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Trump Says War Will Be Over, Strait will be Open if Iran Agrees to Deal on the Table; Trump Gets Revenge in Indiana with 5 State Senate Primary Wins; Democrat Sherrod Brown to Face GOP's Jon Husted in Ohio Senate Race; Lutnick to Testify About Jeffrey Epstein Before House Oversight Committee. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired May 06, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

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CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: ... for entertainment and role playing. Character AI prioritizes responsible product development and has robust internal reviews and red teaming processes in place to assess relevant features. The company also says that at the top of each chat it has disclaimers saying that the chatbot is AI and not to take any advice from it.

But you could see how this would be confusing for someone who has gone looking for mental health advice, seeing that disclaimer, but then also seeing this chatbot saying, no, I'm a licensed professional and here's my license number. These kinds of characters are also really common on this platform. And just to give you a sense, I searched for therapist on Character AI yesterday.

I think we may have some pictures of what I found. There are dozens of results showing therapy bots that people can talk to. So Pennsylvania is seeming to say that this disclaimer that Character AI offers is not sufficient to protect people.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You got to be careful. Speak to a human. If you look a human in the face, you know they're human, generally. Clare, thank you very much.

A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We'll begin with breaking news. Just moments ago, President Trump saying that if Iran agrees to a deal on the table, the war is over. But if not, he's again threatening a new wave of even more intense bombing. What we know about this possible deal?

And the president here in the States vowed vengeance. And overnight he got it. His push to oust several Indiana incumbents who defied his redistricting demand worked. What does that say about what might happen in the midterms?

And cameras catch this moment where a driver takes deputies on a wild chase down the road and straight into, unfortunately, a pond.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. BERMAN: And we do have some breaking news. This morning some possible -- and the key word here is possible -- progress in negotiations with Iran. President Trump posted just moments ago, seeming to reference a potential deal.

This is what he wrote, quote, "Assuming that Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end and the highly effective blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be open to all, including Iran. If they don't agree, the bombing starts and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before." Now, we should note that Marco Rubio said yesterday that Epic Fury was already over. The president here is saying maybe it's not but be that as it may.

The statement comes after a new report in Axios from CNN political and global affairs analyst, Barak Ravid, who we're going to speak to in just a moment. That report says that White House officials believe that the U.S. and Iran are closing in on a one-page memo to end the war. This deal would reportedly involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment and the U.S. agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Again, there have been a flurry of these developments and about faces over the last 24 hours, including the president who said he is pausing the two-day-old U.S. operation to guide ships through the Strait, citing, quote, great progress in the talks. And this is after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio spent literally hours talking about how great that new operation, Project Freedom, is. But that's now on pause.

We're waiting to see what else it means -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Put all that together, let's bring now in, joining me is CNN political and global affairs analyst, Barak Ravid of Axios, of course, and also the former secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro. Thank you both. I really appreciate it.

Barak, let's talk, I want to get your take on the president's new social media post. As you have this new reporting that the U.S. and Iran are closing in on this one-page memo, memorandum, what does this new message from the president mean in the context of your reporting, do you think?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think the president here confirms that the parties are close to a deal. I think the White House feels that they're very close. I think a lot of people in the White House feel that this is the closest point they've been to an agreement with Iran since the war has started, and maybe, maybe, even since Trump assumed office.

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There were several rounds of negotiations with Iran over the last year or so, and I think the White House feels they're the closest they've been to a deal with Iran that will include some significant concessions on the nuclear program, and obviously, the ending of the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade, the opening of the Hormuz Strait, and several other provisions. And I think that what the president is saying this morning is there's a deal on the table. Iran should say yes.

Why is he saying that? Because the U.S. expects Iran today and tomorrow to give its response on several parts of this MOU, of this draft MOU, and those responses will come from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and I think that that's the person Trump's post is pointing at.

BOLDUAN: Secretary, what do you make of this?

CARLOS DEL TORO, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE U.S. NAVY: Well, Kate, I think it's a positive outcome if we can get back to the negotiating table and actually come to an agreement, basically. It opens up the Straits and allows the global economy to begin restoring itself, which will take weeks, if not months, to do so.

BOLDUAN: And, Secretary, let me also ask you then, you've got, at the very same time John was talking about it, you had Hegseth, you've got the Joint Chiefs Chairman from the podiums of the Pentagon talking about Project Freedom. You've got Marco Rubio from the podium at the White House saying that the combat operation is over. Let me play this.

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MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So what does it mean when you hear the Secretary of State declare from the White House that the combat operation now is over, but the president then kind of leveling something of a lingering threat now in this new social media post, you know, if not?

DEL TORO: Well, it's hard to understand what the objectives are, clearly, as being articulated by the administration. But let's hope for the best and hope that, in fact, Iran does stop their attacks on shipping in the Straits, in which case, perhaps we can lift the naval embargo at some point in time and get back to, coming back to the negotiation table and coming up with a resolution that allows for nuclear restrictions in Iran, that puts in place the proper monitoring requirements that are needed, that allows for some sanctions to come to Iran on the nuclear-related issues, and also allows for snapback procedures, basically, should Iran actually not keep its word with the final agreement.

BOLDUAN: And, Barak, when it comes to your reporting on kind of them being, believing that they are closer than they maybe ever have been in terms of a negotiation, is it clear to you what got them here? Like, what got them to this point? Because it has seemed like nothing that has been -- it has seemed, from the frustration of the president and everyone involved, that many of the things that they have tried to this point have not gotten Iran to the table in the way that they've wanted, which is why talks stalled.

So what is it now?

RAVID: Well, I think the talks and the negotiations, both directly and indirectly, between the White House and the Iranians, have continued all along. And I think that in the last few days, there have been some movements. I think this operation in the Strait of Hormuz was meant to rock the boat, literally, and I think it did.

And I think one of the reasons that it was suspended yesterday is that on the one hand, I think it created some of the movements the White House wanted to make, and on the other hand, it generated Iranian attacks that the White House realized are not good to what they're trying to do, which is getting a deal. So I think once they realized that, they just killed this operation. But I think we still need to see where it goes, because we've been at that point many times since the war started.

And every time the White House felt that an agreement was closed, but the Iranians came back and said, well, no, yes, but, no, but, presented new terms. We need to see how the Iranians react. A lot of the people that are engaged in those negotiations, both in the Trump administration and the mediators, this time around, at least in my impression, are more optimistic than they've ever been since the beginning of the war.

This does not mean that we will get a deal. And in any case, the deal that we're talking about at the moment is on this one-page MOU. This is a framework agreement.

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This is, at the end of the day, sets the stage for the more important negotiation that will take place over 30 days, that will have to take all those general principles and translate it into actual details, all those issues, especially on the nuclear issue, are highly technical. General headlines are not enough.

Even if Iran says, and right now the negotiations, for example, is for how long is the moratorium on uranium enrichment will be? At the moment, the U.S. still demands 20 years. Iran signals that it is ready for 12 years.

Some people that are engaged in those talks believe that they can settle on 15 years. But even if they agree on that, there are so many details of how do you actually do it and sequencing, so this is very complicated. And I hope that on the U.S. side, there's a very significant and professional team that is getting ready for those negotiations because you cannot do those negotiations with two people.

You need a whole team of experts and professionals that can do the nitty gritty in order to get to an agreement.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Barak, great reporting. Thanks so much for jumping on. Secretary, thank you so much for coming on and offering your perspective -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, just ahead, President Trump getting his revenge on several Indiana incumbents who refused to back his redistricting demand. They were ousted by his hand-picked candidates. What this might mean for the November midterms?

Also, today, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is in the hot seat facing tough questions on Capitol Hill about his past connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

And the major airline ditching free snacks and drinks for hundreds of those short flights. You don't have to guess, you can see the picture.

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SIDNER: This morning, the headlines say it all, as Politico puts it bluntly, red blood spilled in Indiana. President Trump fulfilling his promise to exact revenge against seven Republican state senators who defied his demands last year to redraw Indiana's congressional maps. He certainly got it five of those seven incumbents were defeated in their primaries by Trump-backed challengers. Just one Trump-endorsed candidate lost. Another race is still too close to call.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is with me now. What can you tell us about what happened there? And there's also I think we might even get to Ohio as well.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, President Donald Trump got the political payback he was looking for in Indiana last night. The president had endorsed seven candidates to challenge Republican state senators who had voted against his redistricting effort in the state last year. And at least five of those Trump-backed challengers were successful in defeating those Republican state senators.

There is still one race that is too close to call between State Senator Spencer Deery and Paula Copenhaver in the West Lafayette area of Indiana. But really, these state legislative races typically fly under the radar. But this year's contest attracted millions of dollars in outside spending.

Over $13 million poured into this race as President Trump's allies tried to make good on his wishes to defeat those GOP senators who had defied him. Really, this can send a warning shot to many Republicans, both in Indiana and across the country, if they are considering challenging President Trump and his policies going forward. But these results in Indiana could bolster Republican efforts across the South as they are different states are weighing whether to pursue redistricting.

Louisiana's governor, Jeff Landry, has delayed U.S. House primaries in the state that were slated for later this month so his state can redraw congressional maps. All of this is part of the GOP's efforts to try to gain an edge in the midterm elections. But really, for President Donald Trump, these Indiana elections show that he continues to hold a very firm grip on his party, even though on the national level, his approval ratings have been falling, including with independents.

But President Trump continues to have a strong grip on the GOP.

SIDNER: Give us a sense of what's happening in Ohio, because there were some really big primaries that happened there as well.

SAENZ: Yes, the stage is set for the November elections in Ohio in the governor's race. A Republican entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy, won the GOP nomination to take on Dr. Amy Acton, a state health official, a Democrat. And then there's that consequential Senate race where former Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, will be challenging the incumbent Republican Senator John Husted in November.

Ohio is one of the states that Democrats believe they could flip to the blue column come November. And both parties are expecting to spend big money in the race. Just take a look at some of the pledges that we've seen from the GOP and Dem SuperPACs.

The GOP is promising to spend $79 million to support Husted, while Democrats are investing about $40 million. This will be one of those key races that we're watching as Democrats try to take control of the majority in November.

SIDNER: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you -- John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, evacuations underway in the cruise ship that was struck with a deadly Hantavirus outbreak. The new fight brewing over whether the ship will be able to dock.

And a father and son team up to rescue passengers stuck on a sinking boat miles offshore.

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BERMAN: We are standing by for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear before the House Oversight Committee to address his contacts with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and perhaps address his own kind of shifting account. Secretary Lutnick had said that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005, but the Epstein files contradicted that. Ultimately, Lutnick confirmed he and his family had lunch with Epstein on Epstein's private island in 2012, but he still claimed they did not have a relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: These millions and millions of documents, there may be 10 e-mails connecting me with him, probably about 10 e-mails connecting me with him over a 14 year period. I did not have any relationship with him.

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I barely had anything to do with that person.

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BERMAN: Let's go to CNN senior reporter Andy Grayer, what does the committee want to hear from him today?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, the committee wants Secretary Lutnick to explain his relationship with Epstein, because as you mentioned, Lutnick initially said that he had cut ties with Epstein long ago. In fact, in a podcast in 2025, Lutnick said that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 after he and his wife, who were neighbors with Epstein, went to visit Epstein's townhouse and after that decided that they were not going to have any sort of relationship with him.

But then the Epstein files came out and a paper trail connecting Epstein and Lutnick extends way past 2005. There are e-mails, there are phone calls, there's calendar invites, even for a drink meetup. In 2012, Lutnick and his family visited Epstein on Epstein Island. In 2014, Epstein and Lutnick were part of a joint business venture together.

And in 2018, Lutnick even e-mailed Epstein about a building going up in their neighborhood that could impact their home's park view in Manhattan. So a lot of questions that Lutnick has to answer for. But as you mentioned in his testimony on Capitol Hill previously, Lutnick has said that he has no knowledge of any of Epstein's crimes and that he barely had any contact with Epstein over this 14 year period.

But the fact that Lutnick's timeline isn't what he initially said it was has raised a lot of questions on Capitol Hill. Even some Republicans have called for Lutnick to resign. But President Donald Trump is standing firmly behind his commerce secretary and says he has complete confidence in him.

So today, Lutnick will face questions from the Oversight Committee by both Democrats and Republicans in a closed door setting. And lawmakers are going to be pressing him very, very intently about this timeline when he actually cut ties. Why initially Lutnick had said the timeline was 2005 and it turned out to be much later than that -- John.

BERMAN: 2012 was not 2005 and a family lunch on a private island is not no contact. Annie Grayer on Capitol Hill. Thank you so much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Good summation right there, JB.

Gas prices are going up now on average of more now on average, they are now more than $4.50 a gallon. Why experts say that you should not expect prices at the pump to fall anytime soon, even if the war comes to an end.

And there's new video of the moments of a high speed chase leads one man sending his car airborne into a pond. We'll be right back.

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