that the president is making here.
Even as he's weighing these costs, he's still weighing an escalation in the conflict he said today. He posted on social media, warning Iran that if
they continue to shoot vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, quote, whether it be by missile rocket or drone or any other device or weapon, the United
States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those next to or in the capital city of Iran.
So, even as he's thinking about what this war is costing the United States, he's also talking about escalation.
You also hear him talking about going after new target at Pickaxe Mountain, which is that highly fortified nuclear facility south of Tehran.
Israeli intelligence suggests that Iran has moved some of its advanced centrifuges and some of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium there. And
President Trump said yesterday that he'd be striking there very soon.
And so even as he's thinking about what this war means for Americans and for the service members who are arrayed across the Middle East and are very
much in harm's way, he's also talking about steps that would potentially escalate the conflict and provoke further retaliation by Iran.
[12:05:01]
And so it's a complicated moment for him to be sure. He's done this many times before, you know, during his first term. I remember talking to him at
the back of the plane as he was returning from Dover and he was moved by the moment.
This is something for a president that really does put forward a very, I think, bullish exterior. It was a moment that did impact him and I think
sort of punctured some of that. But at least for now, the president not being deterred from his whatever strategy seems to exist in Iran, which is
to keep the pounding, keep up the airstrikes in a bid to try and extract some concessions.
ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Meantime, Iran is issuing some stark statements as well after Trump threatened to hit Pickaxe -- Pickaxe Mountain, an underground site,
the U.S. suspects could be used for nuclear activity. Kevin was just speaking about it a moment ago.
Iran warns that any U.S. attack on its nuclear facilities or other sensitive sites would be considered an expansion of this war.
GOLODRYGA: We're also learning about a major nuclear deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that has the potential to shift the regional balance of
power.
The U.S. officials says President Trump has approved the 30-year agreement, which could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich its own nuclear fuel for civilian
reactors.
Earlier, however, the U.S. Secretary of State was tight-lipped on the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Wall Street Journal's" reporting that President Trump has approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. Do you have any details on
that?
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes. I'm -- I -- I'll -- I'll let the White House officials sort of put out an official statement about anything
with regards to that.
But I saw the same reporting this morning, but let me let that go through. I don't -- I'd prefer it be, you know, put out whenever something to say
that we will say it in through official channels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now live in Jerusalem. Nic, we haven't heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I believe his
Minister of the Economy, Nir Barkat, has spoken about this.
There is some trepidation in the region about what this means for wider nuclear proliferation, especially as the United States is in negotiations
with Iran. It is a deal that has been in the works even predating President Trump.
But the timing here is notable. And the fact that it doesn't come with some of the restrictions that other similar deals the U.S. has made, like with
the UAE have in place. How is this being received, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes. It's exactly the sort of deal you can imagine that Iran would want to have its own uranium enrichment, so
a nuclear fuel and not to have or have limited international oversight, because that appears to be the deal that Saudi Arabia is getting.
Most nuclear civilian nuclear deals like this, with most countries these days, the -- the uranium that's used in those plants is enriched outside,
then shipped in and used, so the country doesn't get expertise in -- in enriching that uranium.
And as Iran has done enrich it higher to medium enriched and then highly enriched uranium, which is a pathway to making a bomb, Saudi Arabia would
get to do that enrichment on its own soil. That's different.
Most countries would expect to get beyond the -- the sort of inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency and what's called an additional
protocol that gives those inspectors access to those key sites. It doesn't appear at the moment, as far as we understand, that Saudi Arabia would have
that.
So, here in Israel, it is giving pause for concern. One former defense minister said that it was a pathway to potentially for a nuclear weapon.
Another former military general said that this was a -- a dangerous reality, but it's also interesting that the prime minister from -- is
getting part of the blame for this situation because his being blamed for Saudi Arabia having this exceptional deal that as you mentioned under
President Biden would have been part of the normalization path with Israel, that the prime minister is now sort of being blamed for having a weakened
and undermined relationship with the White House that he isn't able to influence what President Trump is agreeing with, Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman and Saudi Arabia, and therefore this puts Israel's regional security at greater risk, if Saudi Arabia were to develop a weapon one day.
I think if we take one very giant step back from this at the moment, it's worth bearing in mind that Saudi Arabia has a military treaty with
Pakistan. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. And I think it's broadly accepted that if -- if Saudi Arabia thought it was under threat, it would turn to
Pakistan for that kind of support.
[12:10:01]
And we do know in the past couple of years the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia said if Iran got a nuclear weapon, then Saudi Arabia would automatically
move for it.
So all of that's in play, but as you said, it's the timing. It's exactly the sort of deal that Iran would like to have. And this would therefore in
their negotiations, if they happen. Give them something to aim for other countries don't get generally.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. No doubt a coup for MBS at a time when tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States have been a bit heightened over the last
few months since the start of this war with Iran.
Nic Robertson, thank you so much.
Well, turning now to Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has chosen a new commander-in-chief for his military. 43-year-old Mykhailo
Drapatyi, who replaces Oleksandr Syrskyi. Drapatyi is a young general representing a newer generation of military leaders who've come up since
Russia's war on Ukraine began.
ASHER: Widespread protests followed President Zelenskyy's dismissal of the defense minister last week.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh explains what these military shakeups can mean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A generational shift; the younger Ukrainians doing the fighting now run by a general near their age. 43-year-old Mykhailo Drapatyi. Out,
Oleksandr Syrskyi, aged 60, who for years met the Soviet brutality of Russia with similar resolve and ruthlessness, nicknamed the "Butcher."
He became the face of the relentless, ugly toll of the war on frontline troops, sending people to die as something a wartime general has to do,
along with always be winning to stay popular.
And while Syrskyi had notched up enough small victories, they did not save him from modernity.
His wartime resume begins with the defense of Kyiv, where thousands of locals bolstered the city's rout of the Russians. The Kharkiv
counteroffensive in late 2022 saw Russia collapse, a startling reversal exposing poor command and supply lines, for which Syrskyi is credited.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text translation): We need to end the enemy units in front of you. You've proved you can do it.
WALSH (voice-over): But his rivalry with his boss, then Commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi, many analysts have said, led Syrskyi to push a focus on the city
of Bakhmut during the next summer, and leave the main push of the counteroffensive, Ukraine's main chance to break Russia's road to Crimea
with a flood of new Western equipment to falter.
Zaluzhnyi lost his job months later to Syrskyi, who swiftly needed a win after so many slow losses, including Bakhmut.
The response was daring and stunning, if not strategically sound in the long run. The first invasion of Russia since the Nazis, Kursk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text translation): Over the past 24 hours, our military has moved forward to one to three kilometer in specific
directions.
WALSH (voice-over): A major embarrassment for Putin and a turn in the narrative until Ukraine slowly left the next year.
Ultimately, the war changed around Ukraine and Syrskyi, as a younger generation found tech could compensate for a lack of brute force and
people.
Mykhailo Fedorov, the disruptor in chief and new minister of defense, leading the use of drones early to hit deep inside Russia.
I.T. data open tenders for equipment transparency questioning everything, and robots and more robots. Nothing could be further from the Syrskyi, way
of war. But it began to work and gained popularity, the major metric in Zelenskyy's decision making.
Fedorov too popular it seemed when he openly clashed with Syrskyi, leaving the older general, whose failings and frailty had been the talk of Kyiv for
months, suddenly the victor when Zelenskyy edged out a rising star.
That was until rare Kyiv protests switched to focus on Syrskyi, leaving Zelenskyy with another popularity crisis, his own, and in need of a new
military commander, a bizarrely open and fickle back and forth.
Democracy in wartime, some say, or the president ditching losers, or out with the old and in with the new, and whatever just happened, they too have
to keep winning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: We'll have more on the leadership change to Ukraine's military after the break. We'll be speaking with the chair of the Foreign Affairs
Committee for the Ukrainian Parliament, Oleksandr Merezhko.
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[12:15:13]
ASHER: All right. Returning now to Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sacked his commander-in-chief general Oleksandr Syrskyi.
GOLODRYGA: The move comes after widespread protests that follow Zelenskyy's dismissal of Ukraine's defense minister.
Our next guest is Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the Ukrainian Parliament. He joins us now from Kyiv.
Quite a busy tumultuous week it has been in Kyiv in terms of domestic politics, Oleksandr, not to mention the ongoing war and once again another
huge bombardment of ballistic missiles from Russia over the weekend.
Just talk about this decision right now at a time when there is momentum in Ukraine's favor on the battlefield, from the world stage, praise from
Donald Trump even, to make a shift like this.
How big of a mistake was this? And do you think that he has rectified it enough at this point?
OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINE PARLIAMENT: Well, it's definitely an extremely important move on the part
of the president to make this change and to invite to appoint General Drapatyi instead of General Syrskyi.
It's not about kind of struggle within or infighting for political reasons. It's more a change of generations because General Syrskyi, and I believe
that we should be grateful for everything he has done because he left the situation on the ground when our armed forces are on the offensive when we
are winning the war. We should be grateful for that.
But the time has come for a new generation of officers, new generational -- generation of generals, which are more advanced, which don't belong to the
old school educated in Soviet times. So, it's an important and natural move on the part of president to appoint a new commander-in-chief.
ASHER: And when you think about the differences between the commander-in- chief or I should say the former commander-in-chief and the former defense minister, although the federal might end up in a different position in
government. We're still waiting for confirmation on that.
When you think about the difference in terms of their vision, I mean, as you point out, Syrskyi was more of the sort of Soviet era. You know, a lot
of young people in Ukraine saw him as a relic of the past, quite frankly.
Talk to us about Fedorov's achievements as defense minister, because he was only 35 years old, very young. He was only in position -- in this position
for six months. And he achieved quite a lot, including persuading Elon Musk. I think he reached out to Elon Musk via Twitter or X, saying, listen,
can Ukraine have access to Starlink?
And then also, essentially banning or limiting Russia's use, illicit use of Starlink as well and then advancements in drone warfare technology as well.
He achieved quite a bit for just six months in that job. Just walk us through that.
[12:20:13]
MEREZHKO: Yes. Yes, it's true that even though he has been as a defense minister for only six months, but he managed to achieve a lot of important
reforms.
He's an innovator. And he has a very interesting, important experience as a minister of digitalization. So and using all his experience, he managed to
introduce more, for example, in terms of drones war.
He also managed to establish order when it comes to procurement and contracts to buy weaponry. It's also important in our -- in our situation.
So and people seeing him an innovator, he -- they've seen him very advanced reformer. And they have been a great hopes on Mr. Fedorov and hopefully he
will be reinstated.
But at the moment, president has offered some other positions for Mr. Fedorov and it remains to be seen whether he will accept this position, for
example, a vice prime minister or he will insist to be reinstated as a defense minister.
GOLODRYGA: And it does appear though that the leverage is in Fedorov's corner. Per reporting, he apparently wants either the defense minister job
or nothing else.
And in my initial question, just to be clear, when I was referencing a mistake that many say that President Zelenskyy made, it was not the firing
of Syrskyi and his replacement, but it was the initial firing of Fedorov itself that set all of this off.
Can you just walk us through? This isn't a political decision, as you said, but this was in within the military ranks where we have seen some
infighting, some clashes between management style, between direction of this war.
Why did President Zelenskyy choose initially to side with Syrskyi instead of Fedorov?
MEREZHKO: Technically speaking, Mr. Fedorov was not dismissed. He was not nominated in the new government as a new defense minister.
President himself has explained this. He says that there was a system -- as he put -- as he put a systemic conflict, even personal conflict, between
Mr. Fedorov on the one hand and Mister and General Syrskyi.
And at that moment, when this conflict has emerged, president was thinking about second both -- both parties to this conflict, but he couldn't do it
because -- he couldn't do it because, uh, because, uh, uh, he was very careful about dismissing General Syrskyi.
GOLODRYGA: Can you hear us?
ASHER: Are you having -- are you having trouble hearing us, Oleksandr? Are you having trouble hearing us?
MEREZHKO: Hello?
ASHER: Hi.
GOLODRYGA: We may have lost our connection. Let's -- let's take a quick break. Appreciate the time. Oleksandr Merezhko there appears to be some
technical issues there, but a lot to continue to discuss in the weeks to come, given all of this turmoil and shakeup in Ukraine.
ASHER: Yes. Certainly messy business happening there in Ukraine, especially given that the defense minister and the commander-in-chief were literally
not speaking to each other. That was part of the issue.
And then you have Zelenskyy firing one and then the other and then backtracking. And then you had wartime protests in Ukraine over this. It
was very messy politics for Zelenskyy.
All right. We'll have much more on this story and other stories after this short break. Don't go away.
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[12:25:00]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World."
Right now, the former president of Venezuela is in court here in New York, ahead of what is expected to be a blockbuster trial. The judge has just set
the date as June 1st of next year.
Now, lawyers for Nicolas Maduro and his wife are renewing their challenge to the U.S. military raid that forced him out of power in January and
brought them both to the U.S. where they face drug trafficking charges. The couple has pleaded not guilty.
ASHER: Yes. The Maduros could face life sentences, if convicted. Today's hearing is addressing matters like the disclosure of evidence and pretrial
emotions. Federal prosecutors and the Maduros lawyers are seeking a trial in June of next year.
While the ousting of Nicolas Maduro presents a new chapter for U.S.- Venezuela relations, there are still some massive challenges for Caracas, both diplomatically and domestically.
President Trump has said the U.S. is focused on taking control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves for the sake of U.S. interests.
GOLODRYGA: The administration has also made clear to Venezuela that it must hold free and fair elections, release political prisoners and get rid of
drug gangs. And Venezuela still faces enormous long-term hurdles as it tries to meet those demands.
Not least rampant inflation, a collapsing currency and, of course, the impact of last month's devastating earthquakes.
ASHER: Time now for The Exchange and look at what we can expect from this unprecedented legal case as well as the challenges that Venezuela still
faces.
Brett Bruen was part of the National Security Council in the Obama White House, joins us live now, from Washington.
You know, when it comes to this particular case, Brett, one thing that is very interesting, I was speaking to a former federal prosecutor at last
hour, is this idea that one of the key arguments of the defense -- defense team for Maduro is this idea of the U.S. and Venezuela extradition treaty
that was signed over a hundred years ago. That really calls into question the legality of the way in which Nicolas Maduro was captured.
Obviously, another argument that they will make is, of course, sovereign immunity as well. There's some debate over whether or not that stands for
dictator or not.
But just give us your take on the various different defense arguments we're going to be seeing here.
BRETT BRUEN, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL, OBAMA WHITE HOUSE: Well, look, yes, Maduro is going to claim that he is a head of state
and that he's entitled under international law. If not, some of these treaties in U.S. law, just certain amounts of immunity.
But we've seen this before in the case of Roger Noriega, obviously the former Panamanian leader.
On top of that, you know, Maduro's legitimacy, I think, is quite questionable. By most accounts, he lost the last election in Venezuela.
But, you know, what I think is really interesting and potentially uncomfortable for the Trump administration here is this trial is going to
air a lot of dirty laundry and it's going to be coming out into public and view at the same time that Trump is getting closer with the Chavistas in
Caracas.
[12:30:07]
GOLODRYGA: I can't help but think, Brett, that Delcy Rodriguez is basically living the deal that Maduro passed up. And what a miscalculation this had
been for Nicolas Maduro in terms of the Trump administration, misreading Trump, snatching of him and his wife in one day. He continues to tout this
as a great military success, really shocking the world.
Just talk to us about that from a geopolitical standpoint. Maduro had been given many potential off-ramps for perhaps this very same deal that his
number too apparently agreed to.
BRUEN: Yes. Look, I served at the embassy in Caracas. You know, I think what Maduro was calculating, having lived through the first Trump
administration, having obviously lived through a number of U.S. presidents, is that the United States never really showed a great deal of interest in
Venezuela.
We would put out statements. We would take sort of the -- the superficial steps, but he figured that Trump wasn't going to spend his political
capital on -- on trying to pursue things in Venezuela and obviously miscalculated on that front.
And -- and there have been a number of cases. I mean, I served in Africa in situations where leaders like Laurent Gbagbo in the Ivory Coast were, you
know, given off-ramps, were given opportunities to leave, and yet whether it's the lure of power or the pressure of some of those interests, it -- it
wasn't possible.
ASHER: According to "The Financial Times," since January, since the ousting and the capture of Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, the U.S. has seized
about $13 billion in oil revenue from Venezuela.
What do we know about what the United States has done with that money? Is there any accountability? How much of that money is actually going back to
benefit the Venezuelan people, Brett?
BRUEN: Well, that's the key question we don't know. And transparency has not been a strong suit for the Trump administration. It's certainly not a
strong suit for the Chavistas. And ostensibly, this money was going to be directed towards the humanitarian needs, which preceded the earthquake.
But right now, I think there ought to be a lot of pressure applied on the Trump administration to say the need in Venezuela is so great. And you now
have these tens of billions of dollars. How is it being used to help with the recovery, to help address those humanitarian needs?
And as we've seen before, if those humanitarian needs are not addressed, then we compound the -- the crisis and it becomes a problem for Venezuela's
neighbors, as well as here in the United States.
GOLODRYGA: Brett, going back to a point you made earlier, the trial date now we know June of next year, a lot of discomfort perhaps could come up
between now and then as the discovery process gets underway.
This is going to be leading up to and then obviously post the midterm election cycle. If this is really the win that President Trump wants to
tout in terms of foreign policy in his second term and doesn't want to muddy that up, do you foresee a scenario where there's some sort of
settlement between now and then that doesn't see this go to trial?
BRUEN: Yes, it's a good question, and potentially, because this is going to put out in the public view.
And -- and let's also be clear, it's going to be the Trump administration prosecuting Maduro and showing some of, you know, the seedy underside of
the Chavista movement and -- and yet, at the same time, we're dealing with Maduro's number two.
And so, I'm not certain how much, how comfortable the Trump folks are going to be with all of this spilling out into the public and perhaps Maduro, his
lawyers, are going to try to use that.
We obviously also have a number of other regional leaders that are following this closely because they themselves had ties into Maduro and
perhaps some of their dirty laundry gets air during this process.
And we saw this with the trial of El Chapo. And I think this is on a significantly larger scale because obviously he was the leader of a
country.
ASHER: If you are Maria Corina Machada -- Machado and you're watching what's unfolding in Venezuela, I mean, what are you thinking?
I mean, obviously I'm sure when she first saw the news of, you know, Nicolas Maduro being captured, being extradited to the United States, she
would have thought this is my chance.
I mean, and then on top of that she's living outside the country. She's itching to get back in. She is somewhat popular obviously in the country.
There needs to be elections at some point in Venezuela.
Just walk us through what that process is. Where is the United States in terms of pushing for elections -- free and fair elections to take place in
Venezuela?
[12:35:03]
BRUEN: Well, if I'm Machado, you know, my hope here is that Trump, you know, often finds himself at odds with those that he's built bridges with,
that he's, you know, placed bets on. And so that's going to be my bet, as Machado, that at some point, Delcy Rodriguez and the Chavistas are going to
fall out of favor with Trump.
The other piece, and this is where I think it's important for the Venezuelan opposition to keep up the pressure, not only on elections, but,
you know, if we look at what is a good transition involved? Oftentimes, it is that power-sharing agreement.
So, are we going to see, for instance, members of the opposition taking over certain ministries and beginning to show that ability to govern, as
well as hopefully, you know, pushing things along towards some sort of transition? Because I can tell you the Chavistas are betting that Trump is
going to essentially let them, you know, slide on this and -- and continue to stay in power.
ASHER: All right. Brett Bruen, live for us. Thank you. Thank you for that riveting discussion. Appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Well, a professional model recruiter who worked with the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, for more than a decade, has been found dead
at his home in France.
Daniel Siad arranged for young women to meet with Epstein. Documents released by U.S. authorities showed that Epstein paid him tens of thousands
of dollars.
CNN's Melissa Bell has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For the time being, authorities being very tight-lipped. The police investigation has just
begun. We know that his body was found in his -- his suburban home. And that has been confirmed to us by a prosecutor. We don't know anything about
the circumstances yet of his death.
As you mentioned, this is a man who continued to protest his innocence, despite the fact that according to our affiliate here in France, BFM,
Daniel Siad's name was cited no fewer than 2,000 times in the Epstein files.
The Epstein files also suggest that Jeffrey Epstein had paid him tens of thousands of dollars over the course of the years.
This was a model recruiter here in Paris who, for about a decade, facilitated meetings between Jeffrey Epstein and young aspiring models here
in Paris.
Now, recently, CNN's own investigative correspondent Katie Polglase has had a chance to interview Daniel Siad. And she pressed him about the fact that
he'd continued his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein even after Epstein's 2008 sex crime conviction.
This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL SIAD, MODEL RECRUITER: My work with him has been strictly professional. I never doubt that -- because I never heard anything from
anyone introduced him who came back to me that they had a bad -- a bad situation with him.
I didn't know a lot about him until when he comes to Paris, and I told you again, he said he passed his -- he too -- to the -- to the government.
So for me, he's free man. He's -- he's clean. He was such a powerful person. And -- and -- and how can I not trust him?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Daniel Siad, as you hear there who continue -- this is just a few weeks ago to protest his innocence. We've been hearing from his lawyer this
morning as well, who says he was under a great deal of pressure.
Still, because he believed he was innocent, he'd spoken to the media. He was also, I think it's important to note, the subject of a criminal probe
here in Paris, part of wider probes that are looking into the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and the modeling world. So, that would have added
to the pressure under which he was that his lawyer alluded to.
But for the time being, we know nothing about the circumstances of his death simply that this -- this is the latest macabre twist in the Epstein
affair, this time on this side of the Atlantic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Melissa Bell for that report.
All right. Still to come for us, crude prices are rising as a new threat to shipping emerges. We'll bring you the very latest.
ASHER: Plus, one of OpenAI's most advanced models has gone rogue and it's raising questions about how safe A.I. really is. Details, when we come
back.
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[12:40:46]
ASHER: All right. Let's take a look and see how markets here in the U.S. are doing. We see mixed results for Dow, S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. Pretty
much flat across the border. Although the Dow is off about half of one percent. This is your business breakout.
GOLODRYGA: Nine months after France's crown jewels were stolen in a shocking daylight heist, the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre Museum has
reopened in Paris. Security at the Louvre has been boosted and additional surveillance cameras have been set up. The stolen Jules are still missing.
ASHER: An autonomous agent powered by OpenAI went rogue hacking into the infrastructure of the startup Hugging Face. Last week, OpenAI said it was
testing some of its advanced models in a controlled environment, but the agent managed to escape containment.
GOLODRYGA: Global oil prices are climbing again as risks to key shipping routes grow. The E.U. is now warning U.S.-Israeli and Saudi linked ships to
avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden near Yemen. This comes after Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a blockade against Saudi vessels using the Bab-el-
Mandeb Strait.
CNN business senior reporter David Goldman joins us now for more. And we've been talking all week now about the impact that this has on crude prices,
on gas prices, on diesel prices. All of them have gone up. What is the latest, David?
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS REPORTER: Just all week, I feel like I've been talking about this all year. Yes. I mean, this is certainly the
story that won't stop.
But now it's not just the Strait of Hormuz that we're talking about, to your point. We're talking about the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. And that means
that if both of those are blocked off, that's two pinch points.
And the only way for oil to get out of that region is through the Suez Canal. And that is not an ideal path to get to where it needs to go the
most, which is Asia, which does not produce any of its own oil.
And this is why we're starting to see those oil prices creep higher and higher. We're looking now close to $95 a barrel for Brent. And that means
that -- close to 94 now. And it means that this could go up above $100 if we're starting to see this -- take this -- this blockade from the Houthis
really take hold.
Now, the Houthis haven't done much to actually enforce this blockade of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, but they have said that they're going to attack any
ship that tries to go through. And that has done enough damage already. We've seen about four or five ships just do a U-turn and head the other
way.
Remember, Saudi Arabia was trying to use their East-West Pipeline to get oil that would normally head out through the Strait. They're using that
pipeline to put it to the Red Sea so they could get it out the other way.
And now if it's choked off, we're talking about four to five million barrels per day that are at risk. About two and a half to three and a half
million of those were headed for Asia. This could get pretty serious if this continues.
[12:45:01]
GOLODRYGA: David Goldman, you'll be keeping an eye on it. I know it felt longer than a week --
GOLDMAN: I always do.
GOLODRYGA: -- because it has been longer than a week. Yes, somewhat a bit of job security at this point. David's looking at it from that perspective.
Thank you.
GOLDMAN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Now, it's that incident involving OpenAI models that went rouge during a security test. In the week of the incident, the tech company
says it will reinforce its safety guardrails.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. But there are fresh concerns now about the reliability of so-called frontier A.I. models.
ASHER: For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Clare Duffy. I mean, this is unprecedented. Just walk us through what exactly happened. What went wrong?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes. Zain, Bianna, this really does sound like the plot of a sci-fi movie, but it is very much real. This sort of
containment risk is something that A.I. experts have been warning about. It is also at the heart of many of the discussions that have been had at the
White House and elsewhere about control and oversight of these A.I. models, but now we are seeing this happen in real life.
Essentially, what happened here is OpenAI was testing two of its models, GPT-5.6 Sol, and a new unreleased, more advanced model. It had lowered its
normal safety guardrails for this testing because it thought it was testing in a controlled Sandbox, essentially, a virtual lab.
It gave these models a task to test their hacking capabilities. And these models went so far to fulfill that task that they sought out a
vulnerability that would allow them open internet access outside of this virtual lab.
They hacked into the Hugging Face infrastructure. This is an A.I. company that hosts lots of different A.I. models. They used stolen credentials to
navigate through that platform.
And ultimately, Hugging Face detected this hack with the help of artificial intelligence and shut it down.
But this really is a warning sign for the industry that you are starting to see A.I. models be capable of conducting hacks completely outside of human
control or human oversight.
OpenAI said in a statement about this that they consider this incident to be an unprecedented cyber incident involving state of the art cyber
capabilities and said that they were alerting the public to this now, so that defenders were aware of where A.I. models are at, at this point.
But certainly really alarming, given the fact that it's not totally clear what the Frontier Labs are going to do to make sure that this does not
happen again in the future.
ASHER: All right. Clare Duffy, live for us. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Coming up for us, the new teen royal. Wow, does time fly. I remember he was born.
ASHER: I -- I honestly can't believe this.
GOLODRYGA: Prince George celebrates his 13th birthday. Officially a teenager. We'll have a new birthday picture, straight ahead.
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[12:50:19]
GOLODRYGA: A plane carrying humanitarian aid supplies from the U.S. has arrived in Cuba and more is promised. The Trump administration has pledged
$100 million in assistance to help people in the island deal with economic hardships.
CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ESPANOL, ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: The Cuban government posted a picture on social media and made a statement confirming
that the airplane sent by the State Department had landed in Havana and was being unloaded with the promised aid.
Secretary of State Mike Rubio promised $100 million in aid to Cuba, a country in the middle of a very deep crisis. A lack of fuel, power outages.
A very difficult situation for 11 million people.
Now, what's on the plane? According to the description by the State Department, it was 700 kits of food and hygiene products for the same
number of families. Seven families will receive this aid. It's being distributed by entities linked to the Catholic Church.
State Department says this is a way of guaranteeing that this aid does not fall into the hands of government officials.
There was -- in the beginning, there was disagreement. Washington saying they had offered the aid and Cuba hadn't responded. The Cuban foreign
minister saying that aid hadn't been offered.
But then after the exchanges, they evidently reached the terms necessary for this plane to land, for this aid to be distributed.
Now, bear in mind, 700 families will receive this aid in a country of 11 million people with rolling blackouts, blackouts that can last over 21, 22,
23 hours a day and the impact that has on a daily life.
Very little fuel available, growing sanctions by the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says this crisis is a product of the
incompetence, of corruption of the Cuban government.
The Cuban government says it's a product of the decades long embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba and what they describe as a policy of
cruelty by the Trump administration.
Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Here's something that might make you feel a little old, well, depending on how old you actually are.
Prince George is officially a teen. This really blindsided me.
GOLODRYGA: I was there. I was covering his birth.
ASHER: I have no idea. In my mind, he's still five. He turned 13 today.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And he was past the due date that we thought he would. I remember spending a couple of extra weeks in London waiting for this birth.
To celebrate George's parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, posted this new picture on social media. Look, no awkward phase for a teenager.
Look how cute he is. We haven't --
ASHER: His face has stayed the same.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, yes. We haven't seen any party pictures yet, but it had to have been a wonderful day. Happy birthday to this young royal.
ASHER: And it has been 74 years since the Pan Am flight crashed off of Puerto Rico in a disaster that would change the future of airline safety.
And now the resting place of the Clipper Endeavor has finally been found.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Search teams using sonar and an underwater drone located the wreckage in the deep waters off Puerto Rico's northern coast.
Our Tom Foreman has details on the discovery and how the 1952 crash made modern air travel safer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a plane. Whoa. That's a plane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the search team, the discovery of the lost Pan Am plane is a sensation. After 74 years in the sand and salt
water, many thought this Douglas DC-4 would never be seen again.
But there it is, ghostly images of the aluminum body, the wings, even the logo, found after years of tireless work by the Air Sea Heritage
Foundation, the Discovery Channel, and Deep Sea Vision, which brought a highly-advanced underwater drone.
JOSH GATES, HOST, "EXPEDITION UNKNOWN": And that sonar vehicle, which is autonomous, went down to almost 2,000 feet below the surface. And when we
first saw the sonar imagery, and saw the outline of that plane, it just took our breath away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fly first-class or tourists on Pan Am's radar-equipped Super 7 Clippers.
FOREMAN (voice-over): In the decade after World War II, as civilian air traffic boomed, Pan Am was a global leader. The Clipper Endeavor promised a
then-quick eight-hour trip from Puerto Rico to New York City on Good Friday, 1952.
But shortly after takeoff, two of Endeavour's four engines failed, along with efforts to turn back. The old accident report says all aboard survived
the violent, watery impact, but passengers were not told where life jackets were located or instructed in their use prior to ditching.
Confusion over life rafts and escape exits followed as the plane sank in three minutes. Seventeen people survived amid pitching seas and swirling
sharks. Fifty-two did not.
[12:55:11]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome aboard.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the flight arguably has saved many, many lives since because it directly led to the creation of regulations requiring
passenger safety briefings before every takeoff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Locate the exit nearest to you.
FOREMAN (voice-over): A legacy for the living from dozens who were lost for so long and whose resting place now has been found.
GATES: This flight and this tragic accident really changed aviation, fundamentally changed it forever. And we're all safer because of this
accident. And so I think we owe them a real debt of remembrance.
FOREMAN: Of course, Discovery and CNN are owned by the same company, and Discovery plans to have a special show about all of this later in the year.
FOREMAN: What they do not plan to do is in any way disturb the wreckage or the remains of these folks who lost their lives so tragically so many years
ago.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Those images are incredible, though.
All right. That does it for "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next. You're watching CNN.
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