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California Governor's Race; Hegseth Says Ceasefire is Not Over; Brian Jacob is Interviewed about Cell Phone Bans. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 05, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY), HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: No, the situation continues to escalate. And again, this is not -- we are all rooting for this to end, but we have to be honest with what's happening and realistic with what's happening on the ground. Strikes into another ally of ours, UAE, yesterday, hitting their oil infrastructure, major oil infrastructure, in an attempt to bring in another ally of ours, South Korea, happened yesterday.

And then of course, direct attacks on U.S. forces, as Chairman Caine mentioned. That does not feel like de-escalation to me. Unfortunately, it's escalation.

And the inability or unwillingness of Hegseth and Trump to acknowledge the reality is a real problem, because how are we going to solve this if we're not straightforward about what's happening?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So the defense secretary went to great ends to separate what he is calling Project Freedom. That's the effort to guide ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, to separate that from what he's calling Operation Epic Fury. That's the Strait on Conflict with Iran.

And he said that Project Freedom is defensive in nature and temporary. Why do you think he's making these distinctions here?

RYAN: Well, they're trying to get around the Constitution, frankly, which is very clear that a war, which we are certainly in, requires the consent of the people through the Congress. And last week, they put up a total BS argument, some twisted legal logic that we're calling a pause, almost like it's a video game or something. And somehow the clock stops on this war, which is just not what the law calls for.

And now they're trying to get really cute here, almost, and say, well, this is something different. The reality for our troops on the ground is this is all part of a war that the president started over two months ago. And the reality for the American people at the pump, at the grocery store, and everywhere else, as costs are skyrocketing, is that this is all part of this same war.

And we've seen, unfortunately, the level of angst and concern among public polling. The American people see what's happening, and unfortunately, they are not supportive of this.

BERMAN: So this is an effort, as you see it, to say that this fighting isn't part of this larger fighting, and it may not count then towards the total of 60 days. And of course, this gets to something that you are introducing in Congress. You want to block funding for anything, I believe, going on near Iran, unless and until Congress authorizes this operation?

RYAN: Yes, yes. Several colleagues and I, all veterans, introduced legislation today to say if you're going to continue this war further, you need authorization to do it, which, again, is what the Constitution calls for and what the wisdom of our founders and framers called for, that the decision to go to war shouldn't just be made by one singular person. It should be made by the people.

So the legislation says no additional funding for this war and puts pressure on the administration to be honest with what's happening and to really try bring this to a swift conclusion, rather than what this feels like, which is, well, we need another week. We need another week. Well, maybe two more weeks.

We're now more than 10 weeks in. The president continues to be hanging out at the golf course in Mar-a-Lago and ignoring the reality on the ground.

BERMAN: So if the argument that the defense secretary is making is that the exchanges we've seen over the last 24 hours with Project Freedom aren't part of the other operation, do you buy that? Do you that these exchanges of fire don't count as war, don't count toward the 60 days?

RYAN: No, of course not. Any objective observer would say this war was initiated, you know, February 28th. The things that flow from it, which certainly is -- I mean, the Strait was wide open before this.

Now we're stuck in a situation where, as we all know, the Strait is closed. We're blockading a blockade, which makes very little sense, and essentially both sides are paying the price here. And this is the president flailing to try to get us out of this.

And again, the people who pay the price are our troops and the American people. So I don't buy this.

BERMAN: All right, Congressman Pat Ryan from New York, we appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for helping us understand what we just heard at that news conference. Appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up for us, an explosion just rips through a fireworks factory, leaving dozens killed and a search for -- an urgent search still for survivors. We've got the latest on this.

And a bear's big adventure through one neighborhood causing chaos. How wildlife officials got him back to where he belongs.

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[08:38:56]

BERMAN: Yes, you just saw it right there, tonight, right here on CNN, a debate. All the major contenders to be the next governor of California will face off on a CNN stage.

One of the big issues ahead of this June 2nd primary in California, just like it is around the country, is the cost of living.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

We talk about gas prices every day here. Another big jump overnight to this multi-year high. We talk about the national average. And California, whoo, even bigger.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh my goodness gracious. I mean just take a look at the price of gasoline for a gallon of gas. The national average right now is $4.48. But you think that's bad. Go out to the left coast. Top in the United States, $6.13. There's even a gas station out there where the cost is about $10 per gallon. And, of course, if you've ever been out there, you always know that the prices in California for a gallon of gas are just, simply put, absolutely outrageous, running well ahead of the national average. The folks in California really getting hurt by this increase in gas prices.

[08:40:03]

BERMAN: Part of the reason for that is they have a -- they have a higher gas tax, right?

ENTEN: That's exactly right. One of -- the big reasons why you see this big difference right here is, in fact, the gas tax out in California. And our partners at USA Facts helped provide this data for us.

Take a look here. The state gas tax and fees per gallon. You know, in the average state it's 33 cents. California, again, the top in the nation, more than double that at 71 cents.

Now, Johnny B., the quick math here is, what, a difference of 30 -- 38 cents.

BERMAN: That's a tough one. That's a tough one to do in your head. Yes, 38.

ENTEN: Yes, it's 38. I know it's very, very difficult. My math lessons, you're trying to work this morning, 38 cents. You know, a decade ago, the difference here was just 11 cents. So, what you're essentially seeing here is that Californians are feeling the pain more and more over the last decade when it comes to the gas pump because -- one of the big reasons why is the state gas tax and fees per gallon have been climbing ever higher.

BERMAN: How do voters there feel about this? ENTEN: OK. So, you see this 38 cent difference here. You see this,

what is this, you know, nearly $2 difference here. And not much of a surprise here. California standards for energy and gas not worth the added gas cost. Look at this. Among all voters, 57 percent say it's not worth it. Among independents, it's 61 percent. It's going to be very interesting to see if there's a question tonight when it comes to those gas costs, because Californians are clearly feeling the pain, and many of them at this point say, you know what, it's just, simply put, not worth it.

BERMAN: They're going to be talking tons about the cost of living tonight. I can almost guarantee it. But it'll be interesting to see where they place the blame on California, on the Gavin Newsom regime, or on President Trump. I think it will depend on which party they are in.

ENTEN: Yes, I think it might just be, John Berman.

BERMAN: Harold Enten, thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news this morning. It has been a serious question and, quite frankly, up in the air since Iran and U.S. forces started exchanging fire multiple times yet again in the Strait of Hormuz. And asked yesterday about the ceasefire, President Trump declined to say that the ceasefire remained in place. But now we just heard from the defense secretary of the United States on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: No, the ceasefire is not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project. And we expected there would be some churn at the beginning, which happened. And we said we would defend and defend aggressively. And we absolutely have. Iran knows that. And ultimately, the president is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining us right now is former congressman, Air Force veteran, Adam Kinzinger. Also the author, out now, of the new children's book, "That's What Heroes Do."

It's good to see you.

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, you too. Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Thank you for being here.

OK, so Hegseth says the ceasefire is on. Lindsey Graham, yesterday, said, "Iran has absolutely violated the ceasefire and Trump should respond with a big, strong, painful and short attack." What is going on here?

KINZINGER: I mean, it's -- a ceasefire is in the eyes of the beholder. So, if the president decides he wants the ceasefire to hold, and I think he desperately wants the ceasefire to hold, I think he is worried about reengaging with Iran right now, then it holds, right? You can say, oh, those are just minor violations, or as Hegseth called them, churn, right, OK.

If they don't want it to hold, then you can say it hasn't. So, yes, I guess technically, if they say it's on, it's on. But I think we can expect more of this.

You know, Iran clearly wants to come out of this having kind of humiliated Donald Trump. They're on track to do that right now. And so we'll have to see.

BOLDUAN: And another thing -- and kind of -- everything's coming down to like the definition --

KINZINGER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: A definition of terms, right? Like what is the definition of a violation of a ceasefire? What is the definition of instigating a war? And what is the definition of, is the Strait of Hormuz open or not?

KINZINGER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Because Hegseth also said that -- that two commercial ships have already transited through the Strait.

KINZINGER: Right.

BOLDUAN: As John pointed out.

KINZINGER: Wow.

BOLDUAN: Normally it's 100. But to -- I guess take progress where one can take it. But he says that shows the lane is clear. They say they control the Strait, Iran. They do not.

KINZINGER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Again, down to definition of terms in a big, messy political way (ph).

KINZINGER: I think if he's saying the lane is clear in terms of there's no floating mines right now in that specific lane, those two -- those two, you know, boats took, sure. Great.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

KINZINGER: Does it mean it's open and there's -- I mean there was all kinds of shooting yesterday. And so it is. It comes down to definition. Keep in mind, the Strait had 100 tankers go through it every day up until this point. And I think that's important. BOLDUAN: Give me -- give me your take then. Why do you think the

president -- what do you think this says about the president's comfort, discomfort or concern about reengaging again with -- in terms of really starting to just open it up, or as Lindsey Graham says, a short, painful, big attack?

KINZINGER: I mean, I think he's scared to death of it, honestly. It looks like -- if you look from day two he was saying this war is won, it's over, we've done it, right?

[08:45:04]

So, then we had about a month and a half of fighting still. Then he basically engaged in the ceasefire without an agreement from Iran. And now, despite these violations and everything else going on, he's basically sitting there going, oh, no, it's still on hold.

I think because of the, you know, CNN did great reporting on the damage to U.S. military assets in the region.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Yes.

KINZINGER: I think that's important. I think the fact that clearly the military is an important part of a security strategy here, but it's not the only part. And they have really failed on the diplomatic front. We've isolated our allies. We've isolated ourselves. Information. Iran is killing us with Lego memes. And the White House, instead of fighting back on that front, they're fighting back against Democrats and then economic, they just put this chokehold on the Strait despite having lifted sanctions against Iran basically on day two.

So, they don't have a strategy. I think the president may be finally understanding that the military has its limits, even though they act, you know, very well.

The other thing is, when you start saying, this is not violating the War Powers Act.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

KINZINGER: And, by the way, every president has violated the War Powers Act. But the War Powers Act clearly states, after you alert Congress as to military activities, you have 60 calendar days. By -- not business days --

BOLDUAN: Well, and Hegseth is trying -- and Hegseth is, again, definitely is trying to make a distinction there.

KINZINGER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Saying that what's going on -- this churn is now separate and distinct.

KINZINGER: That's why they renamed it, by the way. That's the reason they renamed it, because now they can say this is a new operation. That's not going to change. I don't think Congress is willing to

regain its own power. And it has to be willing to do that. But I think they're being too cute by half on that.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you.

KINZINGER: Yes, you too. Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Congrats on the book. Thanks for coming in.

KINZINGER: Thanks. I appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Kate.

All right, ahead, do cell phone bans in school have the intended effect to help children concentrate and learn what a new study reveals? That's ahead.

Also, the high profile and very contentious legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's production company has come to an end. How did it end just weeks before it was supposed to go to trial?

Those stories and more ahead.

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[08:51:15]

SIDNER: It's one of the rare, bipartisan efforts across the country, banning cell phones from classrooms. In the past three years, two- thirds of states passed laws restricting cell phones in schools. Those bans were supposed to help children focus on their education, raise their test scores, improve their mental well-being. Has it worked? This morning, we take a look at the findings of a new study on this.

Joining me now is Brian Jacob. He is a professor of education policy and economics at the University of Michigan and the co-author of the study, "The Effects of School Phone Bans."

Very simple there, the name of the study. So, what did the study tell you? What did it find?

BRIAN JACOB, PROF. OF EDUCATION POLICY AND ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Well, we had three main findings. First, it appears that these lockable pouches that were used to restrict student cell phone use did just that. We find a reduction of about 30 percent in GPS pings, which is a measure of cell phone use. And in a teacher survey that we conducted, we find about an 80 percent reduction in teacher reports of students using cell phones during class.

Second, we found a short term kind of disruption effect in the first year of the policy. Disciplinary incidents went up. And student well- being went down. But these effects faded over time. And, in fact, by year three of the policy, student well-being was above the -- what it was before the pouches.

But finally, we didn't really see any significant impacts on student test scores. So, no kind of measurable change in student achievement.

SIDNER: So, these are -- these are sort of mixed results, although it is fascinating that that first year, the students, it sounds like, you know, symptoms of withdrawal from having the distraction of the phone and being able to use those dopamine hits, you know, while you're in class. And then -- but then three years later, you noticed, oh, actually they're better off now than they were before when they were able to use their cell phones.

But test scores, what do you attribute any of that to? Because the test scores didn't change.

JACOB: Yes, I think that is still a bit of a puzzle. I mean I think there's a few, potential explanations. Well, one is, you know, even if the removal of the cell phones was able to, reduce student distraction through phone use, it may -- students may have just kind of continued to be distracted by the same old things that they've always been distracted by. You know, friends and, you know, you know, disruption or kind of peers in the classroom daydreaming. So, I think that's one potential explanation.

And I think the other is that students, you are still kind of post- Covid, quite disengaged from school and it may take a while to kind of get them back reengaged. And we may need more than simple cell phone bans.

SIDNER: Yes. And, obviously, when you get home, you can have your cell phone right next to you as you're studying. So, that might -- that might be another thing. You know, we adults aren't any better. We do it too when we're supposed to be doing something else, we've got our cell phone there and every now and then you glance over at it.

Brian Jacob, it's really interesting. We'll be interested to see sort of how this plays out over more time. I do appreciate you coming on this morning.

Kate.

[08:55:03]

BOLDUAN: A city known as the fireworks capital of the world just essentially went up in flames. The video is wild. You can see the thick plume of smoke rising from the fireworks plant, just look at that, after what's being called an explosion in Hunan province, China. At least 26 people were killed and dozens of others were injured. State media reports that the shockwave from the blast shattered windows of nearby buildings. Search and rescue operations, they are ongoing. Nearly 500 first responders have been mobilized for this rescue mission. They've even brought in robots to help look for survivors in all of this. At least one official with the company of this factory, in this plant, this fireworks company is now in police custody, while the cause of this explosion is being investigated. Last year, Chinese state media reported that this one city accounted for 60 percent of the world's fireworks supply.

And a wild black bear caused quite a stir after videos caught it roaming around a neighborhood in California. Not a teeny one it doesn't look like either. Three schools in the area were put in lockdown after the bear made its way down from the national forest there. California wildlife officials were able to tranquilize the bear, load him into a trailer and release him back into the wild as you can see, but not before who knows what he picked up all along the way.

SIDNER: Oh. Don't we do the Fat Bear Contest?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: Could he be a contender, I think? Look, that's a big boy.

BOLDUAN: I know. Those things are enormous.

SIDNER: So pretty.

BOLDUAN: And I don't think they're black bears either. Not in Alaska.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Ahead, an investigation is unfolding after a man allegedly opened fire at a Secret Service agent just blocks away from the White House, with one child wounded in that process. The latest that we're learning in the investigation there.

Also, glitz and glam at fashion's biggest night. The must see fits from this year's Met Gala. And there's some controversy too.

Those stories and more, ahead.

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