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New Oscar Rules, Only Humans Can Win Acting & Writing Awards; Three Passengers Dead After Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise; Ceasefire in Question as U.S. & Iran Trade Shots; New Polls Show 60 Percent Job Disapproval Rating for Trump; Search for Suspects After Masked Gunmen Injure 23 People in Oklahoma. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired May 04, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: -- walk here.

I've also spoken with screenwriters who use A.I. as a sort of writing partner. How are they going to determine that? Now, the Academy does say that it will request additional information from filmmakers if it feels like it needs that in order to make a call about whether humans were really at the heart of creating these films.

ERICA HILL, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Clare, really appreciate it. Thank you.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The ceasefire in trouble. Iran and the United States trading fire today around the Strait of Hormuz. Will other ships be ready to transit the Strait with the renewed threat of war hanging over the passage?

Plus, how low will they go? The president's poll numbers hitting some serious historic depths. We're going to dig into those numbers.

And an outbreak on the ocean. At least three people are dead, three others sick after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on board a cruise ship.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

Our Breaking News this hour, the U.S. and Iran trading shots in the Gulf, threatening an already fragile ceasefire. Today, the U.S. military says it blew up six Iranian small boats in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran launched "multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats" at U.S. Navy ships and commercial vessels.

The exchange of fire happening just hours after President Trump announced that the U.S. will begin helping guide stranded ships out of the Strait. Meantime, the UAE is accusing Iran of renewed missile and drone attacks, the first since early April, including a drone strike on an Emirati oil port, causing a large fire and injuring three people there, according to officials. Let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes at the White House right now. So, Kristen, what is the administration saying as tensions with Iran appear to be escalating?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's not just the tensions that are escalating, Boris. We're also hearing it in President Trump's rhetoric. He just did a brief phone interview with Fox, in which he said essentially that if the Iranians target U.S. ships in the area that they will be "blown off the face of the earth."

Now, during this interview, he also said that the Iranians were more malleable now, that he did believe that there could be some kind of negotiation that led to a deal. But I've got to tell you, we are in a very different place now than we were at the end of last week.

I was hearing from U.S. officials at the end of last week, senior administration officials, who were saying that they felt really good about the direction that this was going in. Instead, now we're starting to see this really seem to devolve. And President Trump posted on social media about what we were seeing in the Strait, saying Iran has taken some shots at unrelated nations in respect to the ship movement.

And he also noted it was a South Korean cargo ship. Then he essentially says that maybe South Korea should join them on this mission, talking about the war in Iran. And then he goes on to talk about the fast boats, which we've heard about, and then that tomorrow there's going to be another one of these press briefings by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine.

But where we are right now, talking to these officials, is it does not seem as though they are in a place where they feel that they can get to some kind of agreement here, which is very different, again, than what we heard at the end of last week.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House, thank you so much. Let's turn to CNN National Security Correspondent, Natasha Bertrand.

Natasha, what are you learning as the U.S. and Iran are trading strikes now?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris, so U.S. Central Command Chief, Admiral Bradley Cooper, he held a call with reporters earlier today. He kind of outlined how the U.S. military is going about trying to guide these commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, essentially via a huge U.S. military presence that involves guided missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, unmanned platforms, so things like Reaper drones, and 15,000 service members who are now stationed there to respond, essentially, if Iran does attack any of these ships trying to pass through the Strait. And that is exactly what happened this morning.

According to Admiral Cooper, the Iranians began launching drones, cruise missiles and small boats at some of these ships, including U.S. Navy ships. And the U.S. military then responded by blowing up about six of these small Iranian boats using Apache and Seahawk helicopters. Now, it's important to note here that Admiral Cooper did not say whether or not this means that the ceasefire is over, given that the Iranians and the Americans are now trading shots, essentially, in that Strait.

He would only say that the U.S. is going to continue to act defensively to try to protect these ships, as well as, of course, its own assets. And one other thing is that he really emphasized that there are no escorts going on right now of these commercial vessels in this area by the U.S. military. Instead, they say that this kind of overarching defensive package that they have built up in that area is creating deterrence.

Now, the Iranians, they might have a different perception of that, because, of course, they continue to try to take shots at these ships in the waterway.

[14:05:00]

But the U.S. military is saying, look, it's better for us to have this big overall presence here rather than escort each ship one by one through the Strait, which could actually leave them more vulnerable in the end, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much for that reporting. Erica?

HILL: Well, 69 days after President Trump launched a war with Iran, he is receiving the highest disapproval rating ever in the CNN Poll of Polls. That poll averages the latest major public opinion surveys. Nearly two-thirds of Americans, 64 percent, say they do not approve of the way he is handling his job as president. Just 35 percent approve.

I want to bring in our CNN Chief Data Analyst, Harry Enten. So, Harry, you did a deep dive on the polls that make up the CNN Poll of Polls.

And if I know one thing about you, my friend, I know one of the things that you love to do is not only dig in deeper, but put this all in context for us, especially when it comes to that historical perspective. So what are you seeing?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yeah, you know, you were mentioning the CNN Poll of Polls, and of course, the Poll of Polls is made up of individual polls, and one of them that just came out over the weekend was the ABC News-Washington Post-Ipsos poll. And you can see it right here.

I mean, this just tells the story, right? The lowest net approval ratings ever for the president of the United States. That is approval minus disapproval. The lowest previous record, according to the ABC News-Washington Post poll, was Trump was 24 points underwater.

That was all the way back in term number one. My beard at that particular point did not have any gray in it like it does today. But guess what? As my beard has turned to gray, Trump's numbers have fallen to a new record low, according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll.

He is now 25 points underwater on the net approval rating. That is the lowest ever that he has ever been at. And so it's not much of a surprise to me that the CNN Poll of Polls is reflecting that with the record-high disapproval rating.

HILL: Well, are there also -- Harry, as you dig into this, are there groups that have normally been supportive of President Trump who are now beginning to break and break significantly?

ENTEN: Now you're asking the questions, Erica Hill. Now you're asking the questions that matter. What is driving this? What is driving this bus into the swamp for the president of the United States? Well, how about this? How about GOP-leaning independents, that is independents who are normally a part of the president's coalition, independents who say when they're pushed that they lean towards the Republican Party? You know, back in the 2024 election versus Kamala Harris, look at this, Donald Trump got 91 percent of that vote. That's near uniformity right there, very close to 100 percent. 91 percent of that vote back in the 2024 election.

Jump forward. What is it? A year and a half now, look at where he is on the job approval rating. When you average the ABC News-Washington Post poll, along with the Pew Research Center poll that came out late last week, he is now at just a 53 percent job approval rating. Now, I'm not the greatest math student of all time, but my quick math suggests 91 minus 53 is a whole lot of trouble.

And more than that, it's a 38 point drop in just about a year and a half worth of time. President Trump, with a core group of his that pretty much all backed him back in 2024, in massive trouble right now.

HILL: And that trouble, right, how is that looking in terms of November, looking ahead to the midterms?

ENTEN: Yeah, it's not looking particularly good if you're Republicans. Look, they're still leading with that group. But take a look here. OK, choice for Congress, GOP leading independents. You know, back in the 2024 election, Republicans won that vote by 83 points. You look now, look, they're still ahead. But that lead has squished.

It's now a 68 point advantage. That's a drop of 15 points. This type of movement, if it in fact holds until the general election this year, the midterm elections, this alone would be enough to put the House from Republican hands to Democratic hands.

Look, normally with GOP-leaning independents, it's a nice ice cream sundae for the Republican Party and Donald Trump. But now that ice cream sundae, well, it's melting quite rapidly, Erica.

HILL: That is no good. Harry Enten, appreciate it, my friend.

ENTEN: No good, no bueno.

HILL: Thank you. ENTEN: Still ahead here, a cruise ship crisis. A stranded American makes a new plea after a suspected outbreak of a deadly virus kills three passengers and sickens several others.

Plus, more than a dozen women are speaking out about what they say were uncomfortable encounters with former Congressman, Eric Swalwell. We have that new reporting.

And the Supreme Court stepping in after access to the abortion pill was extremely limited. The case, though, far from over. Those stories and much more. You're watching "CNN News Central."

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SANCHEZ: Today, three cruise passengers are dead. At least three others are sick after a suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus. The World Health Organization says the ship, the MV Hondius, is currently on lockdown off the coast of Africa after it left Argentina about seven weeks ago, making multiple stops.

This hour, 149 people remain on board, including 17 Americans. Earlier, a passenger from Boston shared this emotional message. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE ROSMARIN, PASSENGER ON BOARD THE MV HONDIUS: I am currently on board the MV Hondius, and what's happening right now is very real for all of us here. We're not just a story. We're not just headlines. We're people, people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.

[14:15:00]

There's a lot of uncertainty, and that's the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity, and to get home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: With us now is Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, Caitlin Rivers. She is an Epidemiology Professor at Johns Hopkins and Author of "Crisis Averted." Thank you so much for being with us, Doctor. We appreciate the time.

Hantavirus itself is not especially common. It's rare, but it is potentially deadly. Help us understand what these passengers and the crew there are facing.

CAITLIN RIVERS, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Hantavirus is a family of viruses that's found really all over the world, but only in rare circumstances does it make it into humans. The passengers are facing an outbreak of hantavirus and the source is currently unknown. Now, most outbreaks happen due to contact between humans and rodents or their excrement. And so, disease investigators will be looking for that as a possible source, possibly looking into the excursions, really just trying to understand where these passengers might have come in contact with the virus.

SANCHEZ: There's only one type of hantavirus that's known to transmit from person to person, right? So what is the likelihood that that's how it was transmitted on board?

RIVERS: The investigators will be looking at a big range of scenarios, but there are two main ones that come to my mind. The first is that there is some sort of contamination on the ship.

So there is potentially a rodent problem that is bringing the passengers into contact with infected rodents or their excrement. Or it could be the case, but this is a more remote possibility that there is limited human to human transmission. There have only been a few reported instances of hantavirus transmitting from person to person, but during this initial course of the investigation, all possibilities will be looked into.

So it's safe to say that the threat to the public wherever this boat winds up docking is fairly low, right?

RIVERS: Absolutely, yes. This is not a virus that transmits readily and sometimes at all between humans. So although it's a very serious situation for people on board and it was difficult to hear the emotional plea from the passenger, the broader public is not at threat here.

SANCHEZ: How is it treated?

RIVERS: Treatment is supportive. There are no specific treatments. There are no specific vaccines for hantavirus. It's really just supporting people through the course of their illness. Early infections look a lot like flu-like illness, and so identifying people early in the course of illness before they become very sick is one of the challenges. This is an infection that's not going to be top of mind for a lot of physicians, and so recognizing it is a problem.

And then if they advance to the more severe stage of illness, it's really supportive care and keeping those lungs supported.

SANCHEZ: I do wonder generally about the safety of going on a cruise like this in part because it's not just hantavirus. With this one, I've heard a lot about norovirus infecting broadly cruise passengers. What should you be out on the lookout for if you're thinking of taking a trip like this?

RIVERS: This is the first known instance of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, and so very unusual situation. As you said, one of the more common outbreaks that affects cruise ships is norovirus, which is the stomach bug. It causes vomiting and diarrhea.

With that pathogen, hand washing, sanitation is going to be really important, and so if you are going on a cruise, I would really attend to hand washing and keeping clean.

SANCHEZ: Caitlin Rivers, thanks so much for sharing your expertise.

RIVERS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, masked gunmen opening fire on a lake party in Oklahoma. More than 20 people injured. We have the latest on the search for suspects.

Plus, the details from Britney Spears' court date on DUI charges. That and much more coming your way on CNN.

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SANCHEZ: We're monitoring major new developments after a mass shooting in Oklahoma. Police saying at least 23 people were injured in the carnage late Sunday. Investigators say a pair of masked men opened fire on a group of people, but at this point, no suspects have been identified.

CNN's Rafael Romo has been following the case. So Rafael, what more are police saying at this point?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey Boris, well, Edmond Police say the chaotic scene unfolded around 9 p.m. local time at a campground near Arcadia Lake. That's a recreation area located about 13 miles north of Oklahoma City.

In an update published just a couple of hours ago, Boris, the Edmond Police Department said that the shooting occurred during what they called an unsanctioned party that began after dark and was advertised across multiple social media platforms. Police also said the party drew a large crowd of young adults from across the metro area. Police said they are not releasing suspect information at this time, but they believe there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Previously, a police spokesperson said no suspects were in custody. This is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY WARD, EDMOND, OKLAHOMA POLICE: So we're out here investigating a shooting this evening that occurred at approximately nine o'clock. There was a party at Lake Arcadia. Edmond Police, along with Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Oklahoma City Police, responded to find multiple victims.

[14:25:00]

I can confirm that we have transported 10 to area metro hospitals in various conditions. I do not have an update on those conditions at this time. However, there will be more victim numbers coming in as some did take their own personal vehicles to the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Boris, as we just heard, police initially reported at least 10 victims were taken to hospitals in various conditions, but noted the number would likely rise because some people drove themselves to the hospitals. Police now say the total number of injured people in connection to the shooting has risen to 23, although some of those victims suffered injuries other than gunshot wounds.

This was the latest in a trio of shootings involving teens or young adults over the weekend across the U.S. The chaotic incident in Oklahoma happened only hours after a shooting at a post-prom party in Indianapolis left one woman dead and at least two others wounded, CNN Affiliate WTHR reported.

And just a day earlier in Amarillo, Texas, Boris, two people were killed and at least 10 others were injured Saturday at a Texas party involving juveniles and young adults, according to the local police department. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Rafael Romo, thank you so much for an update on those stories.

Still to come, where does the ceasefire stand after the U.S. and Iran trade shots today? We have analysis on the new military action in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

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