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Trump Says Talks With Iran "Are Continuing, At A Rapid Pace"; Dems Grapple With Maine Candidate's Extramarital Sexting Amid Senate Fight; Jill Biden Defends Supporting Her Husband's Campaign Despite Concerns About His Health; Suspect Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Virginia Deputy; Blast At Building Storing Explosives Kills At Least 46 In Myanmar; A.I. Start-Up Anthropic Joins OpenAI And SpaceX In Going Public; Study: Experimental Pill Extends Life In Pancreatic Cancer Patients; More Clashes, Arrests At Protests Outside Newark ICE Facility. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 01, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: This is how she announced the news anyway, with a very cool but brief Nike commercial with her on a practice court, her phone can be heard just blowing up with incoming text messages and phone calls, guess everybody's heard the news. We know that she's going to be playing doubles at Queen's next week. That is a grass court tournament. She's never played that tournament before.

We don't know who her doubles partner is, although it is rumored to be the 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko. She says this is the perfect place to begin the next phase of her tennis career, so that doesn't sound like it's going to be a one-off. But beyond that, we don't know. Will she play Wimbledon, where she's won seven singles titles? Don't know again. Watch this space.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We shall see. Don Riddell, thank you so much for that.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

On again and off again, President Trump says talks with Iran are going at a, quote, "rapid pace," just after Iranian state media said the talks had been suspended.

Plus, a new pill nearly doubling survival rates for one of the deadliest types of cancer, how an experimental drug poses new hope for people fighting pancreatic cancer.

And from streaming to cinema, how two new films are forcing Hollywood to rethink the movie business.

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Breaking news on the war with Iran. We've been following the whiplash today on the state of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. The latest message coming from President Trump, who posted just a short time ago that the talks are, quote, "continuing at a rapid pace." But just a short time before this, President Trump told NBC, quote, "I think going silent would be very good." That was in response to reports that Iran had suspended negotiations over Israel's ongoing strikes in Lebanon.

Let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes, who is at the White House.

A lot of different messages to follow here, Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's like a ping-pong ball going back and forth, and obviously what we want to know is what's happening behind closed doors. But, you know, just an hour ago, or an hour and a half ago, we had President Trump telling NBC in an interview that he hadn't heard anything from Iran on them ceasing negotiations or halting the talks in retaliation for these strikes on Lebanon, or Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

Now, you have President Trump saying these negotiations are happening at a rapid pace. And in between then, President Trump held a call with Netanyahu, and this is what he says happened during that call. He posted this on Truth Social.

He says, "I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, and there will be no troops going into Beirut," the capital of Lebanon, or, "and any Troops that are on their way have already been turned back."

Then, he says that through highly placed representatives, he had a good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop. If Israel doesn't attack them, that they won't retaliate or attack Israel.

We should note that there didn't seem to be any claim at any point that there would actually be troops on the ground in Beirut. This was largely about airstrikes.

So, this is the current state of play. Again, President Trump had just roughly an hour and a half ago said he didn't even care if these negotiations were put on hold. We know that's not the case. We know that they are seeking some kind of diplomatic off-ramp.

The current state of play of where we are right now, in terms of what's happening privately, is we know that after that sit-room meeting on Friday, President Trump returned at that memorandum to Iran asking for tougher language. We do not know yet if that has come back to the President or where that stands.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes live at the White House, thank you so much.

Democrats hoping to retake control of the Senate this election cycle are grappling with another controversy involving Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal were first to report that Platner exchanged sexual messages with multiple women a few years ago, shortly after he was married. It was Platner's own wife, we've learned, who discovered the messages and disclosed them to a senior campaign aide.

We're joined now by CNN's Patrick Svitek.

Patrick, Platner's wife is now actually speaking out about this scandal.

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN REPORTER: Yes, she says she's deeply hurt that this information got out there, that she thought she was talking to a campaign official in confidence earlier in this campaign process. I mean, look, this is a real political dilemma for Maine Democrats.

I mean, Platner built such a large lead in this primary that his closest competitor, Maine Governor Janet Mills, dropped out and suspended her campaign a few weeks ago. Now voters, Democrats in Maine and across the country, are still learning this new information, damaging information about Graham Platner, with just a little over a week until the primary.

I should note that Mills, his name is still on the ballot, even though she's suspended her campaign, and there is another much lesser-known candidate. But right now, you know, Graham Platner, for all intents and purposes, is the -- the presumptive nominee in this race.

SANCHEZ: Yes, so that -- that primary in Maine isn't until next week. We've got a big day of primaries across the country tomorrow, six states casting ballots. What races are you watching?

[15:05:07]

SVITEK: I think the one of the blockbuster races out of all six is the California governor's race, and what we're all watching here is to see whether the top two finishes -- finishers here, are going to be a Democrat and a Democrat or a Democrat and a Republican. And you've seen just furious jockeying in recent days to try to ensure, the different candidates to try to ensure that they make it into that top to finish.

Of course, if it's a Democrat versus a Republican, it's probably going to fall off the national radar screen. California is a very blue state ...

SANCHEZ: Right.

SVITEK: ... and you know the Democrat would be heavily favored in that matchup. But it's a Democrat versus a Democrat, we're going to have several more months of an intense debate over how to -- how to govern California, the national identity of the Democratic Party under Donald Trump in his second term. And so, it could be a very expensive race, considering that one of the Democrats who could advance is Tom Steyer ...

SANCHEZ: Right.

SVITEK: ... a billionaire who has spent over $200 million of his own money thus far. And so, that's one of the races I'm watching.

SANCHEZ: Patrick Svitek, thank you so much.

SVITEK: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Appreciate it. Yes.

Still to come, a new experimental pill is showing promising results against one of the deadliest types of cancer. The doctor leading clinical trials will join us live.

Plus, we're live outside the controversial ICE detention center in New Jersey, where officers have been clashing with those protesting alleged inhumane conditions inside.

And later, CNN visiting the epicenter of the Ebola crisis in Central Africa, where the WHO is leading the response to stop the outbreak of a deadly virus. That much more coming your way in just moments.

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[15:10:55]

SANCHEZ: Former first lady Jill Biden today sharing more details on her reaction to her husband's disastrous debate performance during the 2024 presidential campaign. During an appearance on NBC ahead of her new book release, Mrs. Biden said that she felt she had to support her husband's push to keep campaigning, despite her concerns that he may have been having a stroke on stage. She also talked about a remarkable exchange they had when that CNN debate had just ended. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY: He gets off the stage. I see he appears to be okay. He says to me, "Jill, I really," in other words, "messed up, didn't I?" And I said, "Yes, you did."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Mrs. Biden also shared a health update on the former president, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I think if he had just been, you know, diagnosed with prostate cancer, that's one thing, because that can be cured. But the fact that it metastasized to his bones, that -- that makes it a whole different story. And so, I think Joe will live with cancer till the rest of his life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Wow. The former first lady's new memoir, "View from the East Wing," comes out tomorrow. Brianna?

KEILAR: Now, to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour, a man accused of killing a Virginia deputy and injuring another has been captured in North Carolina after a days-long search. Investigators say Michael Puckett opened fire on the two deputies who showed up Friday night for a welfare check near Richmond. He's being held without bond. Deputy Logan Utt died in this. He was a veteran and had been a deputy since 2023.

An investigation is underway after a huge explosion in northeastern Myanmar killed at least 46 people, including six children. This happened Sunday at a building reportedly storing explosives for mining near the border with China. About 70 people were injured and more than a hundred homes were damaged. Local authorities are providing relief, medical care, and resettlement assistance to affected residents.

An American A.I. company, Anthropic, says it's going public. Anthropic filed confidential plans for an initial public offering with the Security and Exchange Commission today, setting up for a highly anticipated public market debut. The company has not determined how many shares it will sell or what price, but they did say any offers to buy will be made only in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Anthropic joins rivals OpenAI and SpaceX in going public this year.

Next, we're live outside a controversial ICE detention facility in New Jersey, where protesters have been clashing with police. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:18:14]

SANCHEZ: There could be new hope for people diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. UCLA researchers found an experimental pill appears to prolong life in some patients suffering from the deadly disease. The drug blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancer cases. The daily pills nearly doubled survival time with few severe side effects. Those taking it lived about 13 months compared to nearly seven months for chemo patients.

We're joined now by Dr. Zev Wainberg. He's a professor of medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine and helped lead this study.

Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. First of all, congratulations on what this study reveals. It could be an enormous step forward for these patients. What have you learned about this treatment that people should learn?

DR. ZEV WAINBERG, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, UCLA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: So, this is a real paradigm changing moment for those of us who have been studying pancreatic cancer and treating pancreatic cancer. For the first time, we have real evidence that something besides chemotherapy can work in slowing down and hopefully delaying the onset of worse symptoms of pancreatic cancer. So, it's -- it's really the largest piece of evidence we've ever had in this deadly disease that something besides chemotherapy can actually work.

SANCHEZ: Overall, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is about 13 percent. I -- I don't imagine that the pill will cure the cancer, but it does significantly change a patient's prognosis, right?

WAINBERG: So, for starters, we showed that people can live longer than they would with chemotherapy with this pill, and that's really just the step -- the first step forward. I think we look at this as a real paradigm changing moment because we can see this as being part and parcel of every patient with pancreatic cancer one day, beginning from the first moment they get diagnosed with this deadly disease and up until the chemotherapy fails them.

[15:20:10]

So, I think along the way, we're going to learn a lot more than we do today. For today, what we can really say is that compared to chemotherapy in this group of patients, it made patients live longer, it made patients feel better, and I hope that the -- the FDA reviews this favorably and helps us get this drug out to patients soon.

SANCHEZ: I understand one aspect of the medication that you are trying to get a better understanding of is its efficacy over time because the research indicates that the effects eventually start to wane. Is that correct?

WAINBERG: Yes, there's no question that in the study context in which we've so far studied this pill, we're not curing the cancer yet. I don't think we should claim that. I think eventually, the large majority of patients, their cancers will get worse despite being on this pill, and we're starting to look already at those opportunities to combine it with different avenues of attack, perhaps testing this pill in much earlier lines than we are doing today, and for that matter, testing many other pills that block this protein amongst others.

So, this is just, I think, truly the tip of the iceberg in understanding how to tackle this disease in an entirely different direction.

SANCHEZ: What do you hope to get across to patients? What is your message to folks that have been faced with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer?

WAINBERG: Patients and their families are the real true heroes in this story because, I mean, they commit themselves to coming in and participating in these clinical trials, and that's not available for everybody. And I think we all acknowledge that the next step, first of all, is trying to get this and other pills like it out to people who can't participate in these trials.

For those who have it, the real credit is to them because we wouldn't be here without them, but the truth is that we need a lot more work and a lot more study to understand this pill and others. What is the best role for them? How to combine them? Can we give that -- can we give it earlier in various combinations?

This is, you know, in my opinion, just the first start, but it is proof principle. It is what we needed to move the field forward, and that -- and that's why it's such a critical moment, in my opinion.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Zev Wainberg, thank you so much for the time. We very much appreciate your work.

WAINBERG: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Brianna?

KEILAR: More arrests and clashes overnight in front of New Jersey's Delaney Hall Ice Facility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back off. Back off.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Tensions boiling over there between law enforcement and demonstrators who are alleging inhumane conditions at the controversial facility. Some protesters were taken into custody after they refused to comply with the city's nightly curfew, according to the state attorney general. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is with us now from outside the facility.

Shimon, these protests have been going on for more than a week, and the tensions keep rising.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no, we're still here. They certainly have been rising. But what we're seeing here now today, since the New Jersey State Police came in here, the governor ordering them in here, it's been a bit controversial because we have seen a level of escalation here that we have not previously seen. Look, there's been clashes here between the ICE officers who have been standing guard out here and some of the protesters. But some of the increased tension and the clashes has been with the state police, which are now everywhere here.

They are now patrolling this area. And much of this area has been shut down. Protesters are not even allowed anywhere near this facility. This is the detention facility here behind me. And you can see where for about a week or so, protesters were gathering here. Now they're not even allowed anywhere near here.

The state police have closed both sides of the road here for about a mile now. It's a half a mile this way and then about a half a mile to my right. It's all shut down. And only cars who have business here, we had to be escorted to -- to get inside this area, but the entire area has now been shut down. And it is the way the police feel that they -- what they -- the only thing they could do right now to try and calm things down.

Now, what's interesting here, Brianna, is that the reason the governor here is giving for why she brought the state police in was because she was concerned that there would be an escalation from the government, the ICE officers, more ICE officers would be brought into this area and that there would be a surge of ICE officers. And so, she was trying to prevent that from happening. \ And really what it's done is it's increased some of the clashes between the local police and the state police and the protesters. There's a 9 P.M. curfew that takes place. It started here over the weekend. And we certainly saw some of that escalation during the hours of the curfew when police came out and told protesters they had to leave. And that's when we saw those arrests.

[15:25:05]

Several people have been arrested. We'll see what happens here today. For now, there are hardly any protesters out. They're at the perimeter. We saw a handful over here, over this way. And then there's a handful standing out there.

But it's really striking to see what the police here have done and how they've just eliminated any possibility for the protesters to come into this area. And so, we'll see tonight. Curfew will take effect at 9 o'clock. And we'll see what happens outside this area at the perimeter.

KEILAR: Yes. All right. We'll be looking for that. Shimon, thank you for the latest from New Jersey.

Ahead, election denier Tina Peters has been released from prison after a controversial commutation from Colorado's Democratic governor. We'll discuss it with the state's attorney general next.

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