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Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Heading to Spain's Canary Islands; Rubio: U.S. Expecting Response from Iran Today on Peace Plan; Economy Added Surprisingly High 115K Jobs in April; Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democrats' Redistricting Plan; Jeffries Says He Expects Dems to Win House Despite GOP's Redistricting Advantage. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired May 08, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

ADAM FRANK, PROFESSOR OF ASTROPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: Wait, wait.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, yes, go.

FRANK: Wait, I just have to say science, you know, the astronomy, we are within a decade or two of actually answering this question, right? Where do you want to look for aliens? Not here, but on alien worlds. And we have lots of amazing, revolutionary new technologies that can see into the atmospheres of distant alien worlds a hundred light years away. And soon, you know, if people just have the patience that you need to discover the most important thing in the universe, we will have some kind of answers about this question. I won't -- can't tell you what they are, but we're going to have real data.

KEILAR: All right, let's go to the aliens. We can't just be waiting for them to come to us. We have to go out there and explore. Adam Frank always the best. Thank you so much for being with us. And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

Bad weather threatening to accelerate the timeline of when people on that hantavirus-stricken cruise ship can disembark on the Canary Islands. How officials are planning to carry out that process and the transfer of passengers to their home countries.

And waiting for a response, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Iran's answer to the U.S. proposal to end the war should come today. This as both sides exchange fire even as president Trump insists, again, the ceasefire is still in effect.

And outrage in Utah over a huge data center after county commissioners greenlit the project despite residents questioning its environmental impact. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: Health officials in the Canary Islands right now are preparing for passengers to arrive and then get off the cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak. Their ship expected to dock on Sunday morning. a hundred and forty-seven people have remained on board after three passengers died. Multiple others were sickened. Those folks had to be evacuated. There is now global concern that the virus could be spreading. Let's go now live to Melissa Bell, who's in the Canary Islands for us.

Melissa, this is a -- a nightmarish ordeal for those on the vessel. And because of the weather there, if they're unable to get off the boat by Sunday, they could remain on board for a lot longer, right?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Boris. What local authorities are saying is that because of this bad turn of the weather that they're expecting, if they don't get them off that ship in that very small window from midday Sunday when they're expected to arrive here until the end of Monday, then they'll have to push back any disembarkation at least here in Tenerife until -- towards the end of the month.

So fairly tight window. They're not being helped by the weather. And also, of course, these fears from the protesters that we saw earlier today here in Tenerife, dock workers who are concerned, Boris, about the fact that they hadn't been given enough information. So, Spanish authorities really going to great lengths now to explain how this is going to function. The ship being kept slightly offshore, the planes being readied so that the nationals can be taken straight off there from the ship with minimal contact with people and -- and very little time spent on this island at all.

What Spanish authorities are saying is that they expect the ship, which had all of those passengers is asymptomatic as it left Cape Verde to arrive here with them in the same state. Otherwise, they're looking at other scenarios. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIRGINIA BARCONES, GENERAL DIRECTOR, SPAIN'S CIVIL PROTECTION AND EMERGENCIES (through interpreter): 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 present 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: A further complication is there are 23 nationalities amongst those still on the ship. What we understand, Boris, is that the Americans, the 17 American citizens still on the ship, will be the first taken off. We understand that American CDC officials are on their way here. They've been going to Nebraska. Those 17 Americans will then be taken on the kind of special planes that was used -- were used during the COVID pandemic to Nebraska to a special unit where they will quarantine. Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Wow, Melissa Bell, live from the Canary Islands. Thank you so much. Brianna.

KEILAR: The Trump administration is hoping to receive a response from Iran today on the U.S. proposal to end the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says a reply is expected today. But amid the waiting game, the U.S. and Iran are still exchanging fire. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now with details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, as the United States awaits Iran's response to the latest proposal to end the war and enter a 30-day negotiation period, we're continuing to see exchanges of fire around the Strait of Hormuz.

[15:05:02]

We know that the United States fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers that were attempting to bypass the U.S.'s blockade of Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command. Iranian media, for its part, described what's happening in the Strait as a, quote, limited exchange of fire. And that is critical, because what we have been seeing over the past 24, 48 hours have been numerous exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran, centered mostly around naval activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz. But it seems like both sides for now are quite intent on describing what's happening there as limited.

We heard from President Trump, who also described the U.S. strikes that took place after Iran fired on U.S. naval vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump described those U.S. strikes as a, quote- unquote, "love tap." And for now, it seems like neither side is eager to end this ceasefire and to see a return to all-out war. Again, as we are waiting to see what will come of the latest round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, and that Iranian response to the latest proposal.

Now, meanwhile, we are continuing to see major exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border that are testing that fragile cease- fire that took effect three weeks ago, Hezbollah firing a barrage of rockets towards the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Sirens sounded on the outskirts of that city the first time that we've seen Hezbollah rocket fire going that far into Israel since the cease-fire came into effect.

Important to note that there were no direct impacts or casualties as a result of that fire, but it appears to have been Hezbollah's response to an Israeli strike that took place in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Wednesday night that killed a senior Hezbollah commander. And the Israeli military said that it considers these latest Hezbollah rocket attacks as a, quote, "additional violation of the ceasefire understandings."

Israel, for its part, has also been conducting daily airstrikes inside of Lebanon. On Thursday, for example, they killed 12 people, including a paramedic and a child, according to Lebanon's health ministry. All of this is testing not only that fragile cease-fire in Lebanon, but also the diplomacy that's supposed to take place between Israel and Lebanon. The next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon at the ambassadorial level are, for now, though, set to take place next Thursday. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, Jeremy, thank you for that.

Still to come, the April jobs report beating expectations, but consumer sentiment hits a new record low. What this says about the American economy.

Plus, Democrats lose a big battle in the redistricting wars that are playing out across the country. Why a new map favoring their party in Virginia will no longer be used in the midterms.

And then later, a new data center two and a half times the size of Manhattan is coming to a rural town, and many residents are furious. That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:12:37]

SANCHEZ: Is the U.S. labor market bouncing back? Today the Labor Department reported that employers added 115,000 jobs in April. Much more than expected. It also marks the second straight month of job gains. CNN's Matt Egan joins us now.

Matt, what does this tell us about the labor market?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well Boris. This report paints the picture of a resilient job market. And it suggests that after a very bumpy 2025. That things are starting to really stabilize. So, as you mentioned, the U.S. economy adding 115,000 jobs in April. That was almost twice as many as expected.

Now, this is a slowdown from the blockbuster job growth in March. But not an alarming slowdown. In fact. This is the best two months of job gains of the second Trump administration. And when you look at the trend over the past year for job growth, below this green line, that signals job loss.

And so, you can see we've had a number of months of job loss. And then, some stabilization out of the last four months or so. It's really been very volatile and that's why it's helpful to take an average. When you take the average. I think a clearer picture really starts to emerge. You can see that last year was a pretty bad year for job growth. Just 10,000 jobs added each month. But a significant improvement, at least so far this year, with an average of 76,000 jobs added.

Also encouraging is the fact that the unemployment rate, after ticking up for much of the last two and a half years or so, it's also stabilizing at 4.3 percent. That suggests that this job market, it is not falling apart. So, where are the job gains?

Well, look, I mean, if you are a nurse, or a health care worker, this is a great jobs market. Another 37,000 jobs added in health care. Leisure and hospitality, that's bars, restaurants, hotels, adding 14,000 jobs. That's encouraging, because if people are pulling back because of high energy cost, that's where you would expect them to pull back. However, other sectors, government, manufacturing, losing jobs. Also,

we got to keep an eye on this, finance and information, losing another 24,000 jobs combined. These are the sectors that have been the fastest to adopt A.I. And the fact that they are pulling back on employees is only to only -- is only going to add to those concerns, Boris, about whether or not A.I. is starting to either take people's jobs, or all that A.I. spending is starting to take over some of the money that companies would normally be spending on workers.

[15:15:12]

SANCHEZ: Definitely one dynamic to keep an eye on with this jobs report. Overall, it was solid, but it doesn't reflect how Americans really feel about the economy, right?

EGAN: Yes, that's right, Boris. Look, Americans are feeling pretty good about the job market. They are feeling pretty good. Yes, that's right, Boris. Look, Americans are feeling pretty down right now about this economy. There is a lot of gloom and doom right now. The University of Michigan just put out today a new report on consumer sentiment, and it showed that at the start of this month, consumer sentiment once again fell.

Now, this chart goes back to 2020, the beginning of 2020, and you can see that sentiment right now is lower than it was in the middle of 2022, back when gas prices were at $5 a gallon under former President Biden. And sentiment is weaker now than it was at the start of 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

But let's go back even further. This goes back to 1980, and the shaded parts are recessions. And again, you can see that people are feeling much worse about the economy right now than they were during the first Trump administration, worse than they were feeling than during the 2008 financial crisis, and even worse than during the great stagflation of the 1980s. It's just stunning to see this. And this really does reflect the fact that people are worried that their paychecks are just not going to go as far because they've seen this spike in gasoline prices.

So, look, two things can be true at the same time. The job market can be stabilizing, but people are really feeling the affordability pressure right now, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Matt Egan, that is a stunning number on consumer sentiment, thank you so much for that reporting.

Republicans are now on track to pick up more house seats in November. We're going to discuss the ruling in Virginia that just set Democrats back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:37]

KEILAR: Republicans just scored another win in their mid-decade redistricting effort after Virginia's Supreme Court struck down a Democratic-backed congressional map in that state. The redistricting plan was narrowly approved by voters last month. And it would have helped Democrats pick up as many as four U.S. House seats in November. This latest ruling means Republicans now stand to gain as many as 14 House seats in the midterms compared to Democrats' six.

In a new interview with CNN, however, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he still expects Democrats to win control of the House despite today's setback. And he says Democrats will take a page from the Republican playbook and look to redraw maps for 2028 in their favor.

Let's bring in Larry Sabato. He's the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

All right, Larry, it does seem like, based on your tweets, you were expecting this. And you hear Hakeem Jeffries there. He's promising that Democrats are going to do the same thing. But he's also said that Democrats will seek legal recourse in Virginia. Do you think that that will actually go anywhere?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Brianna, I'm always amazed, being a non-lawyer, at what lawyers can come up with to justify various moves. But I'll be darned if I can see any way that this will be appealed and successful. A couple lawyers have made the argument to me that you can potentially get it into the U.S. Supreme Court. But think about that. This U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the Virginia Supreme Court in a case that clearly favors Republicans by four seats, I wouldn't put any money on that on a Kalshi.

KEILAR: Yes. And the -- the latest polling from ABC, Washington Post, Ipsos, shows still Democrats have a five-point advantage over Republicans on a generic congressional ballot. But if we look at where the redistricting maps stand today, there are 14 seats that now favor Republicans, compare that to the six that favor Democrats. What does this do to Democrats' chances of flipping the House?

SABATO: Republicans are on a tear. Their strategy with the cooperation of Republican governors, legislatures, and courts, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court, have given them a significant advantage that they didn't have even a few weeks ago. So, obviously, Democrats have suffered a body blow in their effort to take over the House of Representatives.

But a body blow is not a fatal blow. And there are quite a few basic fundamental factors moving in the Democrats' direction. As we all know, prices and gas and the war with Iran and the unpopularity of Donald Trump and so on. I'm still, at this point, betting on a Democratic takeover of the House. It just isn't going to be by an enormous number of excess votes.

You know, at the beginning of this year, you heard a lot of analysts, even some Republican analysts, saying, geez, this could be another 40- seat sweep like the Democrats had in 2018. I don't hear anybody saying that anymore. But I do still hear people saying Democrats will probably be able to get over that 218 mark. KEILAR: So, it seems unlikely that we're going to see other

redistricting efforts at this point for this election, right? But as you hear Hakeem Jeffries promising ...

SABATO: Who knows?

KEILAR: ... for -- I mean, who knows, it could be an effort, but it would be tough.

[15:25:00]

For 2028, if you're looking towards that and redistricting and this decision in Virginia and the efforts here favoring Republicans, maybe some Democrats in some states will say, yes, let's go ahead and redistrict here, ultimately, who do you think it favors if everyone kind of has this, I guess some might consider it a race to the bottom when it comes to this gerrymandering? Who does it ultimately favor?

SABATO: Yes, and remember, you can always build a new bottom, you know? There's always room for another basement or a basement of the basement, and that's the direction we seem to be going in for redistricting wars. I think Democrats have reason to be somewhat optimistic about 2027-28 for the 2028 election. Why? Because there were quite a number of Democratic-controlled states that didn't want to move for various reasons. New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Minnesota that currently isn't -- isn't able to move because they don't have a complete trifecta.

Well, you know what? And Colorado, I should mention, too. Republicans could lose two or three seats there if Colorado moves forward with redistricting. This adventure in Virginia and also the decision of the Supreme Court basically obliterating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has given a new energy to the Democratic effort, at least of convincing Democrats in some of these northern and western states to take action. And I think they might. I think they might.

Plus, if this turns out to be, as we think, a Democratic leaning midterm election, you might have more trifectas on the Democratic side created. There's a Democratic governor, Democratic legislature, and maybe enough Democrats on -- on the Supreme Court of that state to prevail if it's a state-based challenge. Those trifectas could also add some seats to Democrats for 2028.

So, my point is, it is not time for despair. It is not time to be despondent. Sure, go ahead and be angry, you know? It's -- get it over with in a day.

KEILAR: Anger doesn't travel alone. So, you know, it's probably anger and people being despondent. Larry, it's always great to get your perspective on this. Really appreciate it.

SABATO: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: The Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship will finally dock this weekend, so then what happens? A former CDC director will join the conversation after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)