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Microsoft, Google, xAI Giving U.S. Government Access to Unreleased A.I. Models; Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Heading to Spain's Canary Islands, 17 Americans Among 140+ Passengers Onboard ; Source Says Iran Expected to Respond to U.S. Proposal Today; Marco Rubio Meets With Pope Leo Amid Growing Tensions With Vatican; U.S. Official Says Third Round of Israel-Lebanon Talks Set for Next Week; Appeals Court Appears Poised to Reject Hegseth's Bid to Punish Mark Kelly Over Illegal Orders Video. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired May 07, 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]

LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, TECHRADAR: -- other than threats, if they're making sure that it aligns with some principle or some political principle that they want.

So I think it's a good first step. But we actually need real regulations that the American public can understand as they're using these tools and they can start to have some confidence that they can trust them.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Lance Ulanoff, thanks so much for sharing your perspective. Appreciate it.

ULANOFF: Pleasure.

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Stopping the spread, a global scramble to contain the Hantavirus outbreak as local opposition in the Canary Islands grows to the docking of the cruise ship that was hit first by the disease. And new rules for the Strait, Iran laying out new requirements for ships that hope to cross the Strait of Hormuz as Washington awaits a response to its latest offer to Iran, a proposal that could end the war, but it does leave several points up in the air.

And diffusing tensions between the Vatican and the White House, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio meets with Pope Leo. Can they end the war of words between the church leader and President Trump? We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

The list of countries that are now monitoring people exposed to the Hantavirus is growing at this point. Canada and Singapore are now joining the U.S. and several other nations who are closely watching people linked to that cruise ship at the heart of a deadly Hantavirus outbreak. These are passengers who disembarked the boat and went home before the Hantavirus outbreak on board had been confirmed. Still on the ship, nearly 150 people, and that includes 17 Americans. They're sailing to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago, and they're expected to arrive in the coming days where they will finally be allowed to disembark. Let's go now to CNN's Melissa Bell. Melissa, what's the latest?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, good news for those passengers still on the ship from some 23 different countries, which gives you an idea of just how complex this disembarkation, when it happens, we expect at about midday on Sunday local time, is going to be.

So the World Health Organization is organizing that, even as it seeks to reassure that this is not the next COVID, this is not the beginning of a major outbreak beyond the ship. But I think what you've seen and you touched on a moment ago is the level of fear that there is around these cases, those 30 people who disembarked in St. Helena, some of them headed to the United States, some to Singapore, some to the United Kingdom, some to Holland. And these cases have to be very carefully monitored because, of course, remember, this is a particular strain that has an eight-week incubation period.

So all of those precautions are being taken, but at least for those that were stuck on the ship all this time -- and remember, they were banned from docking at Cape Verde, where they were until yesterday. Three passengers were disembarked there, but the rest had to stay on board. Now, at least, there's some end in sight.

But with all the fear there is now in Tenerife, we've been hearing that the dock workers intend to go on strike over the course of the weekend in protest of this, and that the local leader has managed to gain from Madrid this concession, he says, that the ship will be moored off of the coast until everyone can be disembarked, rather than directly at Tenerife.

So a great deal of effort going into trying to reassure people, even as authorities try and get these people off the ship and then onwards to the countries from which they came and in the right circumstances, so either quarantined or in the hospitals, if ever they needed care. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Melissa Bell, thank you so much for the latest there. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN Health Reporter, Jacqueline Howard with more. So, Jacqueline, as we look toward this disembarkation, we know this is a strain with a potentially lengthy incubation period. And yet, we're hearing from officials that this is unlikely to become another widespread pandemic.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That's right, Boris. World Health Organization officials do say the risk of this developing into a pandemic is low. But, of course, so many of us are still feeling that concern. The world has been traumatized by the COVID-19 pandemic.

So there is this question about whether this outbreak could develop into something much larger, much more widespread, much more global. And just this morning, during a news briefing, the World Health Organization was asked that very question. And official Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove had this response. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WHO'S DIRECTOR FOR EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND PREVENTION: This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship. But this is not the same situation we were in six years ago. It doesn't spread the same way like Coronaviruses do. It's very different. It's that close, intimate contact that we've seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:00]

HOWARD: And Boris, the way the Hantavirus does spread, it's through exposure to rodents, particularly their droppings, urine or saliva. And we do know, like you said, it does have up to a six-week incubation period, so it is likely we may see more cases moving forward. And the Andes strain of Hantavirus is the strain confirmed to be behind this outbreak on that cruise ship.

And this is a strain known to be associated with human-to-human spread, so we do see this risk of spread among humans. And the symptoms include fever, fatigue, aches and respiratory symptoms. And we also know about 38 percent of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from this illness, so that's the fatality rate that we do see here.

And there is no specific treatment, there's no vaccine, so that's also why this outbreak is concerning. But again, Boris, what we heard from the World Health Organization here is the risk to the general public still remains low at this point.

SANCHEZ: I also wonder, Jacqueline, earlier this year, the Trump administration completed the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization. How might that potentially impact the case?

HOWARD: The World Health Organization has said that it has been in contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but like you said, Boris, now that the United States is no longer a part of WHO, how is that impacting this situation? And while the WHO and CDC have been in contact, World Health Organization officials said this morning that you still need solidarity to contain an outbreak. Here's what WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros had to say about that. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Both Argentina and the U.S. are affected. I think they will reconsider their decisions because they can see how important universality is for health security, because viruses don't care about our politics and they don't care about our borders. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: And when Dr. Tedros mentioned that the United States is affected, we do know here in the U.S., Boris, health authorities say they are monitoring three people who previously disembarked and returned here to the U.S. from that cruise ship. Officials in Georgia said two residents are under observation. They have no symptoms at this time. Arizona health authorities say one person is also asymptomatic.

And of course, as this situation evolves, Boris, we are expecting more cases to possibly emerge in the days to come. So this is an evolving situation.

SANCHEZ: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much for that update.

Still to come, deal or no deal? We're waiting to see how Iran responds to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war.

Plus, Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting with Pope Leo to talk peace amid tension between the White House and the Vatican. We have highlights from their discussion ahead.

And later, the family of a teen jailed in Cuba makes an urgent plea to Rubio and the Pope for his release. That and much more coming your way on "CNN News Central."

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[14:12:43]

SANCHEZ: We have Breaking News to CNN. Iran is now telling a semi- official news agency that it's not yet finalized its response to a U.S. peace proposal to end the war.

KEILAR: A source in the region telling CNN, Tehran was expected to hand over its reply to Pakistani mediators sometime today. Let's go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem.

Jeremy, what are you hearing about where these negotiations are right now?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, once again, it seems like there are more questions about the decision-making process in Iran and where exactly Iran stands on this latest U.S. proposal that could lead to a potential end to this war altogether, with some kind of a memorandum of understanding that now seems to be on the table.

The Tasnim News Agency in Iran is reporting that Iran has not yet reached a final conclusion and no response has been given to the American side, that they are still reviewing the messages that have been transmitted from the United States by the Pakistani mediators. That's the latest reporting from inside Iran.

Our understanding of this situation in the last 24 hours has been that both sides seem to be moving towards an agreement, and one of the reasons for the delay that we know exists is because Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, has been in hiding basically since the moment that he became the supreme leader, and it's taking time for messages to get to him in this underground bunker where he appears to be hiding.

But beyond that, we know that there have been broader questions about how decisions are being made in Iran, the different factions that are kind of pushing for power inside of Iran, and ultimately, the influence that we are seeing, the outsized influence that we are seeing from many of these hardline Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps generals who seem to be a big part of running this country alongside the supreme leader.

If indeed Iran agrees to this, the one-page proposal that we have reporting on so far would look to declare an end to this war, would trigger this 30-day negotiation period. We would be looking at frozen Iranian assets being returned to Iran, and ultimately, reopening the Strait of Hormuz with both Iran and the United States ending their respective blockades.

[14:15:00]

SANCHEZ: Jeremy, we also learned that Israel and Lebanon have now set their third round of talks for next week in Washington. What are you hearing about that part of these negotiations?

DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right. This is the third round of talks that would be held at the ambassadorial level once again, Israel and Lebanon's ambassadors to Washington have been part of these negotiations, which the Lebanese have really been insisting that these are merely preparatory talks, basically trying to set the table for the real substantive negotiations about disarming Hezbollah and about ultimately reaching some kind of a normalization in relations between Lebanon and Israel.

But we know that in the background of all of this is the fact that this ceasefire that we've seen over the last three weeks has been anything but a ceasefire on the ground and that's because we've seen daily Israeli strikes in Lebanon, daily Hezbollah attacks against Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, as well as against northern Israel. Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 people in the last three weeks since that ceasefire came into effect.

And last night, we saw the Israelis cross a new line, which was carrying out a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, killing a senior Hezbollah commander there. Strikes in Beirut hadn't taken place since the ceasefire came into effect and it's certainly not something that the Lebanese view positively as it relates to the diplomacy on the table. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Jeremy Diamond, live for us in Jerusalem, thank you so much.

Senator Mark Kelly appears to be headed for a victory in his court battle with Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, over what the secretary calls an illegal orders video, the precedent this outcome could set moving forward.

KEILAR: Plus, a plea for help from the family of a Cuban teen behind bars, they say he's being targeted and has a medical condition that could worsen if he remains in prison.

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[14:21:30]

KEILAR: Federal appeals court appears ready to reject the Pentagon's push to punish Senator Mark Kelly. Judges hearing oral arguments today on whether Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth can demote the Arizona Democrat, a retired Navy captain, for telling service members in a video to ignore illegal orders. A lower court sided with Senator Kelly when Hegseth tried to cut his retirement pay.

Here was some of today's back and forth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN MIZER, ATTORNEY FOR SENATOR MARK KELLY: It would be quite extraordinary under the First Amendment and other constitutional doctrines to allow the executive to punish a Senator for holding a press conference. What defendants have said in their brief, quite starkly, is if retired service members, including Senator Kelly, but others as well, don't want to have to be obedient to the Secretary of Defense, then they can just give up their pension.

And that position is as much an insult to the service that veterans have given this country as it is to the First Amendment.

JUDGE FLORENCE PAN, D.C. U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS: If Senator Kelly wants to tell active duty officers, do not obey illegal orders, you think he has to separate from the military, give up his retirement pay, give up his rank?

MIZER: The pattern of conduct that we're talking about here? Absolutely.

PAN: So your answer is yes?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: After the hearing, Senator Kelly spoke to the media and told service members don't give up the ship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK KELLY, (D-AZ): What I said was a true and accurate statement of the law. It's literally written into the DOD's Law of War manual. They're trying to send a message to other retired veterans and really to all of us. If you say something that the president or this administration does not like, they're going to come after you. The president is trying to silence us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: We're joined now by retired Army Major General Randy Manner. He's the former Acting Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau. He was at the Senator's press conference. General, thanks for being with us.

This is a widely watched thing that's happening here, what happens to Senator Kelly. What are the impacts of the outcome of this case?

MAJ. GEN. RANDY MANNER, U.S. ARMY (RET.): I was in the courtroom and observed all of the questions that the three judges asked the government and, of course, the defense attorneys. It was rather shocking that the Justice Department was basically saying, the only way that retired veterans can speak and exercise the First Amendment rights was to literally give up their pensions, their benefits, their rank to deny their service.

I was in shock that our government was basically saying this, the very same government that we were fighting for, that we all have fought for in combat, as well as, of course, that we fought for everyone's right to speak freely under the First Amendment. It was very disturbing, and it was shocking. The good news was that the judges were extremely skeptical about the government's arguments.

And I hope that this goes the way to allow veterans to respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights.

KEILAR: General, explain the difference between someone who's active duty and someone who is a veteran in terms of their ability to speak, especially when we're talking about political speech or to have the full breadth of free speech.

[14:25:00]

Because there's also a norm sometimes, and some retired members or former members of the military will adhere to this, where they aren't going to weigh in on sticky subjects. It's certainly their right to do so, but there's a norm that maybe they won't. It's a requirement when they're in. Can you talk about sort of the tension there?

MANNER: Yes. When you're on active duty, no matter what your rank, you are not permitted to engage in uniform in political rallies. You are not permitted to make political statements, and you certainly would not be permitted in any way to say anything against the chain of command or the administration relative to policies in that manner.

That is what is required for good order and discipline. Now, as the Senator has said and has been upheld so far, we are not obligated, no military are obligated to obey illegal orders. So the bottom line is, is that while you're on active duty, you are not permitted to speak up outside of the using the chain of command.

When you are retired, such as I am, and such as Senator Kelly is, you are able to speak respectfully, but yet directly about various issues that are facing our country, which obviously we have put our lives on the line for.

KEILAR: We especially saw in 2016 and onward, retired military leaders saying what they felt, right, politically about things when ordinarily they might not have during a different environment.

MANNER: Yeah.

KEILAR: Since then, especially recently, watching what's going on with Senator Kelly, I've spoken with some veterans who have said they're very worried about speaking publicly because they do worry that their benefits could be taken away or they could be targeted. What do you think, as we're looking at this court kind of pouring cold water on what the government has been arguing, what do you think the takeaway is going to be for those veterans who have been a little worried to speak up as they watch this case proceed?

MANNER: So, first of all, this does have a chilling effect on anyone who wants to speak up, and that's really the administration's intent. And you are correct that it is the norm, typically norm, not a legal issue, that military typically don't speak up about politics, with obviously a few exceptions of military who run for president, like President Eisenhower, and in fact a lot of military have run for president or for Senator. That's not the issue.

The issue, quite frankly, is can we speak up, can we feel comfortable and confident about it? Since 2016, the reason why you have seen hundreds of military speaking up of all ranks is because this is not right. This is not what America is all about, and the administration is not reflecting the values that the military has espoused in terms of treating others with dignity and respect and following the rule of law. That's why you have seen this dramatic change since 2016 of having so many veterans speak up publicly.

KEILAR: Yeah, there have been norms, but certainly there has always been this right that you have veterans able to exercise. Major General Randy Manner, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time.

We're learning some details of the conversation between Secretary Marco Rubio and Pope Leo amid months of tension between the White House and the Vatican. We'll have more here on "CNN News Central."

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