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Mixed Economic Data; Iran Considering Latest U.S. Proposal; Hantavirus Containment Efforts; Virginia Court Strikes Down New Election Map. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 08, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Containment concerns. We have new details on the rush to trace anyone who may have come in contact with passengers who left that hantavirus-hit cruise ship. Ahead, how officials are scrambling to contain the outbreak as that ship prepares to dock.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Plus: disappointment for Democrats, Virginia's Supreme Court throwing out a new congressional map for districts, preventing Dems from picking up as many as four seats in the House of Representatives, as states in the South move to redraw their own maps to favor Republicans.

And hack attack, schools across the country left reeling after hackers took over a popular education platform. We will take a closer look at the cyberattack compromising the private information of millions of students.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: Less than 48 hours from now, the cruise ship hit with the deadly hantavirus outbreak makes landfall in Spain's Canary Islands, 147 people, including 17 Americans, ready to get off that boat, as health officials rushed to prevent any more spread.

Today, the CDC is calling the outbreak a level three emergency, the lowest level of emergency that they have. Three people so far have died. There are five confirmed cases, but several additional cases are suspected. And dozens of others around the world are being closely watched, including Americans in these five states who left the cruise early.

CNN's Melissa Bell has just arrived on the Canary Islands. She joins us live now over the phone, because she is on her way right now to the dock.

Melissa, what's the latest?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, we have been hearing from Spanish authorities about what promises to be a very delicate operation, first of all to take this boat in.

After some wrangling between local authorities in Madrid, it has been agreed that the boat will not actually dock here in Canary. It's going to stay a little bit off of the mainland, and people will be evacuated from the ship and onward to their home countries.

We have been hearing a bit more about what will happen to the 17 Americans, who we understand from sources will be taken on to Nebraska for quarantining. But this is what Spanish authorities had to say a little while ago about the fate of that nearly 150 people on board who should be arriving here, we understand, by noon Sunday.

The assumption that Spanish authorities are making is that they will be asymptomatic, as they were when they left Cape Verde. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIRGINIA BARCONES, GENERAL DIRECTOR, SPANISH CIVIL PROTECTION AND EMERGENCIES (through translator): We are working with all possible scenarios, from the most likely, which is the one I just described, no one with symptoms, to the least likely, which is that someone will present symptoms.

But if someone arrives and presents symptoms or if the medical examination confirms it, or if there is the slightest doubt, there will be medical transport aircraft from the European Union ready to transfer these people with the necessary care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Again, all measures are being taken so that the people here in Tenerife and the wider Canary Islands need not worry.

They have been reassured by Madrid authorities that everyone on the boat will be taken from the ship to a secured area with no contact to any of the local population and onward to their home countries, 23 nationalities, of course, amongst those on board.

So that, in itself, will represent some logistical difficulties. But then, Boris, you have to add the problem of the weather. This is a particularly windswept part of the world. And what authorities are saying is that the ship is expected to arrive at midday on Sunday.

If the disembarkation does not happen by the end of the day Monday, conditions will turn, and it could mean that the ability of this island to take in the ship and its people would then be pushed back to May. That's how fast and far the local weather and sea conditions are likely to deteriorate.

So, they're going to have a pretty small window to get these people off the ship and on to their next country -- Boris, Brianna.

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SANCHEZ: Wow, what a nightmare for them.

Melissa Bell, thank you so much for that update -- Brianna.

KEILAR: At this hour, the Trump administration is still standing by for a response from Iran on that proposal that it submitted days ago.

As the White House awaits Iran's reply, the shaky cease-fire is again being tested. This is some new video, as the U.S. military fired shots and disabled two Iranian-flagged oil tankers that were trying to get by the blockade put in place by the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media also releasing some video. It purportedly shows its military launching attacks toward U.S. ships in the region. President Trump says three U.S. destroyers fended off the missile and drone attacks.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is joining us now live from the White House.

Kristen, what's the latest?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that all of these top administration officials, they are downplaying what's going on right now.

They are saying the cease-fire still holds. But it is clearly the most intense test of this fragile cease-fire that we have seen so far. And we heard from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. Just a reminder, yesterday, we were told that there was supposed to be a response from Iran through the Pakistanis.

Then we heard from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, talking about how that response is supposed to come today. But he also downplayed what we are seeing throughout Iran in terms of military action. This is what he said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Operation Epic Fury was an offensive operation designed to destroy their missile launchers, their navy, their air force, and it achieved that, and their factories. And it achieved that.

What you saw yesterday was U.S. destroyers moving through international waters being fired upon by the Iranians, and the U.S. responded defensively to protect itself. That's what you saw. That's separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Rubio also sought to explain why this response from Iran hadn't come yet, saying that the government is still fractured, their leadership is still fractured, so that could be playing a role.

But it does sound as though at least President Trump is starting to get somewhat frustrated. When he was talking about those attacks that we were seeing in real time, he said, essentially, just like we knocked them out again today, we will knock them out a lot harder and far more violently in the future if they don't get their deal signed fast.

And, last night, he took questions from reporters about this deal. He said it was more than just a one-pager. Of course, we have been reporting on this shortened memorandum that Iran and the U.S. are getting closer to. It would declare an end to the war in Iran.

He says that this addresses things like enriched uranium, which he calls nuclear dust. And he also said that Iran had agreed to it. Of course, that begs the question, why is the U.S. currently waiting for a response from Iran if they have already agreed to it?

But, right now, we know that they are all essentially biding their time, hoping that this gets them onto a track to have some kind of a deal, or at least the makings of a deal, the framework of a deal.

But, right now, again, we were told yesterday that answer was coming. Still nothing yet today.

KEILAR: All right, we will keep waiting.

Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House, thank you for that.

Still to come: an economic mixed bag. Some new numbers showing that the jobs market remains resilient, but American consumers are gloomy about the state of the overall economy.

Plus: map mayhem. The Virginia Supreme Court striking down Democrats' attempt to redraw the state's congressional map. What this could mean for their chances of retaking the House of Representatives in November.

And then later: Search-and-rescue efforts are under way for hikers trapped after a deadly volcano eruption in Indonesia.

We will have that story and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: We're tracking some good news on the U.S. labor market today, the economy adding 115,000 jobs last month, far more than economists predicted, beating expectations by almost double.

That is less than March, though, which saw 185,000 jobs added. It is the first back-to-back monthly job gains, though, in nearly a year. The health care industry saw the most positions added in April, more than 37,000.

The better-than-expected numbers come amid major uncertainty over how the war with Iran and rising fuel costs are going to impact the employment picture, as well as the A.I. surge, retiring Baby Boomers, and a sharp drop in immigration. Douglas Holtz-Eakin joins us now. He served as chief economist for the

White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. He's also the president of the American Action Forum.

Doug, great to see you, as always.

How are you reading this April report?

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, FORMER CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE DIRECTOR: Thank you.

Well, I think what you have pointed out at the top was the really good news. The top-line number was large, 115,000. We got employment growth in places other than just health care. For the past year, it's been almost exclusively health care. So it's a little bit broader, not super broad, but better.

The rest of the report is a disappointment. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.3 percent, but it did it the wrong way. We had fewer people employed in a shrinking labor force, instead of more people employed in a growing labor force. So that's not a great way for that to happen.

And the wage growth was really weak. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have grown at a rate of 3.6 percent. That's about inflation, so no one's getting ahead. And, for April, it was under 2 percent. And when we get the April inflation numbers, they're going to be really sharp.

So, people fell behind in the month of April. And I think that really is the thing to keep looking at. We know we're not going to create a lot of jobs at this point. The question is, will those jobs give you enough earnings to address this affordability crisis? The answer in April was no.

SANCHEZ: So, when I have heard analysts say that this kind of report reflects a foundational change in the job market, what exactly does that mean? And do you agree?

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HOLTZ-EAKIN: I think the factors you mentioned are really important, retirement of the Baby Boomers, less immigration, a real slow-growing labor force.

So we don't really need to create 100,000, 150,000 jobs every month to keep the unemployment rate solid. We need to create something like 50 and -- or maybe less. So that top-line number is less important than it used to be.

I think the thing to look at is, are we keeping the unemployment rate down? We are at 4.3. And are those jobs getting rewarded? Are we seeing wage growth that's rapid? And that's the part that's been weak recently. And that's what I'd focus on in the labor market reports to come.

SANCHEZ: Consumer sentiment is continuing to fall. It's hit its lowest point since 1952.

HOLTZ-EAKIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And a third of those consumers have cited gas prices and tariffs for that. We heard from the White House economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, saying that the White House is working to minimize those issues.

Short of a deal to end the war with Iran and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and trade through the Persian Gulf, what else is there for the White House to do?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: There's really not much they can do.

There's a -- you could try to take some gas taxes off, but that has a really tiny federal impact and doesn't necessarily get passed on to consumers. You could waive some environmental standards and maybe bring down some gas prices in California and other places.

But there almost -- there really is not much, other than tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- they have done that -- and hope that the hostilities end and the traffic starts.

SANCHEZ: I found it interesting that Hassett earlier this week said that he heard from a top banker saying that credit card spending is through the roof.

And he read that as a sign that consumers were confident in their spending, that they weren't just spending on higher gas prices, but on all sorts of things. Is that a sign of a healthy economy?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: You can put the money on a credit card for two reasons. One, you're going to get a lot of money in the fall and you're confident to pay it off, or, two, you're desperate.

And I guess I'm a little less optimistic than Mr. Hassett. What we have seen is, in the past six months, real spending on durable goods is down in the economy. So that's not a sign of strength. And, in January, February, March, we saw nondurable goods spending fall as well.

So, consumers aren't exactly shelling out for everything under the sun. That's for sure. They're paying for their services. That's about it. And we have seen relatively weak income growth. And so I'd like to see stronger income growth paired with across-the-board spending increases.

I would feel a lot more confident about the economy going into the fall if we saw that.

SANCHEZ: Doug Holtz-Eakin, appreciate you sharing your analysis. Thanks for joining us.

HOLTZ-EAKIN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come: Democrats in Virginia vowing to keep fighting after the

state Supreme Court blocked their redistricting plan, a ruling that could have a huge impact on this fall's midterm elections.

That story's next.

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KEILAR: Right now, the CDC is deploying teams to the Canary Islands to meet passengers on board that cruise ship hit by the deadly hantavirus outbreak.

Four sources telling CNN staffers will escort 17 Americans back to the U.S. on a chartered flight, and then a separate CDC team will meet those passengers in Nebraska, which is home to the National Quarantine Unit.

The individuals are expected to be quarantined there, as health officials are racing to prevent the virus from spreading. Seven other American passengers are already being monitored in five states after disembarking the ship before the hantavirus had been identified. They are not so far experiencing any symptoms.

President Trump said he's hopeful the outbreak is under control and that a full report on it is expected to be released today.

We're joined now by Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who has written extensively on the hantavirus on her Substack, CelineGounder.com. She's also the editor at large for public health at KFF Health News.

Thank you so much for being with us.

I know a lot of people are watching this. And I wonder what you think about this plan to bring all of these American passengers back to one point in Nebraska, where the National Quarantine Center is.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, KFF HEALTH NEWS: I think this makes a lot of sense. If they're able to charter a flight and do so in a contained, controlled way, I think this makes everybody feel safer.

First of all, we don't have them going on commercial flights, where other passengers may feel unsafe about airline travel. But, secondly, we're able to get them to a controlled environment, where there is medical assistance, where you have access to ECMO, which is the heart- lung bypass machines.

That's what you really need, that level of care, if somebody gets super sick from a hantavirus. And so they will have that kind of very specialized infectious disease and ICU-level care at this facility, where they can be cared for safely.

KEILAR: And having that kind of care, what does that do to the survivability? Because, when it comes to hantavirus, it's incredibly deadly.

GOUNDER: And I think that's a really important point here.

It is incredibly deadly, case fatality rates of 30, 40 percent without that level of care. And so, if somebody starts to develop lung failure, heart failure, that tends to progress very quickly. So, to have them on site in a location where they have access to that kind of care is really important in order to carry those people through, support those people through the worst stages of the infection.

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KEILAR: I spoke with the Virginia health commissioner yesterday. He told me that a former passenger now back in Virginia is in daily contact with state officials. That former passenger is taking their temperature twice daily.

He said they're eager to be in touch with state officials, they're not showing any symptoms, and the guidance is that they do not need to isolate. So, I wonder what you think of that, because considering that and then these other passengers coming off this ship, even though they may not have symptoms, are going to a place, obviously, and are very much being isolated or quarantined.

How do you make, I guess, how -- and what do you make of the difference in approach here?

GOUNDER: Well, if somebody is able to isolate safely at home within close proximity to a hospital that has those ECMO machines, and you can rely upon them to isolate at home, to stay away from others, to be reporting their temperatures, their symptoms, that's also a reasonable option.

I was an Ebola aid worker in West Africa during the 2014-to-2016 outbreak. Upon return, that is what they had us do. We were given thermometers, symptom diaries, where we would record if we had any symptoms. We were expected to call in and check in every day.

So there are other ways to handle this. Living in New York City, I am near multiple hospitals that have ECMO as an option. But that's really what you want, is somebody who's reliable, who is reporting, who's checking in, who's checking their temperatures, reporting their symptoms, but also has close access to the health care they might need if they get sicker.

KEILAR: So I know that the WHO is saying this is rare, it's not like COVID, but COVID certainly taught us to ask some questions about transmission.

And it also taught us to know, we might not know everything, right, when we're talking about something that we have limited experience with. So, can a asymptomatic or even presymptomatic person transmit this virus? Is it airborne? Is the virus perhaps aerosolized by coughing?

Should we be asking those questions? How should we be approaching that?

GOUNDER: So I think this is where monitoring these people at the Nebraska National Quarantine Unit will be helpful, because they will be able to monitor their labs. For example, the PCR tests we did for COVID, you can also do those for hantavirus, do blood PCR tests daily or even more frequently.

It gives you a sense from the time of exposure how long until you start to detect virus in the blood, when people develop symptoms. You're able to do that in a much more closely monitored environment and get more precise information, estimates as to the time course. So I do think that's one of the real benefits here.

Based on prior outbreaks with the Andes virus -- that's the kind of hantavirus we're dealing with -- there has not been airborne spread. It's actually quite difficult to spread from person to person. And where we have seen outbreaks of Andes virus, it has largely been among sexual partners.

That's not to say this is a sexually transmitted disease, but it's that level of closeness of contact, of sleeping in the same bed together, kissing, where you're swapping saliva, it's that level of contact. So, in that largest outbreak, sexual partners of people with hantavirus had an 18 percent chance of acquiring the hantavirus themselves.

Among other household contacts, so other people living in the household, who are still in close proximity, only 1 percent went on to develop hantavirus. So that goes to show you, even living in the same house, your risk is very low.

KEILAR: OK, so then explain what we're seeing on this cruise ship and how that may have increased transmission here, because there has obviously been spread.

GOUNDER: There has been spread.

And we know, for example, of a husband and wife who were infected, one infecting the other, which is actually consistent with what I'm describing. You also have to remember, this is a...

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: But also, Doctor, to rewind -- can I rewind you on that? Because we also heard from a doctor who kind of had to pinch-hit for a while, who just was a passenger on this boat. He said that he stepped in when the doctor on the boat became sick.

And then there's another woman. So, when we're looking at people who are outside of a couple, can you specifically address that? Because I know a lot of people are going to look at those folks and be concerned.

GOUNDER: Yes, sure. Sure.

Well, a doctor. Think about a doctor, the level of closeness you're also getting in close proximity to a patient when you're examining them. That's also a very different level of exposure. And we know, with many infectious diseases, health care providers are among the highest risk, because we come face-to-face with these patients.

The other thing you have to remember, this is a cruise ship that's -- it's actually a small cruise ship going to Antarctica.