Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Iran Expected to Respond to Proposal Today; FBI Raids Virginia Democrat's Office; Coinbase Cutting Jobs; Trump's Popularity Numbers; Multiple Tornadoes in Mississippi; Flyers Brace for Price Hikes. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 07, 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]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Based on what I know. And it's not classified information. There is a framework. It's nebulous. It provides, in effect, for an extension of the ceasefire. Despite the exchange of hostilities that have occurred over the last 48 hours, the president saying that the ceasefire continues, but it is more like a path forward than a genuine peace proposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And joining me right now is CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh to talk more about this.

It's good to see you.

What do you make of Blumenthal's assessment there?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: I think he's right. I think this is what is in front of both Iran and the Trump administration is this one-page memorandum of agreement basically to get to a larger agreement. And I think the senator is right that both sides, I think, want to see an extension of the ceasefire. Both sides do not want to restart kinetic actions. However, both sides are willing to do that if necessary.

So, it does remain to be seen what is actually going to be agreed to. I think it is progress that the sides are still talking and Pakistan is acting as the intermediary. But we've seen this show before. It hasn't yielded the results that the president or Iran has wanted. So, how long can both sides continue to kick the can down the road while the Strait remains closed remains to be seen.

BOLDUAN: And that's the key -- and that's the key part of it. One of the key pressure points is how much longer can the world sustain the Strait being closed?

If his assessment, Blumenthal's, is accurate here, it's an agreement to seek an agreement essentially, how far down the road to actually achieving one of the primary goals of the administration for launching the war, which is eliminating Iran's nuclear threat, how far down the road, or not, are they?

SINGH: Well, that is actually, I think, the question that many people have on their minds. When Marco Rubio and Donald Trump said Operation Epic Fury has ended, one of the main objectives, even though those objectives have certainly changed over the course of time from this administration, was to ensure that Iran never can have a nuclear weapon. And yet they still have that enriched uranium sitting in their country with no clear plan of how we're actually going to remove or get that out. They are in talks about this agreement, but I think the larger question here is getting that Strait of Hormuz open first. Can they get Iran to come to the table to first agree to that, and then the agreement to the agreement, what else can we do to address the nuclear capabilities and ambitions of Iran for further down the road?

BOLDUAN: Sabrina, the senator and many others are pointing now to China as being a big influence here in the timing. "Bloomberg" reporting, "adding to his urgency is a summit scheduled next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which already was postponed in the early days of the conflict because of the Middle East backdrop." And "Axios," "the White House wants a diplomatic breakthrough by the time Trump wraps his China trip next Friday, officials say. If no deal is in hand by then, the president could again consider ordering military action."

What is the China factor here?

SINGH: Yes, the timing of this meeting is certainly a bit awkward. The China factor here is that China relies on crude oil exports -- imports coming through the Strait of Hormuz. But China has been very smart in stocking their country with its oil reserves. And on top of that, diversifying its renewable energy, such as solar panels, electric vehicles. And China has sort of become a player, a larger player, while this war has started with Asia and has been providing Asian countries with some energy alleviation, as this war continues.

So, I think what you're going to see next week is probably some conversations around tariffs, but also China pressuring the United States. I mean they have an interest to see that Strait of Hormuz opened as -- just as much. But they've also become a larger player on the economic and global scale, which is something that this administration has been concerned about, but has sort of taken their priority off the ball a bit, certainly with this war, as you've seen military capabilities pulled out of the Indo-Pacific and rerouted and redeployed to the Middle East.

BOLDUAN: Yes, the hands off -- the very obviously hands off approach that China has been trying to maintain overtly, if you will, during this conflict. It will be interesting to see how, if that shifts with this big meeting coming up between the president and the Chinese leaders.

It's good to see you, Sabrina. Thank you.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, another Trump critic has her property searched by the FBI. FBI agents executed a search warrant on Democratic Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas' personal office, a marijuana shop she co-owns, and various other locations. Lucas is president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate. She also notably spearheaded the recent Democratic-led effort to redraw the state's congressional maps.

[08:35:03]

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joining me now.

What is the response to all this, Sunlen? This is quite a, you know, a big operation. They're going after several different parts of her life.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is a big execution considering, Sara, especially because Louise Lucas is a very long term and longstanding, very prominent Democrat in the state of Virginia. So, it's very notable that this happened. And as you said, on Wednesday morning, the FBI, they conducted multiple search warrants, executed multiple search warrants, not only at her personal office. Is this a personal office. She has over ten businesses where she conducts her business. But also a business right across the street is that -- that sells marijuana products. It's called the Cannabis Outlet.

Now, a person close to the senator I spoke with yesterday told me that the FBI agents were there when she arrived to her office. Three of them pulled her aside and told her what was going on. And it was then that she left. And notably, she has not been charged in this.

A source familiar with the probe, though, tells CNN that the searches are part of a corruption probe that is related to her marijuana shops. And importantly here, Sara, that it was started under President Biden and the Biden administration. Now, that fact has not -- that has gotten lost partially on Democrats who have quickly rushed to make the connection, the fact that Lucas led, as you noticed, that successful redistricting effort in Virginia that really stands to help Democrats in the midterm elections.

And in her first public statement, Lucas made this connection herself. She says, quote, "today's actions by federal agents are about far more than one state senator. They are about power and who is allowed to use it on behalf of the people. What we saw fits a clear pattern from the administration, when challenged, they try to intimidate and silence the voices who stand up to them."

And her fellow Democrats also making this connection, raising alarms over the timing, the fact that she had been such a prominent voice among Democrats in that redistricting effort. Representative Bobby Scott, also a Democrat from Virginia, noted that it comes just two weeks after that voted through in Virginia. And he said, quote, "while we await the full facts of the investigation, it must be acknowledged that this FBI raid occurs in the broader context of President Trump's repeated abuse of the Department of Justice to target his perceived political opponents." And just also underscoring there again, Sara, it's important to note that the timing of all of this, that this corruption probe started -- the investigation started during the Biden administration.

Sara.

SIDNER: Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much for your reporting on this story. Appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, this morning, a new report on A.I.'s impact on jobs. For the second month in a row, A.I. was the leading reason for layoffs. That was in April, according to a research firm. And it comes after Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, said this week it was cutting 14 percent of its workforce, in part due to A.I.

With us now, friend of the show, senior A.I. reporter for "Axios," Madison Mills.

Good to see you here.

Look, we're hearing every month that A.I. is a major cause of layoffs. Why do firms lean into the notion of A.I. when they're announcing their layoffs? Is it always thus?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR A.I. REPORTER, "AXIOS": Well, I'm really glad you said it that way, because messaging that layoffs are A.I. related is different than the layoffs actually being because of A.I. And I think this is really important to explain because it's scaring people and making them not ask for raises, not change jobs.

When I talk to people who have just been fired from these companies, when I talk to renowned economists, they say these layoffs are not necessarily because there's so much A.I. adoption happening at these companies. I mean Coinbase, you mentioned this week, the very first thing that the CEO said in the memo that was sent out to employees about layoffs was about the crypto bear market that we're in and how that's making the business struggle. Then he said, and, by the way, we're leaning into A.I. Sometimes that can help boost your stock price when you're announcing layoffs due to the typical business challenges like profit margins being crushed by a bear market in crypto.

BERMAN: He used the term A.I. washing, right?

MILLS: Yes.

BERMAN: Basically, they throw this term out, how? Why?

MILLS: Yes, because it looks good and sounds better to the market. Right now there's so much froth about A.I. And you want -- I mean it's kind of like how all of us want to be the employee at our company that is using A.I. the best. And we're an A.I. champion that's ahead on this.

BERMAN: That's Kate here.

MILLS: Exactly. Love that for her. She can teach us a cloud code class after this. But the businesses that are in the S&P 500, that are public companies, they also want to be the shining star of the A.I. movement. And so, laying people off, saving a little bit of money, especially after a hiring boom that happened during the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic, that can be a really good story to signal to Wall Street.

[08:40:02]

BERMAN: It's really twofold, right? On the one hand, you want to claim -- you want to seem like you're part of this new revolution. On the other hand, maybe you don't want to be blamed for layoffs that may be for a different reason altogether, right? I mean it serves two purposes.

MILLS: Well, you would think that, right? You would think that companies also are maybe worried about signaling that they're going to lay everybody off due to A.I.

BERMAN: Right.

MILLS: But it also, again, what we're hearing especially is that people are not asking for raises, they're not switching jobs as often.

BERMAN: Yes.

MILLS: So, it's kind of a good pitch.

BERMAN: All right, you've got some new reporting on Anthropic as well, working to deepen its ties to Wall Street --

MILLS: Yes.

BERMAN: At a time when its ties to the U.S. government, you know, disappearing or nonexistent.

MILLS: Yes, well, it's kind of a fascinating dynamic because government revenue for these A.I. labs is really small. But the world of finance has a ton of money to throw at these A.I. companies. And Anthropic is really reaping the benefits of that.

The finance sector is their second biggest revenue driver. Their revenue grew 80x in the first quarter of this year. They were only expecting 10x. That's what the CEO said of Anthropic yesterday. So, they're seeing massive growth. And a lot of that is because of the financial sector. They unleashed these ten new agents this week that can do a lot of the things you hear financial analysts might be able to do historically. So, they're really going deep into their relationship with Wall Street.

BERMAN: How quickly is all this happening? Because it seems like every day is 100 years when it comes to A.I. and the way these companies are posturing.

MILLS: Nobody feels that more than the A.I. beat reporters, by the way, John.

It's happening very quickly to the point where some businesses are struggling to keep up with their I.T. budgets because they're spending so much money on A.I. so quickly. It's a very, very fast tech revolution, for sure.

BERMAN: Madison, we love your reporting. Thanks so much for coming in.

MILLS: Thank you.

BERMAN: Let me toss it to our senior A.I. anchor, Kate Bolduan.

BOLDUAN: Just trying to keep up. Just trying to keep up, people.

There's new reporting from "The Washington Post" that White House lawyers are now prepping staff to deal with a Democratic Congress, reportedly giving briefings now on, here's the reporting, how to best prepare for congressional oversight as staff begin to brace for the likelihood of significant Democratic victories in the November midterm elections, which is another reminder of the struggle that Trump has faced with his approval rating, an unpopular war, Americans still struggling to pay for everyday living expenses.

Yet Trump-backed candidates still came out on top in a big way in Tuesday's primaries. CNN's Harry Enten running the numbers on this one.

So, Tuesday --

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Especially in Indiana, showed that the president still has juice, still has a lot of influence, at least in Indiana.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: So --

ENTEN: As Indiana goes, so goes the nation when it comes to Republican voters and Donald John Trump. He absolutely still has the juice. And when you're a Republican and you go against Trump, you get voted off the island. I always love "Survivor." And in this particular case, what we saw in Indiana was, you go, adios, amigos, goodbye, see you later. And, to me, that is emblematic of what we see nationwide with Republicans.

I think there's this myth that's going on right now that, oh, Trump is really losing support among Republicans. But compared to other midterm cycles, he's just as popular with Republicans as he has ever been at this point in midterm cycles. Right now, nationally, we're talking about an approval rating on average of 84 percent. In 2022, his popularity rating was 76 percent. Actually lower, right, when he was in the presidency. In 2018, the last time he was president, 85 percent. That 85 looks a whole heck of a lot like this 84 percent right here. The bottom line is this, Donald Trump still absolutely has juice with

Republican voters. You saw it in Indiana. And I think that you'll see it down the line as well if any Republicans try and go against the president of the United States, who is still very much beloved by Republican voters nationwide.

BOLDUAN: And, Harry, you were also looking at turnout. What are you seeing in turnout? Why is this significant to this conversation?

ENTEN: OK, why is it significant? Because we know that within the Republican Party, Trump has that extra strong core, that MAGA base, right? We're talking about approval ratings, depending on which poll you look at, 95, 97, 100 percent with MAGA Republicans. And here's the thing, they are incredibly juiced up compared to other Republicans.

Because just take a look here. Republicans who say it's more important to vote in 2026 than the usual midterm election. Look at this, 60 percent. Sixty percent of MAGA identifying Republicans say that. Compared to just 36 percent of non-MAGA.

So, what's going on in these primaries, right, it's not just that you have this core Republican base that really loves Donald Trump. The people who really love him, they're the ones who are absolutely juiced up to go out and vote. They would go over hot coals to vote in those primaries. And you saw that in Indiana with a clear majority of those representatives who went against Trump on redistricting. Well, they're no longer going to have a job come the next session of that state legislature.

BOLDUAN: So, then the question is, do Republicans think that party leaders should be following Trump, or other Republicans should be following Trump?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, you see this juiced up MAGA, right? You see right here that his support among Republicans is just as strong as it was going into the 2018 midterm cycle, right. But it's more than that.

[08:45:01]

Republican voters want their party leaders to follow the president of the United States, because party leaders should follow the president's lead. You know, for Joe Biden, at the same point in his first term, just 57 percent of Democrats said that party leaders should follow lead. Look at this number for Donald Trump. It's 75 percent. Significantly higher than it was for Joe Biden. So, it's not just that Republicans really like Donald Trump, it's they want their leaders to follow Donald Trump. And when they don't, as I said at the beginning, you get voted off the island.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, singer Bonnie Tyler in the hospital recovering this morning after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. The 74-year-old singer is the voice behind the huge 80s hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and several other hits. Tyler has a home in Portugal, and that's where she was rushed to the hospital. Tyler's team posted a statement on her website saying her surgery went well.

All right, new this morning, the four-day manhunt for a special forces veteran accused of shooting his wife is now over. The Stewart County Sheriffs Office in Tennessee says Craig Berry was found dead yesterday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators say he fled into the woods after attacking his wife. She is out of the hospital and expected to recover.

John.

BERMAN: All right, a mother faces charges after allegedly punching and kicking a 13-year-old football player during a game.

And then we are bracing for the season finale of Eva Longoria's "Searching for France," which means I was assigned to eat lobster with her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "SEARCHING FOR FRANCE": Brittany is really known for butter all over the world. We went to Maison de Bordier, which is one of the biggest, most famous butter producers in the world.

BERMAN: That's good.

Like, searching for France should be renamed searching for butter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:42]

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, in Mississippi, more than a dozen people are being treated for injuries after officials believe multiple tornadoes touched down there. More than a thousand structures are damaged or just flattened.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking this storm.

Give us some sense of what the situation is now, because some of these images are dire.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Well, I mean, the one thing to note is that even though the video here is very dark out, they do have sunlight out now. So, they can really kind of go out and take a look at more of the damage that has kind of really impacted these communities.

Here, you can see this video. You can see some of the trees down in the background. But it's not the only area of Mississippi that ended up having damage. Much of central Mississippi was hit very hard. Even southern Mississippi was hit hard from some of these severe thunderstorms that rolled through late into the day yesterday.

Here you can see again the widespread damage as it kind of moved through that mobile home park there. Again, many of these homes just flattened. Not just these areas, but we also have other homes and businesses that dealt with damage in other areas as these storms rolled through. Here you can see all of these dots represent some type of severe storm report. That could be damaging winds. It could be hail or even tornadoes. We had a total of 14 total tornado reports from the storms in the last 24 hours.

And it's all because of this cold front that you see right through here. So, we still have some ongoing storms even as we speak. We've got this tornado watch still in effect until about 9 a.m. Central Time today. So, a little bit longer to go there as that stronger line of storms continues to slide through. You've got one severe thunderstorm warning right there along the southern edge of that front.

Here's the thing to note. We've had several of these warnings off and on this morning. They are likely to continue as we go through the next several hours. So, as that lines progress eastward, there is still the potential for more severe thunderstorms.

Anywhere you see in the green area has the potential for those strong to severe, except it's really just going to be focused mainly over this yellow area region here. So, that includes Albany, Tallahassee, down through Pensacola.

The main threats for any of these areas are going to be damaging winds. You could see some hail, as well as the potential for an isolated tornado. So, do keep that in mind, especially as we head into the afternoon and the evening hours, you get the heating of the day. That will help where a lot of those storms ramp back up later on this afternoon.

Here's a look at 1:00. You can see that strong line stretching from Savannah, all the way back through New Orleans. That's going to continue to slide east and south as we go through the day. So, you're going to really start to see more of it spread into Florida by about three, four, 5:00 this afternoon. That will carry into the evening hours as well. Whereas most of the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia, that really starts to move out over the open Atlantic by the time we get to tonight and you'll finally start to see conditions improve there. So, by tonight, really the focus is just going to be across areas of Florida.

SIDNER: Yes, it seems like a big old system with a long tail there.

Thank you so much for looking into all that and giving us the warning. Got to watch out for storms in some parts of the country today.

All right, Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, there is fresh worry today about what the jet fuel shortage brought on by the Iran war means for summer travel. The huge spike threatens to disrupt travel in a big way as the loss of supplies from the Middle East ripples across Asia and across Europe, especially.

France just announced it's preparing to provide financial aid to airlines hit by the rising jet fuel costs sparked by the war. The country's transport minister saying airlines are facing a major shock.

CNN's David Goldman has some more on this for us.

What are you seeing, David?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, I mean, so I think we're in a perfect stew of things happening in the economy. And all of that means that airfares are going to go up, unfortunately. And so, if you want to travel for the summer, it's never been a better time to buy than right now because tomorrow they're probably going to go even higher.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GOLDMAN: And here's why. That jet fuel shortage is really key because prices have gone up 84 percent over the course of the war.

BOLDUAN: That's really wild.

GOLDMAN: It's wild.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GOLDMAN: And so, if you're an airline, what do you do? You cut flights. And that lifts airfares.

So, we've actually seen that airfares are up about nine percent just over the past week alone. And so, we're going to get new data.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

GOLDMAN: It's going to go even higher presumably.

BOLDUAN: Lufthansa cut 20,000 flights?

GOLDMAN: Yes, 20,000 flights. Look at that Turkish Airlines thing too. That was wild to me. Twenty-three countries, they just said, we're not going to fly there anymore. United, in this country, cut five percent of its flights. So, certainly there's a lot of pain going on in airlines.

[08:55:02]

They're trying to figure this out. And now the big question is, are fliers willing to pay for it? And so far the answer is, yes.

BOLDUAN: So, we've seen when these airfares go up, customers are willing to absorb that cost, whether its revenge travel, it's gross out today.

BOLDUAN: Yes. GOLDMAN: I don't know, people just want to fly. There's also the k- shaped economy thing going on, right, where wealthier travelers, they're the ones who continue to travel. People who can't afford it. Well, maybe they also can't -- also can't afford road trips. And if they got to get somewhere, maybe flying compared to the price of gas, that might be attractive too.

And then, all of a sudden, Spirit Airlines went out of business. That was carrying two percent of the country's flights.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

GOLDMAN: And so now we've got to replace that. That will lift fares too. That's what's going on.

BOLDUAN: And now I understand what you're talking about, this recipe for a perfect stew, a yucky one.

GOLDMAN: Yes, it's not a great stew.

BOLDUAN: A bad tasting one.

GOLDMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, David. Thank you so much.

GOLDMAN: Any time.

BOLDUAN: To culminate the Dave -- the Dave talk of the day, Sara.

SIDNER: I don't really like stew in general. So, all of it --

BOLDUAN: What?

SIDNER: Oh, no.

BOLDUAN: Discussion for later.

GOLDMAN: That's big.

SIDNER: It's weird. There's so many weird things I can't tell what's in it. No. It's a no for me. Things you didn't need to know this morning. You're welcome.

All right, on our radar this morning, a Florida mother, her unnecessary roughness landed her in police custody. She is accused of attacking a 13-year-old football player on the opposing team when a brawl broke out during the game. Police body camera video shows a woman yelling at deputies before they arrest her. She's been charged with cruelty to a child and resisting arrest.

All right, a man in Washington is under arrest for allegedly rigging a vehicle to explode outside of a police precinct. Police say he allegedly set a fire inside the van and then sealed it up, causing the explosion. No one, thankfully, was injured in this incident. The suspect is currently being held on a $100,000 bond. John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a sneak preview of the back to back finale episodes of "Eva Longoria: Searching for France." For this, I sat down with Eva to talk about butter and seafood and the traditional seven course meal pioneered in France.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Brittany.

EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "SEARCHING FOR FRANCE": Brittany. Right next to Normandy. A lot of English influence because it's the English Channel. It's in the north.

You know, most of the seafood in France comes from this region, comes from Brittany. The capital of oysters in Cancale is there. So, we went and they give you just a box and you chuck them yourself and you eat them right out of the ocean, right out of the oyster farm.

BERMAN: I love that. I love oysters.

LONGORIA: Yes.

BERMAN: So, the lobster. I think we should eat it.

LONGORIA: It's lovely. Sure. Let's do it.

BERMAN: When they bring a lobster, I think it's rude not to have all of it.

LONGORIA: So rude.

BERMAN: Yes.

LONGORIA: Brittany is really known for butter all over the world.

We went to Maison de Bordier, which is one of the biggest, most famous butter producers in the world.

BERMAN: Good. Like searching for France should be renamed searching for butter.

LONGORIA: We have a perception that France is all butter, but it's really only the north. The south does not use butter.

BERMAN: Where there is butter, though, there's like a lot of butter.

LONGORIA: Where --

BERMAN: Right? I mean there's a lot of butter.

LONGORIA: When there's butter, there's a lot of butter. Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: I'm not judging. I mean I'm affirming.

LONGORIA: I feel like you're judging.

BERMAN: No, I'm affirming. I think they made a great choice. I think -- we've gone wrong by veering away from it because this is so good.

LONGORIA: Yes.

BERMAN: So, you did a whole episode on a seven course meal. Explain to me sort of the dance, the ceremony of a meal like that.

LONGORIA: Yes. So, we were sailing on the Seine in Paris while eating a seven course meal. Explaining really the history of the art of the table, which was really invented by Louis the 14th. He is the one that really formalized dining. He coursed things out. He's the reason we use forks and knives.

Before coursing out of meals, it would just be a big buffet, and it would be from soup to dessert and everything in between. And you would go and just eat off this big table. And he just wanted more formality to eating, which is what we do today in fine dining.

The other thing we explored in the seven-course episode was the brigade system, which was this military approach to organizing the kitchen. And it was codified by Escoffier, who was really the godfather of all cuisines all over the world. And they really made a hierarchy in the back kitchen. That's the sous chef and the fish specialist and the prep chef. And then he also codified the front of the restaurant, hostess, sommelier, maitre de, all of that came from Escoffier.

BERMAN: Do you have the patience? Does it take patience?

LONGORIA: Well, that's the thing about Spain and France is, is the art of eating is really a privilege.

[09:00:02]

You should sit and enjoy your meals, which is something I think we could do more of here is just sit, have a nice, long lunch, drink.